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Ruled By Wizard

Page 40

by Jamie Begley

“Three,” she snapped. “Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take three.” He didn’t want to push his luck.

“Good. You can tell Jesus to stay away from Lucia tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll send you the dates and times when I’m available.”

She shot out of the chair as if her ass were on fire. Wizard quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

“Whoa … You need to slow your roll. I have a few conditions.”

“You didn’t mention any conditions before we agreed.” She glared at him.

A curly tendril of hair had caught on one of her eyelashes. He wanted to brush it away but knew he would receive another smack for the effort.

“How about you hear my conditions before you get all riled up?” he said patiently.

Damn, Natalia had only two settings where her temper was concerned: steaming and boiling.

“You might want to add a couple of your own.”

She looked happier at the possibility. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

Thankfully, she brushed the hair from her eyelash, saving him the trouble of finding another way to offend the prickly woman.

“I’ll order Jesus to stay away from Lucia tonight, but there’s a little thing called free will. I can control what Jesus does. I can’t control Lucia. I can ban her from the club six and a half days a week, but not on Friday nights. You said she’s over twenty-one. Unless she breaks a rule while she’s here, I can’t toss her ass out.”

“Could you make sure Jesus is somewhere else on Friday nights?”

“That, I can do.” He nodded. “But what’s to stop her from hooking up with another Last Rider?”

Determination filled her face. “If anyone is allowed to come, I can watch Lucia and make sure she stays out of trouble.”

“That is certainly your prerogative.”

Wizard would have to give Jesus a day off as a reward. The brother had unknowingly accomplished what Wizard couldn’t have managed in a thousand years—getting Natalia to attend a Last Riders party.

“Friday nights can get rowdy,” he warned. “Both times you’ve been here, everyone was on their best behavior. If you attend a Friday night party, you’ll be treated the same as everyone else. No one will touch you without permission, but they won’t be shy about telling you what they want, either.”

“Which is sex.”

“We enjoy a good time. Sex is part of it. So is drinking. Some of the newbies who come here can get unruly and handsy, and fights occasionally break out. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt if they do.”

“I can protect myself. I won’t need you to step in.”

Wizard scratched behind his ear as he contemplated her.

“It can get rough,” he cautioned. “Fights break out between the women, too. The members stay out of those unless someone brings out a weapon.”

“I can handle whatever comes my way.” She stared at him confidently, signaling that he should move on.

Despite her insistence, Wizard would ensure she remained safe. Natalia might possess a hair-trigger temper and know how to flash that skinny knife when threatened, but Wizard was sure she relied on the Yeti to do most of the chopping and dicing.

“My next condition is that if you cancel a date, I get an extra one for the inconvenience. I might have something special planned.”

“Fine.” Natalia appeared pleased with that condition. “And vice versa. If you cancel a date, it cancels the next one, too.”

“So, I’d lose two dates if I cancel?” he clarified.

“Yes—the one you canceled and the next one.” She looked considerably happier than she had when the negotiations had begun.