Dante (Hell's Ankhor #6) - Aiden Bates Page 0,104

everything I had to offer.

So whenever I’d interacted with Beau over these three weeks—and he was around a lot, since he was handling the case on behalf of the fire department—I couldn’t help but try to flirt a little. See if I could get a reaction, or a rise out of him. And he always responded a little, even if it seemed like he didn’t want to. I could usually get his ears to turn red or his gaze to linger a little too long before he blew me off.

And now, Beau was lingering by his SUV, brow furrowed as he looked at his phone. Since he was distracted, I took a moment to look to my heart’s content—he really was easy on the eyes, especially in this casual uniform: dark, tailored pants and a polo shirt that was so tight it looked like it might tear at the seams if he moved too suddenly. Even the simple action of texting on his phone made the defined muscles of his forearms stand out.

It seemed like Star and the rest of the club had things handled in the bakery for the moment. Honestly, I’d probably get in the way right now more than anything else.

And it’d be the polite thing to do to stop by and thank Beau for his work. Definitely. I was just trying to be a responsible, upstanding citizen.

Earlier, when he’d called me a piece of work, there was something besides annoyance in those gray eyes of his. I knew I had to give it one more shot—and if he still said no, I’d accept my loss gracefully.

But I was also curious about what had him looking so pissy, and I wanted to push my luck a little—one of the traits that got me into scrapes a bit more often than not. So I snuck around the back of his SUV, so he couldn’t see me coming, and peeked over his shoulder at his phone.

You’ve got a plus one to the wedding, the text read. It’s a seated dinner so please bring someone… the place settings are already made.

Beau sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“That hard for you to find a date, huh?” I asked.

Beau started so violently he nearly dropped his phone. I suppressed a laugh and walked around the front of the SUV so we were both near the driver’s side door, where I could see his face.

“That hard for you to not stick your nose in other people’s business?” Beau returned smoothly. He leaned against the SUV, and his gray eyes landed on my mouth, and then slid lower to my chest, before he seemed to remember where he was and who he was talking to and snapped to attention like a soldier. “Did you come over here just to try to read my texts?”

God, he was so handsome. And so easy to surprise, which made it all the more fun.

“I’ll be your date,” I said with an easy grin. “I’m great at weddings. I kill it on the dance floor and can charm the pants off pretty much anyone.”

I knew there was zero chance of Beau ever agreeing to such a thing, but I was getting really fond of watching him get all flustered when he didn’t know what to do with me.

As predicted, Beau huffed with exasperation, but the tips of his ears turned red. “Doubt you’d fit in at this wedding.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down my nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Beau glanced pointedly at the bikes lined up in the street, and then at the soft, worn leather of my jacket.

And, hey, that rubbed me the wrong way. He’d spent three weeks dealing with us—with me—and still thought I was just some rough biker who couldn’t be trusted around normal folk? The club was a huge part of my life, and we weren’t like other clubs. Especially now that we were patching into Hell’s Ankhor.

But my irritation wasn’t strong enough to overwhelm my attraction. I tapped my forefinger to my lower lip like I was thinking, but really I wanted to see Beau’s expression darken as he tracked the motion. And it did exactly that.

“What, you really think I’d wear this to a wedding?” I asked. “You should see me in a suit. I think you’d change your mind just to have the opportunity to show me off. Since I’m out of your league and everything.”

Beau barked a surprised laugh, a low, warm sound that I definitely wanted to hear more of. It was the first time I’d heard him laugh in the entire three weeks we’d been working together.

“I wouldn’t put any money on that, Tru.” He said that, but still his gaze flickered down my body again, a little more intentionally. I wondered if he was imagining what I might look like in said suit. Or what it might be like to take me out of it.

“I’m heading back to the station,” Beau said, gesturing for me to move away from the SUV. “You know how to reach me if you need anything.” He unlocked the driver’s side, then paused, and threw a stern look over his shoulder. “Anything related to the case.”

“Roger that,” I said with a grin. “See you around, Beau.”

“Tru!” Star yelled. “Seriously?”

I jogged back over to (finally) start helping with the cleanup. But I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. From the way Beau had looked at me, I could tell he wasn’t completely uninterested, and I had a feeling he’d be back for more.

And that meant I might be able to convince him to take a little ride on the wild side.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Get ready for Book 7 of my the Hell’s Ankhor Series, Tru.

Available Now!

Tru

Get ready for Book 7 of my the Hell’s Ankhor Series,Tru.

Available Now!

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Dante

Hell’s Ankhor: Book 6

Aiden Bates & Ali Lyda

© 2020

Disclaimer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.

This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).