“You’re seeing him then?”

  I nodded.

  He sighed and rubbed at his white beard. “He knew you … before?”

  I nodded again.

  “There is an age difference. Doesn’t matter now, but back then …” He trailed off.

  I smiled. “Apparently, teenage me was adventurous.”

  “What about him being angry at you?” he asked, but before I could answer, the front door opened, and Gage walked in, followed by Huck.

  Gage’s eyes locked on mine, and then he winked. Just five short hours ago, I’d been straddling him in bed while he gave me another epic orgasm. I bit my bottom lip, feeling my cheeks get warm.

  “I guess that answers my last question,” Uncle Neil said under his breath.

  Gage walked to me, and I put down the files I had been working on to step over to the counter. He stopped when he reached the other side.

  “You look hot in scrubs,” he said, then flashed me a grin that made my knees weak.

  “You saw me in them this morning,” I reminded him.

  “Yeah, and thought about it several times.”

  Uncle Neil cleared his throat. “Ah, um, okay, let’s get that cast off, why don’t we?” he said.

  Gage winked at me before turning to walk over to the door Uncle Neil was standing at. Huck didn’t go with them. He glanced over at me, and I could see the concerned look in his eyes.

  “Do you need my assistance?” I asked Uncle Neil.

  “I’ll have Reba help me,” he replied.

  I turned my attention back to Huck and smiled. “Hello.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck and studied me. “You know this is bad, right?”

  Needing clarity, I asked, “What?”

  “This shit with the two of you. Gage is not”—he glanced around to make sure no one else was in the room—“sane when it comes to you. The two of you together is flawed as fuck. He’s always been crazy, but with you, he is psychotic.”

  I glanced back at the closed door. The way he would go from being so sweet to the look he’d get in his eyes that excited and terrified me at the same time had been bothering me. Making me question a lot. I didn’t know all of our history, and when I had asked him last night, he’d skirted around it until I was distracted with his body again.

  “I love him,” I admitted. It was the only excuse I had for this.

  Huck sighed. “Did you tell him? If not, you might want to wait. He will get worse if he knows.”

  I hadn’t yet. Things were all very new and had changed overnight. I shook my head.

  “Good. You need to be one hundred fucking percent sure before you do. Because you told him you loved him once. And it was a fucking disaster.”

  We were going to have to discuss the past. It was clear I needed to hear the story before it went any further. I nodded.

  “Another thing. When we have to handle things”—he didn’t elaborate on what those things were—“we all need you to just go with Trinity to Madeline’s. Don’t fight him on staying at your apartment. It’s already unsafe that he’s doing what he is now. But he’s made his claim on you clear. You can’t stay there alone, and if we need his focus on another issue, he needs to know you’re safe.”

  When it was just us, I forgot about all this. The Mafia, the safety, the other stuff. Hearing someone else say it out loud made it real. Made me wonder how I had ended up in all this.

  “Who is Madeline?” I asked.

  “Blaise Hughes’s wife. You’ll meet her soon enough.”

  I just nodded. I needed a moment alone. Glancing back at the door, I wasn’t sure how much longer this would be.

  “I’ll be back. I need to go to the restroom,” I lied.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. I turned and headed for the break room. I needed a drink of water, a slap across the face, because I had started a relationship with a man I couldn’t seem to say no to, who was also a dangerous, crazy person in the freaking Mafia.

  Thirty-Two

  Gage

  The brace on my leg was annoying, but better than the cast. Just a few more weeks, and I’d have my body back. My gaze went to the front counter the moment I stepped out of the room, but Shiloh wasn’t there. I turned to Huck.

  He shrugged. “She went to the restroom.”

  I hated her being here during the day, but pushing her to quit was asking for too much right now. The uneasiness in her eyes hadn’t gone unnoticed by me. I was doing my best to reassure her this was okay. I’d swear to her whatever she wanted if she would stay with me. Losing her a second time wasn’t happening.

  Restless, I shifted my gaze back to see Carmichael walking out of the exam room. “What restroom would she have gone to?”

  He motioned for me to follow him, but I could see he wasn’t thrilled about this. I didn’t give a fuck. He’d get over it. Shiloh was mine. He paused at the open door leading into the restroom. It was empty.

  I scanned the area and saw another door open and lights on. Not asking what room it was, I headed toward it. The fucking urgency in my chest to find her began to make my head pound. Reaching the door, I pushed it all the way open, and my eyes locked on her sitting at a table with a bottle of water in her hands.

  She smiled at me and stood up, but the troubled look in her eyes wasn’t hidden that easily. Had Huck said something to her? She’d been fine when I walked in. I went to her, able to walk faster with the boot on instead of the cast.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked as I reached her, slipping my hand around her waist.

  She smiled. “Nothing. I was just taking a break.”

  That was a lie. Something was bothering her.

  “Go home with me.”

  A soft laugh escaped her lips, and she shook her head. “I can’t. I have to work.”

  “Please,” I begged.

  If I had her with me, I could remind her how this was good. More than good. It was fucking perfect. If she wasn’t with me, then she had time to get shit in her head.

  “Gage, you know I can’t.” Her voice was gentle as she said it.

  I gripped the back of her shirt in my fist. “I need you with me.”

  She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to my mouth. “I’ll be home later.”

  “Now,” I bit out, hating being told no.

  “I’ll see if I can get off early.”

  Compromise. I had to learn to fucking compromise. I nodded, still not letting go of her. Part of me wished like fuck she could remember. So we could skip all this other shit. The other part, I knew, if she could remember, I wouldn’t be holding her right now.

  “Let me know, and I’ll pick you up,” I told her.

  “You can’t drive.”

  “I can now.”

  I wanted to tell her I loved her, but was that what I felt? Love seemed so damn weak. You loved pizza or horse racing or porn. This was consuming. More powerful than a word used flippantly.

  Before I left, I made sure to remind her just how good this was with a kiss that got those sexy little sounds out of her.

  After leaving Carmichael’s office and Shiloh, we headed back to the house to get my car. I was going to need it, having to go back and forth. Shiloh didn’t own a car, and we hadn’t discussed it. Her uncle drove her around, it seemed. My thoughts were on that while Huck talked to Blaise about an issue we were having that I couldn’t participate in since I was still fucking broken.

  Tonight, I was going to find out more about Shiloh’s past two years. All she’d been through and why she didn’t have a car. Not that it mattered now. I’d take care of her. There was shit I didn’t know, and it had to be cleared up. When it came to her, I wanted to know everything. If I could just keep my hands off her long enough to ask the right things.

  We pulled into the garage, and I got out of the SUV while Huck finished his conversation. Glancing over at my bike, I knew I wasn’t taking that. Shiloh had had a head injury already. I wasn’t putting her on the back of my bike and taking any chances.

  We’d just use my Jeep. Damn, it felt good to have the freedom to drive again. Heading in the back door, I heard the noises, but wasn’t completely sure until I stepped into the living room. Destiny was naked and bent over the sofa while Levi stood over her with the leather belt she preferred in his hand. Kye sat in the leather chair, watching them.

  “Where the fuck is Trinity?” I asked, thinking Levi was an idiot. If Trinity saw this, Huck would lose his shit.

  “Gone to Maddy’s,” he replied, then grinned. “Want a swing?” he asked, holding the belt out to me. “Kye is next, but we know she prefers you.”

  “Please, Gage,” Destiny begged with her already-red ass in the air.

  I shook my head. “You look like you have it under control,” I told him, then headed for the kitchen.

  “GAGE!” Destiny called my name, and I glanced back. “You know I’d rather it be you.”

  Levi nailed her ass with a hard lick. “Watch it, bitch. I’ll make you regret that.” He winked at me. He didn’t give a fuck who spanked her, just like I didn’t.

  “Not interested,” I replied and left the room.

  The loud sounds continued as he called her names, which she got off on, and beat the hell out of her ass. She moaned and wailed and begged for it. We’d done this so many times that it felt choreographed. I opened the fridge and pulled out a beer.

  “What the fuck?!” Huck shouted. “Warn a man first.”

  “Sorry,” Levi replied. “Didn’t know y’all were gonna be back here so soon. I was just showing Kye here how to spank a bitch’s ass the right way.”

  I was leaning back on the counter when Huck walked into the kitchen.

  He looked at my beer. “You not spanking her ass anymore?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Shiloh wouldn’t like that.”

  “No, she wouldn’t. But you liked it. Thought you might want to keep that up. Get some of your rage out.”

  I shrugged. “Not feeling real full of rage at the moment.”

  “What happens when you do? Shiloh isn’t gonna bend over and let you beat the hell out of her ass.”

  The idea of her perfect, round white ass turning red made my cock stiffen. “Not like that. No. But that shit’s a little fucked up anyway. I’d prefer to put Shiloh over my knee and use my hand.”

  Huck nodded, as if he understood. I had no doubt Trinity had been in that position with him more than once.

  “That’s for sexual pleasure though. What you do to Destiny doesn’t get you off. It releases steam.”

  “I’ll get a fucking punching bag.”

  The noise finally stopped in the other room.

  “She leaving?” Huck called out.

  “Not yet. I need to fuck her first before my damn dick explodes,” Levi replied.

  “Take it upstairs then.”

  I smirked as I took another drink. Huck didn’t want to listen to it. He knew Trinity would be furious if Huck could see or hear Levi fucking Destiny.

  “Gage, I need you,” Destiny called out. “I want both of my holes pounded.”

  “No thanks,” I replied.

  “Let that go. It ain’t happening anymore, but Kye here can help out,” Levi informed her.

  “Shit, you serious?” Kye asked.

  “I don’t lie about a hot fuck. You want her ass or pussy?”

  I chuckled. Levi would have him broken in real soon.

  Thirty-Three

  Shiloh

  There had been no sign of Wilder all week. Part of me was relieved because I wasn’t sure how to handle Gage around him. The other part felt like the world’s worst friend. Having to choose between Gage and Wilder wasn’t fair. Gage didn’t have to choose between me and Levi or Huck. I just had to because Wilder was a man.

  When we stepped into the building after Gage picked me up from work, Wilder was walking out of his apartment door. His gaze met mine, then shifted to Gage before returning to me. I could see so many emotions flicker in his brown eyes, and that just made me feel worse. For eighteen months, he had been my best friend.

  “Hey, you. How’s your week been?” I refused to ignore him.

  Gage would have to accept that I wasn’t going to cut Wilder out.

  He cleared his throat. “Uh, same. Good. And you?” It was such a formal answer. Not one with a funny Sarah story or one about his work. No talk about getting pizza or watching iZombie. Nothing.

  “Different,” I replied honestly.

  Gage’s hand on my back fisted my top. If that was a warning, he was going to have to back down.

  “Yeah, I imagine so.” He forced a smile, then looked inside his open apartment door. “I’ll, uh, see you around. Have a good weekend.” Then, he was gone, inside, closing his door before I could say anything else. He’d been leaving but changed his mind.

  I walked faster than Gage could, angry about the entire situation with Wilder. Unlocking the apartment door with more force than necessary, I pushed my door open and went inside. Gage walked in behind me, studying me closely. I didn’t meet his gaze, but I felt it on my skin. Grabbing an apple, I bit into it rather aggressively and stood there, staring out the window above the sink. Wilder would have Sarah this weekend. She’d expect me to be here and make cookies or cupcakes with her. How did you explain to a little girl that everything had changed in two weeks?

  “You’re pissed.” Gage stated the obvious.

  I nodded and kept chewing.

  “Because of him?” The way his tone changed made me stiffen. There was a smooth yet lethal quality to it.

  This was what I’d been warned about. What I had overlooked and said I could handle simply because I was unable to stay away from Gage. I would have agreed to anything if I could have him. Now, I had to pay that price.

  “He’s been my best friend for eighteen months. For me, that is most of my life. I feel awful that I just shut him out. Didn’t go explain or talk to him. He’s always been here for me, and I just … just tossed him away because of you.”

  The muscles in his neck flexed as he clenched his jaw. Why was this so hard for him to understand?

  “You know it’s you I want. Since I met you, you’ve done nothing but jack around with my emotions, and yet I still want you. How can you think that I would want another man after all this crazy shit you’ve put me through?”

  Gage walked toward me, closing the distance he’d left between us. “He doesn’t see you the same way. You think he does, but I assure you, he doesn’t.” He stopped in front of me and ran his knuckle along my jawline. “Seeing you so familiar with another man makes me feel destructive, murderous.” His eyes dropped to my lips. “You’ve always made me this way,” he whispered, yet there was a savage edge to his voice.

  “I want you. But I want to keep my friend. Why do I have to give up the only friend I have?”

  His right hand grabbed my waist tightly, bordering on painful. “I don’t share. Not you. Never you.” The dangerous glint in his eyes caused me to shiver.

  This was a conversation we needed to have at his house, with his friends there, I realized. Levi was right. I didn’t know when he would react or how. Once, I had been the cause of his violence, and I didn’t want that.

  “Okay,” I replied, hoping that would ease him.

  He lowered his mouth to mine, but his lips hovered without touching. “Take off your fucking pants and get on the counter.”

  I realized I was trembling as I slipped off my shoes, then pushed down my pants, along with my panties. Once they were discarded, he grabbed my waist and put me up on the counter. The sound of his zipper made me tense up. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. He was different. I could feel the rage simmering under the surface, like a buzz radiating from his body.

  When his hands grabbed my hips, his fingers dug into my bottom, and he jerked me forward in one quick movement, thrusting inside of me. Startled, I cried out as he stretched and filled me. Because my body reacted to this man, no matter what personality he had, I was more than ready for him.

  “Your body still likes it when I’m on the edge of fucking sanity,” he growled. “This soaking wet pussy wants it.”

  He was right. Who had I become? Or had I been this way all along? I just didn’t know myself.

  My body hummed with pleasure as he pounded into me. There were no gentle words, no love involved. I was being fucked and getting off on it.

  Lifting my knees, I leaned back on my hands, opening myself up more for him.

  “That’s my girl,” he praised me.

  Our eyes locked, and the untamed beast inside of him glared back at me. The need to possess was so clear in those amber depths. As unhealthy and fucked up as that was, I wanted it. For him to possess me. Own me. The thought caused a shudder to run through my body.

  “Gage.” I moaned his name, unable to put into words what all I was feeling.

  “Fucking hell, this hasn’t changed. Needy little cunt likes to be taken.” The snarl in his voice excited me. “Pushing me to a place where I can’t control myself, then obediently opening these sweet thighs.”

  Had that been me? Was this what I needed? Oh God, why was it so good?

  The electric rush began to unravel inside of me. I could hear myself panting in anticipation of what was coming.

  “That’s it, baby. Come all over my cock —this tight pussy coating my dick.” The dangerous bite to his voice was like a match igniting me.

  I screamed his name as my body convulsed with the euphoria that sucked me in. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest as he slammed into me several more times.

  “FUCK, that’s what I need. What I always need,” he groaned, and then his body jerked as he unloaded inside me. “HOLY FUCK!” he roared, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.