Page 34 of The Devil's Viking

“No,” she said, surprised at both of those pieces of information. “I assumed they both worked around here somewhere. It seems like you MC members are all connected to the club businesses one way or another.”

“It’s true that quite a few of us are, but some of the guys have their own thing going on. Like I said, Cowboy has his own ranch and Cain works there for him, but he took some time off to do guard duty for you.”

“Ah. Right. But if you’re upstairs,you’reon guard duty?”

“Kind of. I’ll be five rooms down from yours, right at the top of the stairs. Wolf will set up some motion sensors in the hallway during the night. You understand, this is just until he feels confident about who you are and that you won’t go sneaking off to get up to some mischief.”

She nodded, a bit sadly. “I guess trying to blackmail him didn’t win me any points, huh?”

“Yeah, no. Wolf is awesome at being the blackmailer, but he isn’t crazy about being the blackmailee. Having said that, he definitely believes that you’re here in good faith now – he sees that you want to work, and earn and save some money, and start again on your own terms. Yes, he wants to keep you close for his own peace of mind, but he knows that you benefit from being here too. Just give it time, OK? Carry on doing what you’re doing, and soon enough, he’ll relax and lift all the supervision.”

“Well, I’m used to being watched and monitored.” Iris shrugged. “I’m not thrilled to still be under the microscope, but I do understand where Wolf’s coming from. It’s not great, but it’s OK.”

“I’m sorry about it, baby. But Wolf’s a reasonable man, no matter how much he growls and glowers at you. He’ll come around quicker than you think.”

“OK, so I’ll wait it out.” She gave him that smile again, the real one, the one that made her gorgeous face light up. “And how long are we going to be housemates?”

“A couple of weeks for sure. I don’t mind living with a wrecked kitchen for a little while, but Ican’t standnew-paint smell. Gives me wicked headaches.”

“Right? New-paint smell is theworst.”

“As bad as finding random strangers’ hot-pink thongs while you’re cleaning?”

“Pretty damn close second.” She held up her hands. “But that’s what the gloves are for. Rebel told me to wear them and no debate and I wondered why. Now I know.”

They shared a grin, and Viking realized how much he actuallylikedthis woman.

“Hey,” said a voice from the doorway. “You guys alright?”

Viking and Iris turned to see Zoe and Scars standing there, his arms around her from behind, her head resting back against his huge chest. They weren’t the kind of couple who were super into PDAs, but they looked so comfortable with each other, so connected, that seeing them together tugged on Viking in a way that it never had before.

This time, he looked at his Vice-President and his fiancée and saw two people who had literally gone through the fires of hell together. They’d had a choppy start, back when Zee had zero faith in Scars and was suspicious and untrusting of all the guys in the club. She’d been awful to Scars for ages, just a straight-up bitch to the man every time he had wandered into her orbit. Finally, she had seen that not only was Scars a decent, loving, amazing person, he was also head over heels for Zee. He adored Zoe’s daughter Keira, he worshipped the ground that Zoe walked on, and he proved that he put them before himself when he risked his life to save Keira’s.

Now here they were, after all that, and after a long and painful recovery process for Scars after the burns to his back and chest. They were happy and strong and ready to promise the rest of their lives to each other.

Viking had never been interested in marriage, never had a relationship that had lasted longer than a couple of years. He’d been married to his medical school education, then to being a doctor, then to being a medic in war, then to protecting his MC and brothers. He’d done all of that with no hesitation and no regrets because he’d been happiest helping others, and putting all of his attention into doing that very thing, in its various forms.

But that’s not the only reason, is it? Be honest.

OK, well. If he were beingtotallyhonest, his role in the MC back then had given him pause about being in a committed relationship. He hadn’t felt good thinking about being the Road Devils body-man, picking up the dead and ferrying them all over the country to get rid of the evidence, then going home to a sweet, loving woman. He’d been afraid that he would bring some of that ugliness back with him, that it would just cling to him like dirt under his shoes. He was convinced that he’d contaminate his woman’s innocence and poison the relationship, and he didn’t want to do that to someone.

When Wolf had taken the club legit a few years before, Viking had been thrilled, mostly because he was finding it harder and harder to deal with the dead. As a doctor, he’d always stood with one foot in the valley of death, but he’d also been a fierce warrior for life. He’d fought to keep people alive, and healthy, and well; in his last few years in the MC, he had been fully engulfed in shadow. Wolf brought him back to the light, and he’d never stop being grateful for that.

But he hadn’t fully embraced that light, not really. He’d held himself back from true human connection with a woman, and now, looking at Scars and Zee, he felt an ache at what hedidn’thave.

“Hi,” Iris said. “I’m good, and I’m all done. Perfect timing.”

“Good,” Scars said. “I’ll be waiting in the car, sugar.”

“OK,” Zoe said. “I’ll just help Iris put everything away and we’ll be right out.”

“Where’s Keira?” Viking asked her as he picked up the vacuum. “Who’s got the happy task of watching the miniature spitfire while you guys go spend lots of money?”

“Believe it or not, Wolf volunteered.”

“I donotbelieve it,” Viking said, as the three of them went to the supply closet and returned all the cleaning stuff. “The thought of Wolf Connor babysitting a little girl is delightful, though.”

“Right?” Zoe grinned. “He’s taking her skating.”

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