King's Reign (Sydney Storm MC 6)

Lily: To save me from prison?

Me: Yeah

Lily: You really like fucking me, huh?

Me: I like a lot fucking more than that

She didn’t come back straight away, and I took a moment allowing it to sink in just how fucking much I liked hearing from her in the middle of the day.

Lily: You like roast chicken?

Me: Yeah

Lily: I’m cooking it for dinner. You should come. 6pm.

Me: I’ll be there. Don’t commit murder before I see you

Annika stepped out into the hallway as I sent the last message. Closing the door softly behind her, she said, “What’s up? And why do you look all smiley?”

“What the fuck does all smiley mean?”

She pulled her head back, inspecting my face. Waving her finger at me, she said, “That look in your eyes. You might not actually be smiling with your mouth, but your eyes are.”

Another text sounded and I glanced down at my phone.

Lily: You should sleep over more often. I’m liking this side of you.

Lily: I mean, I know there would have to be some hot sex to go with that sleeping over, but just sayin’ I’m down.

Lily: BTW you give good head. I’m always down for that.

Fuck.

Me: Stop texting me. I’m busy

Lily: I wish you were busy with me.

Lily: OK, OK, I’m stopping now. I’ll get you some more beer on the way home. Just let me know if you prefer something different to last night.

I shoved the phone back in my pocket and met Annika’s gaze.

She lifted her brows at me and crossed her arms. “Okay, brother, what gives? Who is this woman and when do I get to meet her?” When I didn’t answer her, she said, “It’s clearly a woman. The only other time in your life that I’ve seen you smile like this was when you were first dating Ivy. You may as well tell me before Skye figures it out. You know what she’s like when someone in the family is dating. I can save you from her if I’m prepared.”

She was right—Skylar had a way of forcing herself on the people we dated. I hadn’t been subjected to it for a long time, but I’d watched as she’d done it to Axe and Nik over the years. Skye was too much for some of the people they

dated, but I had a feeling Lily would be okay with her.

“It’s Lily, Skye’s physio, so I think we’re good, Nik.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, I never saw that coming.” She grinned. “I like it.”

Shifting the conversation back to what I came for, I said, “I came to let you know you can take the kids home.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. I can take you when they wake up if you want.”

A smile spread out across her face. “This is the best news you could have given me. The department called me offering me some days, so I’ll be able to say yes.”