Unbeloved by Madeline Sheehan

anymore, and what if—”
    “ Stop it,” I snapped. “Tegen, Cage West was a whore if I ever knew one, and a man like that doesn’t marry a woman just because he finds her interesting . He marries a woman because he’s finally found the one that made him reevaluate his whorish ways and want to toss in his whoring towel.
    “ And,” I added quickly, “I’m sure Cage wouldn’t mind if you suddenly became a little less . . . interesting.”
    Tegen ’s eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “Is that a nice way of telling me I’m too interesting?”
    I shrugged and smiled. “It’s a nice way of telling the daughter I love and adore that she can be a little too loud and a lot too mouthy sometimes.”
    Tegen laughed, a sound I ’d never grow tired of hearing. Leaning back into the buttery-soft leather, I laughed with her until we both fell into a companionable silence. Once again, she rested her legs across mine and I hugged them tightly to me. Time passed by slowly after that, while we waited for the men, and eventually Tegen’s eyes began to close.
    When she was sound asleep and softly snoring, I gently moved her legs and slid off the couch. Pressing my ear against Deuce ’s office doors, I found the men still engaged in conversation. Not wanting to intrude, I wandered off through the dark and silent hallways, dragging my fingertips along the smooth wall until I came to a stop outside the door I hadn’t realized I was seeking.
    Like most of the boy s’ rooms, when they weren’t at the clubhouse, it was locked. But I wasn’t looking to go inside. Aside from the basement, a room I’d never been allowed in, I was well acquainted with all the rooms, had spent years inside each of them, cleaning up after the occupants.
    But this room wasn ’t just any room.
    This was Hawk ’s room.
    Pressing my palms flat against the grooved wood , I leaned forward, resting my forehead on the door and thought back to the day I entered this door, and everything changed . . .
    • • •
    Last night had been a mistake. A stupid drunken mistake.
    While drinking heavily, reeling with self-pity after Jase had left for home, Hawk had caught me unaware with his surprising intentions.
    A nd in my sorrow-drenched state, I’d done the unthinkable.
    Now, apparently Hawk had thought he had some claim over me, thinking he could demand that I meet him in his room.
    Oh, I would be meeting him in his room , all right. Not for some sordid rendezvous, but to tell him exactly where he could shove his line of thinking.
    I stormed through the club’s back hall and when I reached Hawk’s bedroom door, I didn’t bother knocking. As far as everyone in the club was concerned, I was only here to clean. Grasping the doorknob, I pushed inside, quickly closing the door behind me.
    I looked over the bare walls, the plain and minimal furniture, the lone book sitting atop his dresser, before coming to a stop on the man himself. Leaning against the window ledge, he had one arm across his chest, his hand tucked into his armpit, while the other brought a cigarette up to his mouth.
    “Why?” I demanded shakily. “Why are you doing this? Is this funny for you? Is this some sort of sick game?”
    After stubbing his cigarette into an ashtray, Hawk pushed himself away from the window. Folding his arms across his chest, he looked me directly in the eyes. Darkly intense and unwavering, sheer dominance radiated from his eyes, making me feel even smaller, not just in size, but worthless in comparison.
    “ Woman,” he said, his voice a deep, rolling rumble. “I don’t play games.”
    “ Then what?” I demanded. “You just figured I’d be easy, because why? Because I’m a whore!”
    The corners of his mouth began to curl. If he were anyone else, I would have thought he was smiling, but Hawk didn ’t smile and the expression was anything but lighthearted; it was pure menace.
    “ You’re not a whore.” He practically growled the words. “I don’t fuck with