Helpless (Steel Demons MC #5) - Crystal Ash Page 0,15

my temper curling under my skin, shaping my hand into a fist. I beat Larkan's ass at the last Fight Night for being too damn handsy with my sister, and the fucking kid just seemed eager for more.

"No."

He had the gall to look confused. "No?"

"I'll be clearer—absolutely fucking not."

Larkan sucked in a breath, his own hands curling into fists at his sides as he fought to control his own temper.

"With all due respect, Reap—president, I love her."

"I'm sure you do." I reached for my cigarettes and stuck one in my mouth. "I don't give a shit."

"President, I—" He stopped himself and tried again. "I'm not new to this. I've been committed to a woman before, faithfully. I have and will continue to treat her well. I'm not the kind of guy who will—"

"I'm sure you're a fine man, Larkan," I said. "I'm not refusing on the basis of your character, but on the simple fact that you're just a prospect, and she's the president's sister. By club law, you're not worthy of her. Not until you're a fully patched-in member."

Knowing better than to argue, his lips clamped shut while I lit my cigarette. In all honesty, I had no doubt he'd be a full-fledged Demon within a year. The right time to patch him in would be at my discretion, sometimes preceded by nomination from one of the other guys. But he would only receive that honor if he breathed and bled Steel Demon loyalty, not because he was in love with my sister.

"Was there anything else you needed?"

Larkan sighed, unclenching his fists on his knees. "I was hoping you might be willing to look past club politics and see what really matters."

"Keep talking along those lines," I pulled the cigarette from my mouth and pointed at him with it, "and I guarantee you'll never earn a fucking patch. You've got some big, heavy-swinging balls to come in here asking me to circumvent the laws of my club."

"Noelle wants this too." Larkan's jaw set, hard and determined. "We've talked about this and want to be together, officially."

"And you know why she's not here?" I didn't give him a chance to answer. "Because she's not a fucking fool. She already knew what I would say. Let me guess," I paused for another drag off my smoke, "she tried to talk you out of coming to see me. Told you it was a bad fucking idea."

His face told me everything without having to say a word.

"If you really love my sister," I said, not bothering to hide my smugness, "you might want to listen to her more." I tapped my cigarette over the ashtray. "You can leave now."

He walked out without a word, and moments later I was stubbing out my smoke and rubbing my eyes while groaning again.

I needed space. Open road and fresh air. Sitting here would just keep me stewing over young punks who wanted what they hadn't earned yet. After sparing Larkan's life, giving him a home, and an opportunity too. Thinking any more about his ungrateful ass would leave me sour for the rest of the day if I didn't do something.

Hades' ears perked up as I scraped my chair back noisily. He got up from the dog bed with a few lazy stretches and followed me out of the study and into the garage.

I hit the button to open the garage door, and turned the ignition on my favorite steed as light from the outside world filled the room. I didn't notice the booted feet standing in my driveway until the garage door was waist-high. At first, I thought Larkan was still hovering around and squared up toward the door. If he didn't get the message with words, I'd teach him another lesson with my fists. At this point, I didn't care about waiting for the next Fight Night.

But the garage door continued rolling up to reveal one of the Sons of Odin standing on the other side.

"Dyno." I lowered my fists cautiously to my sides. "What are you doing here?"

"President." The tall, slender man noticed my stance and did not appear the least bit threatened. "I was on my way over for a quick word, but looks like you're heading out."

"Seems I'm popular today," I sighed, walking toward him so as to not yell over my bike idling. "What do you need?"

"Just to say thank you, and uh, apologize." He scratched one side of his shaved head, a few dark strands coming loose from the