pinning them to the wall on either side of her head.
“You sure you want to take that tone with me?” I asked. Tinker’s lips parted, and I remembered her taste. Sweet. Juicy. Perfect. She swallowed and her eyes softened. For an instant I thought I had her. Then her chin jutted out.
“I’ve been bullied enough today. I’m over it. If you don’t let me go and walk out of here right now, I’ll kick you out on your ass. You can kiss your apartment good-bye, too.”
I smiled, because if she wanted to go there, I’d play along.
“That’s illegal, sweetheart,” I said. “Don’t you know your landlord-tenant law? I have a lease. You can’t kick me out without a court order. You really sure you want to explain to a judge about our little arrangement? I wonder what the IRS would think of it . . .”
“Excuse me?” she asked. “You’re out of line, asshole, and this isn’t about judges and the IRS. You kissed me last night. While you were dating another woman. That’s a dick move.”
“You kissed me back,” I reminded her. “And the situation with Talia is complicated, but believe me—she’s got no fuckin’ room to complain. None of that changes the fact that I’m a legal tenant in your building, yet instead of collecting rent, you’re having me work under the table. You’re not paying any FICA on me, are you? You really want to play the eviction card?”
“Get out,” she hissed, and I laughed.
“Not until we talk this through.”
She twisted, and I felt her knee jerk upward. I blocked it easily—Tinker might be a hell of a chef, but she wasn’t a street fighter. She growled, twisting again, trying to buck me off. Seeing as I held her hands pinned, all it accomplished was bringing her hips into contact with mine.
I breathed deep, trying to hold on to my control as my cock dug into her stomach.
Jesus.
This woman was gonna fuckin’ kill me, so why did I want to kiss her so goddamn bad? Kiss her and lay her out across that old-fashioned dining room table, maybe test it to see whether that traditional craftsmanship could stand up to a good bangi—
“Get the fuck out of here!” she said, her voice rising. Great. Now she was panicking, which I’d love to say was a turnoff but it really, really wasn’t. It made me feel powerful, and yeah, I know that’s fucked up.
I never claimed to be a decent, healthy kind of guy.
That’s when I should’ve let her go, but instead I shoved my hips deeper into Tinker’s, breath hissing as her softness cradled my swollen cock. Oh fuck. My balls burned, they were so full and ready for her. Jerking her hands up and over her head, I caught both of them in one of mine, freeing the other to dig into her hair.
Tinker stilled, eyes wide.
“You bikers are a bunch of fucking bullies,” she whispered, licking her lips nervously. I leaned forward, ready to take what I wanted when the words caught me.
You bikers.
Bikers.
Plural.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
My hand tightened in her hair and she squawked, turning pale. Shit. I loosened my fingers slightly, enough to hold her without hurting her, then studied her face.
“I’m gonna ask you a question and you will answer honestly,” I said. “Got it?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Did something happen to make you run off to Seattle?”
“Yeah, I have a business,” she snapped. “Sorry, Cooper, but the whole fucking world doesn’t revolve around you and your motorcycle club.”
“You talkin’ about the Nighthawk Raiders?” I asked carefully, my anger growing. This was about more than a kiss. Had Talia threatened her? Or sent one of Marsh’s bullyboys to terrorize my girl?
I’d fucking strangle them with my bare hands.
“Well, we don’t have a bunch of Shriners running around town on mopeds scaring the hell out of people, so yeah, I’m talking about the Nighthawks,” she said. “I don’t want anything to do with you, Cooper. Not. One. Thing. Now, let me go and get the hell out of my house.”
They’d done something to her, it was obvious.
Killing rage filled me. Jesus fucking Christ, I’d put those fuckers in the ground. My hands must have tightened again, because Tinker gave a small, pained whimper. I let her go abruptly, stepping back before I did something truly stupid. She lowered her hands, rubbing her wrists. Great. I’d hurt her.
“Tell me what happened,” I said.
Tinker glared.
“Here’s a little story for you,” she said after a long pause. “I was