Page 30 of Lockout

And he was protective. They all were, but he more so than everyone. That was probably because he took his role as president seriously, and always watched out for his brothersand their families. It was a lot of responsibility for a single guy, and most would probably run screaming from it. Not Lock. He welcomed every new person his brothers brought into the club with open arms.

Take me for example. It made sense that Lock would welcome Dani. She was pregnant with Smokehouse’s kid at the time. But he didn’t need to allow me to stay with them, too. He had, though, to keep me safe. To keep Dani safe. And to make Smoke happy. I’d say Lock was a saint, but I’d seen enough devil in him to know it wasn’t an accurate depiction. He just loved his family and would do damn near anything for them.

Even as we sat there, looking over the menus the waitress had brought over, his eyes scanned the room. He’d read a few lines of the menu, then look up at the door. About every third or fourth glance up, he’d let his gaze drift over the room. There were only a few other people in here, but that didn’t seem to matter much.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

His brows drew together. “No. Why?”

“You keep looking at the door.”

One side of his mouth quirked up. “Old habit.” Then he paused and thought about it. “Well, I guess not an old habit. It started in the military, but we still have enough enemies it just makes sense to keep an eye out for a threat. Especially with the LoS after you.”

I didn’t respond because the waitress came up and took our order. As soon as she left, I sighed. “I’m sorry about this.”

He shook his head. “I already told you, this was going to happen sooner or later. We have our own shit to straighten out with Hangman.”

“Well, I appreciate your help. And the club’s.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a little squeeze. When I went to pull back, he linked our fingers and didn’t let go. So I left myhand there, holding his while we talked. My heart was doing the tango inside my chest.

“Feeling better?” he asked, watching me in that all too perceptive way of his.

“Much.” I shook my head with a smile. “I’ll figure something out once everything has settled down. It’s not the end of the world.”

He chuckled, then explained when I gave him a questioning look. “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself of that.”

I laughed with him. “I guess I am.”

He squeezed my hand. “Stop worrying, Keely. We’ll get everything straightened out. Trust me.”

And I did. He was the kind of man you could put your trust in. It shouldn’t be his burden, this issue of mine, but he was insisting on making it his business, so I was letting him. It meant I didn’t have to carry it alone. And I liked feeling like he had my back. I liked it a lot.

The waitress eyed our linked fingers on top of the table, disappointment entering her gaze as she dropped off our food. “Do you need anything else, Honey?”

When I looked up, I realized she was speaking to me. She wasn’t even looking at Lock anymore. “No, we’re good, thank you so much,” I told her with a smile.

I doubted Lockout clocked the fact that she’d just been kind and respectful by addressing me instead of ignoring me so she could talk to him. She was getting a really good tip. Not that Lock belonged to me, but it was really easy to pretend like this was a date. I wanted it to be.

Doctoring my burger, I put on all the condiments I enjoyed, slapped it together and took a huge bite. When I glanced up, Lock was watching me. Was it wishful thinking, or was that hunger there in his eyes? “What?” I mumbled around the bite I’d taken.

He reached out and wiped his thumb over the corner of my lips. “Ketchup.”

My eyes widened as he brought his thumb to his mouth and sucked the ketchup off it. He was still staring at me. I remembered that I had a big bite of burger in my mouth and managed to slam my slack jaw shut so he wasn’t staring at my half chewed food. He knew what he was doing, right? There was no way he didn’t know the kind of effect he had on the female population. It wasn’t possible.

“Thanks,” I stammered, focusing back on my burger so that I didn’t scramble over the table to sit in his lap. I kept my eyes on my food, otherwise I was going to end up choking on it.

“Glad to see you didn’t go for a salad.”

I looked up again and met his amused eyes. “You have something against salad?”

“Besides the fact that it’s meant for rabbits? Not really. But I like steak. And burgers. Just glad you do, too. Nothing worse than going out with a woman and having her order something that wouldn’t keep a small hamster alive.”

I grinned and shook my head. “Maybe she was just trying to impress you.”

“By not eating?” he asked, looking confused. “How is that impressive? Finish a twenty-four-ounce porterhouse and the sides and I’ll be impressed.”

Laughing, I nodded. “Your old lady is going to be a lucky one. She’ll eat like a queen.” The smile slid off my face when I realized what I said. I didn’t want to think about him making another woman his old lady.

He didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he chose not to, instead he continued digging into his own lunch. I did my best not to watch the way the muscles in his throat flexed as he swallowed. Or the way his strong hands looked as he grabbed his glass of iced tea. There was something about a man’s hands that reallydid it for me. And forearms, when they were muscular and had veins popping out. I wasn’t sure why it turned me on, but it did. And Lock had incredible hands and forearms. The thought of him grabbing me, anywhere…I was a goner.

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