The loud wail from Jagger jerked me from the moment, and my eyes snapped open. Kye wasn’t sucking on my breast anymore. He was staring down at me. The dark look in his eyes wasn’t one I was familiar with, and I didn’t get a chance to figure it out before Jagger let out another loud cry.

  I had woken him up with my inability to control myself. My eyes widened as I thought about what I’d just done.

  Kye lowered his face until his mouth was just over my ear. “Don’t go there in your head, Baby Doll.”

  I pushed at him to get off me as Jagger continued his hungry wail.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” I said, shaking my head as Kye moved off me.

  I started to turn and get Jagger when Kye’s hand wrapped around my wrist. I didn’t look back at him. I couldn’t.

  “I don’t want an apology. I meant to do that, and I’m not apologizing.”

  I took a deep breath and tugged at my arm. “I need to feed Jagger.”

  “Go fix the bottle. I’ll get him up and change his diaper,” Kye replied.

  I didn’t look back at him as I rushed out of the room. Once I was in the kitchen, I took a moment to calm myself.

  What had we just done? What had I just done? And, oh God, why had it felt so earth-shattering? It was unfair. So very unfair.

  I heard Kye talking to Jagger, and I hurried to get his bottle ready. My face was beyond warm; it was hot. I knew I was flushed, but I wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or the insane orgasm I’d just experienced. Maybe both.

  When Kye and Jagger walked into the kitchen, I kept my back to them as I finished warming the bottle. The soft pad of his bare feet moved closer to me, and I tensed, waiting for him to say something. Kye stopped at my back—Jagger kept him from getting any closer.

  “Is it ready?” he asked, leaning close to my ear.

  I cleared my throat and nodded, reaching for it. “Yeah,” I replied.

  “I’ll feed him,” he told me. “But you come sit with us.”

  I turned and handed Kye the milk before lifting my gaze to meet his. He was watching me closely. Those blue eyes of his sparkled, as if he found my reaction to what we had just done amusing.

  “Are we going to talk about … that?” I asked him.

  He gave me a wicked grin. “We can. Or we can talk about something else. What do you want to talk about, Baby Doll?”

  Jagger latched on to the nipple and began to suck.

  Kye leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Come on. Let’s go sit down.”

  When he turned, I followed him. Maybe I was still asleep, and that hadn’t happened. The spooning could have very likely caused a dirty dream. I pinched myself and winced. Nope. I was awake. I had just lost my mind, it seemed. But then so had Kye.

  I sat down a little farther away from Kye than I normally did.

  He gave me a knowing grin. “Baby Doll, move your ass over here.”

  “Why?” I asked nervously.

  “Because I want you close to me.”

  “You’re feeding Jagger,” I pointed out.

  He smirked this time. “And I’ll lay him down and move you myself if I have to.”

  Giving in, I slid over until I was where I normally sat beside him on the sofa. Unable to look at him, I stared straight ahead. “Kye, what did we do?”

  He chuckled softly. “One of the many things I’ve fantasized about since you hit puberty.”

  I snapped my head around and looked at him to see if he was joking. “That’s not funny.”

  “No, it’s just the truth. Trust me, Baby Doll, the fantasies I have about you, that was a very tame one. If that has you all worried, then you don’t need to hear what else I want.”

  What else he wanted? With me? I knew I shouldn’t ask. That line that we had just crossed wasn’t completely broken yet. It could be salvaged.

  But I opened my mouth and asked anyway, “You have fantasies about me?”

  He shifted Jagger to rest in the crook of his left arm, freeing his right arm. His hand slid over the top of my thigh, entirely too close to my damp crotch. “Very detailed fantasies,” he said as his hand slid between my legs.

  I heard his sharp intake of breath as his fingers met the telling sign of just how excited he’d gotten me. His nostrils flared, and I watched as the muscle in his neck flexed.

  “I’m gonna need those panties.”

  “What?” I asked as he gently rubbed his pinkie finger over the damp flannel of my pajama pants.

  “The soaked panties you have on under these fucking pants. I want them.”

  I tried to shift away from him, and his hand grabbed my thigh. With one hard tug, he pressed me closer to his side while opening my legs at the same time.

  “I can smell you,” he growled. His expression went dark again. “I want the panties, Baby Doll.”

  I was trembling at this point. I knew he could tell. “Why do you want my panties?”

  His hand covered the wet area, and he squeezed hard. “I want to smell them. I want to suck on them. I want to rub your sweet juices all over my cock.”

  “Oh,” I whispered, unable to breathe suddenly.

  Jagger let the bottle pop free of his mouth, and Kye turned his attention back to his son. I moved away from him then, needing distance.

  “Toss me the burp cloth,” he said as I stood up.

  I picked it up and went back over to place it on his shoulder. When I moved away as quickly as I could, he grinned at me, then brought Jagger up to his chest to burp him.

  “I need to go to the house today,” he told me.

  I knew the house was where he lived with the other Lords of the Underworld.

  “Okay.”

  I didn’t want to think that he was going to have sex with some girl there. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. No, I knew I couldn’t handle it. I would never be able to just do things like that and remain friends. My heart was already too invested in him as it was.

  “Can you be ready to go in an hour? I’ll dress Jag.”

  I stared at him, confused. “Go where?” I asked.

  “To the house.”

  I pointed at my chest. “You want me and Jagger to go to the house of the Lords of the Underworld?”

  The idea terrified me and intrigued me at the same time. It was also a relief. If he was taking us, then he wasn’t going to have sex at one of their sex parties or whatever they did there.

  “Yeah, it’s time you got to know them. And time they met you. And Jag. Trinity will have breakfast on the table in the next hour, but I’ll text her and let her know we are coming. She’ll make them wait on us.”

  Trinity? He’d mentioned her before. She was married to one of them. I couldn’t remember who. We didn’t talk much about that part of his life.

  “Will they be okay with you bringing us?” I asked.

  He laughed. “They’re gonna be thrilled.”

  Oh. Well, okay. I started to ask if it was safe to take Jagger, but then I looked over at the bouncy seat, swing, and stroller that had been given to us by Blaise Hughes’s wife. She had a son, and he’d mentioned another one who had a pregnant girlfriend. Clearly, they were good with children.

  “What do I wear?” I asked.

  “Anything you want. Just wear a bra. Please.” His eyes dropped to my breasts, and his eyes flared. “Maybe go do that now.”

  I hurried from the room, wondering if this was Kye drawing the line in the sand again. Making sure we kept things on the friend side. He’d been sure to keep me from acting different, and I appreciated it. The problem was, just because he could keep his emotions and sexual things separate, I couldn’t.

  Twenty-Three

  Kye

  “Should we take in the car seat or carry him?” Genesis asked.

  I looked over at her as I parked the truck inside the garage. She was wearing a flowy, lacy cream-colored top that was cut too low for my comfort and a short blue jean skirt with turquoise featherlike fringe along the bottom. I knew she’d designed both the top and skirt. I’d seen her drawing the sketches back in December. Mom was going to want this in her stores. I hoped she’d sent her pictures.

  “He’s awake,” I replied. “And the girls are going to want to hold him. No reason to take in the seat. He’s going to get a lot of attention.”

  Genesis frowned. “Girls?”

  I could tell by the look in her eyes that she thought I was referring to the females we had all been known to bring around and fuck once. That no longer happened in this house though. Not since every male here but me was now owned by a woman.

  “When I say girls, I mean, Huck’s wife, Trinity; Levi’s wife, Aspen; and Gage’s fiancée, Shiloh. I didn’t see Trev’s or Saxon’s vehicles, so Gypsi and Haisley won’t be here.”

  The relief on her face made me want to laugh. Had she honestly thought I’d bring her somewhere around women I’d fucked? Apparently, she had. I needed to make sure she didn’t think shit like that anymore.

  “Oh, well, okay,” she replied, smiling now.

  I got out of the truck and went to get Jagger from his seat. He was checking things out with interest. I grinned and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Damn, he was cute. His white-blond hair seemed to be getting thicker. I’d noticed that Genesis was brushing it every day now with a soft, little baby brush.

  Genesis walked around and closed the door behind me. The diaper bag that she’d bought at the store last week was hung over her shoulder. Her eyes met mine, and I could tell she was nervous. She had no reason to be. Once we walked in there, she was going to be instantly welcomed.

  “This way,” I told her and headed for the door leading into the house.

  I pressed the security code, then opened the door and waved for her to go inside. The light was on in the first room, and I saw her eyes go big as she took in the walls of ammunition.

  I closed the door behind us and put my free hand on her hip to turn her in the direction of the next door.

  “That’s,” she said in a whisper, “a lot.”

  I smirked. “Baby Doll, what did you expect? It’s the underworld.”

  A small laugh escaped her lips, and I wanted to taste them so damn bad. She’d gotten me so worked up, then gone off like a firecracker this morning that I didn’t get a chance to kiss her before Jagger woke up. I grinned, thinking about the noises she’d made. Fuck, it had been the hottest damn thing I’d ever seen or heard.

  She went through the next door into the living room. Gage was on the sofa, and his gaze swung over to us from the television he’d been watching. The slow grin that spread across his face made me realize I hadn’t warned Genesis about the shit that would come out of his mouth.

  “We can eat!” he shouted toward the kitchen and stood up. His focus was on Jagger, and he just smirked and shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing before he looked at Genesis. “So, this is the girl whose text can get you to take your dick out of a—”

  “GAGE!” Shiloh’s voice interrupted him, and he flashed her a wicked grin.

  “What, sweet baby?”

  Shiloh put her hand on her hip and shook her head at him. “You know what,” she said, then turned her attention to Genesis. “You’ll learn to ignore the things he says. I’m Shiloh, and we are so happy that Kye brought you and Jagger to the house.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Genesis replied.

  Shiloh’s gaze went to Jagger then. “Can I please?” she asked hopefully.

  I stepped forward and handed Jagger to her. Shiloh’s gaze lit up, and she started cooing at him.

  “Thanks, man,” Gage drawled. “You’re gonna give them all baby fever.”

  I shrugged. “It’s not a bad thing.”

  Gage narrowed his eyes as he studied me. I placed my hand on Genesis’s lower back, and we followed Shiloh into the kitchen. When we stepped inside, Huck was at the end of the table with his coffee and some papers in front of him. Levi was to his right, looking over whatever it was Huck had with him. Aspen and Trinity were in the kitchen, getting the food set up on the island, like a breakfast bar.

  “Look who I have,” Shiloh said in a singsong voice.

  Both women stopped what they were doing and hurried around the bar to see Jagger up close.

  “Oh my God, Kye! He looks just like you,” Trinity gushed. “Hey, little guy,” she said, taking one of his socked feet and tickling it as he kicked.

  Aspen smiled sweetly at him, then turned her attention to Genesis. “I’m Aspen,” she said to her. “It’s really nice to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you. I’m so happy Kye brought you for breakfast. I hope that becomes a regular thing.”

  Genesis seemed to visibly relax. “Thank you for having me at the last minute,” she replied. “It’s nice to finally see this part of Kye’s life. I think I envisioned it a little differently.”

  Trinity looked up from Jagger and grinned knowingly at Genesis. “I’m Trinity, and you are always welcome, even without advanced warning. This is Kye’s home, and that makes you family.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” Genesis told her.

  I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was surprised by everyone. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all. I couldn’t help but grin.

  Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, “Not very underworld-like, is it?”

  I saw her blush, and she shook her head. I had needed her to see my place here, where I lived, and that the people in my life weren’t unsafe for Jagger to be around.

  I slid my hand around to rest on her hip, then pointed to Huck, who was watching everything with his typical serious expression.

  “That’s Huck,” I told her. Then shifted my finger to Levi. “That’s Levi.”

  I knew she’d heard stories of both, and seeing their women must be shocking. Especially some of the things I’d told her about Levi. Aspen was much younger than him and had that innocent freshness about her. I couldn’t wait to hear Genesis’s take on all this later at the house. My plan had been to bring her here already, but Bowie showing up had put this on pause.

  “Glad he finally got around to bringing you to the house,” Levi said to her.

  She smiled at him, and I tightened my hold on her, surprising myself yet again. What was wrong with me? That was Levi. He was so fucking in love with Aspen that he couldn’t function without her. Genesis could smile at him. Jesus, she’d had one orgasm underneath me, and I’d lost my damn mind. I had to snap out of that.

  “I need to hold this sweet boy,” Trinity said, taking Jagger from Shiloh. “You are so precious!”

  Genesis watched with a pleased smile as they fawned over Jagger. There was a look of pride in her gaze that twisted me up inside. Right now was not the time to dissect that.

  “He’s cute as fuck, but what did we expect from pretty boy here?” Gage said, moving past us. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

  “Agreed. Can we eat now?” Levi asked Trinity.

  She nodded as she held Jagger in her arms. “Go for it.”

  “We do it buffet-style here. Trinity makes a lot of food for breakfast,” I explained to Genesis.

  I liked the way she stayed close to my side as I led her over to get a plate. I didn’t miss Huck’s knowing smirk as he glanced at the way I was holding her to me. This was going to be used to taunt me for a while. I didn’t give a fuck. Let them find it amusing. At least they wouldn’t find out about the dry-humping we’d done in bed this morning.

  “I don’t see a ring. Thought you were engaged,” Levi said across the island from us. His eyes locked on Genesis.

  “Not your business,” I warned him.

  I should have handled that before Genesis got here. This morning had messed with my head. I’d only been able to think about how much I wanted to do that again but naked.

  He raised his eyebrows as he turned to me. “It was just a question.”

  “We broke up,” she said. Thankfully, her voice didn’t waver, and I detected no emotion in her tone.

  Levi’s gaze swung back to her. “Really? I hadn’t heard.”

  Aspen walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. That drew his attention away. He dropped his gaze to hers.

  She smiled up at him. “Let’s leave her alone. Let her enjoy breakfast. Maybe she will come back.”

  Levi grinned down at Aspen, then lowered his head to kiss her lips. “Okay, baby.”

  Thank you, Aspen.

  I relaxed then and helped Genesis fill her plate, showing her my favorites. She turned to look for Jagger and found him back in Shiloh’s arms.

  “Do you want to eat? I can take him,” Genesis told her.

  Shiloh shook her head. “Oh, no. You eat. I want to hold this pretty boy.”

  Genesis’s pleased look made me feel all warm and shit inside. I lifted my gaze from her to see Huck watching me with an amused gleam in his eyes. The corner of his mouth tugged upward, just barely, before he turned back to look at Trinity with that same look.

  Twenty-Four

  Genesis

  Mom placed a cup of peppermint tea in front of me before she sat down at the other end of the small kitchen table in her breakfast nook. I swirled the bag around by the string.

  “How was speech therapy today?” I asked her.

  Dad took it three times a week still.

  She sighed and shrugged. “I see it helping some, but it frustrates him. You know how your dad loves to talk. Tell his stories. It’s hard on him to struggle to speak and be understood. But we are thankful every day that he’s here.”

  I nodded. So was I. I missed hearing Dad tell stories, even the ones he’d told so many times that I knew them by heart. I wished I could hear those stories again in his deep voice and jolly laughter.

  “He’ll get there. He’s determined,” I said, hoping I was right.

  She picked up her cup and took a sip, then put it back on the table. Her eyes never leaving my face. I knew that look. She wanted to talk about something. I mentally prepared myself for whatever it was.