The car pulled into the driveway and the driver killed the engine. She slid down again, her head in his lap. “Can’t we just stay here? Like maybe forever?”

He was tempted. That was damn sure. “Warm bed, baby,” he said. “And if you’re a very good girl, I’ll make you a cup of cocoa before we go to sleep.”

She tilted her head, her lips quirking as her brow lifted in mock incredulity. “Are you saying I wasn’t already a good girl?”

He laughed—oh, yeah. He absolutely adored her.

As they waited for the driver to come around, Riley looked out the window, then frowned. “Nat,” he said, his eyes on the big blob of orange fur sitting on the front porch. “I thought your cat stayed indoors.”

“What?” She sprang up, all signs of exhaustion fading. “Pumpkin!”

She practically leapt over him and had the door open even before the driver reached it. He saw her zip up her bustier and her pants as she ran, then snatch up the cat and hug it close.

Riley was only steps behind her, and when she moved onto the porch as if to push the cracked front door fully open, he called out sharply for her to wait.

Her eyes went wide as the implications of her cat being outside and the door being open finally broke through her concern for Pumpkin.

Riley’s rental car was in the drive, and he hurried to it, then retrieved the small Ruger he’d borrowed from Hunter from the glove box. He knew he couldn’t take it into the club, so he hadn’t even tried. But he was damn well keeping the thing on his person from now on.

With the gun at the ready, he returned through the door, then peered inside the house through the crack. The interior mat had been shifted onto the threshold, ensuring that the door couldn’t close properly. More important, a chalkboard topped the mat. A simple one like the kind found in craft stores.

One word was neatly printed on it in pink chalk: CHEATER

Chapter Eight

I sit on my couch, a soft blanket wrapped around me, both for warmth and to hide the leather bustier from the gaggle of cops who have descended on my house. Not that I begrudge them being there—I want them to do whatever they can to find the asshole who’s toying with me.