Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Now I knew better.
By the time we pulled up in front of the trailer I shared with my sister’s family—and Shade knew exactly where it was, which was a little creepy in and of itself—I was utterly resolved. Whatever chemistry we might have, I wasn’t interested in acting on it. Self-preservation and all that.
That didn’t stop the strange twinge I felt, seeing the place as it must look through his eyes. Our home was quite literally on the wrong side of the tracks. Violetta only had nine hundred residents, with the poorest ten percent living on the flat behind the old grain elevator and rail yard.
My sister’s battered old minivan sat up on blocks and the trailer itself was frayed and stained from too many winters. A cheap swing set sat in the tiny yard, which was well-maintained because my sister took the whole mothering thing very seriously. She didn’t want the girls stepping on any rusty nails.
Two more Reapers—including Dopey—had followed us from the clubhouse. Shade gave them a wave and they passed, circling around the block as he pulled his Harley to a stop in the driveway. He turned off the big engine and my entire body quivered from a mixture of phantom vibrations and suppressed tension. I climbed down, determined to head off any ideas he might have about following me inside.
“You working at the Pit again tonight?” he asked, reaching up to touch my cheek. His touch was gentle, but it still hurt. I ignored his question.
“Don’t do anything to Rebel,” I told him seriously. “If you do, the cops will come talk to me, and the last thing I need is more cops in my life.”
“Whatever business Rebel has with the Reapers, it won’t roll over on you,” Shade said. “I wouldn’t put you in that position. You didn’t answer my question, though. You workin’ tonight?”
“Yeah, but I’m going to ask Bone to have someone else wait on the Reapers in the future. I’m out, Shade. I don’t want to be part of your world.”
Shade’s eyes narrowed.
“This thing between us isn’t over,” he said firmly.
“It is to me,” I replied, ignoring the way his hand had slipped into the hair at the back of my neck. I wanted to lean into him and purr like a cat. A very stupid cat. “There’s nowhere we can go with this personally. And the last time I served you at the Pit I busted ass all night and didn’t even get a tip. So far as I’m concerned, it’s a dead end.”
Shade cocked his head and smirked. “So I was supposed to tip you on top of the five hundred I gave Rebel to fuck you?”
“I never agreed to that,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, you made that pretty clear.”
“But even if I had, the tip was for serving drinks. If I was really going to sell sex on top of serving drinks, that would’ve been a separate service and deserves its own tip. Either way, you stiffed me.”
Shade’s smirk grew.
“Think I’m the one who got stiff and left hanging, if you want to get technical.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it, even though I hadn’t changed my mind. Shade was pretty. He might even be fun to play with, but he was still the kind of guy who’d trade a woman for a motorcycle.
Part of a motorcycle.
“I’m serious. I’m sorry that things were so weird and that Rebel put us into this situation, and I appreciate the ride home, but there won’t ever be anything between us. I’m done with men. From now on it’s just me and my vibrator.”
Shade’s gaze intensified. “What kind of vibrator you got?”
“I’m going inside now,” I said, pushing against his chest. He ignored the gesture, leaning in to give me a soft, sweet kiss that left me aching. Then he let go, and I stepped away from the bike before I did something really stupid.
“We’re not done,” he reminded me. “But I get that you need to take care of your nieces. Oh, and I brought you a present.”
He reached into a pocket inside his vest and pulled out a black rectangle.
“A phone?”
“You said yours was broken,” he said. “This one works, although it’s just a disposable. My number’s already programmed into it, along with the landline at the clubhouse. You can also talk to Bone if you need to get hold of me. I’ll see you later, probably tonight. Now get your ass inside and cook those girls something besides candy bars.”
“Can I help make the macaroni and cheese?” Callie asked. She loved working with me in the kitchen, although I also got the sense she was stalling because she didn’t want me leaving for my shift at the Pit. The girls loved it when I stayed home at night. A twinge of guilt twisted through me at the thought of how many evenings I’d wasted with Rebel.