“Go for a ride, Steele. Get on your bike and go for a ride. You need it.”
“Only if you come with me.” He rubbed her hip, needing to touch her. Needing that connection when his past was still too close.
“Zane.” One word, but there was a hint of regret. She wanted to go.
“Keys and Maestro can watch Zane,” Steele said. “It was your idea. This can be our first ride together.” He brushed a kiss on top of her head. “I need you with me, baby. Come ride with me.”
She glanced up toward the windows above them and then a smile lit her face. “Give me five minutes. I’ll be ready.”
“I’ll need that same five minutes. I’m not riding naked.” He stood up and pulled her up with him.
“I thought you did everything naked and I’d have something to hang on to.” Her laughter was a little wicked as she ran from him.
Steele followed at a more leisurely pace, once more texting Maestro and Keys. He was lucky to have his brothers helping him watch over his family. He was more than lucky to have a son. There was a part of him that he had to fight off, the one that wanted to panic because he was actually going to leave his son with someone else, but it was an opportunity to be different and he had to take it.
Mostly, he felt he had hit the jackpot with Breezy. His woman. She was so laid-back about everything, not accusing him of being too controlling. Listening and trying to understand. Yeah, he was a lucky man, and he knew it. He silently vowed to double his efforts to make her happy and to see anything and everything that might be upsetting to her. He needed to give her as much as she gave him because he wasn’t fucking up his relationship with her.
TWENTY
“We’ve got a major dilemma we want you to weigh in on, Blythe,” Maestro said, reaching around Breezy to nab a handful of chips. He stuffed several in his mouth.
Ice elbowed him out of the way. Between Ice and Storm, Breezy was nearly smashed into the counter, but Ice gallantly saved her by catching her around the waist and moving her out of the way. “Jackass,” he muttered. “You could have hurt her.”
“Don’t pretend you moved her to save her.” Storm glared at him, managing to scoop more than a handful of chips from the bowl before Blythe snatched it away from them.
“Hey,” Ice protested. “Is that any way to treat a hero? Breezy, tell her how my brother was squishing you into the counter.”
“I’m more interested in the major dilemma Maestro has,” Blythe said. “We’re working here, boys. If you aren’t going to be helpful, go away.”
“The other women should be here soon to help,” Czar assured.
Blythe, Anya and Breezy turned to look at him. Lana and Alena turned more slowly, but they added their silence to the other three women’s.
Czar backed away, holding up his hands in surrender. “I was just saying there will be extra help with the food.”
“Maestro,” Blythe said, still giving her husband a quelling look, “spit it out.”
“We’ve talked this over and we all have a different idea of what should be done to handle a problem that seems to crop up every now and then. If a woman refuses to obey her man when it comes to something really important, like a matter of safety, what should he do?”
Breezy groaned and kicked him in the shins. Her face turned red. “I swear we put that to rest. Why do you insist on bringing it up?”
“It wasn’t handled,” Savage said, startling all of them. “Not that you’re going to get a decent answer from Blythe.”
“What does that mean, Savage?” Blythe challenged.
He shrugged. “You’re going to say to talk to her. To explain to her. All the correct bullshit women say to one another.”
Blythe frowned. “Is that what you really think we do? What we actually do is try to find ways to be of help to you, and when we don’t understand something, yes, we try to talk it out with our partner in order to better understand. If something really matters to Czar, I give in because I trust that he isn’t trying to be a dictator.”
She continued to work, as did Breezy, but Breezy was keeping an eye on the members of Torpedo Ink. They seemed divided by the issue, even with Blythe trying to explain it to them.
She decided to try. “It isn’t always easy to do what is asked of us, especially when our man might be in danger.”
Maestro heaved an exaggerated sigh. “That’s exactly when it’s the most necessary.”
Savage nodded. “It isn’t even that. It’s a matter of trust. Your man tells you something, you just fuckin’ do it.”
“Everyone is different, Savage,” Blythe said. “We all have different personalities. You’re always going to be in charge. Your woman will have to know that and be okay with it. Otherwise it won’t work between you. I have to feel like I’m in a partnership. That’s what I need in order to be happy. On the other hand, I know Czar and what he needs. If he were to say to me, don’t move from this spot because it isn’t safe, I wouldn’t move. For him. Because that’s what he needs.”
“You should do it because he fuckin’ tells you it isn’t safe and you trust him to know what the fuck he’s saying,” Savage said, and reached into the chip bowl.
“My point,” Maestro said. “What does a man do when his woman doesn’t give him what he needs most?”
Breezy felt her color rise, staining her cheeks. Steele moved in close to her, his body shielding hers. “We worked it out,” he said, his voice conveying a warning. She wanted to kiss him.
“That’s a
good thing,” Blythe said, “and that’s what usually happens between a man and a woman. Good communication is the key.”
Anya glanced over her shoulder at Reaper, who was staring out a window, obviously restless being inside. “Honey, I left the groceries on the seat of the truck. Would you get them for me, please?”
Breezy knew immediately Anya had left the groceries on purpose. She wanted Reaper to have an excuse to leave the crowded kitchen, so he could breathe easier. He’d never been a man to stay inside much. She resolved to do similar things for Steele.
“Sure, babe,” Reaper responded, and was out the door.
Anya watched him go with a small smile on her face. Breezy wondered if anyone else knew Anya had done it on purpose. The women maybe. She looked around the room at the men. Savage knew. He looked out the window and then at Anya. He sent her a small nod. Almost imperceptible.
“If communication doesn’t work,” Maestro persisted. “I know Steele worked it out with Breezy, but she’s crazy about him and I guarantee, if he’s in danger, she’s going to forget all about their bullshit talk and jack up again.”
“You want to step outside and have a bullshit talk with me right now?” Steele asked, his voice so low it was dangerous.
Breezy put a hand on his arm because, sadly, Maestro was probably right about her.
“We’re actually trying to figure this out,” Player chimed in.
“That’s what you’re all doing in the kitchen,” Lana guessed. “I wondered. They’re serious about this question, Blythe. So am I. They asked me, and I didn’t know what to say.”
“Talking is worthless,” Savage said. “Teach a fuckin’ hard lesson once and she isn’t likely to forget it.” He turned and stalked out.
There was silence after he left. Blythe looked at her husband. “What does he mean by that? By a ‘hard’ lesson?”
Czar shrugged. “Savage isn’t in a relationship, baby. He doesn’t put himself in places where he’d find a woman to be in one with him.”