Free Hell for Leather: Black Knights Inc. by Julie Ann Walker

wire. A lone fist-sized red, white, and blue outline of the state of Texas with a star in the center covered the hard muscle over his heart. And maybe it was because she’d been raised around a bunch of rowdy bikers, but she always got a little weak in the knees when confronted with badass tattoos inked into tough, tan skin.
    Put it all together, add a pinch of I-haven’t-been-laid-in- way -too-long, and what did you come up with? A big ol’ dollop of yeehaw, cowgirl! with a side of wanna take a ride?
    And, yes . She’d been wanting to do exactly that for a very, very long time now. In fact, she’d been—
    Really, Delilah , that pesky little voice piped up again, we’re back to that? Back to swooning over an emotionally unavailable man? And have you forgotten about your uncle?
    Well, sonofa —No, no… of course she hadn’t forgotten about her uncle. In fact, now that the adrenaline had worn off, now that she’d gotten past the part where she was running around—as Mac would say—like a chicken with her head cut off, she was horrified to discover that deep down, down where she didn’t want to look, down where things got dark and scary, she had a very bad feeling that she was never going to see Uncle Theo again.
    And just skirting around the very edges , the thinnest, farthest borders, of that possibility made her heart contract so hard it sat in her chest like a black stone of terror. She didn’t realize she’d spoken her fear aloud until Mac threw an arm around the back of her chair and dragged her close to his side. It was also then that she realized her blood was running colder than the dry ice she used in the zombie cocktails she mixed up each year around Halloween. Because Mac’s big body felt hotter than the surface of the sun where it touched the freezing skin on her arm, and his sudden nearness chased away the chill and instantly started a fire burning low in her belly. Despite the fear strangling her heart, a soft ache pulsed between her legs.
    Yup. Way too long since I’ve been laid…
    “That’s not true, Delilah. You’re gonna see him again,” he told her, his blue eyes flashing fiercely, as if the sheer force of his will alone could make her believe his words. And honestly, looking at him stoically sitting there while Steady shoved a two-inch needle filled with some sort of numbing solution into his other side, she had to admit, it kind of, sort of, maybe worked. Because if anyone could find her uncle, it was Mac. The former all-star FBI agent with a backbone of iron and a mind like a steel trap.
    Then, of course, there were all the rest of the Knights…
    Sucking in a deep, bracing breath, she glanced around the conference room. Ozzie, Becky, and Zoelner were seated at the computer bank, typing furiously, scouring phone records and military archives for any clue that might lead them to her uncle and this Charlie guy. They were also combing through city surveillance footage for a glimpse of Mr. Timberlands. And, Jesus , how in the world was she ever going to pay them back for this?
    How in the world was she ever going to pay Mac back for this?
    He’d been the one to set the others on their tasks, and he’d done it all with the calm authority of a man who’d been down this road countless times before, a man who had the situation well in hand.
    She wasn’t used to having to depend on anyone for anything. But she was glad she could depend on the Knights and, more precisely, Mac, for this. And since she didn’t know how she was ever going to pay him back, she reached beneath the table to squeeze his knee and gave him the one thing she could…
    Leaning forward, she went to place a soft kiss of thanks, a friendly kiss of thanks, on his whiskered cheek—holy hormones he smelled good—but at the last second, he turned his head and her lips landed directly atop his.
    Sweet sonofa —This was a mistake. Not what she’d planned at all. But even so, she didn’t want to pull back. Mostly because