Page 191 of Mad Love

“Not your fault,” I mumbled, shaking my head.

Ryan scoffed, clearly not in agreement, but let the comment go as Royal headed up the stairs with Cori.

Bishop yawned and rubbed a hand over his short hair. “Guess this means we’re crashing on the couches?”

Knight smirked. “Beats sand fleas any fuckin’ day.”

“I’ll grab blankets,” Ash muttered.

Linc batted his eyes at Ash. “You can always sleep with me, buddy.”

Ash shoved his shoulder, his green eyes sparkling. “You wish.”

I giggled and pressed my face against Ryan’s neck, feeling him smile at the normalcy of the moment and our friends acting like assholes.

“Okay, we’re going to bed,” Ryan announced, shaking his head and leaving the five of them to sort out their sleeping arrangements. “Everyone get some sleep.”

“We need a bigger house,” I murmured as he carried me up the stairs, barely jostling me.

He snorted. “Or our friends need to get their own.”

I pulled back and looked him in the eye. “Do you really want that?”

“Do I want a house where I can fuck you in every room without worrying about my friends walking in on us?” His brows arched. “Hell yes, baby.”

I rolled my eyes, but he had a point. “Fair. But I know you love them being around.”

He grunted and kicked open the door to his bedroom. After depositing me on the bed, he stepped back. “I’m going to check on Cori, okay?”

I nodded. “I’ll borrow some of your clothes and change.”

He paused in the doorway and smirked at me. “You honestly think you need to bother with clothes?”

I dramatically laid a hand over my chest and gasped. “What kind of girl do you think I am, Ryan Cain?”

His warm chuckle was full of promise. “I think you’re my girl, and that kinda says it all.” He ducked out of the room before I could come up with a retort, but honestly, he was right. I was a thousand percent his girl, and right now, I needed that reminder.

My pulse pounded as I remembered how close I’d come to losing it all today. Swallowing around the panic that threatened to overtake me at the memories, I focused on the fact that I was alive.

I went to the bathroom and hurried through brushing my teeth and a few other things before stripping off my clothes.

Ryan came back as I was finishing shedding the loaned hospital scrubs. “Cori’s sound asleep,” he called, and I heard him moving around the room.

I stared at myself in the mirror, eyeing the new bruises with disgust. They didn’t exactly scream sex kitten who wants to play, but Ryan had already seen them at the hospital. His touch had been featherlight and gentle as he’d helped wash away the night from my skin.

But the last thing I wanted—or needed—right now was gentle.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the bathroom door and watched him.

He’d taken off his shirt and had his back to me, the massive phoenix tattoo rolling and twisting with each movement he made. I studied the orange and red flames, appreciating the artwork and what it stood for. What he and the boys had built was nothing short of incredible, and I knew they were just getting started.

This would be their legacy. And Grandpa’s.

My heart was so full my chest physically ached. “I love you.” I’d never meant those words more than I did at this moment. Those three words seemed so insignificant, but there were none better in the entire world, in any language, to describe what this man meant to me.

Ryan turned, a smile on his face that turned into a grin when he saw I was naked.

“Fuck, baby,” he groaned, the sound rumbling from his chest as his eyes swept the length of me.

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