I studied her. “Is this all part of your cover?”
For the first time, she faltered. Just enough for me to notice. “No.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said, my hold loosening a fraction on my gun.
“Devlin and I were good together and I want to see what we could have,” she said evenly.
I respected the honesty, especially since she seemed to be playing games with the undercover crap. In addition, I did understand the Lordes motorcycle club, and she would need the respect of the members and their old ladies if she was going to get anything done, especially something dangerous with a terrorist. “I understand your job and the importance of it,” I said quietly as the other women craned their necks to see us talking.
Her smile was a little catlike. “So you’ll stay out of my way?”
Man, I was having problems with the sisterhood these days. I let her see me without the mask of anger. Without anything. “Do your best, Sasha. It won’t matter if I stay out of your way or not.”
Her shoulders hunched as if she were threatening me, and since the women couldn’t see her face, it was probably a pretty good act. “You sound incredibly confident, Albertini.”
I smiled, making sure I didn’t look nice, just in case. “I am. You do whatever you need to do, play games, don’t play games, whatever.” I leaned toward her, and this time, I wasn’t performing for the audience. “It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, at the end ofanyday, Aiden Devlin will choose me.”
Her nostrils flared. “And why is that?”
I reached down, secured the potato gun, and tossed it in my backseat before slipping into my car. “Because I chose him.”
I drovetoward my garage near my peaceful lake, unsurprised to see the Harley sitting to one side. Stepping out of my car, I walked along the petunias I’d planted all around my homey cottage. I rented the guest house of an estate on the lake and loved my little place. Once inside, I caught wind of Aiden on the back deck by the grill, beer in hand.
I dropped my purse on the sofa, walked to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of Cabernet that was open and breathing on the counter, and then headed out into the warm early evening. “What’s on the grill?”
“Steaks.” He lifted the lid, studied the steaks, and then shut it before turning to me.
There was something about a hot guy holding a cold beer bottle. I don’t know why. His black tee stretched across his broad chest, and his faded jeans led to badass motorcycle boots. His dark hair curled a bit beneath his ears and needed a good cut, while his eyes were a deep sapphire blue in the waning sun. “How’s the face?”
“Fine,” I said, taking a sip of my wine. “I don’t think Sasha expected a fight when she punched me.”
Aiden’s cheek creased. “Not everyone understands the danger of the Albertini Three.” He shook his head. “I’ve had more friends text me about the fight than you’d expect. Seeing Tessa and Donna fly through a crowd and tackle people was a new one on everyone.” He moved toward me and ran a gentle knuckle down my aching cheekbone. “I also heard you gave better than you got.”
I knew how to fight. “I tried to stop it, but then it was all too late.”
“It usually is.” He ducked his head to study my lip. The swelling had gone down, but my mouth was still tender. “You keep getting hurt around me.”
“You weren’t even there,” I said reasonably, my body reacting instantly to his. “Sasha wants another chance with you.” Might as well get it all out there and now.
“Yeah. I know,” he said, tilting my head to the side by clasping my chin. “You have a bruise on your neck.” He leaned down to kiss my cheekbone, fat lip, and bruised neck. “You know how much I dislike seeing bruises on you.” Then he kissed them all again for good measure. “I told Sasha that you and I were together.”
“I told her the same thing,” I said, my wounds somehow feeling better just from his kiss.
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “You did?”
“Yep.” I loved how gentle he could be with me.
“To tick her off?” He brushed my hair away from my face.
Surprise caught me. “No. Because it’s the truth.”
His grin showed a rare dimple in his left cheek. “I like you,Aingeal.”
Aiden was as solid as they came, and yet, I still felt the sand shifting beneath my feet with him. He’d saved my life as a kid, and I’d harbored a huge crush on him for years, even though he’d all but disappeared. Then he returned, and we started something fast during several dangerous moments. It was way too early for the ‘where are we going’ insecurities, but I didn’t feel settled.
“What’s going through that big brain of yours?” he murmured, his brogue light enough to compete with the slight breeze.
“Too much,” I admitted. Yeah, I needed to halt my horses and just relax into the moment. Enjoy the moment. We didn’t have to get too serious or too deep right now, so why was I looking for problems? If whatever we had could be demolished by a sexy redhead who couldn’t even aim a potato gun, it wasn’t worth worrying about.
