Call it a fatal flaw, but it had saved my life on a few occasions.
I ground my teeth and tried to concentrate on the storage closet.
If the storm turned into a blizzard, we might be stuck here for weeks.
I needed to know right now if we had enough provisions to keep us and the neighbors supplied.
That was my job.
Keeping people safe was why Rafe brought me in and why he kept me close.
We were stuck in the clubhouse with Noelle.
Why didn’t that bother me?
I eyed her and Ash from the side, taking in the curve of her shoulder.
My lips burned with the desire to taste her skin.
I suddenly understood Ash’s oral obsession.
Ash flipped the piece of candy across his tongue and placed his hand on the table, palm up.
Noelle threw her head back and laughed, her cheeks stained a dusty rose.
“Hey, Bishop, come join us.” Ash shuffled the cards a second time and flipped them across the table in a fan shape. “You too, Rafe. Noelle’s agreed to play strip poker with us.”
“I did not.” Noelle’s blush deepened.
She smacked the back of her hand against Ash’s shoulder. “I said there was no way I’d win against the four of you.”
“Which means we’ll get to see you naked sooner rather than later.” Ash flicked his tongue against his teeth. “Come on. You want our stories, this is what it takes for me to talk.”
“Sexual favors?” Her nose crinkled in a snarl. “What if I can’t be bought?”
“Then we have a little fun and no one's worse for the experience.” Ash chomped the candy and called out to Rafe. “You in?”
Rafe checked the front door, clicking the lock before he prowled toward the table where Noelle and Ash sat.
Noelle’s gaze followed him.
I shifted my weight, indecision warring between duty and desire. “I need to use the bathroom.”
She leaped up and raced for the back room.
“That doesn’t sound like agreement to me.” I scoffed at Ash.
“Oh, chill out for once, Bishop. It’s just a bit of fun.” Ash flicked one of the cards in my direction.
I snatched it from the air and sent it spinning back. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
Only Rafe did that.
Rafe dipped his head in a slow nod toward Noelle when she reappeared.
I understood the look.
She’d agreed to play as our old lady, but that didn’t mean we had any rights to her body without her full consent.
