Page 46 of Tico

TERRITORY:You are to respect your brother’s property and follow their Chapter’s club rules.

TRUST:Years to earn it… seconds to lose it.

NEVER RIDE OFF:Brothers do not abandon their family.

My gaze locks on two words and I hesitate.

“You are my woman, Vicious, but if you recall what I said yesterday, I want you as my Ol’ Lady when you’re ready,” Tico whispers in my ear, and I realize he must have noticed where I was looking.

And which words had made me pause.

Something shifts in my chest at his words. I know some people might say we’re moving too fast, but this just feels right to me. I glance over at Pyper, smiling when I see her fully relaxed next to Rochelle as they talk. Even Rochelle seems a bit more relaxed than usual. Though, not fully since she still glances around cautiously at all the guys who could easily overpower her, but I know they never would. It will take time for her to realize these guys would never hurt her. My chest warms as I come to my decision.

I look back up at Tico. “Yes.”

Chapter 24

Ember

Ticofreezes,hismusclestense against me, and I can feel a slight tremor move through him.

“Say it again,” he replies, his voice gruff with restraint and emotion.

His chocolate brown eyes are darker than normal with desire and my core pulses as heat moves through me.

“Yes, I’ll be your Ol’ Lady.”

A second later, his lips crash down on mine as cheers go up around us. The kiss is raw, passionate, and hungry. He pulls me tight against him and my core throbs when I feel him hard against me. I moan in response but his kiss swallows it. When we pull apart, we’re both breathing heavily and someone nearby clears their throat.

Heat rises up my neck as I try furiously not to blush, but I’m pretty sure I fail when I see Daemon smirking at me. Thankfully, neither Sofia nor Xochitl seem upset with our little make out session. Daemon wiggles his phone and I remember we were talking about Sunny a moment ago.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly.

“I want to talk to her, to gauge how she took the information I revealed last night. If she’s still confrontational or tries to claim you again, then we’ll take it to the mats where I’ll pound the truth into her. If she still won’t stop, then she’s gone. I refuse to let her disrespect me and therefore, disrespect you, Tico.”

Pride shines through his eyes and he gives me another quick kiss. Sofia, Xochitl, and Poison also give me looks of approval. A little tension bleeds out of me at that.

“Alright. Daemon, tell the Prospect to inform Sunny that we’ll talk to her in a few hours. We have something else to deal with first.”

Xochitl grins at me. “Congratulations and welcome to our crazy assed family.”

“Thank you,” I say as I try not to laugh at her description of her family.

Then Sofia’s hugging me as she whispers her own welcome in my ear that has me fighting back tears.

“You might want to change before we head outside, though,” Poison tells me and I grimace when I look down at my t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops.

“I was waiting to change because of the friction burn on my leg. Just in case it was vetoed.” I pause, leaning up to kiss Tico’s cheek. “I’ll go wrap it and change. Be back in a few minutes.”

I quickly climb the stairs and then unlock Tico’s, I mean our, room. That’s going to take a bit to get used to. Along with a few other things. I strip out of my shorts and t-shirt before digging in my duffle bag for my med kit. I wrap my leg and then quickly change into a pair of black jeans and a fitted black t-shirt before slipping on my boots. For my hair, I had already braided it this morning out of habit, but now, I wind it into a bun at the base of my head and secure it.

With a final look in the mirror, I lock back up and head downstairs but pull up short when I see both Pyper and Rochelle waiting for me at the base of the stairs.

Pyper squeals and hugs me hard. I have to bite my cheek hard to keep in my groan of pain.

“I knew you were going to say yes!”

I laugh, trying not to let the pain bleed into it, but Rochelle sees it over Pyper’s head. Thankfully she doesn’t say anything about it—I don’t want Pyper feeling guilty for hurting me. Rochelle steps forward as Pyper steps aside.