Could she be reading too much into a simple hug?Harlow had lied to her, as had Smokey. Why would they lie?
“I think I’m going insane,” Ava said. She stepped away from the crib and moved toward the chair, curling up on it and grabbing the quilt that had been given to her as a present. She wrapped it around herself. When she heard Smokey walking up the stairs and coming close to Umberto’s room, she closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
It was the cowardly way out, but she couldn’t face him. Not now.
He wouldn’t fuck her. Only ever made love to her, and was that all because of him having an affair? Wanting a newer model?
Tears filled her eyes, and this time, she allowed them to fall and didn’t even bother to wipe them away.
****
Hunter was close to losing his shit. Harlow shouldn’t even be at the clubhouse, and yet in the past few days, she’d been there constantly.
There was no way to get away from the annoying little woman.
Damn it. He wanted to think of her as a girl. A child. Not as a woman. She was far too young for him.
Why was the main clubhouse quiet? Where was everyone?
Andwhy was Harlow on her hands and knees, with that delightful curvy ass in the air, begging for his hand to smack it?
This was pure temptation, and it was starting to piss him off.
Running a hand down his face, he watched as she wriggled out, pushing someof her hair out of her face, and then she turned toward him. The smile on her face changed, just slightly. He saw the surprise in her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Er, Smokey asked me to be here to help, and in case you didn’t know, grumpy, I’m invited for Christmas, so trust me, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me.”
He took a step toward her, then another.
Harlow didn’t take it as a threat. She didn’t step back or try to create a distance between them. No, she just stood in place,not threatened, and he didn’t know if that aroused him more or angered him.
He quickly closed the distance between them, and then, once he stood right in front of her, not touching, but it was freaking close, he stared into her eyes. He’d been with many women over the years. Being the VP of the Hell’s Bastards MC was like a calling card to getting his dick sucked. He didn’t even have to click his fingers. All he ever needed was to look lonely, and there was some woman ready to worship his cock.
Why did this woman, an untouchable woman, have to even register on his radar? She was a club brother’s little sister. So young. Too fucking young.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to slake his lust with another woman. He’d lost count of the last time he fucked another woman. It had been too damn long. He was going crazy with blue balls. Even now, with every single one of his senses filling up with her scent and her presence, all he wanted to do was pick her up in his arms, take her to his room, and show her how a real woman deserved to be fucked.
He had to wonder ifthe sex had been ruined because of some bumbling idiot. It wouldn’t surprise him. Boys didn’t have the first clue what they were doing.
“Is there a reason you’re being all threatening?” Harlow asked.“Trust me, growing up with brothers, this isn’t scary to me. If anything, this is hilarious. If you’ve got a problem with me being here, talk to Smokey. I’m only following orders so that Ava has one hell of a Christmas.” She chuckled. “Hell of a Christmas, see what I did there?”
Why was he attracted to this woman?Hunter took a step back. “You shouldn’t be here. This isn’t the place for you.”
His words hurt her. She pressed her lips together.
He wanted to smash any desire he had for her to smithereens. Hunter had seen firsthand what fucking up meant. How it could push women away, and now, he wanted Harlow as far away from him as humanly possible.
“Don’t worry, I’m here for my best friend, not for you.”
Chapter Seven
“What exactly are we looking for?”Raven asked.
“The perfect gift.” Smokey looked in the jeweler’s window at the variety of rings, bracelets, and necklaces on display. There was also an abundance of earrings, but none of them screamed at him that they would be perfect for Ava.
“You know,isn’t this the kind of thing you should have asked Carlos for advice, or maybe even Hunter, and the guys? How should I know what a guy is supposed to get a woman for Christmas?”