FIVE
Bash
She was fucking spectacular.
If he needed more proof, watching Charlotte working tirelessly to bring a boy back to life would have done it.
He’d nearly died seeing her on the ground, covered in blood. He’d flown into a protective mode he didn’t know existed. But then, watching her so in charge, he’d been in awe. In a meeting with Axel, all he could think about was Charlotte, until his feet led him out of the clubhouse, to grab her something to eat. Only now, as he watched her sitting inches away from him, was Bash able to relax.
Craving a woman who didn’t want him back made him ten times the idiot. He stuck around because he wanted more than just her body. He craved her presence because she made him feel alive, like she was wired into his frequency.
Down to the second he first saw her, he remembered how his heart had lurched and she’d snatched the soul out of his body.
No woman scolded him as much as Charlotte had in the past year.
Nearly every day, she had tutted her tongue at him when she saw a pack of smokes in his hand. Or she’d single him out to be quiet if things got too rowdy in the waiting area. She put Splice in his place for hitting on all the nurses. No doubt about it, Charlotte Martin was the sweetest ball buster.
Maybe the most perfect woman he’d ever known.
And the kicker was that she didn’t want him in the same way. Or so she’d told him many times.
Yet he was doing the most golden retriever bullshit act because he couldn’t stay away from her. Like she had an invisible line around his neck, and she’d tugged him to come closer. He didn’t understand it, but when a guy got a gift, he didn’t reject it.
She was here. She was smiling.
If Bash only wanted something physical, he would’ve bounced and left the guarded nurse alone. He wasn’t a stranger to getting rejected by the opposite sex. He’d probably rejected more than his fair share, so it evened out. His pursuit extended beyond the pleasure they could create as a couple. The desire for Charlotte’s taste went beyond mere curiosity. He could take a leaf out of Splice’s book and fuck anything that moved. Satisfy a need and forget about the hazel eyes and saucy little mouth that haunted him when he fell asleep.
But only the best would do, not just any warm body.
And though he’d never tasted her, something deep in his gut told Bash Charlotte would be the best. The woman who would ruin him.
She brought dark thoughts out of him. Ones that involved restraints held firm around her wrists and ankles, and her fevered screams vibrating against his palm. But he had to keep that to himself. Otherwise, she’d bolt. And for now, he needed to establish a cautious friendship with the nervous woman.
If she wanted to pretend that platonic was all they were, he’d play that for a while, but she’d know eventually that Bash had much more in store for his little darling once her walls came crashing down.
Though he considered the club’s old ladies’ friends—it was a given with Casey because she was his best buddy’s old lady. They were a package deal; he’d protect her and their kids with his life. He’d already given Denver an oath to care for his family if anything happened to him. And with the other old ladies around the clubhouse, he had no choice but to like them. They assembled in a pack and colluded heavily, mainly against the men. His brothers had chosen good women who could provide a strong spine and a loyal ear.
It was too early to know if Charlotte was that, but Bash knew to listen to the signs from his gut, and they flashed all the red alert lights that first day. Pursuing her hadn’t worked. She’d backed off like a skittish rabbit and scowled whenever he tried to get closer. But something was between them; he felt it pulsing and snapping an invisible line. Her jealousy had shown the day he’d innocently spoken with one of her female colleagues. Her eyes had fired so much possessiveness his cock nearly broke in half with arousal. However, she returned to her guarded walls.
That didn’t matter, not when she was sitting so close as she sipped coffee. He’d already decided he’d take it if all he could get Charlotte to agree to was drinking coffee side-by-side on a bench.
“This is a lifesaver,” she sighed, smiling with her lips at the takeout cup.
“Wonder what you’d have said if I’d brought chocolate.”
Her eyes flared, and Bash had to swallow a groan because all he could picture was how her eyes would burn with lust as he plied her with sweet pleasure.
“Dude, don’t joke about chocolate.”
Fucking dude . He was not her gal-pal.
Only, for now, he had to be.
If chocolate was his way into her life, he’d buy a whole candy store and give her free rein.
He pulled himself together, took a pack of smokes from his pocket, and lit one up.
Stealth dating a nurse who wasn’t into him was complicated as fuck.