Page 51 of Gotta Dig Deep
“You put creamer in for me?” Picking it up, she blew a stream of air across the top, then took a sip. “It’s perfect, Horse. Thank you.”
“Okay, for an intro, there’s some info I can’t give you. If it’s club business, it doesn’t belong in this discussion. Except”—he held up one finger—“where it intersects your trouble.”
“And they cross paths?” Given his intro, she was pretty certain of this, but wanted to verify.
“Yeah, in a big way. We’re still trying to sort out what the deal is with the land up here, why these dillweeds would be hell-bent on gaining control of so much of it, but I can confirm that we believe at the seat of it is someone we—the club—knows well. If we’re right, he’s an asshole, and dangerous.”
“How dangerous? I know you said Moorcock was armed, as were the people with him, but are they the shoot-first-and-lie-about-it-later type?” She sat her cup on the coffee table, proud that it didn’t tremble. “Or are they the talkie type?”
“Trust me, if I say he’s dangerous, it’s to my level of knowledge, not yours.”
“Okay.” Glenna pulled in a huge breath, holding it for a count of four before blowing it out slowly. “This is out of the realm of my normal. What do we do?”
“‘We’ don’t do anything.” He plugged those air quotes into the sentence again. “I’ll start—”
“Baannnnt.” She made a buzzer sound, startling Shamu into looking her direction for a moment. “It’s my place, not yours. This isn’t something you’re going to ride off into the sunset to fix on my behalf. Just because he’s someone you know doesn’t make this your problem solo. It’s not a ‘you’ thing, it’s a ‘me’ thing.” She threw in the air quotes to mock him and from the strained expression on his face, he caught the sarcasm. “So you might want to rethink that statement.”
“Glenna, you don’t know these people—”
“I’m gonna keep cutting you off until you listen to me.” Glenna was proud of herself for not shouting, but it was a near thing. “I’m not some dainty damsel in distress waiting for the handsome, hot-as-fuck, hero man to sweep in and take care of the dirty work.”
The muscles along the side of his jaw bunched and she could swear she heard his teeth grind together. He took a breath, not as deep as the fortifying one she’d inhaled earlier, but it was an attempt to keep his anger under control, where hers had been to drive back the fear. Not that she’d admit to the feeling, but it was probably a healthy reaction to hearing someone a hardened biker thought was dangerous was tangled up in her world somehow.
“You think I’m hot as fuck?”
The segue caught her off guard, and her head was bobbing up and down before she could stop herself. “I do.” Her mouth had gone rogue too.
Fuck.
“I think you’re one sexy woman. So we’re clear on this important bit of news, you need to understand the interest isn’t one-sided. Not at all.” He leaned closer. “Doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to do everything I can to keep you out of the line of fire.”
Dammit.
Her mind wanted to stay on track, but her body was clearly in control because the warmth in her middle was in direct response to the satin heat in his voice. Shamu lifted his head again and stared between the two of them, his gaze transferring from one to the other until he got bored and collapsed again.
Focus.
“I’m not going to stand back and let you put yourself in danger on my behalf.”
There, better. Stay focused on the danger.
“Glenna—”
“No, Horse. If there’s going to be a fight over my land, I’m going to be in the middle of it. I don’t mind slinging insults if needed, and I’m a fair hand with a gun. I can’t think it’ll come to that. We’re not back in the wild west. But if it does, then I’ll be ready.”
“Sexy.” The timber of his voice dropped an octave, and she felt the vibration land directly between her thighs.
She realized she wasn’t appalled at herself for being aroused or for being interested in a man. Every day she wished life had dealt her and Penn a different hand, because she’d planned on growing old at his side. But that didn’t happen, and Penn would be pissed as hell at her for not striking out before now.
In the short time she’d known Horse, the feelings had gone from noticing he was attractive, to being attracted, and now it was out-and-out lust. Like they had with Penn, her emotions were moving fast, and she didn’t know if Horse really felt anything beyond reacting to her surface looks, but Glenna didn’t think it mattered. Not right now. The thing was, he made her feel seen. She liked feeling noticed and sought out, and so emboldened with the knowledge that she had his full attention. From her side, the connection wouldn’t matter if it was a one-night stand or a weekend fling. She’d try to take what was offered, gladly, and let him walk away at the end. Their worlds were very different, after all. It wasn’t reasonable to think he’d want such a drastic difference in styles to be his permanent reality.
“I didn’t overstep, did I?” Horse’s chin dipped as his eyes traveled across her body. “I hope not.”
“No, not at all. Just sorting some things in my head.” She fixed her gaze on him. “I’m serious about whatever’s coming, though. If you want to help, we can stand together.”
“Woman, nothing would please me more.”
Chapter Fourteen
