Page 25 of Property of Azrael

Fox oohs and ahs like a child. Fucker goes so far as to start singing that kissing tree song before I clock him in the shoulder.

“That hurt, asshole.”

“Go have one of your entourage kiss it,” Van retorts.

“I think I will. And for the record, I’ll sleep outside if that’s my only option. I’m not missing this shit for the world.”

“Don’t like the idea of leaving you alone like this, Az. You’d be a sitting duck if there are rivals here. So, I think it’s safe to say, we’ll all be staying.”

“That’s precisely why we shouldn’t stay,” Asher snorts. “We know nothing about this girl or this event. We could be walking straight into a fucking shit show.”

“I highly doubt we’ll run into the Hoosier Hellions all the fucking way down here. They don’t have chapters outside the Midwest,” Orion points out.

“Orion’s right, Ash. The risk is minimal at worst. The fact of the matter is, I’m staying until the event is over.”

“All for some pussy,” he mutters under his breath before stalking away. I start to go after him, but Van places his hand on my chest, barring me from chasing after the son of a bitch and laying him out. Hallie and I made a deal, and Ash’s miserable fucking self will not stop me from pursuing this.

“I’ll talk to him,” Van offers. “We’ll find a hotel. Text us with the details later.”

“Can do. And remember, no colors this weekend. Better safe than sorry.”

The guys nod in agreement and head for their bikes. Fox calls out my name and tosses me something from his saddlebag. I catch it with one hand and scowl when I see it’s a box of condoms from his stash.

He bends low in a mock bow and winks. “Stay safe, Az.”

Asshole.

HALLIE

Why did I agree?

I seriously want to kick myself right now. I had my out, my chance to put to bed the budding feelings I woke up with this morning. The feelings I could not shake all day. The ride did nothing to quell the molten heat of my core with his body so close. The vibration had truly made it worse. The only hope I had of keeping my sanity knew that once we got to the event, Azrael would go on his way.

That is until his stupid bet. The bet I had fallen hook, line, and sinker for. I believe a snowball has a better chance of not melting in hell than his preposterous idea of selling all my books. I have zero pre-orders to fall back on to pad the numbers. My blind acceptance was more about attending my first author signing rather than making back the money I’d spent. Money I could earn on time. The experience and the memories were worth more to me than the money.

But Azrael saw his opportunity to help me further and took it. Though moving into my room with Eden was the last thing I had in mind when I’d agreed. Thankfully, the rest of his club was able to secure a couple of rooms on an adjacent property just a few miles away. Sharing a bed with him last night was out of necessity, but having to share with the entire club would’ve been far more traumatizing for me. But for Eden, I think she would volunteer her bed in a second to any of the guys, as long as she was in the middle. I envy her ability to flirt. My only practice was during my adolescence, which in no way prepared me for men like Azrael. I’m floundering. And what’s worse is, I think he likes to make me blush.

But tonight will be different, all because of his addendum to the wager to pose as my biker boyfriend. Eden knows better, but everyone else will most likely see a whirlwind romance between an author and a biker, ripped straight out of the pages of the very books they read, unaware of the fiction playing out before them. Azrael had already set the stage by grabbing my hand as we walked into the hotel, like he’d done it a thousand times.

If only it were that easy.

Writing romance stories is one thing, but finding it for yourself is much harder. Between hook-up apps pretending to be dating sites, catfishing, and the lack of a social dating pool in my small town, I’ve been hopeless in the romance department since my short-lived college fling. I want to find it. Guys like Azrael don’t grow on trees in Indiana, and they don’t fall for girls like me.

But damn, I wish they did, because there’s something about him that’s making it hard not to fall for him.

I’d assumed that the second the door to our room closed, he’d fall back to the way we were before the bet, but he didn’t. Once he had his small bag put away, Azrael started hauling the boxes that Sapphire’s sons had delivered for me and sorted them by title and series order, before disappearing out into the hall to take a call. I tried to protest, but he was hearing none of it.

When Eden comes bounding through the door, humming a tune, my half of the room looks like a library exploded.

“Your knight is out in the hallway, pacing. Will he be long? We have the meet and greet, followed by dinner at eight.”

“What meet and greet?”

“The author meet and greet? We talked about this.”

I think I would’ve remembered a damn meet and greet and author dinner. I’m not sure who she talked to about it, but it wasn’t me.

“Meet and greet with the VIPs, and then dinner after in one of the hotel restaurants. Did you not listen to a thing I said this week?”

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