Hard Core (Hard As Nails Book 3) (7 page)

God, I’m turning into such a fucking pussy. Alyssa makes me feel greedy. Needy.

She makes me yearn, when I thought I’d gotten that out of my system long ago.

Done with Work Boots, Alyssa turns to carry on with her business. I briefly think about confronting the asshole, but decide against it.

She handled it. Fine.

I won’t seek him out.

But if I should happen to run into him later, I can’t say for sure what I’ll do.

I sweep the room, making sure nothing worrisome is going on, then I tag Alyssa as she walks back from the bar and back into the fray. She hands off each drink to a group of men outfitted in suits, and at one point, she drops something and bends over to pick it up.

Her ass beckons me, it’s so taut and so perfect.

And I can’t wait to get her alone and in my bed.

I’m normally not into kink. I like to fuck long and hard, but I don’t need whips or ball gags or someone calling me “Sir” to get off. Even so, I find myself fantasizing about tying Alyssa up so she’s on her belly, hips in the air. I picture myself slapping her ass until her cheeks are rosy.

I’m going to do it someday. Someday soon.

And I want to fucking beat my chest and roar in victory because I know not only will she let me do it, she’ll be begging me for it by the time I’m through.

* * *

Alyssa and I have an hour left on the clock before we can go. I continue watching her, leaning back against the bar, with my elbows on the countertop. She makes her way through the dense crowd, teasing us all with the way her ass shines in tight shorts. Each and every man on that floor is dying to grab a piece of her, even if it’s only for a fleeting, never-to-be-repeated solitary night.

And somehow she has no fucking clue.

She’s not the kind of girl who knows she has this kind of power over men. Not the type of girl to take advantage of it even if she did know. She’s putting on a song and dance as she twists through the crowd, but in her mind, she’s only doing a job.

She weaves between a set of two tight tables, where Work Boots slaps her ass again. She smiles at him, as if what he’s done isn’t a problem.

It is a problem though. A big fucking problem.

I tap my fingers on the bar and clench my teeth even as I calculate the quickest way to get to her if necessary. In one scenario, I hustle over to the table and demand he keep his hands to himself. In another scenario, I let my fists do the talking. This is a strip club not a fucking free for all, for Christ’s sake!

Another man, seated at the table opposite the repeat offender, calls to her and Alyssa nods. She finishes what she’s doing, and then she heads over to the waiting customer, only for Work Boots to slap her on the ass yet again.

That’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

I rush through the crowd, my body sometimes fitting through narrow spaces and other times my hands pushing away those who stand in my way.

My heart races. Blood pumps through my veins. And with each step I take toward that damned table, the narrower my eyes focus in on the man. He doesn’t even see me coming, doesn’t even know what’s about to hit him before I kick the leg of his chair.

He falls backward as the chair flips against the hard floor. He winces in pain.

“Axel!” Alyssa shouts.

I zone her out, rip the piece of shit off the ground by his shirt, and stare him down.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I seethe through gritted teeth. “You don’t put your hands on the women here. You don’t put your hands on any woman unless she tells you plain and clear she wants them there.”

“But—but—”

“No buts.” I throw him back, releasing him from my grip as his body lands against the table. His feet slide out from under him, and it’s as inevitable as the Titanic sinking to the bottom of the ocean—he rolls to the ground and the table crashes down with him.

The other men that were sitting around the table all throw themselves to their feet. They’re not looking for a fight, or at least they shouldn’t be. Not if they know what’s good for them.

“What the hell is your problem?” she snaps even as she walks past me and toward the bar.

I’m about to go after her, but stop when I notice a shadow inching over my shoulder. I crane my head and stare down the wannabe ninja standing within arm’s reach.

“Do you want to join your friend on the floor?”

He swallows a nervous lump in his throat before shaking his head and backing away.

“Good choice,” I say.

I turn back around to follow Alyssa through the crowd, but once again my instincts tingle, and I sense movement behind me. Without looking back, I hunch over while throwing my arm behind me, hook my arm around the other man’s neck by feel alone and then roll him over the top of my head.

He lands against the floor in front of me with a loud thud but I don’t even glance his way before taking off after Alyssa.

Chapter Ten

Alyssa

I throw the back door open and step out into the cool night air. I throw my arms around my chest, trying to comfort myself so I’ll stop shaking.

Embarrassment. Annoyance. Even anger. They are raging through me. Axel just made one hell of a scene in my place of employment. More than that, his little display in there will leave anyone who witnessed it with the impression I’m a poor helpless girl who needs to be saved by a knight in shining armor.

Maybe I am a poor helpless girl, but that’s my business. Nobody else’s.

My phone buzzes with an incoming text and I check the screen. My stomach clenches when I see the message. It’s from Mr. Prince, telling me he’s setting up a pole dancing lesson for me tomorrow and will get back to me on the time and place.

I’d been expecting it. So why do I suddenly feel so trapped?

So defeated?

The door is thrown open behind me, and I don’t even need to turn around to know who it is. Quickly, I shove my phone back into my apron pocket.

“Go away, Axel.”

The door clicks behind me, but I’m not fooled. I don’t know much about him, but I know he’s not good at following orders. Mine least of all.

“I’m sorry,” he begins and I turn to face him. I don’t see a hint of guilt on his face. “I’m sorry that you’re upset, but I’m not sorry for what I did.”

“If that isn’t the most cliché bullshit of an apology I’ve ever heard—”

“It’s not bullshit,” he cuts me off and takes a step toward me, but I take two steps back. “I really am sorry for upsetting you.”

“He didn’t deserve that.”

He raises a confused eyebrow. “He slapped your ass multiple times.” He shakes his head angrily, his disdain glowing under the neon light hanging from above. “And there’s nothing wrong with that?”

“It’s my job,” I yell. “I don’t get to walk around with a sign saying,
Please do not touch this girl.”

“It’s not your job. You’re a server. Even if you were a stripper, the customers are supposed to keep their hands to themselves.”

“But they don’t. Someone always gets handsy. That’s just the way it is.”

“And yet you continue working here. Knowing that’s going to happen.”

I suck in a breath and place my hands on my hips. “You think I like this? Do you think I like anything about it?”

“How am I supposed to know?” He shrugs “But you make excuses for them. You just said he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“There are certain expectations when you walk into a club like this. In the real world, you can’t do shit like that. In here? You shouldn’t, but people do. That’s just the name of the game.”

“And the other side of that coin is me doing what I did. It’s not okay for men to touch something that isn’t theirs.”

“Women don’t belong to men ever,” I say, and he just looks at me, and I get his message. Sometimes a woman can belong to a man in the best way possible, just like a man can belong to a woman. I’m suddenly struck by the overwhelming desire to make Axel mine, but I push that ridiculous thought away. We just met. Yes, we’d had sex, but that’s all we’d had. We weren’t baring our souls to one another and falling in love.

“Why are you acting like this?” I shake my head, but I’m confused by my own behavior as much as his.

“Acting like what?”

“The jealousy is written all over your face.”

He steps back until he’s leaning against the side of the building, then crosses his arms over his wide chest. “And that’s a surprise to you? It shouldn’t be. I don’t like that those men are in there touching you, and I really don’t like that you’re okay with it.”

I walk up to him until we’re toe to toe. “I
don’t
like it. But if I get pissed at every asshole who acts like an asshole in there, I won’t have a job. I told you when we first met. I am not some helpless girl. When a guy smacks me on the ass or says something really foul, and I let it slide with a smile because choosing to let it go is another dollar in my pocket, that’s my choice. If it turned into more, it would be my choice to stop it. And I would, Axel. You have to trust that.”

He stares at me, jaw clenching, before his shoulders relax. “You’re sexy when you’re mad,” he says with a mischievous smile capable of melting my panties right off my body.

I shake my head. “Don’t try and change the conversation.”

“The point is—” he begins, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand in front of his face.

“The point is that this is my life, and it’s my job. I have to be friendly to get good tips, and besides, you don’t own me.”

That seems to hit him like a speeding truck. He cocks his head as if he’s trying to process my words. It shouldn’t be difficult. It should be simple. It should be really damn simple.

“Fair warning,” he says. “That’s where we’re headed.”

Did he really just say that? “What does that mean?”

“It means, I
want
to own you,” he growls. Before I have time to process his words, he reaches for my arms and spins me around. My back lands against the brick exterior, and he leans over me. He gets close, so close our lips almost touch, and I desperately hold back my urge to close that frustrating distance.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” he questions. “You want me to own you the way I dream of owning you. We’re on the same page, Angel. You’re just not willing to admit it yet.”

I dig my fingers into the back of his hair and pull him closer until I can whisper in his ear. “All I know is you’re a good fuck.” Then I plant my hands on his chest and push as hard as I can. Of course, he doesn’t move an inch.

“No, wait. You’re not just a good fuck,” I say. “You’re the best I’ve ever had—“

“That’s one thing you don’t have to tell me, gorgeous. And you’re not so bad yourself.”

“Well thank you for that ringing endorsement, but you didn’t let me finish.” I slide my hands down and curl them in the opening of his blazer. “You’re the best fuck I’ve ever had, but that’s all you’ll ever be. I don’t have time for more.” I pause and watch his face. The confidence in his smirk has faded to uncertainty. “Now, if you can accept that, you’re still welcome to come to my place later tonight. If you can’t, then we’re going to keep things strictly professional between us. Now what’s it going to be?”

He stares at me for several seconds, then smiles. “I’ll be there. But just so you know, I’m going to be working to change your mind about us,” he says as he straightens and walks to the door.

He rips the door open and holds it for me. I walk past him, then hesitate outside the doorway as something occurs to me.

“By the way, those were some crazy ass fighting skills you used in there. Where did you learn those moves?”

His expression clouds over, and I see pain there. “That’s a story for another day.”

I want to push, yet at the same time, I don’t. I don’t want to cause him any more pain than I already have. “Sure thing, Axe.”

“Axe?” he furrows his brow.

“It just rolled off my tongue. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Oh baby,” he says through a playful smirk. “I don’t ever read.” He gestures with his hand into the club. “Now, how long do you plan on having me hold this door open?”

I walk past him and head back into the club. When I feel the light breeze cut off behind me, I know Axel is following, and so I decide to put on a show for him. I dig one heel into the ground after the other, sauntering down the hall with a playful twitch of my ass.

And when I gaze over my shoulder, his eyes are right where I want them to be. I have him wrapped around my finger, only I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Because as powerful a hold I have on him, he seems to have just as powerful a hold on me.

He’s already possessive of me, and we aren’t even in an actual relationship. It turns me on, even scares the hell out of me a little, to think what he’d do for me, who he’d kill to protect me, if I was ever really truly his.

Chapter Eleven

Axel

When we enter Alyssa’s apartment, she heads straight to the bedroom, ripping her shirt over her head in one quick motion. I follow suit and toss my blazer and tee to the floor.