Page 34 of Toxic

She blinked at me in surprise. She never seemed to know how to handle me. That was good. I needed to keep her on her toes.

I smirked down at her. “Why don’t you go inside and take a shower, cool off? I’ll come in and make you breakfast as soon as I’m done feeding the animals.”

She stared at me like I had a dick growing out of my forehead. “You can’t just dump me in a trough, then make me breakfast,” she insisted.

“Why not?” I asked in a reasonable tone. When she didn’t respond I sighed. “Billie.”

“What,” she asked, her anger starting to fade, replaced by bewilderment.

“Go take a shower. I’ll be in soon.”

“You can’t just-”

“You don’t want me to bring you inside, Woman,” I warned.

She seemed to consider her options. She scowled at me, but turned and stormed toward the house. Every muscle in her body was tense as she went.

“Whew.”

I glanced over at Hush. “She’s got a temper.”

“I see that. You want us startin’ on the barn?”

Turning, I stared at him with suspicion.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re not going to say anything?” I asked.

“‘Bout what?” he asked, trying to look innocent. It only lasted a moment before a grin broke out over his face. “Oh, you mean about the fact that you’ve found your old lady? I’ll just tell Seek. The rest will take care of itself.”

“This is going to be fun to watch,” Smoke said with a chuckle. He hadn’t gotten to meet Billie yet because he and Dani had been staying with Robert at the hospital.

“Shut up, Smoke,” I told him, still staring at Hush.

“You goin’ to deny it?” Hush asked with a smirk.

“No.”

They all hooted with laughter, then groaned when Butcher said, “Pay up, assholes.” Hellfire handed over most of the cash he’d just won. The others dug their wallets out of their pockets.

Hush chuckled. “Welcome to the club, Toxic. There’s goin’ to be times you want to put your head through a wall, but it’s a fun fuckin’ ride.”

“I believe it,” I said, gaze sliding over toward the house. Billie was long gone, having disappeared inside. I left my brothers to get started on setting up the painting supplies while I went to feed the animals.

About thirty minutes later, I walked into the kitchen and found Billie sitting at the table. Her hair was wet, but the scent of her shampoo filled the room. She scowled at me, but didn’t say anything.

“You hungry?” I asked, going to the refrigerator.

“I can make breakfast.”

“No need,” I said, my head inside the fridge. “I’m already getting started.”

“Do you ever do what you’re told?” she asked.

“Rarely,” I replied, setting the food I’d pulled out onto the counter. I was going to need to send someone grocery shopping again soon. Feeding my brothers was a daunting task and the food was dwindling at an astonishing rate. But I wasn’t going to ask them to help me do the painting and not feed them. That was just basic common fucking courtesy. “Usually do exactly what I want.”

“So do I.”

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