Page 5 of The Auction Block

I tilt my head up as he takes a step toward me. He's a tall son-of-a-bitch. That annoying pull hits my stomach again and I lock my knees to keep from moving forward.

"Mr. Mason, this is Lily Williams. She'll be your personal security."

"Well.” He licks his lips and smirks, the right side of his mouth pulling upward slightly. “It’ll be interesting if nothing else." His voice is low, as he extends his hand to me.

I stand straighter and square my shoulders, trying to use the tension to hide the low roll of shakes that threaten to take over my limbs and swallow the fear that comes with the mere thought of touching his hand to shake it.

"I expect the people around me to have manners," he says, running his tongue along his bottom lip.

"Lily doesn't physically touch anyone, sir. It's nothing personal," Jax whispers.

"Oh, really? And why not?"

"That's none of your fucking business," I snap.

His eyes widen for a moment and then narrow. He steps toward me again, lowering his hand, and my whole body tenses, hands shaking at my sides.

"I wonder if I'll actually be safe with you, Agent Williams." His voice is low and husky.

"Perfectly safe. Providing you can follow orders and not make things difficult." He stares at me, anger and mistrust deep in his eyes. I sigh loudly and roll my eyes. “Look, man. I’m not gonna shake your hand, but I will promise to kill anyone who so much as breathes in your direction in a manner we find threatening. Just behave and don’t give me a headache.”

He laughs and it's a deep, musical sound. "I'll try to behave myself." He winks and turns back toward Jax. They introduce Dresden, and then head over to the table to discuss some details and our pending trip to Baltimore.

I stay back, keeping as much distance between me and this guy as I can.

"You'll have your hands full with this one," Dresden whispers in my ear, startling me.

"Yeah, no shit."

After another fifteen or twenty minutes, Blake Mason leaves the room to head to his family outing with the reassurance that we’ll join him in a few hours. It’s only ten in the morning and I already need this day to be over.

Hyde exchanges a few more words with Jax and takes his leave as well. As Jax walks over to Dresden and I, he shakes his head. “This is going to give me a constant migraine.”

“Not my fault, Jax,” I say, instantly on the defensive.

He smiles at me. “I never said it was, Lily. This guy’s just used to people following his orders. Now he has to follow ours. It’s going to make the entire mission stressful.”

I sigh and tuck a few loose strands of hair behind my ears. Yeah, that’s an understatement.

The helicopter ride from DC to Baltimore is hell, after that the car ride is much more bearable. We're on our way to some wannabe beach in Baltimore County for 'Baltimore's Most Eligible Bachelor'— according to the newspaper— to have his family outing and meet more of the team.

Dresden sits next to me and I shake my head at his change of clothes. God forbid he isn't showing off his biceps and calves. I used to watch him in training, after the team first formed, and think about how stupid he looked.

His strength has saved your ass more than once though.

"Bets that this goes worse than the meeting earlier?" Dresden fishes a twenty out of his pocket. "Any takers?"

"I got twenty says Lily shuts him up real quick." Rhett leans forward, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.

I grin at him. "You just like taking Dresden's money."

"I do. He's terrible at gambling," he says chuckling.

"Fuck you, hillbilly. I make good bets all the time."

"Yeah, like that time you thought you were a better shot than Lily?"

"That was one time, man."