Page 68 of Pulse

His grin didn’t falter as he said, “Then you shouldn’t have been thinking so hard and loud.”

Talia grimaced. “Sorry.”

He kissed her. She sighed into his mouth as she melted into him—just a little bit. Not enough to lose her badass-woman card, but she did melt.

“I’m teasing you.” He tugged her in until their bodies were flush. It was then she realized their legs had been entangled all along. They’d slept as one instead of two separate bodies.

God, she was falling too hard and too fast.

“Can’t sleep?”

She shrugged. “It’s hard to turn my mind off after last night.”

“Does that mean I didn’t do a good enough job wearing you out?” he asked as he slid his hand down to her ass and squeezed.

Her smile came instantly. “No, you did a fabulous job. The best job ever. There’s just a lot going on, you know?”

“I know.” He opened his mouth as though to speak, then pressed his lips together.

“What?”

Pulse sighed. “You’re not going to like this.”

She drew her head back so she could see him better. “I’m not going to like what?”

He had a girlfriend.

A gaggle of kids.

He picked his nose.

Alarm bells blared between her ears.

“I think I need to tell the club about my past.”

What? “Oh.” She blinked as the words registered. “Pulse, you can’t. You told me yourself that they’d…” She shook her head.She refused to put those words into the universe. “You can’t. It’s not safe.”

He kissed her mouth, her forehead, and back to her lips.

Tears came to her eyes. He’d made his decision. There’d be no talking him out of it. Her gut told her it’d be a waste of breath trying to convince him otherwise.

“Why?”

“They deserve to know. What’s going to happen later today when the cartel comes looking for me disguised as the DEA?”

“We’ll hide. We won’t be here.”

“And where is the first place they’re going to turn when they can’t find me?”

Her heart sank. How could she not have thought of this herself? She was too close to think objectively.

“The club. They’ll go after your club.”

“I can’t do that to my brothers. To their women. I can’t put them in that kind of danger without at least a warning.”

Her heart needed to slow so it didn’t explode. His club was his family, his world, and he loved them. What would that be like? To have people in her life she’d sacrifice her safety and her own life for? To care for someone, to love someone that much?

Terrifying.