Page 91 of Renewal After Dark

As she was about to walk back to Duke’s, a large truck pulled in with a dumpster that was deposited in the yard.

McKenzie was excited to watch the construction progress and was thrilled by how quickly things were moving.

Duke was rolling his big motorcycle out of the garage as she came into the yard. “Are they working over there?”

“Yep.”

“Nice.”

“Mac put his cousin Riley in charge of the project. They sure do make those McCarthy boys handsome, don’t they?”

He grumbled out an inaudible response and then tilted his head, giving her a look that set her blood on fire. That’d certainly never happened before. “How you doing this morning?”

“Good. You?”

“Excellent.”

“Did you sleep well?”

She gave him a coy look. “I was a little tossy-turny. Can’t imagine why.”

“Probably for the same reason I was.”

“Maybe.”

“Any regrets this morning?”

“Not a single one.”

“You should be dating one of those handsome McCarthy boys.”

“Are you really going to start that nonsense again?”

He shrugged. “It’s true.”

“I’ll just go see if Riley is single, then.” She spun around to walk away, but Duke was right behind her, reaching for her arm to stop her from getting away.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

“I suck at this.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I just can’t for the life of me figure out what a goddess like you wants with me.”

“Until you figure that out, maybe we should press Pause on the kissing and stuff.”

“I don’t want to do that.”

“Then you need to stop questioning what you bring to the table, because I’ve told you—repeatedly—it’s more than anyone has ever brought to any table in my entire life.”

“That’s a damn shame.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and looked at her with such tender affection that her knees went weak—another thing that hadn’t happened before. “You ought to be treated like the queen you are.”

“I don’t want to be treated like a queen. I just want to be treated with care and respect, two things you’ve shown me time and again.”

He enveloped her and Jax in a hug. “You two are turning my whole world upside down.”

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