Guilt and shame punched him in the gut. “I fucked you hard enough to make you bleed?”

“Don’t look so horrified. I got my period. That’s all.”

Relief rolled through him, followed by utter cluelessness. “So, uh, yeah. Cool.” Cool? Really dumb-ass? You think it’s cool that she’s bleeding out her cooter?

“Deacon. I know you’ve never had a girlfriend, so you haven’t dealt with this before, but it’s not a big deal. Five days and it’ll all be over.”

“Five days?” he repeated. “Seriously?”

“Five days out of every month.”

Holy fuck.

“Are you worried I’ll turn into a raging bitch?”

“Fuck no.” He locked his eyes onto hers. “But do I need to stockpile chocolate and Kleenex?” He paused when a feeling of panic welled up in his chest. “You ain’t expecting me to go to the store and buy Tampax, Midol, and that feminine-product shit for you, right?”

She briefly closed her eyes. “I swear I’m gonna look on eBay to buy the filter that your mouth is missing.”

“Ha-fucking-larious.” He got right in her face. “Bottom line: What’s this mean?”

“It means we’ll have to come up with something to do other than fuck for the next five days.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.”

“Cool.” Deacon smiled. “So you up for hitting the honky-tonk for a little two-steppin’?”

Her brown eyes glittered. “Babe, I don’t even know what the fuck that means.”

God, he loved this woman. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fun.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

MOLLY couldn’t believe she’d be in Los Angeles in less than an hour.

Everyone else was cynical about flying, complaining about flight delays and the headaches of travel, but Molly thought it was really freakin’ cool she could hop on a plane in Denver and be in California in two and a half hours.

The days leading up to the last-minute LA trip had been crazy. Amery and Ronin had flown out Thursday morning with Knox, Shiori, and Nuri on Okada’s private plane. Thursday night Katie, Maddox, Fee, Blue, Gil, Sergei, and Ivan had flown on Max Stanislovsky’s private jet. Molly and Presley had joked about being forced to fly “commercial” in lowly first class.

They were the last ones to travel, along with Deacon, Beck, Blaze, Fisher, Jaz, Riggins, Zach, and Jon-Dean.

Black Arts would have an imposing presence at the expo.

Tonight was the big party sponsored by Black and Blue Promotions. According to what Amery had told her, Black Arts MMA and Black and Blue Promotions had spared no expense for this trip. They’d booked an entire wing in the swanky hotel next to the convention center where the expo was located.

Since Deacon had slipped into his normal, brooding persona on the flight, Molly looked out the window and tried to imagine what the next three days had in store for her. She and Presley had obsessed over what to wear to the big party. Finally Chaz had come to their rescue and taken them to Natasha’s, an exclusive boutique with vintage—aka used—designer clothing.

While Molly hemmed and hawed over the prices of the outfits, Chaz had reminded her they were called “special occasion” dresses for a reason. Not only that, but she had to look professional from the moment she stepped on the plane. Chaz had assured both her and Presley they could get by wearing a smart pantsuit while they helped finalize party preparations.

“Why so quiet, babe?” Deacon asked.

“Just following your lead, babe.”

He kissed her cheek. “Smart-ass.”

“Maybe I should ask what happened to your good mood.”

Deacon snagged her hand and played with her fingers. “My dad called.”

“I wondered who was calling so early.”

“He forgets about the time change.”

“What did he want?”

“To tell me he won’t be at the Needham fight.”

Her heart sank for him. “What? Why not?”

“Evidently Julianne has to have surgery.”

“On a Saturday?”

“No. She’s having it Friday afternoon. She needs someone to stay with her, and she insists on it being him.”

“Deacon, I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I can tell him not to be with his wife.” Deacon looked at her. “You’ll be there.”

“Of course. I’ll be wearing my CON MAN ROCKS MY FUCKING WORLD T-shirt.”

His lips twitched.

“Is there a chance Needham will be at this expo?”