The pleasure was intense, and she knew in her heart the crush she had on Sarge wasn’t going to go away. This was way more than sex. It was better than any sex. She wanted him for forever, only she wasn’t going to get her wish.
Sarge didn’t do forever.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she closed her eyes, feeling the pain wash over her at knowing soon he was going to replace her, or at the very least get rid of her.
“We’ve got two minutes to open the bar,” he said.
She burst out laughing. “You certainly know how to be a timekeeper.”
Chapter Six
“You want to go where?” Sarge glanced around his kitchen. Thanksgiving was later this week, and he always closed the bar this week to give his staff the time with their families. This made his staff rarely phone in sick. He always gave them the time they needed. He was a firm boss, but fair. No one took the piss out of him.
“I need to go back to my apartment.” She pushed her pile of eggs around her plate.
Sarge ran a hand down his face. They’d been together now for over a month. Time was flying by so fast.
“Do you want to go back?” he asked.
“I’m paying for rent, and I need to at least toss out what I’ve got in the fridge. I imagine some alien life form is growing there.” She chuckled. “Do you mind? I can call a cab.”
He finished filling his plate and moved back toward her, taking a seat. “You’re wanting to handle your apartment?” he asked. “You don’t want to leave here and stay there?”
She smiled. “I don’t want to leave. I mean, I rather like coming home with you. Not that I want to pressure you or anything. I know this is only temporary, for however long you want me.”
He winced. Damn. He sounded like a dick.
Russ sat by her feet. His dog adored her and well, he couldn’t deny it, the thought of her not being around anymore pissed him off. He’d given her his rules, and he’d broken them.
He woke up with her in his arms, fell asleep with her in his arms. There was no reason to change that for him.
“How about you get rid of your apartment?”
The eggs she’d been about to eat fell off her fork. “What?”
He laughed. “Is it that hard to imagine living with me?”
She smiled. “You want me to live with you?”
“Yes.”
“What about your rules?” she asked.
“Do I look like I give a fuck about the rules?” He ate his food.
“I don’t really know all that much about you,” she said.
He finished chewing. “Ask me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ask me whatever you want to know about me. I’ll tell you.”
“Okay, do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No.”
“Parents?”
“No.”
“What did you do before you opened a strip club?”
He finished his bacon and looked at her. “You really want to know?”
She nodded.
“I was part of an MC. I’m not going to tell you which one. It doesn’t matter and it’s for your own safety.”
“Are you still part of an MC?”
“No.” He knew his vague answers would only make her even more curious. “If you must know, I rode with one of the meanest motherfuckers around. We weren’t good people, but when I saw they were going to darker shit than I was prepared for, I cut my losses and got the hell out of there.”
“Wow,” she said.
He held his hand up when he saw she wanted to ask more questions. “You don’t get to ask anything else about them. They’re off-limits, got me?”
“Got it.” She licked her lips. “But you’re safe now?”
“I paid my dues. What about you? Did you see yourself working in a strip club?”
“Behind the bar, maybe. I don’t know. I never really had any plan or direction. I just knew you had to work hard in this life to make a good living. That’s about it.” She shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t have any dark past.”
“What about your folks, do you miss them?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not really. I mean, they weren’t bad parents. They were just more interested in themselves than their kid, which was fine. More than fine.”
He took another large bite of his food. “You’re an interesting woman, Talia Clark.”
“Not that interesting.”
They finished breakfast, and he helped her into his truck, taking Russ along with him for the ride to her apartment. He’d helped get her set up four years ago, but as he climbed out of his truck to see where she lived, he wasn’t happy.
He noticed the men lurking outside the apartment building and they screamed dealer and pimp.
“If you wait here, I’ll grab a few things.”
“Not happening.” He climbed out of his truck, Russ jumping out of the back to follow him.
Talia followed and he took her hand, walking across the street. The men were tense. He didn’t pack a weapon, but he didn’t need it.
During his forty-five years, he’d had a few run-ins with dealers and pimps. Very rare for him to not come to blows.
As he came to a stop in front of them, he stared them right in the eye, waiting.
No one moved.
Russ released a growl.
“You know what, I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Got some sluts to go and find.”
One by one, they moved out of the way, and Sarge took Talia to her apartment. He couldn’t believe she was paying for this place.
When he saw inside her apartment, he was even more pissed. The rent was through the roof and she
