7. Ghost

I shouldn't be here. I know it, but I couldn't resist. It is as if that one night with this woman has set something loose inside of me and I need to have her again. I've rationalized, bargained with myself, thought of using her as a club whore and yet, here I am. When I heard her on the phone and she mentioned retiring, I nearly went insane with the need to pick her up and carry her to my room at the club. Then chain her to my damn bed and demand she never leave. I do not have a good track record when it comes to women. I fell in love with Toi, and she was not mine to have. Hell, truth be told, I did it knowing there was never a shot. Then, I found Millie. With her sweet face and constant care, I truly thought she was the one that was supposed to be mine. There was a spark between us, and I eventually allowed myself to think of her as more. I mean, fuck, if she didn't truly care, she wouldn't have been giving me that much attention, devoting her time to me, or leave her fucking job.

I was incredibly wrong, and that's why the stunt she pulled hurts more than any other. Now, here I am again. My dick hard and jonesing over a woman that I should run the hell away from. I should concentrate on keeping my life calm. Yet here I am. I was ready to leave when she wasn't at her apartment—only to walk by and see her sitting in the coffee shop, with some kid looking her body up and down while delivering her order. It took everything I had not to barge in and kill the little asshole. Which, by the way, is just another red flag, and a reason why I need to stay away.

"Glad I could entertain you. Here's hoping I don't see you again."

It would seem I've pissed her off. If she's going to be mad at me, she better get in line. I've been angry with myself for fucking years. When she starts to walk away, I don't give my hand permission. It just reaches out and grabs her. My own fucking body betrays me when it comes to this girl.

"We need to talk."

"Tell me, what is it you want to say?"

I grunt, because I have no idea how to answer that.

She smirks at me. "See? I think we both know you don't have a damn thing to say to me. You want to fuck me again. At least admit that's why you're here."

I stand up and lean down to whisper in her ear. "Fine. I want to fuck you again."

"Get in line," she laughs, but there's nothing funny in the sound of it. She's pissed. I probably shouldn't like that, but this is a sign that she's not pitying me. Hell, right now she's staring at me like she would rather have my head on a pike.

"A line? The only man you need to worry about is me." She tries to jerk out of my hold. I refuse to let her go. She lets out an annoyed breath. "Let me go," she barks.

"Is there a problem, Lenny?" The stupid kid that brought her food asks. He annoyed me before, but that he called her by a name that I did not know, pisses me off even more.

"There's no problem," I growl, having no problem with the way my voice sounds right now. I sound like a wounded animal ready to tear this asshole's head off. That's exactly how I feel.

"It's fine, Bart. Thank you. I was just leaving."

"Miss Lennox, you can't leave. You haven't finished your food," an older lady mentions as she joins us. Well hell, seems the whole place is trying to get in my way.

"It's cool, Mrs. M. I forgot an appointment. I'm running kind of late," she replies.

I watch her while murmuring her name over and over in my head. Lennox. That means this asshole shortened her name to Lenny. That shouldn't piss me off. It definitely shouldn't make me want to rip his fucking tongue from his head, but it does.

"I'll just put it in a to-go box for you," she says, walking away. The kid is still staring at us with his arms crossed over his chest.

Lennox pulls her arm away and I let it go this time. I'm too busy imagining Bart's death. The kid stares at me like he doesn't have a care in the world. That's about all the disrespect I can handle. I keep my attention on the woman who has me tied up in knots while they load up her to-go container. She says her goodbyes and heads out. I follow close behind. We haven't made it much more than three steps out of the building until the kid is following us.

"Lenny? Are you okay?"

"She's fine. She's also not your concern. Leave," I growl.

"I wasn't talking to you," the kid insists. If I didn't want to kill him right now, I'd almost be impressed. Almost.

"If you don't leave, they'll be carrying you away in an ambulance or a coroner's van. The choice is yours, kid."

"Ghost!" Lennox gasps. I don't respond. I'm mostly enjoying the way the snot-nosed brat in front of me loses all color in his face. Raising my eyebrow in challenge, I wait to see what else Lennox says. "I'm fine, Bart," she huffs. "Ghost is just annoying me today because I broke up with him and he's butt-hurt. You go on inside. I'll give a shout if I need you."

"If you're sure," he hedges, watching me warily.

"I'm sure. Ghost wouldn't hurt a fly. He's just an asshole."

"He sure is," Bart mutters.

I move to hit the asshole in the back of the head. It wouldn't kill him, but I'm thinking it would at least give him whiplash. I don't get to do that because Lennox catches my hand. She does it so fast that I can admit it shocks me. She also has a strong grip. It wouldn't stop me, but it would take the force out of my hit—which, in turn, would take the fun away, too. So, in the end, I don't move. At least she's holding my hand—kind of.

"What the hell are you trying to accomplish here, Ghost?"

"Not sure. But now I know your name."

"I … My name?"

"Yep."

"I've come to the conclusion that you and your entire club are deranged. That's like Weasel inviting me to the club party tonight just so I could bring some friends because the club needs new talent. Jesus, I mean, what do I look like? Am I supposed to be the club pimp now?"

"He did what?"

"I'm not repeating that, especially to you. We have nothing left to say to one another. We had a one-night stand, or whatever you want to call it. You are not allowed to come back a week later, wanting to scratch another itch. One-night stands are exactly that, one night."

"You pissed I left, or pissed I didn't come back?" I ask.

"Right now, I'm mostly pissed we're breathing the same air."

I grin. She's definitely not pretending to like me. I'm pretty sure she might hate me. I have no idea why that makes my dick hard, but it does. "Spend the day with me." The words are out before I realize it, but they lay between us now and I can't be sorry. I see the surprise on her face.

"That doesn"t seem like a good idea to me. I think you are dangerous to my equilibrium."

"You're the kind of woman who likes danger."

Lennox stares at me, completely surprised. Maintaining eye contact, I wait, not knowing what my next move is. I just know if she turns me down, I'll try another angle. I'm enjoying being around her. I'm not worried she's lying to me or using me until something better comes along. Whatever this is between us, we're both feeling it.

"What are we going to do?"

"Don't know."

"We're not having sex," she grumbles. I remain silent, because I sure as fuck won't agree to that. "I mean it." Still, I just stare at her. "Let me put my food up and we'll go."

We walk to my bike that's parked in the alley by her apartment. Dropping my foot on the bottom step to follow her up the stairs, she turns and stops me.

"What?" I ask, wondering if she's changed her mind.

"You stay here. I don't want you in my apartment." I raise a brow at her answer, wondering if I should be pissed off. "You get in there, you'll try to fuck me, and I'm not ready for that."

Lennox is nothing if not blunt. I find I'm pretty damn appreciative of that, too. "Make it quick," I grump, fighting myself to keep from carrying her up to her apartment and taking what we both want.