Page 10 of The Auction Block

"I don't fucking think so." I smile.

He looks at me, shocked. Taking advantage of the moment, I barrel toward him and drop, sliding across the grass, knocking his feet out from under him.

"Shit!" He topples to the ground hard.

Something shiny flashes in the corner of my eye, and Blake gasps. I turn my head as Vlad slashes at me with his hunter's knife.

"Cheater!" I roll out of his reach.

"Always," he says readjusting the knife in his hand.

I get to my feet and block Vlad from getting to Blake. He lunges, bringing the knife inches from my face. I wrap the middle of the whip around his arm and twist, bringing my foot into his side. He drops the blade and staggers back as I release him.

I dip down, grab the blade and stand as they both lunge at me. I flick the whip again, tangling it around Vlad's neck, dropping him to his knees. Dresden moves for Blake and I bring the knife up, stopping him short, pressing the metal against his throat.

"Jesus Christ," Blake whispers behind me.

My eyes lock on Dresden's, a sinister smile on my lips. "I win."

"Well done!" Jax booms from across the space. "Well done, indeed."

I lower my hands and turn to untangle the whip from Vlad's neck. I step back, giving myself some space. Blake's heated gaze meets mine, his eyes dark and intense.

"Well . . . I think I'll sleep sounder now." His voice is full of wonder, amusement . . . and something else.

I give him my trademark sly grin. "See, I told you my smart mouth was the least of your worries."

As the sun sets, Blake is finally ready to leave the beach and head to his apartment in the city. As head of security, I ride in his truck and decide to bring Rhett with me. I'm quiet, as he backs out of the parking space and heads for the exit. At least he's put a shirt on. Rhett is almost a ghost in the backseat, and I only know he’s there because I can see him out of the corner of my eye.

I tap my thumb against the door in an effort to occupy my nerves. Being this close to someone is panic attack worthy. It's different with the team. They don't know about my history, but they know my limits. Rhett isn’t stupid enough to reach up here and try to touch me. However, Blake doesn't know anything about me and I'm not in the mood to lay down the law, so to speak, so I'm praying he doesn't do anything stupid like try to touch me.

I glance over at his profile as he murmurs the words to the song playing on the radio. My stomach tightens. He's actually . . . handsome.

Fuck, stop it!

"I expected you to be more of a talker." His deep voice commands the space, shattering my concentration.

I raise one of my eyebrows. "You shouldn't make judgments about people, before you know them."

"You seemed to have a good amount to say earlier."

"You pissed me off. I'll endeavor to ignore your arrogance more often." I turn my face toward the window.

“Just wait until you get to know her,” Rhett says with a chuckle.

“Shut it, smartass,” I snap causing him to fully laugh.

"Arrogance? Now who's being judgmental?" Blake glances between the road and my face.

I huff and whip my head back toward him. He's leaning toward me, his arm resting on the center console. Involuntarily, I mimic his posture.

He smells . . . wonderf— Stop that!

"You come across as arrogant." It takes all my concentration to sit back in my seat.

"There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, Agent."

"Yes, there is. You flirt with it."