Page 20 of Nightmare’s Playground

Sugar winked back, then sashayed her heart shaped ass to the other side of the room where Beast was playing darts with Yukon.

“Yo!”

My head swung around. “My bad.”

The men at the table chuckled. “No man’s immune to watchin’ that ass walk away,” Denali laughed.

Wasn’t that the fuckin’ truth.

Although, after watching her move across the room, he suddenly realized his cock hadn’t perked up at all.

His brows came together and he dropped his eyes to his lap.

What the fuck was happening him?

His dick wasn’t the least bit interested.

“You okay, Nightmare?”

Nightmare nodded at Denali. “Yeah. Fine.”

Ruthless lifted his hand and made a circle with his finger “This is my team. Fury, Hoss, Bull, Outlaw, Tank, and Maverick. We served in the Navy together.” He pointed his beer at me. “This is Nightmare. He's gonna help us with our little project.”

Five sets of eyes fastened on me.

"You comin' to Texas with us, too?”

I shook my head.

I'd thought about the offer Denali made earlier, but I couldn't leave St. Louis. "No,” I said. “My family is here."

The man Ruthless called Outlaw crossed his tattooed arms over his wide chest. "So?"

“I missed out on ten years with them; missed my nephews being born.” I shook my head again. “I’m not missing anything else.”

Ruthless studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. “I can respect that, brother.”

My eyes connected with Denali’s across the table as I took another sip.

Something was on his mind. I could tell by the odd look on his face. “I called Joy after we left earlier. She’s fine.”

I shrugged like I couldn’t care less.

It was a lie, though.

I did care.

I shouldn’t.

I knew that. I even had a whole list of reasons why I shouldn’t, but I kept seeing the way she’d looked like a kicked puppy after being dismissed by her brothers.

“That's good.”

Denali picked at the label on his beer. “I forget sometimes how fragile she is.”

That got my attention.

“Fragile?” I asked.