Page 37 of Tucker's Strike

In a way, it makes everything we’ve done that much more special.

I wouldn’t take anything back, though I’m scared of what’s to come. I now know, without any doubt, he’s going to be there for me, and I hope he knows I’ll do the same for him.

Tucker gives my hand a squeeze, not saying anything aloud. With a tug, he leads me into the clubhouse straight to his room, then to the bathroom, where he kisses me thoroughly beneath the spray of the shower. Once again, he takes me, but this time with my back to the tile, my legs around his waist as he works quickly inside me.

By the time we finish, the water is running cold. But even that doesn’t bother me, Tucker’s warmth is all I need.

“Time to get dressed, little Fae,” he whispers and presses a kiss to my forehead as he slides out of me.

“I know,” I murmur, sliding down to stand.

“I’m gonna be right there with you, Lake.”

Nodding, I wait for Tucker to shut the water off. Together, we get out. Tucker takes time to dry me off first with one of the towels. When he’s done with me, he runs the towel over his body swiftly and follows me back into his room. I dress in a pair of leggings and a cropped tank, not bothering with putting on a bra or panties. It seems any time I wear them he rips them.

I turn in Tucker’s direction, hearing him chuckle.

“It’s not funny,” I tell him and snatch up my brush. “I’m going to run out of undergarments because of you.”

“You do, and I’ll buy you more.” He grins and shoves his feet into his boots.

Looking at the scuffed-up boots, a thought crosses my mind, and I find myself voicing it. “Later, do you think we can go out on your bike again?”

I loved being on the back of his bike. Granted, the one time I had been, my mind wasn’t in the right state to completely enjoy it. Still, I’d felt the freedom it could be.

Tucker catches my gaze. “I’ll take you anytime you want, little Fae.” He steps closer and strokes my cheek. “First, let’s see about getting rid of the threat against you. Then we’ll worry about getting you on the back of my bike. Alright?”

“Okay,” I agree, seeing the reasoning.

“Good, now, let’s get this next part out of the way. I still gotta meet with my brothers and figure out the next step since we’ve already got your dad and uncles.”

Yeah, I guess I messed up their plan. “Are you still mad at me?”

Now, why did I have to go and ask him that?

Tucker takes my brush from me and grips my chin, keeping me from being able to look away. “You did what you did for good reason. The outcome came out good. We got those we needed to save. Yeah, I was pissed with you. You took things into your own hands, and you can’t do that. I know what you’re trying to hide about going through the strands of time. You aren’t shielding that as much as you thought you were. And since you aren’t gonna be doing that again, we’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question,” I tell him.

“It’s a hard question to answer without hurting your feelings, Lake,” he states, leaning in and pressing a kiss to my lips. “You’re a hard woman to stay pissed with, but yeah, I’m still slightly pissed. I’d be more so if I hadn’t just come inside you as many times I have. That sort of thing seems to help in putting me in a mellow mood.”

I stare up at him and silently nod. What else could I say to that? Nothing really. He has a right to his feelings, and I can understand it.

“Time to face your dad, little Fae,” Tucker announces, dropping his hand from my chin to take my hand.

I suck in a breath, giving him a look of reluctance. As much as I want to see my dad, I’m scared that he’ll hate me. It’s because of me that he ended up where he did for so long.

Tucker moves down the hall, walking in front of me, shielding me, protecting me in his way. Keeping me from the sight of the others until I’m ready to see them. They’d be able to catch my scent, but I wouldn’t have to see them until I knew I could handle the look of anger in their eyes.

The moment we step from the hall into the main room, silence descends on the room. The noise I’d heard echoing in the hall was now complete silence.

“I see she completed the mating with you,” my dad says, ending the silence.

“What’s going on here?” Tucker demands, ignoring my dad’s statement.

“Cyrus and his club have agreed to stick around and help in getting this situation taken care of,” Corbin grunts.

“Yeah, Big Daddy would have my ass if I didn’t help in this. Bonus, kicking dragon ass sounds like fun.”

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