Page 101 of Riot

“You can’t avoid them forever, babe. They need to know what’s goin’ on, and that I’m your man.”

She tilts her body toward me. “From now on, please don’t go beating people up in my honor, okay?”

“Babe, I’m in an MC, I don’t need your permi?—”

“I’m not done yet,” she snaps. I grin. Oh, I like this sassy side of her. “Violence doesn’t solve everything, Riot. He may be a douchebag as well as annoying, but you broke his nose, and his arm?”

I shrug. “So what? He could’ve hurt you, then what?”

“I can handle him.”

“No, babe, you can’t. He’s a lot stronger than you and I know men like him. He got a warnin’, and if there is a next time, I’ll come and ask you if it’s okay if I kick someone's ass, okay? Just don’t tell the brothers, they’ll give me shit.”

She whacks me on the chest. “Riot, this isn’t funny.”

“I think it is. He looks like a raccoon.”

Her lips twitch, but she doubles down. “Violence isn't always the answer.”

Panic rises in me again. “Sometimes that’s all I know, but know this; I would never, ever hurt you. I’d never lay a finger on you. I’ve never hit a woman and I never would.”

She nods. “I believe you, dummy. I just mean, let's not beat up every guy in my building just for talking to me.”

“You’re playin’ it off a little too cool,” I say. “He wasn’t just talkin’ to you, he’s got an apartment here to woo you back. That’s the only reason Ian is living here and we bothknow it.”

She cups one side of my face. “I’m not interested in him, or anyone else. You’re the one I’m falling in love with.”

My heart hitches in my chest. “You mean that?”

She huffs and I grin. “Yes, I mean it. We already know what we mean to each other, but it’s time to be brutally honest, and we can’t go around doing major things like this without discussing it first.”

“Deal.”

She blinks. “Deal?”

“Yeah, you got it. Should we go eat now?”

She shakes her head. “You’re not one bit sorry, are you?”

I plant a chaste kiss on her lips. “Nope. I’m not, babe. I’ll never be sorry to a piece of shit like him for as long as I live. He thinks he can have what’s mine, and he’s sadly mistaken. He had his shot, and he blew it. You don’t want him; your parents want him. And I took care of it man to man.”

“You’re impossible.”

“No, I’m lookin’ out for you, that’s my job.”

“Please don’t beat up anyone else, okay?” Her eyes plead.

My face softens. “I don’t ever want you to see me as a person who can’t control it,” I say. “I can, and I have for years. But like I said, if someone tries to blatantly take somethin’ from me, then they better be prepared to lose somethin’ themselves, got me?”

It’s like music to my ears when she says, “I don’t want him. I’ll never want him. You’ve no reason to be jealous, Riot. If he were the last man on the planet, I’d run the other way. I’d be single for the rest of my life rather than be with a snake like that.”

I press a kiss to her lips once more. “Good, glad to hear it. Now what would you like for dinner?” I start the engine.

“This conversation isn’t over.”

I laugh. “Really? And why’s that?”

“Because I’m mad at you.”

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