Page 88 of Riding Hard

“Right,” I agree.

“Then it could be worse,” she murmurs.

I don’t tell her how illegal it is to do what we do and how I’ve used all the proceeds from that very illegal business to fund my own business. Getting convicted of any wrongdoing could put my entire retirement plan in jeopardy.

I’m not sure what it says about her that she’s accepted my career choice so easily. She knows the club is involved in illegal shit, and she knows what that shit is, but she’s acting as if I’m working a nine-to-five when I’m clearly not.

I guess it doesn’t matter as long as she knows the basics and she’s good with it. She still accepts me for me, loves me for me, and is mine. All she really needs to know is that I’m her man.

And that I’m going to take care of her. Plus, I fucking love her.

Every goddamn ounce of her.

CHAPTER

SEVENTY

JULIETTE

“I don’t think I should do this,” I say.

I’m standing in front of a mirror, staring at my reflection. “Yes, you really should. Babe, if I had your body, I would be unstoppable.”

Looking over my shoulder, I arch my brow as I look back at the beyond curvy and sexy woman who is standing just a few feet away from me. Elodie is wearing a little black dress that could stop traffic.

She is gorgeous, as always.

“You’re crazy,” I state.

“Long and lean, can wear anything on earth, and it looks amazing. Yeah, I’m so crazy.”

I shake my head once. “Curves and a body that goes for days, you’re crazy.”

There is a moment of silence before she rolls her eyes, then she moves toward me. Turning around to face her, I watch as she closes the distance between us.

“We’re going to agree to disagree, and instead of arguing back and forth, go visit our men.”

Before I can respond, she lifts her hand and gently glides her fingers across the inside of my wrist. She does it gently so I don’t cry out in pain. The ink is brand new, like, less than an hour old, and I’m going to show it off tonight.

As I glance down at the black ink on my wrist, my lips curve up into a smile. Loot. I never imagined in a million years that I would permanently put someone else’s name on my body, but here I am, name inked on me forever.

“He’s going to love this. Seriously.”

“Yeah,” I breathe.

I know he is.

Slade mentioned me getting his name inked on my body somewhere. I kept telling him that it was never going to happen. It’s been a bit of a point of contention between us. It’s something important to him, although I didn’t quite understand why until I talked to Elodie about it.

She’s got a Wrath tattoo. It brands her as his woman for everyone in their world to see, to know, to understand that she is untouchable. She is to be respected. She is Wrath’s old lady, better than his wife, but that, too.

Slade wants all of that for me. I can understand that, even if I don’t quite get it. This world is all new to me. Hell, the world itself seems brand new to me. Victor is gone. I don’t have to run and hide anymore. It’s as if the entire planet burst into color. What was once black, gray, and white is now filled with vibrant, electric colors.

Alex has also mentioned a tattoo for himself, but I don’t know how that would work for him, and he hasn’t confirmed or denied anything when it comes to Fantasy. All he did was give me information about it all, but I can tell he wasn’t really talking to me about it. He was talking more to himself.

What it means.

What it stands for. How important it is to Slade, and in turn, to Fantasy. I know that’s what he was thinking, and I didn’t call him on it, mainly because I think it’s sweet as hell.