Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
She didn’t respond, but I saw her fingers whiten around the empty bottles. Satisfaction rolled through me, and my cock twitched. Then I pictured her glaring at me right before I bent her over the bar. That gave my cock a lot more than a twitch.
Yeah. Firing her would suck… And now I was thinking about sucking…
You gotta shut this shit down, I told myself firmly, which was just stupid. Shutting it down wasn’t an option. Peaches Taylor had crawled under my skin when I was seven years old, and by now, I was addicted to the sensation. Sooner or later, I’d bend her over that bar for real.
Until then, I’d just have to get off by torturing her.
Seemed only fair, all things considered. I was a strong man. I’d had to fight for my club, and then fight to protect myself in prison. There weren’t a lot of things on Earth that scared me…but every time I saw a snake, my heart about pounded right out of my chest. That’s how much those fuckers freaked me out.
Peaches still owed me for those fucking snakes.
Chapter Two
~Eli~
Gage nodded as I walked into the office, pushing a battered folding chair toward me with his foot. He sat in one just like it, looking relaxed. That was a good sign. Rance had settled in behind Gus’s desk, his face thoughtful.
“So, you know why we’re here, right?” asked Gage, getting straight to the point. The question might’ve felt like a trap coming from someone else. But he was the president of my chapter of the Reapers MC, and I’d trust him with my life. Had trusted him with my life, actually. More than once.
“I’m thinking it’s about the bar,” I said, glancing toward Gus. The old man nodded, and a tension I hadn’t even realized I’d been carrying lifted.
“Gus says he’s ready to retire, and we need someone we can trust running the place,” Gage continued.
That was an understatement. The Starkwood wasn’t just a bar. It was a meeting place on some nights and a convenient alibi on others. Not to mention handy as hell for taking in dirty money and spitting it back out again, all shiny and clean. My new part to play wasn’t a surprise, either. Gus had always planned on me taking over someday. I’d planned on it, too—until I got sent to prison.
The club had done their part, bringing in the best lawyer their money could buy. He’d ultimately gotten me out of prison on appeal, but that’d come down to luck. For all we’d known, I could’ve been stuck in that cell for the next two decades.
That’s why they’d needed a backup plan—Peaches.
I knew Gus had talked to her last year about buying him out, and she was gonna be pissed when she learned that I was taking her place. Again.
“I’ll give you a good deal,” Gus told me, clearing his throat. “But it has to be reasonable, or it’ll look suspicious.”
“The money is covered,” I reminded him. “Haven’t touched it since I got out.”
“Obviously, the club will throw in some resources, too,” Rance added. “Just be aware that if you do this, there’s no going back.”
Somehow, I managed not to laugh out loud at that one. Wasn’t a good idea to laugh at a club president—not unless he was joking on purpose. “All due respect, I already served five years for the club. Running a bar is nothing compared to that.”
“And we appreciate it,” Gage said. “We all know what you did. You were tested, and you didn’t fail. We’ll get the papers drawn up. Thanks for coming over, Rance.”
“Anytime,” the Bellingham president grunted. “And, Eli, I wasn’t trying to question your commitment. Gage is right. We all know what you did for us. You know you’ve always got our support if you need it.”
“Appreciated,” I told him, savoring the moment. This was mine, now. All mine. Savage triumph hit as the full reality started to sink in. Today, the Starkwood Saloon was finally mine. Sure, I’d be working in a partnership with the Reapers, but I’d never expected anything else. Hell, I’d grown up in the club.
We all stood and slapped backs like it was any other day. Then Gage and Rance stepped out, leaving Gus and me alone in the office. I looked around the grubby room. It still held the same battered desk that’d been there when I was a child, although the old couch had been replaced at some point.
First time I’d ever gotten laid was on that couch.
“You could’ve given me a heads-up,” I said finally, after a long pause. Gus shrugged, and I noticed that his shoulders seemed narrower. Less bulky. My uncle was getting old.
“Wasn’t a done deal until today. There’s a process for things like this. Gotta follow protocol.”
I considered that, realizing he was right. And we still had one more step in that protocol. Not an official move, but an important one. Shit. Just thinking about it was enough to kill my mood.