Hard Core (Hard As Nails Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

that we met abruptly and are still perfect strangers, but that could change at any moment. He could take me in his arms. I could kiss him. He could touch me. Fuck me. Penetrate my body with his. Use his strength not just to protect me, but bend me to his will, so I have no choice but to accept the pleasure he gives me. Again and again and again.
    Under the shadows of passing lights, he glances at me. Given my heated thoughts, I blush and avert my gaze back to the road ahead.
    “So… Uh.” I clear my throat. “What were you doing at the club?”
    “Just hanging out.” He angles his eyes at me, and a mischievous grin is painted across his lips. “Lucky for you, huh?”
    “Beyond lucky,” I mumble. “You’re my knight in shining armor.”
    “No need for titles. Though if you were going to give me one, I think I’d prefer Sex God or Lord and Master.”
    I roll my eyes and laugh, but it’s a breathy sound that makes me wince. Then I swallow my pride, or rather, what little pride I have left to swallow. “I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you.”
    “That’s not necessary.”
    “Of course it is. Thank you, Axel.” I shift in my seat, and exhale a light breath as I swivel my ankle in a circle. The pain has faded, but it’s still sore. Not broken, and not quite sprained. I’ll be receiving yet another hospital bill within a week that I won’t be able to pay. “I’m not exactly sure I needed to go to the hospital, but thank you for that, too.”
    He cocks his head at me. His beautiful damn head. “You’re welcome, Angel.”
    “Alyssa,” I correct him.
    “I prefer Angel. It has a beautiful ring to it. Not that the name Alyssa isn’t beautiful. What is a girl like you doing in a place like that, anyway?”
    “A girl like me?”
    “Sweet.”
    I crinkle my nose. At least Marley had known me two months before she’d called me that.
    “Axel?”
    “Yeah?”
    “You don’t know anything about me.”
    “So tell me something I don’t know.”
    “I’m much stronger than I look.” I throw my left arm between us, flexing my bicep. “I do what I need to do to survive, and right now that means slinging drinks at the club. This is my road,” I say as I point to the upcoming turn on the right.
    “Here?” he questions as he turns the wheel, and we careen onto my street.
    On both sides of the asphalt are apartment buildings, four stories high. They’re not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re also not complete dumps. They’re nice for what they are, a place to rest my head at the end of each night. For the most part, crime tends to stay away, which is really the only thing that matters.
    I point to my apartment building, and he pulls into an open space in front. He switches the lights off.
    “Shit.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    I sigh. “It’s just, we didn’t think things through very well. You’re driving my car. How are you going to get home?”
    “I’ll call a cab.” He shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.” He gets out of the car, then opens my door for me.
    “Are you sure?”
    He puts his arm around my waist, supporting me as we walk. I feel his muscles flex and see them ripple with every step we take. “You’re really strong,” I stutter.
    “Not nearly as strong as you,” he jokes, but there’s a seriousness behind his laugh. “There’s a thousand ways to be strong.”
    “Right,” I nod. “Just don’t tell my weak ankles that.”’
    “I’m going to help you to your apartment,” he says, and it’s not a question. I know I have no choice but to accept his help.
    “If you insist,” I sigh.
    Once again, he scoops me up in his arms, and I can’t help but enjoy feeling small and fragile in his big arms.
    I direct him up a flight of steps, and he tightens his grip on my body. Once we reach my door, nestled in a hallway with a firm breeze drifting in from the outdoors, he gently lowers me to my feet.
    I circle my foot, trying to see if the pain is actually