Page 3 of The Biker's Last Rodeo
Either I’m the dumbest journalist alive or the most committed, and maybe a little turned on. I mean, who wouldn’t be? The man looks like a storm that doesn’t care I brought an umbrella. Like a wild beast looking for a reason to charge.
Who wouldn’t be turned on by that?
He doesn’t move, blink, or shift at all as I approach. He just watches me like a little lamb he’s already taken over, which does all the things to all the parts of me.
“Nice day for a stroll,” I say, smiling widely. Clearly, I get off on poking big, dangerous things.
He tilts his head and smirks, as though he might be amused. “I wasn’t going to come down here. I have five hitmen looking for you right now.”
“Is one of them like five foot nine with a scar on his cheek? I think I just saw him.”
Duke holds the smirk, but there’s something darker behind it now. “Yeah, I pulled that one off a job in Texas just for the occasion.”
“Ah.” I grin. “So, I’m a hot commodity.”
He stares at me, the smirk gone. “I don’t explain myself to rabbits.”
“Rabbits?I don’t even like carrots.”
“But you’re always running, aren’t you, bunny?” His voice is deep and tangled with gravel.“You run, and you run, and you run, but you don’t get far.”
I smile. I hope he keeps calling me bunny. I like it. “See, you’re trying to scare me, but I’m not scared of big boys.” I step forward and breathe him in. God, he smells good. Like leather and diesel. Like dry dirt and whatever’s in his aftershave.
Masculine. Rough. Wild.
He stares down at me, his voice so deep it rumbles my chest as he says, “Careful, bunny. You go teasing the wrong man, you might not walk away.” He chuckles low, rough, and entirely too sexy for a man who just admitted to sending a small army after me.
I swear the air is vibrating.
He steps closer. It’s just one step, but it’s enough to put my clit on high alert. “So, you gonna make this easy on me, or am I gonna have to chase you?”
I shrug and grin as though his threat is a sexy fun game we’re playing on a Saturday night at home. “I think I might make you chase me.”
His eyes narrow, and for a second, I swear he’s going to grab me. Not to hurt me. No, that’s not his style. Duke’s the kind of man who doesn’t need to raise a hand to make you feel like you’re on your knees.
“You’re not scared of me,” he says, almost like he’s disappointed.
“Why would I be?” My voice is quieter now.
His gaze drags over me like a slow burn. It’s not leering,it’sassessing. It’s like he’s already decided how this ends and he’s waiting for me to catch up.
“You think this is a game?” he groans.
I straighten my back and widen my shoulders, though I’m still no match for the goliath in front of me. “Is it?”
He laughs low and dark, sending a shock of something forbidden straight between my legs. “You’ve been playing games with me for months. Following me around. Spying and writing things down. What were you hoping to find?”
“The truth.”
“You find it?”
“Maybe.” My heart hammers as I speak.
His head tilts to the side, eyes flickering with something unreadable. “I’m going to tell you the rules, and you’re gonna follow them.”
I smile slowly, sure now that I need more therapy. “Oh, I dare you to give me rules, big guy.”
His jaw ticks, just once. And for a second, I think I see something spark in his eyes, something that looks a lot like restraint. “You’re playing with fire, bunny. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
