Page 175 of Romeo

His eyes heated. “No shit. So do I.” He dragged the pad of his thumb over her lips the same way as she had done to him.

“I had another idea.”

He patted his bare thigh. “Don’t mind bein’ on the bottom and lettin’ you ride me like a mechanical bull.”

“That wasn’t it.”

He pursed his lips, most likely trying to come up with another idea that wouldn’t aggravate his ribs too badly. Unfortunately, those options were limited.

“Jerkin’ me off?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of making sure we’re both on the same page.”

“That don’t sound as good as you jerkin’ me off.”

“Deal with it.”

He chuckled softly. “Don’t get sassy with me, woman. Or your ol’ man’s gonna have to teach you a lesson.”

“You’re not my ol’ man yet.” She playfully nipped at his nipple, making him jump.

He groaned, “Fuck. That didn’t help my ribs.”

“What do you think will happen if I blow you or jerk you off? Or ride you like a mechanical bull?”

“This fuckin’ sucks. Just for this reason alone, Smith needs to…”

Her pulse sped up. “Needs to what?”

“Nothin’.”

“That’s one of the topics I want to discuss. We need complete honesty between us. No secrets.”

“Maddie, there’s shit that’s gonna happen in my life you donotneed to fuckin’ know. Better for you. Better for everyone involved.”

“Club business isn’t my business, isn’t that right?”

“You know how it fuckin’ works and don’t act like you don’t.”

“Look what happened last time you confronted him,” she reminded him needlessly.

“And that needs to be addressed.”

“We’re talking theMafiahere, Rome. This isn’t some group of juvenile delinquents spray painting the side of Dirty Dick’s.”

“Know who the fuck they are, woman. Know what they’re capable of. Let’s get this straight, you can’t question my actions. I’m the goddamn president of the Knights and you gotta remember that. Gonna be actions that need to be taken you ain’t gonna like. Bottom line, you got no say on club business. If that’s gonna be a problem, then we’re gonna have a problem.”

“Roger had nothing to do with club business,” she reminded him. “That had to do with me. That means I should have a say if you’re planning some sort of payback.”

“Maddie…”

“I don’t want you getting hurt again or even killed. I don’t want you to make me a widow before you even make me your wife.”

His brow dropped low. “Think I don’t know how to handle my business?”

“Well… If we want to go there…”

“Jesus fuck,” he muttered.

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