Page 83 of Devil's Due

Her face tilts up. “We’ll be sleeping together?” Her expression conveys neither disgust nor pleasure.

“I can keep my hands to myself.” I can, but it will be hard. I remind myself she doesn’t know of my decision to claim her.Ease her in gently?Yeah, I can do that.

She nods. Her hands stretch out in front of her. Guessing she’s heading for the bed, I guide her to it, placing her hand on the comforter.

“You’re tense, Beef. You want a discussion, don’t you? Want to set boundaries?” She sits down. “We’re staying in the same room. Sleeping in the same bed.” Her brow scrunches up. “You say you can keep your hands to yourself, but what if I can’t?”

I wonder if I need to say anything at all.Where’s she going with this?

“You were right, Beef. When we made love, it was perfect.”

It had been, but I wouldn’t have termed it quite like that. My eyes crease as I wonder where she’s going.Ask for a repeat performance, please?One I’d be happy to give her every day for the rest of our lives.

Her face falls. “I’d like nothing more than to make love with you again, problem is, I doubt I’d want to give you up if we did. I know you don’t want a woman, and I said I didn’t want a man…” The way she says it gives me hope she’s changed her mind. But then she adds, firmly, “Whatever either of us want, there’s no point starting anything between us. Lennox will sort out somewhere for me to go, and I’ll start all over again. I may never see you again, Beef.” Her voice catches.

I squat in front of her, taking both her hands in mine. “I’m not letting Lennox get in between us. Leave him out of it for now. Talk about us, Stevie. We make a good team, don’t we? We’re compatible in bed and out. What would you say, if I said I wanted to explore what we have between us? Take the next step?”

“You’re suggesting a relationship?”

I still can’t read what she thinks,. so I make sure there’s no misunderstanding on my part. “That’s what I want.”

One of her hands leaves mine, and reaches up to touch my face, gently tracing the contours. “You’re frowning.”

“I’m holding my breath waiting for you to say yes.”

The movement of her finger changes, now she’s stroking simply to give me comfort. I lean into her touch. “I’d have been in your bed every night if it was that simple, Beef. I’d have ignored all the valid reasons you said for us keeping our distance and tried my hardest so you weren’t able to resist me. But you were right then, and wrong now.”

I believe it’s the other way around, but I’ll hear her out, then tell her why she’s moving in the wrong direction. “Why, Stevie?”

“Because what I’ve got to do and your life don’t mix. I need to present my evidence and get the bad guys the punishment they deserve. You live and breathe the club.”

“Does it worry you, me being a biker?”

“No. Your club is very different to theirs. You wear leather and ride a bike. Hell, even I know there are as many different types of clubs as makes of motorcycles, probably more. I was reading about one the other day for members of law enforcement, firefighters and the like. The Warped Jokers are a long way distant from you. If I hadn’t been convinced of it before, I learned a lot from listening to the old ladies.”

She seems to have learned a lot in a short space of time. “You were asking questions?”

“No, not me. Melissa. I gather she and Skull are quite new, and she was trying to learn what it was going to be like to be an old lady.”

“Yeah, he’s only recently claimed her. Any old lady needs to be able to handle the club.”

She giggles softly. “I may have learned the term,club business.”

“Yeah? Would you be alright with that?”

“Beef,” she sighs. “We deviated from our conversation. I’m okay with club business as it will never be mine. I’m moving on as soon as Lennox can arrange it.”

“Babe,” I start, knowing I’ve got to spell out some facts of life. “It’s not safe for Lennox to set you up somewhere else. You’ve been found once, maybe you’ll be traced again. Here you’ve got me, and my brothers, to protect you.”

“They found me because of Max’s tracker,” she says quickly and adamantly. “He’s not wearing that now.”

“Stevie,” I say her name in exasperation. “What you’re missing out is someone knew he had a tracker and could get into the database to trace it. It wasn’t some random person, they were trying to find you. Somewhere, somehow, someone’s resourceful as well as dirty. Maybe Lennox himself. Until we know who and why, there’s always a risk that they’ll just use another way to find you. If you’re intent on testifying, you won’t be any use if you’re dead.”

She stands, her body poised as if she’s about to pace, when her brain kicks into gear reminding her she doesn’t yet know the lay out of the room. I move myself, quickly lifting my duffle I’d left lying on the floor and kicking my boots under the bed. But she sits back down and bangs the cover with both hands in frustration.

“I have to testify, Beef.”

“Do you?” I suddenly challenge. “Is putting the Warped Jokers away, destroying their club, worth your life?”

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