Page 155 of Property of Stone
“You’ll be able to find someone for?—”
“For fuck’s sake, Taryn! Don’t want you to go.”
“Because of Sunny.”
He closed his eyes, and when he finally opened them again, headmitted, “‘Cause of me.”
“That had to hurt to admit.”
“A little bit.”
“So, you want to be with me? Or do you only want this to continue like I’m a house mouse with benefits?”
His jaw tightened. “You ain’t a house mouse.”
“When I heard what a house mouse was, it sounded exactly like this situation.”
“Ain’t a house mouse,” he repeated.
“What am I, then?” She waited. One heartbeat. Two.
Ten.
Twenty.
She could see the man struggling. He had never been in any type of real relationship before. The only females in his life long-term had been his mother and his daughter.
He probably didn’t recognize it for what it was despite the fact they’d been living as a family. Two parents. Two children. All they needed yet was a dog.
Taryn mentally rolled her eyes. They were far from a typical family. But so far, what they had created worked. In fact, it was working better than most families. Despite the fact he was an outlaw biker, their home life was less dysfunctional than most.
Lessbeing the key word. But then, what family was completely normal?
Despite that, Taryn didn’t hate it here. She actually liked it and it now felt like home. She had liked their arrangement. She liked both going to bed and waking up next to Stone. The sex was the best.
She loved how good he was with Wren.
She had a soft spot for Sunny, despite her taking so long to come around. They could continue to work on theirrelationship at the same time working through the trauma of what Vic did to her.
But if she stayed, she would need to do it for the right reasons. Because she and Stone had a deep connection. Not for only the kids or because the sex between them was great.
They would also need to figure out what to do about the bedroom situation. Sunny and Wren really needed their own rooms.
She knew Stone was capable of being loyal if he wanted to be. She saw how loyal he was to his club, to his brothers. But what she would not do was be in a relationship with someone who cheated.
Been there. Done that. Had the divorce to prove it.
She did not want to go through that again. Not ever.
She met his eyes and whispered, “What am I to you, Stone, if not a house mouse?”
She jumped when he suddenly went from frozen in place to jerking her hard against him. He dipped his head and took her mouth, sweeping his tongue through it.
Normally when he kissed her like that, she melted against him. But not today. She pulled free. “Don’t try to avoid the question.”
“Ain’t avoidin’ the question. Answerin’ it.”
“I refuse to make assumptions from a kiss.” She needed to hear how he felt loud and clear. She did not want to make another disastrous decision.
