Page 49 of Until Joy

He scowled at me. “I haven’t heard any complaints.”

That stopped me up short. “I’m not talking about any of your other women,” I said softly.

“Hey, wait a minute.” He pulled me out of my corner of the couch and onto his lap. “You misunderstood me. I haven’t brought any other woman over here. Well, not on a date. You’re it.”

“You’re kidding.”

He cuddled me even closer, tipping my chin higher so that his gaze bored into mine. “I’m not joking. You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to invite into my home. I’ve had friends over. Some of my brothers and their women. But not a date. And what’s more, you’re much more than a date.”

I melted against him.

“You’re much more than a date to me, too. I consider you my man.”

He smiled slowly. “I like the sound of that.” He bent and kissed me softly. I sighed against his mouth. His soft kisses were one of my favorite flavors.

I heard the faint sound of “Stand by Me” being sung by Ben E. King.

“I’ve got to take that,” I said as I reluctantly untangled from Graham’s arms.

“Hmm?” Graham said as he released me.

“It’s my phone, inside my purse. It’s Seth calling.”

Graham cocked his head. “Cool song.”

As I stood up, the song ended, which meant my brother had gone to voicemail. Not that he’d leave one. He’d text me next. Normally he called when I was working nights; he knew that was a good time for us to chat. I was worried that he was calling on a weekend.

“I’ll get dinner started,” Graham said as he followed me inside.

“Where are we going to eat if it ever rains?” I asked as I scooped up my purse.

“You can sit on my lap on the recliner. Or we can sit on the floor and eat. We’ll pretend it’s a picnic.”

I shook my head. “Definitely furniture shopping.” July had told me how the men who were part of the Broken Eagles MC were compensated for their work, so I knew that Graham could afford furniture. Therefore, I didn’t feel bad poking at him to spend money.

I looked down at my phone. As I suspected, there was a text. All it said was, Call me.

That sounded ominous. I usually only got those kinds of texts when Seth was angry or worried. I pressed in his number as I sat down in Graham’s comfy recliner and leaned back. I could see half of the kitchen from where I was sitting, so I saw Graham pulling things out of the fridge. It looked like he had been marinating something. Was he going to grill?

“Joy. Emmie told me that you’re dating a biker. Is that true?”

What the hell? Where was this coming from?

“Judgy much?”

“Just answer the question,” Seth bit out.

“He rides a Harley and he belongs to a motorcycle club. If that’s your definition of a biker, then yes, I am.”

“Dump him.”

I sat up straight.

“I’m twenty-four years old. You’re not going to tell me who I can or can’t date.”

“This is not up for debate. You dump him right now, or Randy and I will be coming out to Murfreesboro tomorrow, and we’ll dump him on his ass for you.”

I shot up off the chair. That’s when I noticed Graham was now in the living room, his muscled arms crossed against his big chest. I couldn’t read his expression.