“There was no need for a pissing contest,” Dawn said. “Doug understands that I just want to be friends. I’ve made it clear to him on several occasions.”
“Ha.” Cade barked a laugh, and they descended the concrete stairs to the main level under the watchful gaze of Cade’s police escort. “No man understands when a woman wants to be friends. All a man hears when a woman says that is, ‘I’m not gonna fuck you right now, but maybe later.’ That’s why he hangs around. For a guy who isn’t getting some on a regular basis, ‘maybe later’ is a chance not to be missed. Not that I’ve ever had that problem.”
“Of course not.” And she would be wise not to forget it. Cade wasn’t a one-woman man. But what if he was? What would it be like to be with Cade? She amused herself as they walked down the sidewalk, imagining how many jobs she would have to go through before she found a boss he deemed acceptable, and how many sheriff’s deputies he would cow into submission with the fierceness of his scowl. And then she imagined how it would feel to be under the Sinners’ protection. Jimmy would never have dared take her children if he had to face Sinner justice. Nor would he be able to threaten her ever again.
“I thought we were friends,” she teased.
Cade stopped and pulled her to the side after they exited the station. “Aside from Benson, any of your friends want to fuck you?”
“Um … no. Not that I’m aware.”
“Well, I do,” he said. “Means we’re not friends.”
She tugged him forward. “So what does that make us?”
“Still trying to figure that one out.”
The light turned green and Cade led her across the street, his eyes darting from side to side as if he expected a vehicle to blast through the intersection at any minute. Always keeping me safe. He probably had no idea how much those small gestures meant to her.
“The police can’t help you,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “You got a biker problem; you got to deal with it the biker way. Look what happened when you got the courts involved in your custody dispute.”
“Easy to deal with things the biker way when you are a biker. Not so easy when you’re a civilian.”
Cade slowed his steps and stared at her, his face thoughtful. For a moment she wondered if he was thinking of asking her to join the MC, but when she saw his bike parked in an alley near the bus stop, she figured he’d been leading her this way. Always in control, but in a subtle way. She liked it. Maybe too much. She didn’t have to sweat the small stuff when she was with Cade. But what if he took that control too far, the way Jimmy had? She had learned the hard way that in the biker world no one would be there to help her.
“You don’t have to take the bus to work.” He gestured to his bike. “I could give you a ride.”
Dawn’s lips tipped at the corners. “Last time you gave me a ride, we wound up in your bed.”
“That was a good night.”
“A very good night.” She turned to face him. “But it’s almost dark and I have to work tonight, so I think the bus is my safest bet.”
He stroked a warm finger along her jaw. “You’re probably right. Made me hot when you told me ’n’ Benson off in there. Don’t think I’d be able to take you to work without a detour.”
“Are you joking?” She gave him a quizzical look. “I thought alpha male bikers who show up in police stations and do everything except pee on the floor to mark their territory wouldn’t like being told to stand down.” Her cheeks flushed, but she wanted to know. Was he really so different from Jimmy?
Cade pulled her into the alley beside his bike and wrapped one arm tight around her waist, rolling his hips against her. His erection pressed into her stomach, and she bit back a moan.
“Does that feel like joking?” He licked his lips and stared down at her. “I don’t joke about serious things. Painful things.”
Dawn leaned her forehead against his chest and laughed. “Well then, I’ll try not to call you out in public again. I wouldn’t want to cause you any more pain.”
He cupped her jaw in his warm palm and tilted her face up until she met his gaze. “That kind of pain I can take.” His voice dropped, softened. “When it’s ’cause of my sexy girl.”
She was ready for his kiss. Knew it was coming before he lowered his head. And as his lips touched hers, she threw caution aside and pressed up against him, twining her hands around his neck to pull him close so she could feel every inch of his hard body against hers.
“Christ, you’re so fucking hot,” he murmured against her lips. “You’re like a fucking drug. All I was thinking about at the police station was how sweet you’d look naked, and bent over Benson’s desk with my cock in your pussy.” He deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking firmly inside, devouring her. Dawn’s body flamed, sweat trickling between her breasts, and she pulled him down for more.
“I love it when you talk dirty.” She ground her hips against him, pushing him deeper into the shadows, seeking even the smallest bit of friction where she needed it the most. “Talk dirty some more.”