Page 26 of The Sentinels

I didn't deserve her.

I clenched my fists at my side, determined not to reach out for her like I wanted to do. I knew that if I put my hands on her the situation would turn dangerous and possibly physical. The little wild cat in front of me was sexy as hell, and my dick wanted a shot at her sassy ass, but I'd just screwed things up royally. I knew it. The women knew it. Everyone present fucking knew it.

With a huff she spun around and stomped away. The women followed her.

I looked over at Tanner, who was watching me with an amused smirk on his face. Some of my other brothers' expressions revealed the same fucking thing. The amusement was there in their watchful eyes, their mouths held tight to keep from laughing.

"What the fuck is so funny?" I finally snapped at no one in particular.

Tanner was the only one with guts enough to tell me. "The fact that you paid for sex."

The sound rising up my throat was loud enough to rival thunder.

Chapter 15

Emerson

The explosion between me and Ace had occurred several days ago, and I hadn't seen him since. He hadn't come into After Hours. In fact, none of the Sentinels had been in. I knew that something big was going on, something dangerous, but I hadn't heard anything news-wise. This was the first time that I knew of since I'd started work at the bar that the girls had been sent away. I wondered how they were dealing.

I polished the bar down, trying not to let it bother me that Ace thought that I meant nothing, but the truth was he'd hurt me deeply. I'd kept myself busy with work and with Doyle. We'd gone out a couple more times, but I knew deep down that he wasn't what I wanted. He was too nice, too put-together for my liking. We got along great, I enjoyed his company, but the few times that I'd let him kiss me there'd been no spark.

Sparks were important.

I needed the spark.

I would need to be honest with Doyle, and soon. I didn't want to lead him to believe that we were going somewhere, and I prayed that he'd be okay with just being friends. The door opened and my eyebrows shot up with surprise. "Speak of the devil!" I laughed. "I was just thinking about you."

Doyle's long strides brought him to where I was in short time. "I hope they were good thoughts," he grinned, his boyish good looks and expression so out of place in the biker's bar that catered to the rougher male population. Even dressed casually, he was neat and pressed, his blonde hair combed in place but for the rebellious lock hanging against his forehead. His sharp blue eyes were dancing with mischief.

"So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I tossed the polishing cloth aside and half-leaned in his direction over the bar top. "You've never come here before. Is something up?"

He shook his head. "Just in the neighborhood and thought I'd pop in for a minute."

Before I knew what he was going to do he leaned forward and kissed me. It was soft and gentle, and probably half the reason there was no real spark between us. Doyle was a fun guy; he kept things light and was never aggressive. But I wanted a man who moved me, in all ways, a man who could turn me on with a single, searing look. It saddened me that Doyle wasn't that man, because I sensed that he would be a good catch for the right woman.

I wanted something stronger.

I decided right then and there that I needed to tell Doyle what I was feeling, or not feeling, with regard to where our relationship was going. As his mouth worked over mine, I tried to feel more than the calm, chaste kiss between us. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ground my mouth against his, reaching for something that remained inaccessible. I wanted to give him a chance, to see if I turned more zealous that it would fuel his own passion. Maybe he was holding himself back because he thought it was what I wanted.

But no, my little experiment failed, and my heart fell that I was probably going to hurt him.

I heard the door open, and then the sound of voices. Heavily booted footsteps against the hardwood floor indicated that a group had walked in, and then it grew quiet. The bar hadn't opened yet, so I could only assume that some of the Sentinels had arrived. I ended the kiss, unwound my arms from around Doyle's neck, and slid back behind the bar with a sad little sigh. What caught me by surprise was that his reaction mirrored mine.

Out of the corner of my eye I spied that Tanner, Ace, Gabe, Heath, Mike, and William had taken up their usual spots at two of the tables up front, close to the stripper poles. I tried not to look at Ace, but his intense stare drew me to him like a magnet. I was still pissed at him, but I couldn't help worrying over the tired and drawn look on his face. His eyes were dull. In spite of his condition, I still found him sexy.

A quick scan of the others revealed that they were just as tired and scruffy looking as Ace. Hair uncombed, whiskers longer, clothes dusty. What had they been doing? My eyes moved back to Ace. His scowl had grown considerably, and while his brothers were conversing quietly, he appeared to be focused on me and Doyle. His mouth was a tight line, and even from where I was I could see the muscle leaping in his strong jaw. What was he so angry about?

I pulled my gaze away from his and glanced at the clock. I still had ten minutes before the bar opened. I returned my attention to Doyle. "I still have a few minutes before the bar opens, come with me. We need to talk." I met him on his side of the bar and took his hand. "Let's go someplace private."

"This sounds serious," Doyle grinned. "Am I in trouble?"

Sensing Ace's eyes following us, I totally ignored him. I pulled Doyle toward the front door. There was a bench that sat right outside the door and up against the building that mostly female smokers used. "You? Not hardly." As I’d expected, the bench was empty, and we headed there and sat down.

I released a heavy sigh, meeting the question in Doyle's eyes. I was reluctant to hurt him. We stared at each other for a minute before his unexpected comment set me at ease.

"It's okay, Emerson, go ahead and say it. One of us has to."

What? I blinked with confusion as it slowly dawned on me that Doyle might have been thinking and feeling the same way that I had been. Was it possible? I thought back to our kiss. It had been lacking in passion, and I had been the one to wrap my arms around him in an attempt to light a spark between us. Had he been hoping for something more between us and had finally come to the same understanding that I had that it wasn't going to happen?

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