Page 115 of Wade’s Wrath

“You could come back to my house,” he offered.

She looked over at him. “What?”

“You could come to my house,” he said again. Her heart hammered in her chest, and Ripper's jaw tightened. “But I'm not suggesting it.”

That confused her. “Why not?”

“Because you barely know me,” he said.

“I know you,” she insisted.

“You know my name,” he countered.

“I know more than that,” she assured. He looked at her, and Sarah continued before she lost her nerve. “I know you put your gun down back at the warehouse because I was scared,” Ripper said nothing. “I know you ask before touching me.” His hand tightened around the steering wheel. “I know you came to the hospital every day even though you pretended it was nothing.”

His eyes narrowed. “I didn't pretend.”

“You absolutely did,” she challenged. “And I know you bought four different breakfasts because you were trying to figure out which one I’d like.”

“Coffee doesn't count,” he insisted.

“It counts,” she said. His mouth twitched, and Sarah's chest loosened a little. “I know you're dangerous.”

His smile disappeared. “Yeah, I am.”

“And I know I should probably care more about that than I do,” she breathed.

Ripper looked at her for a long moment. “That's something you should probably work on,” he teased. “The problem with my place is that I only have one bedroom, and one bed. I could take the sofa, though,” he offered. The last thing she wanted was for him to sleep on his sofa because she was too scared to take the room that the Savage Bastards had offered her. She couldn’t do that to Ripper after all the kindness he had shown her.

She looked at the clubhouse again. “I think I can do this.” She didn’t want to push him about staying at his place. The last thing Sarah wanted to be was a burden.

“You don't have to prove shit,” he growled.

“I know.” That was why she could do it. Sarah reached for the door handle, and Ripper climbed out. By the time she slid down from the truck, he was standing nearby. Not touching her, just there.

The clubhouse door opened, and a woman stepped outside—Harlow. Sarah's breath caught as Harlow smiled at her. Not the huge emotional smile everyone had been giving Sarah lately, but a normal one.

“Hey,” Harlow said.

Sarah smiled back. “Hey.”

Princess came out behind her. “Butcher's inside pretending he isn't worried about whether you like the room or not.”

Ripper snorted. “Bullshit.”

Princess grinned. “He changed the sheets twice.” Sarah laughed. Then three men stepped through the doorway behind them, and her body went rigid.

Ripper moved, not in front of her, but beside her. He was standing so close that she could feel the heat of his body, and it somehow comforted her.

“Brothers,” he said quietly.

Sarah stared as one of the men lifted his hands. “I'm Grimm.”

Another nodded. “Draven.”

The third smiled. “Lynch.”

“I’m Mitch. I made you the cheeseburgers that Harlow brought over. Sarah remembered Harlow telling her all about Mitch from Wade's bar. He worked in the kitchen and made a mean cheeseburger.