I shook my head. “Only for about the first three weeks we were together. After that, Grit morphed into his true, inner asshole and made my life a living hell for five years.”
“Damn, darlin’. Five years?” he asked, shocked.
I grimaced. “Not exactly something I’m proud to say out loud. I was young and dumb. Does anyone ever make the best decisions when they are in high school?” I laughed flatly. “Seventeen and naïve as fuck.”
“You know I gotta ask, darlin’.”
I held up my hand. “He was a dick and hit me a couple of times. It seems Grit had a bit of morals and never forced sex.”
Frost held up his hand, then inched it up a little. “Guy was at a negative one, now he’s at a zero.”
I laughed and flicked the ash off my cigarette. “Well, a zero is pretty much where he’ll stay. I know he says he flipped his life around after we broke up, but that shit is too little, too late for me. As long as he doesn’t treat his next chick like he did me, I’ll be fine.”
“I’m still gonna beat the shit out of him if I ever get the chance,” Frost grunted.
“Well, I think he may have changed, but he still seems to have a mouth on him. It’s likely you’ll get that chance.” I would pay to watch Frost level Grit even if he had turned over a new leaf.
“How did you and Royal stay friends?”
I smiled sadly. “Because Royal knew how much of an asshole her brother was. She was the one who told me to get the hell out.”
Frost sat back, shocked. “That seems pretty surprising coming from his sister.”
It was for a normal person. Royal wasn’t normal, though. While she did try to see the good in everyone and help bring that to the forefront, Grit had shown her time and time again that he wasn’t going to change when it came to me. I had to assume Rider Meeks hadn’t fucked up enough times for Royal to realize he wasn’t going to change. “Royal will tell you ‘til she is blue in the face that Grit was her brother, and I was her sister. She saw what was happening to me being with him. She knew Grit was not my end-all, be-all.”
“Well, thankfully, you seem to have come out okay.”
But was I okay? Hardly. I was trying to act like I was fine, and nothing was bothering me, but that was a damn lie. “Once Royal is safe, and the guy who killed Tanya and Bunny is caught, I’ll be back to being okay.”
“I’m sure both things will clear up soon.”
I pulled the cigarette out from behind my back and inhaled. “You sound pretty sure about that.” I blew out the cloud of smoke and looked up at the sky. “Both things feel pretty impossible right now.”
“Hardly,” Frost replied softly. “Marco is in contact with the Meeks, and the police have made Tanya and Bunny’s murders their number one priority.”
“Only because there hasn’t been a murder around here for a hot minute,” I chuckled. The fact Rockton was a small and quiet town that didn’t have much action was the reason I had decided to move here.
Frost nodded. “You might be right about that, but I got a feeling Detective Ransom is more than capable of solving the murders.”
“A biker with faith in the law?” I laughed. “That seems farfetched.”
He shrugged.
“Luna was ranting about Ransom earlier.” I took another drag from the cigarette. “Still bitching about how he detained her before.”
“You mean arrested?” Frost laughed. “This probably isn’t surprising, but that wasn’t the first time Luna has had a run-in with the law. First time with Ransom, though.”
“She said he stopped by the club to talk to her again.”
Frost sighed. “Well, the fact that she’s here and not locked up again is a pretty good sign. Maybe she learned to play nice with Ransom.”
I had known Luna for two years. “Luna play nice?” I laughed. “Even I know that’s rare.”
The first day I had walked into Sultry Knights, Luna had been in the back, taking inventory and was pissed as hell I had interrupted her. She raged at me for a full five minutes before actually taking a breath. Then, she said I was hired. Things around Luna were a damn whirlwind.
“She say what he wanted?”
I shook my head and took the last drag. “Nope,” I breathed out. “You think he’s got a new lead or something?”
Frost shrugged. “Could be, or he’s just going over everything again to see if he can pick up on something.”
I dropped the cigarette on the ground and squished it with the toes of my shoe. “Well, it’s gotta be a good thing that there haven’t been any new murders, right?”
Frost nodded. “Thanks to all the girls coming to stay at the clubhouse. Kind of hard to pick each of you off if they can’t get to you.”
“If only we could have seen this coming,” I sighed. Bunny had been one of the first girls to actually talk to me and not just glare at me. I knew I was damn good at my job, which meant the crowd loved it, but it also meant the girls were jealous as hell since they thought I was taking all the tips. Bunny didn’t care about any of that, though. Now that I had been with the club for two years, things were a lot better than they were before.
I still kept to myself and knew my dancing was the solution to me getting back on my feet and not for the rest of my life.
“Yeah, darlin’, but seeing as we don’t even understand why this is happening, I don’t think we could have seen it coming.” He patted the bench next to him. “Sit with me.”
“If I sit down, I’m liable to fall asleep,” I chuckled. I wasn’t joking when I said I was exhausted from helping Reva at the shop.
Frost stared at me.
His eyes were so beautiful. Blue and piercing. They were the first thing I ever noticed about him. God knew I noticed other things about him, too, but his eyes were the thing that came to visit me in dreams every now and then.
Frost had wondered how many times I had dreamed of kissing him. The question he really needed to ask was how many times I had just dreamt of him.
He was the type of man I had hoped Grit would have been when we got together. Strong and masculine yet gentle and kind. Grit hit the first two right on the head, but he fell right off the map when it came to gentle and kind.
Frost had all four of those in spades.
“So, I can fall asleep on your shoulder, and you’ll carry me to my bed?”
He patted the seat again. “I promise to carry you in, but you’re going to end up in my bed.”
A shiver ran through my body. “Is this what it feels like to be yours?” I whispered.
“Sit your ass down and find out, darlin’.”
“I know you’ve been watching me for two years, Frost, because I’ve been watching you for that long, too.” I laughed and hung my head. “I think that might qualify as the world’s longest foreplay, yeah?”
“Sit,” he grunted.
I gingerly sat down next to him and scooted as far to the end as I could. “It seems like you’re learning more about me rather quickly while I still don’t know much about you.”
“What do you need to know, darlin? For each thing I tell you, I get a kiss.” He leaned toward me and snaked his arm around my waist. “Deal?”
The distant, reserved Frost was gone, and he was replaced with an assertive and downright sexy Frost. “Um, tit for tat?” I croaked.
He nodded.
“Um, well.” If you would have asked me ten minutes ago the things I wanted to know about Frost, I would have been able to rattle off a list. Now that he was so close and the promise of a kiss hung in the air, I couldn’t think of a damn thing other than wanting to know what his lips felt like all over my body. Something told me he would gladly demonstrate than answer but I would be kicking myself later when I still didn’t know much about him.
“Favorite color,” I whispered.
A smile spread across Frost’s lips. “That’s something you need to know about me?”
Not really, but dammit, I couldn’t think with him this close. “We
’ll start there,” I croaked.
He reached up and trailed a finger over my lips. “The first time I ever saw you dance, you strutted out on stage, dressed to seduce every man in the room. Your hair was piled on top of your head like you were just fucked, and you had a purple satin robe tied around you. It was just long enough to cover your ass, but the bottom of your ass cheeks peeked out with every step you took. Purple, darlin’. Ever since that night, purple has been my favorite color.”
I knew exactly what robe he was talking about. Underneath it, I had worn a bra and panty set that were a lighter shade of purple. I had been so nervous the first time I had danced that I swore I was going to puke on everyone in the front row. Before I stepped on stage, I had hastily put on the robe to feel a little more covered. Who would have known it would be the thing that caught Frost’s attention?
“Purple,” I whispered.
“Yup.” Frost leaned forward, and his lips brushed against mine.
My hand reached out, and I gripped his shirt. Just a small kiss that meant so much.
“Next question,” he mumbled against my lips.
“Am I really supposed to be able to form a logical thought?”
Frost chuckled and brushed another kiss to my lips. “Eventually, no. I didn’t think you’d turn into mush this quick.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Uh, well, it’s been a while.” Understatement of the year. There hadn’t been anyone since Grit. That man had screwed me over so much that I wasn’t going to give anything up until I knew the person was worth it.
Frost was more than worth it.
“Same, darlin’.”
I leaned my forehead against his. “I doubt it’s been two years for you, Frost.”
“Well, no,” he admitted. “I knew the instant I saw you that I wanted you, but I could also tell you weren’t available. Not back then.”
I leaned back, and my eyes connected with his. “So now I’m available?”
“I fucking hope so. I’m past desperate for you, Indiana.”
Desperate. For me.
No one had ever said anything to me like that. Not even close.
“Uh, well.” I cleared my throat and tried to think—at least a little bit. I was in a fog with Frost this close to me. “Do I need to come up with another question?”
“Those are the rules, right? A kiss for each question.”
Dammit. Right now, I didn’t give a damn about the questions or getting to know Frost better. That was, unless it was getting to know him more on a physical level. “Favorite food,” I exclaimed.
“Thanksgiving dinner.”
“A whole meal,” I laughed.
His lips found mine, and I leaned into his touch. The kiss was longer than the last, with a promise of more.
“Middle name,” I gasped.
“Michael.” Before the L of Michael left my lips, his were pressed against mine. Frost’s arm tightened around me, and I turned fully toward him. I hitched my leg up on the bench and tucked it under my butt. Frost’s hand trailed down over my ass and lifted me into his lap. The kiss was twice as long as the last.
He pulled back, and his lust-filled eyes stared into mine.
“Favorite drink.” Yeah, I was pulling random shit out of my ass just to get his lips back on mine.
“Jack and coke.”
As fast as he answered the question, his lips covered mine. More intense each time. And I lost track of time as his hands roamed over my body.
“Birthday,” I gasped when we came up for air.
“Seven, eleven, ninety-six.”
“Happy late birthday,” I laughed.
“Thanks. You’re my present.” His hands tugged up my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Been wanting to unwrap you for forever.”
“I kind of do that every night,” I laughed.
“Yeah, but now it’s a private show just for me.”
I delved my fingers into his hair and tipped his head back. “I’m waiting for you to tell me you don’t like me dancing.”
He shrugged. “They can watch but not touch. The second one of those fuckers even thinks about touching you, I’ll drop them to their knees.”
“I mean, I guess that’s reasonable.”
“Does that qualify as a question? Been too long since I kissed you.”
I laughed and leaned into him. “Kiss me, Frost.”
His mouth was on mine before his name left my lips. His hands skimmed over my bare stomach and around to my back. His fingers popped the clasp of my bra, and it gaped open. The straps slipped down my arms, and I shrugged it off.
Frost’s lips plastered to my neck, and his hands palmed my breasts. “Goddammit, Indy.”
I arched my back, pressing my breasts up, and Frost buried his face in them. I was lost in his passionate kisses and enticing touch when a loud horn sounded.
Like a sea horn on a ship.
I jumped and slapped my arms over my breasts. Frost wound his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.
“What in the fuck is that?’ he growled.
“Honey, I’m home!” a female yelled from the front of the clubhouse.
What in the hell was going on? “Who is that?” I gasped.
Frost’s body sagged, and he rested his head on my shoulder. “Ready to meet my mom?”
“Um, not half-naked sprawled out in your lap,” I sputtered. “I thought they weren’t going to be back for at least another day.” I shimmied off Frost and dropped my feet on the ground. “Where is my shirt?”
Frost held up my bra. “Put this on first, darlin’,” he chuckled.
I snatched it out of his hand and stuck my arms through the loops. “Oh sure, you can laugh because you’re not the one standing naked in the backyard.”
“Half-naked,” he smirked.
I growled and reached around to hook my bra. “Find my shirt,” I hissed. Of course, my first real make-out session with Frost would be interrupted by his mom coming home. It was like I was in high school, getting busted by my boyfriend’s mom.
“Calm down, darlin’. It’s not like they’re gonna come traipsing back here. We’ve got a good ten minutes before they even realize we’re missing.” He grabbed my shirt from the ground and shook it out.
I snatched it from his hand and pulled it over my head. “Says the man who isn’t about to meet his boyfriend’s mom.”
Frost cocked his eyebrow.
“You know what I mean,” I huffed. I tried to smooth down my hair and hoped it didn’t look like I was just in the middle of a heavy make-out session with Frost.
“So that mean your mine now?” he drawled.
I rolled my eyes. “Does this need to be decided right now?”
He smirked and pulled me into his arms. “You’re mine.”
I smacked his chest. “Let me go, Frost. I’m seriously freaking out about meeting your mom, and you can’t keep your hands off of me.”
“Relax, Indy.”
I tipped my head back. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call me that. It’s always Indiana.”
He shrugged.
“I think I like it better when you call me Indiana. No one does that but you.”
“Then I guess I’ll keep calling you Indiana,” he whispered. His lips brushed against mine, and I was almost sucked back into the fog of his kisses when Pie stuck his head out the patio door.
“Oh, my God,” I yelped.
“Yo, the moms are here,” Pie laughed. “And the rest of the guys, but you know we’ve all been waiting for Meg to get here to start cooking again.”
“Yeah, we heard the fog horn go off,” Frost grumbled.
“That’s what it sounded like,” I exclaimed. “It felt like we were suddenly on a dock by the ocean.”
Pie pointed his finger into his chest. “You have me to thank for that. I installed it before they left.”
I stepped back from Frost, and his hand grabbed mine.
“Meg put you up to it?” Frost asked Pie.
; Pie stepped back and pulled open the patio door. “Do you really need to ask that? Of course, she did.”
We walked into the clubhouse, my hand in Frost’s, and back outside the front door.
A huge RV was parked haphazardly in the parking lot, and people milled about all over. Everyone who had been inside the clubhouse had rushed outside to see where the foghorn had come from.
I had seen almost everyone getting off the RV before, but I had never really met them. While I had worked at Sultry Knights, that didn’t mean I was actually more than dancer who actually knew the club members and their ol’ ladies.
There were three people I had never seen before, though. Two women and one guy. I assumed one of the women had to be Frost’s mom.
“Loosen the grip on my hand, darlin’,” Frost whispered in my ear.
“Oh, sorry,” I muttered. I hadn’t even realized I was squeezing him so hard. I loosened my grip and took a deep breath.
“Why are you so nervous?” he laughed.
I turned my head and looked up at him. “Because I’m a stripper at a strip club. Do you really think any mother wants to see their son hold the hand of a stripper?” I blurted. I wasn’t ashamed of my job normally, but right now, I couldn’t find the reason why I shouldn’t be ashamed.
“Indiana. You do realize everyone here lives off the income of the strip club? Do you really think my mom thinks anything bad about strippers when the reason why she has money is because of you shaking your ass?”
I blinked twice. “Well, no. I hadn’t thought about that, Frost. Stop being sensible. I’m in the middle of an internal freak out, and you being rational is throwing me off.”
Frost shook his head and smiled. “Mom is going to love you.”
“Who am I going to love?” a voice called from behind us.
Oh, God.
Oh, wow.
Eek.
I took a deep breath and turned around to face Frost’s mom.
She was beautiful. Her clothes were understated, her mocha-colored hair flowing around her face, and a smile tilting her lips.
Now seeing Frost’s mom, I could tell he was the perfect mix of both his parents.
Riding the Line (Devil's Knights 2nd Generation) Page 8
