Unwilling Protector (Steel Vipers MC)

“Did you hear what I said?” she asks, interrupting the all too brief fantasy playing in my head.

“Not really. I was thinking.”

“You need to pay attention, Train. This is important stuff we’re talking about, here.”

“I was thinking about important stuff, Midnight.”

“You were?” she asks, and I nod, my breath sounding ragged even to my own ears as I look her sweet body over. “Okay, fine. What were you thinking?”

“I don’t think you want the answer to that, sweetheart.”

“Gee, I just asked, didn’t I?” she snaps, making me grin. God, she’s feisty. The way she keeps challenging me wraps around my dick constantly.

“I was thinking about stripping you down right now and seeing if you’re wet.”

“I…”

She takes a step away from me, but too late, because I can feel the fine tremble that moves through her hand and the way her fingernails bit into my shoulder before she pulled away. Yeah, I affect her the same way she does me. That’s both good and fucking bad.

How am I ever going to explain this shit to Ghost? And I will have to. My brother is going to pull through this. I’m not even going to entertain the possibility that he won’t.

I really don’t know what I’m going to do about Midnight, though. I truly don’t. She’s a fire in my blood.

She’s also not being honest with me.

I know it. She knows more than she’s letting on. I’m going to have to get her to let her guard down and trust me. She’s Ghost’s woman. I need to respect that, at least till my brother wakes up and I can face him man to man.

Jesus, she has no idea how complicated she’s making my life. I’m going to spank her ass red for this shit someday soon.

“Okay, see? If you’re truly close to Ghost you wouldn’t be saying that to me.”

I shrug because she’s telling the truth and I really don’t have anything to say to that. She crosses her arms at her chest and lets out a loud breath—clearly irritated.

“Fine!” she gripes, tired of my silence. “If you’re just going to sit there and not talk, I’m leaving. I’ll come back and read The Shining to G tomorrow.”

“I thought you were reading Pet Cemetery?”

“The Shining is more violent and I’m mad!” she barks—loudly.

“Hey, Drew! When I didn’t see you earlier, I didn’t think you were coming by tonight.”

I see Midnight’s face go completely pale as the nurse talks. I sit up as I realize what the nurse just said.

“I’ll be a son of a bitch,” I murmur under my breath. I was right.

“Uh, yeah, Millie, I am. I thought you weren’t working tonight?” Midnight asks, putting a little more distance between us. She’s not fooling me. She’s inching toward the door. I smile. If she thinks she’s going to get away from me, she better start thinking again.

“They mandated me. We’re short staffed—as usual around this place,” the nurse responds as she checks my brother’s vitals.

“How’s G doing?”

“His stats are improving, and he’s responding to stimuli. Dr. Lester is hopeful that he’ll pull out of this soon.”

“God, I hope so.”

“I know you probably miss him. You two looked really close that night I saw you at Legends.”

“Yeah, we are,” she says, and for some reason, that just makes me angrier. “I better get going,” Midnight adds. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Millie.”

“I’m off for the next three days after tonight. But I imagine I’ll see you then, and hopefully sleeping beauty here will be awake.”

“That would be awesome,” Midnight says, and I let her go outside the door. Millie looks at me nervously and smiles. When she leaves, I do, too.

I catch up with Midnight by the visitor elevators.

“Damn it, I knew I should have taken the stairs.”

“You’re not going anywhere. We have some talking to do, Drew.”

“We can talk at my house. I’m too exhausted to do it here,” she finally relents. I shrug. I’d rather have her there anyway—although it’s dangerous. I need to keep my hands off her until Ghost wakes up and he and I can talk. He’s going to hate me. Hell, I hate me. I’m still going to claim her, though.

I can’t help it.

Chapter 12

Drew

Driving home was mostly a blur of twinkling lights and snow flurries. It’s not long till Christmas. It’s always been a holiday that I love, but this year, it means nothing. I need G to wake up and tell me he’s going to be okay. I need Lenny to come out of hiding and let me put a bullet in him and end his miserable life.

And I really need Train to leave me alone.

Being around him is weakening my resolve. I don’t know how to deal with him. I want him. God, do I want him. He’s got this pure magnetism about him, and I can’t pull away from it. I pull up to the parking lot of Carlo’s garage. I live in a crappy apartment over the top of it. It’s a cheap ass place and I hate it. But when I left Texas to run from Lenny, I was looking at getting a roof over my head quick—not for a place I loved. I didn’t expect Lenny to follow me, but when it became clear he somehow found me, changing apartments was the least of my worries.