I don’t need to feel guilty about that.Rex told me the Bastards are involved in large-scale gun distribution, and since my dad was put inside for handling illegal weapons for the Wolves, it’s a trigger for me. All I need is some proof I can pass onto Rex so he can let his police contact know, and then good-bye, Bastards.
“Amelia.” There’s a strange, questioning note in his voice, and it’d be so easy to forget who he is and just lean a little closer…
“Hey, Gage. You down there?” It’s Kat, opening the door to the cellar, and I freeze, horror burning through me at how close I came to touching him. Even though we’re hidden from view behind a couple of kegs, I feel like my terrible thoughts are exposed to the whole world.
“Be right up,” Gage says, without taking his gaze from me, and he doesn’t move until the door slams shut. This is my cue to saunter away as though everything’s fine, but I have the scary certainty that it’s only the wall that’s keeping me upright.
After a few tense seconds, he gives me a slow, sexy smile that shatters whatever’s left of my good intentions. “Later,” he says, before he turns away.
I don’t know if that’s a promise or threat, but I can’t take my gaze off his tight butt as he crosses the cellar toward the stairs. I let out a jagged breath and wait until he disappears through the door before I follow him. No way can I go through with this.
Jeez, I make a lousy spy.
…
My half-formed plan to grab my stuff and make a quick getaway vanish when I return to the bar. The place is packed, and Kat’s run off her feet, so I grit my teeth and pitch in.
“Gage show you the ropes, then?” Kat squeezes by me, and there’s no mistaking the mocking look on her face.
“Something like that.” I shrug to show I don’t care that she thinks Gage and I did the nasty in the cellar, but it still stings. I try and remember what Rex told me. Something about Gage being a total asshole, which was why he couldn’t keep staff, but he was a sucker for a pretty face and I shouldn’t have any problem reeling him in.
It had all sounded completely feasible when we’d discussed it in a seedy backstreet diner. Then again, I hadn’t imagined in a million years that I’d find Gage anything other than a disgusting shithead who deserved everything that was coming to him.
I go around collecting the empties, and there’s no sign of him, although the blonde he was with earlier gives me the stink eye. Don’t know what her problem is, seeing as she’s letting another beefy biker feel her up. On the plus side, it doesn’t seem as though anyone else is aware that the owner of Odin’s gave me a special tour of the cellar. Or that he manages to turn me on by just breathing the same air as me.
I know for sure whose face is going to haunt my fantasy heroes for the foreseeable future.And not just his face. My vision kind of glazes as lust rolls over me, and I dig my teeth into my tongue to bring back focus.
This is the craziest shit ever. I slam the empties into the recyclable bin and take a deep breath. There’re four more hours before my shift ends. I can get through that without dissolving into a hot puddle of desire at his feet. Four hours, and I’ll never see him again.
Right on cue, the door swings open, and in he strolls, flanked by a couple of guys wearing the Bastards’ colors. For a fleeting second, our gazes clash, and heat spirals through me at the possessive gleam in his eyes.
Am I imagining that?No. No, I’m not. Something changed in the last few moments we were in the cellar, and just as I thought, his casual “later” was a warning.
Just play it cool. Nothing’s going to happen while we’re in the bar, surrounded by dozens of customers.
Who am I trying to fool? If I go anywhere near him, I’ll melt over his boots.
I grab a cloth and scrub the bar as though my life depends on it.
A part of me thinks it does.
…
Gage
I’m hanging with a couple of brothers from my club who just dropped by, but I can’t stop watching Amelia. She’s deliberately ignoring me, which both pisses me off and kind of intrigues me at the same time. We were a second from kissing when Kat interrupted us, but Amelia’s acting as though she doesn’t have a clue. Didn’t she understand my message before I left her?
Sure, she works for me. But if she wants me even half as much as I want her, then to hell with my usual rules. We can have some no-strings fun together. Right now, I don’t even care about any possible fall out. I’ll deal with that when it happens.
“Who’s the new chick?” Ty’s giving Amelia the eye. I don’t like it.
“She works for me, so she’s off-limits. Put your fucking dick away.”
Ty gives me the finger. “I don’t work here, and she sure as shit isn’t off my limits.”
Our other brother, Hawk, gives a dry laugh. “Think Gage’s already staked his claim, Ty.”
“You fucked a chick who works for you?” Ty leers at me. “Hypocritical asshole.”
