She shakes herself and turns so she’s facing me. “Like I said, I get why it’s kinda hot but I satisfy my exhibitionist kinks on stage every night.” She lowers her gaze. “Making out with you in a darkened clubhouse while everyone else is doing their thing is about as racy as I’m willing to get. I’m a little old fashioned in the sex department, I guess.”
I breathe a long sigh of relief.
“That disappoint you?” she asks.
“Fuck no. You seemed curious and as much as I want to make you happy, I think I’d have more luck roping the moon and stars for you than letting another man touch your body.”
“Aww, Logan, that’s so sweet.”
“Nothing sweet about it. I’m a possessive fucker.”
“I’ll take my sweetness where I can get it.” She studies me for a second. “Same goes for me. I know most guys are into the whole two girls fantasy and wooo…. Whether I’m involved or not, just thinkin’ about another woman touchin’ you is makin’ me all kinds of stabby.”
Explaining that I’ve been there, done that and found the situation more frustrating than satisfying isn’t going to enhance our conversation. “Stabby, huh?” I tease. “Thought you said you’d take a bat to my knees and some other places?”
“That’s if you cheat on me.”
“Well, that’s not happening, so my knees are safe.” I rest my hands on her collarbones, my fingers loosely circling her neck, and lean in to whisper in her ear. “I’ll be honest, I don’t want another woman touching you either.”
“Good. I’m not proud of it but I don’t even like thinking of you with other girls even if it’s way in your past.” Her gaze darts around the room as if she’s searching for an imaginary parade of women.
Unfortunately, there’s a high probability she’ll encounter one or two while we’re here. “I get it. Trust me.”
“I know you do.” She runs her fingers over my arm. “Thanks for always accepting me and my crazy.”
“It’s not crazy.” I trace my finger along a path from her jaw to her shoulder, grinning when she squeezes her shoulders up to her ears and giggles.
“That tickles.”
“I love when you explain exactly how you’re feeling. That’s what I want from you. Always.”
“Same.” She stares up at me. “Don’t ever think because you’re a big, strong man you can’t share your feelings with me.”
I chuckle and she pokes my side. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.” I capture her little pokey fingers and kiss the back of her hand. She’s already shown me that I can trust her with all my thoughts and secrets. “Thank you for that.”
Orgasmic shrieks pierce the air. Guess one of the prospects got something right.
“Someone’ gettin’ a gold star on his report card,” Shelby says. In a quieter voice she asks, “Is it odd that he’s using his ol’ lady to demonstrate?”
“Some brothers like to share. Usually with brothers, but this isn’t unheard of.” I glance over at the scene. “I kind of understand the thought process.”
Shelby hums a sound of disbelief. “That right?”
“Understand it. Not agree with it.” My gaze lands on her again. “You want your brothers to protect what’s yours if you can’t be here for some reason—prison, on a run, whatever. Some think lettin’ other brothers have a taste gives ’em a stake in looking out for her.”
“I guess.” She scrunches up her nose. “What happened to doing it because they’re just decent, loyal brothers?”
I half-shrug. “That’s the approach I prefer.”
“I think you’re ignoring the ownership aspect,” she says. “Controlling who’s allowed to touch his property sends a signal to them and to her.”
“Interesting theory.” I glance at Jigsaw, who’s given up on joining in and is busy shootin’ the shit with Pony. He lifts his chin at me and I nod. “I know he’ll always protect you. And not because he thinks he’s gettin’ something out of it.”
“He loves you. He’s loyal to you.”
“We’re loyal to each other.” I meet Shelby’s eyes. “It helps that he likes you too, though.”
Her expression softens. “Well, I’d definitely slap the girl who breaks his heart. Unless he deserves it, of course.”
“I can’t picture you slappin’ anyone.”
“Not true. I was scrappy back in the day. Then I learned, the kind of men worth fighting for would never give you a reason to.”
I can’t decide if I’d rather hunt down Shelby’s ex’s and thank ’em for fuckin’ up or murder them for hurting her.
“Cheers.” Dex grins at us from the next stool over and holds up a bottle of beer in our direction. “You two are adorable.”
“Listen in, much?” I reach over and slap his shoulder.
“Nothing but respect, brother.” He nods at Shelby. “Communicating with each other without yucking someone else’s yum.” He tips his head toward the pool table. None of us actually turn to look. By the rhythmic thumping we can all guess what part of the lesson they’ve reached.