Page 64 of Baited

He massaged the back of his neck with his free hand, but the muscles didn’t relax. “I hate using you to bait him.” His tongue rolled across the back of his teeth. “But we don’t have much choice.”

Her eyes lowered, revealing the contrast of her long, dark lashes against her creamy cheek. Slowly, she nodded. Her eyeslifted to his, and the corners of her mouth lifted in a tight, determined smile.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

She looked back at Nate, “When?”

“We’ll have to give it until Friday. We want to target as many people as we can at the bar. I’ll pretend like I don’t know you guys for a couple days, catch a tan, and lay low.” He turned his attention back to Ethan. “I’ll run some background checks. You got any potential suspects?”

“Yeah, a couple. Riley’s neighbor and her ex-boyfriend. I’ll text you their names.”

“Sounds good.” Nate took a swig of his drink and rapped his knuckles on the counter. “All right, it’s settled. Friday night, we trap the bastard.”

Riley’s teeth gleamed as a warm smile reached the corners of her eyes.

Not giving a shit about Nate, Ethan pressed his mouth to hers. Her sharp intake of breath stirred his blood. In two days, they’d risk it all—and he’d be damned if he let anything happen to Riley.

CHAPTER 18

Riley rested herhip against the edge of the pool table. She brought the small glass to her lips and sipped. The sharp taste of vodka tingled her taste buds and she sucked her tongue against the flavor.

Ethan grinned at her, lined his pool stick on the green felt, and stretched across the table. She swallowed another gulp of the liquid as his T-shirt bunched around his shoulders. He drew the stick back, and shot it forward like a slingshot. The pool balls scattered, the soft clunk of at least two balls sounded over the loud bass of the band as they landed in the pocket.

Riley made a face. “Couldn’t you at least pretend to suck at something?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Sorry, turns out I’m better at winning.”

She pushed her hip off the table and stuck out her tongue. He tweaked her chin as she slid past him, her back to his front. His palm landed on her hip, the end of the stick in his other hand rested on the ground.

“Did I mention I like your dress?” He whispered in her ear.

With the screech from the electric guitar that reverberated over the speakers, he could have screamed and no one would have heard him. The scent of whiskey wafted to her nose from his warm breath. A shiver raced over her skin.

“You did as I was trying to put it on, as I got in the car, got out, and just now.” She laughed.

He turned her in his arms and lifted her to sit on the edge of the table and heat scorched between her legs. Her eyes rakedaround the crowded bar. “Ethan, people are watching us,” she whispered.

His eyes darkened. He’d shaven before they had left, so his normally scruffy jaw at this hour was silky smooth. The depths of his baby blues swallowed her up. His knuckle trailed up the outside of her thigh. She pressed her hand against his, stilling it.

“We need to stay focused,” she chastised. Despite her words, her knee moved against the inside of his thigh.

Ethan cursed. “I told you we should have had a quickie before we left.”

Riley jumped off the table and scooped her stick up from the rack. Her skin burned under Ethan’s scorching gaze. His eyes drank her in, lazily trailing over her body. Her nipples tightened in response. She sauntered to the opposite end of the table where the cue ball rested. Ethan folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the table. His black T-shirt made his ice-blue eyes pop, his long, jean-clad legs stretched into the aisle.

She leaned onto the table, rested the stick on her thumb, and whooshed it forward. The balls scattered, two landed into the pocket.

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. “Holy shit.”

A giggle trapped in her throat. She kept her gaze even. “You don’t grow up in small town Beaufort without learning how to play pool. I pretty much spent my weekends at Drew’s. Don’t feel bad, you’ve got a pretty good game.” She winked at him and he narrowed his eyes at her, and then lifted his pool stick.

Drew’s had changed in the last decade. The once dated bar had been expanded, allowing for a stage and enclosed patio off the rear of the building. They’d also added several pool tables and a modern-day jukebox.

He took another shot, this one less impressive than the last. “You misled me, now my ego is bruised.”

Riley snorted and moved toward him. His hands landed on her waist, her legs brushed against his. She tipped her head back to look up at him. Even in stilettos, the top of her head came just below his chin. His teeth flashed at her and his eyes lit like blue fire.

“Now that we’re on the same playing field, we might have to make a little wager.”

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