Page 103 of Pope's Penance

Her fingers hit a knot right at the back of my neck and I swear it’s almost as pleasurable as fucking her is.

Almost.

Nothing will ever truly compare to that.

Fucking ambrosia.That’s what her pussy is.

Dammit.Now my dick is hard again.

“Something’s on your mind,” I state.

“Yeah,” she sighs, “I’m trying to figure out how to bring it up without accusing anyone.It’s too worrisome for me not to say anything, though.”

I spin my chair around to face her, grasping her hip when she stumbles back at the sudden move.“Tell me.”

Birdie shakes her head with another heavy sigh.“I’m probably just being paranoid.”

“Birdie.”

“There are eyes on me,” she blurts.

My back goes rigid.“What?”

“I didn’t start noticing it much until all of that went down with Spunky, but ever since then, it feels like someone is watching me.”

“Why are you just now telling me?”I ask with a growl.

She shoots me an incredulous look.“Do you know how hard it’s been to trust you?To trust anyone here?I chalked it up to residual feelings from the past.That maybe I was just being paranoid because I’m still not completely over what happened.Not with you all, and not with Frankie.There’s so much shit I’ve been trying to deal with on my own that sometimes I feel as if I’m never going to be healed.”

“What can I do to help?”I ask.

“You can try to figure out if it’s just in my head or not.When you had that confrontation with Spunky, I swear she was going to tell you who that male voice was.I swear it, Pope.Her eyes bounced all around the room like she was searching for someone.Then there was a moment that it seemed like she found whoever she was looking for, but then she never said anything.She was scared, Pope.I tried to see if I could figure out who she was watching, but no one stood out.Nobody was acting guilty or looked suspicious.”

“How did I not see all of this?”I mutter.

“It was easy for me because I didn’t really trust anyone at that point.”

“Dammit.All right.”My brain struggles to accept that someone I trust could have nefarious purposes.“We have cameras in the common room, but if they’re one of us, then they already know that.I’ll have Cypher see if he can get some hidden in a few places without anyone’s knowledge.”

Birdie leans down and kisses me.

She licks across the seam of my lips, and I open, letting her tangle our tongues together.It’s short, full of heat, and packs a goddamn punch.

“What was that for?”I ask breathlessly when she pulls away.

She runs her fingers through my beard.“Because you’re trusting me with something important.”

“I’m trying to do better, little mama.”

“I know you are.Love you, you big beast.”

“Never going to get overhearing you say that again,” I admit quietly.

We spend the next few minutes just being with each other.Something we have rarely gotten since she’s been back home.We usually spend our time with the kids or the club, sneaking in brief moments when possible.Those are fucking amazing, but these rare moments ...these are the ones I crave.

“All right, little mama.Got to prepare.Asses to kick, names to take.All that fuckery.”

Birdie’s fingers tighten in my beard as she yanks on it.“You better stay safe and come back to us.”

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