“I haven’t been. You nice gentlemen are just so easy to talk to.” She pretended to go along with them as she tried to pull away, glancing at the man who still held her arm. “Why don’t you let go of my arm. I have other customers I have to serve. I promise I’ll be back.”If he doesn’t let go of me, I’m going to slap him hard.
“I will if you give me a kiss. Just a small one.” He pointed to his cheek. “Right here.”
Before she could answer, a low, feral voice said, “Get your fucking hand off her.”
A slow shiver rode down her spine as butterflies exploded in her stomach.
The man’s eyes grew wide as he dropped his hand down to his lap.
“Don’t fucking touch her or any of the waitresses again, or I’ll not so nicely throw your ass outta here.”
She glanced at Steel, surprised at the fierceness in his eyes. He clasped her hand in his and pulled her away from the table, dragging her past the bar and down the hallway to one of the closed doors. He pushed it open and shoved her inside.
The room was smaller than the storage room, resembling an office. There was a large mahogany desk, a black leather couch, several chairs and lamps, and a small refrigerator. He shut the door behind him. “Sit down,” he said.
“I have customers to wait on.”
“I already told Jill and Mindy to handle them.”
Her face flushed with anger, she placed her hands on her hips and glowered at him. “Do you think I’m doing this job because I’m bored? I need the money. If I don’t take care of customers, I don’t get the tips. It’s pretty basic.”
He trailed his gaze over her slowly, making no attempt to hide the fact that he was checking her out. “I would think you’d be thanking me for getting that fucker to take his hand off you. Or maybe you liked it.”
Her nostrils flared and she narrowed her eyes. “How dare you say that to me. And I didn’t ask for your help. I was handling it just fine until you came in with your badass act.”
“Bullshit. I saw you struggling to break away from him. The fucker had no intention of letting you go. You weren’t handling it.”
“It’s none of your business what I do.”
“And the way you wear your top, you’re practically handing your tits to the guys. You’re giving off the wrong impression.”
“I haven’t asked for your opinion. And did you get a look at Mindy’s blouse or Jill’s crop top?”
“I don’t give a fuck what they wear. They aren’t you.”
“You’re exasperating. I don’t have time to stand here and argue with you. I’ve got to get back to work.” She marched to the door, but as she placed her hand on the knob, a strong arm snagged around her waist. She screamed and clawed at it with her nails. “Let me go, damnit!”
He pulled her roughly, almost violently, to him, and then he took her mouth with a savage intensity. Twisting in his arms and arching her body, she sought to get free. “Calm the fuck down!”
Being in his arms both aroused and infuriated her. “You can’t just kiss me whenever you fucking want to. You act like you just came out of a goddamn cave,” she gritted. “I didn’t give you permission to touch or kiss me.”
He let go of her, his expression clouded in anger. “Permission? Baby, I think we’re beyond that, don’t you?”
“Are we? I hardly think so. And here’s a newsflash. Just because we had sex doesn’t mean you can boss me around or grope me whenever you want. It was fun, but that’s all it was.”
All of a sudden, he stiffened at her words and stepped away from her. “I never planned on it being anything more. What I did out there was help out a waitress. I would’ve done the same thing if it were Jill or Mindy, so don’t let it go to your head. Go on and serve your tables. We’re done here.” His voice dripped ice, each shard stabbing her heart.
She tossed her head and walked out, acting like his words hadn’t just pained her.I’d rather die than let him see how he’s hurt me.He was the worst kind of man, pretending he cared when all along he just wanted to fuck her.
For the rest of her shift she avoided Steel, which was surprisingly easy to do since he avoided her as well. His cool, aloof manner irked the hell out of her, but she pretended that it didn’t. Out of the corner of her eye, she’d see women approaching him, flirting, laughing too loudly, and touching his arm, hair, or face, and a burning sensation filled her body from the core. Each time he drew his ear a little closer to a woman’s lips or smiled too warmly, anger and hurt would pull at her. And when she thought about the memory of their night together, a dull ache pulsed between her legs.Damnit! Why can’t I just forget about him?She had to conquer her involuntary reactions to his build, his smile, his laugh… to his everything.
“You need some help with that?” Jill’s voice broke through her thoughts.
Breanna had a tray full of drinks on one hand and a pack of cocktail napkins under her arm. “I think I got it. Thanks, though.” She scrambled away, happy to get lost in the crowd.
As the night began to wind down, she noticed a few nice-looking bikers wearing the same logos on their cuts as Steel. They were hanging by the bar, chatting with him, and drinking. A couple of them looked in her direction, and she noticed Steel stole a few glances at her. She thought she recognized one of the men as coming into the bar in the past, but she wasn’t sure.
But shewassure that they were talking about her. He was probably bragging how he fucked her. She knew how bikers were. She remembered the times when her dad had some of his brothers over for a night of boozing, and they’d compete with stories of their conquests, even though her mother had been in the next room and could hear everything they said.
Steel’s such a sonofabitch. I have to look for a new job. I can’t do this anymore. This is too awkward.
Glancing at the time, her heart soared when she saw it was two o’clock. Jorge had announced it was last call for drinks a bit earlier, but she’d become absorbed in clearing off tables and wiping them down. She placed her tray on the bar and went to the back to her locker. When she took off her heels, she moaned aloud and sat down. Rubbing her aching soles felt like heaven. She heard footsteps clumping down the hall and something told her it was Steel. She slipped her flats on, slung her tote over her shoulder, closed her locker, and rushed out of the room.
When she opened the back door, she heard his deep voice behind her. “Breanna.” She acted like she hadn’t heard it and rushed to her car.
“Breanna, I know you can hear me. I wanna talk to you,” he said.
She slid into her car, started the ignition, and drove out of the parking lot. Glancing in the rearview mirror, his stare pierced her. She looked straight ahead and breathed a sigh of relief as she drove farther away from the bar, and from him.
