I couldn’t recall which one was Savage, but I hadn’t been around the men of the club very much. Only those who had old ladies, which meant Savage was probably single. I narrowed my eyes at Wolf. “Why is she moving in with Savage? And why will they only help if she does?”
“Dammit, Glory. The club doesn’t work the same way as the world out there,” he said, waving a hand in the general direction of town. “Venom needs her protected and tied to a club far enough away from his own that she’ll stay away from temptation. A cop. She’s chasing after a badge, and the VP isn’t pleased. Just stay out of it, please. It’s not our business. It’s between Savage and Mariah. They’ll work it out.”
I backed up, pulling away from him. “It’s not okay, Wolf. If she doesn’t want to be with him and she’s forced to --”
I didn’t get to finish my words before he’d growled and advanced on me, backing me to the counter. Fury lit his eyes and anger rolled off him in waves. All right, so I’d said the wrong thing. My pulse pounded, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Not physically anyway. I had a feeling I was about to receive a verbal lashing, though.
“You think anyone in this club would rape a woman? You think Savage would hold her down and force himself on her?” Wolf snarled. “Is that what you think of me too?”
“What?” My eyes went wide, and I reached for him. “Wolf, no! I didn’t… I don’t know what I meant. It just hit me wrong that she’s being forced to move in with him.”
“He won’t touch her, Glory. Not until she’s ready and wants him to, but she’ll be his either way. It’s what Venom wants. Mariah grew up with the Dixie Reapers. It’s the only life she’s ever known. It won’t come as shock to her when her dad arranges for her to belong to someone else. She had to know it was coming when she defied him and tried to elope with a cop.”
“I’m sorry.” I reached up to cup his cheek. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Wolf, or anyone else. I didn’t understand what you meant. I’m still learning, and I’ll make mistakes along the way.”
He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. “I know. I didn’t mean to scare you or come at you like that. I’m an asshole. You called me Wolf. I hate it when you do that.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Sometimes you can be an asshole, but you’re mine and I’m yours. We’re going to disagree and fight from time to time, Max. And calling you Wolf seemed appropriate at that moment because you weren’t my Max just then. You were every inch the predator.”
“You’re never my prey, Glory. You’re my woman. My wife. My equal.” He kissed me, soft and slow. “I think you’re burning the chili.”
I gasped and faced the stove, hurrying to stir both pots. It looked done so I drained the noodles, then plated them and smothered them with chili. Wolf handed me a bag of shredded cheese to top it with. We’d just started eating when I heard a giggle outside the kitchen window. I glanced that way, wondering if we were about to have company, and nearly choked on my bite of food.
“Um, Max. Is that… Alora?” I asked.
He looked out the kitchen window and started laughing. “Looks like she’s decided to have some fun.”
“There are kids in the compound,” I murmured, watching as she streaked from yard to the next, losing clothes as she went. “Who is that chasing her?”
“That would be Colorado. Good for him.” Wolf went back to eating, ignoring the two as they ran through the compound, now nearly naked, like they hadn’t a care in the world.
“Think they’ll end up together?” I asked.
“I guess it’s possible, but Colorado doesn’t seem ready to settle. And I’m not sure she’s the type who could hold him for long. They’re probably just enjoying each other’s company.”
I couldn’t wrap my mind around being with some random guy like that. She hadn’t met Colorado until today and they were going to sleep together? Being so much younger than my peers all through school, and then being raped, had skewed my view of things. I knew if it weren’t for Wolf, it would still be me and Sienna with no man in our lives. If Alora could be with Colorado for a one-night stand, or short fling, then I envied her. It wasn’t something I could have ever done. I’d told myself it was what I’d settle for with Wolf, but I’d been wrong. If he’d walked away from me, especially after we’d been intimate, it would have shattered me.
Wolf reached over and took my hand. “Hey, she’ll be okay. He won’t hurt her.”
“I know. I was thinking I’d never been like that. So carefree and open. I envy her a bit. Even though I did end up right where I belong.” I smiled at him. “With you.”
“Love you, Glory.”
“I love you too. So much.”
“Our girl is sleeping,” he pointed out. “How about we go wash off the ugliness of the day? I’ll wash your back if you wash mine.”
I set my fork down. “Together? How…”
“There’s a bench in the shower for a reason. I usually hop into the shower, literally, and wash quickly. Sometimes I sit on the bench and let the water soothe any aches when I can’t manage to get in and out of the tub. There’s a prosthetic leg you can wear in the shower. I’ve looked into it, but I haven’t decided to cough up the money for it yet. The one I’d need is around twenty thousand, and since it’s considered non-essential, I’d have to pay out of pocket for it.”
“We’ll start a fund for it,” I said. “Might take a while, but we’ll save the money, Max. If it
