“That can be my first task as your new secretary,” I offer with a smile
To my shock, Reaper nods his head and begins pacing in front of me. “After that, I’ll show you the computer system. You’ll be responsible for scheduling appointments and keeping the front lobby clean and presentable. That includes making coffee and having snacks available for our customers.” His eyes meet mine for half a second, and then he adds,“and staff.”
“I can definitely handle that,” I tell him confidently. I stand from the couch, too excited to sit still. I’m not sure what changed, but I’m not complaining.
“This will be a full-time job. That’s forty hours a week, and will require you to work some weekends as well.” He glances over at me, and I nod. “You’ll start out at thirty dollars an hour, with quarterly raises.” My eyes bug out of my head when he mentions the pay. “The position also comes with an apartment, located behind the Wicked Riders clubhouse. It’s within walking distance.”
“Oh, that’s really not necessary.” He’s already being generous.Too generous,now that I think about it. I rest my hands on my hips and square my shoulders, looking him up and down with suspicion. “Wait a minute,” I start. “Why are you being so nice to me? You went from grunting at me to ignoring me, and now you’re offering me a job and a place to stay? What gives?”
Reaper’s stoic, serious expression never wavers, his blue eyes locked on mine. His next words are measured carefully. “I know what it’s like to need someone to give you a chance. I got one and turned it into being the President of a motorcycle club. Now it’s my turn to give someone else a chance.”
His eyes convey more emotion than I’ve ever seen from him. For one fleeting moment, both of our defenses drop, and we’re simply two people sharing a similar pain and longing for acceptance.
The giant, mysterious, and surprisingly sweet biker clears his throat and breaks eye contact. “You start this afternoon,” he states. “After you’ve had more to eat and drink, and rested a bit on the couch.”
“I’m okay, really. I can start right now.“
Reaper stands in front of the doorway, his hulking shoulders nearly filling the entire frame. “Rest,” he commands. “You’ll still get paid for the whole day,” he adds. Before I get a chance to protest, he turns around and walks out the door. The last thing I hear before he closes it is, “Don’t screw it up.”
I can’t help but giggle at his grunted words. Reaper is a bear, all right. A big, squishy teddy bear with a secretly tender heart buried beneath all that muscle.
5
REAPER
Ilift my hand to the apartment door and then drop it again, sighing in frustration before continuing my pacing. I’ve been outside of Lynx’s new apartment for a solid fifteen minutes, trying to figure out what to do with myself.
My initial thought was to walk Lynx to work, but now that I’m here, I’m not sure it was a good idea. What if she doesn’t want to see me? What if she feels like I’m violating her space? Another, darker possibility seeps into my brain.What if she ran away in the middle of the night?That last thought has me pounding my fist on the door.
It swings open a second later, revealing a freshly showered Lynx. Her midnight black hair is damp, the ends curling ever so slightly, and her freckles seem to sparkle in the morning light. Big, bright green eyes shine up at me, paired with a radiant smile that’s actually genuine today. I’ve never seen her quite like this, like she doesn’t need all of her defenses and deflections.
“Good morning!” she greets.
I can’t seem to look away from her face, cataloging every single detail and committing it to memory. I’ve been doing my best to ignore Lynx and brush her off at every chance for thepast week, but now that I’ve actually given myself permission to appreciate her beauty… I can’t seem to do anything else.
We walk side-by-side, and I make a concentrated effort to match her pace. She’s so much shorter than I am, and I’m sure her knee is still sore from yesterday. Lynx pauses to pluck a dandelion growing through a crack in the pavement. Twirling the small yellow flower in her hand, she gets a wistful look in her green eyes, followed by a soft smile.
“You like dandelions?” I ask. Most people consider them weeds and seek to eradicate them from their property. I don’t think I’ve ever actually stopped to study dandelions. Looking at the buttery, yellow petals and jagged leaves, I feel like I’m discovering them for the first time again.
“They’re often overlooked and trampled on,” Lynx says, her voice hardly above a whisper. I lean in so I can hear her better. “But I think their resilience is beautiful.”
I’m not sure if we’re talking about the flower anymore or Lynx herself. From what little I know about her past, there’s no doubt that she’s had to be resilient. I don’t think she knows her own beauty or strength quite yet, and I have the overwhelming urge to be the one who shows her.
We make it to the repair shop a few minutes later, and I unlock the door for us. Lynx is eager to get started and prove her worth, immediately fixing a pot of coffee. I nod my thanks, and she hands me a mug. I’m pleasantly surprised that it smells like rich, earthy coffee and not battery acid.
“Keep up the good work,” I tell her before slipping into the garage to check on our current projects. I don’t have to look over my shoulder to know she’s grinning from ear to ear at my praise.
I shove down thoughts of praising her in other ways, willing my goddamn libido to calm down. Lynx is proving to be lethal for my self-control, which is worrisome since she’ll be around a lot more.
Looking for an escape from my inner monologue, I get lost tinkering around with one of our antique motorcycle restorations. I only snap out of my concentration when the back door to the garage swings open with a slam. Shadow, the top enforcer for the MC, walks inside, tilting his chin up in greeting when he sees me.
“Yo, Prez. Did you know there’s a chick behind the counter?”
“She’s notsome chick,” I tell him with a little more force than necessary. The look of surprise on Shadow’s face is worth it. “Her name is Lynx. She’s the new secretary.”
Shadow furrows his eyebrows, and I know he wants to ask further questions. Being the good man that he is, Shadow doesn’t say anything else. He knows there’s no point in pushing back once I’ve made a decision.
Our enforcer updates me on the latest news with Sons of Destruction and their auction house. We finally had a break in the case last night and found out where they’re holding the next auction, just not the exact time. It’s coming up soon, but I’m not sure we have enough intel to obliterate all of our enemies just yet. That’s why I’m sending Shadow and a few other men to stake out the place and learn everything they can. We have exactly one shot to make this happen, and I don’t want to fuck it up.
