Page 11 of Fire Forged

He nodded.

“Whatdoyou want, Kevvy?”She ran her fingertip along his smooth-as-a-baby’s-bum jawline.

“You.”

Well, she couldn’t say she wasn’t a little impressed he had the balls to admit that.Still, sexual harassment wasn’t the way to ‘woo’ any woman.

“What would you do with or to me?”

He swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed.When he grabbed her ass, she squeaked, having not expected him to move that fast.Worse, he tried to kiss her, smashing his wet lips across hers.

Bile rose to choke her.All her damn fault for messing with him.She caught his middle finger on one hand and bent them back.

He squealed and froze, his body tight as she threatened to break his digit.“What….What are you doing?”

“I warned you, Kev.”

He offered her a slimy smile, even if it trembled his lips.When he reached for her, she didn’t hesitate.

At the snap, he screamed.He leaped back to cradle his hand to his chest while giving her a wounded expression.

“Stock take’s over.”She fixed her shirt and checked that it was still tucked into her camo cargo pants.“Get your shit together and never…as in ever, pull this stunt again.”

“I’m telling Daddy,” he called after her.

She faced him.“Sure, tell him how you touch me inappropriately.Better yet, tell E.F.A.They do look kindly upon harassers.”

He paled, proving him more of an idiot than she’d initially thought.Earth Armed Forces didn’t bother with cases or men like him.Not that she was about to educate him of that fact.

As she strolled to the front of the shop, she relished the elation adding a bounce to her step.She was so getting fired for this.

Chuckling, she closed the front door on Kev’s mottled face.So worth it.

Her day didn’t get better.After sliding into her leather jacket, she tapped on the helmet then tried to start her bike.It stuttered and died.No fucking way was she going into the shop to wait for her mom.Hell, no, she wouldn’t even let Mom know about this…set back.

She raised her gaze to the cloudy sky obscuring the moon.Dammit.Solar panels meant she needed sunlight, and the day had been dismal.Nor had she checked the back-up battery’s capacity in a while.Idiot.She unzipped her jacket, flicked open the visor of her helmet so she could breathe, then began the slow trek home, pushing her bike along the side of the road.

She muttered at being late when it would worry her mom.The sun had set ages ago, and she was so hungry, she could eat roadkill.A starving and pissed-off Britt made for one hangry woman.Her solarcycle may not have the biggest engine capacity, but it was beautiful and a gift from her late father.She cherished it.

Despite the chill, pushing the bike made her perspire.Every now and then, a breeze would slip inside her leather jacket and summon a shiver.She cursed Kev and the damned survival shop.Her ass twinged as if he’d left bruises.Pity she only broke his fingers when she’d wanted to do so much more to him.She should’ve kneed him in the balls and head-butted him, as well.Just because she was a dirty scrapper didn’t necessarily make her a good one.

Working at Stay Alive gave her access to guns, ammunition, tasers, and self-defense canisters like tear gas or pepper spray.She grunted as she crested the top of a hill.The weight of a taser rested in her right jacket pocket, comforting her.She’d formulated a plan if thugs bothered her on the walk home.Taser then the pepper spray in her left pocket.

She parked her bike in her neighbor’s driveway, planning on fetching it tomorrow.For now, she’d cross to her mother’s house through the narrow gate between both backyards.It cut off at least half a mile from her journey.That sounded so good as exhausted as she was.

Tomorrow, she’d have to quit or be fired for breaking poor Kev’s finger.She chuckled at having broken his middle one.Perfect.

When she stepped into her yard, a tall shadow lurked a few feet in front of her.She froze, shallowing her breath.Who’s that?By his height and width, she had to assume the intruder was a ‘he.’Regardless of his gender, he was visible enough for her to grasp that he watched her mother’s house with startling dedication.

She squared her shoulders and raised her chin, hoping her voice didn’t reveal her fear.“Hi, can I help you?”she asked, as if dealing with a suspicious customer was an everyday thing.

She wished she’d taken off her helmet.The raised visor narrowed her peripherals.Now wasn’t the time to remove it, though.Thankfully, when the solarcycle hadn’t started, she’d just unclipped the chinstrap.

She strolled toward him, hoping to get in close enough to use her aforementioned taser and spray.It was risky, being within his reach.He could harm her before she managed to yank the items out of her pockets.Her leather gloves didn’t make nimble movements easier.Another regret that she hadn’t taken the time to stuff those into her back pockets.

“Greetings,” he rumbled in a voice that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

It was so deep, her nipples hardened.What the hell?She shivered, blindsided by a hot explosion of lust.

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