Hard as Steel Read Free Page A

told her to. “Do you want to go to the police?”
    “No.”
    “Why didn’t you want to take a shower?”
    “Because nothing happened. You stopped it.”
    “Let me tell you something, Eloise. I stopped him from raping you. That fucker was going to try and shove his dick where you didn’t want it to be. If I’d not come along when I did, you’d be telling a whole different story.”
    “Who’s going to believe me anyway?” she asked.
    He frowned. “What?”
    “Who in their right mind is going to believe that someone wants to rape me? Look at me? I’m nothing pretty to look at. Why would anyone go through the effort of getting into trouble over me?”
    Steel was shocked, too stunned to even say a word.
    “I’m ugly and plain. There’s nothing amazing about me. They’ll all just laugh.” Tears were streaming down her face and he wanted to kill Hanson for being responsible for them.
    Reaching out, he grabbed her arms, hauling her up against him. “Don’t ever fucking put yourself down like that again. Do you hear me? I don’t want to fucking hear that kind of shit coming out of those pretty plump lips.”
    “It’s the truth.”
    “No, it’s not. It’s not the truth.” Sliding his hands up her arms, he cupped her face, forcing her to stare right back at him. “You’ve got no idea how beautiful you are.” He couldn’t look away from her even if he’d wanted to.
    “You’re lying.”
    “Baby, even though I shouldn’t be admitting this, I’ve spent a great deal of time camped outside that place you work just to see you. I’m not fucking lying and I’m not blind.” He took her hand and pressed it against his stiff cock. “You feel that? That’s how fucking hard I am for you right now. You’re not plain or ugly. You’re fucking beautiful and you don’t even see how gorgeous you really are.” He stroked her cheek, releasing her hand from his cock at the same time. “Don’t ever put yourself down in my company or I swear to God, I’ll make sure you can’t sit down for a damn week.”
    “You swear a lot.”
    “Get used to it. Now, you’re going to get washed. I don’t care what you say. I’m going to take care of you and for me to do that, you’re going to learn to listen.”
    He watched as she bit her lip, clearly wanting to fight him. Steel wasn’t prepared to listen to a word of what she had to say.
    “I’m not used to this. You don’t have to stay.”
    “I’m staying. I’m going to order Chinese. You do like Chinese, right?”
    “Yes, I do.” She stared down at his chest, licking her lips. “What about Hanson? You hurt him pretty bad, and he’s not a nice person.”
    “I’ve talked with Hanson. He’s not pressing any charges and if he does, I’ll tell the cops exactly what I was breaking up. You wouldn’t let me be put away for helping you, would you?” he asked.
    “No. Of course not.”
    “Good. Go and get washed. I’ll be right here.” She nodded her head, taking a few seconds before she finally turned on her heel and walked away. He waited until she was gone before removing his jacket.
    Her place was nice, a little small, but then he didn’t know much about her. She didn’t seem to have any family close by or many friends. The only real thing he knew about her was the job at the grocery store. Glancing around her living space, he didn’t see any personal photos of friends or family. Was she a loner? Was she trying to run from a life she didn’t like?
    So many questions and yet so few answers from looking around her space. She liked to read, he saw that with all the used books. They were all well read, but he didn’t recognize a single author or title.
    He put the order in for the Chinese, asking for half of the menu since he didn’t really know what she liked. When that was finished, he walked into her very small kitchen, which consisted of a sink, stove, fridge, and a small counter. Rubbing the back of his neck, he groaned. He didn’t like the small