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  I sucked in my breath. “Are you saying he’d have killed us?”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time. They don’t call him ‘Breaker’ for nothing. It should be pronounced ‘Break Her’.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh is right.” he replied, walking over to an old refrigerator humming in the corner of the room. He opened it up and began rummaging through it. “Dammit, someone’s been drinking my beer.”

  “You keep your own stock of beer in the Break Room?”

  “Sometimes. When I find out who’s been helping themselves, I’m going to kick their ass.”

  “So, back to that guy, Breaker. Has he served time before?”

  “Yeah. For assault and rape.”

  I swallowed.

  “So, do you want a beer?” he asked, holding out a brown bottle.

  I looked at the dragon tattoo on his forearm and the skull ring on his finger, reminding me that Raptor wasn’t exactly the boy-next-door either. “No. We have to get going. Uh, where’s Krystal and Tank?” I asked, looking toward the doorway. Obviously, they hadn’t followed us.

  He grunted. “I’m sure he has her bent over his old man’s desk. Giving her a private birthday gift.”

  I sighed. “Great. I guess we’ll be here longer than I thought.”

  “Yup.” He opened up his bottle of beer and took a swig. “You sure you don’t want one?” he asked, licking his lips. “It’ll give you something to do.”

  I sighed. “Sure, I’ll take one.”

  He opened up the refrigerator, again, and pulled out another bottle.

  “So, what, you’re going to babysit me?” I asked, as he handed me the beer.

  “Yeah, you want to sit on my lap, little girl?” he asked, winking at me. “I’ll read you a couple of stories. You ever hear the one about Moby Dick?”

  My eyes widened. “Is that how you pick up girls? Seriously?”

  “Who said I was trying to pick you up?” he answered, with a cocky grin. “I was just trying to lighten the mood. You seem a little tense.”

  “I’m not,” I lied.

  He sat down on a beat-up leather sofa that faced the television, which was as old as the shag carpeting. “Relax and have a seat,” he said, patting the cushion next to him.

  “I’m fine,” I said, setting my purse on the counter, by the coffee machine. I looked around the room. There was a metal table in the corner and a vending machine. “So this is the Break Room,” I said, trying to make conversation.

  “That’s what they call it. How old are you, by the way?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  His eyes traveled down the length of me and back up. I knew he was checking me out and it made me wonder if he approved or thought I wasn’t curvy enough. I’d always felt a little self-conscious around Krystal, who filled out her bra better than most strippers with silicone.

  “How old are you?” I asked, resisting the urge to cross my arms over my chest.

  “Twenty-four.”

  “Oh.”

  He smiled. “Have you ever been to a joint like this?”

  “No. Never.”

  “What do you think of it?”

  I smiled. “What do I think? Honestly, that I can’t wait to leave. No offense.”

  “None taken. Do you have a boyfriend?”

  “Not right now. What about you?”

  “No boyfriend, either.”

  I chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I do,” he replied, still not answering the question.

  “You’re not going to answer?”

  He rubbed his lower lip with his index finger. “Why do you want to know?”

  My eyes widened. “I don’t know. Why did you ask me?”

  “To find out if there was a dumbass in your life that allowed you into a place like this.”

  I stared at him in surprise. “Allowed? I can go wherever the hell that I want. Even if I had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t ask for his permission to go into a strip joint or any other place, for that matter.”

  He grinned. “I am woman. Hear me roar, huh?”

  “Damn right,” I said, smiling back. I raised my hand and clawed the air. “Roar.”

  Raptor laughed. “I like that.”

  “You like independent women?”

  “I just like what you did, there. It was sexy. You really are a kitten.”

  I blushed.

  “I mean, I do like independent women, to a point.”

  “What do you mean, to a point?” I asked.

  “I like a woman who can take care of herself, when she needs to, but is willing to let a man take care of her, when he wants to.”

  I kind of liked that. To a point. “So, you’re not as chauvinistic as Tank?”

  “Tank and I agree on some stuff. Some things we don’t. It’s not like we sit around talking about shit like that.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure you don’t.”

  “So, where are you ladies going, tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Clubbing.”

  “Just you two?”

  “No. There are more of us.”

  “Girls or guys?”

  “Just us girls. We all grew up together. Went to the same high school.”

  “What about protection?”

  I frowned. “What do you mean by protection?” Was he talking condoms?

  He tilted his head, smiling. “You gotta bodyguard chaperoning, you little girls, Kitten?”

  “We don’t need a bodyguard,” I said. “And we’re not little girls.” Nor was I a damn cat.

  “Figure of speech, although, you’re pretty small.” He took another drink of his beer and licked his lips, studying me. “If you were mine, I wouldn’t let you out of the house without some kind of protection. Not with the Devil’s Rangers in town. Especially, not after what that asshole said to you, earlier.”

  “I’m not worried,” I answered, now a little unsure myself. “It’s not like we’re going to the kind of places those guys hang out.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I wouldn’t take any chances. Just, watch your back tonight. You got a blade hiding in that purse of yours?”

  I stared at him in surprise. “A blade?”

  “Obviously, you don’t,” he said. “You carrying any mace?”

  “No. I don’t even know where to get mace.”

  “A goddamn whistle, at the very least?”

  I smirked. “Why, so that I can call a Time Out?”

  He grunted. “I’m not trying to be funny. How about a cell phone?”

  I nodded towards my purse. “Yeah. Of course.”

  He stood up and walked over to it.

  “What are you doing?”

  He unzipped the top and began rummaging through it. “Jesus, how much stuff can one girl carry around in here?” he asked, waving a tampon. “Got your friend, huh? This is probably a good deterrent. Try waving it in the air if you run into trouble. Nobody will mess with your shit. Believe me.”

  “Seriously?” I said quickly, snatching it from him. “I don’t have my period. Not that it’s any of your business. That’s for emergencies. Would you please get out of my purse,” I said, pulling it away from him just as he found my phone.

  “I’m going to add my name and phone number to your Contact List. You get into any trouble tonight or,” he smiled wickedly, “interested in hooking-up later, call me.”

  Something told me that hooking up with him would be the death of me, as hunky as he was. I would never have the guts to call him or find out what was hidden under his low-riding jeans, anyway. “I don’t do hook-ups.”

  He pushed some buttons on my phone. “Why, you need to be wined and dined first?”

  I blushed. “Maybe.”

  “Fair enough.” He grinned. “How do you feel about wine and wings at my apartment later?”

  I raised my eyebrow. “Really? You wouldn’t even buy me a real dinner? Just an appetizer?” He opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted
him. “Please don’t tell me that you’re the main course or that you have a large tube-steak for me, either.”

  He laughed and handed me my phone. “I don’t need to use a line like that to get laid.”

  “Good, because we both know that it would be extremely tacky.”

  Before he could reply, a noise from one of the nearby rooms caught our attention. The sound began to increase and I quickly recognized it as Krystal’s cries of pleasure.

  “Looks like your friend is a screamer,” said Raptor, turning around. He leaned back against the counter and took another swig of beer. “Good thing the meeting is upstairs in the back, or there’d be hell to pay. Slammer doesn’t like distractions. Especially when he’s not the one involved in it.”

  I rubbed my forehead as the sounds grew louder. I couldn’t tell if hearing the other couple, getting it on, was embarrassing or just making Raptor that much more appealing. “Maybe I should just go wait out in the car for her.”

  “Maybe you should just finish your beer and stay inside here with me. Where you’re safe.”

  From the way he was smiling, his definition of ‘safe’ contradicted mine.

  Chapter Three

  Raptor

  Holy shit was my dick begging to come out and play. I had more wood than Yellowstone National Park. It wasn’t just the noises in the other room that were making me horny, either. It was her. Sure, she was beautiful, with those come-fuck-me emerald eyes and that chestnut colored hair that I knew would feel good in my fist when I was banging her from behind. But, it wasn’t only that. It was something else that was starting to suck me in and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Looks like your friend is a screamer,” I said, leaning back against the counter after hearing Krystal scream again. I took another swig of beer. “Good thing the meeting is downstairs or there’d be hell to pay. Slammer doesn’t like distractions. Especially when he’s not the one involved in it.”

  She rubbed her forehead as the sounds grew louder. “Maybe I should just go wait out in the car for her.”

  I smiled wickedly. “Maybe you should just finish your beer and stay inside here with me. Where you’re safe.”

  From the look on her face, she knew that she was far from being safe. Something told me that she didn’t care, either. That she was intrigued. If she even looked at my crotch with interest, I’d be on her like a dog in heat, which truthfully, was probably a bad idea since Adriana was the kind of girl that I normally tried to avoid. The kind that went to college, went to church, and didn’t fuck on the first date. The kind that needed monogamy and commitment. I was down with that, before Brandy had fucked me over. But, she’d taught me a lesson. Never trust anyone but your brothers. Not even the woman who warms your bed at night and sucks your dick until dawn. She’s always looking for someone else to replace you. Someone with a bigger wallet or a bigger dick. Apparently, in my case, it was a bigger wallet since Brandy had started calling me back, wanting to hook up since her boss wasn’t making her come the way I had. Still, knowing that this chick wasn’t like Brandy, or the rest of the whores that usually hung around the club, made me want to bury myself deep inside of her that much more.

  Look at my crotch.

  Come on, Kitten.

  I dare you.

  ***

  Adriana

  “Safe, huh?” I replied as Krystal howled in pleasure.

  “Have to admit, listening to those two is getting me a little jacked up. I haven’t had sex for a while and this isn’t helping,” he said. “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Are you horny, Baby?” he joked, mimicking a movie character, Austin Powers.

  I stared at him in surprise. “Of course not.”

  “Liar,” he said softly, smiling. “Your face is flushed.”

  “That’s because I’m creeped out.”

  “Sex creeps you out?”

  “No,” I said a little sharply. “I just don’t care to hear other people having it.”

  His eyes traveled over my body. “We could remedy that fairly easily.”

  “Oh, yeah? How?”

  He grinned. “Drown out their noises with ours.”

  I laughed. “Wow. Seriously.”

  “When it comes to sex? Yeah,” he said.

  I shook my head and smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as forward as you. Do you flirt like this with all the girls you meet?”

  “Not girls like you.”

  “What do you mean, girls like me?”

  He paused. “Classier ones.”

  His compliment made me smile. “So, what are you saying? That you usually only flirt with unclassy ones?” I joked, feeling a little flattered but nervous, too.

  “Actually, I don’t have to flirt with them. They usually come-on to me.”

  “So, do you usually prefer the skanks?”

  He smirked. “Those I usually prefer on their knees.”

  I laughed. “But not the classy ones?”

  “Then, I’m usually the one on my knees.”

  My face turned scarlet at that image.

  He bit his lower lip and smiled “Sorry, am I embarrassing you?”

  “You’re making it a little… awkward.”

  “Sorry. Ever since I saw you blushing, earlier, I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see it again. It’s damn cute.”

  There was a thud from the room next door. Then another and another, until it became a steady rhythm.

  “Looks like they’ve graduated to the bed. Hopefully, they’ll be done soon,” he said as the noises grew louder.

  “Wow, they have a bed in there, huh?” I said as Krystal’s moans seeped through the wall. I knew it was her birthday, but this was getting ridiculous.

  “Of course. Only Tank and his dad use it, though.”

  “Not you?”

  “I’ve never used it. I have higher standards when it comes to sex.”

  “Bars aren’t your thing?”

  “Other men’s beds are not my thing.”

  “I don’t blame you. So, how do you know Tank?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  “We’re brothers.”

  I pulled my hair over my shoulder and stared at him in surprise. “Really? I didn’t know he had one.”

  “We’re all brothers, here,” he said, taking another swig of beer.

  “Ah.”

  “Ah?”

  “I get it. You’re biker brothers.”

  He smirked. “You think you’ve figured us out, huh? I bet you’re from the suburbs and have no idea what it’s like, being on your own.”

  “Maybe not, but I heard that Tank is also from the suburbs,” I said, feeling a little defensive.

  “Yeah, but it’s different for him. He’s lived the MC life since he was born. Obviously, you don’t know what that shit entails. But if you did, you’d understand where I’m coming from. Your parents probably sheltered you your entire life, which I can’t blame them. If I had a daughter, I’d want to do the same thing. Keep you safe. ”

  “I’m not sheltered,” I replied stiffly.

  He smirked. “Believe me, you’re sheltered. You have no idea what’s really going on out there, Kitten. On the streets and, hell, in your own back yard, now. Drugs, prostitution, sex-trafficking, murder.”

  “I watch the news,” I said. “I know what’s out there. I’ve even taken self-defense classes.”

  “Self-defense classes?” he repeated, looking amused. “What kind?”

  “Just some basic stuff. How to knock a knife out of someone’s hand. Kick him in the junk. Things like that.”

  “You think that if I came at you, you’d be able to defend yourself against me?” asked Raptor, setting his beer down.

  “It’s easier to defend myself against someone who isn’t ready for me to fight back.”

  “Actually, those scumbags will anticipate you trying to defend yourself, in one way or another. Why don’t you show me what you’ve learned?”
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  “No, that’s okay,” I said, staring up at him now. He’d moved closer and the thought of him putting his arms around me was making my heart race.

  “Come on. Don’t be frightened. I’ll be gentle.”

  “I’d really rather not,” I said, as he moved closer.

  “I think you should,” he said. He was so close, I could smell the beer on his breath. “If you girls are going out by yourselves, and drinking, you should definitely know how to defend yourself.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” I said, keeping my beer between us.

  He laughed. “I don’t think there’s any chance of that.”

  “Don’t be too sure,” I said, looking down at my brown, leather ankle-boots. They had narrow heels and I imagined if I kicked him the way my instructor had shown me, it would wipe the smile right off of his face.

  Before I could stop him, he grabbed my beer and set it on the counter. “Come here,” he said, pulling me toward the middle of the room.

  “I just told you that I didn’t want to do this,” I protested.

  “Humor me. Please,” he said, turning around to face me. “I just want to see what these classes teach and maybe even give you some more pointers.”

  “Fine,” I said with a sigh. “But, just don’t get mad if I hurt you.”

  “I’ll try not to,” he said, his mouth twitching.

  “Okay,” I answered, trying to recall all of the things that my instructor, Mr. Mandrill, had taught me. “So, um, whenever you’re ready.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  I waved my hand. “I don’t know. You’re the one who wanted to see me defend myself. I guess if you were going to attack a woman, do what you’d do.”

  “Me? If I was going to attack a woman, it would be in bed and not on the streets,” he said, smiling wickedly. “And I doubt she’d fight back.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Casanova. Just attack me. In fact, I’ll turn and you can try to get me from behind.”

  “Now we’re talking,” he answered, a smile in his voice, as I turned my back on him.

  “Okay. Whenever you’re ready.”

  “Okay,” he said, wrapping his arms around me so quickly that I barely had time to exhale. He held my wrists together in front of me. “Show me what you got, Kitten.”