Wild Heart- Extended Edition (The Wild Heart Series) (10 page)

“Ok, I’ll tell her. See you in a few.”

“Be ready,” his words were deep with mixed meaning, as though he meant to be ready for more than just their arrival, but that was something she could only hope for.

She rushed as she hung up the phone, throwing it into her small bag and grabbing her shoes. “Kate!” she yelled out toward the front of the apartment.

“What?” she answered between sips from her beer.

“They’re here, but you gotta call the gate guard. I guess they aren’t letting them in.”

“Shit! I forgot to let Joe know. See, this is why I live in a gated apartment complex. Just in case,” she picked up the phone and called down to the guard.

Ani slipped on the ankle high boots she had stolen from Kate’s closet and shoved the rest of her stuff into the small duffle bag she’d brought. She had no idea where they were going or how late they would be out.

“They’re here,” Kate sang out in excitement, peeking out from the curtains to the parking lot below. “Come on, toots. It’s time to get this show on the road.”

There was a mix of anxiety and nervousness in her gut as she stepped out of the front door. She felt like a little girl again, standing on the edge of the river bank as her dad coaxed her gently from the water below. The jump seemed like miles to the water, when in fact it was nothing more than a foot or two. She draped her small black clutch across her chest and followed Kate to the elevators. There wasn’t going to be any hesitating tonight, she was going to gather her courage and jump down into the water below and let it swallow her up.

Kate spoke excitedly as they rode the elevator down, only stopping to put on her lip gloss and fix her strawberry blonde curls in the reflection of the elevator door. Her flowing sequined shirt reflected tiny specks of light with the animation of her hands as she spoke. One last ding of the elevator and they were heading into the parking lot.

Walking toward the two black figures she heard a familiar whistle and smiled. There was something about the way Knox made her feel sexy, that caused all of her cares to go out of the window. Little did she know that tonight would be the first night that she’d actually learn to live. After years of planning and thinking about how her life should go and where she should be, Ani would learn tonight that merely existing wasn’t living life at all, but that letting yourself run a little wild was the first step to truly living.

KNOX

Knox hung up the phone and nodded at the gate guard, who eyed them suspiciously as they drove into the parking lot and around to where Ani’s truck sat. He had brought Rage, his oldest friend, his VP, and the one person he knew he could trust with his life. The irritation in Repo’s voice still resounded in his head; angry that he’d left with only Rage, knowing that they’d been having trouble with the Renegades for the past few months. Knox didn’t want this night to be about the club, or who was trying to throw a temper tantrum for not getting their way. He could protect himself, been doing it for over thirty years.

He kicked out the stand and propped his bike up onto it, leaning sideways as the door to the apartment elevator rang out across the parking. He looked up and caught eyes with Ani’s, she was sexy and her posture and expression showed the confidence she felt. He could see the hunger in her eyes, the unspoken longing that he had for her, reflected brightly back at him in her glowing hazel eyes. Those eyes. They were the kind of eyes that could strike fear into the heart of a man if they turned away. The kind of eyes that would cause your stomach to drop when they fluttered from your touch. She didn’t have to speak, he knew from the look she was giving him that the same thoughts as his own, were flowing throughout her body and he would be damned if he denied her anything she wanted.

As long as those eyes were consuming him, she could have everything she wanted, right down to his soul.

ANI

“Damn, darlin’,” Knox stood up from where he was propped against his bike.

She came up to him and spun a quick circle, smiling from ear to ear. The way his eyes lit up when he looked at her made all of her insecurities melt away. She could already feel that this was going to be the beginning of a great night.

“Knox, this is my friend Kate. Kate, this is Knox,” she giggled as Kate curtsied toward the two bikers.

“Fuckin’ glad I came with you, brother,” the other man said.

He was as tall as Knox and carried the same deep Irish accent. His hair was cut short and jet black. His bright blue eyes were on Kate as she walked over toward him. He tugged at his black leather cut that hung over his light blue plaid shirt, as Kate stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

“You must be my ride tonight,” Kate flirted.

“I will be anything you want me to be, darlin’.” his eyes were flamed with desire as Kate ran her hand down the length of his seat.

“For now, we’ll just call you,” she paused as she thought, “Tonight. Fair enough, bad boy?” Kate’s eyes were fierce as she looked up at the handsome biker.

“We’ll see, baby. Might be calling me that for the rest of your life though,” he said smugly. “By the way, I’m Rage,” he said as Kate climbed onto the back of his bike.

Oh yes, they’ll get along just fine.

Ani looked back up at Knox, “So, where are you taking us?”

“Can’t tell you that, love. It’s a surprise.” He stepped closer, putting a helmet onto her head and snapping the clasp together under her chin. His fingers grazed slightly down her neck, sparking the livewire in her stomach once more.

“I love surprises,” she smiled up at him.

He straddled his motorcycle and stood it up, taking one last deep breath she climbed on behind him. It was too late to turn back now.

“Good Lord, woman. Do you think you picked a short enough skirt?” His eyes flashed down to her legs, spread as she sat on the back of his bike, then back up, “I’d rather
that
be for my eyes only.”

Her first reaction was to cover up, but instead she scooted as close to Knox’s back as she could. “Guess, I’ll have to sit close then,” her voice a husky whisper, filled with the craving she had for the man her arms were wrapped around.

His eyes were on fire as he turned back and cranked his bike. She’d only rode on a motorcycle a handful of times as a child. One of her uncles had owned one; and when they would take trips to the reservation, she would beg him to take her for rides. She felt the vibration of the engine flowing through her body as she wrapped her arms around Knox’s waist. The sun was starting it’s decent over the top of the mountains as they pulled out of Kate’s apartment complex, smiling wildly at Joe the gate guard. He shook his head and smiled as he opened the gate for them.

As the wind whipped through the hair dangling free from her helmet, she embraced the feeling as if she were flying. There was something primal about being on the back of a motorcycle. It was trust between you, the driver, and the machine. It was the wind blowing through your hair without care of where it drifted to. It was about laying down hard on the gas and just driving.

They pulled out onto the main road and headed north. They would be passing through Coker Creek and Ani could only hope that she wouldn’t be recognizable on the back of Knox’s motorcycle. It was a small town and it wouldn’t take long for that kind of gossip to make it around a time or two. It had only been a few weeks since she’d been back home and she didn’t want to be the center of attention more than she already was.

They cruised up the highway through the humid early evening air, the trees becoming a blur on each side as the bike accelerated. She leaned into Knox’s warm body with each swirling turn, smiling when he reached down and placed his hand on top of her own that rested on his solid abdomen. Ani looked over at Kate who was beaming on the back of Rage’s bike. It had been so long since she had Kate to confide in and having her here tonight seemed to make her world feel complete.

With each tight turn of the mountainous road, she felt her body getting closer and closer to Knox. Her skirt had practically come all the way up her legs, only a small piece of black fabric wrapped around her hips on each side. The sensation of the vibrations caused all of her senses to go on high alert. She could feel her nipples growing harder each time Knox hit the throttle, causing her hips to grind against him. His hand left the one she had placed against his hard stomach, starting at her knee it traveled back toward her lacy panties. He tilted his head back toward her and her eyes told him that she hungered for his touch. She dug her nails into the skin at his stomach as he trailed little circles around the outside of her panties. She felt as if she were a bomb that would detonate at any moment.

She tried to restrain herself, but as he slowed enough to let Rage and Kate go ahead of them, she felt as if it were just the two of them along the long stretch of tree-lined highway. Her hips slowly moved back and forth toward his hand as she grasped against his chest. Five years. It had been five damn years since she’d been with a man; five years since she’d felt the sensations of a climax racking throughout her body. She wasn’t sure how far Knox was going to take it; she could only hope that she would be able to hold on until he was done.

His fingers slipped inside of her panties, lightly flickering over her sensitive clit. She leaned her head against his back as she panted out onto his leather cut. The wind was so loud against her ears that it stirred together with the soft moans that were escaping her mouth. She closed her eyes and absorbed every wave that floated through her body. She could feel her body giving in and she gripped tight against him. Just as her body was tipping toward her climax, he slipped his hand away. Disappointment and need flooded into her body at the sudden parting of his touch. His eyes glanced back at her with a wide smile; she blushed as she looked back at him. Wondering briefly why he had stopped, but as the question entered her mind they flew into the main part of Coker Creek.

She tried to adjust her skirt down as they passed by the shops and stores of the main strip. It only proved to be useless as it rode back up. At this point, she could only pray for green lights the rest of the way through town so that no one would have the chance to see her. But just as they drove up to the last stop light, she saw it begin changing to red and the bike slowed to a stop next to Rage and Kate.

“You look like a biker bitch!” Kate yelled over to her.

“You do too!” Ani chuckled.

Just as the light turned she glanced over toward the gas station to their right, taking in the handful of people who were staring at the four of them. At the end of the parking lot sat Cash’s Bronco. She hoped that the darkness setting over the town had camouflaged her enough, but as they began to picking up speed, she saw him staring at them with his mouth gapped open. She locked eyes with his until they were too far away for her to see him any longer. Guilt washed over her. She truly didn’t want to hurt Cash, but maybe if he saw that she was out having a good time, then he’d back off a little. She wasn’t sure what the future held but at twenty-three, she still had plenty of life left to live before she had to figure that out. As Knox hit the throttle, she let out a squeal and before long, they were passing through the outskirts of town and heading toward the shadowed road that lie ahead.

After what felt like hours to her ass, they slowed and turned down a gravel drive. She gripped Knox tight as they eased around the turns going up the mountain road. She had no idea where they were, but from the popping of her ears, she knew they were heading up. The excitement bloomed in her stomach and after the next turn, the road opened and she stared up at the sparkling lights of a beautiful log cabin. They pulled up and parked next to an old Chevy pick-up; Knox killed the engine and put down the kickstand. She swung her leg around and stood, trying to stretch out her sore muscles.

“Sorry. Shouldn’t have gone so long for your first time.” He stood, taking off his helmet and sitting it down onto his bike.

“It wasn’t my first time, but it has been quite a while since I have been on one,” she said as she leaned from side to side, working out the cramp in her hip as she pulled the helmet from her head and fluffed her hair back up.

She could hear Kate’s light giggles from the other side of the truck and smiled. Ani looked out at the last of the sun setting behind the trees along the mountain. They weren’t at the top, but the bluff looked out over a beautiful valley of lush green trees. She walked closer to the edge and was in awe of the beautiful colors splashing in every direction. She had missed the southern sunsets, the royal magenta that mixed with the blue and pink rays could take anyone’s breath away.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Knox came up behind her and placed a hand on her hip, brushing the hair at her neck to the side with his other.

Even though she didn’t know much about him, she felt safe in his presence. She’d seen how he had treated Mrs. Bell and in her soul, she knew that he cared for and respected others. As the sun sank lower, she let the rest of her worries go with it. She felt the warmth of his lips press down against her bare neck and she reveled in the shivers that flowed down her body. She turned, looking up at him; his hair was wild and flowed down onto his shoulders. She wanted to touch and feel every one of his strong features, his arms, his chest. She traced her finger through the beard that covered his chiseled jaw line, gently tucking the loose strand of hair that fell into his face behind his ear and watched as he closed his eyes.

“Don’t do that,” his voice was low as he leaned into her hand.

“Do what, Knox?”

“I’m not a flowers and chocolates kind of guy. I don’t know if I can give you the same things that you can give me.” She could hear the worry in his voice. Why it was there, she wasn’t sure, but something in her wanted to reassure him she wasn’t worried about what the future would hold. So what if he didn’t like the heart and flowers, chocolates and dinner dates, kind of lifestyle; right now she just wanted to have fun and they could see what happened as life progressed.