“You sound distracted, Cullen,” my mother muses right before someone punches me in the shoulder.
“Didn’t they teach you over at that fancy CIA school how you need to pay attention when you’re stalking?” My gaze slides up and connects with the stunning green eyes of Esmee.
Her dirty blonde hair is in a messy French braid while it was perfect when she slipped inside the gym over an hour ago, so I’m sure it’s a mess due to her workout.
“I’ll have to call you back, Mom,” I mutter.
“Barbeque. This Saturday, Cullen. No excuses.” The hard snap of my mother’s voice is loud and I’m pretty sure Esmee heard it by the way her mouth twitches.
I’m trying to come up with a good reason why I’m here but I’m coming up empty. Frustration is running through my veins along with a truckload of other emotions and again my gut clenches. I knew it was a bad idea taking this case.
Not only is this woman an enigma, but she’s a distraction when it comes to my own skills. And the last part is something I’ve never encountered. Not with any female walking this planet. I’m always able to do my damn job, under any circumstances.
This little internal admittance makes me realize I don’t owe her an explanation whatsoever. I keep staring at her gorgeous eyes and keep my mouth shut. She raises one of her groomed eyebrows and it causes a smirk to slide on my face. If she thinks I’ll submit to her demand, she’s got another thing coming.
A loud whistle from across the street pulls both of our attention to a burly biker who yells, “Are we going to finish this or what?”
“Or what, Ganza? Because if I come back to finish…you won’t be able to get on your bike for days,” Esmee barks back.
Ganza, at twenty-seven years old, had been a prospect of Broken Deeds MC for a year before he was patched in three months ago. He’s a computer expert who also used to dabble in underground fighting. I know, and have read up on, every single biker of Broken Deeds MC.
“Put your fists where your mouth is, Princess,” Ganza snaps and curls his fingers to wave her over with both hands.
I instantly dislike this asshole and from everything I’ve read about Esmee—and seen over these last few days—I’m pretty sure she dislikes the title “Princess.”
Esmee raises her hand, clenches it into a fist and brings it to her mouth to slowly slide it up and down. Ganza releases a full-blown belly laugh before he shakes his head and slips back inside the gym.
“Nice,” I sneer, judging both the blow job gesture and the interaction with the biker along with the yelling from across the street at each other.
Her green eyes flare and I can tell she’s dying to give me a load of attitude back but instead she takes a deep breath and plasters a bright smile on her face.
“Don’t judge what you don’t understand.” Her eyes slide over me and when they land back on my face she says, “Return to your stuffy job, agent.” She steps away and adds over her shoulder, “And don’t forget the barbeque this Saturday.”
My brain must be short-circuiting as I blurt, “You should come with me to make sure I don’t forget.”
What the hell am I thinking? She spins around to face me, and judging from the expression on her face, it’s clear she’s questioning my sanity too.
She narrows her eyes. “Why in the hell would I come to some social gathering with you?”
“Why not?” I fire back.
By now I’m convinced she’s a huge magnet I’m drawn to. As if pieces of me are chipped off and automatically collide with her. Mainly my working brain cells since it’s clear I don’t have any function left because, really…Why not? How is that going to persuade her to spend some time with me so I can gain her trust?
Esmee is in my personal space the next instant, her scent envelopes me. A seductive blend of pineapple, and a hint of vanilla and something that’s all woman. My whole body is on edge due to this sinful, tiny as shit woman with the perfect curvy ass.
Yes, my eyes were admiring it when she was walking away from me. Maybe that’s the reason I invited her over for dinner because her ass sure is bitable. Shit. I’m in so much trouble.
“I don’t do olive branches when they are coming from a guy who judges without thinking. And if you need me to spell it out for you, listen up.” She inches closer and our noses touch, her hot breath slides over my skin as she says, “I don’t like nor trust you. So, piss off.”
She smells so good and the way her heat and anger flows off of her in waves makes me aware of every damn detail this magnificent woman possesses. In this moment I don’t care about the job or the fact she’s the damn case I’m working on. All I need to know is how her lips feel against mine. The way she tastes, sounds, feels, while I dominate her mouth.
A low rumble rips from my chest, driven by pure lust for the woman who’s caging me in. Her eyes widen a fraction before I see a hint of desire seeping through. We’re stealing each other’s breath while the air around us thickens along with my dick.
Right when I’m a hair away from taking her mouth a harsh voice beside us snaps, “You okay, Princess?”
Without blinking I push Esmee behind me and face Ganza. “She’s more than okay. And if she wasn’t, she’s more than capable of handling herself,” I snap.
“Oh, now you think she’s more than capable when you let your dick do all the talking, huh? How convenient,” Ganza snorts. “Let me enlighten you, pencil-pecker, she’s more skilled than you’ll ever be. But most of all? She’s out of your fucking league.”
Figures. Everything I’ve learned over these last few days rings loudly inside my head. “You should know, wouldn’t you? Seeing she’s surrounded by dicks all the time it might have dulled her senses and make her crave something that doesn’t come attached to a damn bike.” My head turns to Esmee since my words are meant for her seeing she’s the reason I’m here. “I wrote my report about you because it was my personal experience in the matter. If it would have been a normal mission, a fully briefed one up front where you guys were present too, it might not have gone down the way it did. We never would have wasted valuable time exchanging words while being inside. But Broken Deeds MC doesn’t follow rules and regulations. So, yes, I still think you’re damn lucky that baby or more of us were not killed, because the risks you took were irrational.” I snap my mouth shut because I’m about to ramble some more about what she did wrong.
Fuck. Why in the hell did I add the last sentence? I might as well grab a shovel and start to dig myself a hole because I think I just killed my chance to get close to her.
“You don’t know shit, pencil-pecker,” Ganza growls.
Esmee steps in between us. “Ganza, can you get my bag and let my dad know I’ll finish my training with him tomorrow?”
Ganza ignores Esmee and is shooting fire with his eyes and it’s all directed at me. Esmee clears her throat and crosses her arms in front of her chest. The biker’s gaze slides to her and he huffs before he spins on his heels and disappears inside of the gym.
“Cullen Dixon,” Esmee starts as she faces me.
The way she addresses me lets me know she’s putting up a wall between us. It doesn’t matter how we reacted to each other before Ganza interfered. Realizing I have only one shot left, I decide to throw everything in the wind and act on instinct. I close the distance between us and her eyes widen right before my mouth crashes against hers.