Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Something better than sitting with you?”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
“No. There is nothing.” There was another party back at the clubhouse. The men were enjoying the women and were making a game of it, and it was probably going to turn into an orgy. He wasn’t interested in sharing a woman, much less seeing one of the men with his dick hanging out.
He watched as she took a breath and then stepped right back to allow him to enter. No matter how many times he stepped into her trailer, he was still taken aback by the smallness of it.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she said.
He watched as she made her way back to the kitchen.
“Still coffee? Black? Two sugars?”
“Yep to all three.”
He sat down on the sofa and watched as she made him a coffee, and like he had come to see late at night, she never failed to make herself a hot chocolate.
“I’m starting to wonder why you keep coming over,” Nikki said.
“Have you seen Diana?”
He took the cup she held out to him.
“No, I’ve not.”
“Does that bother you?” he asked.
“No, it doesn’t. To be honest, we didn’t do a lot of hanging out. She would ask me to drive her to the clubhouse or wherever she needed to be. I was just an easy ride for her. I rarely asked any questions, and she must have thought I was some kind of sucker or something.”
“You’re not a sucker,” he said.
“No offense, Hawk, you don’t even know me, not really. You don’t know much.”
He took a sip of his blistering hot coffee and stared at her. “Why don’t you fill in the blanks for me?”
There was no denying it. He wanted this woman. He couldn’t get her out of his fucking mind. This was dangerous, not just for himself but also for her. If he didn’t get her out of his mind, and his enemies found out about her, they’d hurt her. He was putting her life at risk. The last thing he wanted was for Nikki to pay the price for his recklessness.
“There’s not much to fill in. I don’t make friends easily.”
“Why?”
Nikki glanced past his shoulder with a frown, and then another shrug. “I guess because of who my mom is, and the other kids were always told to stay away from me. They didn’t want my mom’s bad genes rubbing off on them. Also, they didn’t want her anywhere near their husbands.”
“Do you love your mom?” he asked.
“Yes and no. I love my mom because she is my mom, but I also hate my mom because she is a selfish, horrible, manipulative bitch who is used to getting whatever she wants.” She winced. “Wow, I sound like a horrible daughter.”
“You sound like a daughter who has simply had enough, that’s it. Bad shit happens all the time, and you know what, fuck ’em.”
“Fuck ’em.” She frowned.
“Yeah, all the men and women who have treated you like shit. From the parents to your fucking peers. They can fuck off. You don’t need them, Nikki. If no one can see you, and how good you are, then they’re not worth it.”
He saw the smile on her lips. “That is the first time anyone has ever said that to me.”
“Well, you should get used to hearing it a lot more.”
Hawk watched as she blew across the surface of her hot chocolate. She had pulled her hair back into a loose bun at the back of her neck. Her brown hair was gathered. All he had to do was look toward her dining room table, and once again he saw a mirror set up and a small assortment of beauty products.
“What were you doing before I got here?” he asked.
“Nothing much. Just, you know, primping. Stuff like that.”
He took another long swig of his coffee, and he couldn’t help but watch her. “You like all things makeup and beauty, or whatever the fuck it is called?”
“Yeah, I do. I know it’s stupid. My mom always told me no one would want an ugly beautician.”
He held onto his cup, but he really wanted to pay her mother a visit and show her she should never talk to her daughter like that. He thought of a young Nikki, in front of the mirror, twirling, maybe even putting on some of her mother’s makeup. What kind of bitch told her daughter she was ugly?
Nikki wasn’t even crying. There were no wasted tears, which told him she was used to being called ugly.
“And you can’t get any work in salons because of your mom?” he asked.
“That’s pretty much the crux of it, I guess. At least I was able to get another job, but I’ve got a plan.”
“A plan?”
Nikki turned to him with this big beaming smile on her face. “Yes, now that Diana is pretty much out of my life and I don’t have to worry about using my money to bail her out and all that. I’m going to save up to go to night school, take several classes, qualify to become a beautician, and then I’m going to leave town. I’ll start somewhere new. Somewhere no one has ever heard of my mom, and it will all be okay. What do you think?” she asked.