Page 13 of Wild Card
Not so easy to do when Dalton was always fucking watching me.
CHAPTER 4
Dalton
Riverton won the game,and crowds lingered to celebrate and trash-talk the Granville visitors as they left in defeat. By the time they all cleared out, it was after eleven, and I was exhausted by a fifteen-hour shift.
Of course, before I could go off the clock, I just had to pull out right behind a motorcycle with a broken taillight.
I considered letting it go. But damn, that was dangerous. Too many motorcycle-involved accidents already happened because a driver didn’t see them. That taillight might be the difference between life and death for this guy.
I hit the lights and sirens.
The rider glanced over his shoulder but took his sweet-ass time to pull over. I followed him around a corner and onto the highway, wondering if he was really foolish enough to try to lose me, before he finally turned into a strip mall on the right.
I pulled in behind him and shifted into park. While I ran his tag, the biker took off his helmet, blond hair tumbling free.
I instantly recognized Axel Wilder. The name of the bike’s owner flashed up on the tablet mounted on my dash: Gray Marsh. Axel’s foster brother.
Irritation flared, and I flung open my door and got out.
“Get off the bike.”
Axel swung a leg over the bike and turned toward me. “What did I do now? Drive while too sexy?”
Damn it. Hewassexy. He wore dark jeans that molded to his long legs, a wide belt with a wallet chain suspended from it, a low-necked white tank top that showed ink crawling over his skin, and a beat-up leather jacket.
But most of all, it was the tumble of wild hair and the blue eyes that seemed to glow with a manic fervor within that heated my blood every time I saw him.
There was something about Axel that was wild.
He was exactly the kind of man Ishouldn’twant—and exactly the kind that got under my skin every time.
“Do you have a death wish?” I demanded. “Come look at this.”
Axel joined me behind the bike, and I pointed out the busted taillight.
“Seriously?That’swhy you pulled me over?” He gave me an assessing look. “You really are just looking for excuses.”
“It’s a safety issue?—”
He laughed. “Right. That’s what’s got you all hot and bothered.Safety.”
His knowing smirk sent me right over the edge. After the day I’d had, I didnotneed Axel’s games. I grabbed his arm and spun him toward my patrol car.
“Hands against the car,” I barked. “Now.”
“What the fuck, man!”
I kicked his feet apart and started patting him down for weapons or contraband. His muscles were firm under my hands,tense even. I could practicallyfeelthe energy pulsing inside him, the urge to spring into action.
There was a bulge in his pocket. I stilled, feeling out the shape.
“I’m just happy to see you, Deputy Handsy,” he said. “All this feeling me up is getting me hot.”
“Shut up,” I said, delving into his pocket.
He shifted his hip to the side. “Come on, man. If you want to fuck me, just say so. We don’t have to go through this pretense.”
