Page 5 of Bastard

I just barely held my laugh in when I saw Colin scowling at us. “You still seeing Rita?” She was a waitress at our steakhouse.

“Nope.”

“What happened?”

He shrugged, walking back to the poker table. “I ain’t got time for serious, ya know?”

My headache came screaming back. “Yeah. I know.” Lyla appeared with my whiskey. She winked at Riddick then left giggling when Colin and Dani lost their shit. “She’s teasing them on purpose, isn’t she?”

“Fuck yeah. Get these two riled up and then drag them to bed where they can get it all out?”

Oh…fuck I was out of the game.

Which made me remember I had a naked woman waiting for me.

2

After I got my meetings lined up for tomorrow—just before the brothers got too drunk to pick a time—I sped (by way of dropping my bike in a dark alley and switching to a car) to the rented house on Davis Islands. It was really close to the clubhouse, making it fucking convenient, but also fairly private and secure. Dombrowski liked that there was only one way onto the island by car and an airport on the other end so Sam could fly in and out with maximum privacy, just a few steps from the house.

The mini mansion was sandwiched between two other mini mansions. On one side we had the asshole owner of the Renegades, on the other, some important television executive who flew in and out constantly.

I whistled as I stepped inside and looked right out at Tampa Bay. An impressive architectural design feature I’m sure was supposed to shock and awe because I was shocked and appropriately awed. With Home Run and Storm headed out to get my bike and take it back to the clubhouse, Sam and I had the place to ourselves.

“Sam?” my voice echoed off everything.

Out the back of the house I found a terrace that took me down to the infinity pool. “Sam?”

“Over here!”

To the left of the pool was a series of trees and bushes that led down the side of the house. I heard the sounds of water just before the greenery gave way to stones and an outdoor shower. And there was my beautiful Samantha, still naked, and smiling.

“Well look who finally found his way home.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me under the water beside her.

I didn’t care that my clothes were all wet now. I had a naked woman pressed up against me. “How was the pool?”

“Oh, fun. You know how it is.”

“Boring after a little while?”

“No.” She pushed me toward a bench. “It was good to float. Just relax and let all my muscles relax.”

I took out my phone and wallet, patting the dampness away, then peeled off my wet shirt, draping it over the bench. Getting my boots off was harder. “That sounds really nice.”

I took in the very sexy view as she stood in front of me and didn’t flinch away when she took my face in her hands. “No one knows I’m here.”

That wasn’t technically true. Dombrowski knew. Georgia knew. Storm, Riddick, and Home Run knew. But that was it. I had Dombrowski handle these arrangements so there’d be no chance anyone else on Sam’s team would know where she was. “And?”

She sighed. “And relax. You’re so stressed I’m afraid you’re going to break. Come on.” I let her boss me around because it was cute. She got me naked and then directed me to a raised part of the pool that had steam coming out of it. “This is the spa part of the pool.”

As I climbed in, jets came on, making the water ripple and bubble. I had to admit, it was hard to hold onto my stress with painfully hot water forcing my muscles to relax.

Sam sat across from me. “Just soak for a few minutes. Let everything go. I’m not in danger, no one is tracking me down, and club business is done for the day.”

All technically true. I wouldn’t mention that there were actually hundreds of people trying to track her down at this very moment, but 99.9% of them were amateurs who wouldn’t figure it out no matter how hard they searched the internet and compared conspiracy theories.

“Why aren’t we getting eaten alive by mosquitos?”

Sam shrugged. “My guess? The rich people around here pay a lot of money to keep them away. Plus there’s a pretty good breeze tonight. Skeeters don’t like wind.”

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