Page 16 of Riding Dirty

Reaching for the anti-inflammatories, I pop them in my mouth and pick up my coffee, taking a swig to swallow the pills. The warm liquid slides down my throat, and I close my eyes as I allow it to really hit. And when I do close my eyes, I see his face in front of me.

Wrath.

I don’t want to admit that I’m beyond attracted to him. The fact that he gave me a huge bonus is just icing on the sexy cake. Alex clears his throat, and my eyes pop open, finding his, and I see the smile playing on his lips.

“Who were you thinking about with that look on your face?”

“How do you know I was thinking about a person?” I ask.

A laugh bubbles up from his mouth. I frown as I stare at him—though it hurts to do so, and unscrew my face as soon as possible. Trembling slightly, I let out a sigh. I wait for him to give some bullshit reasoning on how he knows I was thinking about a person.

“You don’t even have to say his name, but he’s dangerous. They all are. Even if they’re like sexy big grizzly bears.”

CHAPTER

TWELVE

WRATH

I’m not sure what the protocol is for asking your cleaning company to go in and do some recon on a building you want to burn to the fucking ground for a piece of the insurance claim.

For all the jobs we’ve done and spearheaded, this is a new conundrum for me. I watch as Elodie and her cousin come through the door. They are not moving quite as quickly as they were last week, and I can’t help but wonder if they overdid it.

I would ask, but I don’t want to sound like an asshole, so I pretend I don’t notice.

Pushing off the bar, I move toward them. She’s wearing her sexy skintight shorts and a semi-oversized T-shirt again. She’s got a pair of white running shoes on with white socks pulled up slightly. She’s here and ready to work, even if it might be a little slower.

She begins to walk past me, but I reach out and curl my fingers around her wrist before she heads to the back of the building. I can’t believe she’d want to tackle bedrooms first. She’s a goddamn saint, is what she is.

Slowly, her gaze lifts to meet mine, and I watch as her lips part before they snap closed almost instantly. Her brows furrow together, then she arches one as she waits for whatever the fuck I’m about to hurl her way, and she would be right to brace because I am going to hurl some shit.

“Got an off-duty job I want you to do. Pays well. Partially off books, half check and half cash.”

I know my tone is gruff, maybe a little intimidating, but fuck me, I am trying to stay in fucking control. She looks at me, her eyes searching mine as if she’s trying to figure me out.

“I should say no without even hearing you out,” she states.

She should. But I can tell by the way her eyes are searching mine that she won’t. She’s curious.

I slide my thumb back and forth against her wrist, drawing small circles as my gaze stays connected to hers. Then, I watch as her sexy-as-fuck tongue peeks out and slides across her bottom lip.

Fuck.

I want to suck on that lip right goddamn now.

Biting back the simultaneous groan and moan along with a grunt that I feel deep in my gut, I don’t look away from her. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I’ve never felt so fucking connected to someone as I do this woman, even though I know that I absolutely should not.

“It’s a cleaning job.”

“Cleaning?” she asks.

I hum, not sure what she’s thinking, but it’s clear she’s leaning toward a yes without me even explaining the details. Clearing my throat, I decide that this conversation needs to move a bit fucking faster, or she’s never going to get to work, and I’m going to have to take her into my bedroom and fuck her.

And that can’t happen.

“A cleaning job. It’s a venue. I need pictures. Of everything.”

She blinks a few times and tries to take a step backward, but she fails because I don’t release my grasp on her wrist. I can’t let go of her. I’ve never felt like this before, but I want this woman close to me. I want her naked body pressed against mine. I want to be inside her. I want it all.