Page 46 of Intimately Faithful

She doled it out like water and for a long time he’d drowned in her.

“Your brat, if you’ll have me.”

Oh, yes.His instant reply, stuck in his throat.

Every word she spoke was a silken promise of things he shouldn’t hunger for.

Perhaps the big guy stepped in and helped a starving guy out, because there was an almighty loud knock on the door and Aoife jumped about a foot away and looked toward the back door and then at him with frightened eyes.

Danny moved into action immediately by placing the baby in the chair on top of the table and he cupped Aoife’s head briefly. “Relax,” he trusted the Renegade Souls word that no one unwanted would approach his door without alerting him first. He’d been in touch with Lawless several times over the last few days and he’d been told Grigori and the rest of his Russian crew hadn’t made any unfamiliar moves that would suggest they were looking for Aoife.

Danny questioned why, especially since Misha was his daughter.

Had it been Danny’s child, he would rip the world apart until he found them.

“What if it’s them?” She whispered, pushing her whole body into his side, she trembled viciously. Like he was stepping back into familiar skin, the protector in him pulled her in tightly to his ribs, his head bent lower. “It’s not them. You’re safe here, Aoife.”

“You swear?”

“I do. If you feel better you can go hide upstairs with Misha.”

As he’d known she’d do by suggesting she cower away from anything, her little pointed chin went up in the air and he watched bravado fill her little by little until a tiny titan was stood beside him. He grinned and tapped a kiss on her nose.

“Answer the door, Pastor Danny.”

He groaned from low in the back of his throat and paused in his step toward the door.

He was a sick, sick man to enjoy her using his title.

Though he assumed trouble wasn’t on the other side of the door, he was all too prepared to fight to protect her. The lick of the fight coaxed through his veins, willing to do whatever was needed in order that Aoife was taken care of.

So when he pulled it open he probably looked more menacing than intended.

His scowl fell seeing it was one of the Renegade Souls boys looming tall in the doorway.

“Man, if looks could kill I’d be one dead motherfucker come bearing gifts.” Laughed the man he knew called Preacher. He didn’t attend church, but he often collected his wife and sons from Sunday worship, and they’d shared conversation a time or two.

Danny relaxed his stance and offered a hand to shake. He invited the other guy inside, but he refused. “I can’t stay, just dropping these off.” He thrust a bag forward. “We managed to get some documentation. Birth certificate, passport, shit like that. There was a wallet, and a few pieces of jewelry, a cell phone. Our light fingered boy didn’t bother with clothes, he just got in and out.”

He felt her presence at his back and rather than move out of the way, he turned to the side and took his hand to her spine, letting her cozy up to him.Rightness.

Danny caught Preacher bouncing his eyes between them nosily as if the big man understood the situation, even if Danny couldn’t yet.

“Oh, my things,” she exclaimed in a pixie-esque squeal taking the bag and then she turned a thousand-watt smile on the biker.

And though he knew the other man was happily married, if the displays of over-affection on his church doorstep every week were anything to gauge by, Danny still felt the roar of possession being 9/10thof the law, by sliding that same hand onto her hip, squeezing tightly.

To which Aoife took delight in, by nudging herself closer.

A perfect fit and it had his heart racing.

“Thank you so much, I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” she told Preacher who only flashed a grin. “No problem. Well, I gotta fly.”

“You were so jealous, Pastor grabby hands.” Her beaming smile was like the sun when he closed and locked the door, burning him to ash from the inside and all he wanted to do was gather her in and see how the sun tasted.

He needed some control where she was concerned or God above, he’d be enslaved in seconds and wouldn’t the ginger haired brat just love that.

“I was not jealous. I was protecting you.”

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