Page 49 of What He Wants

She must have seen the exchange. I couldn’t help smirking as I took a drink of coffee. It amused me to hear her refer to them as ‘dudes.’ I shook my head. “No, they’re Sentinels. Just passing through.”

She stared over at them. The smile that came over her pretty face made me turn my gaze in their direction. Both bikers were smiling back at her.

“Babe?”

“What?” she pulled her gaze from them and returned it to mine.

“Not a good idea, flirting with them. I’d hate to have to pound their asses into the ground for looking at my woman.”

Her smile disappeared, and I realized that it wasn’t the first time I’d said she was my woman. I’d stepped over the line again and could have kicked myself for doing so. I waited for Daisy to say something about my slip, but she went back to eating her omelet. I’d finished mine and was on my second cup of coffee, watching as the place gradually emptied out from the breakfast crowd. Willy was behind the counter, saw me and gave a wave with his spatula. I gave him a chin lift and a grin. He eyed Daisy, and I could imagine what he was thinking. I’d never brought a woman in with me before. He motioned me over.

I scooted out of the booth, shifting my gaze back and forth from Daisy to the two Sentinels. It was a purely alpha move when I curled my hand around the back of her neck, bent, and closed my mouth over hers. I wanted to make sure that anyone that was looking knew that she was mine. When she returned my kiss with all the enthusiasm I’d come to expect from her, my dick jerked.

When I pulled back I smiled at the dazed confusion in her pretty eyes. “Be right back, babe.” I didn’t give her a chance to comment.

“Willy,” I acknowledged when I reached the counter. He was an ancient, grizzled, old coot that had owned and run Willy’s Diner for the last forty years. He looked like a pirate with his long, gray hair and beard, and the eye he’d lost in the war that was covered with a black patch. He wore the same fucking thing every day, clothes that were stained and yellowish, beneath an apron that looked even worse.

“Hey, Big John.” He motioned toward Daisy. “Never thought I’d see the day when you brought in a woman. She your gal?”

I leaned against the counter. “You could say that.” His waitresses were rushing to clear off the tables, bringing tall stacks of dishes and depositing them on the counter. “We’re still deciding that.”

He snorted. “She’s purty. Nice−”

“Watch it old man.”

“I was gonna say hair.” He sounded offended.

Daisy slid from the booth and walked our way. I let my gaze drop down her body, liking the way her sweater conformed to her big tits and smaller waist. Some of her jet-black hair fell over one tit, almost to her waist. She was fucking gorgeous with her rosy cheeks and sparkling emerald eyes.

“Where you going?”

“To the ladies’ room.” She pointed to the sign. As she walked by me I followed her sexy ass with my eyes.

“You hit the jackpot with that one.”

I couldn’t agree more with Willy. I was on my way back to the table when the door to the diner flew open, and two men rushed inside, guns drawn and yelling “Hands up in the air,” and “No one move!” I slowly complied, scrutinizing them for any weaknesses. They were twitching, and I could tell the instant that I looked into their red-rimmed eyes that they were both high on something. That made them unpredictable and dangerous.

One man pointed his gun directly at me, his hand shaking badly. “Back up!” he screamed. His partner was rounding up Willy and the waitresses who were frozen in place behind the counter and making them come to the front with the rest of us. I backed up slowly toward the booth where the Sentinels were sitting, hoping that it gave them enough cover to reach for their own weapons and end this shit.

And then I thought about Daisy in the bathroom. Fuck! This wasn’t going to end well.

Chapter 21

Daisy

I had just exited the bathroom at the diner when all hell broke loose. I came to a jerking halt in the shadows of the dark hallway, watching the chaos unfold as two gun-toting men entered the diner screaming that they would shoot if anyone moved. It was like a bad scene from a movie. The first thought that crossed my mind was that this was a robbery. They weren’t wearing masks, but what else could it be? My heart jumped when I realized the position I was in. I watched as the cook and waitresses were forced around the counter to where the customers sat, but there was a wall preventing me from seeing what else was going on.

“I said no one fucking move!” one of the men yelled, and I wondered who he was screaming at.

“You told me to back up, man.”

Oh, God, it was Big John! Fear for him turned my blood cold. These guys seemed unstable, nervous, I could hear it in the tone of the man who’d spoken. The one that I could see was twitching. He was the one who went behind the counter to where the register was located. He hit it in several places, but when it didn’t open he looked up and yelled, “How the fuck do you get this thing open?” He continued pushing buttons. “You, old man, get back here!”

“You think I’m gonna help you rob my own restaurant? Fuck you!”

“Get back here!” the robber screamed, waving his gun. “Or we start shooting!”

“Better do as he says, Willy.” That was Big John again. “They might actually hit something.”

---