Page 39 of Phantom Riders MC: Hawk

“Lucky if anyone comes back,” Jumper commented beneath his breath. Jumper was the youngest member at the table and had just been patched in the month before.

They would be back. Our place drew in those who were rebelling against society and their boring lives. They came here looking for excitement, too stupid to realize the danger. The girls were always seeking out a brother to fuck so she could go back, wherever that was, and brag about it, while the men came hoping they were big enough and bad enough to get a shot at club status. Some made it.

Most didn’t.

“Have faith, brother.” I said, grinning. “I want you to help Snake clean up the bar. We’ll get some of the girls to chip in, too.”

“What about the club windows, you want those replaced, too?”

There was a fucking grin on Rock’s face that told me he was kidding. He knew the brothers would never go for that shit. We weren’t pussies. If anyone dared attack us at the rear they would be dead before reaching the street. “Scared, brother?”

My comment drew snorts from some of the others, which he didn’t appreciate. “Fuck, no,” he snapped.

“We’ll hold church tomorrow at two.” I stood up, my signal that church was over. I needed to find Audra and set up some rules. She couldn’t be allowed to just wander around the fucking club at will. It was too dangerous, for her and for us. Until I was sure she was who she said she was she’d have to be watched.

I found her in the back in the club house sitting at the bar with a plate of breakfast in front of her. Lynn was behind the bar, cleaning glasses and straightening up. The conversation between them was the kind you’d expect to hear from two people getting to know one another. Lynn was forthcoming, answering without thinking. She had nothing to hide. Audra, on the other hand, seemed to think about what she was going to say before she said it.

Lynn finally glanced over and saw me watching them from the doorway. “Morning, Prez! Would you like a plate of food?”

I gave her a chin lift and she quickly dropped her cleaning rag and disappeared the back way into the restaurant’s kitchen. Audra slowly swung my way, nibbling on a piece of toast. The glimmer of humor in her eyes put me on guard.

“Morning, Prez,” she said in a teasing tone. “Just the man I want to see.” I crossed my arms, refusing to let her cheery fucking attitude get to me. She wanted something, I could tell. “Relax, Hawk. I just have a question.”

I stepped closer to her and reached over her shoulder. As soon as I did it I realized it was a fucking mistake. Her clean, floral scent assailed my senses, turning my dick hard. I didn’t fucking like the effect she was having on me. Clenching my jaw, I grabbed a piece of toast off her plate and pulled back. I met her curious eyes before dropping mine to her mouth. It looked smooth and fucking soft, and when her small, pink tongue came out I nearly said to hell with it and grabbed her. The powerful urge to kiss her came from nowhere.

I knew that if I kissed her it wouldn’t be the slow, sweet kind.

Thank fuck Lynn came back into the room at that moment.

“Here ya go, Prez.” She set a plate down that was piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. “Coffee?”

I gave her a brief nod, my focus on Audra. “What the fuck do you want to ask me?” I took the stool next to her.

Her smile widened. “I was thinking, as long as I’m here, maybe you could put me to work or something. I don’t have any money of my own, and I’ll go crazy with nothing to do.”

I took a hefty bite of eggs, not about to admit that I’d been thinking the same thing. “What can you do?”

She shrugged. “It’s been a while, but when I was in high school I waitressed and cleaned offices.” My brows furrowed. High school was a long time ago. What had she been doing since? She must have guessed what I was thinking, because she added, “I met Dane while cleaning his office one night. I guess you can say he swept me off my feet. I was young and he was larger than life. All of a sudden he was taking me to swanky places and buying me expensive gifts.”

“He paid to fuck you.” I watched her expression change as she contemplated my comment. “He take your virginity?”

Audra winced at that. “I thought I loved him. He was good to me. I had no clue what kind of man he was until that night.”

I took a sip of coffee. “He killed, he had his reasons. We’re no fucking different, Audra. We kill to protect our club. We kill to protect what’s ours.”

She seemed to think about that. When her gaze lifted to mine I could see the confusion in her eyes. “Then why am I here, Hawk? I know you think that I’m a threat to your club, so why haven’t you killed me?”

I exhaled a deep breath, looking deep in her eyes. She wasn’t going to like what I was about to say but that was too fucking bad. “Too many unanswered questions, and I’m not done fucking you yet.”

Her eyes grew round. “And when you get the answers you’re looking for, and you’re done fucking me, what then?” she demanded in a challenging tone.

I wanted to smile, I fucking did. Nothing turned me on more than the thought of a good fight, and the color flushing Audra’s face, the sparkle in her flashing eyes, told me that she was gearing up for one. She turned toward me on her stool, the anger coming off her in waves.

“So you’re no better than Dane,” she hissed.

I saw something else in her eyes, an emotion she couldn’t hide. She was hurt and trying to disguise it. I knew that I was a bastard. I’d spent too many years not giving a fuck, not caring enough, and all because of a woman I’d given everything to. Betrayal and the destruction it had caused ran too fucking deep in my blood.

Audra wasn’t Sonya. Yet it was fucking hard tearing down walls and breaking old habits. The fact that I was giving Audra more than I had any other woman showed me that she was getting to me. I couldn’t afford to let her but when she was in my bed, naked and sweet-smelling, all I could fucking think of was possessing her, all of her.

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