Page 103 of Loving Wild

“I want you to always feel it,” I tell her. “To always know it. Even when I fuck up like I did last Sunday, I want you to know.”

She lets out a long sigh.

“Can we get out of this laundry? I seriously need a shower, I smell of alcohol, cunthole, and sex.”

“Absolutely.”

I take her hand, kiss the back of it, and head to the stairs and my waiting family.

* * *

Just as wepass the front door, Zac and Sam fall through it. The four of us pause and take each other in. Both Zac and Sam have lipstick smeared all over their faces, Sam’s top is on back to front and inside out, Zac is mid-way through zipping up his jeans. My brother raises and lowers his brows a couple of times, a smirk spreading across his lips.

“We good?” Zac asks.

“We good,” I reply before pulling Lauren up the stairs behind me.

“You might wanna turn your top in and around the right way before you come up here, Sammi,” Lauren calls out.

“Cheers, Ren, I’ll get right on that,” Sam replies.

“Shit, baby, you’re a fucking mess. Let’s sort your face out,” I hear Zac whisper shout from the bottom of the stairs.

When we hit the top, Jess and Coop are spread out on my sofa, Jess laying between Coop’s long legs, her back to his chest, his back to the corner. They’re both sipping from coffee mugs.

“Where’s Dani?” Lauren asks.

“Using your shower,” Jess replies.

“I’m gonna go shower too,” Lauren says before standing on her toes and kissing my cheek.

“Can I come watch?” Zac calls from behind me.

“You want me to knock you the fuck out?” I respond without looking over my shoulder at him, my eyes instead on Lauren’s arse as she moves towards our bedroom.

“Try it. I’m not scared of you. You’re girlfriend, though? Fuck me, she’s scary. I wouldnotlike to ever fight her.”

Zac and Sam—now with clean faces and straightened clothing—move to the kitchen and start making coffees.

“Did you see her go? That was fucking funny.” Cooper chuckles over his mug. I narrow my eyes on him.

“There’s nothing funny about my woman getting in a bar fight with a bloke.”

“No, that part’s not funny, but the way she laid into Summers is,” Coop replies.

“The bouncer was right, shewasliterally like a Tassie Devil, the way her arms and legs went at him,” Zac calls from the kitchen. I close my eyes and rub at my temple, exhaustion setting in.

Dani appears from the bedroom hallway wearing a pair of Lauren’s pyjamas and carrying her clothes under her arms.

“You’re never going out with my missus again,” I point at Dani and tell her.

“Fuck off,” she replies. “That’s the most fun I’ve had in years.”

“You want coffee, Dan, Gabe?” Sam calls from the kitchen.

“Please,” Dani answers as she parks her arse on the sofa next to Coop and Jess. Coop instantly sitting up and reaching around Jess to inspect Dani’s face.

“She’s still ugly if that’s what you’re checking for,” Zac says as he hands me a coffee—which I can already smell is laced with something stronger—with a wink.