Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

“Whatever. I always have a special Benadryl cocktail if they start to act up.”

“You wouldn’t,” she says.

“I’m fucking kidding. Those babies love me. I’m the fun one in the family.”

“You’re going to find out what happens when you give them all that candy you like to make rain down on them when you’re around. You’re going to have a really awesome experience. Anyway, I got to run. Opal’s here to talk.”

“Fuck. Okay. Don’t tell her about this conversation. Got me?”

“Loud and fucking clear, babysitter.”

“You’re an asshole,” he grumbles before ending the call.

“See, he wants you there. It’s settled.”

“You sure it won’t be weird?” I ask her, wiping my hands down the front of my jeans, still feeling uneasy about the entire thing.

“I promise. Would I lie?” she asks, after I just listened to her lie her ass off to her own cousin and rope him into doing something he didn’t have to do.

I stare at her without saying a word.

“Yeah. I know. But he deserves this type of shit. Trust me. You can ask any of the other cousins. I may have to set up a camera or two inside the house to watch him cry when the kids are running around the house with the zoomies at two in the morning because he stuffed them full of chocolate and ice cream.”

I snicker, picturing him losing his mind. “He’ll have a breakdown.”

“I know,” she says with a laugh. “I’m banking on that.”

“You trust him enough to leave your kids with him.”

“Yeah, babe. Stone is solid. He can be a douchebag, but that’s only because he has a penis, which somehow short-circuits his brain. But otherwise, he’s a great person.”

“That’s nice,” I reply, unsure of what else to say.

“Now, what’s going on with the two of you?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“I know you two slept together.”

My eyes widen. “You do?”

She nods. “Yep. Don’t be ashamed. Sex is part of being alive. But I’ve never heard my cousin talk about anyone the way he talks about you. I’m wondering if the feeling is mutual, or if you’re too scared to tell him that you’re just not that into him. So, which is it? You like him or want to kick his muscly ass to the curb?”

“I like him,” I admit without hesitation. “I like him a lot.”

I don’t know why it sounds so weird coming out of my mouth, but it does. It sounds almost juvenile, but the words fit. I’m leery of getting involved with someone else so soon after Jeff, but Stone is the one who saved me from him in the first place. It’s been a month already anyway. I mean, is there an acceptable period of time to wait between relationships that end the way ours did? It’s not like the guy was nice to me. I wasn’t mourning the end of us in any way, shape, or form.

Tamara claps her hands. “Perfect.”

“It is?”

“Oh, girl. It’s fan-freaking-tastic. I’ve been waiting what feels like forever for my cousin to settle down.”

I almost choke on my own spit. “Settle down?” My voice cracks when I say the words. “I didn’t say anything about settling down.”

She pats my leg. “I have this sixth sense about these things. Trust me on this. A man like Stone doesn’t talk about a woman the way he talks about you unless your future is in the back of his mind, wearing that white dress and promising him forever.”

“I don’t know if—”

She shakes her head at me. “Trust me. Just ride it out.” Movement in the garage catches her eye. “It’s worth it.”

I follow her gaze, seeing her husband. They go together perfectly. Both beautiful. Both wild. I’d almost say they were made for each other.

“How did you two meet, if you don’t mind my asking?”

She doesn’t look my way as a smile spreads across her face. “I went to meet another guy but ended up in Mammoth’s bed.”

“How’s that work?” I ask in amazement as I stare at her hunk of a man. You’d have to be dead not to appreciate his rugged handsomeness.

She sighs, resting her elbow on her knee and chin in her palm. “It’s a long story.” She smirks to herself. “It was wild, though, and I never looked back or regretted a minute of my time with him.”

“That’s sweet,” I say softly, a little jealous of their relationship.

“My family wasn’t thrilled about us as a couple, but they realized in short order that we were the real deal.”

“Why weren’t they happy?” I’m being nosy, but since I’ve met her family, I don’t think it will feel like prying to her because it is their norm.

She blinks a few times before giving her attention back to me. “He was in an MC.”

“MC?”

“Motorcycle club.”

My eyes widen, but I shouldn’t be surprised. He looks like he was born to ride. “Really?”

She nods. “Dangerous shit, but he got out. He chose me and our life over that one.”

“Smart man.”

“Magic pussy,” she responds without missing a beat.

“What?”