Che (Golden Glades Henchmen MC 2)

"I was," she admitted, shaking her head. "I thought it might distract them for two seconds, so I could run back into the house. Then you had to come out and be the hero," she went on, giving me small eyes.

"Yes, how dare I give a shit about my woman, huh?" I asked.

I saw both the emotions as they crossed her face at my words.

The pleasure.

Then the uncertainty that immediately chased it away.

I tried not to let myself be bothered by it. Connections were new to Saskia. It was going to take her a while to get comfortable with even the most basic of terms people used with relation to one another. Like friend. Like girlfriend. Which sounded ridiculous when she was already my wife, but we weren't there. Yet. Though, with the way I was feeling about her, I had a feeling we were heading in that direction. Legitimate. In a forever sort of way.

It was okay.

I had time to prove to her that what we were building was something worth holding onto.

Or, so I hoped.

If we confronted the Triad, fixed the issue with the Yakuza, then what was going to keep her here? I knew her well enough at this point to know she would convince herself that she had to go, that she was only staying because of the problem that she'd originally come to me with.

A part of me wanted to act like the guys and I needed time to figure out a seamless plan to confront the Triad. But we didn't have that luxury. We had a ticking clock, and a powerful organization waiting for us to deliver.

I believed Souta when he said the Yakuza didn't hurt women. But that didn't mean he wouldn't use us—the club—against Saskia.

I wasn't going to let that happen, to leave Harmon without a father for her baby, Gus without her big brother, Remy's animals without their owner. The rest of us didn't exactly have people to miss us, but I wasn't willing to risk all our lives just because I selfishly wanted more time to prove to Sass that she should give us more time.

"How about we order some food?" I suggested when Arty went back to the pantry. "We can't do anything until Huck and the rest of the club gets back."

And it would give me some time to work on Sass. Who was currently scrubbing the hell out of the kitchen island, causing a laugh to bubble up and burst out, making her turn to shoot a guilty look at me.

As we ate and cleaned, I found whatever reasons I could to pull her close, to whisper things in her ear, to remind her how wanted she was here. By me, by Arty, by the dogs who loved her, by each of the guys as they came home, shooting her concerned look when we relayed our story.

"You're being strange," she told me a while later when I dragged her between my legs on the couch, pulling her back against my chest. Huck and Harmon weren't back yet, and we'd collectively decided to wait to give them the news when they got home, not wanting to ruin their night out.

"How so?" I asked as she settled against me, tucking her head into my neck.

"You're very touchy-feely," she told me, her arms resting over mine as they folded across her stomach.

"And that's strange?" I asked.

"It seems... amplified," she said, shrugging.

"You don't like it?"

"I didn't say that."

"So you like it?" I asked, feeling her silent laugh.

"I don't hate it," she admitted.

"Good," I said, turning my head, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Because I had no plans on stopping," I told her. "What's the matter?" I asked when she said nothing for a long couple of minutes.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"About what happens after we deal with the Triad and the Yakuza."

"Nothing has to happen."

"I'll have to get back to work."

"Says who?"

There was a long pause before she declared, "Me."

"It sounds like you've been working nonstop since I last saw you. It's okay to take a break. I would like it if you hung here for a bit," I added.

"I can't stay forever," she said.

She could.

But I was getting the feeling that I wasn't going to be able to say that to her yet. It was too soon.

"You can stay as long as you want," I suggested. "I mean, even if this issue is wrapped up by Saturday, you have a baby shower to help finish planning. And I was pretty sure I heard Ayanna talking about you needing to come to her big birthday event next month."

"She did?" Sass asked, sounding unsure, but hopeful.

"Yeah, she was on the phone with Gus, saying she wanted 'all her bitches' there to celebrate with her."

"I'm her bitch?" Saskia asked, cautiously optimistic.