Page 11 of Warrant (The Berserker’s Rage MC: Wyoming Chapter #1)

Warrant

C heyenne was only about an hour away. A long enough drive that I got to enjoy Ainsley’s body plastered to mine, but not so long that she’d be hobbling after the ride.

Riding a bike could be like riding a horse.

If you weren’t used to it, too much time on either could have you walking a bit bow legged.

But there were more options in the bigger city and less prying eyes.

My brothers had already opened up a betting pool on how long it was going to take me to sleep with my sheriff.

Problem was, I wasn’t fully convinced sleeping with her was the end game.

Well, it was. Of course. I was a red blooded male, and she was…

I shifted my mind away from that as my dick got hard. Not the best time to be thinking about all that because I couldn’t easily shift to rearrange my shit. I pulled into a parking lot and cut the engine. “You alright?” It’d still been a long ride for her first time.

“Absolutely,” she said with a laugh. “That was fun.”

Grinning at her, I pulled my helmet off, then helped her with hers.

She was competent enough to handle it, but I liked touching her.

Besides, I needed her to get used to me.

As it was she was shoving my hands away so she could do it herself, not aggressively, just in a ‘I got this’ manner.

She smoothed her hair down and handed the helmet over.

I put my hand on her lower back and guided her into the restaurant.

It was one of those nice places that had dim lighting and small intimate tables, but not one of the kinds that sold you one tiny slice of beef and half a potato made into some fancy mash, along with one sprig of something or other and charged three hundred bucks for it.

This place had the decency to give you a good portion size while they charged you an arm and a leg for it. I hadn’t come all this way to go home hungry. Nothing worse than shelling out a pay check, then having to hit a food truck because your date was still hungry.

“Must be hard to eat out at a place like this when you’ve got your own home grown beef,” Ainsley said, as I helped her scoot her seat at the tiny table that was going to be barely big enough for me to get my knees under.

I sat down and stared at her.

“What,” she asked, her eyes widening a little at my look.

“Marry me.”

“What?” she choked out with a laugh.

I shook my head. “The fact that you understand that…”

She looked relieved at my statement. “Well, I’m sure the beef we had the other night was your family’s, so yours is likely as good,” she said, waving a hand. “And the way your mother cooked it was perfection.”

“Seriously,” I growled playfully. “You keep talking like that and we’ll be getting married sooner rather than later.

” When her eyes dropped to the menu, as if she wasn’t sure she was ready to think about that—the grin spread over my face as I realized I’d made her uncomfortable with the marriage talk—so naturally, I continued, “Yeah. I usually avoid steakhouses because I can make them better at home.” I shrugged my shoulders when she glanced back up at me.

“We could’ve gone anywhere,” she pointed out.

“Next time,” I told her. I needed to impress her the first time out and a steakhouse was something that was difficult to mess up.

Sometimes you brought a girl to a hole in the wall Italian place and they might not think you were putting in enough effort.

Not that Ainsley struck me as the type to think that way.

And if she was, this thing between us wouldn’t be building the way it was.

Fuck. She’s beautiful.

The flickering candle light was shining off her hair as her eyes slid over the menu. I was in such deep shit. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out.

Demo: You on your date?

Quickly, I typed back: Unless it’s club business, fuck off.

Demo: Definitely on your date. Have fun. Maybe she’ll handcuff you…

When I looked up, those stormy gray eyes were on me. “Sorry.” I shoved my phone back in my pocket. “Club shit.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a smile. “I’ll be doing the same if mine goes off.” She tilted her head. “Cop shit.”

I chuckled. “Fair enough. So, what made you want to become a cop? Or who? Dad? Grandfather? Brother?” I guessed.

She laughed. “Uncle. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t him specifically. I always liked to play cops and robbers with my cousins.”

“No siblings?”

“Only child.”

“Oh, boy,” I said with a whistle.

Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

“That explains a few things.”

“Like what?” she asked with an offended sounding laugh.

We paused and gave our orders as the waiter came over. I was impressed that she’d ordered actual food and not just a salad. Too many women were afraid to eat in front of a man.

“Like,” I said as soon as the guy walked away, “the independence, the need to prove yourself to everyone,” I ticked off on my fingers.

The waiter came by and dropped off Ainsley’s salad. I reached out to grab a crouton and she smacked my hand away.

“The inability to share,” I added, looking at her with a mock wounded look.

“I share just fine,” she said, dumping ranch over her salad from the little silver tin they had it in. “Just not my food.”

Chuckling, I nodded. “Sure, sure. I’m just saying-”

“And what about you?” she pressed. “You’re telling me that you being the baby of the family—the apple of your mother’s eye—has nothing to do with the fact that you do whatever the hell you want?” Her lips curved into a smile.

Cocking my head, I considered her statement. “No, you’re probably right that it does. Started everything off anyway,” I admitted. “My brothers used to let me win at everything, so…”

She pointed her fork at me. “So I have them to thank for you being insufferable?”

“Insufferable?” I sputtered with laughter.

“You nearly made me wreck my damn Tahoe. You weren’t even buckled in while in the back,” she said, glaring at me.

“Aw,” I said, dropping my voice down into a lower octave as I leaned over the table toward her. “Were you worried about me, Baby Girl?”

She froze, her fork full of lettuce halfway to that delectable mouth. I wasn’t sure if it was the tone or calling her Baby Girl that made that flash of lust and panic cross her face for a brief moment. “No.”

“No?”

“Just worried about the paperwork if I ended up unintentionally killing a civilian in my SUV,” she scoffed and shoved the salad in her mouth before breaking eye contact with me.

I hadn’t managed to throw her off her game much in the short time I’d known her, but the few moments it happened, I really fucking enjoyed it. Made me want to do it more and more. Made me want to see how far I could throw her off. How fast I could get her off.

Shifting, I reached under the table to rearrange my cock. Just thinking about stripping off that shimmery tank top and those jeans was making me hard as fuck. The boots would need to stay on. I swallowed hard, letting my eyes roam over her.

She was doing her best to ignore me, but I could see the color in her cheeks even in the candlelight. She knew I was checking her out. And that I was appreciating what I was seeing.

I stopped eye fucking her when the waiter came back with the rest of our food.

I didn’t want him seeing her looking so soft and self-conscious.

Eyeing him, I kept watch as he did his job then scurried off.

I wasn’t worried about anyone taking my woman from me, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to pay attention to everyone and everything when she was here with me.

My observational awareness was at peak form with her sitting near me.

I had a clear view of the door and everyone coming and going.

It was a hard habit to break from both law enforcement and the military, not to mention the shit I did with the club and Cypher’s firm.

It was something that would likely never go away.

That was fine by me. The fact that Ainsley had graciously sat facing away from the door—though I know that had to be killing her, just like it would me—told me everything I needed to know. She trusted me.

Which meant she knew more about me than she was letting on. I watched her study folders each night over the cameras I had placed in her house. Sure, some would say that was creepy stalker behavior. I called it good reconnaissance. I was starting to wonder what was in those folders.

It wasn’t going to be long before my curiosity won out. I had plenty of self-control, but didn’t often find it necessary to curb my natural inquisitiveness. Ainsley wasn’t wrong. I pretty much did whatever I wanted.

We talked more as we ate. She told me about her family. I didn’t miss the way her tone softened as she spoke about her mom and dad. We traded stories about some of our funniest cases. I had a shit ton of them, after years of being an MP.

And far too soon, it was time to take her home. The ride was easy and relaxed. The weather was cooperating today. Once we got further into summer those warm temperatures would stick around for a few months. But if she got too cold on the ride that would just be a bonus for me. I could warm her up.

Pulling up to her house, I cut the engine and held out my hand so that she could use me to balance as she hopped off. Not that she needed it. She was graceful as a cat. Completely competent in every move she made.

When she’d taken both Harold and Fred while barely breaking a sweat, I’d damn near fallen in love. She could handle herself. I fucking loved that in a woman.

She grinned at me as I walked her to her door. “Didn’t take you as the gentlemanly sort.”

“I’m not,” I admitted. “Just hoping that maybe you’ll let me get my hands on you.”

Her brows shot up at that. “You really do just say whatever you want to.”

I shrugged. “Say what I want. Do what I want. That’s me, Sheriff.”

She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and leaned against the door frame. “Well, you’ve asked out the kind of girl who doesn’t let men get their hands on her on the first date.”

My eyes were glued to where her tits were shoved up and nearly out of the sparkly top.

Fuck it was hard to concentrate on anything when the top swells were encased by glitter.

It was like a kaleidoscope for an adult man.

Hours of fun. “What?” I asked when I realized the silence had gone on for too long.

She shoved off the door and gave me a sultry smile as she leaned toward me.

Fuck yeah.

Her lips brushed over mine, once, twice, but before I could grab her she danced out of my grasp and shut the door in my face.

I blinked at the wood, wondering if she was coming back. When she turned the porch light off, leaving me in the dark, I figured I had my answer.

I thought about climbing in through the kitchen window to steal that goodnight kiss, but that was probably a second date thing. So instead, I took the hint and went home. Cypher would be so damn proud of me for recognizing a hint in the first place. I was evolving. Sort of.