Page 27 of Property of Azrael

“A stripper friend of mine had it in a yard sale, and you know I’m a sucker for a good deal.”

I choke out a laugh. “A stripper had a yard sale?” Is this real life? I mean, I know it’s Eden, but even this seems wild.

“Yup. Candy Delight has the best stuff. She retired last year.”

“She what?” I yell out.

“She retired.”

I throw open the door. “No, I heard that part, but how do you even know a stripper?” I clamp my mouth shut when I realize that it’s not just Eden on the other side of the door, but Azrael, who goes stiff. His blue eyes deepen the longer he looks at me. The angular cut of his jaw clenches.

“Uh, hi,” I stammer out with a small wave. “I’m just going to go back in here and die now.” I go to head back inside, but Eden lurches forward and grabs me by the arm.

“Oh, no you don’t. Meet and greet, remember?” She turns to Azrael. “You should join us for dinner. I’m sure they have an extra spot.”

“She’s not wearing that.” He doesn’t direct his statement to me, but to Eden, who smiles widely. She knows she’s hitting her mark, and she’s delighting in her chaos.

“I think she looks great,” Eden retorts. “With the right shoes, she’ll be a knockout. The author that everyone is talking about tonight.” Azrael’s jaw clenches harder. Eden notices it too, and winks over at me. “We need to ditch the shoes you’re wearing, Hallie. They’re nowhere near tall enough.”

“No,” Azrael growls. “Pick. Another. Fucking. Dress.”

“Jesus, biker boy, you need to relax. It’s not like you’re really dating, so what would it hurt for my girl to show off those curves of hers tonight? She’ll be the bell of the ball once I’m done with her.”

A vein pops out on Azrael’s neck. If going nuclear had a look, it might be the one on his face right now.

“Get out,” he barks at Eden.

“Hey, it’s her room, too,” I bark back. “You can’t just tell her what to do. She’s not a member of your club.”

“Out,” he orders, ignoring my protests. I try to step between them, but Azrael throws out his arm, stopping me in my tracks. “You’re staying.”

“The hell I am.”

Rolling her eyes, Eden grabs one of her jackets off the bed. “You have five minutes, or I’m coming back in here.” She heads out the door, and the closing thwack echoes in the now silent room. A room that feels like it’s shrinking around me.

“Change your clothes.”

“What’s wrong with this?” I mean, I hate everything about this dress, but his demand challenges me. Never one to back down, I double down. I stalk forward and stop a few inches away from him. “It’s only a dress.”

“A dress that covers nothing”, he growls, responding to my challenge. Reaching out, he glides his hand over one of the larger cutouts on my left side and slips his long, rough fingers under the black material, almost grazing my breast. “It would only take you bending over, and you’d be exposed.” He glances down at my legs. “Do you know how easy it would be for a finger to slip under there?”

“I think it’s a suitable length.” I shimmy my hips, which shifts the material up to the top of my thighs. Azrael watches, his eyes growing dark with desire. He’s right, of course. Any movement would hike the dress high enough to expose everything.

“Fuck,” he groans, dragging his left hand through his dark hair. “Stop moving.” I bite my lip and peer up at him from beneath my lashes. “Stop.”

With a teasing smile, I purr, “Why?”

“If you want to make it to that meet and greet, this has to stop.” I can tell the firm grasp he usually has on his control is slipping away. Hand at my waist, he pulls me closer, crushing my breasts against his chest. “You aren’t ready for the things I want to do to you, Hallie.”

“You want me?” I breathe out. In response, he glides his hand up and skims his thumb along the side of my breast, causing goosebumps to race across my skin. “But I thought…”

“You thought wrong, baby girl. From the fucking moment I saw you on the side of the road in those shorts, I knew you’d be trouble.” His husky voice dips lower. “What are you doing to me, Hallie?”

“I could ask you the same. I was a perfectly sane person yesterday, and now look at me. I’m in the arms of a man I met just a day ago. My mother would be appalled.”

“Let her be.”

His lips are so close to mine, that if I go up on my tiptoes, I could kiss him. Would his lips be soft or rough like his hands? I’d like to find out.

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