“Sure,” she said.
Yeah, I wanted to know why the fuck she was at my house. I’d get those answers soon enough. The key right then was to keep her there and keep her as calm as I could.
My mind raced as I walked to the kitchen. I set up some coffee and then turned, leaning against the sink. Ava had helped herself to sitting on a barstool at the island.
She was looking around, assessing the place.
“What is it?” I asked.
“You’re a bad guy.”
“Says who?”
“The law.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
“And you live in a normal house.”
“Maybe I’m really good at saving my stolen money.”
Ava swallowed hard. “Or maybe something else.”
“Maybe my great aunt had the house and passed away. Maybe I was the only one left in the family to help her out and make arrangements for her. Maybe as a thank you she left me the house in her will. And maybe, just fucking maybe, I took the house and made it my own.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Sorry,” Ava said. “I shouldn’t judge. I’m far from perfect myself, right? Look at my family.”
That’s right, sweetie, lead yourself into it…
“So I find it funny that I saved your ass and now you’re in my kitchen. I’m not going to play a cat and mouse game, sweetie. I go forward, full force, whether I’m in the kitchen or in the bedroom.”
I loved adding that little snippet at the end because it made Ava’s face blush.
“My father is scared,” Ava said. “He wants you to protect me.”
I laughed. “For what? A favor?”
“I don’t know…”
“So here’s the way I’m looking at this thing. I look at you and you’re fucking beautiful. After I pick my jaw up off the floor, I realize you’re working at a shit hole grocery store. A store that has no business of being open. Then I find out your old man is running something out of the back room. He’s got a guy in a suit beating on him as he’s offering cash. You’re telling me you know nothing about that?”
Before Ava could answer, the coffeepot gurgled.
“Think about it for a second,” I said.
I turned and grabbed two coffee mugs. I filled them and then walked to the fridge. I grabbed the milk and slid it across the island. Then I got Ava some sugar. I stood with my coffee, black, and blew into the mug.
“Thanks,” she whispered as she prepared her coffee.
I studied how she made it.
Why the hell did that matter?
She sipped the coffee and let out a sigh. “Much better than my father’s.”
“You live with him?”
“No. But I stayed there last night. He was really drunk. And he had me scared.”
“Because of Frank?”
“Uncle Frank, yeah.”
“Uncle?”
“I don’t really think he’s my uncle,” Ava said.
“I know about that guy,” I said. “I can help you if you help me.”
Ava sipped her coffee some more. “Look, Jace, I’m not sure what to believe right now. I was just helping at the store.”
“That’s your story?” I asked.
“That’s the truth,” she shot back at me.
I drank my coffee and stared her down. I put my mug on the counter and stepped toward the island.
“And you expect me just to protect you? For what?”
“You protect the town, right?”
I grinned. “I thought we were bad guys?”
“You are. But that’s not always a bad thing I guess.”
“So what do you want me to say? Offer you some food? A shower? A bed? Put my life on the line for someone I don’t know?”
“When you say it like that…”
I made fists and put them on the island. “Let me be very clear, sweetie. The only reason I saved your ass yesterday was because it benefited my club. You want a shower here? I’ll be right behind you, fucking your sweet pussy until you come. You want a bed? You’ll be in my bed, under my command.”
“Is that your offer?” Ava asked. “If I sleep with you I can stay here?”
I gritted my teeth. She was definitely bold. And her beauty just poured off her. I could tell her hair was pulled back quick. No make up on. Her dark eyes oozing with fear. I normally didn’t look at a woman like that, you know?
“I don’t make offers,” I said. “I make orders.”
“Then make an order,” Ava challenged.
I walked around the island. Ava started to lift the coffee mug but I put my hand to her wrist and stopped her. I then put my hands to her waist and forced her to stand. She was nervous but going with me as I walked her to a wall. I pinned her against it, staring down into her eyes again.
“You’re a fucking liar,” I whispered. I brought my lips down to hers, gently brushing against them. “Want to know what I do with liars?”
Her bottom lip shook. “What?”
“I kill them.”
chapter twelve
(ava)
NOW
My blood had been boiling as Jace touched me. A surge of wetness crept between my thighs when his lips touched mine. But then he spoke and I went cold. Frigid cold.
His grip tightened on my waist.
I grabbed his arms.
He was thick with muscle and tattoo. His eyes were a dangerous green color.
He meant what he said.