Page 24

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jigsaw

Sharing all of that with Margot wasn’t as awful as I kept telling myself it would be. She listened. Challenged me in that quiet, relentless way of hers. Pushed me into seeing the situation in a different way—something no one else has ever done before.

“So.” She strokes her hand over my arm. “How did you leave things with Cain?”

I already sense her protective side stirring. The same instinct she uses to care for the grieving families who walk into the funeral home is now aiming to wrap itself around my half-brother. She’s not gonna like my answer. “He’s sticking around. Staying at a hotel for now.”

“By himself?”

I shrug. “He was already staying there before he found me. The guys offered to help. Teller’s got a place open in that building he owns downtown. Said Cain could use it if he wants. And one of Wrath’s friends runs a gym nearby—he might be able to hook him up with a job if Cain wants it.”

“Wow. That’s really generous.” Then with a touch too much cheer in her voice, she adds, “Oh, his friend Jake? The one who came by with Wrath yesterday?”

My jaw tightens. “You met him, huh?”

“I did. He was nice.” She taps her finger against her bottom lip, eyes sparkling like she senses the jealous beast waking inside me and wants to poke him. “Wrath went out of his way to tell Jake I’m a friend of the club and your ol’ lady.”

I grin like an asshole. “He did, huh?” I’ll have to remember to thank Wrath.

She tilts her head, still playful. “It’s weird—I never saw Jake at the funeral. But I guess it was busy. I might’ve missed a few guests.”

More like Jake realized he better keep his distance from my girl.

Her smile fades. Fatigue creeps around the edges of her eyes, the long day catching up with her.

“Hey, let’s put this aside for a bit.” I glance at the clock in her kitchen. “It’s late. You’ve had a long, grueling day.”

She yawns and nods. “I have another funeral tomorrow too.”

“Shit, really? And you’re letting me keep you up this late?”

“Death doesn’t keep a schedule.” Her smile fades. “It’ll be a much quieter, quicker service.”

“Good.” I’m so fucking proud of what she accomplished.

Her dad and cousin helped too but I sensed Margot’s touch in so many small details today.

“Hey, you did a really great job on Whisper’s funeral.

It must’ve been complicated but everything looked seamless.

Ulfric was really pleased. When we were at the bar, he kept talking about how nice you and your dad are and how much you helped Abby. ”

Margot’s eyes glisten and she turns way. “That’s really nice to hear. Thank you.”

“Hey.” I gently grip her chin, encouraging her to face me again. “I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.”

One corner of her mouth tips up and she nods.

I take both of her hands in mine and draw her closer. “Thank you for listening to all of that stuff about my family.”

She slips her hands free and wraps her arms around my neck, pressing into me. The weight of her, the way she fits against me—perfect. So fucking perfect.

“You can tell me anything.” She turns her head, her hair tickling my neck, and whispers against my ear, “I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

“I know you are.”

As she pulls back, her earrings catch the light from the kitchen—the blue sapphires she wore to keep one of my club’s colors close to her today.

I let my gaze drift over her oversized dark purple sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. A black cat is embroidered on the front, and another peeks around one leg of her pants like it’s stalking prey.

I pinch the soft fabric between my fingers. “This is cute. Looks like something Gretel would’ve picked out for you.”

She glances down at the embroidery and smiles. “She is a bit of a narcissist, isn’t she?”

I tilt to the side, searching behind Margot. “Where is she, anyway?”

“I fed her when I got home. She’s probably snoozing her way through a food coma by now.”

I smile and squeeze her hips again, loving the feel of her—delicate but solid in all the ways I need. My fingers slip under the hem of her sweatshirt, searching for warm, bare skin.

She twitches. “You’re tickling me.”

“Hey, I’m grimy from riding all day. Will you come take a shower with me?”

Interest sparks in her eyes. “Sure.”

“Excellent.” I slide off my stool, curl my hand around hers and pull her toward the hallway.

“Right now?”

“It’s only getting later.” I stop outside her laundry room and start unbuttoning my flannel.

“You’re stripping in my laundry room?” she asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I’m all about efficiency, baby.”

Her shoulders shake with laughter as she gathers my clothes, tossing each item into the washer.

“I know how to do laundry,” I tease. “I ran the club’s laundromat downstate for quite a while.”

“I’m all about efficiency too, baby.” She grins as she tosses my words back at me. “Besides, the sooner you’re naked, the better.” Her gaze travels over my body, devouring every inch of my bare skin, finally landing on my jeans.

It’s such an unexpected thing for Margot to say, but I hold in my laughter. Still watching her face, I slowly pull my belt free and set it on the dryer, then empty my pockets one item at a time.

She sucks in a breath as I pop the top button of my jeans loose and slowly lower the zipper.

“You want to help?” I tease. “Or stand there and watch?”

She continues staring, following the movement of my hands. “You’re doing fine on your own.”

Holding her gaze, I let the silence stretch as I push my jeans down and kick them off, catching them mid-air. “You sure about that? Because you’re still fully dressed, and that seems awfully inefficient.”

That earns me a small smile. “You have a point.” She holds her arms over her head. “I could use some help though.”

“My pleasure.” I step closer and hook my fingers into the hem of her sweatshirt. The restraint I display should earn me a medal as I slowly drag the fabric up, revealing her soft curves, pale skin, and finally a blue lace bra. “You really were wearing blue underneath.”

“You thought I was lying?” Her words are muffled.

Struck dumb by the dark blue lace encasing the heavy curves of her breasts, I stopped before taking her sweatshirt all the way off.

I hurry to pull her arms free and toss the shirt aside.

She shakes her hair out and the sapphires in her ears catch the light again.

“I want to see if your panties match.”

She laughs softly. “Why would I lie?”

I slip my fingers under the waistband of her pants and tug them down her hips, kneeling to kiss her stomach. Matching blue lace comes into view.

I flick my gaze up to hers. “Beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She runs her fingers through my hair.

I yank her pants off the rest of the way, tossing them aside and run my greedy hands up her calves, up her thighs, straight to her center.

She lets out a needy gasp when I press my lips to the thin material and slowly pull it away with my teeth. “I’ve been dying to do this all day,” I rasp.

“R-really?”

“Yeah.” I slide the panties down her legs and help her step out. “It’s so pretty on you, but I need the bra off too.”

She wiggles out of my hold, turns and pulls her hair to the side, revealing the clasp, silently telling me to do it myself.

Chuckling softly, I sink my teeth into one round cheek, then kiss my way to the base of her spine. “Smart ass.”

I rise and work the clasp loose.

She slips the straps off her shoulders and tosses the bra to the side. “Come on.” She holds out her hand to me.

“Uh, I had other plans in mind.” My mouth protests but my feet follow her around the corner into the bathroom.

“You said you wanted to take a shower.”

“I wanted to get you naked .” I wasn’t lying about feeling gritty from the day, though. “But I’m willing to multi-task.”

She glances at me over her shoulder as she turns on the shower spray. “In the name of efficiency, right?”

“Brains and beauty. I love you.” I mold myself to her back, wrapping my arms tight around her. I don’t know what it is about Margot, but I want to give her everything and anything in the world. I want to give her the best version of me even if I don’t know what the fuck that is.

She tips her head back, resting it on my chest and stares up at me. “I love you too.” She rubs her hand over my arms. “Ready? Oh, let me put my hair up.”

I release her and she hurries to the counter to pick up a bright-green claw-shaped thing. She winds her hair into a thick, messy knot and secures it with the clip.

The door lets out a low creak as I open it. Steam billows out and I reach in to adjust the temperature. “Hurry.”

She reaches into a cabinet and pulls out two thick yellow towels and hangs them on the hooks outside the shower. “On my way.”

I step in and hold out my hand for her.

As soon as she’s inside, I lean down and slide my lips over hers. All my blood rushes south as she opens for me. She reaches down and wraps her hands around my cock and strokes.

I hiss in a breath. “Fuck, not yet, Margot.”

She pushes out her bottom lip. “But you look like you need some attention.”

“You’re going to attend to me, don’t worry.”

She grips me harder, working her soft warm hands over me with quick, firm tugs.

“Fuuuck.” My legs shake from how good that feels. She’s distracting me from my plans. “Turn around and put your hands against the wall.”

She frowns. “Are you sure?” Her hand tightens around me, and she strokes faster. As much as I’m trying to stay in control, my hips jerk in time with her movements. “It doesn’t feel like you want me to stop,” she adds, voice low and taunting.

“You want to make me come?”

She’s staring so intently at my dick, another wave of pleasure shudders through me.

“Yes.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. Maybe I should . Shooting my load now might help me clear my head so I can focus all of my attention on her. My tongue already tingles with the need to taste her.

“Little harder,” I encourage.

She squeezes and gives a quick twist at the end of each stroke.