Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition by Elizabeth Knox (top 5 ebook reader txt) 📕

the buckle of his jeans. It took one flick and I had it open, the button next, and the zipper in my fingers before he managed to grab my wrist.

We both paused.

Our chests rising and falling at the same pace.

His nose grazed the length of my jaw as he pulled back, just enough so I could see his eyes. They were dark, dangerous and animalistic. He wanted this just as badly as I did. “What I wouldn’t give to bury myself deep inside you right now and make you come in more ways than you even knew possible,” Hawk growled, the low rumbling whisper doing nothing to calm my body. “But your girl is in the next room, and she’s been watching this bedroom door, waiting to see you for four hours.”

Where did this man come from?

The flush across my cheeks was burning, and I just knew they were bright red.

I cleared my throat and let out a soft laugh. “Is it wrong that you saying that just made me want you even more?”

He put my daughter first before his own wants and needs.

Her own fucking father couldn’t even do that.

And I couldn’t think of anything sexier.

Hawk dipped his head, pressing a soft kiss to my lips before stepping back, rearranging himself, and tightening his belt. “Just as a heads up,” he started, putting his arm around me and helping me shuffle toward the door. “Bishop and Cain are here, and there’s something I need to tell you.”

He pulled the door open, and we stepped outside just as Kadey slammed her little hand down on the table. “Go FISS!” she called with glee, scooping up the pile of cards and pulling them toward her like a big-time poker player who’d just won the game.

Then she jumped off her chair and began her victory lap.

I knew it well.

I giggled, watching the two grown men sitting with her huff and puff dramatically like they were so disappointed at their loss. Hawk eased me into one of the chairs at the table, my body cringing as my bandaged wound rubbed slightly against the edge of the wooden seat.

“Coffee?”

I nodded. “Please.” Though he had already moved into the kitchen, so I assumed he knew the answer.

“How you feeling?” Bishop asked while he collected the cards that were still left on the table and shuffled them.

I tried to force a smile, but I could already tell it was more of a cringe than anything. “My leg hurts when I stretch or move it wrong, and the rest of my body is just tired. It is like I’m asking it to move, but it’s just like… eh, maybe later.”

“Good,” he answered with a nod. “That means you’ll be forced to rest.”

“I’m meant to work tonight.”

“I handled it,” Hawk announced, placing a cup of coffee down in front of me before rounding the table to take Kadey’s vacated chair. Luckily, my daughter sometimes had the attention span of a goldfish, so halfway through her victory lap, she’d spotted her favorite cartoon playing, and now she was sprawled out on the floor.

My brow furrowed, and my head fell to the side. “What do you mean?”

He leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. That was how I knew he’d done something he thought I might not like. He was ready for me to protest and ready to defend it. “I called Mitchell and told him you wouldn’t be in this week. You can’t get on stage with your leg like that. You need to keep off it and let it heal.”

Several responses shot to mind.

Who do you think you are?

That’s not up to you!

And how will I pay my bills?

I could feel my heart begin to race, my thoughts instantly going to my bank account, questioning how much I had leftover from last week and whether I could stretch it out because honestly, he wasn’t wrong. Not only would it be painful, but I’m not going to make any money with a bandage around my leg.

Men don’t find that sexy.

They won’t pay.

“You done panicking now?”

I blinked a few times, bringing me back to the present where Hawk was staring at me with his brow raised, and the other two men beside him were simply smiling. “I have bills to pay. I’ve told you this before.”

Hawk nodded, and Bishop tossed some papers across to me. “That’s what these are for.”

My eyes scanned over them, my brow pinching harder together with the further I got down the page. “A job?”

“At our new place. We need a couple more bartenders.”

“And after last night, I know you’re good,” Bishop added.

Was this my way out? Making and serving drinks was something I actually enjoyed. I liked playing with flavors and talking to customers who weren’t just dirty old men looking to touch my ass. “I can’t make as much pouring drinks as I do getting on stage,” I explained, looking back down at the contract I thought was probably too good to be true.

“We’ll pay you enough to make what you would stripping, plus you’ll get tips.”

“And Gem, too?”

Hawk looked to Bishop, who just shrugged. “Sure.”

“Why?”

That was my defenses speaking. The ones that reminded me how you couldn’t get something for nothing. This kind of shit didn’t come for free.

“Because that’s what you fucking deserve,” Hawk snapped, tilting his head like he was challenging me to argue. And honestly, I couldn’t. I’ve been fighting for better for years, determined that Kadey wouldn’t grow up knowing what I had to do to keep us going. And that one day she could tell the teachers and kids at school what I do, and she wouldn’t get teased.

I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache start to form. “Can I… just think about it?”

Hawk nodded, getting up and holding his hand out to me. “I’ll help you get on the sofa, so you can spend some time with your girl.”

11

MISSY

“I won’t be long,” I told Gem as I climbed out of her car.

“No problem, babe.