Page 102 of Toxic

“I’ll deny it if you tell anyone, Girlie.”

Laughing, I patted Hank on the neck. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

He scowled at me. “What secret?”

“That you have a soft gooey center,” I teased.

“The fuck I do,” he called out as I shut Hank’s stall and made my way out of the barn.

I was feeling a lot better after speaking with everyone. Once Toxic got home, we could finish talking about this and then I could leave all my worries behind. There was never a chance that I wouldn’t be with him over this. Like I told Warrant, I just needed to get my perspective straight. And now it was.

CHAPTER 36

Billie

Daryl and Warrant kept me and Ricochet entertained last night and today with stories of Toxic from when he was younger. I had a lot of ammunition to keep Toxic on his toes and I was looking forward to teasing him. I also just wanted him to be home. I was used to his rough hands chasing me down at night and I missed being orgasmed to sleep.

It was getting close to dinner time, and I was grilling steaks on the porch when Toxic pulled up in one of the trucks he called a cage ride. Shutting the lid to the grill, I ran up to him and tossed myself into his arms.

“Hey,” he said, squeezing me close. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said. “I was just worried.”

He grinned down at me. “No need to be worried, Lightning.”

“Dinner’s almost ready,” I said, stepping back, feeling a bit self-conscious. We were still pretty new and I was still finding my footing around him.

He reached out and yanked me back into his arms. “I’m not done being welcomed home.”

“Oh, really?” I teased.

He lowered his head and kissed me. We were lost in each other, when a voice cut through the dizzying response I had to him and his kisses.

“If those steaks burn ‘cause you’re out here canoodling, I’m going to be pissed. Only thing worse than burnt meat is when it’s overdone,” Daryl muttered, clomping over to the grill and turning the steaks.

“Sorry, Pops,” Toxic chuckled.

They locked gazes. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, it is,” Toxic replied.

“Good.” And with that he went inside and left us to finish what we started.

“Wouldn’t burnt meat be overdone?” I asked.

“Don’t try to understand him. You never will.” Toxic wrapped an arm around me and led me into the house. “Have a seat, I’ll get the steaks.”

“I was making dinner,” I pointed out.

“Wouldn’t let us do it,” Daryl grumbled.

“She’s stubborn,” Toxic told him.

Warrant laughed into his beer while Ricochet stepped out onto the porch to speak with Toxic. By the time Toxic came back in, Ricochet had taken off.

“Wanted to get home to Jordan,” Toxic said by way of explanation.

No one spoke about Phoenix. It wasn’t any of our business, though I was hoping to hear a little about it later. That was one of the things the old ladies had let me know. There was only so much the club would tell us about, or let us be involved in. That was fine by me. I was a rancher, not a biker. And though I knewhow to use a gun, I wasn’t a trained soldier. All I really cared about was that he was safe.

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