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Rena stared her down for a moment before dropping the annoyed act. Except it wasn’t an act. Angel knew her sister well enough to know that she was hiding something, and if she was hiding something, it was because she knew Angel wouldn’t approve. So whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“Sorry, sissypoo,” she cooed. “I guess I’m just not used to answering to anyone.”
“It was a simple question, not an interrogation,” Angel told her pointedly.
“Well, I realize that now,” she said with an obvious ‘duh’ in her tone and a roll of her bloodshot eyes. “Anywho, do you need the bathroom before I grab a shower? God, the smoke in those bars really clings to you!”
She was off and out of sight before Angel could respond that yes, she did need the bathroom. In fact, she had to leave for work in an hour, and she was still dressed in her PJs. Now it looked like she was going to be late.
To pass the time, she performed a quick sweep through the apartment, making sure everything was neat and tidy before she left. It was a habit she’d developed early on, coming home to a clean house after school taking a bit of the sting of being alone to fend for herself out of it. It was a sting she still felt now, but it was dampened by adulthood and familiarity. The only time she didn’t feel it was when Kane was camping out in her bed, but even then, the lack of it sparked a kind of wariness and discomfort that she had a hard time shaking, as if she’d grown so used to being hurt and alone that she didn’t know how to be anything else. And how was that for fucked up?
Angel shoved the dark thoughts aside. As soon as Rena was done in the bathroom, she dipped in and did a quick workup for herself with not a lot of time to spare and ended up walking through the club doors with a wet strip of hair nestled between her shoulder blades while she swiped on a lip stain that wouldn’t last more than a couple hours but would just have to do.
“Almost late, Grace,” Wanda, her manager and the strippers’ mother hen while on the clock, called out as she swept her way between tables lighting candles for the patrons who would be arriving just as soon as the doors officially opened.
“Almost doesn’t count,” Angel informed her as she breezed by on her way to the clock to punch in.
Wanda flashed her a smile. “That’s right, baby girl. But ya better hope nothing ever comes up, or that almost is gonna turn into a definite.”
Angel waved her off, all yeah-yeah. She already had a mother, and look how fantastic that turned out. She didn’t need another person in her life trying to give “helpful” parenting advice. It was almost, if not more, annoying than unsolicited pregnancy tips from third-time parents. Or so she’d heard.
Once she’d clocked in and practiced her deep breathing exercises, Angel hit the floor, which was now buzzing with activity. Same as every night, as soon as the clock hit eight p.m. and those doors opened, the party didn’t stop until the booze ran dry.
And she made sure to work every night Wanda allowed her to because the tips were amazing. Unbeatable. In the short time she’d been working there, she’d managed to pay off all of her debt and sock a good chunk away for a rainy day.
Or a vacation. She’d love a vacation. Had never been on one and wanted desperately to see places and things. Call it a dream or whatever, but Angel had ideas for what she wanted her life to look like, and a few palm trees and white sand between her toes sounded like a good place to start.
When Kade rolled in a few hours later, Angel was tired, sweaty, and more than a little happy to see him. He always had a ready smile and a hard-on for her, and no matter what state she was in, she was always ready to meet him halfway.
“How ya doin’, Mouse?”
Angel abandoned her empty tray on a nearby table and crossed the floor between them in a few quick strides, crashing into his giant open arms and lifting onto her toes to meet his warm, hungry mouth with her own.
He was delicious, like decadent chocolate-covered strawberries: hard shell on the outside and sweet as candy on the inside. He smelled just as good, like warm leather, motor oil, and a hint of beer.
Sinking her teeth into Kade Hunter was the sweetest treat she could ever imagine. After she’d had herself a good drink of him, she stepped back a bit so she could soak in the vision of him, too. As always, the picture he made in the flesh was better than her fondest memory could ever conjure up.
Kade was dressed in his usual black leather cut with the club’s logo emblazoned on the back and his handle and role at the table stitched on the front. Underneath he wore a crisp white T-shirt that was stretched to compromising around his bulky frame. The thick veins that ran down the front of each bicep always made her mouth water, and those narrow hips and large thighs in those painted-on black jeans killed her every time.
“You’re good enough to eat,” Kade said, that deep voice of his rubbing up against every nerve ending in her body. She blushed deep and scraped her top teeth over her bottom lip, and Kade’s light eyes darkened as he leaned in and added, “And if you keep looking at me like that, I just might.”
Angel’s core clenched tight at his suggestion. “Don’t you threaten me with a good time, Kade Hunter,” she scolded with a flirtatious smile. Grabbing the lapels of his vest, she pulled his chest up against hers and looked straight up into his lust-filled eyes and breathed, “I justmighttake you up on it.”
Normally, Angel wasn’t the openly flirtatious type. Her style was more cagey and quiet, but from the moment she first laid eyes on him, she’d found it impossible to hold anything back. There was just something about Kade that brought out her inner vixen.
“Might?” Kade smirked down at her as he grabbed two handfuls of her ass and ground his pelvis against hers, allowing her to feel his hard and hungry erection. “Mouse, there’s no chance in hell you’dnottake me up on it.”
Angel combed her fingers through his closely cropped hair and brought her mouth to his, lightly kissing him. “You say that with such confidence.”
“Because I know how much my woman likes to ride my dick.”
“And so crude too,” she remarked, ignoring how nice his claim on her sounded to her hopeful ears.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mouse. Did I offend your delicate sensibilities?” he asked while openly transferring his hand from her ass to massage one of her now very sensitive breasts.
At least it was mashed between them. Anyone who walked by would have a good idea of what was going on, but they couldn’t see anything too damning. But Kade was like that. He played hard and fast and without any reservations, but he wasn’t the type to put a woman on display—at least not one he cared about.
That was something Angel had a hard time allowing herself to think or hope for. She wanted Kade to care about her, but she also didn’t want to reach that far into the stratosphere because that kind of fall was killer, and she was definitely destined to fall if she wasn’t more careful.
