Page 34 of Savage Bond

There’s a knock on the door and I swear all of the blood drains from my face. This is it. I'm about to give Porter a reason to kill me.

“Babe, get it together. He loves you like a son. He’s not going to be upset.” Roxy presses a quick kiss to my cheek before she jumps off the couch and opens the door.

Porter’s eyes widen when they land on his daughter and a tentative smile spreads across his face. The man loves his daughters more than anything in this world… which is why he might hate me.

“Hey, sweetheart. I didn’t know you’d be here.” He wraps Roxy in a hug and doesn’t let go for a few moments.

When he pulls back, he’s searching her face. Trying to figure out why she’s in my apartment. Why she’s here when I asked if I could talk to him.

“Is everything ok, Roxy? Was there an issue at the bar?”

“Nope! Everything is fine.”

She spins around, giving Porter her back, and returns to the couch. Porter follows slowly. This time his attention is on me.

“Ok… Chopper, you wanted to talk?” He slowly lowers himself into the chair across from me and settles back into the cushion. He never takes his gaze off of me.

“Yeah… I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.” I fidget under his gaze, wishing this were easier.

“Should Roxy leave for this?” He arches a brow. He’s asking if this is club business or not.

“Nah, she’s fine… This has to do with her anyway.”

“Son, stop fidgeting and spit it out. I'm getting a little impatient now that I know this has something to do with my daughter.” Porter’s tone leaves no room for argument. He won't put up with me for much longer.

I lean forwards and rest my elbows on my knees. I make eye contact with him and no matter how much I want to sever the connection, I won't do that. I respect him too much for that.

“I’m in love with Roxy.”

“Ok? Is that all? You’ve been in love with her forever. What’s changed?”

“Dad!” Roxy scolds him.

“What? Am I wrong?” He throws his arms up in the air like he doesn’t understand why she’s annoyed. “Something had to have changed, or he wouldn’t have asked to talk to me.”

“She loves me too, Porter. We want to date,” I say calmly and firmly.

“I see.” He mirrors my position, placing his elbows on his knees.

He looks every bit the terrifying president of the Savage Wolves right now. I finally understand why so many men don’t want to cross Porter Reeves. I’ve never been on this side, but I get it now.

“What did I tell you when you wanted to patch, Chopper?” He asks slowly.

“You made sure I realized Roxy was off limits.” I swallow hard, staring right back at him.

“I said all of the triplets were off limits,” he corrects.

“We both know you were only talking about Roxy. Oakley and Dixie will always be like little sisters to me, Roxy’s always been more.”

“You said you’d keep your feelings and your hands to yourself. Are you telling me you didn’t keep your word?”

“Dad!” Roxy bolts off of the couch. I grab her wrist and when her eyes meet mine, I shake my head. Her going off on Porter isn’t going to help things. It will only make it worse. “But-”

“We’re not handling this by flipping out, babe. You need to stay calm, or you have to leave,” I say softly. Tugging on her hand, I gently encourage her to sit back down.

“Chopper,” she whimpers, tears filling her eyes. She thinks I'm giving up. She thinks I won't fight for her, but she couldn’t be more wrong.

“Everything will be ok.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her close to me. I press a soft kiss to her temple.