“I’ve found the culprit. And she’s got the evidence of her crime, in her teeth!” She pointed to Luna.
“Uh-oh.” Razor came over and stood beside her. “Luna, did you sneak into Tabby’s bedroom and steal Octy?”
Luna woofed.
“And did you murder poor Octy, Luna?” she asked.
Another woof.
Tabby shook her head. “What do you think we should do with the guilty party, Daddy?”
Razor sighed. “Well, I think we’ll have to ban her from your bedroom.”
Luna whined.
“Daddy, I don’t think we need to be so harsh. Poor Luna.” She dropped down and put her arm around the dog. “She didn’t mean to.”
“She’s just going to get more of the stuffies, baby girl. Do you want to risk their safety?”
“No, I guess not. I’m sorry, Luna. No more stuffies for you.”
Luna licked her cheek.
“I guess she’s not too cut up about it.”
“Come on, time for lunch.”
Standing, she put her hand in Razor’s and let him lead her to the outdoor table.
“You did a good job finding the guilty party, baby girl.”
“I know, Daddy. I’m an excellent detective. Do you think I could join the Scooby-Doo gang?”
“I’m sure they’d love to have you,” he said as he pushed in her chair then handed her a sandwich. “Unfortunately, Daddy just couldn’t spare you. I need you here with me.”
“You would be lost without me, Daddy.”
“That I would.”
“Daddy, where are the Scooby snacks?” she asked, looking around. “Scooby’s been working hard, and he needs his snacks.”
“I’m sorry, Scooby. Let me go see what I’ve got.” He returned with a bowl of Luna’s food. She wrinkled her nose. “Doesn’t look very appetizing.”
“It’s dog food and Scooby is a dog.”
She gasped, putting her hands over Scooby’s ears. “Daddy! You’ll hurt his feelings.” Removing her hands, she gave Scooby a pat. “I’m sorry, Scooby. Daddy isn’t a very good waiter.”
“Excuse me?”
“I agree, Scooby. We should dock his pay.”
“Oh, how much money are you taking?”
“What do you say, Scooby? Shall we take two dollars an hour off him?”
“Jeez, that’s harsh.”
“What’s even harsher was that you were only on a buck an hour,” she told him. “So now you owe us money.”
She giggled as Razor shook his head.
“You and Scooby are a bad combination.”
21
Tabby tried to stifle the yawn as she climbed into the truck on Wednesday morning. Razor, who held the door open for her, turned her face towards him, staring down at her with concern.
“You’re exhausted. You need more sleep.”
“It’s hump day.”
He snorted. “Right. And that’s meant to explain everything?”
“Everyone’s tired on hump day. They’re waiting to get to the weekend. Everyone knows this, Daddy.”
“Right. Or, it could be that you don’t get enough sleep and then you get up and exercise, so you’re exhausted before you even start the day.”
“I’m sorry if I keep waking you up.”
“Hey, that’s not what I’m worried about. If you keep running on fumes, then you’re going to get sick. Maybe I should leave you at home today.”
No. She didn’t want to stay home. She loved Razor’s house, but she didn’t want to be here alone.
“I’ll be fine, promise.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want you wearing yourself out. But then, I don’t want to leave you on your own, either. I wonder if someone could come sit with you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Daddy,” she told him, affronted at the thought. How embarrassing would that be?
“That’s exactly what you need. If I leave you alone, you’ll get up to all sorts of mischief.”
“That’s just not true.”
“Maybe you could take a nap at work.”
Yeah. That wasn’t going to happen. “If I can’t nap at home, I’m not going to be able to nap at work.”
His face lightened and he smiled happily at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You called this place home.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“It absolutely is.” Leaning in, he kissed her and she melted into the seat. When he drew away, she had to fight the need to drag him back to her. He was doing his best to help her sleep with endless orgasms. But he hadn’t made a move to fuck her. Maybe that was the problem.
“Not being fucked is the problem?” he asked, amusement in his voice.
“Oh God! I said that out loud?”
He threw his head back and laughed. Even when he stopped laughing, his eyes were twinkling. “I’ll take that into consideration.”
Her breath caught. “Really?”
“Really.”
Oh hell yeah.
“You know what else might help me sleep?”
“Besides sex?”
“Um, yep.” Her cheeks grew hot. Sheesh, she sounded like such a hussy. “Being able to go for a run.”
He immediately frowned, shaking her head. “Your ankle isn’t fully healed.”
“Daddy, it’s fine. You’re being a fusspot.”
“A fusspot? If you go running too soon, you’ll reinjure yourself, and then you won’t be able to run for weeks.”
Drat. He had a point.
“Maybe we can leave a bit earlier today,” he told her. “You can have a nap. Besides, I’m hoping that something will arrive today to help you relax.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“No questions?”
“I like your surprises.”
“I’m glad, baby girl. Because I love surprising you. Now, let’s get to work.” Leaning in, he kissed her, then did up her seatbelt.
Just before lunchtime, she knew something was wrong. Her tummy started to cramp.
Shit. Shit.
Tabby hastily grabbed out her handbag and jumped up, rushing into the bathroom.
Well, crap.
Just awesome. She searched through her handbag for a tampon, letting out a sigh of relief when she found one. Her period had never been regular, so it generally caught her unawares.
Only problem was, one tampon wasn’t going to last her until the end of the day. Even if Razor still planned on leaving early. After cleaning up, she moved back into the office and closed down her computer. She’d go out and grab what she needed.
Ouch. Ouch.
Damn, the other issue of having irregular periods is that they were often painful as hell. She slowly made her way out to the workshop. She left Luna in the office. The poor dog whined at her, but if she had to walk down to the store, she didn’t want to take her.
Razor was standing, talking to Sav and Dart. Trying to look like her insides weren’t being twisted by a giant hand, she made her way over to them.
Razor had his back to her, but Sav was facing her. He frowned, his gaze roaming over her.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sav barked, making her pause.
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.” She smiled widely.
Now all three of them were staring at her.
“Baby girl? You’re awfully pale. Aren’t you feeling well?” Razor asked with concern in his voice.
“I feel fine.”
They all gave her looks of disbelief.
“I need to go out. I’ll be back soon. You want me to get anything?”
“You need to go out?” Razor asked incredulously.
“Yep. I’m going out.”
Razor crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not going out.”
As he spoke, she noticed that Sav nodded in agreement. What was with that?
“Razor, I need to go out.”
�
�Why?”
“I don’t have to explain why. I’m not a prisoner,” she snapped.
She wished the words back as soon as she said them. Crap. Shoot.
Razor’s eyes narrowed. “Of course you’re not. But I don’t want you going out on your own. And you know why.”
Damn it. What were the chances this Mr. X guy would come after her? And while she was out getting sanitary products? That wasn’t likely, right?
Did Sav and Dart know about Mr. X? Likely not if he wasn’t mentioning his name. She didn’t think that Dart had anything to do with the Iron Shadows.
Another cramp hit her then and she groaned.
Dart’s eyes narrowed.
“I just need to go out for a few minutes,” she said. “I’ll be back soon. I don’t even have to drive, I can go to the convenience store down the block.”
She was starting to wish she’d just gone instead of telling him. But she’d known he would flip out if she did that.
“What do you need to get?” Razor asked. “I’ll send one of the guys instead.”
“No way!” she squealed.
Several people turned to look over at her. Oh, Lord. She was acting like a crazy person. It was just tampons.
But that was something that Tommy was most certainly not going out and buying her. Ew.
She could feel her cheeks flare red. Dart leaned into Razor and said something quietly to him. Probably telling Razor that she was insane and he should run. She wouldn’t blame him. Then Razor stared at her again. He nodded.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said to Dart and Sav. Dart just nodded back while Sav appeared confused.
Razor wrapped an arm around her, leading her over to his truck. “You have everything you need?”
“Ah, yes,” she said confused. He led her to the passenger side of the truck.
After opening the door, he lifted her in and buckled her seatbelt. She wasn’t sure why but he liked to be the one to fasten her seatbelt. And it was such a sweet thing to do that she didn’t protest.
It was like he was confirming that she was safe. In fact, he usually tugged at the belt afterward as though ensuring that she was properly buckled in.
He climbed around into the driver’s seat. “Where do you want to go?”
“Just the convenience store is fine.”
“Sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Razor, you’ve got more important things to do. You really don’t need to drive me. I can go on my own.”
“You’re not going on your own. You know it’s not safe.”
“What are the odds that Mr. X would come after me? I mean, I’m no one. I don’t mean as much to you as Millie does to Spike, say. Or Emme to Reyes.”
He moved his truck to the side of the road, about half a block from the convenience store. Kind of odd to park here when he’d insisted on driving her. She really could have just walked.
“What did you just say?” he whispered.
Oh fuck.
She realized too late that he was furious. Turning, she saw he had his hands clenched around the steering wheel.
Taking in a deep breath, she reminded herself that Razor wouldn’t hurt her. Obviously, he was upset with what she’d just said.
Although she wasn’t entirely sure why. It was just the truth, right? How could she be as important to him as the others were to their men?
“Repeat what you just said, Tabitha.”
Uh-oh.
Girl, you are in so much trouble right now. She could practically feel her bottom cheeks warming as she sat there.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she whispered.
“Why is that?”
“Because you already look like you’re gonna explode.”
“And why would I explode? Hm? Why would I find it so upsetting for you to tell me that I don’t love you as much as Spike loves Millie? That losing you wouldn’t completely devastate me? Wouldn’t turn my world on its axis? Make everything darker? Huh? Why wouldn’t that upset me?”
She swallowed.
“And please stop looking at me like I would hurt you. I would never . . . I could never. . .” his voice was a soft whisper. “Please tell me you know that.” She could hear the plea in his voice.
“I don’t think you’re going to hurt me. I promise. Sometimes I just forget. Momentarily. I think it’s an instinct thing. It’s not like I’d be with you if I truly thought that you would harm me.”
“Good.” He stared out the window for a long moment.
“You really love me?” she whispered. Her? He really loved her?
“It kills me that you say that with such disbelief. As if I couldn’t possibly love you.” The more agitated he became, the thicker his drawl. “Why wouldn’t I love you, baby girl?”
She licked her lips. “That feels like a trick question.”
He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. Just sadness. She’d let him down. She hated that she’d done that. And now she had to fix it.
“I guess I’m not used to being loved.”
He nodded.
“I didn’t realize that you felt that way.”
He tensed.
Fuck. She was messing this up. Leaning back, she put her hands over her eyes. “I’m such a fuck-up. I don’t know what to say to make this better. Am I supposed to apologize? I don’t want you to be upset with me. I’m terrified of losing you. I love you so much that it would be impossible to carry on without you. I do—”
She was cut off as he slammed his hand over her mouth. Then he reached down with his other hand and undid the buckle on her belt. Suddenly, she was picked up and pulled onto his lap.
“Razor! What on—”
“You love me?”
She blinked. “Of course I love you. How could I not?” She threw his words back at him.
“Maybe because I’m a bossy old man, who’s over-protective and likes to spank?”
“Oh.”
“Oh? Oh what?” he demanded.
“Well, I figured those were your best qualities.”
He stared down at her for a moment before grinning. “They are. Brat.”
“I love you, Jeremiah,” she told him quietly. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“God, baby girl. Don’t ever tell me that you’re not as important to me as the others are to their men. I might just lose it, understand?”
“Lose what? Your marbles?”
“That too,” he told her dryly. “You’re precious to me. And I’m sorry if that means I get stifling, that you’re not allowed to go to the convenience store on your own or to sleep a night away from me. But that’s just the way it has to be. Because nothing is going to happen to you. Understand?”
“I’m sorry if I was being difficult,” she murmured as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I just needed to go to the store. Alone.”
“You don’t need to do anything alone. What do you need?”
“I’ve got my period. I need some stuff.”
“All right, let’s go then. Are you in a lot of pain? Cramps? Do you need a heating pad?”
“What? No. I just need some pain relief and other stuff. I’ll be fine. Actually, I can just walk from here. I’ll be back soon.”
He held her, not letting her climb off his lap. Shoot. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
“Look at me, baby girl.”
She tilted her head back, staring up at him. He studied her. “You get that I was married?”
“Yes.” What did that have anything to do with her period?
“And I have four sisters? I grew up in a household with five women?”
“Right.”
“You think I haven’t bought tampons before? Or fetched heating pads? Or been sent out for chocolate and painkillers? Baby, I’ve done all of that. You think I wouldn’t want to give you whatever you needed? Help you how I could?”
“Oh. Sorry. I guess, I’m not used to anyone helping me.”
“What happ
ened when you got your first period?”
“Razor!”
“Sorry, do you need to go get the stuff right away?”
“No, I found a tampon in my bag. It’s just . . . I’m not used to talking about this.”
“Who explained everything to you? Your mother was still around then?”
“Ah, no, my mom died before I got it.”
“Oh, baby. So who helped you?” he asked softly.
“Jared,” she whispered.
“He did?”
“Yeah. He found me crying in the bathroom and figured out what was wrong. I mean, technically, I knew what was going on. I went to a private school and we learned about it in health. But I had no idea what to do. Jared told me to hop in the bath. Then he went out and bought me stuff. When he came back, he helped me go through it and figure it all out. I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for him.”
Razor grunted. “Don’t want a reason to be thankful for the bastard.” He kissed the top of her head. “Hop back in your seat and I’ll drive closer.”
She moved over.
“Seatbelt,” he commanded.
“But we’re only driving a minute down the road.”
“And you’re going to put on your seatbelt.”
There he was, being all overprotective.
“Or I could get you some sort of harnessed baby car seat. That could work too.”
“I’m fastening it, I’m fastening it,” she said hastily, clicking the belt into place.
“Thought you might see it my way.”
When they got to the store, she didn’t expect Razor to follow her down the aisles, although she should have. He seemed really paranoid about this Mr. X.
There was no reason to think he’d come after her. But she guessed Razor was extra worried about losing her because of Sandy. Sympathy filled her at the thought and she promised herself that she’d be more careful from now on. She didn’t want to stress him out.
“Shoot,” she muttered as she stood in front of the shelves with pain relief.
“What’s wrong?”
“The kind I like isn’t here.”
“What kind do you usually have?” he asked as he grabbed a packet.
The kind that wasn’t pills.
“I’ll be fine without.”
“No, you won’t. Get this stuff. Unless you have an allergy?”
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