Page 3 of My Enemy Biker

"Not just 'club business we don't want to explain.'"

"No."

"You're the intelligence officer. You'd be the one calling?"

"Yes."

She's quiet for five seconds, pen tapping that rhythm again. Looking for the lie she thinks is coming.

She won't find one because I don't lie about terms, lying creates complications I don't have time for.

"Fine," she says finally. "Emergency use with immediate notification. Non-emergency requires twelve hours."

I nod.

She makes another note. When she leans forward to point at something on the survey map, her tank top shifts and I can see the curve of her breast, the weight of it. The softness of her stomach where her body folds slightly as she bends.

She glances up without warning. Catches me again. This time something flickers across her face before she looks back down.

Awareness, maybe. Or irritation that I'm distracted.

"Liability coverage," she says, and her voice has dropped slightly. "Club carries insurance?"

"Yes."

"I want documentation."

"You'll have it."

"Before the easement is finalized."

"Okay."

She shifts in her chair and I catch her scent, something clean and simple that makes me want to lean closer.

"This section here." She taps the survey map. "Where the road crosses, there's a drainage issue. Water pools after rain. If you're running heavy vehicles, that'll get worse."

I lean forward to see what she's indicating. Now we're close, three feet between us instead of the table width. I can see her pulse jumping at the base of her throat. Fast. She felt that same pull and is pretending she didn't.

"Drainage can be addressed," I say. "French drain, gravel bed. Fix it permanent."

She's still leaning forward. So am I. Her eyes drop to somewhere around my jaw, then back up. Quick enough she maybe thinks I didn't notice.

I noticed everything.

"Compensation," she says. "Fair market value for easement rights. I checked comparable rates. Two thousand annually."

"One thousand."

"Fifteen hundred."

"Done."

She writes it down but her hand isn't as steady as it was earlier. I can see the slight tremor in her fingers.

We're arguing over property law and both of us know that stopped being what this is about ten minutes ago.

She leans back deliberately, creating distance. "Is there anything else you need in the agreement?"