Page 25 of Devil's Dilemma

“It’s okay, Skull. We got away with it before.” I sit up, putting my arms around him. “And you’ve claimed me now, it’s official. This shit flies? Well, it was going to happen sooner or later.”

“Not the fuckin’ point, Mel. Timing is fuckin’ off.” He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Will you take the fuckin’ pill this time?”

“Nothing’s changed, Skull, except our commitment is deeper. So, no.” I’m being stubborn. But to me, it may only have brought forward something that’s been increasingly on my mind.

“Fuck,” he roars again.

I hope it’s the drink driving him, but Skull abruptly stands and throws on some clothes. He walks to the dresser, fumbles in a drawer, then leaves the room carrying a phone which isn’t the one he normally uses. He doesn’t come back that night.

The next morning I’m awakened by the sound of the door banging open.

“Babe, I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”

It’s Skull.

Sitting up, I rub my raw red eyes.

“It was the drink talkin’, not me.” He looks so contrite, it makes me want to take him into my arms.

But then I remember the restless night he’d put me through. When he walked out without a word, I feared he wouldn’t come back. Thoughts had gone around and around my head. If I agree to take the morning-after pill, would he come back to me? That warred with did I really want a man who’d control me like that? Then it would circle to, decisions about kids should be made jointly, so maybe I should do what he wanted me to.

He approaches, sits on the bed, and takes my hand. “You’re right. We’re a couple. You do whatever you want to do. If it happens? I’ll love him or her. If not? We’ll revisit this discussion. Okay?”

I honestly don’t know what to think. “What’s on your mind, Skull? You said now wasn’t the right time.”

He reaches across and taps the tip of my nose. “Club business.”

I only wish I knew so I could help, but those two words are final. As an old lady, I’ll never know. It’s the one thing he can say that stops any further discussion.

“You going to do laundry at home? Got some shit I need to take with us.”

“Yeah, Skull.” We’ve been living together for weeks, half at the club, half at my house. I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept alone. And yes, I’ve gotten pretty used to throwing his dirty clothes in with my wash. I don’t mind. It’s what couples do.

Chapter Nine

Pyro

“Hey, boy. Come to see your Uncle Ro?”

“If you sneak him another cookie, Steph’s going to be mad,” Beef, our new VP, warns me.

“They’re not the chocolate ones,” I reassure him.

He shakes his head. “You’re trying to buy his affection.”

I’m unrepentant. “It’s working.”

Beef snorts. “Fuckin’ right. But he still prefers me. Max, down.”

Max turns away from me with one last tail wag, takes a step toward Beef, and dutifully collapses at his feet, letting out a sound that suspiciously sounds like a humph. His master must think so too, as he grunts, “Fuckin’ dog.”

I stare at the English lab for a moment, then pick up the pool cue again as Beef racks the balls. “Steph enjoying her job?”

Beef breaks, then, after he’s sunk far too many balls for my liking, answers the question when the cue ball topples down a hole.

“She loves it. She needs to feel useful, you know?”

His face is interesting to watch. One moment he’s smiling, next, concerned, now he’s cautiously optimistic again, then his brow creases when I successfully sink a ball. I hear a sigh of relief when I eventually miss my shot.

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