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“They know you’re just trying to protect this club and this town. They respect that. You’re a good president, Havoc.”

“You think so, huh?”

I close my eyes and smile. “What color are my eyes?” I feel the brothers around us go still as Powers’s warm hand slides from my hip to the small of my back.

“Green, why?”

I open them and feel eyes on me as I answer. “You never slept with me, never stared into my eyes for longer than it took for us to have a brief conversation.”

He folds his arms and frowns. “What’s your point?”

“Lil’s eyes were blue,” I say softly, but those around me heard me, judging from the surprised grunts. “The signs were there, but nobody saw them. Not even Blade. I was only able to hide who I wasn’t because nobody cared who I was.”

I let Powers guide me away. As much as I’d like to join the old ladies, I don’t have it in me anymore. I need to sleep this day away and fortify my walls. I hate feeling weak and vulnerable.

“Home?”

I nod. “I need Lucy snuggles.”

“Just Lucy?” he whispers into my ear.

“No, not just Lucy. I need you to.”

“You have me.”

“When do you have to go back to work?”

“Tomorrow, but you can come with me if you want.”

I make a face. “Can’t say the pawn shop is my favorite place to be.”

He stops walking and looks at me. “I see there is a lot I still need to fill you in on.”

“Oh god, should I be worried?”

“No, not about this.” He starts telling me how Midas gave Au to Delphi after Kiki set her business on fire. It’s now a bookstore-come-café.

My mouth must be permanently stuck open from shock. “Holy crap. You guys have lived a dozen lifetimes since I’ve been gone.”

“And gained a dozen gray hairs, trust me.”

“That’s okay, I think men with gray hair look sexy and distinguished.”

“Distinguished, huh?”

“Oh yeah.”

He opens the door to his apartment, nudges me inside, and closes it. Before I can say hi to Lucy, who lifts her head at our entry, he spins me around and presses me to the door and slams his mouth down over mine.

I’m so surprised by his actions, it takes my brain a second to catch up. But when I do, I climb him like a fucking monkey, attacking him with just as much fury as he is me.

After months of being numb to everything, it’s amazing to feel so alive. I want to sink into it and soak it all in. Powers is clearly of the same mind. He slides his hands under my ass, taking my weight as I wrap my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck.

He carries me back to his room, his lips never leaving mine until he lowers me to the bed and takes a step back. “You want me to stop at any time, you tell me, and I stop. There is no fucking gray area, you hear me? You are not a club girl anymore. You’re mine. But even if you were a club girl, I would never take you if you didn’t want me. That’s not who I am.”

“I know, Powers. I’m not scared or nervous. Okay, maybe a little nervous. But mostly because I’ve been thinking about this, about you, for a long time.”

“Oh yeah?”