Chapter 15 #2
Bear ignored him and glared at KC . “ Well ?”
“ Yeah . This is him. My friend.” KC didn’t sound as excited as he had earlier when introducing me to Fish .
Bear shifted, his body still blocking my view. “ You’re KC’s buddy?” One fist curled at Bear’s side.
“ Yes . I …” His hesitation cost him. Bear cut him off.
“ Cool . Leave . Take KC with you.”
“ But —” Fish tried to talk.
“ Come on, man. He’s busy.” KC tugged his friend.
Fish , however, had other plans. “ Carl told me to give you this.”
Bear shoved me against the wall and drew his gun.
Fish had one hand in his jacket and both KC and Bear had their weapons out and aimed at his head.
“ Move and you’re dead.” Bear’s growl was lethal.
“ Hold still, man. I’ll take that.” KC reached under Fish’s coat and pulled out a plastic grocery bag. It crinkled as he tugged it free.
It was from the same store I shopped at only a few days ago. My shoulders stiffened as yet another reminder of Carl intruded on my life.
KC felt along the bag and handed it off to Bear , glancing down the hallway as he did. “ I’m going to make sure no one sees this.” He took a few steps and blocked the hallway, both arms crossed, feet planted wide.
Bear ripped the bag open.
Cash . Banded in the same fashion as the bundles I’d stolen from Carl . And just about as much. I sucked in a breath.
Bear’s head tipped, acknowledging I was behind him, but not breaking his tense control over the situation.
“ It’s the payment. Carl said he wasn’t going to be home, and he didn’t want it late… or stolen .”
His eyes slid to me. He stared at my face as he said the last two words. A subtle reminder that I’d done just that. And by this point, Carl had to know I’d taken his money.
Bear wrapped it back up and stuffed it in his vest. “ Tell him, thanks.”
Fish smiled, finally paying attention to Bear . “ Will do.” He held there, something else on the tip of his tongue.
“ What ?” Bear’s gruffness should have been a warning to stay quiet, but Fish was clueless.
“ One more thing.” His attention shifted toward me.
Bear reached behind and found my hip. I slid closer to stand behind him and put my hands on his belt so he’d know where I was.
“ Spit it out.”
“ Carl wants to know how you’re enjoying his offering.” His voice slid into the same sticky leer he’d vulgarly used on me.
“ I’d be enjoying it more if you’d get the fuck out of here. That all you got?”
Fish’s reply was short, followed by his retreat. KC was still at the end of the hall, arms crossed, feet planted wide.
Bear turned on me.
He was not happy. And he certainly was not the teasing man who’d carried me back here. His eyes caught a flare of the dim light and it glowed a reddish hue. “ Rose ?”
It . I was only an it to him. “ A vow is a vow.” I’d promised to pretend.
His nostrils flared and his fingers curled inward. His words gritted through his teeth. “ No , it ain’t. Not like this.”
I took a step closer. My fingers touched his vest. I violated his rule to prove I could.
He blinked and stared at where I’d intruded. His much larger hand engulfed mine. Instead of removing it, he pressed it flat. “ But since you insist, I vow?—”
I shushed him. This was a public place, guarded hallway or not. Someone could overhear. The Gods could overhear. “ Don’t . Not here.”
He twisted his head until his neck cracked. First one side, then the other. “ No one tells me what to do except Wolf or Jackson .”
I slipped my hand free. “ Then I’m suggesting you don’t do something you’ll regret.”
His knuckles went white as he clenched his fists harder this time. “ I’m trying my damnedest to do just that. But you’re tempting the fuck out of me. And I know KC has the hall guarded. Right KC ?”
“ That’s right. No one gets past me until you say so.” KC’s voice was muffled slightly by the wall between us.
I frowned and directed my question to Bear . I desperately needed this answer. “ What’s stopping you?”
His jaw worked as he weighed his words. “ Honor , Rose . I did vow that.”
That I could admire and respect. Adore , even.
My breasts touched first as I moved to press against him.
His hands slid over my ass and up to the small of my back.
I splayed my palms on his waist. This was so different from the wild kiss on his bike.
It was cautious. Fragile . One wrong move and the weight of outside expectations would crush us both.
He bent to inhale the heat of my skin. I buried my face in his beard, pushing it aside to find his neck, or just drown in him so I could shut out the cacophony that clamored in my heart and mind.
He deserved more than I could give. But he had my gratitude, nevertheless. “ Thank you.”
My words were soft. The drugging power of his scent much stronger than my voice.
I clenched my fingers to hold him close.
I inhaled again, making myself drunk on the sharp smell of leather, the heat of skin, the light fragrance of his beard oil, and the subtle musk that clung to his body like a long-forgotten memory of paradise.
KC whistled. Two staccato blasts that broke the spell. “ Wolf’s coming in hot. Look sharp.”
Bear slipped his hands out of my clothes and straightened my shirt. Adjusting his raging erection wasn’t as easy, and Wolf caught him mid-shift.
His president’s face was grim. “ The Demons are here.”