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Blade
I bite into my burger like it offended my ass. I can’t keep my anger in check. Of all the shit things to happen it had to be this. The fucking shipment was stolen. How the hell does the shipment of drugs get stolen? Out of one of our warehouses? With a goddamn guard on duty?
“Are you okay?” Lola asks, looking at my hand that squeezes the glass.
“Fine.” Shoving the glass to the side I wipe my hands on a napkin.
“So, Angela offered me a job with her at High Heels. I can start soon.” Her little voice sounds unsure and that pisses me off. No woman should ever have to do something she isn’t sure of.
“You don’t sound like you want the job,” I tell her, popping another fry into my mouth. I watch her as she chews, her lips moist and sexy as fuck. I’ve imagined them wrapped around my cock more than once over this past week. As much as I didn’t want to, I have been checking her out. How could I not? She’s gorgeous for one thing and the fact that my dog follows her around everywhere like she’s his new owner has certainly caught my attention.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“That’s all I ask for,” I tell her in return.
“I don’t have any money and I don’t have anywhere to go. I need that job. I used to work at Triple D’s. I don’t really want to work therebecause my ex is the one who beat me up – he didn’t like me working there either. If he wanted to find me it wouldn’t be hard,” she says, her voice sounding concerned. I take another bite of my burger before resting my arms on the table around my plate.
“Look, if you don’t want the job, don’t take it. There’s other shit you can do. Clubs all around. Maybe bartend or serve drinks instead. You are welcome to stay at the clubhouse for as long as you need.”
Her eyes well with tears before she grabs the napkin and wipes at them. “Why would you be nice to me?” Her question surprises me. After all this and she asks me that?
“Haven’t I been nice? Given you a place to stay, food? What the fuck, Lola?” My anger isn’t directed at her, but I’m sure it feels that way. I close my eyes and try to take a deep breath to calm myself down, but when I open them again, my chest tightens. Her face is pale and her eyes are so damn sad it tears at my heart.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say you weren’t. You have been amazing to me and I can’t thank you enough.”
“I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’m pissed at another situation that has nothin’ to do with you.” We sit in silence for a long few minutes until I break it. “You ever been campin’?” Her head tilts to the side, taking me in.
“Never.”
“Never?”
“No. I’ve never been camping before. Never thought about it.” The little sparkle in her eye intrigues me more than anything. She’s different. She’s a smartass that doesn’t back down from a challenge and that is something that I find rare in women these days. Most of them take what’s thrown their way like it’s the only way but not Lola.
“This weekend there’s a big rally. You probably heard the guys talkin’ about it. It’s a chance for us to get out and have a little fun and let loose. We go every year. A lot of clubs will be there - parties, drinkin’, you name it. You in?” Lola’s head snaps up, her eyes locking with mine. Her lips are parted as she stares at me in disbelief. I almost laugh at the lost look on her face but those yellow tinged bruises around her eyes stop me. The thought of someone hurting her pisses me off more than I care to admit.
“It’s okay to say no. Some of the girls will be stayin’ at the club while we’re gone. You won’t be alone,” I tell her. She shakes her head slowly before she finally speaks.
“I’d love to go but I already told Angela I could start working.”
“You really wanna go?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll handle Bart. You want that job, it’ll be yours, but I have connections at a few clubs if you don’t want to dance.” Her eyes fill with tears once more as her hard shell slowly begins to crack. A little at a time when I talk to her and show her there are guys who are not like ex, I see it slowly begin to crumble. I don’t doubt that if she wanted to she could throw it back up in the matter of seconds, but for now, she’s lowering it and giving me a peek of her true self and I’m taking it.
“I don’t know what to say,” she mumbles softly, making me laugh.
“First time since you’ve been around that you’re speechless,” I laugh. Lola picks up a fry and tosses at me, only making me laugh a little harder.
“Thank you for all of this, Blade. You don’t know who much this means to me.”
She doesn’t need to tell me. I can see it in the look in her eyes. She hasn’t had someone that cared about her in a while, that much I can be sure of.
“No need for thanks. I kinda like havin’ you around givin’ the guys hell. They all seem to like you despite the ball breaking.”
“They aren’t so bad either. I’ve just learned to protect myself as much as I can over the years. I’m sorry if I was being disrespectful,” she says, lowering her eyes. I reach across the table, lift her chin with my thumb and look in her eyes.
“It was a little disrespectful to do that to a member. We don’t tolerate that shit, but at the same time, none of my guys will hurt you. Whatever happened to you won’t happen when you’re with us. Understand?” She nods her head with those perfect lips parted just slightly. The thought of leaning over this table and taking them with mine almost becomes more than I can handle. I want to know this girl and I have no fucking idea why.
Without overthinking it, I lift from my seat, lean over, and press my lips to hers. Lola’s eyes are wide but she doesn’t push me away. My lips linger on hers before I feel her respond. She parts her lips and kisses me with a passion. I shove my tongue into her mouth and fuck if it isn’t all that I thought it would be. My tongue sweeps over hers, tasting her in a way that I’ve thought about ever since she’s been in my bed. I know that may make me a bad person but watching her sleep for a week next to me did something to my head. It fucked with me in ways I never felt before. When I break our kiss and pull away, her eyes remain wide before a soft smile crosses her face.
“I’ve wondered what that would feel like,” she says, catching me off guard.
“You did?”
“Since the first day I saw you, woke up in your room. You were different than any man I’ve met, and I wondered what that was like.”
“What were you used to?” I ask, sitting back in my seat.
“Pretty boys with fast cars.” I grunt under my breath making Lola smile. That smile is infectious.
“Typically pretty boys with fast cars overcompensate. You know what I mean?” I say jokingly. Lola laughs and it’s the most beautiful sound in the fucking world.
“I do know what you mean. I also know you asked Jersey to talk to me. Blade, I’m not hiding anything from you, just so you know.”
I nod my head slowly before I take a deep breath. As much as I shouldn’t I do believe her. I don’t think she is hiding anything from me.
“Then would you tell me yourself what happened to you?” I know it’s a risk asking her. I know I could watch those walls slam back into place but I want to hear it from her own lips. I want to know what the hell happened and why, and who better than to hear that from than her.
