Page 183 of Deacon

“That is just stalker language with a leather cut.”

Cage choked on his coffee. My laugh pulled hard enough at my ribs to make me wince, and Jackson caught it immediately.

He pointed toward my side. “See? This is why you’re supposed to be resting.”

I pressed a hand lightly against my ribs until the ache settled. “Then stop being funny.”

“That was our daughter, not me.”

Jade widened her eyes. “Who, me?”

Jackson muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like mouthy little gremlin. Jade grinned around her donut, and the sound of all of us in one room didn’t feel borrowed.

Cage left a little later with my invitation to come by whenever he wanted, Jade’s studied indifference fooling absolutely nobody, and one final look from Jackson that managed to contain both approval and a reminder that the bedroom door would continue to have rules.

Once the door shut, the apartment quieted again. Jade disappeared into her room with her phone and another donut, which probably meant Cage had made it across the hall before she started texting him.

Jackson locked the door and came back to me. He stood in front of the couch with his hands in his pockets for all of three seconds before dropping into a crouch.

That posture immediately made me suspicious. “What are you doing?”

His mouth tipped, but seriousness sat beneath it. “Before I say anything else, we need to talk about the insane stunt you pulled.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

He took my good hand in both of his, his thumb brushing over my knuckles while his jaw tightened around the memory. “Sneaking out of this apartment alone. Climbing down a fire escape. Going to some house by yourself without telling anybody where exactly you were going.” His gaze came back to mine. “Lila, if you ever put your life in danger like that again, or even think about doing it, I will put you over my knee and turn your ass red.”

I stared at him for a beat. Fear still lived underneath the threat. I could see it in the way he held my hand, like part of him remained convinced I might disappear again if he loosened his grip.

Unfortunately for his lecture, my body reacted to a very different part of what he had said. I lifted a brow. “You really have an obsession with spanking my ass.”

Heat replaced some of the fear in his eyes. Slowly. Deliberately. “Oh, Princess,” he said, voice dropping. “As soon as you’re healed, I’ll show you exactly how obsessed I am with spanking your sexy ass.”

My breath caught, traitorous and obvious.

Jackson noticed. Of course he did. Satisfaction tugged at his mouth before his expression gentled again. “Now,” he said, “I’m gonna make what I swear is a reasonable suggestion.”

His face promised the opposite. I settled deeper into the cushions and waited.

He looked down at our joined hands before meeting my eyes. “Move in with me.”

For a second I only stared.

Jackson rushed into the silence before I could decide whether it was shock or fear or something dangerously close to happiness. “You. Jade. Me. All together.” His thumb moved once over my knuckles. “We’re a family, Lila. We’ve been one, whether we were living like it or not. I want my family with me.”

My chest tightened. “Jackson...”

“My house is safer.” His certainty softened around the edges without disappearing. “It’s on the compound. Right next to Priest and Blue. You and Blue would be close. Jade would have people all around. I’d know you were both safe.”

Of course he knew exactly where to aim. Safety after the last two days. Blue close enough to walk to. Jade surrounded by people who would notice if she so much as missed breakfast. And the three of us under one roof, which scared me for reasons that had nothing to do with danger.

“I’d miss being so close to Evan.” The objection sounded weak even to me.

Jackson’s mouth twitched. “Ink’s got a house on the compound too.”

I turned my head slowly. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

His expression went pure smartass. “You know exactly what that means.”