Page 37 of Deuce

“You awake?”Deuce sounded about as groggy as I felt.

“No.I’m still sleeping.”

“Good.I don’t want to get up yet.”He spooned me from behind, one arm resting lightly on my belly.We were both naked.Why bother with clothes if you’re just going to rip them off?

“If you cared about me, you’d go make coffee,” I said.

“Not my house.I’m a guest.You should make coffee.”

“I would, but I need a shower first.I smell like sweat and sex.”

“It smells good on you, but if you want a shower, I’ll help.”

I giggled.“Oh, you will, will you?How thoughtful of you.”

“I do what I can.”

Willow let out a softwooffrom her perch at the bottom of the bed, as if to tell us to shut up and let her sleep.We looked at each other and smiled, sliding quietly out of the bed so as not to disturb the furry dictator any further.

It was a long time later when we finally made it to the kitchen for coffee.I looked at the clock.“Crap.I need to get moving.I’m supposed to be at a client’s in an hour to do measurements for her wedding dress.”

Deuce looked up from the coffee he was pouring.“I have club shit this morning.Take Thor with you.”

“Can’t you get Thor to do the club shit?”

He shook his head.“He’s a prospect.This is patched member kind of shit.You want me to go, you need to wait until tomorrow.”

I sighed.“Fine.I’ll take Thor.”

Deuce glanced at his watch.“Speaking of which, I should probably get going.Text me when you leave and when you get there.”

I wrinkled my nose.“Yes, sir.”

He reached over and swatted my ass.“I’m worried, and until we figure this shit out I need to know you’re safe.Otherwise, I spend all my time worrying about you and I’m no good to anyone.”

“Oh, you were very good to me.Very good.”I giggled and skipped back out of reach.“I’ll keep you updated on my every move.”

“I appreciate it.”He put his coffee cup in the dishwasher and grabbed his cut off the chair he’d dropped it on when we came in last night.Slipping it on over his shoulder holster, he stalked over to me and took me in his arms to give me a quick kiss.“Be careful.”

“I will.”I walked to the door with him and watched as he mounted his bike and rode off.

Willow gave a little bark and turned to trot back into the living room.Jumping up on the sofa, she circled three times before lying down and closing her eyes.Apparently, our boisterous activities had interrupted her beauty sleep.

My gaze softened as I looked at the little critter fondly.“Spoiled brat.”

I returned to the kitchen and gulped down the rest of my coffee.Texting Thor that I’d be going out and needed an escort, I gathered my supplies and loaded them into the back seat of the car.One last trip inside, I made myself another coffee in the biggest travel mug I had and checked myself in the mirror.

All good.I texted Deuce to let him know I was leaving.

I made sure to set the alarm and lock the door behind me as I left.If I hadn’t already been security cautious due to my dad’s paranoia, the events of the past few days would have hammered the message home.

Thor was sitting on his bike when I backed out of the driveway.I wasn’t used to having someone follow me everywhere, but I was thankful for the added presence.A couple of weeks ago I wouldn’t have dreamed a person could be abducted from a busy coffee shop without anyone noticing, and yet it had happened.

Seems the world was out to prove my dad right.The world was a dangerous place.

I arrived at the client’s house in plenty of time and sent off another text to Deuce.It felt good to have someone other than my dad worry about me.

Katherine, my current client, was easy to work with and willing to listen to my advice on the best styles to suit her figure.Some brides had their hearts set on dresses that didn’t suit them, and it took a great deal to convince them to change their minds.Since the advent of computer modeling, that task had become easier.I could take a photo of the bride-to-be and show them a computer simulation of how they would appear in different styles and materials.

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