Lag (The Boys of RDA Book 2)

by MEGAN MATTHEWS

  There are murmurs of agreement and Aspen opens the fridge to pull out a bottle of white wine.

  “I left it here for this exact moment,” she says with a growing smile.

  Today is a time for celebration. It’s a new year, a new apartment, and a new beginning. Let’s be honest, last year sucked. With an exposed cheater for a fiancé and a cancelled wedding, I’m ready for better days ahead. I’m a new woman. No more tears over Cody and a lost future. A new Marissa moved into this apartment. I’m back on the dating wagon and ready to take this city by the balls…or whatever.

  An announcer shouts from the living room, and we turn our heads to the television where a presenter screams in victory over a goal in the current hockey game. Trey nudges Finn’s arm and both guys walk to the tan microfiber couch, their eyes never leaving the screen.

  “How were the holidays in New York with Trey, Simone?” Aspen asks.

  “Good. It took a few days, but Trey grew on my dad. They seemed to get along.”

  While the last year sucked for me, it doesn’t hold a candle to the year Simone had. Christmas was her first major holiday after losing her mom. I’m sure Trey being there help distract them.

  A heavy knock rattles the room and we turn toward the door.

  “I’ve got this,” I announce to the room, but the boys don’t relax.

  We haven’t been loud enough to disturb anyone on the floor below us and none of those neighbors have the code to access this floor. There’s no one it could be besides Finn’s driver, Jake, and his large lumbering form on the other side. Maybe we left a box in the company Escalade.

  I swing open the door and come face to broad chest as expected, but it isn’t Jake. This body is leaner and taller. My eyes slide up his form and stop at his chiseled square jaw. I had no idea people like this existed. A plain white t-shirt hugs his body outlining what have to be a set of wonderful pecs. In his hands he carries a medium-sized brown box, the weight causing a rather large bulge of muscles to stretch the fabric of his shirt.

  “What the hell is this?” He shoves the box at me until I’m forced to grab it. “Why the fuck are there boxes all over my hallway?” His moment of being the hottest guy in the place is lost once he opens his pretty mouth. If I’m being honest, he lost a hotness point too.

  His question stops me short, and I jerk my head back to his face and short dark brown hair. My face turns a slight shade of red from being caught ogling his arms. “Huh?” I’m not winning any awards for my intelligence today.

  Bright blue eyes squint at me in irritation. “The fucking boxes all over the damn hallway. Get them out, Aspen.”

  My mouth falls open in a lame attempt to correct him, but then I bristle at his tone. He might be hot, but he’s also an asshole.

  “Ry.” With a gentle hand, Finn pushes me to the side and takes up the doorway. “This is Marissa, your new tenant. She moved in today."

  Finn’s words don’t relax him. Ryland’s scowl is still etched on his face. It might be permanent.

  “I didn’t approve a sublease.” His eyes narrow in my direction and I step away from the door.

  Crap. I’m going to kill Aspen for this. I’ve already given up my old apartment and now I’ll end up in a cardboard box off Van Ness Street.

  Ryland nudges his wide frame through the door. With arms tightly crossed, his eyes sweep the room. “How many people are in here?”

  I turn to Aspen with a silent plea for help, but she only responds by bringing both shoulders to her ears in the longest shrug I’ve ever witnessed. Simone stands next to her with a hand over her mouth and wide eyes, which don’t help my anxiety.

  “Ry.” Trey stands behind me and I move out of the way to give him space. Better him than me when it comes to the wrath of my new neighbor. The one Pen promised I’d never see. "You haven’t called me back.”

  “I’m here aren’t I?” he responds with a smidge less irritation in his tone.

  Finn widens the door to give Trey more room. “Have you played the new update? Let’s go to your place.” He steps into the hallway with Finn right behind him, beer still in hand.

  “Whose fucking car is in one of my spaces?” I guess my cuddly landlord hasn’t finished classifying our shortcomings yet.

  “Oh, yeah, don’t worry, man. That’s mine.” Trey leans back into the apartment and casts an eye to the boxes in the hallway—a silent reminder of what started this whole mess.

  The door closes behind Trey and the three of us release a collective breath at the reduction in tension.

  “Did I mention I get to babysit Sadie Saturday?” Pen’s lame attempt to use her baby niece to change the subject reminds me how much I'm going to kill her. Later. After she gets the chance to babysit. It’s all she’s talked about for months. Ben, her brother, has taken his time in letting her.

  “Don’t worry, Marissa. A sublease will be fine, Marissa. He’s never here, Marissa,” I repeat back Aspen’s words from the last few weeks to her.

  Rather than show any guilt, her smile grows with each of my sentences. There’s no telling what’s going through her head, but I swear there are visible wheels turning. Falling in love with Finn ruined her common sense.

  “Come on. Let’s get the boxes.” I shake my head all the way to the door, too flustered to figure out what she’s thinking. “If I unpack, maybe he’ll take pity and let me stay here.”

  Aspen tugs on a piece of my brown hair and beats me out into the hallway. “Of course he’ll let you keep the place. He can’t be that big of an asshole."

  It’s another one of her promises, but this time I’m not so sure.

  Purchase a copy of Grind from your favorite online retailer here.

  ** Keep reading for an excerpt from Savage Collision by Gwyn McNamee **

  Now Available

  Savage Collision (A Hawke Family Novel)

  Book 1 in The Hawke Family Series

  By: Gwyn McNamee

  The last thing I expect when I walk into The Hawkeye Club is to fall head over heels in lust. It’s supposed to be a rescue mission. I have to get my baby sister off the pole, into some clothes, and out of the grasp of the pussy peddler who somehow manipulated her into stripping. But the moment I see Savage Hawke and verbally spar with him, my ability to remain rational flies out the window and my libido takes center stage. I’ve never wanted a relationship—my time is better spent focusing on taking down the scum running this city—but what I want and what I need are apparently two different things.

  Danika Eriksson storms into my office in her high heels and on her high horse. Her holier-than-thou attitude and accusations should offend me, but instead, I can’t get her out of my head or my heart. Her incomparable drive, take-no-prisoners attitude, and blatant honesty captivate me and hold me prisoner. I should steer clear, but my self-preservation instinct is apparently dead—which is exactly what our relationship will be once she knows everything. It’s only a matter of time.

  The truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes, it just royally screws you.

  Continue for the first chapter of Savage Collision…

  Chapter One

  Naked women gyrate on stages—asses, tits, flesh on display—their images covering three-quarters of my computer screen, but they are merely blurs in my peripheral vision.

  My focus is on the top right corner, where one of my vendors is unloading his truck on the loading dock, and taking his sweet-ass time doing it. He’s no doubt using it as an excuse gawk at the girls. Byron, my club manager, is in heated discussion with him about something. Hopefully, he’s reaming him out for taking up so much of our damn time with an unload that should take only minutes.

  Why are people so fucking lazy these days? What happened to work ethic?

  My parents made damn well sure all their children understood the importance of a hard-day’s work and always giving it one hundred percent. I guess that kind of thing just isn’t instilled in people anymore. It shouldn’t surprise me really, the degradati
on of society, not when I see the degenerates who always manage to find their way in here, despite my best efforts to keep the club clientele upscale.

  Byron and the vendor move to the back of the truck and start unloading several handcarts-full of cases of beer at a time. At least I can always rely on Byron to get the job done.

  I return to the paperwork on my desk but barely have time to regain my train of thought before my office door flies open, slamming against the wall.

  Instinctively, I reach under my desk, wrapping my hand around the grip of the Sig Sauer 1911 Scorpion I keep mounted there. I look up, expecting to find one of Domenico Abello’s thugs, because, surely, that would be the only person capable of making it past both Gabe and Byron to end up in my office unannounced.

  My breath catches in my throat when, instead of a burly threat, my eyes land on what I can only describe as a Victoria’s Secret model. An enraged one.

  She is furious—the fire in her stormy blue eyes and her scowling red lips are a dead giveaway. With a toss of her long, wavy blonde hair behind her shoulder, she thunders into my office as if she owns the place.

  I track her progress across the room, taking in her polished appearance—from her French-manicured nails, thousand-dollar bag, and Burberry trench down to the four-inch Louboutin stilettos that make her long, elegant legs extend beyond comprehension as she clicks across the wood floor with purpose.

  My cock hardens instantly and, despite my surprise at my body’s reaction to her, I steel my expression and shift uncomfortably in my chair.

  Damn. This woman is livid, and hot as fucking hell.

  I doubt she’s a threat, though—to anything but my libido—so, I remove my hand from the gun and surreptitiously slide it to my crotch to adjust my erection before reclining and watching her speculatively. Despite this being my office, my domain, I wait patiently for her to say something. I see a hint of uncertainty and maybe discomfort beneath her diamond-hard demeanor.

  “Are you the owner?”

  She stops several feet short of my desk, props her hands on her shapely hips and huffs in defiance. Her voice is level and steady when she asks the question, but her eyes give her away. They roam over me with blatant interest and the slight flush on her neck and cheeks only confirm my suspicion—she’s checking me out.

  I relax in my chair and school my features, trying to hide my amusement. I answer her question with a nod. “I am, and you might be?”

  “Danika Eriksson.” She tosses her name at me like a poison dart and her bravado impresses me despite my uncertainty about her purpose here.

  Do I know her? Should I be recognizing her name? No, I would remember a woman like her.

  Movement in the open door catches my eye and I see Gabe, my best friend, right-hand man, and business partner eyeing Ms. Eriksson with concern. I wave him off with a look and he nods his understanding before disappearing down the hall. “What can I do for you, Ms. Eriksson?”

  She crosses her arms over her chest in a huff, which only succeeds in pushing her abundant breasts higher on her chest.

  Not helping the raging hard-on situation, lady.

  “You can tell me where the hell you get off tricking young, innocent girls into selling themselves like slabs of beef in your disgusting club.” She spits the words at me, completely, unabashedly unafraid to insult me and my business, while standing right in front of me and looking me in the eye.

  I struggle to withhold a grin at her audacity as I lean forward, resting my elbows on the edge of the desk.

  “I can assure you, Ms. Eriksson, that none of my employees are ‘tricked’ into doing anything.”

  She scoffs and shifts her weight, drawing my attention back to her impossibly long, shapely legs. The woman must be at least five foot seven without those heels on. With them, she towers over me in all her elegant glory.

  “Bullshit…” She searches my desk for a nameplate, then looks at me again when she doesn’t find one.

  The corner of my mouth quirks up before I can stop it. “Savage, Savage Hawke. But please, call me Savage, and just what is it you think you know about my employees?”

  “Savage?” Her eyes narrow and then she rolls them. “Your parents honestly named you Savage Hawke?”

  This isn’t the first time someone has questioned my name, or that my name has left me the butt of some joke. “Yes, they did. It’s a family name.” My gaze naturally drifts to the framed photo on the corner of my desk. It was my father’s second-to-last fight. He’s standing in the center of the ring in Madison Square Garden, the WBA heavy-weight championship belt around his waist, and I’m hoisted above his head, both of us smiling in his victory. I was ten.

  She follows my stare and when she sees the photo, her eyebrows pop up in recognition. “Wait, your father is Sam ‘The Savage’ Hawke?”

  Stunned doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel, hearing my dad’s name from her. It takes me a moment to shake off my surprise, but eventually, I manage a smile and nod. “I’m surprised you recognize him.” I lean forward to grab the photo and turn it around so she can see it more clearly.

  In my thirty years on this planet, I don’t think I’ve ever met a single woman who knew who my father was. Men, on the other hand, gape in awe when they find out my lineage. I guess it just goes with the territory of being the son of a heavy-weight champ, and one who died the way he did.

  She takes a step closer to me, bending down slightly to get closer look at the photo. “Holy shit! I can’t believe you are ‘The Savage’s’ son! Of course I know who he is. My dad was a huge boxing fan. I grew up watching your dad’s fights from my old man’s lap.”

  “That’s great.” And very unexpected. I’m not quite sure what to say. Talking about my father is always bittersweet.

  Her smile and astonishment fade and she glances at me apologetically. “Shit, I’m sorry…” Before she finishes her thought, she seems to realize she’s been sidetracked from her intended purpose. She straightens herself, squares her shoulders, and I can tell she’s ready to get back to business.

  “Well, Savage,” she says my name like it’s a four-letter word, “I would very much appreciate it if you kept your sleazy hands off my baby sister.”

  Bingo!

  She isn’t the first, and she certainly won’t be the last, person to find their way into my office on their high horse, accusing me of taking advantage of some innocent little sister, cousin, or friend.

  “And who is your baby sister?”

  Her face scrunches in disgust at my inability to immediately make the familial connection.

  “Nora Eriksson, she started shaking her ass and tits for you almost three weeks ago.”

  The way she throws the words “ass and tits” at me, I have to cover my mouth with my hand to hide my grin. This woman is all attitude and it is sexy as fuck, although I have no idea why. She definitely isn’t my usual type, although, I’m not sure if I even know what my type is anymore. Certainly, she’s about as far from Becca as one can get, yet my cock is still straining against my pants.

  I clear my throat before responding, hoping to give myself a second to regain my composure. “Ah, yes, Nora. My manager, Byron, hired her. I’ve only had the pleasure of meeting her on one occasion, but I can assure you, Ms. Eriksson, she was in no way ‘tricked’ into taking her position here.”

  She glowers at me and her hands ball into tight fists at her sides. “I know my sister, Savage, and there is no way in hell she just up and decided she wanted to be a fucking stripper. She was tricked, or forced…”

  I barely manage to contain an eye-roll. “If I didn’t have such thick skin, I might be insulted by the way you throw your words at me like daggers,” I retort, enjoying watching her distress at my ability to maintain my cool. The color in her cheeks flares and her blue eyes flash at me.

  Who knew angry could be such a fucking turn on?

  ***

  My blood is boiling and this man—Savage Hawke—has grated my last nerve. I can
barely contain my desire to climb across his desk and smack him across his handsome, smug face for acting so high and mighty. He is a pussy peddler. A goddamn sleazebag who preys on young, impressionable, desperate girls in order to make a quick buck.

  Savage Hawke.

  He even has a porn star name. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was shooting them in some back room.

  It’s too bad he’s so fucking gorgeous. He runs a hand back through his thick, wavy black hair and focuses his Caribbean-blue eyes on me with a calm that makes me want to throw my purse at him.

  My traitorous body reacted to him instantly, heat churning deep in my belly the moment I walked into his office and saw him dominating the space behind his large, wooden desk.

  The longer we talk, the worse it gets, and I have to press my thighs together to stop the dull ache there.

  Damn, it has been way too long since I had a good fuck. What? Twelve days?

  I’m so busy fuming and trying to rein in my runaway sex drive, I completely forget to respond to him.

  “Ms. Eriksson,” he continues, giving me a smug smile, “I have a very rigorous interview process established to ensure none of my employees begin work here under any duress…”

  I lift my brow in speculation and to ensure he’s aware of my disbelief. Bullshit! I bet their “interview process” involves lap dances and blowjobs in the champagne room.

  “…Byron conducts a very thorough interview with each girl, including a complete background check to determine if they are under any serious financial strains. If I find they are, I typically offer them a personal loan, to be repaid at standard interest rates, to ensure they aren’t tempted to engage in pursuits some of the other clubs are often known for. We also do weekly drug testing and nightly breathalyzers, as our girls are forbidden from engaging in any illicit drug use and cannot perform while under the influence of any alcoholic beverages.”