Sly (6 page)

She gave me another swat on the arm and charged back out of the room.
 

 I went to Scarlett. She’d more or less heaved herself into a sitting position. She slid her long legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand.
 

“Whoa there, cowgirl,” I said, getting my hands on her shoulders and gently helping her back down. “Why don’t you take a minute and let Mo come back and do her magic.”
 

“Magic Mo.”
 

“You sure you’re all right?” I squatted down so I had her at eye level. Scarlett’s were clear and focused on me. They were lovely. Hazel. Green with brown and gold flecks. Her mascara smudged a little under her lashes. I lifted the corner of my shirt and wiped gently under her eyes.
 

She smiled and put a light hand on my arm. “I don’t want you to get the impression I need that much saving.”
 

“I’m having a hard time thinking you do. I saw your right hook.”
 

Scarlett’s sultry laugh turned into a belch and I couldn’t help but chuckle. She raised the back of her hand to her mouth. “Did I hit him? I thought maybe I did. Was it a good one?”
 

I laughed. Relief washed over me. Whatever they’d given her seemed already mostly out of her system. Mo was a fucking guardian angel. “I think you broke his nose. I’ve got ’em downstairs in the office. We’ll talk about what to do with them in a minute.”
 

Scarlett nodded and belched again. “You think maybe Magic Mo could also hook me up with some mouthwash?”
 

“We run a full service shop here,” I said. “I’ve got you covered. Bathroom over there is stocked better than a hotel.”
 

“Great.” She put a hand to her forehead. “I don’t know how that creep did it. I never left the bar. Never left my drink.”
 

“I’m going to see if there’s anything on the security tapes. We’ll file a police report.”
 

Scarlett put up a hand. Her eyes went wide. I didn’t know her well enough to read her, but if I had to guess the idea scared her. “Thank you. But won’t that be trouble for you? I mean ...
Green Bluff is pretty small. Wouldn’t something like that make local news or at least get around? That can’t be good for your reputation or the bar.”
 

I shrugged. “That’s nothing you need to worry about.”
 

“Well, all I’m saying is you don’t have to put yourself out, or your business out, on my account. I’m okay. No harm no foul.”
 

 “So Scarlett, huh?” I said. “Seems like you already know it, but my name is Sly.”  My cock stirred as she ran her hands down her hips, smoothing her dress. Shit. Even in her current condition she oozed sex appeal. Her breasts strained a little against the top of her dress and she leaned forward a little, pulling the fabric even tighter. I shook my head and blinked hard. This was not the time to be having those kinds of thoughts. Except it was damn hard not to.
 

“So what made you stop in Green Bluff?” I asked. “Most people just tend to pass through.”
 

“I don’t look local?” She hiccupped.
 

Mo came back carrying a steaming mug of her hangover soup. She narrowed her eyes at me in warning as she set it on the nightstand next to me. With just the set of her stern jaw, I took her meaning.
Hands off tonight
. I shot her a look back.
I’m not an asshole.
 

Mo rolled her eyes and shook her head as she walked out. She left the door to the hallway open.
 

“Is she your mother? She seems like your mother.”
 

I laughed. “Call her a den mother. Mo kind of comes with the place.”
 

I reached over and handed Scarlett the mug. She looked skeptical at first but I tipped the bottom up and she brought it to her lips. Her eyes widened as the warm, soothing liquid went down.  She peered into the mug before she set it back down.
 

“Some kind of Irish witch’s brew?”
 

I laughed and took a seat on the bed next to her. “That sounds pretty fucking close to accurate. Works like crazy though. It’ll clear your head in no time.”
 

I raised a brow at her. I wanted to keep her talking. One, because I was growing to love the smoky quality of her voice. Two, the more she talked, the more she seemed able to shake off the effects of whatever drug was left in her system. “So you didn’t answer the question about what why you stopped in Green Bluff. Not too many new people come in or out of here that I don’t know about. So, you could be visiting someone. Or maybe you’re really just in the market for a ride, like you said. In which case somebody tipped you off that Benny’s is the best place to go in the whole state.”
 

Scarlett nodded and downed the last of her broth. “Boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend. Dragged me out here for some business deal in Sacramento that never happened. We were headed up to Portland afterwards and I wanted to take the scenic route.”
 

“Ex?”
 

She shrugged. “Tired of his business deals never happening so I cut him loose.
He’s
the one who wanted to check out Benny’s on the way up the coast. For himself. I figured getting something for me would be a little piece of sweet justice now that it looks like he’s going to be broke for a little while longer.”
 

“Is that candy red Mustang you drove his or yours?”
 

Scarlett arched a brow at me. “You don’t miss much. No. That was his.”
 

I shot her a smile.
 

“What?” she said. I liked the way her nose wrinkled as she looked a little perplexed.
 

“I’m just damn glad you
do
have a killer right hook. I don’t want to think about what might have happened if you didn’t catch Sawyer’s attention.”
 

She gave me that low laugh again and it set my blood humming. Then she shot me a bashful smile and raised her shoulders. “Girl’s got to protect her virtue somehow. There aren’t always going to be strapping men like you around to rush in and smolder.”
 

“Smolder? Baby, I’m just getting started.”
 

She winked and nodded at me, swaying a little on the bed. “I think maybe you better call me a cab.”
 

 “No chance. You got jacked up in my club. We’ll take care of you. Better than any hotel, just like I said. I’ll get you a toothbrush and something to sleep in.” I had to damn near bite my tongue not to express my next thought. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to see just what Scarlett slept in. What I wanted to sleep in was her. My jeans started to feel uncomfortable and I shifted on the bed.
 

A huge cheer rose up, vibrating through the floorboards. A sure sign that one of our MMA fighters was having a very good night. I pumped my fist.  Scarlett put a hand on my knee. Her eyes searched my face. I don’t know what she was looking for but I hope she found it.
 

“Are you one of the good guys?” she asked. The moment she said it, the color left her cheeks and I had the impression she hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Her eyes searched my face and something haunted her behind them. I wanted to kiss her. Bend her over. Make her stop thinking about anything but me. But it wasn’t right. Not yet. I wanted her sober and begging for it.
 

“Probably not,” I finally answered. She leaned forward a little and cocked her head. I swear I think she was working out whether she wanted to kiss me. Fuck. The things I wanted to do with that mouth of hers.
 

Even with her eyes a little bloodshot and most of her makeup on my shirt, she was gorgeous. Fuck, give me a chance and I’d have her moaning my name. Except if I tried it tonight, Mo would brain me and I’m not that big a dick.  Strong as she seemed to be, those shit heels
assaulted her in my bar. I didn’t need to join their ranks. I curled my fists at my side. She didn’t want cops and that was fine. I’d make sure Colt and Sawyer taught them the lesson they needed to learn in broken bones and a little bit of blood.
 

Scarlett cradled my jaw with a light hand and searched my face with her eyes again. Her brow furrowed but then her face relaxed into a smile. It took every ounce of restraint I had not to pull her against me. But I was careful to let her control everything. She finally let me go, her sweet lips curved into a smile.
 

I bet she tasted like honey and she smelled so damned good. Her full lips twitched. Before I let myself go any further, I stood and went over to the dresser.  I pulled out a t-shirt with the Great Wolves Gym logo on it. I had a clean pair of boxers in here too. I tossed them both to her. She cocked her head to the side, still trying to figure out what to make of me, I think.
 

“Thanks,” she said.
 

“Finish your witch’s brew. Bathroom’s through that door. Get some sleep. I’ll send Mo up to check on you in a little bit. I’ll stay right across the hall tonight if you need anything.” I made a note to kick out whatever prospect was currently crashing there.
 

“I think maybe you’re not who I thought you were, Sly Cullinan,” she said. Scarlett tilted her head to the side again. Something behind her eyes gave me pause. For a moment, she seemed so small and alone sitting on that bed and I wanted to go to her. And I had the feeling she wanted me too. Not yet though. When her head was clear, tomorrow maybe. She held the folded t-shirt to her nose and inhaled the fresh smell of bleach.
 

I snorted. “You don’t really know me yet, Scarlett. Stick around though. I wouldn’t mind letting you find out.” I crossed the room, shot her a wink and closed the door quietly behind me.
 

I leaned the back of my head against the door. I was going to make it my mission to see that she got to know me very, very well.
 

Chapter Six

Scarlett
 

Sly filled the doorway for a moment before he left me alone. His eyes sparkled with warmth but an undercurrent of lust. He was big and broad and he smiled, flashing white teeth and a killer dimple. For just an instant, I had the urge to ask him to stay. It would have been so easy. If I was another girl living another life, what would that be like? He smelled clean and good, like leather and wood soap. He’d carried me with strong, solid arms, cradling me.
 

Dammit. I’d let myself get careless. How in the world had I let my guard down long enough to let one of those assholes slip something into my drink? It could have ruined everything. I’d put myself in a position where the Great Wolves M.C. had to come to my rescue.
 

But I didn’t need saving. Had never needed it. Everything that had happened in the last hour was an illusion and I couldn’t let myself forget it. Sly Cullinan wasn’t a hero or good guy. He was an outlaw. A criminal. If the rumors I’d heard were true, he was also a killer. Even if they weren’t true, I knew who he was. Who they all were. The Great Wolves M.C. had a ruthless reputation for serving as henchmen for one of the most notorious organized crime families in the country. Thugs. Enforcers. Their hands were dirty. In my eyes there was no difference. They could pretty themselves up and hide behind this bar and the gym club, but I knew it was all a front.  Kagan, Cullinan, they were all the same. I couldn’t let myself forget that no matter how much I liked the curve of his ass in his weathered jeans.
 

And here I was in the center of their den. It wasn’t how I worked. I worked clean. Precise. Surgical. If I did my job right, a mark never knew I was there until the bullet went right between their eyes. I didn’t talk to them. Didn’t introduce myself. I was no one. A phantom. And I sent every last one of them to hell. Murderers, drug dealers, rapists. Though my clients paid me big money to take care of them. I did society a favor by wiping them off the planet one by one. And it was almost over. So the Cullinan job might get a little messy, but he was number ten and the payoff could put a nice exclamation point on my career. I could do this. I had to. Except the idea of putting a bullet through Sly’s head and watching those blue eyes go out forever sent a chill through me like I’d never experienced on a job before.
 

Sly’s clothes sat neatly folded next to me. I could just get up and leave. I
should
just get up and leave. Every instinct I had told me this was going down all wrong. Being here at all,
talking
to Sly at all broke the first rule my brother had ever taught me. Never get close to a mark. Never listen to anything they have to say.
 

But how to extricate myself without drawing more attention than I wanted? And if I insisted on Sly driving me back to my hotel in the morning, that might give me my best shot yet to finish this job within my self-imposed twenty four hour window. I leaned back. The bed looked soft and inviting with oversized down pillows and a fluffy comforter. A red and white crocheted blanket draped over the top. I ran my hands over it. Was this Mo too? Who does this? Who lives like this? This place felt homier than other biker dives I’d been in.
 

I picked up the t-shirt he’d left for me. It was crisp and white, folded with military precision. I wondered what that would be like. Having someone else do your laundry and fold it
for you. Someone to bring you soup just because you felt like shit. I brought the shirt up to my nose. It smelled like him. My heart fluttered as I inhaled the clean scent. Even with the bleach, there was still a trace of leather from his ever-present cut. No, that was something you could never wash out.
 

God, he was good at pretending he was something he wasn’t. Strong and chivalrous even though I knew he wanted to bend me over the bed and fuck me. I had to be better at pretending if I meant to finish this job. But the thought of
letting
him bend me over and fuck me set my pulse racing. His blue eyes were full of sin and promise when I kissed him. Why on
earth
had I done that? What would it be like to just let go for an hour ... for a night?