Every fucking part of her is absolutely goddamn breathtaking. I just can’t figure out why I ever let her go. I know I was an idiot. I’m still an idiot, but does my pride really consume me so much that I’d watch this woman walk out of my life and let her stay that way for a decade?
I want to take her home and keep her there. Maybe fill her with a couple of babies, too. Strap her fucking ass down so she’ll never leave me.
“We good, Mill?” I ask.
I have to know that this is good. That we are good. I know we had that conversation, but still… And I gotta know for sure that shit was just shit. It wasn’t worth the fight. Wasn’t worth a second fucking thought, at least to me. But it was to her, so we had the discussion, and now it’s done.
Completely fucking done.
“For now, Axton,” she murmurs. “For now.”
“Okay,” Heidi calls out. “No more relationship stuff. Everyone is good. What’s the plan for the day and the future?”
I want to load both of them up and force them into my pickup, drive them to the clubhouse, and lock them up. I don’t say that, though. I have a feeling it would go over like a fucking lead balloon.
“I have to work tonight,” Millie announces.
“I have to head back to Thunder Rock and get some sleep. I have to work, too,” I say.
“But there will be someone watching the apartment while we’re sleeping tomorrow during the day?” Heidi asks.
“There will be,” I confirm.
A moment of silence passes between us. The heaviness in the air feels stifling. I know Heidi is worried about Dante, but it’salmost hard to breathe. I start to ask if everything is okay when there is a knock on the door.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. I place my index finger on my lips, silently telling them to keep quiet. Thankfully, they both press their lips together in understanding.
Taking my gun out of the holster at my hip, I hold it loose but ready at my side as I approach the door. I doubt whoever is on the other side is going to be an issue, especially since they knocked, and I don’t know many men who plan on kidnapping and murdering who knock.
Once I reach the door, I lean forward and look through the peephole. I don’t even know who I expected, but it’s not the owner of the strip club, Bennet. Wrapping my fingers around the door, I turn the knob and tug it open, taking a step back when I do.
“Piggy,” Bennet calls out in what I can only describe as surprise.
My lips twitch into a smirk as I dip my chin. “Protection,” I say. It’s not a lie, but it’s also not the whole truth. He doesn’t need to know everything about me. “Help you?” I ask.
He leans slightly, looking around me, and jerks his chin. “Can I talk to the girls?”
“Come on in,” Millie calls out.
He walks past me, though I don’t put my gun away. I don’t trust him completely. He’s given me no reason not to, but also no reason to at the same time. So I’ll stay alert and ready at any given moment to eliminate any threat.
“I wanted to talk to you… both,” he murmurs as he approaches them.
“Both?” Millie asks.
His attention turns toward Heidi before he continues. “I know you’re only here for a short time, but I would love to discuss you possibly doing a few shows.”
“A few shows?” Heidi asks.
“With the buzz of the influencer thing going on, I thought it would be a good time to do something like that. If you were both open to it.”
Millie takes a step forward, then tilts her head to the side. “I’m good with it. Heidi is amazing. If she wants to, she can take a couple of my spots.”
Bennet’s smile widens, consuming his entire face. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen the man so happy. The excitement is contagious, and my own lips twitch into a smirk. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I attempt to hold back my own excitement as I feed off Bennet.
“I’ll do it, but only if you don’t cut any of Millie’s shows. She’s better than me any day of the week.”
Bennet chuckles. “I’ll cut a girl here and there, not enough that it’ll hurt any tips. You give me three shows, and we’ll see how electric the place gets.”
