“No. Where at, Sarah? Why don’t you want to tell me? Are you lying because you didn’t want me to pay, because if you are I’m going to hit you,” Sammy grumbled, her foot still tapping. Her eyes were slits of angry green fire.
“No, I’m not lying. I got a job.”
“Where, Sarah?”
“The Blue Bird,” she finally spit out after they had a staring contest for more than a few minutes.
Sammy’s mouth dropped open and she looked like she was going to explode. She grabbed Sarah’s arms and demanded, “Are you insane! You can’t work at a strip club!”
“No, I am not insane…”
Sammy cut her off. “You must be. Reaper runs that place! What the hell, Sarah. Those guys are bad news. And in a strip club I doubt that you’ll be safe. You could get raped or worse, killed. The Blue Bandits have a high body count coming out of that place, you know that.”
“Stop, there are rules that will keep me from getting raped and as for the bodies, they are mostly male. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Sammy shook her by the arms. “Sarah, you’ve lost your damned mind! You can’t work there.”
“I can and I will, Sammy. I already took the job and Reaper seems like the type who would be a bit offended if I quit before I started,” she said, shoving Sammy off her.
“Oh my God, you can’t be serious. Sarah, please. You can’t work in a place like that. If it’s about credits, you and Josh can stay with me. You know that. Please don’t take this job, please. You can find another one.”
“Sammy, the guy who got me fired went around to most of the places in town bad mouthing me and nobody will hire me,” she told her walking around to her door. “I really have to go and Josh is getting fussy again. Please. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“That bastard! Sarah, we can move. I can quit Hal’s and me, you and Josh can move somewhere else, just please don’t work for that place.”
“No, I’m working for the club and that’s that. I’ll be careful, I promise.” Sammy looked at her with worry on her face before she hugged Sarah, squeezing her tightly. “If something happens to you I swear I’m going in there and taking as many of them out with me as I can.”
Sarah smiled, hugging Sammy back because she knew that Sammy meant every word. “Nah, you’d take care of Josh and make sure he knew that his mother was a perfect, perfect person,” she told her as they drew apart.
“You’re such a pain in the ass,” Sammy said shaking her head.
“Yeah, I am but you love me anyway,” Sarah told her.
“I do. I really do, but I would teach him not to be dumb like his mother instead of how perfect she was,” Sammy said, sticking her tongue out at her as she stepped back allowing Sarah into the car. Sarah drove away with a little wave to her friend, worried that she’d never get back in time to make it in to work on time. Shit, she’d likely lose her job before she even got to start it.
Reaper looked at his watch again, anger beginning to boil inside him. He’d been sitting here at his booth for over an hour waiting on Sarah to show. It was now almost eight and she was still not here. He should have followed her home last night so he could show up at her house to show her that a man like him didn’t sit and wait on a woman. He was now convinced that she wasn’t coming after all the shit she’d pulled last night. He wanted to find her and spank her pretty little ass.
He was getting up to go search for the little witch when the door opened and Sarah entered. He almost swallowed his tongue; his cock was instantly harder than a steel pipe. Holy fuck, she looked like a walking wet dream. His gaze went to her hair, which was piled on top of her head in a messy bun with tendrils falling down framing her face. She wore a black tank top that left her arms bare and accented the small round globes of her beasts perfectly.
The thing that made him stop in his tracks and stare though was the flirty skirt that ended just above her knees. It was black and tight from her waist to her mid thigh where it flared out, shifting back and forth as she moved. Her legs were displayed and the toned tan flesh made him want to grab her and just fuck her. He decided instantly that skirt had to go. She wasn’t wearing that here again. Ever.
In his bedroom, sure, but not here where these assholes could imagine shoving that skirt up to get at the sweetness he knew rested between those killer legs. Yeah, she wasn’t wearing that skirt here again.
He stalked towards her and caught two men already eyeing her speculatively. He wasn’t happy about those looks or his reaction. He was feeling possessive, which made him snap at her. “You’re fucking late.”
“I know I…” Sarah began but he grabbed her arm and began towing her to his office. He wasn’t having this conversation in front of the whole fucking club. She glared at him as he shoved her inside. He stood in front of the door again trapping her in the room with him. He was pissed. She was an hour fucking late to a job she’d practically begged for.
“What the fuck, Sarah? I told you to be here at seven. Do you have a problem with being on time? Because if that’s the case, then you can find another fucking job.” He stood with his arms crossed and his feet planted as he waited for a damned good explanation.
Sarah watched him wearily from her place across the room. She didn’t want to tell him about Josh. She had a feeling he wouldn’t approve of her working here if he knew she was a mother. She searched for a believable excuse to keep from losing this job, which she desperately needed now that she’d spent so much getting Josh well.
“I had to drive to Grandyville.”
“What? Why the fuck would you do that when you know you had to come in here tonight?” Reaper asked
“I went to the doctor there,” she told him.
“You were sick?” he demanded looking concerned.
“Not me, a friend’s son,” she finally told him, still not wanting to tell him it was her son because she knew he would likely fire her if she did. He stared at her for a long moment seeming to debate that in his head before he finally spoke.
“Fuck, fine. One shot is all I allow. You’re late again and you’re out on your pretty little ass, got me?” he growled before storming towards the desk.
“I understand,” she replied, watching as he shuffled papers on the desk before looking up at her.
“What the fuck are you waiting on? Sit your ass down,” he said indicating the desk chair he was leaning over. Sarah went to the chair, sitting down reluctantly. He leaned forward showing her the ledger.
“This is where the invoices need to be recorded. You input the numbers into the ledger and then file the receipts in the files behind here.” He showed her a lever on the bookshelves that opened a sliding door where a file cabinet was present. “They’re filed by week so make sure you don’t mix them up.” He was so close she could smell the spicy scent of his cologne. It made her thighs clench as need suddenly assaulted her.
She was trying not to lean towards him and inhale his masculine scent by clenching her hands on the edge of the desk. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she wanted to bury her face into his chest. It must be that she was tired, she assured herself. She wasn’t attracted to the jerk who’d been nothing but rude to her. She wasn’t.
Yeah right, her hoo-ha cackled as it clenched again when he reached down to grab a drawer on the other side of her, encasing her between him and the desk. She felt lightheaded and her eyes watched his hard hands moving inside the drawer. He withdrew an empty file setting it on the desk.
“When they’re in the ledger, total them by week and then place them in a file like this one with the dates for that week recorded on it. Then file it.” His voice sent shivers down her spine and she felt the need to lean into him again. “Are you even listening to me?” he demanded.
Sarah shook her head slightly to clear the fog of need his closeness had created. She sat back in the chair before she glared at him and said in a clipped voice, “Yes, I input the invoices and then file them by week. I am not an idiot, Reaper.”
&
nbsp; “Great. Then get to work. I’ll be back in two hours. Be done by then or you don’t have a fucking job tomorrow,” he growled, his hand brushing a bit of hair back from her face.
Sarah nodded curtly, pulling the ledger forward, trying to distract her body from the need she felt. She didn’t want to be attracted to the big jerk.
“Good,” he rumbled and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. Sarah shot the door a bird wishing she’d had the nerve to shoot one at him. Grabbing the first invoice, she got to work, hoping like hell she wouldn’t screw this up.
Chapter 9
Sarah leaned back in the chair with a groan. Her back was killing her from leaning over the desk for the past three nights in a row. Reaper had kept her busy over the last two weeks. Every night she’d come in to find another huge stack of invoices to enter into the ledgers. He had also begun adding tasks to her. She now had to call in all the orders for the club and the tattoo parlor. The invoices alone where more than enough to keep her busy; they came from the club, the tattoo parlor and a restaurant that the club owned. When she wasn’t handling the ledgers or ordering supplies, he had her handling other office tasks.
So far she only saw him when she came in for the night and just before she left. He would walk her out of the club to her car and stand watching her as she drove away. He was an enigma. He was constantly touching her when he was around.
If he wasn’t brushing his hand down her spine, he was leaning forward to look over her shoulder or touching her hair, and those were just the minor touches. The not so minor touches disturbed her more. He’d rub her shoulders or brush his fingers across her lips, but then he’d disappear until it was time to go home. It was quite frankly starting to piss her off because it left her flustered and turned on for over an hour after he left.
Sarah stared at the wall. Tonight she was going to ask him if she could get an advance on her paycheck because she was getting desperately low on funds. Since she’d taken Josh to the doctor over in Grandyville, she’d been saving most of what she had but she was at the end of the two weeks she’d paid for at the motel and if she didn’t pay for another by Friday, they would be living in her car until payday on Wednesday.
She would have to use thirty of the credits on the motel and that only left her with five credits for food for an entire week. Maybe he would give her an advance because she was doing a good job. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that he should be wandering in to walk her out soon. She would ask him then.
Sammy was still worried about her working here but when she’d told her that Reaper didn’t allow her to be anywhere near any of the men who came to the strip club, including his gang, she was a bit less worried. She’d also taken to calling him Sarah’s Reaper ever since she’d confessed that he was making her insane with the desire he was stirring up inside her every night she worked. Sammy had thought it was hilarious. Sarah, on the other hand, didn’t find it at all funny.
The door opened and Reaper stepped inside.
“Ready to call it a night?” he asked gruffly, watching her.
“Yes, but I was wondering, could I get a small advance on my paycheck? Just like thirty credits to hold me over until Wednesday,” she asked in a rush so that she didn’t chicken out, because asking Reaper for anything made her nervous. He was like a loaded gun; if you didn’t keep your finger off the trigger, you’d end up with more than you bargained for.
He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes dark and stormy as he watched her. She breathed deeply as she tried not to panic from the intense look in his eyes. She wanted to hide beneath the desk to get away from his intent look.
Reaper wanted to give her anything she wanted, but he couldn’t. Over the last few weeks he’d begun to get her used to his touch so that she wouldn’t run when he turned it up a notch. She was skittish and if he pushed this too far too fast, she’d run. She needed to get accustomed to his touch. He’d decided as he’d suffered through more hard-ons in the last week than he ever had in his entire lifetime that he wasn’t going to allow her to walk away. The torture was that he couldn’t seem to get it up for another woman because he was so focused on her that no other woman seemed to stir his cravings.
He hated the four nights a week when she was off. He actually worried about her and his guts didn’t settle until she came in the door for her next shift. When she was here and he knew she was safe was the only time he felt stable. Even Lock had asked him what the hell was wrong with him lately a few days ago.
He’d told the man some bullshit story about his headaches, but it was really her. That was why he wanted to give her what she wanted. Only he knew if he did and one of the other women found out, he’d have every woman in this club offering to give him sexual favors for her own paycheck early. It would cause too much hassle and he wasn’t going to deal with that bullshit.
“No,” he told her flatly
“Reaper, I just need a little. Just till Wednesday.”
“Do I look like I run a fucking charity, Sarah?” he asked snidely. “Get your shit and let’s go.”
“No, asshole, you don’t but it wouldn’t be charity because I already earned the fucking credits.” Sarah stood, grabbing her purse and stomping towards the door.
“And you’ll get paid when everyone else does. Don’t be bitchy about it and didn’t I fucking tell you not to wear this damned skirt to work again?” he grumbled, following her out into the hallway as she stormed towards the door.
“I wouldn’t if I could afford to buy other clothes but since I haven’t been paid, you can just deal with it, asshole!”
Reaper watched her skirt swaying as she stormed past the bar and he noticed the raised brows of Lock and Bull, who expected him to show her exactly why no one else dared to call him anything except Reaper. He wouldn’t hurt her but he could intimidate and frighten her. Only that wasn’t going to get him into her bed and he knew it. If he scared her, she’d be gone before he could blink and that wouldn’t work for him. Not at all.
“I told you to talk to me in a respectful tone, little girl. I meant it,” he roared after her through clenched teeth. She spun, looking at him with anger in every line of her body.
“I don’t give a fuck, asshole!” She then spun around again and stormed to the door. Bull was bent over laughing, his face red. As Reaper walked by, he punched the man in the stomach, hard, knocking him back into the bar where he knocked off several beer bottles, making Sarah spin around a second time to glare.
“Must you be so damned violent!” she cried, her eyes wide as she watched Bull stumble to a stool and sit down panting. Shaking her head, she turned away muttering under her breath. Just in case someone got ideas, he punched Bull a second time before glaring at the other men, who held their hands up in defensive poses and backed away with straight faces.
“Quit terrorizing your friends and move it. You are supposed to be walking me out, damn it,” the feisty little woman yelled at him making his dick throb and his need to spank her tight little ass almost overpowered him.
He followed her to the car. She was already opening the door when he grabbed her waist and spun her around, pushing her back into the car. “Sarah, your smart little mouth just got your ass in trouble,” he told her, his arms on either side of her head as he pressed her back against the car.
His hand rubbed her hair out of her face before burying in the thick mass of dark waves. Sarah’s breath caught and she trembled as his mouth lowered slowly towards hers. His mouth was hard as it pressed against hers. She gasped in surprise, giving him the opening he needed to push his tongue through her lips to tangle with hers. His hand clenched in her hair as he devoured her.
She felt her body sag into his. His scent surrounded her as his body pressed into hers. Sarah’s hands slid to his shoulders as she clung to him. Her heart pounded in her ears as desire sent shivers up her spine. She moaned into his mouth as she pulled him closer, wanting to feel him everywhere at once. Sarah was shocked by her wanto
n behavior as she pressed against him needing more. She’d never felt this way before, as if she were melting from just his tongue thrusting into her mouth with the flavor of whiskey and man.
His scent, a thick essence of leather, bayberry and man, was intoxicating. Her body was on fire and the dampness between her thighs was embarrassing. He began giving light sipping kisses to her mouth as he pulled back slightly. His hands had moved to cup her hips, tilting her into his thick hardness. She moaned, nipping at his lips before he kissed across her jaw with nipping kisses of his own that he soothed with his tongue. The sound of pleasure was loud, even to her own ears.
He kissed to her ear, nipping it hard before whispering, “I’ll see you tomorrow, baby. Don’t wear that skirt again.” He squeezed her ass hard and nipped her lower lip once before he pulled away, stepping back from the car with a smug smirk on his face. Sarah was confused for several moments before she took in that look and realized that he was only proving a point with the kiss he’d just given her. It was like the game he’d played with her for the past two weeks. The kiss that had just blown her mind had been a tool, a way to keep her in line, and that pissed her off.
“Asshole!” she yelled, trying to knock that smug look off his face before getting in her car and slamming the door.
Reaper watched Sarah fly out of the parking lot, a smirk on his lips. He lifted his hand, touching his bottom lip where her teeth had nipped him when he’d pulled back. He still tasted her sweetness on his tongue and felt something inside him roar in satisfaction. His it claimed and he was so fucked up over that little girl he didn’t argue with it as he turned and headed back into the club.
He nodded at Iron and Stoner. Stoner grinned, showing his yellowed teeth. “She’s a hot one, huh, boss. Think I’ll have a go at her when you’re done.” Reaper didn’t think, he just planted his fist in the man’s face, knocking him over. Then he kicked the man in the stomach seven times before Iron finally tried to stop him. He shrugged the larger man off and got down in Stoner’s face.
Reaper Unleashed Page 8