Page 104 of What Lies Within

"You don't need to know." I catch her eye and wilt at the hurt flashed back.

I get it. She wants to know what the fuck we’ve tangled ourselves in now. Shit. She’s likely running her goddamn mind and blaming herself six ways from Sunday for what just transpired. But sometimes it ain’t about her. Shit. It ain’t even about me.

Sometimes, it's about the long game. And that deal? It was a fuckinglong,long game.

“Why did he need to see me?” she asks as we crest the steps toward the barn door.

“To know we weren’t lyin’.” I come to an abrupt halt and catch Rae as she smashes into my side. Hands around her waist, I hoist her against me. “You ready for bed?”

“I guess.”

I call over my shoulder, not breaking eye contact with our woman. “What about you, old man?”

Tyke grunts, not liking my moniker, as he catches up to our position. "Ready for what?"

“Bed,” Rae murmurs, gaze locked on my older brother.

His face softens, and he caresses her jaw with a gentle finger. "Pretty sure that's where I was last feelin' happy, so yeah, let's head back there." He shifts his gaze to me, a frown tugging at his brow. "You two catch up, though. I'll be okay."

“No.” I shuffle Rae against my front to hold her with one arm banded around her thighs, beneath her curvy ass, and catch Tyke with the other. “It’s all of us or not at all, you pigheaded idiot.”

His attention shifts from me to her and back. "I dunno." Tyke's shoulders sag. "I'm not up for that right now."

“For what?” Rae lifts an eyebrow. “Sharing a bed?”

He glances behind him to ensure no one else is within earshot. "I mean, more of what we do when it's just the three of us."

I sigh, Rae slipping down my side a little as I do. “We can spend time with her, together, without fuckin’ her senseless, you know.”

Rae wriggles to get free of my hold and sets herself between us. “My period is due to start soon, anyway, judging by these cramps.” She ducks her chin. “A heat pack and an Advil are about as kinky as I’ll get tonight.”

Tyke smirks and glances behind me to the horizon. "It's barely night anymore anyway."

Sure enough, the black of the sky gives way to a lighter shade of grey. “What fuckin’ time is it?”

“Four-fifteen,” Tyke confirms, checking his watch. “Come on.” He heads indoors, expecting us to follow. “We can bitch about details later. Right now, I need to crash for what’s left of the night.”

"Sounds good to me," Rae says, trailing him through the common room toward where Harvey and Jamie sit tucked into one of the sofas.

I give my nephew a raised brow on the way past, and he returns it with a“Like you can talk”flick of his eyes toward Tyke and Rae.

Our trio veers right and heads toward Tyke's room. I hesitate inside the door, torn between respecting my brother's private space as the president of our club and wanting to slide under the covers with the woman removing his cut for him.

Rae sets the leather aside, hanging it on the tailor's dummy Tyke has to hold his colors, and then sets her sights on me. "What's the matter?" She frowns.

I catch my brother's eye as he unbuttons his shirt and shrugs. "Guess I hadn't thought about how this works in the long term. Areyouokay with me being here?" I ask Tyke directly.

He shrugs, the same way I just did, and peels the sides of his shirt off. "Doesn't seem much different to the nights we'd hole up as kids because Mom and Dad were goin' at it."

I chuckle, memories as fresh as though it were yesterday of the fights our parents would have. Arguments that shook the house and sounds of sex after that shook our innocence. Fox would be the first to seek us out, his younger brethren, ushering me into Tyke's room, the furthest from the chaos. My chest pangs at the fond memory of a man now gone. Though, one could argue that his soul left us long ago.

"Come on." Rae sets her hands beneath my cut, slipping the leather from my shoulders. "We're all too tired to put this level of mental energy into it." Her palms trace the shape of muscles, gaze heavy-lidded as she watches their path. "Just go with your heart tonight, Dig."

I take the leather from her hands and lean in to steal a kiss. She softens against me, my fingers finding their way to the hairat her nape. I give it a little tug, nip at her lip, and relish the whimper she releases.

Tyke appears in my periphery, so I hold my cut out to him, allowing him to set it down with the respect it deserves while I give Rae hers.

Hands behind her legs, I hitch her against me and move toward my brother's bed. Our woman has far too much clothing on for my liking, but I'm sure he'll help me remedy the situation as soon as he's free. Her small hands link behind my neck as I lower her to the mattress, careful to set her down gently while I follow her down, lips sealed in a kiss. She breaks free, hair splayed about her like a fucking angel and offers a weak smile.

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