Amelia leans her back against the bar and surveys the club as I order our drinks. “Do you come here often?”
“Cheesy. Is that your best chat-up line?” I take her hand and stroll toward a table with semi-circular padded couches that’ll not only give us the best view of the place, but will ensure everyone can see us. The occupants take one look at me, grab their drinks, and beat a hasty retreat.
She gives me a frown that tells me she’s not impressed. I shrug, sit on the center of the couch and then pull her onto my lap. There are some things she’s just going to have to get used to now that she’s my girl.
“Huh.” She wriggles as though she’s trying to get comfortable, and my hard-on just keeps on getting harder. “Okay, Mr. Macho, I’m not that easily distracted.”
I slide my hand beneath her pink cardigan. She’s wearing something silky underneath, and it takes a few tugs before it pulls free of her skirt. “What’s that?” I’m kind of distracted myself as I finally connect with naked skin.
She sighs and winds her arm around my neck. “You. Here. Often?”
“Sometimes.”
“You don’t bring all your hookups here?”
My fingers caress her waist under cover of her cardigan, and it’s hard not going any further. But there’s no way I’m going to allow any other guy to see more of her gorgeous body.
I catch her gaze. She’s smiling, but there’s an odd tension, as though there’s more to her question than she’s letting on.
Enough with the fucking about. I lean in close and kiss her earlobe, and she gives a little shiver. “You’re the only chick I’ve ever brought here.”
She pulls back, just enough so she’s looking at me, and there’s a startled expression on her face, as though she hadn’t guessed the significance of tonight. Sometimes I forget she doesn’t know the unspoken rules, since she fits in so well with my life.
“That sounds…” She bites her lip for a second. “Special.”
“Too right.” I give a smile of thanks to the chick who brings our beer, but have no interest in taking her up on the unspoken offer in her eyes. Been there a couple of months ago, and we both knew it was a one-time thing only. I push a strand of Amelia’s hair from her cheek and tuck it behind her ear. Why do I need any other girl when I have her?
Her fingers stroke the back of my neck, threading through my hair, and it’s driving me crazy.
“I never expected any of this.” There’s a strangely wistful note in her voice that I don’t understand because it almost sounds as though she doesn’t want more from me than a side-alley screw.
“I might only date nice boys, but tonight I’m withyou.”
That’s what she said in the alley. I didn’t like it at the time, but now the words thunder around my head, crashing through my mellow vibe. It’s fucking insane—why should I care if all she wants is hot sex?
That’s all I’ve ever wanted in the past.
I chug down half the beer, but it doesn’t help with sorting out the shit pounding in my mind. She’s frowning at me like she doesn’t understand what the problem is, and I slam the bottle back on the table and cradle her face in my hand.
If she wants me to spell it out for her, I will. “We’re dating, Amelia. You and me. And just so you know, I don’t share well, so don’t even think about going out with one of yournice boysagain.”
Chapter Thirteen
Amelia
My face is hot, and my heart’s pounding, and I don’t think I could move if the roof caved in.
Gage Reynolds, member of the Viking Bastards, just told me he’s serious about me.
He’s wrong for me on so many levels that I can’t even. But he’s all I want. If only there wasn’t bad blood and history between our families, this’d be the most perfect moment of my life, but I can’t keep my head in the sand for much longer.
I can’t tell him right this second, though. Not in public. Nothere.
“I don’t share too well, either.”
The harsh frown on his face fades into a grin. “Is that right?”
This can work. It’s a fierce promise, and I shove the creeping doubt to the back of my mind. I’ll work out the best way to break the news to him, to tell him who I really am. It shouldn’t be too hard, once I’ve gotten him in the right mood…
