Page 50 of Down & Dirty: Rage

“Me and you. Don’t wanna fuck up anythin’ between us.”

“I don’t, either. You don’t know that it will.”

“Don’t know that it won’t.”

She sighed.

“Anyway, you know the fuckin’ rules, Lyric. I’d need to approach Crow first. Since I ain’t lookin’ for an ol’ lady, he ain’t gonna give me the okay to bang his daughter when I ain’t lookin’ for y—” He caught himself and finished with, “Anyone to wear my cut.”

He was right about the first part, and as for the second? Damn it, that was most likely true, too.

Sex wasn’t something she wanted to discuss with her father, either, and never would if she had the choice. “I won’t tell a soul.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Even Avery?”

“Especially Avery. I simply thought…” She huffed out a breath. “You got hard when we kissed.” Heat rushed into her cheeks.

“Yeah, and?”

“And I thought…”

“Doin’ too much thinkin’, woman.”

That wasn’t anything new. “I figured since…we spend a lot of…you come into the shop a lot…”

Jesus, Lyric, get your shit together.

“No shit. We’re family.”

Family.

His explanation made her start to take a step back, but before she could create a gap between them, he grabbed her hip and kept her close.

Tipping his head down, he stared into her eyes and gently brushed his tattooed knuckles along her cheek. He then closed his eyes and groaned out a, “Fuck. Never said I didn’t want you. Just said it ain’t smart.”

“Look at me,” she whispered.

She lost her breath when his eyes opened. He appeared torn. Tortured. As if he wanted to make the right decision but was about to make a wrong one.

And she was the wrong one.

“Don’t wanna fuck shit up between us, baby. I don’t. Need you in my life and don’t wanna give you any reason not to be.”

That possibility made her heart ache. “I’m not going anywhere.”

A crease wrinkled his brow. “Kyra left.”

“She left because…” She left because Zeke had cheated on her. But Lyric wasn’t asking Ash to be exclusive. Truth be told, she didn’t know what she was asking for.

A chance, maybe. To see where this could go.

“She left because she had nothing to keep her here, Ash. I do.”

“She had her family.”

“But her family is nothing like ours. Nobody leaves ours.” That sounded more ominous than it should. It wasn’t likenobodycould leave; prospects did all the time. The majority simply choose not to. Including the women.

It was a lifestyle they all knew and loved, despite the cons.