Page 28 of The Devil's Conflict

“You know Sniper?” the other woman, Amanda, asks.

“We served together in the Army,” I reply gravely. “Trust me, he’s not all that impressive. One of the guys on my team told me all about how he likes to compensate because, well...” I give them a sad look and hold up my pinky finger.

Their eyes widen before they both look at the fuming Sniper. They both glance below the belt and I just smirk. “Well,” Amanda finally says. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she offers to Sniper with a weak pat on his arm. “Not all can be wellendowed. And the big ones really hurt anyway. We can make something work, we just have to work on things a little.”

Oh, this is too perfect. I barely manage to keep my face straight and my laughter contained.

The other one looks undecided. “If you have a heart condition though, we don’t want to give you, like, a heart attack or anything. Amanda, maybe we should just do one at a time. You can have him first, and if he doesn’t die, then I’ll have my turn. And I could probably get some pills from my brother if I need to, you know, speed things up.”

Amanda nods and looks back at Sniper and gives him a smile that isn’t as bright as before, but definitely is giving it the old college try. “So how about it, Sniper? Just promise not to die on us, huh? Kind of ruins the mood.”

If this was any other moment, I would swear she was trying to joke or be lighthearted, but she is one hundred percent serious. I barely manage to swallow down my laugh.

“Both of you, get back to fucking work,” he tells them with such contained fury that I’m surprised he can manage to speak. “I was never going to take you up on your offer, since I don’t sleep with my employees. Now get the fuck out of my sight before I do something I regret and fire your asses.”

Both of them look at him wide-eyed, but they must realize the danger of the moment because they turn and hurry away. Oh, now, that was stupid, because I have a feeling those two are going to declare far and wide that Sniper has a small dick, a heart condition, and that they were trying to help him out by giving him a little fun before he kicks the bucket.

I wonder what the other women will do with that information…

Sniper doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, as he stares at me, and I just hold his stare, arching a brow. “You,” he starts between clenched teeth.

“Me,” I interrupt. “That age getting to you already? Can only speak in short sentences? Do you have a club doctor? Want me to get him for you? Oh, wait, what are the signs of a stroke? Maybe I should tell him that you clearly might be having one because?—”

He moves before I can finish that sentence; next thing I know, his hand wraps around my wrist like a vise and he’s dragging me into a room. The door slams shut loud enough I’m sure the entire bar heard it, and I’m pressed back up against the door by a very angry man who looks like he’s about to strangle me.

Can’t have that now, can we?

My training kicks in, and I’m nailing him in the throat with my hand, making him choke and back up. I bring my foot up and kick him in the thigh, which also has him groaning, but before I can get away, he lets out a low, almost feral-sounding growl and launches himself at me. I blame the beer for making my reactions slower, but he manages to dodge my attempts to block him, and next thing I know, we’re crashing to the floor.

I groan as the wind gets knocked out of me, but I manage to keep from hitting my head. But that also means he’s able to take advantage and I feel his hand wrap around my throat while his body pins me to the floor. I struggle, but then he snarls, “Quit it!”

Like I’m going to listen to him. “Fuck you, Sniper,” I gasp out, using all my strength to buck my body, trying to dislodge him. I partially succeed, but then his grip on my throat tightens and he puts all of his body weight on me, stealing my breath.

The moment I gasp for breath, he loosens his grip on my throat to let me breathe, and I use it to my advantage. I bring my knee up hard and fast enough to catch him in the rib, making him grunt and curse, and I buck again, throwing him off me. I follow it up with a foot to his chest, pushing him farther away from me. He hits into a chair, sending it crashing to the floor.I get to my feet and move around to the other side of his desk, breathing hard, as he gets to his feet. I won’t make it to the door, so I need to bide my time.

I see now why the men in his club are nervous of him. He looks murderous as he stares at me. Unlucky for him, I’m not scared of him, and I know nothing he’s doing is meant to hurt me. No, he’s trying to subdue me, to prove that he’s the big strong man that can handle the small woman. Unfortunately for him, I’m going to have to prove him wrong. Again.

“You are the biggest pain in the ass I have ever met.” He seethes as he braces his fists on the top of the desk, leaning forward. “I should tell Shadow and Viper to fire you and save us all the trouble.”

“And that would just show everyone how big of a coward you are.” I sneer. “Can’t handle one woman? You know, everyone keeps telling me to watch out for you, not to piss you off. Because you’re some scary man. What a load of bullshit. Do they know you’re scared of me?”

“You think I’m scared of you? Not a fucking chance, little girl. What I am is tired of you running that smart mouth and acting like an idiot. You think I don’t know what you’re doing? Poking at me? Pricking my temper? Trying to see how far you can push me? You’re playing with the big dogs now, baby girl, and you’re going to get yourself bitten if you don’t watch yourself. My brothers have nothing to fear from me as long as they don’t fuck over the club, one of the women, or me. But the moment they do any of those three, then I have no problem showing them, or you, just what about me they should be wary of. You should remember that.”

“The big bad assassin,” I mock. “You think I didn’t hear about you? Hear about the shit you used to do? They have no clue about any of that, and they have no idea the kind of man you really are. But I do, and that’s why I’m not scared of you. WhyI don’t give a flying fuck what you say to me, what you threaten me with. And I don’t answer to you. So even if you try and get me fired, Shadow and Viper aren’t going to allow that. They need me.”

“They can hire someone else.”

My own temper burns hotter at his words. How fucking dare he. “And yet you were the one who ordered me to work for them,” I hiss, leaning forward, and bracing myself on the top of the desk. “So you have only yourself to blame. You don’t fucking like it, then you can stay the fuck away from me. Just like we did for the past week. Because I’m not going anywhere,Sergeant Major Dickhead, whether you like it or not.”

Then, I take advantage of his position and grip him by the hair and pull him forward, giving me just enough time and momentum to have him falling onto the top of the desk with a curse, and me the ability to get around him and to the door without him grabbing me. But you know how they say don’t turn your back on a dangerous animal? Yeah, apparently I forgot about that little rule, because just as I open the door, his hand slams down on the wood, forcing it shut again, and he’s pressing me tight to the door, gripping my wrists and pinning them between us. It’s the exact kind of position that I don’t want to be in. I was never good at getting out of these.

I still, though, when he settles himself against me, and I feel the hardness of his body, and something else hard poking against the top of my ass and lower back. Desire, thick and unwanted, hits me, and I struggle to breathe through it.

“I’m pretty sure you tried to pull the hair out of my head, Sutton,” he gasps in my ear. “What am I going to do with you now that I have you where I want you?”

“Been dreaming about pinning me to a door, have you, Grayson?” I toss back tightly. “You’re not helping yourself dissuade those dirty old man jokes, you know that?”

I expect him to let me go at that, but he doesn’t. Instead, he presses himself tighter against me and replies, “You have no idea the things I dream about where you’re concerned, Athena. The things I finally get to do to you in those dreams, like I used to wish for from the first time I laid eyes on you. But then you open that smart-ass mouth and those dreams turn dark. Those desires to shut you the hell up, to show you how wrong you are every time you try to insinuate I’m too old, they grow and grow until all I can think about is proving you wrong. Of showing you exactly why you shouldn’t bait me. Because you, little girl, are not ready for a man like me. Not even close.”

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