Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
I sighed, closing my eyes in humiliation. “My father was right.”
“What the fuck, Kat?” Hawk was immediately between me and the other woman. The next thing I knew, he had his hand around Kat’s throat as he slammed her against a nearby steel column. The other woman cried out, her eyes wide with shock and fear, her hands around Hawk’s thick wrist as she struggled to keep her feet under her. Hawk turned his head to find me. I knew he was looking for me specifically because his gaze was wild until the second it collided with mine. “Are you hurt?” His tone was gruff and more than a little urgent. Like he actually cared if I was OK or not. Like I mattered. I’d never mattered before. Though some of them were protective of me, I always knew I was a weakness in the family. I never mattered to them. Not really. Certainly not to my father. The only reason he kept me around was in case he needed to trade my body to gain something he wanted.
“Only my pride,” I grumbled. I pointed at Kat. “You get that one for free. I blame myself for not paying attention.” I touched Hawk’s arm and pushed, needing him to stop touching the other woman. When he refused, his grip remaining stubbornly around Kat’s neck, I gave a huff. “If I’m gonna be your old lady, I’m gonna have to insist you not fucking touch other women.”
“She hurt you,” he bit out. “She dies.”
“Goddamnit, Hawk,” I snapped. “If you don’t stop touching her, you’re gonna be the one I stab.”
That worked. He dropped her like he’d been scalded, stepping back several paces. It was the only thing that cooled an ire I’d only been faking moments before. Yeah. Seemed I was a possessive bitch and I hadn’t even been sure I wanted the life he was offering, especially since I knew absolutely nothing about my surroundings other than the men here were all fucking huge. Seriously. If there was a place on earth that grew men this big, I had no idea where it would be.
The second Hawk moved away from the bitch, I stepped forward. “Hi, Kat. My name’s Carrie. I’m told my name suits me. Something about a movie and a woman named Carrie. I’ve kind of lived in a movie void most of my life so I have no idea what they mean. But it had something to do with me being… How’d you put it, Hawk? Covered in the blood of my enemies?”
“You’re full of shit, bitch,” Kat snarled, but I noticed she took a step to the side along the way and away from us. She rubbed her throat where Hawk’s hand had been, letting me know he had been serious about killing her.
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But here’s the thing. I’ve had a really long day. I killed two men tonight. I stabbed them and broke bones and I even bit off a couple body parts.” Not completely accurate, but sometimes it’s the implication. “I’m tired, hungry, and not a little bit horny. All of which add up to me not being in the mood for bullshit of any kind.” I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “I understand territorial behavior. You thought you’d mark what you considered your territory. I respect that. Since it was my bad judgment to not be aware of my surroundings, I’d go as far as to say I fucking deserved the attack. Unfortunately for you, even if he was yours to mark, he’s mine now. And I promise I’m a bigger fucking Alpha than you are.” When she swallowed, I took a step back. “I don’t repeat myself, Kat.”
Hawk’s hand settled on my lower back, a possessive touch that sent warmth through my body despite the confrontation. “Kat, you’re out. Go pack your shit.”
“What?” Her voice went shrill. “You can’t do that!”
“Already did.” Hawk’s voice was cold. A crowd gathered, watching the drama unfold.
“Goddammit,” I muttered under my breath, not believing what I was about to do. As the seconds ticked by, I decided maybe it wasn’t the worst idea. “Hawk. Stop.” I turned so that I faced him directly. “Don’t throw her out.”
“Give me one good Goddamned reason why not.”
“Because I don’t have a fucking property… thingie.” I glared over Hawk’s shoulder when I heard snickers from the men and women watching on.
“Property thingie.” He looked startled, like he was in a daze or something.
“Yeah. The thingie you guys said I needed so the club would recognize me as yours. This would have been avoided if we’d done something like that. Right?” More snickers.
“Thingie.”
“I think you broke him, Killer.” Knuckles gripped Hawk’s shoulder, chuckling as he pulled us away from Kat. I looked over my shoulder to find the other woman hurrying away. I honestly didn’t care if she left or not, as long as she didn’t touch Hawk.