Free Hard Core (Hard As Nails Book 3) by Hope Conrad Page B

put it out of my mind for the most part. It was only when Axel asked me what I was doing, and I’d known I had something scheduled today, that I’d remembered. “Oh, this and that.”
    He rolls his eyes and braces his hands along the edge of the counter. “You are so difficult.”
    “I’m independent.”
    “Same thing, right?”
    “I suppose a man like you might think so. Which is why I sometimes want to kick your ass.”
    “Don’t you know that when a girl kicks a guys’ ass, it usually means she’s into him?”
    “Uh, no.” I smirk. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
    “Then tell me how it works.”
    “Why don’t you tell me how it works?” Moving back into the kitchen, I reach for a glass from the cupboard and fill it with water, then return to my spot on the counter. “I’ve seen you fight twice now, and it would seem you know a thing or two or a hundred about kicking asses.”
    “Yeah?” He cocks his head to the side and studies me, as if he’s trying to figure out all my secrets. “Does my asskickery turn you on?”
    “Absolutely not,” I lie. I take a sip of water, and watch him roll his eyes, like he doesn’t believe me. “But tell me your story.”
    He shrugs again, but his grip tightens on the counter. “There’s not much to tell.”
    “Bullshit.” I lower the glass against the counter. “No one learns how to fight like that without a damn good story.”
    “Well, maybe I don’t want to share my story until you share some of yours.”
    “Me? I thought you’d figured me out already. I’m a poor fragile girl, terrified of being alone, forced to work at a strip club to pay the bills and unable to protect herself without a big, strong man to take care of her.”
    “You might not need a big, strong man, but you have one, and said big, strong man will take care of you if he deems it necessary. Every single time.”
    I stare at him, and his expression is dead serious.
    “Why?” I whisper. “Why are you so intent on protecting me? On getting to know me?”
    “Because from the minute I saw you, you reminded me of an angel, and every second I’ve spent with you since has done nothing to change that.”
    I’m stunned by the honest emotion I hear in his voice. By the true respect and affection he seems to harbor for me. “You don’t know me, Axel.”
    “No, but I want to. I’m trying to.”
    I look around desperately, but my gaze is drawn back to his. Who is this man? I want to know everything. I want to know who the Anne is whose name is marked on his skin, but I don’t have the nerve to ask. So I ask the other question burning at my curiosity. “Fine. You want to get to know me? Then answer me honestly. Where did you learn to fight like that?”
    “I was in the military.”
    “Really?” For some reason, it’s the last thing I’d expected him to say. He’s a bike-riding rebel, and doesn’t strike me as someone who likes taking orders. On the other hand, he seems to have an inherent need to protect others, and what better way to do that than kicking ass and taking names as a soldier for the U.S. government?
    It’s only a tidbit of information, but it’s nice to dig beneath the surface level, if only a little. “I’m sure you instilled fear in many a man’s soul.”
    “Yeah, I sure did.” He forces a smile, but his grip on the counter tightens even more, his fingers beginning to turn red.
    I sense that this may not be the easiest subject for him to talk about, so I try to lighten the mood. “I think it was probably hard for you to take orders,” I say with a light laugh.
    But he doesn’t laugh in return. Instead, he looks even more serious than ever. “You’re right.” His eyes drift to the ceiling and I watch as he swallows a hard breath. “Especially when my orders directly conflicted with what I believed to be right.”
    This conversation is getting far too heavy. But he’s being honest, and it’s reeling me in.
    “I can see how that would be a