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Then she spun and started to stomp toward the exit.
Oh, fuck no.
She did not come into his house, throw money at him, and call herself a whore. He rushed after, and with his long stride, caught her in three steps. With a hand at her waist, he whirled her around, shoved his shoulder into her stomach, and hoisted her up.
“Copper!” Shell screeched. “What the hell are you doing? Put me down, you big brute.” She beat her small fists against his back, but it might as well have been stuffed animals pelting him for all he felt it.
LJ gaped from behind the bar while the other three idiots hooted like fucking loons.
“Now that’s how you handle a woman, Cop,” Mav said, clapping slowly.
“Shut up, Maverick. I’m telling Stephanie you said that! Bet she won’t blow you for a month,” Shell called out, hanging from Copper’s shoulder.
“Shit,” Mav said as his laughter died. “Didn’t mean it, Shelly. Copper, put her down! That’s no way to treat a woman! Wait…did Shell say the words ‘blow you’?”
“Can one of you morons please help me?”
Zach just whistled, and as Copper passed Jig, his brother said, “Told you she wouldn’t take club money.”
So, she didn’t want a handout from the club. Fine.
But what the fuck was she thinking traipsing into a biker den dressed like that? Christ, her tits were on full display in front of his brothers.
He stormed up the stairs toward his room, ignoring her cries for help and the guys’ cheers.
Damn woman would be lucky if he didn’t paddle her ass.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BY THE TIME they reached Copper’s room, which was really more of a suite, Shell’s head felt ready to explode from the rush of blood and the ass-up-head-down position.
Plus, there was the surge of admittedly exaggerated fury.
Copper deposited her on the floor then slammed his door shut. She’d been in his room countless times before, mostly to put Beth down for a nap in his bed, but something about this felt different. Perhaps it was the way he locked the door behind them, or maybe it was the fact she wanted to rip his face off. Whatever it was, it had electricity dancing across her nerve endings.
Copper didn’t seem to notice at all. The calm indifference radiating off him only made her madder.
Well, screw him. “What the hell was that, Copper? You can’t go all caveman and manhandle me in front of my friends like that.” Hands fisted at her sides, she tried and failed to control her rapid breathing.
Silence was his only answer, that and the ticking of his jaw. But his eyes, they were anything but silent. They screamed with desire. His gaze focused on her very exposed cleavage and radiated with…hunger.
Mission accomplished.
Shell bit her lower lip to keep from smirking. Copper liked to think he had the upper hand at all times, but he was a man like any other. Flash some boob, and they turned to one-celled organisms.
“My eyes are about ten inches north, Prez.” Any other day, she’d be thrilled to have snagged his attention, but today she was practically vibrating with anger that had nothing to do with his ogling.
Copper grunted and stalked forward, closing the distance between them. “Don’t want me to stare at your tits, don’t come into my house dressed like a fuckin’ Honey.”
Oh, he did not just say that.
“This isn’t about my freakin’ clothes, Copper. Or about where you’re staring. This is about you managing my life. Ordering me not to speak to Joe, giving me vague statements about the club taking care of my problems, and leaving money I didn’t want or ask for.”
“Knew you agreed to that shit too easily last night,” he grumbled.
She’d worked so damn hard to make a good life for her daughter. Worked herself to the bone to provide for and protect her family. That included Copper. Him leaving the money, money that was nothing to him, felt like a slap in the face. Like he was throwing all her hard work and sacrifices right back at her.
Granted, it wasn’t an entirely fair assessment. The man had no idea why she made some of the choices she made, or just how far she went to protect him. She couldn’t logically get mad at him for something he was blind to. But then rationality wasn’t winning out over flustered anger at that moment.
“Why’d you stay over last night, Copper? Huh?” She paced in front of him, throwing her hands in the air and glaring at him as she spoke. A lot weighed on his answer. Did he play on her love for him? Had he calculated what to do, cuddling up to her all night, acting on her loneliness and fantasies just to bail in the morning and toss her some cash?
Remaining where he was, Copper folded his arms and cracked his neck. “Told you last night, woman. I didn’t feel comfortable with you and Beth alone in the house after that asshole had been there. Plus, I was fucking beat. Easier to crash at your place since I was there.”
