Page 76 of The Echo of Violence

She shrugs. “It’s fine. I was fifteen when I lost my legs. I worked really hard to get my mobility back. I sure as hell wasn’t going to risk getting hurt and setting my recovery back just so I could get drunk.”

“Fifteen? Jesus, I was a turd at fifteen. I don’t think I could even get my shit together enough to remember my lunch for school. That’s impressive.” Eightball takes a big gulp of his own beer.

“It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t have a choice.”

“You had a choice, though. I’m sure you were given a wheelchair, right? You could have just accepted that as your life. Instead, you relearned how to do everything and became a fucking bounty hunter. I don’t even know what to say to that.”

Her skin flushes as she dips her head. Interesting. She can take an insult like a champ, but a compliment makes her uncomfortable.

“You never said anything when we… you know.” Eightball stares at her.

“Why would I? I wanted to fuck. I didn’t want to take the risk of you being freaked out and leaving me all hot and bothered.”

“Why would I be freaked out?”

She rolls her eyes. “You cannot be that naïve, biker boy.”

“I’m being serious. Why the fuck would I care?”

Jinx is getting agitated now, and her dog must sense it because he lifts his head and places it on her lap.

“Men who find out about this”—she points to her lower body—“are either looking to give me a pity fuck, counting it as a good deed like I’m going to pat them on the fucking back afterward. Or they have something to prove. Women are already vulnerable to the whims of men. Imagine how much worse that is when you can’t run away.”

“Did someone hurt you?” I snarl, grabbing her arm.

She blows out a breath. “I always keep a gun under my pillow. He realized a little too late that my inability to run didn’t mean I was unable to defend myself. When his brain exploded all over me, I figured there was a slim chance he saw the error of his ways before the lights went out.”

“Good fucking girl.”

She looks at me sharply, but not with anger but with something else.

“Please don’t judge us by the idiots that came before us,” Splinter tells her.

“Not sure it even matters, really.”

“It does when all three of us want you.”

“Right. My killer legs bring all the boys to the yard.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Jinx, but I don’t give a fuck about your legs.”

I lean forward and slide my hand over her thigh as the dog lies back down on the floor, thankfully. I didn’t really want to lose my hand. I slip it higher and stroke her pussy through her shorts. “Now, if you told me you’d lost your pussy in a freak accident, I might have had an issue.”

She bursts into laughter as Eightball groans.

“You did not just say that.”

I grin, always happy to lighten the mood. “What? I’m not saying I only want her for her pussy. What kind of man do you take me for? I like her mouth too. Have you seen those lips? I dream about having them wrapped around my cock, and I don’t even need to be asleep to do it. Do you know how fucking annoying it is to be at work sporting wood because I can’t stop thinking about her?”

She’s relaxed now, so I pull back as she licks her lips.

“Okay, you, I can accept. You seem like a man who will fuck anything. But these two…”

“First of all, how dare you? I have standards. And besides, I’d knock your socks off if you let me.”

She lifts her leg a little, showing her blade. “No feet, no socks. But nice try.”

My mouth drops open, ready for me to insert my foot.

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