She stopped at the edge of the bed and straightened up onto her knees, putting her hands on her hips. “Like what you see, Dax?”
I cleared my throat and tried to speak, but ended up just nodding as I hurried to slip the shirt over her tempting body.
Once Arya was covered, I blew out a breath and scooped her into my arms.
“I can walk,” she giggled.
I shrugged. “I like carrying you.”
Instead of replying, she sighed and laid her head on my shoulder. My heart squeezed, and I had to wonder how anyone lived without this kind of happiness. Arya had become the oxygen I breathed, the sun that lit up my life, the beat of my heart—my everything.
When we reached the kitchen, I set her on the counter and kissed the tip of her nose before I went in search of what I needed to make breakfast.
Eventually, I set a plate on the table before grabbing Arya and taking a seat. She looked around and then back at me. “Is this yours or mine?”
I chuckled and forked up a bit of the omelet I’d whipped up. “Ours, baby. From now on, everything is ours.”
Arya blushed and smiled, then opened her mouth for the forkful of egg. She chewed and swallowed while I took a few bites. “Everything?”
I nodded, then hesitated for a second. “There are certain things to do with the club I won’t be able to share,” I admitted. Nova had become a prospect at eighteen. She’d been eight, meaning she’d basically grown up with her brother in an MC. I hoped she understood that I wasn’t holding out on her. This was simply the way it was with a motorcycle club. We protected our old ladies from the seedier—and sometimes questionable—side of things.
She nodded. “Of course.”
My brow arched in surprise. I’d hoped she’d come to accept it, but I hadn’t expected her agreement to be automatic and resolute. “You’re fucking perfect, you know that?”
Arya smiled brightly and opened her mouth for another bite. “Everything else?” she asked after eating a little more.
I tilted my head to the side, pretending to think. I’d done it to tease her, but then I realized there was in fact one more thing that was mine, and only mine. “Yeah, baby.” I slipped a hand down between her legs and cupped her sex. “This pussy. This is mine.”
Arya’s cheeks bloomed crimson, and she shifted restlessly on my lap.
Just in case she thought I was joking, I grabbed her chin in a firm grip and forced her to look at me. “I mean it, Arya. You don’t touch my pussy unless I tell you to. You don’t come unless I give you permission. It’s mine. Do you understand?”
Her eyes grew wide at my words, but not with fear. There was an element of shock; however, they were mostly filled with desire.
She finally nodded, and I released her chin to pick up the fork to continue feeding her. “Fucking perfect,” I murmured with a shake of my head.
Arya beamed at me before she relaxed against my chest. We sat there in comfortable silence while I finished feeding her breakfast, then I deposited her back on the counter while I did the dishes.
“How long have you been a patch with the Silver Saints?” she asked suddenly.
“Since I was eighteen,” I replied as I loaded the dishwasher. “I was a prospect as a teenager. Unusual, but Mac knew what my home life was like, and he knew if I didn’t have the club, I’d probably end up on the other side of the law.”
“Home life?”
I sighed and shut the door to the dishwasher before walking over to stand between her legs. If I could have, I would have kept my past from touching her, but I’d promised everything was ours, and that included my history.
“My parents were junkies. I guess they ran out of condoms and couldn’t afford anymore because my mom ended up pregnant. My dad took off, but I have to give my mom credit. She cleaned up while she was pregnant with me. She tried to take care of me, to stay clean, but my dad never stayed away permanently. Every time he came back, she fell down the rabbit hole with him. Then I’d end up in foster care, and she’d clean up so I could come home, only for the cycle to repeat. When I was in middle school, my dad decided I needed to earn my keep and wanted to force me to work for his dealer in exchange for drugs.”
Arya’s expression had turned sad, but there was no pity in her eyes. It repaired some of the cracks in my heart I hadn’t realized were still there. Her hands went around to lock at my neck, and she hugged me close.