Page 34 of Romeo

But then, so would Coop, Hawk or any of the Angels, including the prospects, working at, or hanging around in the bar. They all knew who she was. They all respected the Fury and in turn, for the most part, respected her.

If she really wanted to, she was welcome to drink at their private bar in their clubhouse, conveniently attached at the rear of The Iron Horse. However, doing so would make her feel like she was intruding. Plus, some of the club’s sweet butts didn’t like her in their territory. They looked at her as competition.

They shouldn’t. She had no desire to date, or even mess with, anyone in the DAMC. Just like she had no desire to date or mess with anyone in the Fury or the Knights, either.

If she was going to date anyone, she’d find a nice, boring, regular guy. Not one with a deeply possessive “touch her and you die” vibes, where almost everything was seen as a damn threat.

A grumbly, “Maddie,” had her shaking her wanderingthoughts free and getting a better grip on her cue stick. “Know how to break?”

She nodded and approached the table. “Yes, but don’t expect it to be anything spectacular.”

One side of his mouth pulled up. “I can help.”

Funny how he didn’t even ask her if she wanted to play this next game with him. He simply assumed.

Since he came to The Iron Horse specifically for her, she’d be kind enough to play one game with him. Maybe during that time, she could make him realize that she had no desire to be anything with him other than acquaintances. At best, maybe friends.

And that didn’t mean friends with benefits.

She specifically picked him five years ago because it was well known he was a player. She assumed—maybe wrongly—that meant he had the experience to know what to do, to do it right and after that night, move on to his next conquest.

That was what wassupposedto happen.

Clearly, tonight was proving that it didn’t.

Did he only see her as an easy mark? An opportunity for a quickie?

Even if he did, it still made no sense. He had plenty of women at his disposal he didn’t have to work hard at getting into his bed.

Had there been a spark between them all those years ago? Of course. Add on the fact that Romeo was slick. He knew how to flirt like a pro. He was skilled at making a woman feel special, even if in his eyes, he didn’t believe it was true.

Women were the target, and he was the damn arrow.

Since he hit Maddie’s bullseye last time, maybe tonight he was ready to take another shot.

And not only in the game of pool.

She moved to the end of the table and eyed the neatly setpool balls and for some reason became nervous. She had to remind herself that this was a game, not a life-or-death situation. Should she really care if she messed up the break shot? This was supposed to be a fun, casual game and not a serious competition, right?

Nothing was riding on this game. Yet… But she expected him to change that.

“Before you take that shot, wanna make a bet?”

Just as she thought. “I think I have about five bucks on me,” she answered.

“Ain’t about money.”

Of course, it wasn’t. She played along. “What’s it about? You certainly aren’t here to witness my lack of billiard skills.”

“I win, you come to my place afterward. You win, I go to yours.”

She straightened and frowned. That bet was even worse than she expected. But of course, no surprise. “How is that even a bet? I’m the reward in both situations.”

“Ever think I’m the fuckin’ reward?”

She turned her face enough to make sure he could clearly see her eyes roll. Hard. “You benefit whether you win or lose.”

“So do you.” He pursed his lips as he considered her. “Willin’ to help you win.”

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