“Sinners don’t disrespect women. You want to patch over, you adjust the attitude.”
The Devil Dog, his face red, sweat beading on his brow at the possibility his behavior might have just lost his club the protection they clearly needed, apologized profusely to Arianne. Then he apologized to Jagger and each of the Sinners at the table. When he was done, he started again, but Arianne held up her free hand.
“Apology accepted. Now, let’s get some drinks on the table. Jagger, you want to start?”
“You already started something.” Jagger’s voice dropped to a low, husky rasp, and he squeezed her hand, sending all the wrong messages to all the right parts of her body.
“Question is … do I want to finish it?”
She couldn’t tell if he was flirting with her or threatening to beat on the Devil Dog, so she threw the question back at him. “Question is, what do you want to drink?”
“Pad.” He released his grip and held out his hand. Arianne gave him the pen and pad and he scrawled on the paper, then handed it back to her.
Sexy. As. Fuck.
Biting her lip to stifle a laugh, she tucked the notepad in her pocket. “So, our best whiskey and enough glasses to go round?”
Satisfaction glittered in his eyes as he confirmed his assent with the briefest dip of his chin. For a heartbeat, she wondered if he’d been testing her. But did he really think she would give the game away?
Relieved to have an excuse to get away from Jagger’s distracting charm and good looks, she headed back to the stockroom. What the hell was she thinking? Not only was she about to leave Conundrum, but he was exactly the kind of man she’d spent a lifetime trying to avoid: Too powerful. Too confident. Too violent. Too masculine. With the quiet kind of arrogance that came from being in command.
And, of course, he had to be a biker.
She searched the shelves for Banks’s twenty-one-year-old Redbreast. Although not a whiskey drinker—vodka was more her style—but she figured that at $180 a bottle, the selection would satisfy even the most discerning palate. Spotting the yellow label at the back of the shelf, she stretched up and reached for the green glass bottle.
“Hello, Vexy.” Low and rough with an unmistakable drawl, the voice in her ear sent a wave of cockroaches skittering beneath her skin, but not so much as the hand sliding over her hip.
Danger. The warning spiked through her mind, bringing with it fleeting images from the nightmares that haunted her sleep. Dark room, torn clothing, fingers around her throat. Her body pinned to the bed. Helpless. Arianne drew in a ragged breath and tried to stem the flow, but the dam was broken. More images flashed. The thud of a door. Cool, sweet air in her lungs. A roar. The crack of bone. Jeff’s scream. And then Viper.
Gritting her teeth, she forced the memories away. “Leo.” She spat out his name, her nose wrinkling when he pulled her hard against his body. “How did you get in here? Get the hell off me.”
“I’ll get off on you, babe. How would you like that?” He ground his hips into her ass and she almost heaved.
“You’re disgusting.” She grabbed the bottle from the shelf and slid past him, then headed for the door. Last thing she wanted was to be trapped in a room with Viper’s VP.
“And you’re coming with me when you’re done work,” Leo said, following her into the main room. “Viper wants to see you, but he’s tied up till later, so there’s time for a drink.”
He rounded the bar and settled himself on a barstool. Almost immediately, the couple at the end of the bar vacated their seats. But then, Leo always had that effect on people. With his sharp, angular features, unnaturally pale skin, cruel slash of a mouth, and pitch black hair cut long on top, he almost had the look of a comic book villain. But there was nothing comical about her father’s VP. Not even the bulky hoodie he wore under his leather cut could hide the enormous, cruel power of his muscular body.
Arianne didn’t dare look at the Sinners in the corner as she filled a tray with whiskey glasses. Leo had to have come in through the back door leading to the parking lot. He would never have risked a public meeting with the Sinners this soon after the fire. Would Jagger think she was still with the Jacks? How could he not, with her pouring drinks and chatting with Leo at the bar?
Still, she could hardly wait until Jagger saw Leo’s cut. The Sinners were the dominant presence in the bar, which meant no other bikers were welcome tonight. She had no love for Leo, and he deserved what was coming to him.