Page 64 of Scatter the Bones

I take both of her hands in mine and draw her closer. “Thank you for listening to all of that stuff about my family.”

She slips her hands free and wraps her arms around my neck, pressing into me. The weight of her, the way she fits against me—perfect. So fucking perfect.

“You can tell me anything.” She turns her head, her hair tickling my neck, and whispers against my ear, “I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

“I know you are.”

As she pulls back, her earrings catch the light from the kitchen—the blue sapphires she wore to keep one of my club’s colors close to her today.

I let my gaze drift over her oversized dark purple sweatshirt and matching sweatpants. A black cat is embroidered on the front, and another peeks around one leg of her pants like it’s stalking prey.

I pinch the soft fabric between my fingers. “This is cute. Looks like something Gretel would’ve picked out for you.”

She glances down at the embroidery and smiles. “Sheisa bit of a narcissist, isn’t she?”

I tilt to the side, searching behind Margot. “Where is she, anyway?”

“I fed her when I got home. She’s probably snoozing her way through a food coma by now.”

I smile and squeeze her hips again, loving the feel of her—delicate but solid in all the ways I need. My fingers slip under the hem of her sweatshirt, searching for warm, bare skin.

She twitches. “You’re tickling me.”

“Hey, I’m grimy from riding all day. Will you come take a shower with me?”

Interest sparks in her eyes. “Sure.”

“Excellent.” I slide off my stool, curl my hand around hers and pull her toward the hallway.

“Right now?”

“It’s only getting later.” I stop outside her laundry room and start unbuttoning my flannel.

“You’re stripping in my laundry room?” she asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I’m all about efficiency, baby.”

Her shoulders shake with laughter as she gathers my clothes, tossing each item into the washer.

“I know how to do laundry,” I tease. “I ran the club’s laundromat downstate for quite a while.”

“I’m all about efficiency too, baby.” She grins as she tosses my words back at me. “Besides, the sooner you’re naked, the better.” Her gaze travels over my body, devouring every inch of my bare skin, finally landing on my jeans.

It’s such an unexpected thing for Margot to say, but I hold in my laughter. Still watching her face, I slowly pull my belt free and set it on the dryer, then empty my pockets one item at a time.

She sucks in a breath as I pop the top button of my jeans loose and slowly lower the zipper.

“You want to help?” I tease. “Or stand there and watch?”

She continues staring, following the movement of my hands. “You’re doing fine on your own.”

Holding her gaze, I let the silence stretch as I push my jeans down and kick them off, catching them mid-air. “You sure about that? Because you’re still fully dressed, and that seems awfully inefficient.”

That earns me a small smile. “You have a point.” She holds her arms over her head. “I could use some help though.”

“My pleasure.” I step closer and hook my fingers into the hem of her sweatshirt. The restraint I display should earn me a medal as I slowly drag the fabric up, revealing her soft curves, pale skin, and finally a blue lace bra. “You really were wearing blue underneath.”

“You thought I was lying?” Her words are muffled. Struck dumb by the dark blue lace encasing the heavy curves of her breasts, I stopped before taking her sweatshirt all the way off. I hurry to pull her arms free and toss the shirt aside. She shakes her hair out and the sapphires in her ears catch the light again.

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