Page 71 of Their Princess

I followed his voice toward the copse of trees dotting the overlook. It was the only shade in the area to protect us from the blistering sun. It may have been a cool morning, but the temps up here today would probably top a hundred in the direct sunlight. My eyes swept over the landscape, considering how breathtaking a house would be with the views of the sprawling slopes.

The canyon curled down, trails leading into the hills, but there hadn’t been any other tire marks on the dusty road besides the real estate agent’s. No one had come out here recently. The cool metal of my gun brushed my skin, giving me a moment of reprieve from the relentless sun.

“No, not you,” spat Sas, and I pulled up, confused. He had just called me over. But then I realized he was looking over my shoulder.

Adelina moved right behind me, crossing her arms over her chest and popping out her hip. “You want me to wait in the heat? In the sun?”

“You’re from Vegas. You should be used to it,” said Sas, turning toward Julie. “Come on, Graff.”

I glanced over my shoulder at Adelina, and she shot me a pleading look. I didn’t know what she expected me to do. Unless she wanted a tattoo, she was shit out of luck with me. Sadly.

“Graff, please,” she murmured.

I turned my back to her, but said in a soft voice over my shoulder, “Just wait there. We won’t be long.” I hoped Sas wouldn’t hear. “There’s a water bottle in my right saddle bag if you’re too hot.”

It would only minimally help. I hoped she put on sunscreen to protect that pristine complexion of hers. Although, she was Italian, so perhaps the olive undertones would soak up the rays and turn her golden brown.

Shit. No thinking about how gorgeous her sun-kissed skin would be, Graeme,I scolded myself. While I felt bad for her, I headed to the trees with my head down, escaping the sun and the heat. The shade wasn’t much better, but the updraft from the canyon helped.

Sas and Beans were at Julie’s side, already listening to her spiel and flipping through a packet of papers fixed with a single staple in the corner.

I stood beside Teller, lingering off to the side. Numbers just weren’t my gig.

I checked over my shoulder from time to time. Adelina moved around the bikes, seemingly inspecting them for... what? Her small fingers trailed over the handlebars, curiously touching the clutch and hand brake, then she fondled the switches at thumb’s reach. She looked down at her boots, now covered in red dust, and then peeked over at us.

What thoughts bloomed in that brain of hers? I couldn’t tell for sure, but it was probably something she shouldn’t be thinking. This probably wasn’t the excitement she thought she would be getting, and MC work could be fucking boring. Every day wasn’t gun fights and orgies.

The agent, Sas, and Beans strolled toward us.

Beans asked, “What do you think?”

“For a quickie sale?” She grimaced. “It’s not looking good. This is high value land, so it sits for a long time on the market, especially with all the mansions going up in these hills.”

“Doesn’t that make it better?” asked Sas. “More attractive to a buyer with deep pockets?”

The real estate agent shook her head. “Buyers with the means are fewer and farther between.”

“How long will it take?” asked Sas.

“It’s hard to say,” answered Julie with her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Guess,” he said.

“I’d rather not.”

Beans said, “She means that it will be hard to get the true value on the property if we want to turn it around quickly.”

Julie frowned. “That’s not exactly what I was saying, but yes, that is true. If you price it below market value, you’ll probably get more hits. However, those buyers are looking for a deal. They’ll try to negotiate you down even further. I don’t recommend that.”

“We need to get some money out of the property now,” said Sas, voice almost as low as a growl.

With one ear open to the conversation, I let my attention drift back over to Adelina just as she threw her leg over my bike and tried to stand it up.

I laughed out loud, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Sorry,” I said, covering my mouth, and when they went back to the conversation, I chuckled under my breath at how cute she was if she thought she could throw around twelve-hundred pounds with her little body.

“I can reach out to a few people I know,” said Julie. “There are some agents in our office with wealthy clients. I’m not sure if any are looking to build, though, so I can’t make any promises.”

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