The emotional part of me, the one I was just getting used to since Gracie had come into my life, didn’t care. I was on her side and if she wanted to hate her grandfather then I would hate him along with her.
“What?” I grumbled, stopping beside his booth.
“The girl you described to me the first time you told me about her was supposedly a meek little thing. That girl—my grandbaby—she’s anything but meek.” Jack picked up his tea and took a long swallow. Eyes identical to his granddaughter’s shone up at me with amusement. “She’s feisty on top of all that sweetness. I might not have had a hand in raising her, but she sure does act a hell of a lot like me.”
“If you mean that she’s stubborn and hardheaded, then yeah. She’s just like you.”
Uncle Jack tossed his head back and roared with laughter. “Damn straight, boy. Now sit down. You can watch over my grandbaby and eat at the same time.”
Chapter 3
Gracie
By the time I’d returned with the construction crew guys’ drinks I had been expecting Hawk to be gone. Instead, he was sitting in the same booth that I was trying my hardest to avoid. I’d made Jack sit for over ten minutes before I’d even gone to take his drink order in hopes that he would get tired of waiting and go sit in someone else’s section.
He hadn’t. Nope. He’d just sat there, smiling at me amusedly while I’d passed his booth over and over again, taking anyone’s lunch order but his. Finally I’d just felt sorry for him and gotten him something to drink. Now that Hawk was sitting with him I had no choice but to approach the old biker again.
Damn me for wanting to feed my friend.
I placed the drinks on the table for the large booth with the five construction workers and started handing them out with a smile. They had been nothing but nice so far and had only tried to flirt a little. “I’ve got Little John working on your food, guys. Anything else you need for now?”
The one on the outside to my left reached over and tapped his index finger against my arm a few times before stroking it up and down. I didn’t jerk back right away simply because he didn’t intimidate me. “How about your number, sweet Gracie?” he asked, his smile almost gentle. “We could do a movie or something.”
It wasn’t the first time that day that someone had asked for my number. I’d already had two other guys ask not only for it but also to take me out. The last one hadn’t been nearly as sweet as this guy seemed to be. More of a “Hey, babe. Wanna come over and suck my dick tonight?” kind of request. It had been quickly followed by me dumping his Pepsi in his lap and walking away, much to the laughter of his friends and a few of the other waitresses.
This guy, with his kind brown eyes and shy smile almost made me want to slip him my number and chance going on an actual date with him. The only thing stopping me was that I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. I didn’t want anything more than friendship from this guy. Unfortunately my heart was already tied up in knots with a particular bad boy biker with olive-jade green eyes.
“You want to keep that finger, I suggest you take it off my girl,” a voice full of cold menace said from right behind me.
I nearly jumped when I felt a hand touch my back, but just a second after the first contact I knew exactly who it was. The owner had just threatened the poor guy that had attempted to ask me out. I turned my head to look into Hawk’s blazing eyes. His words still didn’t really make sense to me so I stared at him with what had to be a confused expression on my face.
Hawk’s expression was nothing close to confused, however. It was dark, just as menacing as his voice had been when he turned those green eyes on the construction worker that still had his finger on my arm. “You think I’m kidding?” he asked, his voice full of ice. “I’ll break every bone in your hand before cutting that fucking finger off if you don’t take it off her.”
I couldn’t help my gasp at his threat. “Hawk,” I moved my arm away so that the guy didn’t have to worry about dropping his hand. He looked so scared that he was almost frozen in place. “What are you doing?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice low and quiet so as not to cause an even bigger scene than what he’d already done.
I didn’t glance around to see who was watching us because I could feel everyone’s eyes glued to my head. The restaurant was eerily quiet, as if everyone was holding their breaths while waiting to see if the big bad biker really would do as he’d just threatened.
The hand that Hawk had placed on my waist moved until he was holding me. He pulled me tightly against him, those green eyes of his darkened to a rich hunter green. “I don’t like seeing another guy’s hands on my female. Don’t let them touch you again or I will kill every single one of them. Understand, Gracie?”
A mixture of confused emotions seemed to sweep through me all at once, making me almost dizzy with it. I’d never seen this side of Hawk before, this lethal biker that I’d only heard rumors about on campus. At home he was so sweet and gentle with me. This side of him scared me a little. Yet, even while I was quivering with a new fear of him, I was trembling with something entirely opposite from fear.
The possessiveness in his gaze, the tone of his voice, the very touch of his fingers on that little bit of bare skin between my jeans and work shirt was making my body heat with a need for him I didn’t completely understand. I felt my panties dampening; my nipples hardened and pressed achingly against the material of my cotton bra. Damn, why did I have to want him so fudging much? I’d never felt like this for any other man in my life. Not in high school and definitely not in college where I’d concentrated on my grades more than what was going on around me.
And what had he said? That I was his?
Was he for real? My suddenly pounding heart demanded to know. Or was he just trying to protect me from those he thought were a threat to me? I ached for it to be the former, but feared it was the latter.
I licked my dry lips and watched in fascination as his gaze dropped to my mouth, watching my tongue skim over my lips nervously. “You can’t go around threatening people like that,” I breathed.
The right side of his mouth lifted in a cocky half grin. “Watch me.” He lowered his head and pressed his warm lips against the tip of my nose. That simple, gentle kiss made my entire body go up in flames and I nearly melted against him right then and there. My eyes closed as I tried to hide the sudden sting of stupid tears. I wanted it to be true so badly; wanted to be his just as much as I wanted him to be mine and only mine.
When he pulled back I snapped my eyes open, thankful that my tears had dried quickly. After only a small pause he raised his voice, speaking to everyone in the building it seemed, even though his eyes were still on me. “Anyone touches her, they’re dead.”
A few people cleared their throats and coughed, but the room went back to its low level of conversation once more. And I just stood there, trying to figure out this man that still had his hand on my waist, his fingers rubbing little circles on my bare skin as if to soothe me. Of course, it did. His touch had a way of calming me even as it made me ache for something I had no right to ask for.
I tried to find my voice. “I’m not yours,” I murmured. My heart broke a little more because I knew it was true, yet I wished differently.
“You are, Gracie. You just don’t know it yet.” He lifted his free hand and pushed a few strands of hair that had fallen from my ponytail behind my ear. When my hair was in place his fingers lingered, trailing down my neck caressingly. I couldn’t contain the small shiver that his touch produced. “But you will, sweetheart. I can promise you that.”
He stepped back and I felt like I could finally draw a deep breath again. “I’ll see you at home, darlin’.”
Dazedly I watched him walk away. He nodded his head at Jack and left. I stood there, my knees feeling like they had been turned to jelly. When the door shut behind him I forced myself to get back to work.
The construction workers still sitting in the booth behind me cleared their throats and I felt
my cheeks fill with heat. Oh fudge. I was too embarrassed to turn around and tell them I was sorry. My friend had just threatened to cripple a nice guy and I didn’t know how to handle that. So, clenching my jaw, I approached Jack’s table, determined to pretend like that little scene had never happened. “Decided what you want to eat yet?”
Jack’s eyes glittered up at me, still full of amusement. “You could do worse than Hawk Hannigan. He’s a good boy. I think I like you with him.”
“I’m not with him,” I snapped. I was definitely not going to talk to this man about my relationship—or rather the lack of one—with Hawk Hannigan. And I sure as hell didn’t care if he approved or not. “We’re just friends. Do you want something to eat or not?”
“Just tell Aggie I’ll have my usual. She knows what I like.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Of course she does. I’ll go tell her.”
A large, wrinkled hand landed on my elbow, stopping me before I could even turn around. I glared down at Jack’s hand. “I’d like to talk to you, Gracie. I’m not too fond of you working here either. Come work for me.”
My eyes widened. “And why would I want to do that?” I wanted nothing from him. Nothing. He hadn’t been there for my mother when she had needed him the most, so I didn’t need or want him in my life now.
“Because I can pay you triple what you will make here and you won’t have to kill yourself waiting on other people like you are. You can work in the office at my garage. I need someone to answer the phones, do my inventory, and order parts.”
I blinked in surprise, something it seemed I was doing a lot of that day. Triple what I would make here? For answering the phone and doing a little office work for him? I had to admit that the offer was one that tempted me, and if I could work for him during the day and at Aggie’s in the evening I would have enough to move out of Hawk’s house within a month.
It rankled that I would be working for a man I loathed, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that crap. Instead of giving him a definite answer then and there, however, I wanted to check with Aggie to make sure that it would be okay if I worked the evening shift for her from then on. “I’ll think about it,” I told him and pulled my arm away.
He grinned and it seemed to take years off his weathered face. I hated to admit it but he was still an attractive man, and it was painful to look at him. Jack looked a lot like my mother in some aspects and my heart ached for her almost every minute of the day. “Good, good. If you decide that you want the job, just show up at the garage in the morning.”
I nodded and after a brief hesitation, one where I almost thanked him, I left him sitting there and went to tell Aggie what he wanted to eat.
--
By the end of my shift at six that evening my feet were throbbing, my back aching in a way it had never ached in all my twenty-one years. But I had a little over a hundred dollars in tips tucked into my pocket and an assurance from Aggie that it was more than fine for me to work evening shifts starting the next day. I knew that I’d had a good day tip wise and wasn’t expecting to get the same every day. Two jobs would definitely come in handy for the time being.
It was only as I was walking out the door that I realized I didn’t have a way home. Raven had driven me that morning, so I didn’t have the Chevelle that Hawk let me drive. Since I’d stuck around after she had left to fill out all the paperwork for a new hire and then done all the safety videos and such for Aggie so that I could start my shift on time, I hadn’t gone home with Raven to get it. She hadn’t said she would be back and I didn’t want to call her and ask when she’d already been so helpful.
Sighing, I pulled out my cellphone and bit my lip. There weren’t very many people I could call. Willa would come if I asked, but I’d only seen her briefly since she and Spider had returned from Seattle a few days ago. I wanted to call Hawk, to ask him to have someone drop off the Chevelle so that I could just drive myself home, but figured he would already be at the bar working by now. He always worked on Thursdays.
My thumb hovered over his name on my contacts. I didn’t know if I wanted to talk to him yet or not. He was just going to go on and on about me quitting my job. I didn’t want to argue with him, but I would if he didn’t give in and leave it alone. I needed this job, and the second one I would be starting in the morning.
I had to get out of that house, out of his bed, or I was going to go insane. It was torture to sleep next to him every damn night and to not beg him to touch me, kiss me. Anything that would take away this ache that seemed to have become a festering part of my soul. My heart was going to be nothing but a shriveled-up raisin in my chest if I didn’t put distance between us soon.
The sound of an engine growling as it revved up had me lifting my head. When I saw the Chevelle parked close to the front of the restaurant and Hawk sitting behind the wheel, my heart stuttered in my chest before starting back at double its normal rate. I might not want to get into an argument with him but I was glad to see him.
Damn him for making me love him a little more as he got out of the classic car and came around the front. I took a small step closer and he shot me that grin that never failed to make my legs turn to the consistency of a melting popsicle. Hawk opened the passenger door for me, winking down at me without saying a word as I got into the car.
Damn me for wanting something so much even though I knew he would never see me as more than the girl he’d saved from being raped. He treated me like I was fragile, like I would break at the slightest gust of wind. But he had no clue that I was much stronger than anyone had ever given me credit for. The only thing that could really break me was now sitting beside me in the driver’s seat. And if I wasn’t careful he would not only break me, but shatter me into a billion pieces that would never fit back together.
“How was your day, sweetheart?” he asked as he pulled out onto the highway and drove in the direction of the house. “Do your feet hurt?”
“Not too badly,” I lied. If I told him the truth—that my feet not only hurt, but also that I was sure that I had a few blisters—it would just give him more ammunition in his attempts to convince me to quit.
His brows lifted and he gave me a long, assessing look before turning his gaze back to the road. “What about your back? Carrying all those heavy dishes all day must have made it sore.”
I shrugged, turning my own gaze out my window and gazing at the dimming sun in the distance. “It’s okay. Nothing that won’t get worked out in a few days. I just have to get used to it. I had fun though, and I got some really good tips. I can even pay Raven for groceries.”
Hawk clenched his jaw, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he drove on. He didn’t say another word until he pulled into the driveway at home. I started to reach for the door handle, ready to get up to our room and take a long hot shower and down a few Tylenol. Before I could get the door open, he grasped my hands and examined them.
“What are you doing?” I demanded and winced when he rubbed his thumb over a sore spot. I realized I not only had blisters on my feet, but on my hands too. When had I gotten those?
“Your hands are already starting to get beat up.” His voice was rough, his eyes dark. “They were so soft. I want them to stay that way, Gracie. I love how they rub over my chest when you cuddle against me at night. They feel like silk as they drift over my stomach and then lie over my heart all night long.”
I pulled them back from him fast, feeling like he’d just punched me in the heart. “So if they are work-worn and callused you wouldn’t want me to touch you?” I asked in a voice that sounded brittle to my ears. I swallowed the hurt-filled lump of tears stuck in my throat and reached for the handle again. “Sorry, you won’t have to worry about it happening. I’ll make sure I don’t cuddle you in my sleep anymore. Wouldn’t want my beat-up hands disgusting you or anything. And since I’ve got a second job now, I won’t have to share your bed for more than a few more weeks at the most.”
“Gracie, that’s not…”
Whatever he was saying was cut off when I stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind me. “Gracie,” he called after me as he got out and hurried behind me. “Gracie, I didn’t mean it like that. I… Wait. What do you mean you have a second job? What the hell kind of other job could you have gotten while working all day at that damn diner?”
We were in the house now, in the kitchen. I went straight to the fridge and got a bottle of water, thankful that no one else seemed to be around. The driveway had been empty of any bikes except for Hawk’s, but Raven’s car had been out there so I knew that she and Lexa were either in the living room or upstairs.
“Jack offered me a job after you left earlier. He said I would be answering the phone, doing office work.” I opened my water and took a long thirsty swallow, trying to swallow the pain that was still making my chest clench. “It’s probably just something he made up on the fly, but he offered me triple what I would make at Aggie’s. As much as I don’t want to be around him, I need the money more. So I start tomorrow.”
“That’s good. I’m glad. You won’t have to work at Aggie’s, then.” He sounded relieved.
“No,” I told him as I turned to face him, refusing to meet his gaze directly. I didn’t even know that I touched him in my sleep, damn it. Now that my hands were covered in blisters and would be rough and unattractive, he didn’t want them on him at all. Fine. I would make sure that I stayed on my side of the bed all night long and not touch him ever again.
“No?” His eyes narrowed and I had to admit that I was starting to hate that look. He was intimidating like that, but I refused to be intimidated.
“No,” I repeated. “I’ll still be working at Aggie’s. I asked her for the evening shift and she said it was fine. That I’d learned everything faster than almost anyone else helped, and the dinner rush would be a better fit for me.”
“So you’re going to work all day at the garage, then all evening at Aggie’s too?” he demanded. “You’re going to be exhausted. You’ll kill yourself with that kind of schedule. And what about school? Are you going to work both and still go to classes?”