Page 14

Emma

Why on earth had I agreed to this? For one thing, I hadn’t bothered to grab any dresses when I’d been home.

Didn’t exactly think I’d need them, bunking in with a biker and all.

When I mentioned it to Ace, though, he’d sent one of the minions over to my place to grab some dresses and my pitifully scant array of shoes.

I eyed up my three choices they’d brought back. In their defense, I only had four dresses, and the prospects had brought three of them back along with all four of my pairs of shoes. I picked up the green sheath and held it up in front of me.

Nope. It made me look like a cucumber on steroids.

Not sure why I’d never turfed it. The pink one was out as well.

A typical bridesmaid dress, it was much too frothy for a dinner date.

That left the sky-blue cocktail dress with the back pretty much missing.

I’d never actually worn it anywhere outside of the house.

It showed a little more skin than I was comfortable with, but if I could come up with a sweater or a wrap to wear over it, it would suffice.

If the man expected to be dazzled, he needed to give me more than a couple of hours to get ready. Hanging up the chosen dress on the back of the bedroom door, I headed into the ensuite to fluff and buff as best I could in a strange bathroom.

An hour later, after some serious primping, I was ready.

Butterflies fluttered in my gut. Why, I’m not sure.

This was Ace. I’d known him forever. He’d seen me with pigtails, with mud caked on my clothes, and probably worse.

Hell, he’d seen me naked less than twenty-four hours ago.

So why was I nervous about seeing him with my hair and makeup done properly and a pair of three-inch heels?

Because you like him, and you want him to see you as something other than his little brother’s playmate , whispered the demon on my shoulder.

Well, we’d done the horizontal nasty already, so I doubted he saw me as a kid anymore, but the little demon was right. I liked Ace. A lot. Maybe more than l should.

This was different than the crush I’d had on him as a kid.

He made me feel safe. Secure. I couldn’t think of when I’d ever felt this comfortable with another person.

And that was the problem. I’d worked so hard at getting out of the crappy neighborhood I’d grown up in, getting on the path to a degree and the possibility of feeling I belonged in the respectable community.

I couldn’t just throw all that away because my knees went weak when I saw Ace’s eyes darken with lust.

Was there a way to reconcile my world to his? Did I even want to?

I grabbed my purse and headed to the living room. I intended to enjoy tonight. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry about reality.

“Wow!” Ace scanned me from head to toe. “You clean up good, babe!”

“As do you.” In clean black jeans with a button-down shirt stretched tight across that massive chest, Ace looked downright classy. Even the leather cut didn’t distract from the look.

“Do you wear that everywhere?” I gestured at the leather vest.

“Yup. It bothers you?”

I shook my head. “No. But it might be a problem if we’re going somewhere fancy.”

“It won’t. The owner is a friend of the club.”

I digested that in silence. He’d said somewhere fancy, so I’d assumed it wasn’t related to his club. The fact that the owner was chummy with a motorcycle club had me curious as to exactly where we were going. “So not Red Lobster?”

Ace hooted with laughter. “Red Lobster isn’t even close to this.”

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

He smirked. “Nah. I’m having too much fun.” He turned to open the door, and I glimpsed a shoulder holster under the cut.

“You’re wearing a gun.”

He raised one brow. “Problem? I have a permit for it.”

“I’m just not used to going out with guys who carry on a date.”

“Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.” He stopped and turned to me. “You do know I’m a biker?”

I blushed. “Point taken.” Somehow, the gun made the whole situation a little more real. As if the wound on my side wasn’t enough of a reminder.

He opened the door with a flourish. “After you.”

“Such a gentleman!” I slid into the passenger side of the truck. “When do I get to see your bike?”

“When Joker says your side is healed enough.” Ace circled the front of the truck to climb in the driver’s side. “Until then, you’ll have to make do with the cage.”

“Cage?”

“It’s what we bikers call cars and trucks. You are surrounded by metal, in a cage. As opposed to being free to feel the wind whistling past like you do on a bike.”

“Oh.” I suppose that made sense. In a twisted sort of way. “What kind of bike do you have?”

He looked over at me and waggled his brows. “A big one.”

I laughed. “You are incorrigible!”

“Is that a really big word that means sexy?”

“No. It’s a really big word that means smart-ass.”

“So, you’ve noticed my ass?”

I had, but I wasn’t about to admit it. I turned my head to look out the window. “I don’t recognize this part of town.” It looked like one of those old areas that had been gentrified to garner top dollar on the real estate market.

Ace slanted a look at me. “Change the subject much?”

“When it suits me.” It was my turn to smirk.

He pulled the truck into a parking lot beside a big old brick building. I looked around but couldn’t see anything resembling a restaurant.

“We’re going to picnic in the parking lot?”

“Nope.” He came round and held the door open for me.

“So?”

“Wait and see.” He elbowed the door shut. Sliding an arm around my waist, he led me across the parking lot to the back of one of the buildings. Concrete steps led down to a door at basement level. Throwing a mischievous look at me, he knocked on the bulky oak door.

* * *

Ace

Emma couldn’t look more tempting if she were standing beside me stark naked.

That little blue number she had on covered a minimal amount of skin while hinting at the delights to be had when I managed to get her out of it.

Standing behind her, I could see all the way down her naked back, and the flared skirt dancing across her buttocks was just begging me to slide my hand under it.

Fuck, did she do this on purpose just to tease me? My cock had been in a semi-permanent state of erection ever since she’d stumbled into my house.

Had it only been a few days ago?

Within moments, the door was opened by Stanley, an old buddy from my military days.

Dressed in black pants and waistcoat over a white button-down shirt, with a bow tie to finish, he looked like a butler out of some damn movie set.

It kind of worked here though. Made the place seem classy.

Hard to believe he’d been the one of the best hand-to-hand combat veterans less than a decade ago.

Bowing low from the waist, Stanley beckoned us in with a sweep of his hand.

Emma tilted her head, sending me a quick look before preceding me inside. I wasn’t sure if that look meant she was impressed, or wishing she’d knocked on someone else’s door that night.

The entryway was dimly lit and opened into a hallway decorated in old world elegance.

The flickering lights on the wall were reminiscent of the gaslights in vogue at the turn of the century.

Stanley and his partner, Geoff, had done a good job of staging the place.

Geoff was a renowned chef, and this was their dream come true, to work together in an upscale restaurant that catered to a few select customers at a time.

Stanley led us to a room at the far end of the hallway. A real wood fire crackled in the fireplace, casting a flickering glow over the rich decor. The walls were painted in a muted green, with expensive looking landscape pictures hung at strategic spots.

The table, clad in crisp white linen, took center of the room, with two plush chairs arranged around it.

Set with sparkling crystal glassware, gleaming silver utensils, and delicate bone China, it screamed high end quality.

A fresh floral arrangement held two tapered candles, giving the room a romantic touch.

Holy shit. I turned to Stanley and caught the faintest hint of a smirk on his expressionless face. He hadn’t been kidding when he said his place would wow my new lady.

I gave him a discreet thumbs up, before turning to pull out a chair for Emma. Pacing to the opposite side of the table, I sat down. “Impressed?”

Her eyes went from the artwork to the perfectly set table. “It’s beautiful. Seems a little upscale for someone in your line of…” She hesitated, “Work. How did you find it?”

“Stanley here is an old Navy buddy.” I inclined my head. “Stanley, meet Emma.”

“Delighted.” He swept an approving look over Emma. “About time this old dog settled down. Would you like to start with something to drink?”

I decided to ignore his assumption that we were a couple. It actually felt good. I glanced at the bulge under Emma’s scanty dress where the bullet wound was bandaged. “Did Joker say not to mix the painkillers with alcohol?”

“He didn’t say, but probably safe to steer clear.” She smiled sweetly up at Stanley. “Nice to meet you. I’ll just have a glass of sparkling water.”

“A beer for me please.”

By the flicker of disapproval on Stanley’s face, I got the feeling most of the patrons did not order beer. “Very good, sir.” He turned and glided out of the room.

Emma looked around, nodding her approval at the elegant décor. “What is this place?”

“It’s known as The Cellar. I had to call in a favor to get us in on short notice. It’s reservations only, and they book weeks in advance.”

“Well now it sounds expensive.” She lifted her head and inhaled deeply. “Not sure what that is, but it smells wonderful.”

I loved the way her feelings showed on her face. “Whatever Geoff cooks, I’m sure it will taste great. And you are worth every penny.”