“Good. Is something wrong? Do you need help, Sarah?” Derik asked, earning a bit of respect from Reaper because he looked like he’d be stupid enough to try and help her if she said yes. Not that he’d be breathing long but at least the man would try.
“No, Reaper is…well…he’s…” Sarah seemed lost for a way to explain him.
“I’m helping her move,” he said with a grim smile that had Derik standing to look at him. That was when the kid moved. He toddled over to his mother and held his arms up to her.
“Up, mama,” the kid said, breaking the tension in the room. When Sarah lifted him into her arms he reached out, patting Reaper’s face with a sticky hand.
“No mean face,” Josh said, tapping his cheek. Reaper felt Sarah stiffen in his arms as she waited to see what he’d do. He looked at the boy. His eyes were the same amber color as his mother’s but his hair was a blonde so light it almost wasn’t visible. His cheeks were puffy and it was obvious that the kid ate well from the fat rolls on his chubby legs and arms. Reaper stuck his tongue out at the boy and Josh giggled.
Sarah relaxed and pulled away from him. She moved over to the playpen and set the kid in it after giving him a long hug and a few kisses. Reaper watched the scene and realized that Sarah was a good mother. She wasn’t like his mother who’d only given them affection when it suited her. It shouldn’t surprise him that she was but it did. He liked that side of her, but he wasn’t too sure about her working at the club. A mother shouldn’t be working at a strip club.
Not that she was stripping, he’d never allow that, but even working there was not the right job for a mother. Of course, if she no longer worked there he would have to go back to dealing with those annoying suppliers.
Derik seemed to be less hostile after he’d won the kid over and he was grabbing his bag from the dresser. “Sarah, call me if you need me to keep him when you get to your new place. I’m glad you’re moving. I’ve been worried about you because this place isn’t very safe. It’s a relief to know you will be somewhere safer. It is safer where you’re staying now, right?” he asked her meaningfully.
Reaper answered instead. “It’s safer. Much safer.”
Derik raised his eyes to Reaper’s and they shared a long stare before the man nodded and waved goodbye to Josh before leaving after saying goodbye to Sarah. Reaper looked around, seeing toys in a little basket.
“I’ll just pack things up and we can leave. Just have a seat. It shouldn’t take long,” Sarah said in a shaky voice, her hands indicating a chair at the little table. Not wanting to make her more nervous than she already was, he sat. The little boy in the playpen next to him began driving his car over the side of the playpen. When he was near Reaper’s arm he began driving over it, making vroom-vroom noises.
Reaper ignored the kid’s play and watched Sarah as she pulled a few jars down from the cabinet and then grabbed a bag to put them into. She put two cups and a small bowl and spoon set for the boy into the bag before moving out of sight into the bathroom.
“Out,” Josh said.
Reaper turned to look at the kid and saw that he was holding his arms out to him expectantly. Reaper didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t a kid kind of man and it was strange that the boy wasn’t frightened of him. He shouldn’t really be surprised, he supposed; after all this was Sarah’s kid and she wasn’t afraid of his dark glower either.
“Out,” the little boy demanded again. Unsure what to do, Reaper lifted the boy out of the playpen, setting him on the floor. Josh stood up using Reaper’s legs to help him and then he began to climb Reaper’s leg. Reaper stared at the kid in astonishment. What the hell was the kid doing? Josh managed to climb up his leg, using his arms to pull himself into Reaper’s lap. Then he stood on his legs and patted Reaper’s face.
“Mean face,” Josh said, making growling sounds. Reaper scowled at the boy, who giggled and patted his face again. “Funny face.”
Unsure why the kid thought his ‘mean face’ looked funny, he raised an eyebrow at the boy, who patted his cheeks again. “Not mean face! Funny face.”
Reaper didn’t know what the heck the little boy wanted but he guessed he was trying to get him to make a funny face. The problem was he didn’t really do funny faces. He stuck his tongue out at the kid, who giggled again like a little hyena.
“Josh, oh dear.” Sarah was rushing over to pull the boy off his lap but he barked, “He’s fine. Just pack.” Sarah looked unsure but he gave her his dark scowl and Josh patted his cheeks.
“Mean face, mama. Grrrr…” the little boy growled and Sarah laughed at the little boy who tried to make his face look like Reaper’s scowl.
“Yes, baby, that is a mean face,” Sarah said, smiling at Reaper.
He felt as if a fist had punched him in the gut when she smiled like that. He felt a sharp stab of yearning need break free inside him as he watched her. That smile was so open and free and full of something more. Something he couldn’t put his finger on for a moment, then realized it was love.
That was the more behind that smile, pure, unwavering love, and he realized that he wanted Sarah to smile at him like that. He shook his head because that was ridiculous, he didn’t want her to love him. He just wanted in her pants and once he’d gotten his fill of her sweetness, he’d walk away like he always did because if Reaper had learned one lesson in life, it was that you didn’t open you heart unless you wanted it crushed.
Sarah sighed in relief when Reaper slammed the door to the back of the car and came around to her window. She was still freaking out that he’d insisted that she wasn’t staying here. She almost died when he’d reached for his gun to kill Derik. She didn’t know why he’d wanted to kill him but she’d seen his hand move towards the gun and had acted on instinct, grabbing his hand. He’d allowed it too. She didn’t fool herself that she had stopped him; even with her firm grip on his arm he could have broken her hold.
She was confused by the night’s events and she didn’t know where he was taking her, but she hoped it was somewhere cheap because otherwise she wouldn’t be there for long no matter what he said. She had to be frugal and he’d have to understand that.
“Follow me and don’t try any bullshit. I am not in the mood for it tonight,” he barked as he moved past her window and climbed on his bike. Sarah followed him out of the parking lot headed goodness knew where.
She peeked into the back seat at a sleeping Josh. It had shocked her to walk out of the bathroom to find Josh standing on Reaper’s lap. Then he told her it was fine as if having a two year old in his face demanding he perform was a perfectly normal day for him. She knew it wasn’t and the fact that he’d allowed the boy to do it said a lot about him. Likely more than he’d like it to.
It told Sarah that he was a good man despite his rough, rude exterior. He had allowed Josh to play in his lap while she’d gathered their things. When she’d turned from packing their clothes to find Josh leaning on Reaper’s shoulder with his thumb in his mouth about to fall asleep, she hadn’t been surprised that Reaper had an arm around the boy and was sitting at an odd angle to allow it.
The care he’d shown for her child didn’t help stop the desire she felt for him blazing through her insides. Following his bike along the road, she wondered what she was going to do if he fired her now that he knew she had a kid. She’d get paid at least for this week and then she’d figure it out.
Ten minutes later when Reaper pulled into a garage, she cringed. This wasn’t going to be a low priced place; she could tell by the steel door on the garage and the fancy security system she could see before she even got out of the car.
She shut off the engine and got out, standing near the door. Reaper came over opening the trunk.
“Reaper, I can’t afford this place,” she told him quietly.
“You can. Get the boy,” he grunted, grabbing the playpen and the toys out of the back.
“No, I can’t. This place is likely to be three thousand credits a month and I can’t afford half t
hat.”
“It’s not going to cost anything and I am too fucking tired to argue with you about this tonight. Get the boy,” he growled, glaring at her. He walked past her, heading up a flight of stairs leading to the security panel and a door.
“I will not let you pay for my housing, Reaper! I am not going to live off you.”
“I am too fucking tired and the boy needs to get into a bed and not sleep in a damned cage, so get him and get your sexy little ass up these stairs! Or I will come down there and carry your ass up here. Now move!” he roared before turning and scanning his hand before punching in a code.
She had little choice but to follow him. He would just force the issue if she refused. She wondered again what the hell she’d been thinking when she’d walked into the Blue Bird two weeks ago. She would have to stay here tonight but in the morning she was going to have to find somewhere else to stay because she wasn’t going to live off a man like her mother had. She wasn’t going to do that to her son. Getting Josh out of the car, she turned to find Reaper right behind her.
“Here, let me take him. You get that bag with the applesauce, it’s lighter.” He held out his arms for Josh.
“I got him,” Sarah said, getting irritated with his high-handed behavior.
“Give me the boy, Sarah. I don’t want you to fall on the stairs, they’re steep.”
Sighing because she didn’t want to argue with him anymore tonight, she handed Josh to him before grabbing the bag. Following him into the apartment, she was a bit awed. They entered through a huge kitchen. She set the bags of food down on the counter before following Reaper into the living room. Art was hung all along the walls. Some of it made her blush because it depicted naked women in tastefully done sexual positions. They were mostly statues but there was a painting as well. She saw that he was carrying Josh across the apartment and into a bedroom.
He moved to the right of the bed with Josh, laying him down in the playpen he must have set up before coming back out.
“There is a bathroom through there and your bags are in the corner of the room. I turned on the light in the bathroom so you don’t wake the boy. We can discuss this in the morning. For now let’s just get some sleep.” Reaper ran a hand over his face and she noticed that he seemed worn down. She felt sympathy for him fill her and she nodded. She was tired too.
“Okay, I will call you in the morning but we will be talking about this, Reaper. We can’t allow you to pay for this place for us.”
“I’m sure we will, Sarah. Just not tonight. I’ll see you in the morning. Just come in my room and wake me if I’m not up when you get up,” Reaper said as he walked out of the bedroom. At first it didn’t dawn on Sarah what he’d said until he was out the door in the small hallway.
Then she shot out of the room after him hissing, “What do you mean wake you in the morning?”
“Exactly what you think it means, Sarah.”
“This is your house! We can’t stay at your house!” Sarah voice rose and Reaper shushed her.
“You’re going to wake the kid. I told you, we can argue about this tomorrow. Just go to sleep. I am too tired for this and my freaking head is killing me. Please, just go to bed.” He rubbed between his eyes and she could see that he was in pain. She felt her heart squeeze and she finally gave in. She could deal with it for one night, but in the morning she was going to let him have it.
“Fine, but in the morning we are talking about this and we’ll find somewhere else to stay.” Sarah didn’t wait for a reply, she just went into the bedroom and locked the door, leaning against it and wondering what the hell had happened. After several moments she sighed and walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Chapter 11
Sarah woke the next morning to find Josh missing from his playpen. A sense of panic overtaking her, she jumped to her feet, running out the door of her room into the hallway. Her heart beating so hard that a roaring began to ring in her ears, she rushed into the room he’d most likely head to. She glanced around the living room frantically, not seeing Josh anywhere. She could hear Reaper’s rich baritone in the kitchen. Deciding that she needed help to find Josh, she rushed through the door of the kitchen.
Her insides were churning in apprehension. Josh could be anywhere and in a place that hadn’t been childproofed, who knew what could happen to him. She felt tears stinging her eyes and her hands were shaking.
“I can’t fi—” she began, stopping short at the sight before her.
Josh was in his highchair with a spoon halfway to his mouth and Reaper was drinking a cup of coffee at the table nearby. She couldn’t believe it.
As the panic finally settled, she remembered something else. Last night she had locked the bedroom door. How the hell had Reaper gotten into their room? Her hands landing on her hips, she clenched her jaw. Glaring at him, she took a deep breath to calm the sudden surge of anger. She didn’t want to yell in front of Josh.
“Uh-oh, mad face,” Josh said sagely from his highchair.
“Is it now. Huh– good to know,” Reaper said smirking. Sarah wanted to smack that smug look off his face. She couldn’t, not with Josh in the room, so she glowered at him instead.
“How did you get into our room? I distinctly remember that I locked the door last night,” Sarah asked, her eyes narrowed as she stood in the doorway.
“And I have a key. The boy was calling out Mama for about twenty minutes. You weren’t getting up, so I opened the door to check on you. Josh was up and you were not responding, so I brought him in the living room. He played for a while, then we came in here to eat.”
Reaper examined Sarah. Her hair was mussed and she wore a t-shirt, which clung tightly to her slight chest. Along with her angry expression, it all added up to her looking sexy as fuck. He felt his cock twitch as he watched her.
Her cheek still had the impression of the pillow and he was really fond of the shorts she had on, which were made from barely enough material to cover her ass. He knew then that he would be keeping her here instead of across the street in the other apartment the club owned. He hadn’t realized that this wasn’t a whim for him until this moment. It was startling to realize that she was here in his house and he wasn’t going to let her leave. He wanted her here with him, it was that simple, and he didn’t bother to fight the need.
He was however shocked that he felt that way because she was a package deal and he knew better than to think otherwise. She came with the boy who sat in the highchair making a mess with applesauce as he tried to eat it. The kid came with her and he was unsure why that didn’t bother him, but it didn’t.
Most kids annoyed Reaper, but Josh wasn’t much trouble. The kid had really only called Sarah twice this morning. The real reason he’d opened the door was that Reaper hadn’t liked the locked door between them when he woke. Unlocking the door was something he’d have done even if the kid had been asleep. He didn’t tell her that though, he just drank his coffee and glanced at her from over the rim. He recalled how the sight of her sleeping form on the bed had made his chest ache. She’d looked so peaceful.
After deciding to let her sleep in because he couldn’t bear to wake her, he had taken the kid into the living room. His choice likely had something to do with the sight of her leg drawn up on the outside of the covers displaying that sweet, tight ass in those tiny little shorts. He might become very fond of that scrap of material, he decided, feeling his dick stir.
Having shut the door to her room and his, he’d let the boy toddle around for a bit this morning. There had been only one upset this morning. When Josh told him he had to go to the bathroom he had been a little freaked, but they’d managed.
When the kid had asked for applesauce he assumed it was a normal breakfast food for Josh because Sarah had brought four jars with her last night. He given Josh a large bowl and made some coffee for himself and Sarah. Now, he was reading one of his favorite books, a thriller, and drinking his coffee while
watching the boy paint his whole body with applesauce.
When she’d entered looking panicked, he’d felt a little bad for not waking her up to tell her he was taking Josh, but then her look had turned sour and her eyes had narrowed. He’d known she was mad about something, but the kid had confirmed it.
The boy and he should get along just fine, he decided. Josh wasn’t annoyingly whiny like Toper’s kids and he didn’t ask a ton of questions like Mrs. Black’s daughter from across the street did. She was twelve and he almost ran when he saw her coming because she was a pain in the ass.
Reaper gazed at Sarah, who walked to the counter, grabbed a coffee cup and poured herself some. She then walked over and kissed the boy on the head before sitting down across from Reaper, a glare still directed at him that made him raise his brows at her boldness. She calmly put three spoonfuls of sugar in her coffee and then took a sip. Her eyes closed and she sighed. He’d guess she didn’t get to ruin a fine cup of coffee often. The little tin he’d seen her bring couldn’t have cost more than three credits and she’d just dumped half a pound of sugar into his seven credit an ounce coffee. He wanted to protest, but the anger in her look stopped him.
“Let’s talk about this…situation. Josh and I can’t stay here in your house, Reaper.”
“Yeah, you can, Sarah, and you’re going to,” Reaper told her calmly, frustration riding him hard at the thought of her leaving.
She frowned at him over the rim of her coffee cup. “I don’t take orders from you, as—jerk,” she amended, not wanting to teach her son a new word.
She was seething with irritation over the way he sat calmly across from her and didn’t seem to notice that she was telling him that she wasn’t going to be following his orders. She knew that his biker gang jumped to meet his every command and the women who worked for him hung on his words as if they were law. That wasn’t her. She didn’t plan on jumping every time he commanded her to. It just was not going to happen. She knew that he didn’t like to be denied something he wanted. She also knew he was going to have to get used to being disappointed because she wasn’t a damned pushover.
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