Absent-minded Juice stroked her dyed strands. She was lying on her side, her head on his chest and one leg draped over his. With her fingertip she drew meaningless figures around his navel. He felt peacefully, as they were lying here in a content silence.
He wished it could stay this way forever.
He did his best not to look too far ahead, to not wonder if they would still lay here next year. The thought she might no longer be in his life, twisted his intestines.
Nevertheless her turbulent life was also the reason she meant so much to him. Because he'd been there for her when her mother died, when one of Maddox's men had been next to her at the funeral and also when her brother was arrested, they'd been through many emotional moments whereby he'd gotten closer to her in a month then had ever happened with his ex. The constant threat made every moment together worthwhile. They made love like each time could be the last one, they fully surrendered themselves. It made this relationship much intenser than he ever could have imagined.
She turned up her head and studied his face, smiling. "What are you thinking?"
He laced his fingers with hers when they climbed his chest and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. "It feels like our relationship rushed by like a bullet train because we've faced so many heavy things in a short period. I just can't imagine I'd never heard of you two months ago."
"Yeah... that's crazy, huh? Two months..." She sighed softly. "I never met anyone of the people I care about now."
"Except Kozik," Juice realized. It still felt strange his girlfriend had already known his brother when she was at the elementary school.
She squeezed his hand. "You still angry at him?"
Juice suppressed a sigh. Was he? As soon as Kozik had discovered Dana belonged to him, he hadn't challenged him. No, he wasn't angry at him. "It's just... a strange idea. That you two..." He shook his head and stared at the ceiling. "He's so much older."
She shrugged her shoulders. "You're older than me."
"Four years. Not fourteen."
She chuckled softly. "I just have a thing for older men."
"And I thought Opie and Jax were my only rivals. Apparently I have to keep an eye on Bobby and Piney too."
She raised herself on her elbow and brought her face closer to his. "You never had a rival, mister Ortiz." Her lips floated above his. "And isn't it a relief to know I'll probably find you still hot in ten years?"
"Probably?" he asked offended.
Her tongue stroked his lips. Whatever he'd wanted to say, he forgot instantly.
💀
"You think I can stay here tonight?" Dana asked after a while.
A few days ago Juice had secured his house in every possible way. As soon as somebody would break into the house at night, an alarm would wake the whole neighborhood and the police would receive a message immediately. He'd done everything he could to make sure Dana was safe here, but he was afraid Maddox had access to means he couldn't even think of.
However, in the clubhouse her safety was neither completely guaranteed. People were constantly walking in and out, and even though a prospect looked into all calls and messages, there was no real assurance nothing would happen to her.
Dana was nowhere completely safe, but she already knew that. "This place is a bunker if I turn on the security system. They have a better chance at stealing a centerpiece of a museum than entering our bed room."
"Our?" she repeated, giving him a surprised look.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Last night was the first time I slept without you and I rather not do that again."
He knew living in the clubhouse was sometimes suffocating her. He didn't thought it would be wise if she moved in, but he still wanted some kind of back-up, so they could retire to this place if they felt the need to do so. It was a step he wouldn't have taken so easily in different circumstances, but Dana had no place of her own and he just wanted to have her near him as often as possible. It was the only way to be sure she was safe.
"You really played videogames all night?"
"Kinda," he muttered. "I fell asleep on the couch."
She snuggled into him. "I haven't slept at all."
His hand glided down her side. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Nope."
He kissed her forehead and sat up straight. "Then let's have breakfast."
"Hmm, breakfast sounds good." She came upright and slid off the bed. "Having breakfast naked sounds even better, by the way."
With a naughty smile she took his hand and pulled him out of the room. With an ear-to-ear grin he followed her. Being together with a smoking hot girl who wanted to hang out naked in his apartment all day long... He'd be crazy if he ever let her go.
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