Page 30

Dylan looked so delighted that my heart climbed into my throat. I hadn’t seen him look this happy in… years, maybe. He deserved to be this happy all the time. I just wished it was easier—easier for both of us.

“Great,” Stephan said as he stood.

“You’re leaving?” Dylan said with a pout. “Already?”

“Yeah, I should get out of your hair,” Stephan said with an easy smile. He crouched down so he was at Dylan’s eye level and tousled his hair. “But don’t you worry, we’ll be hanging out all day tomorrow. Make sure you get some good sleep tonight.”

Dylan nodded. He was still pouting, disappointed that Stephan was leaving, but seemed to understand. “Okay, I will.”

I stood up and walked Stephan to the door. At the threshold, he paused and turned to face me. We were standing so close together—close enough that I had to tilt my face up to meet his eyes. The air seemed to crackle between us. My fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and touch him. This close, I thought I could even smell the familiar scent of his skin—a little bit of leather, a little bit of smoke. My heart beat so fast, it was like I’d run a marathon.

Stephan’s gaze caught mine, and his hazel eyes flashed gold. The sight was like something from a memory, or a dream.

A glimpse of his dragon, up close.

“You know how to handle a gun?” Stephan asked. “Self-defense?”

“Of course I do,” I said. “I live in Atlanta.”

“Good,” Stephen said with an approving nod. “Keep an eye on Liz’s choice ofpartners, okay? And if you need another place to stay, just ask.”

“We’ll be okay,” I said. The thought of waking up in Stephan’s general vicinity made something dangerously close to desire course through me. Distance was necessary if I was going to get through this unscathed. “Thank you, though. And we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stephan glanced over at Mom in the kitchen and frowned slightly. But then he nodded at me and slipped out the door.

Mom grabbed her coffee mug and marched back into the living room. She paused to ruffle Dylan’s hair, where he had crawled onto the couch and flopped down, then came to stand next to me by the window. We watched as Ace’s old Cadillac pulled out of the gravel driveway.

“Harley, how in God’s namedid you end up withAceof all people?”

I turned toward the couch, where Dylan was stretched out, already moments away from snoozing again. “I don’t know,” I murmured. “I guess it was fate.”

8

ACE

Ihardly slept that night. I tossed and turned, worrying about Dylan and his approaching shift. When I did manage to drift off, I dreamed of Harley.

At least I was in my own bed this time. As the clan alpha, I was the sole permanent resident of the alpha house, nestled on the west side of the lake. It was too much space for me, but typically, the alpha had a family to support. The house was a three-story cabin with enormous glass windows that faced the lake, so the entire home flooded with sunlight in the morning. The bottom level was an open-floor plan with a large back deck and a wooden walkway that led out to the lake. The renovated kitchen opened to the living room, with its enormous plus sectional, and a dining room table near the windows. If the clubhouse was where the clan hung out, my home was where we had our serious, private meetings.

I stayed on the second floor in the biggest bedroom with the best en suite bathroom. There were four bedrooms on both the second and third floor. I used one downstairs as an office, and another upstairs as storage. The remaining rooms were open to clan members who needed a place to crash, either because theydrank too much at a meeting or pissed off their mates, which was much more likely. That was going to change a bit, though. The clan members would only have two rooms on the third floor to crash in now. Hawk and I had spent most of yesterday afternoon cleaning up the two open rooms on the second floor.

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, squinting against the bright morning sun. I put the coffee on, then checked my phone. I saw Hawk’s text right before I heard his car pull up.

“Hey, Ace!” Hawk called as he barged into the house with Bella on his hip. Mia followed after him with a brown bag of groceries. They must have come from the farmer’s market. Bella did love looking at all the fresh vegetables. “You didn’t tell me yesterday that you banned Blakely. I had to hear it from Striker. How’d she take it?”

“Ah, sorry, I was too caught up in the work, I guess. She took it about as good as she could’ve,” I said. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Does that mean Harley will be sticking around?” Hawk set Bella down. She started chattering to herself, then toddled into the kitchen with her arms outstretched.

“I don’t know. We’re just trying to get through Dylan’s first shift. Hey, Bella-boo,” I said as I swept my niece into my arms. She laughed in delight, then tugged at my beard—her latest obsession.

“It’s nice that Bella gets to spend some time with her older cousin, though,” Mia said as she began to unpack the vegetables. “Hawk’s always wanted a big family.”

“I’ve always wanted whatever family I have with you, Mia,” Hawk said immediately.

Mia smirked and shot him a knowing look.

Hawk sighed. “Okay, yeah, I thought a big family would be nice. I’m excited to be an uncle, what can I say?” The coffeemaker chimed, and Hawk dutifully pulled out three mugs. “I wish Sean was here, too. To meet Dylan.”