Page 67 of Lulu

He arched a skeptical brow, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. “I’ll stay here, but I’m not giving up my job at the clinic.”

I could see that he wanted to argue with me, but he was also weighing my words. I knew that if it came right down to it, I would do whatever he wanted to keep me safe, but I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. I hoped that he appreciated the fact that I was willing to compromise, because I’d made myself a promise when I’d left the Desert Rebels that I would be in control of my life.

I also recognized the fact that when you shared your life with someone you had to take their feelings into consideration, too. It was only fair. “What do you say, baby?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. “You don’t play fair,baby. You know that gets to me.” His eyes opened again, hard with determination. “I’m not sure I want to compromise your safety.”

“This man isn’t after me,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, but he could use you to get to me,” he pointed out. “You’re the weak link.”

I sighed and laid my cheek against his chest. I didn’t want to be the weak link. I knew what that could mean to Brody’s safety. As the expression went, we were in the same boat. Both worried about the danger we could be facing.

“This sucks!” I said, laying my cheek against his chest.

He snorted. His hands smoothed up and down my backside, and I knew the instant his soothing touch became something more, a deeper caress meant to excite. His large palms slid over the curve of my ass and cupped the flesh. I moaned softly, feeling his cock harden beneath me.

“It’ll be over soon.”

I didn’t question his confidence. I was sure that he knew more about what was going on than he was willing to share.

“You want to go back downstairs?” he asked.

“I think most of the old ladies are gone by now. But if I’m staying here, I need to go home to pack a few things and get Buttercup.” Even though Brody was hard, I had the feeling that he was content just to hold me. His big body was like a furnace beneath mine, yet I shivered at the feel of his hands on me.

“I’ll see if I can get a vehicle to use.”

Neither one of us moved. “This is comfortable,” I murmured after a while. I lifted my head to look up at him again. “I like your hands on me.”

His cock throbbed strongly against me, and with a grunt he rolled us over. “Good. Get used to it.” With that, he covered my mouth and gave me a brief, hard kiss, and then he surprised me by lifting off me. “Get dressed so we can go get Buttercup.”

“No shower first?”

When Brody turned sideways, I took in the spectacular view of his fully erect cock. It was fascinating to watch the length and girth that jutted out from his body bob heavily as he moved. It was hard not to run my eyes over his strong, impressive form. He made my mouth water with want, even though I should have been more than sated from the hours we’d already spent in bed. I was happy over our new relationship, and if I were honest, a little scared.

“We can get one when we get back.”

He snatched up his pants and as he slipped a leg into them, he turned his head to catch me ogling him. A knowing smirk spread across his mouth.

“Be careful you don’t zip that monster up in your pants,” I joked. With a sigh, I left the bed to find my clothes.

His laughter filled the room. “I’m more worried about the way you’re eyeing it than my zipper, Hellcat.”

I pulled my skirt up. “Just take care of it, it’s one of my favorite body parts of yours.” I reached for my blouse, watching as he carefully tucked his cock into his pants and pulled his zipper over it.

He paused a moment, frowning.

“What?”

“Shh!”

After a minute I heard it, too, a commotion coming from downstairs. It sounded as if a fight had broken out. Brody quickly pulled his shirt down over his head and slipped into his boots. A shot rang out, screams following. Brody rushed to the door.

“Stay here!”

I didn’t argue with him, but I did finish dressing in a hurry. Fights always broke out on open night, but I couldn’t recall the last time I’d heard a gun go off. I slipped out the door. The hallway was empty, but I could hear the ruckus out in the bar. The voices of angry men. Furniture being shoved across the floor. But at least no more shooting. Ignoring Brody’s last words to me, I decided to walk to the end of the hallway.

My eyes lit on Brody right away. He was standing just a little way off from me, observing the scene playing out, and from the tense way he held himself I knew he was ready to jump in and help if necessary. It was early morning, so most of the men with old ladies had already gone. Frenchie was sitting on a chair clutching his arm, and I could see the blood seeping through his fingers. His old lady, Lissa, was fussing over him with tears running down her face.