Page 34 of Out for Blood

His side of the bed was cold when I awoke, just as the door opened and I grabbed for the sheet to cover my nakedness. Orla’s bright and bubbly face peered around the corner.

“You decent?” she asked before she laughed. “Oh hell, we both know you’d never be decent in Cooper’s bed.”

I threw a pillow at her and dropped back down on the bed. My head was pounding from all the action I’d gotten last night. I was severely dehydrated.

“Where’s Cooper?” I asked her.

“He had to go out on a small errand this morning, so I offered to fill his side of the bed.”

She winked at me as she laid down next to me.

“He didn’t say bye?”

“You were snoring like a wildebeest when I opened the door.”

“Shut up,” I smacked her on the hip. “I don’t snore.”

“You’re right, it was probably Alex the hippo’s snoring that I was referring to. Even down here, I can hear his loud ass breathing.”

I chuckled at the constant jibing of Bear. Those two had been at each other for years, even before Bear was Bear, she always called him a beast. The history between the two of them was insane, and secretly, I wished that now the boys were back, they could go back to the way things were.

“What should I do today with the girls?” I asked her. “I feel bad for abandoning them last night.”

Orla’s head turned to face mine. “Are you saying you were in here fucking Ace all night on their birthday?”

“Maybe.”

“Damn,” she sighed. “Where can I find one of those?”

“There’s an entire bar full of them outside, Orla. It’s not that hard.”

She sighed again. “Yeah, but most of them are just like Alex, and I don’t much appreciate a hairy fucker in my bed.”

“Bear’s not hairy, and you know it.”

Orla rolled her eyes and sat up. “Why don’t you take the girls on a picnic in the hills?”

“You know, that ain’t a bad idea. I’ve been thinking of sending them to my Aunt’s in Wales.”

“That far away? Won’t you miss them?” she asked me.

“Of course I will, but I’ll miss them more if Neal gets his hands on them and does god only knows what with their liberty.”

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s not going away anytime soon is he?”

“They’re sixteen now, Or. I am terrified.”

She sighed again. “I know. Me too, but Ace won’t let anything happen to them or to you.”

I felt an overwhelming sensation come over me at the thought of him protecting us. Just like a real man would do for his family.

Hisfamily.

I hadn’t even asked him if he was okay with us calling him part of our family. What if he didn’t want an instant family and this lust would wear off and we’d be out on our asses again?

“Whoa,” Orla waved a hand in front of my face. “Wherever you just went now, I don’t like it. Come on, let’s stop thinking about men and go and wake up your darling daughters.”

I pulled myself up and got dressed, pulling my hair back in a ponytail and ready to face the music. Shauna hadn’t looked at me when we resurfaced from the bathroom afterward, she continually avoided my eyes all night until Cooper had had enough and dragged me back to his room.

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