it pretty much nixed her chances of getting him into bed.
Figures.
“Well, why is it not your custom? Can we do something so it is acceptable for you to sit?”
“I can arrest you.”
When her mouth opened to protest, she noticed his lips twitch into a small smile.
“Someone should have warned me Briel had a sense of humor.”
20
Sitting so close to him, Fallon caught a hint of his scent. A light musk and something that could have been soap made her skin tingle. She couldn’t place the spice it reminded her of, but it was something she could become addicted to if she spent enough time with him.
“Did Mr. Keaton have any enemies?”
Taber’s low voice sent a shiver through her. She could picture him talking like that to her in bed after sex, his low rumbling bass vibrating through her body. Fallon let out a sigh and pushed herself a bit farther away from him.
“He was the head of security on the ship. Of course there were people who were pissed off at him, but I don’t think there was anyone who’d want to kill him. The most he ever did was throw someone in the brig if they had a bit too much to drink.”
“How often would that happen?”
Without meaning to do so, Fallon let her gaze traveled up his body once more. With Taber so close, his size was far more impressive. She had a hard time taking her eyes off his massive legs, and she couldn’t help but wish she’d been able to see his ass, wanting to catch another glimpse at its perfection.
“Ms. Reist?”
Her face heated again as her gaze snapped to his eyes. “Sorry. Umm, usually it would happen a couple of times a week. Lance and I had a pretty good handle on the people coming in, but there are always strangers showing up from passing cargo ships and we’d have a few issues.”
Tilting his head to the side, Taber kept his gaze fixed on her face, but she could tell he was curious about something. Her hair? Without thinking, she reached up and began to play with the end of her ponytail.
“Are there any of these strangers in the bar tonight? Any who were in earlier?”
“No. This crew is most of our regulars. They stop by every few weeks to spend all the money they earned. I can tell you most of their drink orders if you’d like.”
“Not necessary. Do you have a mate?”
Fallon straightened immediately, her mouth hanging open until she made a conscious effort to snap it shut.
“Excuse me?” her voice sounded like a twelve-year-old boy’s as it cracked.
“If Nate paid more attention to you than he should have, an angry mate might not appreciate it. Take action against him.”
“Why would you assume he was killed because of me?”
This time Taber’s gaze moved down her face lingering on her neck and breasts for a moment before returning back to her eyes. He made no effort to hide the fact he’d just checked her out, but for the life of her, Fallon couldn’t tell if he liked what he saw.
“You’re an attractive woman. It’s been my experience with humans that attractive women are not alone and typically have a mate. Human males can be possessive of their females. If yours perceived a threat, he may have acted upon it.”
21
“I’m…” What the hell to say to that? “I’m single. I mean I don’t have a…a mate.”
“I find that unusual.”
Was he flirting with her? Fallon bit the inside of her lower lip, needing the pain to yank her out of her lust-induced insanity. Maybe Zane and Nate were wrong about the Briel. Or maybe she was simply pathetic and seeing sexual attraction when there was nothing but a man doing his job. She really needed to get laid.
“Well, I haven’t had much of a chance to date. Crew members are limited in the contact we can have. Dating co-workers is strictly off limits and the types of customers we get in here aren’t really my type.”
For a moment, she thought he was going to say something else. With him standing in front of her, blocking out the view of the rest of the
Heidi Hunter, Bad Boy Team