Page 53 of Triple the Secrets
“Now, hold on just a minute,” Scarlett said, pushing to her feet. “I think you need to understand something very quickly, Rogue. You don’t get to tell me to do shit. Remember how that went for you before?”
“I remember perfectly well,” he snapped. “So unless you’d like me to remind you of just who is in charge here, then I wouldn’t test me right now, woman.”
Scarlett’s face flushed with anger, and her eyes glittered. “You think just because you got me into bed that you’re going to run right over me? Think again.”
“I think you’re asking for me to spank your ass red until you remember not to test me,” he snarled.
“I thought for sure he was going to say choke,” Wren quipped. “And how about we not talk about your sex life while we’re sitting here, please? It was traumatizing enough to walk in on you the first time.”
“I really don’t need to picture your hairy ass again,” Win added with a mock shudder.
Rogue held Scarlett’s stare, even as laughter broke out around them. The fear in her eyes made him want to rip something apart. But right behind it was strength and a spine of steel. She might be afraid, but she was going to fight. Even pissed off, he was proud of her.
“The compound is the safest place you and the girls can be,” he told her as calmly as he could. “We have someone at the gate at all times, and cameras and sensors all over the place. No one is getting on this property without us knowing. And there are multiple people here at any given time, so if I’m not around, then someone else will be.”
“And what about everything else that goes on inside these walls?” she asked coldly. “One of your club girls just had an entire confrontation with you and didn’t give a single fuck that she was buck ass naked in front of children. I have no doubt that there are more of her around here. The girls might know what sex is, but they don’t need to be exposed that.”
“Today was not the norm,” Savage interjected. “No club whores are in the clubhouse normally after six in the morning, or before nine in the evening. Some do have rooms here, but if they’re in the building during that time, they’re cleaning or cooking and fully clothed. We take the kids being around seriously. That doesn’t happen usually during the day, and it won’t be happening again. I give you my word.”
“We know what sex is,” Wren interjected.
“You still don’t need to see it,” Scarlett told her sharply.
“No kids are allowed at the clubhouse after nine on weekdays, and after seven on weekends,” Savage assured her. “We like to party, and that won’t be changing, but we’re careful with it because of the kids.”
Scarlett looked unconvinced.
“Look,” Rogue said impatiently, “right now, the biggest thing is to make sure you and the girls are safe. That asshole knows you’re here, and he’s probably already let his contacts know he’s found you. There is no way they aren’t trying to track you down. Which means they will check out your house, and they will try to snatch you. You staying here prevents that from happening, and we can work on stopping them.”
“We can go and stay with Lewis or Marc,” Win pointed out.
Rogue had to bite back a snarl at the names of the other two men. “No,” he barked.
“You have no say,” Scarlett snarled, stepping forward and poking him in the chest. “Lewis and Marc are the ones who saved us the first time, and they’re Marines. They can protect us.”
“Most of the men here are former military, Marines, and SEALs,” Rogue snapped at her. She looked startled and glanced around. “I’ll always be glad those men saved you, but I am your man, Scarlett, and I will protect you. I will protect the girls. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you’ll be happy here. Now, I’m done discussing it.” She opened her mouth to blast him, but he ignored her and looked at the girls. “Make a list of what you need from the house and give it to me. Only the essentials, anything else we’ll get for you.”
“Tampons and chocolate it is,” Win quipped, again trying to lighten the mood. Rogue just stared at her. She rolled her eyes. “Yeesh, fine. Lighten up, Uncle Ro-Ro.”
“Uncle Ro-Ro?” Razor snorted. “Damn, that’s good.”
Rogue gave him a withering glare, but Razor just grinned, unfazed. He looked back at Scarlett. She still looked unconvinced and like she wanted to argue. Damn stubborn woman, he thought. He looked at Fury and said, “Watch them,” with a nod towards the girls. Fury nodded, biting back a grin.
Before Scarlett could ask him what he was doing, he put her over his shoulder and headed for the stairs. Scarlett didn’t move for a few seconds, and then she started bucking and squirming. “Put me down, Rogue!” she barked at him. “What the hell?” He locked his arms around her legs so she couldn’t kick him, and ignored the laughter and whistling behind him.
He wasn’t surprised that Scarlett was still fighting him when he reached his room. The woman didn’t have a single easy-going bone in her body. He kicked the door shut behind him, threw her down onto the bed, and quickly crawled over her, bracketing her wrists against the bed with his hands so she couldn’t punch him. From the look in her eyes, she really wanted to. “Let me go,” she hissed between clenched teeth.
“No,” he growled at her. Then he put his mouth on hers and let her feel all his anger and frustration. But he also needed her to understand that he needed her. Wanted her. That he was going to be the one to protect them.
She resisted at first, making him want to smile despite everything, but then melted when he nipped her lower lip hard enough to make her gasp and allow his tongue inside. He dominated the kiss, fucking her mouth with his tongue and making her moan. She bucked against him, but he pressed tighter against her, letting her feel how much her fighting excited him.
She shifted her head back just enough to tug his lower lip between her teeth, nipping it, and making him growl. He pulled away, let go of one of her hands, and then wrapped his hand loosely around her throat. She immediately froze, eyes going wide and filling with heat. Her breathing picked up, and he had to force himself to not lose focus. “You like that, don’t you, baby?” he murmured, letting his thumb move slowly over the beating pulse in her neck. “Even when you’re spitting mad, you like it when I take control.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “In bed is one thing, but out of it is something else entirely,” she told him, some of the heat dimming.
He pulled his hand away, and he saw the quick flicker of disappointment in her eyes before it vanished. “Scarlett,” he said in a low voice, “I told you I wouldn’t let you go, and I meant it. Meant it about the girls, too. I won’t be okay letting you walk away with two other men. Men that can’t protect you the way I can. The way the club can. I get they’re Marines, but here, you have a goddamn army ready to go to war for you and the girls. We’re going to find these bastards and we’re going to tear them apart.”
Scarlett sighed and closed her eyes. “Rogue, it’s not that I don’t think that you can protect us,” she said softly. “It’s that I don’t like the choice being taken away from me. It’s one thing to want control all the time, Rogue, but you can’t always have it. Not with me. I need some control after everything. And part of that control is knowing I am protecting the girls. Just because you decree something doesn’t mean I’m going to fall in line.”
