Tempted (7 page)

“
Hola
,
chica
,” she greets
me.

I slide from the booth, put one arm around
her and kiss her cheek.

“Man…I still can’t get over this kiss
thing.”

“It’s a Miami thing. ¿
Que
pasa
?” I ask as we take opposite sides of the booth.

“Nothing much. Wanted to talk about my
birthday plans.”

She reaches over and snags a few fries from
my plate as I ask, “You decide what you wanna do?”

“My parents wanna have a party, to which
you’re invited, of course.”

“You sure that’s a good idea? I don’t want to
make Chris uncomfortable. It’s his birthday, too.”

I haven’t spoken to him since that night at
Chiquita’s. I’ve tried contacting him a few times with no luck, so
I’m leaving it up to him whether he wants to talk or not.

“You’re my best friend. I need you
there.”

“And I want to be there. I just don’t want to
ruin it for him.”

“You may be right. I’ve never seen him
this…withdrawn before.”

“I hate myself for what I did. It wasn’t fair
to him.”

“Eventually, he’ll understand that you had to
do what’s best for you.”

“I hope so.”

She reaches toward my plate again, and I push
it to the center of the table so she’ll have better access.

“Okay. I won’t push you on the party, but
we’re going dancing after with a few of my other friends.”

“No problem. Where do you wanna go?”

“Scythe. It’s an eighteen-and-over club just
outside of town.”

“And how do you expect me to get in?”

She leans back with a smirk. “Shouldn’t be a
problem since your
papi
chulo
owns it.”

“He’s not –”

“Yeah, yeah…says the girl who spent the night
in his bed.”

I bite my lip and look down at my plate
sheepishly. I haven’t told her about last night.

“What’s that look?”

“I stayed with him again last night,” I
whisper.

“You bitch! Did you have hot, monkey
sex?”

“Hot what?” I giggle. “No, he won’t. Not
until my birthday, even though it’s perfectly legal. The age of
consent here is sixteen.”

“It is? I didn’t know that. So, what
happened?” She asks, leaning forward eagerly.

“We talked and then we slept.”

“What did you talk about?”

“My life before I came here.”

“Oh. So, are you going back tonight?” She
asks.

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“He hasn’t asked. The other night…I was upset
about Chris.” Without even saying a word, I know Gage expects me to
keep quiet about what happened. I know it’s something I can only
talk about with him. “And I was tired. I just fell asleep while he
was having church or whatever with the other members.”

“And last night?”

“Last night, he
asked
me to stay.”

“This guy’s really into you, Ray. The way he
blew up when he walked in and saw you? Shit, I wish someone was
that protective of me.”

‘Protective’ is not the word I’d use, but
hearing from someone else that he cares makes me feel better. “What
about you and Ron?”

Her smile returns. “I think I just might get
some birthday sex.”

“Jesus. Already?”

“You forget I’ve known him practically my
whole life.
And
it’s been a while. I’m tired of my own
fingers.”

“And he’s the one to break the dry
spell?”

“Definitely. He’s just…
fun
…and I know
exactly what I’m getting with him. Nothing like my boring, loser ex
who cheated on me.”

“Like me?”

“Ray –”

“It’s okay. I accept the ‘loser ex’ title. I
deserve it.”

“It’s not the same.”

“It is. But don’t let me interrupt. Tell me
about Ron,” I prod, trying to redirect the conversation.

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay...well...hanging out with him and the
other guys last night, it’s kinda changed my perspective on the
club.”

“How?”

“I mean, I know they’re not saints, but I
know now that they’re not as bad as everyone makes them out to
be.”

“Me, too.”

“And Gage…I had my doubts, but you know him
better than I do so if he’s okay in your book, then he’s okay in
mine.”

“Speaking of books, have you checked out my
Kindle library?”

We set up the Family Library so we could have
free reign of each other’s books.

“Yeah. Saw some new stuff. Why?”
“So, Gage saw me browsing last night and just pops his credit card
out and says ‘get whatever you want’.”

“Shit. He keeps doing that, he’s definitely
getting into your panties.”

I try, but I can’t hold back my smile.
“Whatever. It’s not like that.” Well, not
exactly
like that.
I want him, but it’s so much more.

“What’s it like?”

I take a deep breath, trying to figure out
how to explain it, explain what I feel when I’m with him.

“He’s…complex. He’s smart…
so
smart,
but I think he hides it from most people. It’s like he has two
personalities. One minute, we could be having the most intelligent
conversation and the next, he slips into ‘badass biker mode’ with a
dirty mouth to match.”

She places her elbow on the table and drops
her cheek onto her palm, listening intently.

“He’s kind and strong and protective. I feel
safe with him. I feel –”

“You’re falling for him.”

Am I?
Maybe. “Do you ever crave
someone’s company? Just their presence? It doesn’t matter what you
do. You could be sitting together in complete silence, staring into
space, but you’re just…happy. Completely fucking happy.”

“No. But I’m happy
for
you. I hope
this all works out.”

“Me, too.” She squeezes my hand and gives me
an encouraging smile. “My break is over. I have to get back to
work.”

“No prob. I’ll just go home and check out
those books your sexy, biker daddy bought you.”

“Chrissy –”

“See ya!” She laughs and breezes out the
door.

Millie corners me before I start taking
orders again and ushers me to her office. I follow her, curious as
to what is going on. She closes the door and pulls out a poster
from under her desk.

“I put on a fair for the kids around here
every year at Halloween. I was wondering if you’d like to help
out.”

The poster is from last year but it shows all
the different rides and activities for the kids. It looks like fun
and something I’d definitely want to get involved with.

“Sure, I’d love to! What would you want me to
do?”

“Great! I know you draw. Do you paint? I was
thinking you could do face painting.”

“I can definitely do that. This is going to
be so much fun!”

“Thanks, sweetheart. I’ll get the new posters
printed up and get you all the materials you’ll need.”

“Awesome. Thanks for including me.”

I leave her office and go through the rest of
the day thinking about all the different faces I can paint. This
fair is going to be off the chain!

***

I’m about to go to bed, just after midnight,
when my phone vibrates with a text from Gage.

G: I’m outside.

I quickly throw on a robe over my tank top
and boy shorts and let him in. Lonnie’s working tonight, so I know
she won’t be home until morning. He tips the hood of his jacket
back and gives me a weak smile. He looks so tired. I wonder what
he’s been up to. He hands me a paper bag, and I peek in to see the
pills Dr. E prescribed.

“Thanks. I’ll be right back.” I hide them in
my room and return to see him leaning against the wall, head back,
eyes closed. “Are you okay?”

He turns to me with a weary sigh and pushes
off the wall. His eyes wander over my face as he cups my cheek with
one hand and slides the other through my hair.

“I am now.”

His lips brush mine tenderly and a moan
emanates from the back of my throat. I curl my fingers around his
wrists and move up onto my toes, trying to get closer. I breathe
him in, his scent of leather, cologne, and
him
, going to my
head. His tongue flicks out, licking at my bottom lip, and I open
for him. He slides in with a groan and I catch his tongue between
my lips, sucking gently. His hands move to my hips and I curl my
arms around his neck, playing with the hair at his nape. Growling,
he picks me up, wrapping my legs around his hips. The kiss changes.
It becomes harder, more aggressive. It’s not a passionate frenzy
like before, more like a punishment or a release of pent-up anger.
My lips begin to throb from the force of it, and I can’t breathe. I
fist my hand in his hair and pull back to catch my breath.

“Gage!”

He forces me against the wall and buries his
face in my neck.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it was just...a little intense.”
Intense enough that it’s clear something’s bothering him.
I
knew it the moment he walked through the door. “What happened
today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re off. What did you do today?”

He moves to the living room, sitting on the
couch with me astride him. He looks at me carefully as if deciding
if he should talk to me or not. I wish he would. I can never tell
what’s going on in his head. I need him to trust me, too, to know
I’m here for him when he needs me.

“You can tell me anything, too, you
know.”

“I can’t, doll. Not this.”

I cradle his face in my hands and stare into
his beautiful, blue eyes, now dull with the weight of his troubles.
I need to see the brilliance returned. “I trust you with my life,
Gage. You can trust me.”

He closes his eyes, sinking his fingers into
my hips. I place my forehead on his, pleading, “I’m here for you.
Trust me. You can
trust
me.”

“I
do
trust you, Raven. My world isn’t
pretty. I need to shield you from all the bad shit I do.”

“And I love that about you...that you want to
protect me. But I hate seeing you like this. I wanna help.”

“You can’t.”

“How do you know? Sometimes, just talking can
help. You don’t have to give me specifics.”

“You sure you want to go down this road?
There’s no turning back, Raven.”

I nod and settle into his lap, clasping my
hands at the back of his neck. He takes a deep breath.

“Those guys from the other night. I found out
who they were and why they were after me. We found the rest of the
crew and took ‘em out today.”

“You mean…?”

He looks directly into my eyes, his
expression stoic. “Yes, Raven. I killed them.”

***Gage***

She watches me intently, her head tilted to
the side. I’m anxious to see just how she’ll absorb that piece of
information. Her face is betraying nothing, though, so I have no
idea what’s going through her mind.

“So…there’s no one else to come after you
now?”

“Yeah. Well, no one from that crew.”

She nods, chewing on her bottom lip. I watch
her as she mulls it over in her mind, not looking at me.

“Okay,” she finally says.

“Okay?” I raise a surprised brow. “That’s all
you’re going to say?”

“What do you want me to say? You were in
danger, and you took care of it.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t, but…you’re safe.
That’s all that matters.”

It’s like the weight of the world has been
lifted from my shoulders. All the shit that was dragging me down
before I got here seems light-years away. I’ve certainly never done
anything in my life to deserve a woman like this, but here she is.
Everyone needs someone who can handle their dark side. I’m as dark
as they come and she’s handling it like a champ. There’s only one
thing to do when you find a woman like her – you keep her.
No
doubt about it. I’m going to make her my woman. She’s mine.

“Come here.”

She eagerly presses her lips to mine. I pull
on the knot holding her robe together and push the sides apart. She
lets out a little whimper as my tongue touches hers.
God, I’ve
never tasted anything sweeter than these lips.
I could kiss her
all day, every day, and tell the world to fuck off. I slide my
hands up her thighs and she quivers. Her skin is like the finest
silk; I just want to touch every inch of her. I think back to
yesterday and the sensation I got from feeling her coming under me.
I can’t wait for the day she comes around me when I’m deep inside
her.

She pulls away and rests her forehead on
mine, her breaths coming in little puffs.

“I have…a favor to ask you.”

“Anything,” I say, while trying to bring her
lips back to mine.

“Next weekend is Chrissy’s birthday.”

She whimpers when I snag her bottom lip and
pull on it.

“Could you just stop for a second?” She
moans.

“Okay, okay.”

I stare at her lips, swollen from my kisses,
and make small circles on her thighs with my thumbs. Her eyes glaze
over.

“You’re…you’re distracting me.”

“Chrissy’s birthday?”

“Oh…she…she wants to go dancing.”

“Mmhmm.”

I trail my nose up her neck, inhaling her
sweet scent. “You smell good…like…cinnamon and apples.”

She shivers, her head falling back as I kiss
along her carotid. Her thighs tremble underneath my fingers as she
slides hers through my hair.

“
Dios
…”

I chuckle against her skin. Despite the fact
that my dick is trying to burst through my jeans, I can’t help but
find it funny how easily distracted she is.

“Dancing, baby doll.”

“Mmhmm…at your club.”

“Okay.”

She pulls my head back by my hair and shakes
her head as if to clear her thoughts.

“I was hoping you could get me in…since,
technically, I’m not eighteen yet.”

“That’s all?”