Just Me (7 page)

Poppy's lips curled into a snarl. “And that only makes me more angry.”

“
And that's what makes you the perfect best friend: indignation on my behalf.”

Her smile in reply didn't quite reach her eyes.

“
Getting angry won't change a thing, Poppy.”

“
No, I know that. It's just, I was thinking about your biological father. I know you've come to terms with never knowing him, but I just wish it could be different for you.”

I wouldn't say I'd come to terms with never knowing my biological father, it was more that I'd learned not to hope or dream about it. There would always be a part of me that longed to know him even if it was just to see what characteristics of his I had inherited. But saying this to Poppy would only serve to worry her, so instead I replied, “Me too.” Changing the subject, I added, “I'm going to Reservoir with Bastian on Friday.”

“
The boy moves fast, but I like him for you.”

“
Why?”

“
He reminds me of you. Totally together on the outside, but I would guess his home life isn't much better than yours.”

I was surprised at how accurately Poppy saw Bastian. “You're right. How did you know that?”

“
I've spent enough time around you to recognize a kindred spirit.” Her smile turned coy. “Has he kissed you yet?”

I thought about our near kiss that afternoon and almost moaned. “He almost kissed me during seventh period. I had just shown him some of my work and he...” Just thinking about the look on his face when he was about to kiss me had my pulse jumping in my neck.

“
He what?”

“
He wrapped my face in his hands and lowered his lips so that they were almost touching mine.” I held her stare and grinned.

She was hanging on my every word. “And you of course encouraged him.”

“
Yep, but then Ms. Whitney opened the door.”

Poppy dropped back down on her stool and sighed. “Man, that sucks.”

“
Yeah, but after he looked at me with the hottest eyes and said ‘rain check.’”

Poppy put her hand to her forehead, “Oh, my dear God, you lucky lady.”

***

At exactly quarter past seven the following morning, the sound of Bastian's motorcycle came from down the street. I walked toward the driveway just as he pulled into it. He reached for the helmet and handed it to me when I approached.

“
Good morning.” He eyed his jacket and mischief lit his eyes. “I like seeing you wear that.”

I flashed him a saucy smile. “I like wearing it.”

Mischief turned into something darker, but he said nothing as I climbed onto his bike. Minutes later we were cruising down the street.

Classes didn't start for another hour, so I wondered, as I had when he first mentioned the time he'd be coming for me, how he planned to kill the time. Just as I thought that, he pulled off the road to a scenic area along the Hudson River. Once parked, he moved me backward until I rested up against the trunk of a nearby tree. He caged me in with his big, strong body, molding my soft curves to his hard lines. Pulling his hands through my hair, he gripped it at the nape of my neck, tilting my head back and lifting my lips to his.

“
Rain check?”

I didn't need to answer—my body answered for me. I melted into him. I felt his breath flutter across my skin, the sweet, spicy scent of him. My lips parted in anticipation as my eyes lifted to his heated ones. His fingers at my neck tightened slightly right before he fused his lips to mine. Desire and lust burned through me at the contact but it was the other feeling that wrapped around me like a blanket, which left me dizzy and breathless. Belonging.

Gently he skimmed his lips over mine and yet my body tensed as desire coursed through my veins. I couldn't imagine anything feeling more incredible but I was proven wrong when his tongue touched the corner of my mouth. Just the tip, soft but insistent, seconds before he ran it along the seam of my lips. I sighed and his tongue swept my mouth tasting me with a thoroughness that caused those damn knees to malfunction. Wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer, he took the kiss deeper. Chills ran all the way down to my toes. The hand still holding my hair fisted gently, his mouth feasting, as his other hand traveled down my body leaving a trail of heat in its wake, settling at the curve of my back where he pulled me hard against him. My mind shutdown as my body took over, soaking up all the sensations that Bastian so masterfully pulled from me.

Sometime later he reluctantly ended the kiss and I was convinced my bones were going to melt from the heat that burned through me. He stroked my cheek with his thumb and I tilted my head into that soft caress. Somehow I managed to peel open my eyes only to see him studying me, and the sensual look he gave me made my body tingle.

“
We should probably get to school or we're going to be late.”

Confused, I asked, “What time is it?”

“
Eight.”

“
Eight?! Where did the time go?”

“
Exactly. In another minute I'm going to say to hell with school and keep you here all day.”

“
In another minute, I'm going to let you.”

He responded to that by kissing me, quickly but thoroughly, before he said, “Later, I'm cashing in again on that rain check.”

Oh hell, yeah.

***

The rest of the day sort of moved by in a blur for me because all I could think about was that kiss. I had been right, Bastian's taste was sinful: sweet with a hint of spice. Knowing myself as well as I did, I could admit that I was in serious danger of becoming addicted to him. I had always thought I was supposed to play hard to get, you know like how you see in the movies and read in books. Be mysterious, make the guy work for it, hold just a bit of yourself back. I wasn't following any of those rules, couldn't even if I wanted to. Being around Bastian, I felt something I had never felt before. Connected. Love at first sight, insta-love, didn't exist. Right? I wasn't so sure anymore. What I did know, that kiss had rocked my world and not just because of Bastian's obvious talent for kissing. As corny as it was to think, Bastian felt like the part of me I'd been missing which explained why it felt so natural to be with him.

I had never felt this way before, so it was very likely I was romanticizing my feelings. And for Bastian, this could just be another day in his life and I was just one girl, in a long line of girls, that he was momentarily interested in. Either way, I planned on enjoying every second I had with him.

***

The day following our smoldering kiss by the river, Bastian found me after the final bell had rung. “Are you doing anything now?” he asked.

“
No.”

“
Come with me?”

Like he had to ask. “Where are we going?”

“
You'll see,” he said cryptically.

A half an hour later we were parking along Main Street of Nanuet, one town over from ours. “What are we doing here?”

He glanced down at me, but his expression gave nothing away. “You'll see.”

I really didn't care where we were going, because being with him was treat enough. We reached our destination: an art supply shop with a large
Grand Opening
sign in the window.

“
I saw this the other day when I came into town for parts. I thought you'd get a kick out of it.”

Art supply stores for me were like shoe stores for other women, I adored them. I didn't need to buy anything, but I loved looking around. Warmth burned through me because he had thought of me when he saw the store.

“
Do you like éclairs?”

His random question took me by surprise and I answered almost without thought, “Yeah.”

“
After you've looked your fill, there's a bakery down the street that makes killer ones.” He flashed those gorgeous eyes at me and winked. “We can share one.”

I actually felt a little piece of my heart being lost to him in that moment, “That sounds perfect.”

***

Standing outside the Wright's home on Friday, I waited for Bastian who would be arriving any minute for our date. Poppy had wanted to dress me, again. I never understood the big deal about clothes, but I had to admit that I understood it now. Not just the clothes, but how it made me feel to get all dressed up, especially seeing the look of appreciation in Bastian’s eyes every time Poppy had her way with me. Yeah, I totally got it now. Tonight I dressed in black, but the wide-leg trousers and fitted sweater were still a far cry from my baggy getups.

Bastian pulled up and climbed off his bike “You look beautiful. Are you ready?” He called.

To spend the evening with him? Absolutely.

***

Reservoir catered to the under-21 crowd of nightclub fans. Several times a month they had shows that featured the local talent. I'd always wanted to come, but I never had anyone interested in coming with me because the music was more industrial, and my friends favored pop. I was thrilled to be there. Especially with Bastian.

Bastian didn't let go of my hand as we made our way through the club. I suspected because the place was packed and he feared I'd get swept away in the crowd.

We found a spot along the wall, away from the mosh pit and stage diving. He pulled me back against him and I loved feeling the hard muscles of his chest against my back and having his strong arms around me. I didn't need to see his face to know what he was thinking because his body practically hummed with it. He wanted me and since the feeling was entirely mutual, I settled deeper into his embrace and tilted my head in invitation. I closed my eyes and savored the sensation that shot down my arms as he brushed kisses down my neck, lingering on the spot—just at the curve of my neck—that brought me chills.

His arms tightened around me before he turned me to him so his mouth could cover mine in a kiss that was slightly wild. My body crushed against his, my hands seeking the warm, bare skin of his back. His kiss made me lightheaded, his mouth pulling from mine way sooner than I wanted. A protest got stuck in my throat when I felt his lips on my collarbone. His tongue darted out and licked my heated skin. I'm pretty sure I moaned in response. He lifted his head and threaded his fingers through my hair.

“
You are so beautiful.” He whispered.

I wanted him to kiss me again, and almost said as much, but Bastian's attention shifted to something just behind me. “My friends are here.”

Friends, what are friends? I was barely able to hold onto a thought. How the hell was I supposed to communicate intelligibly with people? At that moment the best I was going to manage was Me, Lark. Lark like Bastian. Lark like kissing Bastian a lot.

Bastian moved from me and approached three guys, the same ones I had seen at Alfonso's. I watched as they shook hands in greeting.

“
Guys, this is Lark. Lark, Kale, Caden and Duncan.”

They clearly recognized me, because they were giving me the smile: the one shared among guys, the exact meaning of which was unknown to the female of the species.

I attempted to read their thoughts to learn the answer for all of womankind, but was distracted from that when Caden said, “Nice to meet you, officially. Glad you could come out tonight.”

“
Glad to be here.”

For the next two hours it was like I had entered another world. It took only a few minutes for me to get comfortable with Bastian's friends before they dragged me to the mosh pit. I overheated in my sweater, but the sweat, the screaming, the bodies—many of whom were of the guy variety, had removed their shirts—pressed up against each other—it was awesome.

Bastian and I were at our table getting some water when he reached for the back of his sweater and pulled it forward over his head. The sight of his bare chest almost had me choking on my water. The perfect example of male beauty from his pecs to his washboard abs met my gaze, but it was the tattoo of the sapphire-colored dragon with ruby-red eyes, which rested right in the middle of his chest, that held my attention. Before I consciously knew what I was doing, I walked around him to see the body of the dragon wrapping around his side, and the tail travelling down the valley of his spine, getting lost under the waistband of his jeans. My hand reached out on its own as I trailed my fingers over his chest, down his six pack, and around his side to continue the slow journey over the rope of muscle that framed his spine and down that deep groove. How did he get a body like this?

A shudder worked through him in response to my touch. His expression was not one I recognized, but the same couldn't be said of my body's reaction to it, since I experienced it every time I was in his presence: my blood started to burn.

My voice might have cracked due to raging lust when I asked, “The dragon is awesome. Is that the last of your tattoos?”

He didn't answer me at first, just watched me with a seriously sexy expression on his face. He reached for my hand and placed it on his bare chest. “I like you touching me.”

“
I like touching you, but you didn't answer my question.”

He tugged gently on a lock of my hair, “Yes.”

“
No piercings?”

His right eyebrow rose slightly in question, “No, why?”

“
I don't know, it just seems like tattoos and piercings go hand in hand.”