Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Are you serious?” she asked, a hint of laughter in her voice. “That sounds a little dramatic.”
I sighed. Megan had only been waiting tables at the Starkwood Saloon for a week. She didn’t know the rules yet, so I’d have to educate her.
“They’re part of the Reapers Motorcycle Club,” I said. “And it’s not a great idea to be asking questions about them. Doesn’t matter what they’re talking about because it’s none of our business… Hey, does it seem like he’s planning something to you? I don’t trust that look on his face. That’s the look he gets when he’s up to something.”
“Huh?”
“Eli,” I said shortly. My eyes were seriously starting to hurt. Why wasn’t he blinking? Was he even human? Maybe he’s half demon. Demons probably don’t have to blink at all.
“Eli?” she asked, sounding confused. “Why are we talking about Eli?”
“He’s been watching me.”
“Um, I think he’s just drinking a beer,” Megan said. “Maybe checking out your boobs a little, but that’s nothing new.”
Hmm… It couldn’t possibly be that simple, but it did give me an idea. Maybe it was time to create a diversion. I shifted my shoulders, expanding my chest.
Disappointingly, his eyes stayed on mine.
“Someday I’m gonna own this bar, and firing his ass is the first thing I’ll do.”
Megan giggled. “That sounded sort of super-villain-ish. Do you have a lair? I wish I had a lair…”
I blinked, caught off guard. I hadn’t realized that I’d said the words out loud. Eli smirked at me, gloating because he’d just won our little pissing contest. Dammit!
“I can’t believe I wrote to him in prison,” I told her, turning my back on the bikers. “Never should’ve been nice to him. He probably thinks that, deep down inside, we’re friends or something. We’re never going to be friends.”
“Didn’t he give you a ride home after work last night?” she asked, her voice light.
“Gus made him,” I snapped.
“And did Gus make him hug you the other day?”
“He caught me and gave me a noogie. And it hurt, too. It’s not a hug if it leaves bruises.”
“He left bruises?” Megan asked, startled. Shit. I might be able to justify a rumor about him not being able to get it up, but telling her that he’d hurt me for real…yeah, that probably crossed a line.
“No,” I admitted. “That was an exaggeration. But he’s still pure evil, so don’t fall for his shit. Or sleep with him. Every time a waitress sleeps with him, she ends up quitting without notice. Then I have to cover their shifts.”
Megan nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. “Okay, then… Um, I think I’ll go check the bathrooms. Make sure there’s no ugly surprises before things start getting busy.”
“Great idea,” I told her, and she scuttled off. Then I reached for a washcloth because I had lemon juice to clean up. Then I’d have to go back over there and check on them. See if they wanted more… Eli would, I could already tell. Not because he was big on drinking, though.
He just wouldn’t be able to resist an opportunity to order me around.
* * * *
~Eli~
“Looks like you gentlemen could use another round,” Peaches said, her voice so sweet it hurt my teeth. She offered bright smiles to the brothers around the table. No smile for me, though.
Kinda surprising, actually.
Usually, the more pissed off she was, the sweeter her smiles got. Sweet and polite and so damned terrifying that I’d been afraid to sleep in the same room as her after Gus took me in. I liked to think that was because of the snakes she kept putting in my bed, but they weren’t the only reason. Nope. The scariest part had been the way she’d glare at me through the darkness every night.
I spent a lot of time that first year wondering if Peaches would be strong enough to smother me with a pillow. You know, if I fell asleep before she did. Which never happened. Not once. Because I really didn’t want to find out the answer.
At least I’d always held my own with the payback.
It’d probably been for the best when her mom and Gus broke up, all things considered. We might’ve killed each other for real if she hadn’t moved out after second grade.
“I’d love another beer, gorgeous,” Rollins said. He’d been the Bellingham sergeant-at-arms for more than a decade, and the man was one scary-ass motherfucker. But Peaches didn’t seem too worried.
The girl had no sense of self-preservation.
I’d seen her go after a man my size with a bat during a bar fight just last month. It was shit like this that’d bothered me the most when I was locked up…knowing she was out in the world, unprotected, and there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about it.
And Peaches needed protecting, no question. Instead of backing away from Rollins like a sensible woman, she giggled, then accidentally brushed against him as she leaned over to pick up his empty bottle. The move essentially flashed her tits for all the world to see, and I felt my smile stiffen. Fuckin’ hated it when she did that.