I gave him a blank look. “Some of the best advice I ever received was to never say never.”
“Well, here’s some more advice for you to contemplate. I know you’re hellbent on revenge, son. I just hope you know what you’re doing. Because you know what they say…before you start on a journey of revenge, best you dig two graves.” He looked uncomfortable as he placed his hat back on his head. “Just something for you to consider.”
As he walked away, I took a long pull on my beer.
I didn’t want to think about Scud Boney or the cesspit of a motel room I’d found him in. He was in hell now, right where he belonged, and the moment he hit the floor dead, I had started to forget about him.
TAYLOR
“Hey, T. You interested in more shifts?”
I had just walked into the clubhouse to start my first Wednesday shift when Randy approached me.
“Are you kidding me? Sure, I’m interested. What do you have available?”
“Chrissy’s shifts.”
“Who is Chrissy, and what are her shifts?”
“She works the weekends and all the other shifts you don’t work. But she works to six o’clock some nights. Can you do that?”
I chewed the inside of my mouth. I would have to make sure Pickles was fine with watching Noah.
“You could always bring Noah back to the clubhouse after school. Hawke and Vader’s kids sometimes hang out and do their homework when their mama’s have to work.”
“They hang out here?” I asked surprised.
“This place is PG until five p.m.”
Just as he said it, Nitro and Caveman walked in dropping the F-bomb as they talked about pussy.
“Yeah, real PG,” I replied wryly.
Randy threw the dish towel over his shoulder.
“Come on, kids hear worse than that on Netflix.”
I appreciated the offer. But I was determined to keep my personal life separate from my professional life.
“I’ll work something out. I have a neighbor, Pickles, he usually watches Noah. And when he’s not available, there’s always Mindy the cheerleader. She lives on the other side of the unit complex.”
Randy leaned a hip against the bar. “You know, Vader’s kid, Luke, is Noah’s age. It might be a chance for Noah to make some more friends.”
The thought was more than appealing.
But my reason for keeping them separate was by necessity, not by choice.
“Let me think about that some more.”
I didn’t need to think about it.
Noah wasn’t going to hang out at the clubhouse.
“Great.” He straightened. “Oh, and while I think about it, are you free to work Maverick’s bachelor party?”
“I’ll make sure I am. When is it?”
“Last Saturday of this month.” He raised an eyebrow. “But I have to warn you, it won’t be as tame as Nitro’s coming home party.”
“I think I can handle it.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “We’ll see, T. We’ll see.”
Needing to pee, I ran to the bathroom before I started my shift. But as I headed back toward the bar, a sound stopped me in my tracks.
Standing still, my skin prickled with goose bumps as I listened, trying to work out what it was and where it was coming from.
It was a purely raw, masculine sound, a heavy, rhythmic pant that ignited a flare of excitement in my stomach, and sent a torturous throb to the muscles between my legs.
Grunting.
And it was coming from Bull’s office.
I told myself to keep walking. To ignore the erotic, primal sounds coming from inside the other side of the door marked PRESIDENT.
But while my mind said one thing, my feet did another.
The door was slightly ajar, and it was too much of a temptation. Curiosity got the better of me and I crept toward it.
I didn’t know what I expected to see.
Was he with a woman?
Did he have her bent over his desk?
I couldn’t hear a female. No soft moan. No feminine gasp. Just a thick, rhythmic grunting that ignited every sexual urge in me.
Was he jacking off?
Would he even do that here?
I knew I should walk away, but I couldn’t help myself. I felt drawn toward the gap in the door.
At first, I didn’t see him. But when I dropped my gaze to the floor, there he was, shirtless and doing push-ups.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
My lips parted with longing because a shirtless Bull doing push-ups was something else. Even better than white t-shirt Bull.
I was riveted to the spot by the big round shoulders. By his massive arms as they pushed and pulled. By his torso, thick with slabs of muscle. By the up and down motion of his pelvis as he lowered himself toward the floor, only to thrust upward again.
I couldn’t look away.
Dear God, this visual was going straight to the spank bank.
I knew I was being a creeper. But I didn’t care. This was mesmerizing and nothing was going to drag my eyes away.
When he stopped, it was almost disappointing. But I didn’t dare move, I was afraid if I did he would see me, watching him like a stalker from the gap in the door. Holding my breath, I watched him climb to his feet, his broad torso gleaming with a sheen of sweat, a deeply carved V disappearing behind the belt of his black pants. I tried to swallow, but my throat felt thick, and I had to force down the saliva that had pooled in my mouth.