Page 6 of Ash

With the ambulance doors at my back, there was nowhere for me to go, so I stood my ground. “You could’ve seen it a few nights ago if you’d shown up for our date, you blundering dunderhead.”

Ignoring my insult—which irritated me since I found it quite creative—he clenched his fists at his side. “You have no idea how much I fucking hated having to make that call. If there had been any way to get out of the club business I had to attend to, I would have done it. But it wasn’t something I could hand off to anyone else since I’m the club’s legal counsel.”

“You mentioned that when you called less than thirty minutes before our date,” I muttered, hitching my hip against the rear bumper of the ambulance.

“Which just about killed me, Nora.” He pressed a hand against his chest. “I hated knowing I’d hurt you. Even more than I’ve despised not being able to talk to you since then.”

“It really sucks that you’re so good with your words.” Which was why I’d avoided talking to him until I had a chance to really think about if I wanted to give him another chance without the undue influence he wielded over me. Although, the sexy threats he’d been texting to me over the past few days had weakened my resolve…and tempted me to continue ignoring him if he was truly going to follow through with them.

“Kinda goes hand in hand with being a lawyer, baby girl.”

A delicious shiver raced up my spine at the endearment. And judging by the satisfied smirk on Eli’s stupid, sexy face, he hadn’t missed my reaction. There was no point in hiding it any longer, so I asked, “If I give you another chance—the very last one you’ll ever get from me—how will I know you won’t stand me up again?”

“Let’s go right now.”

2

ASH

Nora blinked her big blue eyes at me, and I smiled, going for charming…but that was a stretch when you were a badass biker and a cutthroat lawyer. I could’ve turned on the silver-tongued, charismatic facade I used to enthrall a jury. But I wasn’t gonna fake anything with Nora. The only way we’d work was with complete honesty. Otherwise, when the curtain that shielded finally lifted, she would be crushed under its weight.

“Now?” she asked, glancing up toward the ambulance cab where her partner was waiting. “I’m still on shift.”

“When do you get off?”

She checked her watch, biting her lip. Unable to stop myself, I used my thumb to free it, enjoying her tiny gasp and the heat in her eyes.

“Um…in about an hour.”

Doubt clouded her face, and I wasn’t about to give her the chance to change her mind. “Gonna follow you back to work and wait until you’re done.”

“You’ll what?” She shook her head. “You don’t have to?—”

“Sure as fuck do, baby girl,” I grunted, slipping my hand around her waist and slowly bringing her closer. “Need to make up for disappointing you.”

She quickly dropped her gaze to my chest, but not before I saw the hope flare in her pretty blue orbs and the corner of her mouth kick up. “Are you sure?” Then her head swiveled to the right when the engine of a motorcycle roared to life. “On your bike?”

I cupped her chin and brought her face back to mine. “Nah. Got a truck. And you’re worth the wait, baby girl.”

“Okay,” she whispered, her cheeks dusting with pink as she gave me a small smile.

“Truck is at my house, though,” I told her reluctantly. “It’s only a few minutes from here. Mind following me there first?”

Her eyes narrowed, and her nose wrinkled adorably. “Your house?”

“Yeah,” I replied, confused as to why that bothered her.

“I guess it’s convenient to live so close when you take women home.”

I wanted to smile when I realized what was bothering her, but I had a feeling it would just make her mad. I wasn’t gonna fuck up the second chance she was giving me. “Suppose it is,” I answered, stamping down a grin when irritation flared in her eyes. “Never taken a woman to my house, though, so I never thought about it.”

“Oh?” she chirped, looking much cheerier for a moment, then her expression fell again. “So you just hook up here at the clubhouse?”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter anymore. “Adorable,” I murmured with a shake of my head.

Nora glared at me. “I thought I told you?—”

“Then stop being so fucking cute, and listen real good, baby girl.” I drew her in until our bodies were pressed together. “Never been a hookup kind of guy.”

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