Page 43 of Devil's Marker

Her eyes jerked to his and she laughed. “You got me, Garrett. This is the first time anybody’s ever called me a dick.”

“I’m findin’ that hard to believe.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

“If you say so.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“Did you ask a question?”

“Forget it.”

“Not on your life.”

“You’re kind of on the complex side for a biker, aren’t you?”

“Guess that depends on your opinion of bikers.”

“Let’s just say you’re nothing like my dad.”

“I don’t know him that well, yet, but I’d say that’s a fair assessment. This is good.” Win put the last bit of raw fishy goodness in his mouth and smiled at R.C. while he chewed. “You want to take me back? Or you want to show me your condo?”

Win motioned for the check while he waited for her answer.

“You’re not afraid of my pop.”

“Should I be?”

She laughed. “Well, yeah.”

He leaned into her and said, “Why? You gonna tell him I fucked you stupid all afternoon at your pretty condo?” Her face went blank and he watched her throat move as she swallowed. She shook her head. “Yeah. Well. I’m not plannin’ on tellin’ him either. It’ll be our secret.”

She swallowed again and nodded while he was thinking, What the fuck are you doing, Win? Jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, that’s what. Adding a whole new level of jeopardy to an already crazy dangerous situation.

But all the while he was chastising himself, he knew there wasn’t any price he wouldn’t pay for an afternoon of delight with R.C. Greer. He had to confront the fact that he was already fucked stupid and he hadn’t even touched her.

Before she opened her car door, he pulled her into a brief kiss. He didn’t want to make a spectacle with a public display. He just wanted to deliver a preview of what was to come. He’d intended to tease her soft mouth with a touch of lips and a little brush of tongue. What happened instead was that he was hard as nails and stopping to adjust himself in his Levis on the way around the car to the other side.

When he got in, he could see that she was just as breathless. So she felt it, too. That jolt of electric connection that said, “Hey. This isn’t your usual hookup. It’s somethin’ else.”

Her hands were shaking slightly and he could see by the rise and fall of her chest that she was breathing harder than usual.

“How long?”

“Um,” she glanced his way as she started the car, “to my place?”

“Yeah, darlin’. To your place.”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Gonna be a long fifteen minutes. You got condoms? I didn’t come prepared.”

“Uh, no, I told you. I haven’t been dating.”

Win’s heart softened when he realized what she was saying. “How long’s it been?”

“Two years.”