Mommy?
Blood rushed blood from his face. His brain screamed at him to turn and book it the fuck outta there, but his feet stayed rooted to the ground. For some sick reason, he needed to lay eyes on her.
Mak was a goddammed mother, and she lived with a man who looked ready to rip Thunder’s nuts off.
And he was there to apologize for acting like an ass after a hot and heavy makeout session. How the fuck was he gonna get out of this one?
No wonder Shell hesitated to share the address.
And damn Jazz for taking sick pleasure in his humiliation.
And damn him for thinking she was different than the cheating housewives who paid for his time.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“DAMMIT,” MAK MUTTERED as she frowned down at her sauce-stained T-shirt.
She wiped the blotch, smudging it instead of making the situation better, then huffed out a “Whatever,” before returning her attention to the tomato sauce she’d set to simmer an hour ago. Not like she’d be seeing anyone.
One lick of the wooden spoon had her humming. “Mmm, that’s good stuff.” The only thing she’d learned from her father she appreciated was this tomato sauce. The man had a recipe that brought tears to the eyes. Actually, it’d been her grandmother’s specialty. Her father deserved nothing from her, not even credit for passing down her favorite meal. It’s not like he’d been the one to teach her to make it. Heaven forbid, he lifted a pinkie to help in the home.
“Mommy!” Emmie yelled two seconds before she came flying around the corner and into the kitchen. “The man is here for you!”
“Whoa!” Mak caught her, hoisting the squirming toddler up onto her hip. “Oh, my gosh, you’re getting so heavy. What is the rule about running in the house, Miss Emilia?”
“No wunning,” Emmie said with a pitiful jutted lip. Where the girl learned that move, Mak would never know, but it was dammed effective. One look at those chubby cheeks, downturned eyes, and protruding lower lip and every adult within a quarter mile was putty in her pudgy little hands.
All part of her plan for toddler world domination.
Mak pressed her lips together until the urge to grin faded. “That’s right. No running in the house. Especially in the kitchen when I’m cooking. Got it? There is hot stuff in here, and I don’t want these little piggies to get hurt,” she said as she tickled Emmie’s bare toes, eliciting a fit of giggles from her youngest sibling.
“The man is here,” Emmie announced once she’d finished laughing.
“What man?” Mak peeked at her sauce then lowered the heat a smidge more. Another fifteen minutes and it’d be perfect.
“At the door.”
“There’s a man at the door?”
Emmie nodded, her attention now on the sauce. “Yook, bubbles!” she said as she clapped her hands.
“Did you open the door, Emmie?”
Her sister shook her head. “No. Lee opened it.”
Well, crap. Then there really could be someone at the door, not just the ramblings of an imaginative two-year-old. Mak gave the sauce a quick stir then darted out of the kitchen. “Sorry, Lee,” she called out. “I’m coming.” Then, in a lower voice, she said, “Let’s go,” to Emmie as she set the toddler down.
Her brother’s large form blocked the doorway, and as she approached, he didn’t bother to move. “Okay, I’m here. Who is it?” He still didn’t give her space, just did this grunting thing she’d noticed many of the MC members did. Must be a guy thing.
Emmie ran up behind him and latched onto the back of his leg.
“Lee, buddy, move over so I can see who it is.” Once again, he didn’t budge. Mak sighed as she rolled her eyes and wedged herself between Lee and the doorframe with a grunt. “Seriously,” she said, hip checking him. Her brother was damn solid and didn’t shift a millimeter with her effort. “Get outta my wa—Thunder!” She stopped trying to displace Lee and gaped at the man standing on her stoop with a half-smile.
His gaze shifted from her to Lee and back again. “Uh, hey, Mak.”
“Wha-um, what are you doing here?” And why the hell did he have to look so good. Seriously? Shouldn’t the cut over his olive-green T-shirt hide the way it fitted to his perfect chest?
“You know him?” Lee asked in a deeper voice than usual.
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, guard dog, I know him. Chill. He’s in the club with Toni and Jazz’s boyfriends.”
Lee grunted again, and though his display of protectiveness bordered on ridiculous, warmth filled Mak’s heart. Her brother might have been driving her nuts lately with his gross display of teenage stupidity, but he was still a good guy who’d always have her back.
Emmie tried to poke her head between Mak’s legs, so she scooped her sister up once again.
Thunder cleared his throat. “Wanted to talk to you for a minute, but if this is a bad time…”