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He stares at me blankly. “She’s in the shower… crying. I didn’t know what to say so I walked out of the room.” He sighs, his eyebrows rising in disbelief. “I’m thinking I should go talk to her.”
“Yes, you should.” Ricky nudges. “You don’t want her to think you’re mad. She already thinks you don’t want to marry her.”
“I do want to marry her.” He grunts, lifting himself up from the chair.
Shade leaves and Ricky sits next to me. He’s got that look in his eyes. The one he got when I was eighteen and I told him I might not graduate because I rode my dirt bike into the principal’s office after he gave me detention for fucking the librarian, who also may, or may not have been, his daughter.
“I need to talk to you about Baja,” he finally says.
“Yeah?”
“Rod Mullin is working with SCORE International this year.”
Fuck. SCORE International is the governing sanction that puts on the Baja 1000 race. Rod Mullin is pretty much Tiller’s worst enemy. He’s also the president of FIM who governs the freestyle world. As you can imagine, Tiller has pretty much pissed everyone in that industry off. I’d love to go as far as to say it’s warranted, but in Tiller’s case, it’s not completely justified. They want the gnarly side of Tiller but when he reacts and gives it to them, they protest it and fine him.
Running my hand through my hair, I stare at the pool and the way it’s reflecting the lights of the house. “And he knows Tiller’s on the Honda team?”
“He does,” Ricky says. “I’m just warning you now, it could mean problems for our team.”
“I knew entering Baja wouldn’t necessarily mean a win,” I tell Ricky. “Tiller and Shade, they rarely do motocross anymore and racing in the desert is a completely different beast altogether.”
“So why do you want to race it?”
I think about it. Why did I? What was I trying to prove?
“I think it’s more about me wanting to race it with my brothers than anything. I don’t care if we win or finish dead last.”
He nods, standing up. “That’s all I needed to know.”
Back inside the house, Camden’s on the couch playing video games with River. Berlin’s coloring the floor with what looks to be a Sharpie marker and Willa is watching. She stares down at her child and sighs. “Damn it.”
Laughing, I sneak past her. “At least she’s dry.”
Upstairs, I find Ophelia in my room.
“Where’d you go?” I ask, closing the door behind me.
She turns toward me. “To check on Scarlet, but Shade’s with her now.”
“Are they okay?” I lock the door, stepping toward her. “He looked pretty freaked out.”
“I think so.” She takes another step, her long black hair draped over her shoulder. She smiles seductively. I smile too. I inhale sharply. She looks playful. Fun. Sexy and looking for me to fuck her for sure. “Now, how about we practice making babies?”
I peer down at her tits on full display. “I might make you move in with me first.”
Rolling her eyes, her hands sweep over my shoulders and into my hair. “I already work for you.” Her face glitters with emotion and if I had to guess, it’s good emotions. “What more do you want from me?”
She took the job. Relief washes through me. I thought for sure she wouldn’t accept it. “I want everything from you.” My mouth dips to hers. I kiss her hard, my tongue slides into her mouth. Then I lean back. “I want a life with you. Marriage, babies, fighting.” Lifting her up, I place her on my bed and then cover her body with mine. “I want it all.”
Giggling, she looks at me, her eyes searching for truth. I don’t give her a reason to doubt my intentions. “I’m not moving in with you.”
“If you say so.”
By the way, she’s completely wrong.
“I love you,” Ophelia whispers in my ear, her head resting against my shoulder.
I wrap my arm tighter around her shoulders, holding her against my chest. With her back to me, I listen to her breathing, her gentle sigh, and the way her body melts into mine when my hand that’s on her thigh moves higher. “Move in with me then.” I motion around the kitchen. “And you too can experience this madness every morning.”