Wow. Okay, I didn’t know how to recover from that. I never expected him to apologize and to admit that he was an asshole.

“As for last night, not happening. I appreciate you helping Z, but this is not a situation that I would ever let you be involved in.”

“Thank you for apologizing.” I bite the inside of my cheek, not knowing what I should say or do, and my stomach takes that moment to remind me I haven’t eaten in over twenty-four hours, breaking into the moment with a loud growl.

“Sit, I made you breakfast.” He points towards my kitchen table and I take a seat, and the second my ass hits the chair, I immediately realize I have no panties on and my robe is not exactly long. He brings the plate over and sets it in front of me before I have a chance to get up and go to my room. Then he comes back a second later, setting down a cup of coffee. He gets a plate for himself and a cup of coffee, sets it on the table next to mine, and then sits next to me, his jean clad leg rubbing against my bare thigh. I squeeze my legs together as tightly as I can and pick up the coffee in front of me, taking a sip.

“Is it okay?”

“Perfect,” I mumble then look down at my plate. “You made this?” I look up at him then back down at the perfect omelet that is sitting on my plate next to two pieces of flawlessly cooked bacon.

“I did.” He smiles, taking a bite of his, and I follow suit and moan as the taste hits my tongue.

“Holy crap, you can cook,” I mumble, taking another bite, then I swing one leg up to cross over the other without thinking. His fork that was halfway to his mouth pauses and his eyes drop to my right thigh. I quickly uncross my legs and pull my robe back down to cover myself up.

“Please tell me you have something on under that thing,” he rumbles, and the deepness of his words vibrates between my legs.

“I—”

“Fuck,” he clips, making me jump slightly. He stands from the table and walks to the fridge. “Go put something on before I set your little ass up on the table and eat you for breakfast,” he growls, clenching his fists at his sides.

HOLY COW My pulse kicks into overdrive, and I feel my core clench at his words and the way he’s holding himself. “I…”

I start to…I don’t know, apologize, when his eyes flash again and he snarls, “Now,” making me jump out of my seat and run to my room.

“Holy shit,” I whisper. I go to my dresser and grab a bra and panties, slipping them both on quickly. Then I dig through my closet until I find a pair of sweats, and pull them on with a t-shirt before slowly making my way out of the room and back into the kitchen.

“Is this better?” I ask, not even sitting down until I know I’m safe.

His eyes sweep over me and he nods, so I sit back down, pick my coffee back up, and shakily take a sip.

“Until I get in there, and I mean really get in there, you need to wear clothes when I’m around.”

“This is my house,” I mutter, ignoring the part about him getting into me, because that image caused my whole body to heat up, and I could feel myself turning red from the thought alone.

“Never said it wasn’t, baby,” he murmurs, taking a seat next to me.

I try to think of something to say, but my mind is so focused on just trying to breath that nothing comes to mind.

“You wanna tell me why you were dressed like Catwoman last night at Mamma’s Country?”

“Nope,” I reply immediately definitely not wanting to fill the silence with that conversation.

“Why were you there, July?” he questions more firmly.

“So you don’t have to tell me why you showed up at my house last night, but you expect me to tell you what happened?” I lower my eyes to my plate, saying, “Not likely,” under my breath.

“Is it about the dogs?” he asks gently as his fingers pull up on the underside of my jaw, causing my gaze to meet his. “Talk to me.” The gentleness of his voice and softness in his eyes causes the words to come tumbling out.

“The morning Jax was here, there was another dog left outside the clinic.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, baby,” he says as his fingers come up to run down the side of my face and I try to ignore the way his touch feels.

“I want to find out who’s doing this.” I lower my gaze when I feel tears sting my nose from thinking about the helpless animals that have lost their lives just so some asshole could have a few minutes of entertainment. “I will find out who’s doing this.”

“Do you believe the person who’s connected to the dogs was at the bar last night?” he asks gently.

I nod, still looking down at my plate. “Kayan and I followed the guy after he dropped off another dog.”

He lets out a loud puff of air and I can feel the energy change. “Don’t go there again.” My head comes up and our eyes connect. “I know you have no reason to trust me yet.” His eyes drop to my mouth and his thumb touches the edge of my bottom lip before they meet mine again. “But I need you to promise me you won’t go back there.”

“Why?” I ask softly.

“Babe.” He shakes his head then frowns when pounding starts on my front door. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know.” I get up and head toward the door when Wes pulls me behind him and opens it.

“Do you want to live, Silver?” Jax asks, shoving his way into my house.

“Fuck you, Mayson,” Wes replies, and Jax looks me over then shakes his head, looking at Wes again.