Page 19 of Property of Azrael

Shit, I need to slow down. I barely know her, but I think I want to get to know her.

After dinner, Hallie could barely keep her eyes open, so I’d left her in our shared room, tucked into her side of the bed with a pillow fort of her own making, separating her side from mine. I could only chuckle at her antics. If I wanted to take over her side of the bed, pillows sure as hell wouldn’t stop me.

But would she?

I shake the thought away. Too fast—too soon.

Making my way down to the hotel bar, I spot the guys sitting around the bar top, talking over some game playing on the overhead television.

“Where’s our little tagalong?” Orion asks as I take a seat, sliding me a beer. “You wear her out?”

I sneer at him. If Hallie and I were entangled in that way, I sure as fuck wouldn’t be out here shooting the shit and drinking a beer with these assholes.

“She passed out after she ate,” I tell him, offering nothing more.

“Surprised she can sleep with all that rumbling thunder outside.”

The storm had finally reached us, just as Hallie was drifting off. We’d made it to the hotel with time to spare. And with luck, we’ll be able to make it to Houston without issues in the morning.

“Pretty little thing, isn’t she, Prez?” Fox points out. “I think she likes me.”

“Dude, you gave the woman edible panties and called it a snack. If any of us had a chance, you’d be at the bottom of the list.”

“She said she liked them.” Smirking, he adds, “Think that ups my chances.”

“Hallie’s off-limits,” I bark out. The idea of her screwing around with any of my brothers sours my stomach. Hallie may have an interest in our lifestyle, but living it is entirely different. She’s a decent person, and decent people don’t last long around clubs like ours. Not with what we have to do to keep ourselves and those around us safe.

“You claiming her?” Asher demands.

I attempt to backpedal. “That’s not how I meant it.”

“Sounds like you are, Az.”

“She’s only with us temporarily,” I mutter into my beer bottle. There’s no point in getting attached to her. Once we get to the event, the joyride is over. She goes on her way, and we head off into the Mexican sunset.

“If you’re not claiming her, why the blacklist for the rest of us?”

I have to tell them something to get the heat off of me and the attraction I feel toward her. I like Hallie, but I don’t know her. She could be trouble with a capital T, and trouble is the last thing our club needs. We have so much heat on us from the Hoosier Hellions, as well as our new friends running drugs out of Canada.

“She just is.”

“The fuck happened in that room?” Orion questions, his full attention back to me. “You good, man?”

“I’m fine,” I lie coolly, yet I’m anything but that. It’s been a long ass time since a woman turned my head, and Hallie is the whole goddamn package, even with her biker romance books. At least she’s more versed in our culture than some girl right off the street. Though, I have to admit, her limited knowledge of the club life makes me want to test the waters a bit more.

“I think you all should know about what we’re getting ourselves into tomorrow when we drop her off in Houston. This event she’s attending is a book signing.”

“Why should we be worried about a book signing? It’s not like a bunch of bookworms are going to hold us at gunpoint for book money.”

“It’s not a normal book event. It’s a specific genre of books, like biker and mafia romance.”

The four of them go silent, then roar with laughter at the same time. Orion slaps the bar top hard enough to shake the bottles.

“So she likes biker romances. What’s the big deal?”

Orion rests his hand over his heart. “Sounds pretty fucking perfect to me.”

Time to drop the bomb. “She writes them.”

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