Hope screeches "Ewwww," which makes Wrath laugh even harder.

I plant my hand on my hip. "Was that necessary?"

Here comes the wide-eyed innocent expression he's so good at. "What? I'm trying to be helpful."

"You're just mad anyone suggested you might need help in that department."

He slings his arm over my shoulder and turns me toward my bedroom. "Babe, the only opinion I'm interested in is yours. You think my skills need improving, by all means, let's practice."

"Oh my God," I say through a bunch of giggles and snorts.

When we get to my door, I point at his leg. "You seem to be doing better. How do you feel?"

"Good. That fuckin' doctor better take the cast off this week."

Pushing the door open with his shoulder, he turns and wraps his arms around my waist. "You really want to talk about that now?" he asks while bumping the door shut with his elbow. "Because I want to explore what kind of sex toys you've got."

He opens up my nightstand drawer and starts digging through it. I'm both baffled and amused as I sit on the bed and watch. When his search of the top drawer yields nothing, he opens the second drawer.

"I can stop you right now. You won't find any."

The disappointment on his face makes me chuckle. "Why not?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

He narrows his eyes. "Probably not, but tell me anyway."

I shrug and look away. "No need for them." Does he want me to explain that for years I've had a house full of guys ready and willing to get me off whenever I asked?

No he doesn't. "Well, I'll have to order you a nice big box of toys to stash under the bed." He pretends to think something over and taps his chin. "A paddle too. For when my hand gets tired."

My fist lands on his side and he pretends to be injured. "Jerk," I grumble.

His mouth turns up in a wicked grin. "Yeah, baby. But I'm your jerk."

I'm disturbed from waking Trinity up the way I wanted by my phone going off much too early. Recognizing the number, I sit up and answer.

"Motherfucker!" the president of our downstate charter shouts into the phone.

"'Sup, Sway?" Next to me, Trin stirs, then buries her head under the pillow. Like the happy perv I am, I lift the sheet and run my hand over her naked ass. Fuckin' love waking up next to her.

"Can't get hold of your prez. He knee deep in stripper-pussy?"

"No, man. He was out celebrating his engagement last night."

"What the ever-loving fuck? Didn't he learn anything-"

I cut that off quick. "She's nothing like Carla. Trust me. What'd you need him for?"

"Need some of your boys to come down and pay a visit. He can bring his ol' lady if he wants. I'm sure Tawny would like to check her out." My eyes roll at that. Sway's ol' lady is the Queen Bitch. Poor Hope might not survive a visit down there.

"Yeah, okay. When were you thinking?"

"Next weekend. Definitely. I'm thinking of looking into National and maybe Rock wants to back me up."

I highly doubt that, but I promise to have Rock get in touch and hang up.

"Ugh, was that Sway?"

I'm instantly irritated, wondering why Trinity's asking. "Yeah, why?"

She rolls over, tossing her pillow aside. "Nothing. He coming here?"

"No. Needs Rock and some of the others to pay a visit."

She relaxes back against the bed. "Good."

"Why?"

She sighs and glances at me. "Nothing, he's justhandsy."

"You fuck him?" Shit it's way too early to be having this argumentagain.

She snaps into a sitting position. "No. Not for lack of trying on his part. Something 'bout fucking a dude with his ol' lady nearby never sat well with me. Even I have standards." With that, she stands up, jumps off the end of the bed, and pads into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut?

She emerges from the bathroom fully dressed, but no less annoyed. "Anyway. Tawny assumes we've fucked, so she's got no love for my slutty ass. Thank fuck they're not coming here. She'd eat Hope alive."

At breakfast, Rock presses Trinity for information about her night out with Hope. I'd like to discuss business sometime today. "Downstate called. Sway wants you to come pay a visit."

That gets Rock's attention. "Fuck. What for?"

"He said ol' ladies were invited. It's not a bad idea for you to bring Hope. Have her meet Tawny"

"What's this, your last-ditch effort to scare Hope away?" he asks.

Yeah, he would think that, wouldn't he? But honestly, it's not a bad idea for Hope to meet a typical ol' lady. See the kind of women she'll be expected to interact with if she's gonna stick by prez. Yeah, Trin's gonna be my ol' lady soon-whether she likes it or not-but she's not exactly typical.

"Yeah, man. If Tawny don't scare your girl away, nothing will."

"Don't subject Hope to that bitch on wheels," Z pleads with a headshake.

"What exactly did he want?" Rock asks.

No point sugar-coatin' it. He's gonna be pissed one way or another. "Something about national."

Obviously deciding I can't go, he turns to Z. "I'd rather not," Z answers.

"Take Murphy and Axel," I suggest. Make those two fuckers work together. Murphy's gonna need to drop his bullshit soon, and we might as well see if Axel can handle the club or not.

Rock stares at me like I'm nuts. "Really, Axel? He's a fuckin' kid. Barely been wearing that prospect rocker a month. Bad enough we broke the rule about allowing him up here before his year was up."

I notice he doesn't even bother mentioning the bad blood brewing between Murphy and Axel. Especially after Heidi's birthday party. "It'll do Murph some good. Keep his cocky Irish ass in check. Plus, might as well see if Axel can hang now rather than later."

"That's fine. Hope likes both of them, and I know they'll look out for her."

Dick. Like I wouldn't look out for her?

"Prez, I'll go if you're worried about Hope," Z offers.

Rock waves a hand in the air. "Nah, it'll be fine."

Just picturing Cinderella's face when she steps into Sway's compound is enough to make me laugh. "Man, she thinks this place is the gateway to hell. Wait 'til she sees Sway's setup."

Before Hope leaves for this trip downstate, I feel obligated to warn her about what she'll encounter. So when she asks me to come upstairs and help her pack, I'm more than happy to say yes.

The way she plows through her closet amuses me. She must drive Rock nuts with her messiness.

More clothes go sailing out of the closet, landing on the floor and I cover my mouth.

"Have you been there?" she shouts from the depths.

"Long time ago."

"I suppose it will be a bunch of half-naked chicks running around?"

I snicker at that. At least she's prepared. "Pretty much."

She steps out of the closet and gives me an uncertain look. "How many of them are going to tell me they fucked my fiance?"

I feel bad laughing, but thinking of any of the girls down there giving lip like that, is funny. Tawny would yank their hair out by the roots. "None of them, if they want to keep breathing. Sway's ol' lady runs a tight ship. None of those bitches should backtalk you."

My comments don't seem to reassure her all that much. "I wish you guys were coming. Well, I wish you were coming with us."

No thanks. But I laugh anyway. They're only going for the weekend, but it seems longer for some reason. "Hopefully, Wyatt's cast comes off next week."

"That's good. Maybe he'll be less cranky." I know Hope's kidding but it just reminds me that he's going to want to go public soon.

She senses the change in my mood immediately. "What's wrong, Trinity?"

Next thing I know she's sitting next to me. Damn, I'm a mess. "Nothing. I don't know. I'm not sure what happens next." Should I tell Hope and see what her reaction is? "He wants Never mind. It's stupid."

Time to shake myself out of my pity party. "You're going to have enough to worry about this weekend. Make sure you call or text me if anything comes up. Even if it's some stupid club question that Rock's not around to answer."

"Why wouldn't he be around?"

Oh, Hope. Still so much to learn. "I guarantee you this visit is more than a social call, Hope. Don't be surprised or hurt if you end up spending most of the trip hanging out with Tawny."

"Okay."

This is what I came for. To warn her about what she's facing this weekend. Not to dump my stupid problems on her.

Z ends up joining the guys for the trip to Sway's place. With most of the guys gone, Wrath and I sort of have the clubhouse to ourselves. It's nice in a weird way.

"How would you feel about building our own house?" Wrath asks me after dinner Saturday night.

"What? Where?"

He jerks his head to the side. "On the property. Rock's got a space measured out for the house he wants to build for Hope."

"You're not happy here?"

"It's fine for now." His hand closes over mine. "But eventually it might be nice."

A house? With Wrath. Wow.

We're interrupted by his cell phone. "Shit. The alarm at the gym's going off."

"Do you need to go down there?"

"Let me call Jake."

When he reaches Jake, he says it was a false alarm. Wrath's still twitchy after they hang up. "You want to run down anyway and see for yourself?" I ask.

"Do you mind?"

"Of course not."

The parking lot's empty when we get there. Wrath runs his flashlight over the door before we go inside. "Wait in my office for me, babe." His tone puts me on edge, but I don't question him.

After fifteen minutes, he opens the door and hobbles in. "Shoulda brought my crutches-"

While he was gone, I used my time to strip down to my underwear, and perch myself on his desk.

"Whatchya doin', Angel Face?"

For a second I hesitate. Maybe this was a bad idea. But the ravenous gleam in his eyes extinguishes any doubts. I lean back, thrusting my chest out, enjoying the way his eyes widen. "I realized, in all the time we spent here, we never re-baptized your desk."

"That's just wrong." The door closes with a soft click and he flips the lock.

I slide down, bare feet touching the carpet, turn and lean over the desk, bracing myself on my arms. My hips sway from side to side and Wyatt runs his hand over his chin. "I like you like this. Tell me what you want," he says as he moves behind me.

"I want you to fuck me over your desk, Wyatt. Then I want to go home with you, like we should have done last time." I close my eyes, waiting for the rejection. Waiting to see what he does next. Why'd I say that and bring up all our fucked-up past when everything has been so nice between us?

Feather-light, his fingers trail down my back, unhooking my bra so I can slip it off. He continues his journey, big hands skimming down smoothing the thin fabric of my underwear over my ass. I ease back, bumping into him and he groans. His hand slips under the elastic. "When did you come up with this plan?"

My shoulders automatically jerk. "While I was waiting for you."