8
Dane made another circuit of the living area floor, rocking and bouncing Arden.Her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted off in his arms.It had been a week since she’d come into his life, and he still never wanted to put her down.At least not until he looked at her serene face and imagined it twisted in pain, like Joy’s had been that long ago night that Clive had possessed her against her will.
Then he knew that he could never survive failing Arden like he’d done to her mother.
So many times.
Even now, he wondered if he was doing it again.Living under the same roof with her and Walker was putting him in danger of losing his mind.Every shared look, laugh, and intimate moment that fooled him into thinking they could be more than roommates made him hungry for exactly that.
Yet none of them had acknowledged the carnal desire that still pulsed between them.
It didn’t seem like the right time.Joy was a first-time mother with a newborn and going through a total upheaval.Hell, he didn’t even know if she was cleared to fool around after having Arden.There was so much he was clueless about.And every time they’d crossed that line in the past, it had led to disaster.
That didn’t keep him from wanting her more with every passing second.
Dane didn’t even have sex with Walker to help relieve some of the tension.Although he and his best friend had returned to sharing a bed, in order to give Joy and Arden the other room to themselves, Walker slept so near to the edge he had fallen off more than once.They didn’t dare lie close lest they be tempted to put their hands on each other.
They wouldn’t be able to keep from shouting the place down if they gave in to their passion now.Besides, it felt…wrong…to get it on and leave Joy out, with her so close and yet still impossible to reach.
Dane figured with the baby asleep and Joy also taking a well-deserved nap, he might have to sneak off to the bathroom for yet another jerkoff session.He was going to rub the damn thing raw if he wasn’t careful.
His frustration wasn’t only physical, though that was the simplest form to cure.
Joy had been up with a fussy Arden all night.And when he’d offered to take over minding the baby for a while, she’d shut him out, which was probably justified.Sure, she’d said it was out of respect for his work schedule the next day.But Dane knew the truth.
She didn’t trust him and Walker.And why should she?
Not even Joy could go without rest forever, though.And when she’d finally succumbed after he’d finished his shift, he’d promised to take Arden to the shop, where Amber was hanging out with Gavyn now that she was officially on leave to prepare for their own impending new addition.They could provide backup if he needed it.Surprisingly, so far he hadn’t.
Dane thought he’d even managed to get Arden’s diaper on right, though she’d peed on him in the process.He debated handing her off to Amber now, while she slept, so that he could make some progress on his special project.In fact, if Walker had kept going on it after he’d gone home to check on their girls, he might have finished it by now.
They’d been working on a portfolio piece for the shop, something to demo their metal fabrication skills for prospective customers.And when Joy arrived, both he and Walker had known what to do with the motorcycle.It screamed her name.
The bike was a highly modified café racer from the seventies with a lot of retro flair.It was white with white rims and Mustang Sally had taken it to her paint shop at Hot Rods to add pink details that made it both feminine and sassy simultaneously.It was petite and lightweight, easy for a woman of Joy’s stature to handle.Everyone in the shop had contributed to the project, Wren especially, but Quinn and Trevon too.Hell, even Gavyn had pitched in.
Now they only had to hope she still enjoyed riding.He’d understand if her mother’s death or all the years in between when he’d taught her to drive a motorcycle and now had erased her love of the wind in her hair.
If so, he prayed she would understand what they were trying to give her—the freedom she so desperately craved.
Dane strolled into the garage in time to see Walker arranging and rearranging the ribbons of a giant white bow.Walker never gave a shit about stuff like that, but it seemed he wanted their gift to be absolutely flawless, too.Dane smiled.Maybe there was hope for them yet.
He looked up and grinned before swiping an imaginary piece of dust from the gleaming fuel tank.“Hey.How’s it look?”
“Pretty damn fine, if I do say so myself.”Dane admired their work and the proof of what they could accomplish together.
“Maybe we should go get Joy,” Walker suggested.
Dane shook his head.“Let her sleep.There will be plenty of time later.”
“For what?”Joy asked, making them both spin around guiltily.“Is Arden okay?Sorry, I woke up when I couldn’t hear her anymore.I think it’s some kind of weird instinct.”
Dane could detect the panic underlying her admission.Apparently so could everyone else.
“She’s absolutely wonderful,” Amber called from where she was rocking Arden in the swing they’d set up for her in the office.“Don’t you worry about that.”
“Then…” Joy started to say before she noticed Dane and Walker standing proudly next to their work.She canted her head, then asked, “What’s this?”
“It’s for you,” Walker said simply.“I know how much it means to you to be independent.You’ve already got a car, but everyone knows a motorcycle is different.Besides, it’s what we know, what we’re good at, and what we have to share with you.I hope you like it.”