Page 35 of Centering Kaos

“Sure.” She shrugged. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself. But I have a feeling the first time you two are alone, things are gonna get really freaky around here.”

Out of principle, I wanted to argue, but before I could even call bullshit, she turned and walked out. Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, she was right. There were fireworks between me and Tina. The timing was shit, which meant I needed to make sure Tina and I were never alone so the sparks between us wouldn’t have the chance to catch us both ablaze. I saw a lot of quality time with my hand in the near future. At least Tina’s sexy-ass curves and shy smile would provide plenty of material for my spank bank.

Maybe someday I’d get the opportunity to see how red I could make her cheeks.

Eventually.

When she wasn’t in the middle of a messy divorce.

Fuck.

Yep. My right hand would be getting some major action in the days to come. I’d have to start doing extra curls on my left side, so I didn’t end up with one Popeye forearm. Shaking my head at myself, I set my glass in the dishwasher and headed upstairs. I had time to tie one off before we had to leave to pick up Dylan.

* * *

Over the rest of the week, Tina, Dylan, and I fell into a comfortable routine. In the mornings, she’d make breakfast. The three of us would eat together at the bar, and then we’d take Dylan to school. Afterwards, I’d drop her fine ass and the Escalade off at the house, hop on my bike, and put some distance between us. I could never tell if Tina was disappointed or relieved to see me go. Usually, I went to the fire station. There, I hung around like a lump on a log—trying to make myself useful but with nothing to do—until about an hour before Dylan got out of school. Then, I’d come home, pick her up, and we’d go retrieve the kid together.

We didn’t exactly avoid each other; we just limited our alone time.

The minutes we did spend together were pure fucking torture.

Whenever she so much as crossed her legs or shifted her stance, my body reacted. With every shy smile and averted gaze, my cock hardened. Her scent lingered in pockets of my house, driving me out of my mind. I wanted her so damn bad that not even my hand could satisfy me anymore. Most nights, I could barely get it out of my mind that she was only a floor beneath me, lying in bed, probably every bit as hot and bothered as I was. Hard as a rock, I tossed and turned until I finally passed out.

I had no idea how long we could share a roof before I snapped and broke down her fucking bedroom door.

I made it to Thursday before Tap took one look at me, ushered me into the office he shared with Morse and Hound, and said, “The club’s still an option. If Tina and Dylan are too much, they can stay here.”

Knowing I looked like shit, I ran a hand over my face, trying to wipe away the exhaustion. “Any sign of Matt?”

“Nope,” Tap replied. “The bastard hasn’t shown up at Elenore’s either. Don’t expect him to as long as we keep Tina’s car and cell phone here.”

“You think he tracked them here?” I asked.

Morse popped his head up from behind his monitor. “He graduated cum laude from UDub and works in software development. He’s a smart, tech-minded son-of-a-bitch. I’d bet Hound’s left nut that he at least tracked her phone here.”

UDub was what the locals called the University of Washington. Back when I’d been looking at colleges, UDub required a 3.8 GPA and only had about a fifty percent acceptance rate. Unless things had drastically changed, it was one hell of a hard school to get into. Matt had to be book smart at least.

“What the fuck, man?” Hound asked, spinning around to face us. “Bet your own damn balls. I have plans for mine.”

“He proposed to Mila last night,” Morse said.

Nodding, Hound grinned. “She said yes, by the way. Morse has been flickin’ me shit ever since.”

“Get used to it asswipe,” Morse said. “We’ll be family soon.”

Mila was Morse’s cousin. Because the club was full of gossips, I’d heard snippets about her fucked-up past. Hound’s past wasn’t much better, and his time in the Navy had left him disabled and in constant pain. They were good people who’d overcome a lot of obstacles and seemed genuinely happy together.

“That’s great to hear.” I stepped over to shake his hand. “Congrats, brother.”

His grin widened. “Thanks, man.”

“You guys planning a big wedding?” I asked.

“Fuck yeah, they will be,” Morse said. “A club wedding. You haven’t seen one of those yet, prospect, but you should start preparing your liver now. Tina and Dylan could go back to Elenore’s. Rabbit’s been spending plenty of time there. I’m sure he’ll keep an eye on them.”

That was news to me. “He is? Why?” I asked.

“None of our business,” Tap said, giving Morse a pointed look.

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