by Unknown
“What?” Animal asked, not liking the speculative look in Reaper’s eyes.
“Nothing. I just wondered why that idiot thinks he can join our club? Does he think we just let any idiot in?” Reaper asked after staring at him for a long unsettling moment where Animal shifted from one foot to the other, feeling cornered and not liking it. Shit, he really needed to work on his control; he wasn’t supposed to allow his inner self to rip away the civilized veneer that he showed the world. Lately that was all he seemed to do and the responsibility for that was all on Sammy. That woman made him feel possessive and out of control.
“Apparently. Whole time he was on my table he was jabbering about how he was going to be like me by the end of the year,” Animal finally replied, his body relaxing as he leaned back into the wall pretending that he didn’t want to follow Sammy into that office and kick Sarah out to have his way with her.
“Is he an idiot?” Reaper asked scowling.
“I don’t know. It happens with the really stupid ones sometimes. They think all they have to do is show up. They don’t realize it’s about loyalty and family because all they see is the power.” Animal laughed coldly, pushing off the wall to shrug over Fred’s idiocy.
“Yeah, I don’t get that. They see that it takes time to become a trusted member who’s patched fully. It just doesn’t make any fucking sense at all that they think they’re going to be the exception. I can’t stand that bullshit. You have to earn it, we don’t give that shit away for free.” Reaper ran a hand through his hair looking exasperated.
Animal understood the way he felt because not too long ago he’d been thinking the same thing about Fred, who thought he was special. Animal hadn’t liked him from the moment he’d arrived but he’d paid for the tat so Animal had inked him. He didn’t have to like Fred to ink him he’d told himself as he’d listened to the idiot chatter with his two friends about how he almost had a patch and they’d be next because he’d put in a good word for them.
Dumbass. Even if he’d never messed with Sarah, Animal would bet good credits that he never would have become a prospect. Now, he wouldn’t even be doing that. Animal laughed a bit at that, earning a raised brow from Reaper in question.
“Sorry, just thinking of that idiot you kicked out,” Animal told him, a slight grin still on his face.
“Ha, he was pretty stupid. Wish Sarah had let me kill him. Sometimes with those types it’s a mistake to let them live. They almost always try for revenge and end up dead anyway. She told me about him before. Believe it or not he’s the reason she ended up at the Blue Bird. Guess in that respect I should be grateful he is an idiot.” Reaper grinned a bit at that thought, making Animal chuckle.
Over the past few months with Reaper and Sarah working out of the parlor he’d gotten to know the man better than he had before. Animal discovered he liked Reaper more than he’d thought he would. Not that he hadn’t liked him before, he’d just never thought they could be friends, but somehow it didn’t seem like such a far-fetched idea anymore. Reaper had a dry wit that showed up at odd times that Animal discovered amused him.
“I’m going to go look at the ink for your old lady,” Animal told him, shaking his head and turning to head into the supply room, but he stopped when Reaper spoke again.
“Wait, is she getting better?” Reaper asked and Animal didn’t have to ask who he was talking about. It wasn’t Sarah. Nope, he was asking about Sammy. Pausing, his body stilling almost unnaturally, he thought about that question.
Was she better?
He didn’t know but she’d allowed herself to be cornered last night and hadn’t gone crazy. But the million-credit question was whether she had been paralyzed by fear that he hadn’t sensed or had she really been okay? He didn’t like thinking that she might have been too frightened by him to fight. No, he definitely didn’t like even the idea that she might have been frightened at all; the mere thought enraged him. Animal’s fists clenched at his sides and he wanted to storm Sarah’s office to demand an answer from Sammy. Instead he turned, looking at Reaper with his emotions under a tightly reined control.
“Maybe,” Animal replied staring at him. “She’s not arguing as much and she eats more.”
Animal didn’t mention that he’d had her pinned against the sink and that she didn’t protest because that was personal. Sammy wouldn’t want him to share the intimate details of their encounter with Reaper. Hell, this whole conversation would likely cause her to have fits. Animal didn’t allow himself to think about the real reason he wasn’t going to tell Reaper about her being okay with him trapping her. Animal didn’t think it was any of his business. It was between him and Sammy and it was going to stay that way.
“That’s good. Sarah’s worried still. I don’t like that Sammy hasn’t told us who hurt her yet. The longer she waits, the farther away that bastard can get and I don’t like it. You think she might tell one of us soon?” Reaper watched him carefully. Animal’s teeth clenched thinking of the man who hurt Sammy. That son of a bitch better hope he never got the chance to meet him because Animal would be damned sure that his death wasn’t easy.
“I don’t know. She isn’t ready for that yet and I don’t know how to fix that. I’m working it out as I go. Didn’t plan to be some chick’s nursemaid.” Animal rubbed his jaw as he looked towards the closed office door, his mind spinning around the subject of Sammy’s recovery. He knew that his words belied his true feelings about Sammy; she wasn’t a burden and her being dependent on him wasn’t as unwelcome as he pretended.
“If you’re not up to the task I can enlist one of the other men to look out for her. Think maybe Lock could handle her,” Reaper said, watching him with a slight curve of his lips.
Animal felt fury burn in his gut at the thought of her anywhere near another man, of her turning to Lock when she was unable to sleep or following his orders to eat. No, fuck no, that wasn’t happening.
“No,” Animal practically roared before moderating his tone. “I mean–she trusts me and that’s going to help her more than pushing her off on another man will.”
“If you’re sure.” Reaper tried unsuccessfully to hide the slight grin.
Animal ignored him, thinking instead of Sammy. He knew that she wouldn’t recover unless she could allow a Dom into her bed and that thought made his teeth ache and his stomach clamp into even tighter knots. He didn’t want anyone touching her, ever. Animal knew that him taking her to his bed would be a bad idea but he wasn’t sure if that was an option anymore. He was already too attached as he’d proven again last night when he’d almost devoured Sammy in her kitchen.
“When you find out who it was don’t hot-foot after him alone. You talk to me first, understood.” Animal took in Reaper’s posture and his serious expression, knowing that he wouldn’t like his answer much. If he didn’t know where the man was he’d tell Reaper so that he could find him but if Animal did know where the son of a bitch could be found, then all bets were off. Animal knew the rage that burned inside him for the one who’d hurt Sammy wouldn’t allow him to wait. It was a living, breathing thing that wouldn’t take the back seat even if it did get him into trouble with the club.
“Can’t make that promise. If I need help, then yeah. Otherwise I’ll be handling it myself,” Animal told him with a serious look. He wasn’t going to tell Reaper what he wanted to hear even if it pissed him off.
“Don’t much like that answer but I get it. Just talk to me before you head out if that’s the case.” Animal took in the way Reaper’s eyes focused on him with a bit of apprehension. Reaper likely had him patching Sammy in his head and Animal knew that wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t the type for that kind of shit. He didn’t really think love existed for him. For other men, sure, but he had never been happy with any woman for more than a month or two.
“Done,” Animal told him and walked towards the back room, his mind still spinning around with thoughts of the man who’d hurt Sammy and what he’d like to do to him. He walked to th
e boxes of stock, feeling fury coursing through him. Realizing that he needed to quit thinking about Sammy’s attacker, he pulled open the crate. Animal knew that he didn’t want to frighten her so soon after he had earned her trust, which meant getting his mind off this subject. Lifting the bottle of ink from the crate, he stared at the ink for a moment before grabbing two others, letting out a curse.
Damn, whoever made these had added water to the ink. What idiot had done that? Fuck, just what they needed. Now they’d have to find a new supplier unless this was an accident because watered down ink wasn’t going to cut it. At least Sarah had noticed that something wasn’t right and told one of them; otherwise they’d have been out when one of them came back to get some only to discover this crap.
Animal let out a deep sigh and headed into the back to tell her to call and ask about it only to find the office empty and a note from Sarah to call if they wanted her to pick them up something for dinner. Damn, he’d hoped to see Sammy again and now he’d have to wait till tomorrow.
Chapter 7
Sammy was ready to smack Sarah in the head by the time they made it back to Ink Bandits. Sarah had started to get annoying from the moment Sammy had ordered a small side salad for lunch. That’s when Sarah started lecturing Sammy and she hadn’t stopped since then. She kept going on and on about how Sammy needed to eat more than the reasonably sized salad she had chosen. By the time they crawled from the car Sammy had had enough. She wasn’t in the mood for any more. Unfortunately she hadn’t had the chance to talk to Animal yet, which meant she wasn’t able to leave if she wanted to ask him for help before she lost her nerve.
Sighing, Sammy pushed the door open, grabbing the bags of food from the back seat before getting out of the car. Reaper had called to ask Sarah to order them dinner while they were at the diner. Sammy, trying to get a break from the annoying conversation, began walking towards the door not bothering to wait on Sarah. She didn’t mean to be extremely annoying, she was just trying to help, but after weeks of these types of conversations Sammy wasn’t in the mood for this bullshit anymore. She just didn’t want to hear another reprimand about not eating.
At first she might have needed these types of lectures but not anymore. She was eating three meals a day now and she’d stopped losing so much weight. She just didn’t want to put the pounds back on again. Although it looked like she might not be able to manage keeping those extra pounds off because between the lectures from Sarah and Animal practically force-feeding her, it seemed like it might be a losing battle. Snorting in distaste, she shook her head.
“Dang, this shit’s heavy,” Sarah said coming up behind her holding a drink carrier and two bags of food. Sammy grinned. “You going to hang out and eat here?” Sarah asked as they neared the door.
“Sure, I guess.” Sammy was staying for one reason, to talk to Animal about teaching her self-defense, but she wasn’t going to tell Sarah that.
Flame opened the door for them before they reached it, taking the drink carrier and one of the bags from Sarah. Animal came forward taking the bags from Sammy, his hands lingering on hers when they touched and their eyes met. Sammy’s breath stilled in her chest and she felt frozen for a moment before Sarah shook her from the spell his eyes seemed to cast over her.
“Where’s Reaper?” Sarah asked, looking around for him.
Sammy shook her head and pulled her hand away from Animal’s, moving back from him. She needed to get a grip on her raging libido before she embarrassed herself. She also needed to get him alone so that she could ask him about helping her. She walked into the back room with Flame and Animal sitting down at the small table where they set the bags of food down.
“He’s in your office taking care of the ink issue.”
“Why’s he doing that? I was going to handle it when I was done with dinner,” Sarah asked, looking frustrated. Reaper had informed her about the thin ink while they were waiting on the food at the diner. Sarah had been pissed because she would likely spend an hour or more trying to get the issue straightened out and she had wanted to leave early.
“He said something about leaving early tonight, not sure why,” Flame muttered as he stuffed fries into his mouth in a gross display of gluttony. Sammy couldn’t believe he’d managed to get that many into his mouth at once and watched him in awe until Animal moved between them. She looked up, seeing the dark scowl on his face, and she wondered if he’d just moved in front of her because she was staring at Flame. Huh, that must be his dominant nature taking hold. Unsettled by the thought and her body’s liquid reaction to it, she turned away, grabbing the bag with her salad.
“Oh, right,” Sarah said laughing, shaking her head. She sat down at the table patting the chair beside her, indicating she wanted Sammy to sit with her. Sammy sat down next to her and opened the salad.
Animal sat down across from them watching her carefully. She looked up and scowled at him, unhappy that he was watching her again. She hated when he just stared at her like she was a rabbit and he a wolf. Shifting nervously, Sammy took a bite of her salad before turning to Sarah.
“Are we still going to meet tomorrow to shoot?” she asked, trying to distract herself from Animal.
“Sure, we can meet at four. I know you have to work, don’t you?” Sarah said, taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake. Reaper came into the room walking up behind her and rubbing her shoulders. Sarah leaned into his touch, lifting her head to look at him behind her. Reaper kissed her for a long moment before stepping back from Sarah and grabbing the bag of food to get his burger and fries.
“Yeah, I work tomorrow. I’ll be there till three so four’s good,” Sammy told her, watching her steal some fries from Reaper’s bag. He mock growled at her, snapping his teeth, making her giggle like a schoolgirl. Sammy smiled watching them. They were perfect for each other and she was glad that her friend had someone in her life to make her happy. Sarah hadn’t been happy before she’d met Reaper.
Sammy had never understood why her friend sometimes seemed like two women until after Sarah met Reaper. At first she had been worried about Sarah, not realizing that Sarah was more than capable of taking care of herself. The worry she felt for her friend had been cleared up the first time she and Sarah went to the Bandit’s gun range together. Sarah had also explained about her past. That revelation had been quite shocking, especially since Sarah had always seemed like she needed someone to take care of her. Of course they’d met at a very vulnerable time in Sarah’s life; she’d been desperate for credits and pregnant at the time.
Sammy saw movement from the corner of her eye and looked over at Animal, who still watched her. Animal waited until she was almost done with her salad then slid his third sandwich over to her side of the table glaring at her. She looked from him to the sandwich with anger. She didn’t need him forcing her to eat but when she looked up intending to tell him just that, she couldn’t. His eyes delved into hers and she was caught off guard by the searching look. So much so that she took a bite of the sandwich and stared at the couple sitting next to her in order to break eye contact with him. He stood suddenly, looking down at her with a firm set to his mouth and a hot promise in his eyes before he spoke.
“Eat that whole sandwich or else,” Animal gruffly uttered before he turned, leaving the room. Sammy wanted to scream after him that she didn’t have to do what he said but that look in his eyes made her hesitate and by the time she’d decided to speak, he was already down the hall. Damn, why was she always letting him tell her what to do, damn it.
Sammy hovered in the doorway of Animal’s booth watching him clean up after his client, debating on whether or not she had the nerve to ask him to teach her self-defense. She wasn’t sure she did. She was about to turn away to leave like she’d told Sarah she was going to ten minutes ago. Sarah was leaving with Reaper to head home when she asked if Sammy wanted them to follow her. Sammy had refused of course, telling her friend with a slight glare that she wasn’t helpless, but she knew that someone would be outside
waiting to follow her when she left.
Stepping back and turning towards the front door, deciding that she wasn’t ready for this, she almost jumped out of her skin when his hand caught her arm, stopping her. She gasped and looked over her shoulder at him, trying not to appear as breathless as she felt. It was odd that she wasn’t feeling that way because she was scared but instead because she was turned on.
“What do you want, Sam?” he asked, looking down at her with his hazel eyes filled with a questioning look. He moved closer until his lips were barely a breath away from hers.
“Oh, I was ju–just going to say um–goodnight,” Sammy finally settled for, her palms sweaty. She felt a shiver run up the length of her spine as his breath caressed her lips when he spoke again.
“Nope, tell me what you want, babe,” Animal commanded, earning a slight frown from her because he couldn’t know that was why she had been hovering in the doorway watching him. He was moving closer, pulling her to him, and she wanted to push him away but she couldn’t seem to make herself do it.
“What are you talking about?” she demanded, her anger stirring because she hated when he used her needs against her like he was doing right now. Her hands came up, landing on his shoulders as he turned her, spinning them into the small room. Reaching out, he shut the door before pushing her back into it. Her breath caught as his hands landed on either side of her head, trapping her between his arms. Sammy looked at those hard male hands. They looked rough and she couldn’t help imagining them running over her skin. Thinking of feeling that rough caress sent a shiver down her body strong enough to curl her toes.
“I’m asking what you were hovering in my doorway for the last ten minutes for and don’t tell me that it was to say goodbye. We both know that isn’t why,” Animal told her, his hand lifting a piece of her hair, twisting it around his finger.