Just His Taste by Candice Gilmer Page A

“I’m lucky like that.”
    â€œNow, shall we go do your little stakeout thing?”
    â€œOh, you’re coming along, are you?”
    â€œSure. I got nothing better to do. And you might need a cover.”
    Jason put his hands on his hips. “I don’t need a cover.”
    She tipped her head to the side. “Listen, call it company, if you want. I’m sure binoculars and coffee gets really boring about 3:00 a.m.”
    â€œThat’s usually when the fun begins.”
    â€œSo tell me why you don’t need me to come.”
    Jason stared. Her bright-green eyes, that red hair and the determination on her face.
    Well, why didn’t he need her to come?
    She might have a point.
    And maybe if she spent a little more time with him, he could figure out why he’d forgotten her so easily.
    Because just looking at her now, he didn’t think he could ever forget her.
    â€œSo, here we are, drinking coffee, and watching scuzzballs go in and out of a strip club,” Ava said, sucking hard on the straw in her iced coffee, making that horrible empty-drink sound.
    â€œMy life is awesome,” Jason replied.
    â€œIf that’s what you think,” Ava replied, chewing on her straw. “Who are we looking for again?”
    Jason tossed his tablet to her. “Samuel Miller. Owner of Stripers over on Broadway.”
    â€œWhat would the owner of the best strip club in town be doing here, at Dollies, one of the crappiest?”
    â€œThat is the big question.” Jason had been wondering the same thing. The guy’s wife was convinced he was sleeping with a dancer at Stripers. Why would he need to frequent another strip bar?
    â€œAnd I see you have no answers,” Ava said.
    Jason let out a sigh. “I know where they are.”
    â€œSo go get them.”
    â€œI didn’t want to leave you alone in the car.”
    â€œAre you kidding? I’m your date,” Ava said. “I can play lovey-dovey really well.”
    Jason glanced at her. “I bet.” That desire he’d had before had been slowly creeping up on him since she’d gotten in the car. Yet he’d kept his distance. So had she, for that matter.
    Probably a good thing.
    She hit him in the arm. “You know what I mean.”
    Was it the light, or were her cheeks turning pink?
    He hated to admit it, but she was probably right. He’d figured out real fast if Miller was still inside he wasn’t coming out any time soon. Which meant that going in would have to be the answer.
    He pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Let’s go. Sooner we get in there, the sooner we can get out.” They both climbed out of the vehicle. The light from the dome jarred Jason for a second and he blinked a couple of times as he got out.
    She came around the car, and he wrapped his arm around her.
    â€œUh…”
    Jason whispered in her ear. “We’re horny, looking to liven up our bedroom.” He nibbled the shell of her ear and felt her shudder in his arm. Yeah, it was cover.
    That was his story, anyway.
    Did he enjoy it?
    Well, only when she let out this little moan as they walked to the door. Jason felt blood rushing away from his brain to his lower extremity.
    Holy moly, this was going to be an interesting night.
    A bouncer looked them both up and down and glanced at their IDs before letting them inside. And for a moment, Jason wondered if this was the right thing to do, going into the bar.
    Maybe they should have stayed in the car.
    God, I’m going to need a shower when I get home.
    Or a decontamination.
    The smell hit him first. Coconut oil meets sweat meets…ugh, he didn’t want to know. Vile was the best he had to describe it.
    And the scene wasn’t much better. A bartender, with more metal in his face than in the creaking bar stools, shook his cocktails in—surprisingly—shiny-clean shakers that shimmered under the strobing light.
    Waitresses wandered