Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) (18 page)

“He beat the shit out of him,” Anna says, wrinkling her nose. “His hands were all busted up. They didn’t mention whether the dude was alive or dead, but I’m assuming alive.”

“Do you realize how casually you just said that?” I whisper, blinking furiously. I raise my voice. “You’re all fucking . . .”

“Badass?” Lana supplies, shrugging her shoulders.

I lay my head on the table and groan, until I realize something else. “What else did you guys hear? I have no idea what’s going on in Rake’s mind right now, and I’d love to know. Is he sleeping with anyone?”

They both suddenly look extremely uncomfortable.

“Who?” I growl, my lips tightening to a thin line.

Anna shifts on her seat. “I love you to death, Bailey, but Rake is my brother, and I really don’t want to be in the middle of this one. I think you need to ask him yourself.”

“There’s no way to do that without sounding like a psycho. Hey, boyfriend from high school who I’m only friends with now, who the hell are you fucking and why do I want to claw her eyes out?”

“I call total bullshit on the friends thing,” Lana says, pushing her hair off her face. “There’s wild sexual tension every time you two are around each other. In fact, I based one of my new sex scenes on it.”

“Agreed,” Anna chimes in. “Everyone can see it. You’re both meant to be together, and it’s just stupid that you both keep torturing each other like this.”

I sigh heavily. “I need a drink.”

“You need to have a proper talk with my brother,” Anna says.

“He’s not ready,” I say, and realize that I truly believe that. “He’s still hurting, and he’s not ready to even consider a future
with me. He won’t see what’s right in front of him: that I’m his. No matter what. He’ll never find someone who’s more right for him than I am.”

Anna and Lana don’t know everything that happened back then, and to be honest, I don’t want to talk to them about it, which means they don’t understand just how complicated the situation is. All lines between Rake and me are blurred. Our past is messed-up, and our emotions are all over the place, yet there’s still something there, no matter how much we’ve both tried to deny it. Something, connecting us together. We can fight for it, to make it work, to strengthen the connection, or we can let it go and try to find it in someone else.

I want to fight, but I want him to fight too. There’s something we share that’s worth it—what we could have been if fate didn’t get in the way. The happily ever after that was stolen from us. It’s not going to be easy, but I think that in the end, we could get something back that we lost. Each other. The love we had. Maybe it’s a lost cause, but there’s a fine line between love and hate. After seeing him, seeing the sadness in his eyes, it’s like the coin flipped. I don’t want to hurt him. I want to heal him.

“Don’t let him know there’s going to be a future,” Lana says, grinning wolfishly.

“What do you mean?” I ask, resting my chin on my palms, giving her all my attention.

“Sometimes men don’t know what’s best for them,” she starts. “Why don’t you just tell him you want him? Be honest. He’ll get hooked, lines will get crossed, and before you know it, you’re on the back of his bike and the only one in his bed.”

My eyebrows rise. “That’s terrible advice. You’ve been writing one too many romance novels.”

Anna nods her head. “I think you should just be honest. Tell him how you feel.”

“If he doesn’t feel the same, it’s going to hurt,” I say quietly, looking down at my hands. “We might not get the happy ending. And I don’t want to play games with him. I just wish he could see what we could be.”

“Sometimes you have to play games to win. Nothing worth it comes easily, Bailey,” Lana says gently. “Just ask yourself this: Is he worth the gamble? Is he worth the chance of a broken heart? He either is or he isn’t. You’re either going to fight or you’re going to give up on the two of you ever being back together.”

“Will you always be wondering ‘what if’ if you don’t try?” Anna adds, green eyes sparkling. “You could end up having everything you were meant to have, Bailey. The love of a man who was meant for you.”

Lana looks at Anna. “Fuck. That line is going in a book.”

“Copyright,” Anna replies swiftly, grinning at her best friend. “You use it, I’ll get Faye to sue you.”

Lana rolls her eyes, then turns back to me. “What do you say? You going to officially join our crazy bunch?”

Am I going to put myself out there like this? Make the first move? Convince him we’re worth fighting for?

Fuck.

I am.

Fuck the past, it has no place here in the present. I don’t need the typical happy ending. I just need Rake.

I swallow. “Where is he right now?”

W
E
find him at Rift.

The place is closed, only employees walking around the club, except for Rake, who is sitting at the bar alone, pouring his own drinks.

She puts her hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “Eye on the prize.”

I stare at Rake’s muscular back. “Right.”

Anna grimaces, then shakes her head and smiles. “Fucking awkward when the prize is my brother’s penis.”

“Anna,” I growl.

Neither of them leave.

I sigh. “I’m calling in my favor from winning the drink competition. Please leave and don’t be nosy about anything that happens here tonight.”

“Fine. I’m going,” she says, putting her hands up. “Good luck.”

I watch her leave and then sit down on the stool next to Rake.

“No bartenders on duty?” I ask, staring at the bottle of Scotch. “Can I have some?”

I need it.

Desperately.

He turns to look at me with furrowed brows. “What are you doing here, Bailey?”

Feeling a little nervous, I take his glass and swallow a gulp. It tastes horrible and burns my throat, but I manage to swallow it.

I start to take another one until he gently takes the glass out of my hand. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

I notice his hands then.

Raw knuckles, swollen and looking extremely painful. He sees where I’m staring, then hides his hands under the bar.

“Bailey,” he continues. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, how am I supposed to fix it?”

I look into his beautiful eyes.

“Everything is okay. I just wanted to talk to you. We haven’t really spoken much since that day,” I shrug, licking my lips.

I want you.

Let go of the past.

Be mine again.

“Do you ever regret the past?” he asks, not looking at me. “Do you regret dating me at all in high school?”

“No,” I say instantly, the truth pouring from my lips. “I don’t regret anything, not even the bad things, and especially not you.”

“How can you not regret the bad things?” he asks, now scanning my face.

I exhale, thinking of the best way to explain this. “I guess if something changed, I wouldn’t have Cara, would I? And she’s everything to me, so I can’t have any regrets, because my life led me to having an amazing daughter.”

Rake nods, his eyes going soft. “She’s amazing because she has an amazing mother.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, then clear my throat. I gather my courage, and say something the younger me would have said. “So here’s the thing. I want you, Adam.”

“Bailey—”

“I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life,” I continue as if he hadn’t spoken. “I don’t care about what happened between us; I’ve let everything go, and so should you. And I’m not asking for much, just the chance to be with you again.”

“Fuck,” he says huskily. “Bailey—”

I put my hand on the center of his chest. “Don’t even think. Do you want me? It’s just you and me. No one else is here; nothing else matters. It’s just your energy and mine. Do. You. Want. Me?”

There.

I put myself out there, for him to either claim or reject.

The next move is his, and if he doesn’t want me, at least I can say that I tried.

He studies me for a few seconds that feel more like hours.

We look into each other’s eyes, unmoving, until finally he stands, the stool falling onto the floor, the noise breaking the trance.

He steps closer to me and puts his hand around my waist. “I’ll always want you. That’s not the issue here.”

Well thank God for that.

I reach up on my tiptoes, and I wrap my arms around him, and I kiss him like I’m starving for him.

I don’t care who’s watching.

I don’t care about anything except that his lips are on mine again.

That his tongue is dancing with mine.

That in this moment, no matter how fleeting, he is mine.

He slants his head and delves in deeper, his hands pulling me closer into him. I can feel his hardness pressing into my stomach, which turns me on even more, fuels my desire for him.

Why did I wait so long for this?

This is a fucking great idea.

Rake lifts me up in the air, and I wrap my legs around him. He walks with me into the VIP room, the same place we first saw each other after all those years. Closing the door behind him, he lays me back on one of the black suede chaise lounges and looks down at me with a hungry expression, his eyes heavy and his mouth a little swollen from our kiss. He’s about to say something when I lift myself up and kiss him again, cutting off whatever he was going to say. He makes a sound deep in his throat and pushes me back into the lounge, his hands cupping my face.

Are we going to have sex right here?

Surprisingly I’m okay with that. I just want him inside me, slow and deep, right now.

I lift up his shirt and run my hands up his smooth back, closing my eyes as he starts to kiss down my neck. My breath hitches as he undoes the top button on my white shirt and kisses the cleavage it reveals.

Another button.

And another.

Fuck.

He exposes my black bra, then pulls down the cups, revealing my small, pebbled nipples.

“Fuck, I’ve missed these,” he grits out, before his mouth is on them, gently sucking and licking.

My back arches. I want more. I want everything.

My hands tangle in his hair and pull gently on the short ends.

“Rake,” I pant. “Please.”

I’m not above begging.

“What do you want, baby?” he asks softly, plumping my breasts together, licking one nipple then the other. When he finally pulls back to unzip his jeans, I’m so wet that I can actually feel how damp my panties are.

“I want you inside me.” I breathe heavily, watching as he pulls out his hard cock.

Fuck.

Yeah, I didn’t remember it being so big.

No one else I’ve been with even compares.

He pulls a condom out of his wallet, and I push away the fact that he always has one ready and waiting. Right now isn’t about that; it’s about us finally enjoying each other, reuniting, without letting anything else get in the way.

No thinking, only feeling.

He slides my pencil skirt up my thighs, and pulls down my panties, admiring me for a few seconds before he spreads my legs and dips his head.

“Need a taste,” he murmurs to himself, tongue peeking out as he licks my center with one long, deep swipe.

Holy. Shit.

“Just as good as I remember,” he says, before lowering his head again and eating my pussy. I lift up my hips, grinding myself into his face. Does he want me to come right now? Because I am going to come. I lick my dry lips and cry out as the orgasm
hits, making me whimper in pleasure and slam my head back into the soft couch, my eyes squeezed shut.

“Adam,” I creak, his real name falling from my lips without thought.

He moans, his fingers tightening on my thighs as he continues to worship me with his mouth. I reach my hand down, threading my fingers through his hair and lifting his head up with a tug.

“Please,” I beg, looking him square in the eye. I want him inside me, now. It’s been too long without him. The other men I’ve been with don’t even count anymore because they don’t compare to him in any way or form.

“Fuckin’ hell, Bailey,” he grits out, holding his big, hard cock in his hand, tearing the condom package open with his white teeth and rolling it down his length. He looks at me as he slowly pushes inside of me, and I look back, my heavy-lidded eyes on him the whole time.

When he’s all in me, his mouth slams down on mine the same time he starts fucking me, one of his hands tugging a handful of my hair, the other softly cupping my cheek. The mixture of the rough and gentle gesture, of his perfect kisses and his cock hitting all the right spots, has me more turned on than I’ve ever been in my life, the intensity of the moment stealing my breath away. I moan into his mouth, my nipples rubbing against his chest, the added friction having me on the verge of coming again. He removes his hand from my cheek, lifts my legs over his shoulders, pulls me toward him, and reaches down between us to play with my clit as he continues to slide into me, now deep and slow.

“So fuckin’ perfect,” he says between clenched teeth, green
eyes full of lust. “So many things I want to do to you. You have
no
idea.”

I sure as hell want to find out.