“When I call, you have to answer. I need to be as important as everyone else.”
He nods enthusiastically. “Done.”
“Unless you’re on a run, you have to come home. If, for some reason, you need to stay at the clubhouse, you have to tell me. I need the option of coming to stay with you there.”
“Done.”
“And you have to fuck me in your apartment.”
He gapes at her, and she’s almost as surprised as he is that she spoke it so bluntly. “What?”
“We’ve never had sex there, and staying in the clubhouse can’t be sexless.”
“I don’t want others to hear you.”
Shrugging, she stands, and he does the same. “My rules are non-negotiable. Take them or leave them.”
He says nothing, and she walks to the front door, her heart sinking. The few things she has left here can stay. She doesn’t need them badly enough to show him her broken heart again.
“Do you want to go there now or plan for a later time?”
Closing her eyes, the tears of relief fall, and she sighs. “Later’s good.”
His hands are on her in a flash, turning her around and cupping her face as his lips claim her. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry.”
“Tell me you love me.”
“I love you. Knowing I hurt you so much has been driving me crazy. I deserve the slap Lex gave me.”
Jamie chuckles and wipes her eyes. “Yeah, you kind of did.”
“Why can’t the clubhouse be sexless?” he asks. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Because we stayed there the night I had that surprise I planned for us. It was the first night I spent sexually frustrated. The first of many.”
Picking her up, he buries his face into her neck. “I promise never to let that happen again. My job as your man is to keep you satisfied.”
“Sexually satisfied?”
The wicked smile he gives her makes her melt. “In all ways, but sexually is at the very top of the list.”
“Take me.”
“I need to hear you say it first.”
She frowns, the ache between her legs becoming unbearable. “I thought I just did.”
“No, not that you want me to make love to you. Tell me you still love me.”
“Oh, Frances, I never stopped. I don’t think I ever could.”
“I never stopped, either. I just lost all sense of everything before, but I promise, it’ll never happen again.”
Gently rubbing the backs of her fingers along his cheeks, she locks eyes with him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you failed Aaron. Or Nina. Bad things just happen sometimes, and you can’t always stop them. They both know you loved them. I’m sure of that.”
“I wish I felt the same.”
“What can I do to help you?”
