Cold-Hearted by Christy Rose Page A

before. I didn't want to tell her that this was another first for me. “I want to know more about you, Nicole. What made you want to dance?”
     
    Nicole avoided eye contact. I probably shouldn't have brought up the subject. She was obviously ashamed of it. She opened up anyways. “My parents didn't help me with college so I needed a way to find money. I was working two jobs and trying to make ends meet. When I didn't have enough to pay for my books, I got desperate. I started stripping and the money came flowing in. I quit my two jobs and now I actually have time to study. And I can pay for books.”
     
    “You got to do whatever it takes,” I added.
     
    Nicole smirked and I felt something graze my leg. She drank her wine as her foot ran up my ankle. Jolts of electricity zapped through my system. My pants tightened. I looked around the restaurant for a place to bend her over so I could fuck her fast and hard. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pressing need in my pants.

Chapter Eight
     
Nicole

What was I doing?
     
    It must have been the tasty wine that was giving me so much confidence. All of the sudden, I found my foot running up and down Ash's leg. My heart beat faster and my cheeks flushed scarlet. I wanted this man completely. But did he feel the same? He certainly stared at me a lot but most guys did that. It was probably because I was so goofy.
     
    “You're so beautiful, Nicole.” Ash's words sang across the table. The redness in my face multiplied by a million. Was he reading my mind?
     
    “Enough about me. What made you join Dark Steel?”
     
    Ash shifted in his seat. He looked uncomfortable. My question hit a nerve. He felt the same way I did about the dancing question. I wished I could take it back. I pulled my foot back from his ankle.
     
    Ash gulped. “My older brother AJ was a club member. My parents were barely around and I looked up to him like he was a superhero. When I was sixteen, he was gunned down by a rival MC.”
     
    His eyes watered up a little. I reached out and grabbed his hand while he tried to find the words. How could a tough man like him be so sensitive?
     
    “After that, I hung out at The Burger Joint every day until I was twenty-one and they let me join.”
     
    “I'm so sorry, that happened to you,” I said.
     
    Ash bit down on his lip and held my hand. The tension between us was crazy. “I've never really talked to anyone about my brother before. Not even my Dark Steel brothers.”
     
    My heart melted instantly. I needed to change the subject. “The reason my parents wouldn't help me out with college was that I ran away when I was fifteen.”
     
    “Oh shit, really?”
     
    I took a sip of red wine. “My dad was really abusive. He would get drunk and beat my mom around the house. When I was little I'd run upstairs and lock myself in my room. I would stuff a pillow over my head to muffle the sounds of my mom's screams for help.
     
    Anger boiled in Ash's eyes. His grip on the wine glass tightened until it almost shattered. He wanted to protect me. He wanted to save that little girl. Ash could be my superhero.
     
    I put my hand up in defense. “My father never hit me. He never touched me actually—no kisses, no hugs.” I looked outside to the street as the headlights zoomed pass the large window. “When I was old enough, I called the cops on my dad one night. I thought everything would finally be over. When they showed up, my mom protected my dad and told them I was making it all up. I didn't wait around for my dad to punish me for what I did.”
     
    Ash's mouth was wide open. “Wow, where did you go?”
     
    “Luckily my Aunt Mary lived a couple hundred miles away. She took me in and I finished high school. I haven't seen my parents since.”
     
    “Yeah I haven't seen mine in years. My parents divorced after AJ died. They couldn't handle the grief.”
     
    “We had some fucked up childhoods,” he said. We both laughed and continued