“Your legs will do that for a bit after gettin’ off a bike.”

I nod, standing straight. “Can you tell me where there are some decent shops in this place?”

He raises a brow. “You’re not serious?”

Now I raise my brow. “Of course, what did you think I came here for?”

“Fucks me, a drink? Something to eat?”

“I need decent shoes for a start, and something to wear to work. My feet kill me all day in that bar.”

Cade is still staring at me, looking completely shocked. Did the man honestly think I wanted to come in here, to get a drink? Shocker. I can’t help the smile that creeps across my face as he runs his hand through his hair, ruffling it with his fingers. He’s completely and utterly distressed about this, and it’s completely and utterly thrilling to me that I’ve gotten him all wound up. Score one, Addison.

“You want me to go girly shopping with you?” he says, in a rather horrified voice.

I giggle, and it sounds so completely off for me. I skip past Cade with a grin as big as Mount Everest. “You offered, hot stuff.”

With a grunt, he reluctantly follows me. For the first time in days, I can’t wipe the smile off my face. The big tough biker is going shopping with me!

CHAPTER 6

PAST

I feel a set of hands tugging my pants, and I jerk upright. My forehead slams into someone else’s and I yelp. It takes me a moment to realize where I am and what’s happening. When I do, I realize that some filthy client is trying to crawl into my bed and score some off me. I blink rapidly, gripping my pants and trying to gain some control. It’s hard when you’re only sixteen, and you try to fight off a man twice your size and age. The stranger grunts, and grips my hands, trying to force them above my hand as he positions himself over me.

“Get off me!” I cry.

“Paid for service, going to fuckin’ get it,” he slurs.

He’s drunk. That’s not uncommon; a lot of clients are drunk. A lot of clients are twisted and fucked up. Let’s face it, if you’re normal, you don’t need to pay the scum of the earth for sex.

“Get off me,” I repeat, shoving and squirming.

“Be five minutes, I paid good money.”

“Then I’ll give you your money back,” I protest, trying to raise my knees up as he shifts his body, pressing himself between my legs.

“Stupid whore in there already spent it, so I guess you better give me what I need.”

“Fuck off!” I cry, biting down onto the closest piece of flesh I can get my mouth around. I think it’s his shoulder. It makes me want to gag.

He roars, and then he slaps me so hard my head spins. As he moves though, I bring my knee up and kick him hard in the groin. When he stumbles off the bed with a hiss, I leap up, flicking the lamp on. I’ve learned how to deal with clients like this, who decide I’m the next best thing if they aren’t serviced by my mother. The first one I ever had, came at me when I was fourteen, I didn’t have the experience then, and he raped me. I learned quickly after that. There’s only one man that gets away with it now, and that’s Jasper. The only reason he gets away with it, is because he’s our lifeline. Without him, we’re on the streets. Pathetic, I know.

I get off the bed just as the man is rising off the floor. It shocks me to see he’s quite well groomed. He’s wearing suit pants. Okay, they’re not expensive looking, by any stretch, but it’s still a suit. He’s got salt and pepper hair, and is quite well built. Before he can lash out at me, I drive my foot into his nose. The sickening crunch, followed by blood spurting is a familiar sound and sight for me. He roars in pain as blood flows down his face.

“Little fuckin’ bitch,” he bellows.

“Get the fuck out of my house. You’re not the first pervert to try and get into my bed, and you won’t be the last. I will cut your dick off if you try and touch me ever again.”

He crawls towards the door, and blood drips in a trail on the old faded carpet as he goes. When he gets to the door, he turns and looks at me. He’s panting, in both pain and anger. He covers his nose with one hand, and uses the other to support himself.

“Whore,” he growls.

Then he crawls out the door. The word has my body trembling. It’s the one word I can’t deal with, no matter how many times I hear it.

It’s the one thing I never want to be.

And yet, sometimes, I wonder if it’s inevitable.

PRESENT

“Jesus woman, remind me never to offer you a ride into town again,” Cade grumbles as we head out of the last store later in the day.

I’m happy. I have two new pairs of shoes and a couple of work outfits. Cade bought me a leather jacket, and it was the only moment that he smiled. The rest of the time he grumbled and muttered under his breath. This only made me smile more, and take a heck of a lot longer to find what I needed. I turned a one hour trip into a two hour trip, and I enjoyed every second of it.

“Well, next time you won’t be so pushy when a woman says she’s going into town,” I say, satisfied with myself.

“Damn right,” he mutters.

I smile again, and when we reach his bike, he tosses me a helmet and secures the bags in the two panniers on either side of the bike. I slip the helmet on, and when he gets on the bike, I slide on behind him. I wrap my arms around his waist and take a moment to breathe him in. I’m completely flattered that Cade spent the whole afternoon with me, even though he didn’t have to. He may have grumbled like a bitch in heat, but he did it, and that warms parts deep inside me. Cade grips my fingers, taking a moment to slide his roughened fingertips over mine. I shiver, feeling my body come alive. I want Cade, no amount of denying that will do me any good.