Becoming A Vincent (The Wild Ones Book 1)

by C. M. Owens

  He grins like he’s thinking back, and I grin too, because I can actually see it in my mind.

  “Even though I kept to myself, I still started growing that damn beard. It was just too ludicrous of a request to ignore. And before I knew it, I belonged to Tomahawk. It fit me. And I never wanted it tainted with my past. I never wanted to give up what this place gave me back. And so…I never told anyone anything about my past. It was better to be a mystery than an open book.”

  He guides me inside his house, and I follow behind him, unsure how much to press for.

  “What happened between you and your brother?” I decide to ask.

  He turns to face me, blows out a breath, then gestures for me to sit down with him. I do, but he pulls me into his lap, nuzzling my neck with his nose.

  “A woman.”

  I tense. Obviously.

  I suddenly hate asking any questions.

  “I dated a girl in high school,” he goes on, “and the night of senior prom, right before we left in the limo, I got down on one knee and proposed to her.”

  Yeah…can’t breathe. He proposed to someone?

  I don’t even know her and I hate her. Which is a new brand of crazy I’m not used to. It’s also annoying, because I liked thinking of Benson as a virgin—no, I’m not delusional. It was just my fantasy.

  “I thought we were in love. Hell, she was the only girl I’d ever been with.” He keeps talking into my neck, and I’m thankful he can’t see the inane panic on my face.

  “She said yes. I should mention she was six months pregnant at this time,” he says, leaning back to look into my eyes.

  My heart plummets. He has a kid?!

  Dizzy and lightheaded, I sway a little on his lap.

  “Almost four months later, my kid was born. Or so I thought. My mother insisted on a paternity test, because she was convinced Sadie was lying. I went along with it just to prove her wrong. Sadie was reluctant, but she agreed. She regretted that when the paternity test showed the baby wasn’t mine.”

  This time, my heart plummets for a different reason, because he looks away. I can practically feel his pain vibrating off him.

  “I’d already baby-proofed our house—my mom’s house. I still lived at home. She already lived with us, and my mother was going to help us raise our kid while we went to college. It definitely shattered me to learn she’d been pregnant with another man’s baby—had cheated on me. I was still debating on if I could forgive her for the sake of the kid…but it was twice as devastating when she announced the baby was my brother’s.”

  My arms wrap around his neck, and he tugs me closer, kissing my cheek. “Decision made that I couldn’t get past either betrayal, I moved out here to escape all that. Instead, found somewhere I actually belong.”

  His eyes meet mine again, and I brush my hand along his jaw, feeling that soft hair there.

  “I’m sorry. I had no clue.”

  He gives me a grim smile. “I didn’t want anyone knowing. You’re the first person I’ve told since moving out here. I’d appreciate it if it stayed between us.”

  I mime the motion of zipping my lips, and he smiles again, a real one this time.

  “I’m an awesome secret keeper,” I remind him.

  His eyes narrow playfully. “I know. You never would tell me that it was your brothers who sank my canoe.”

  Because it wasn’t my brothers. It was me. I didn’t mean to shoot it. I was aiming at the damn woodpecker that was making my life hell, but tripped over my boot’s untied shoelace as I fired the shot.

  But, since I’m an awesome secret keeper, I keep that to myself and just grin at him.

  “What happened between your brother and your ex?” I ask before I can stop myself.

  That small bit of humor dies. “Nothing. My brother wasn’t actually the father. That was just Sadie’s way of tearing us apart by getting him to confess he’d screwed her behind my back. The baby belonged to another guy who eventually married her. But Sadie’s marriage ended this past year.”

  I nod, even though I don’t know why I’m nodding. I guess I’m not sure what else to say.

  “One more thing,” I say, prompting him to sigh.

  “I think I’ve told you most of the drama that is my family. I don’t really feel like saying more about it today.”

  I shake my head. “How do you make your money? I’ve Googled Benson Nolans a thousand times, and nothing ever pops up on you.”

  His grin instantly returns. “You’ve Googled me a thousand times?”

  I nod, unashamed.

  “I admit that I was mostly curious about what you looked like without a horrible beard—obviously this was before you lost it.”

  He chuckles under his breath.

  “That’s because I legally changed my name to Nolans before moving here. That was my grandmother’s maiden name. My father hasn’t been in the picture for a really long time, and that name would have pulled up some interesting things, if anyone from Tomahawk got curious and started asking questions.”

  “Why would you care?” I ask, confused.

  He grins broader. “Because this is Tomahawk.”

  I groan as he laughs.

  “Then what’s your real name?”

  He stands, putting me on my feet, before tugging my hand in his.

  “My real name is Benson Nolans. It’s the only name I care about. Everything before this version of me feels like a different person in a different life.”

  “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” I ask as he starts guiding me upstairs.

  He turns his head and flashes that devilishly perfect smile at me.

  “The secret to being a bore is to tell someone everything.”

  When I groan again, he laughs, practically dragging me up the stairs to his bedroom.

  I suddenly don’t give a damn about his past when he presently starts kissing me stupid. I sigh into his mouth, too content to let this moment slip away, when his arms come around my waist and lift me so that he doesn’t have to bend.

  He lowers me to the bed before undressing me, and I push his clothes off him as fast as I can. I’m almost crazy with need when he finally pushes into me.

  His lips stay on mine as his lazy thrusts do unpredictably awesome things to my body. I never knew how right something could feel.

  In this moment, everything is perfect.

  Chapter 13

  Wild Ones Tip #842

  We’re fucking crazy. Your crazy will never beat our crazy, because we’re competitive.

  LILAH

  “You two are simply adorable,” Evette Dickens says as I put some grapes into the shopping cart.

  “Thanks,” I tell her sweetly, letting Benson tug me to his side.

  Evette’s daughter is eyeing him, even though she’s only sixteen. I admit, I totally get it. Benson is hot, and the world is starting to take notice that he’s also awesome.

  I still hiss at her like a rabid cat when she bites her bottom lip suggestively.

  Evette’s eyes widen, and her daughter pales, probably remembering I’m one of the four corners of crazy in Tomahawk for a reason.

  Evette starts urging her daughter along as I chuckle to myself. Benson shakes his head, not even commenting on the fact I hissed. Then again, it’s probably the least crazy thing he’s witnessed me do.

  We barely make it to the frozen goods, when we’re abruptly cut off by Janice Holland, local busybody.

  “I heard you two had finally crossed that threshold into couple-dom. How are your brothers handling it?” she asks me, not bothering with small talk, since she’s looking for something juicy to share about our corner.

  “They’re planning to make Benson an honorary Vincent,” I say cheerily.

  Benson grunts, not saying much as he starts grabbing food. He usually only talks regularly to me, and he doesn’t say too much to people he doesn’t know. Or like, for that matter.

  “Really?” she asks, almost sulking like she’s disappointed in the
lack of crazy.

  “I had to work three years to get into their good graces before I could be with her,” Benson says, saving my brothers’ reputations.

  He doesn’t turn around or even glance at her, and when her eyes rake over his profile, I cock my head.

  “Anything else?” I ask, smiling the creepiest smile I have in my arsenal.

  She clears her throat and looks back at me, recovering her fake smile.

  “Are you two planning on tying the knot soon? I figured Penny would be sending out invitations already.”

  Benson chuckles, and her smile wavers. She expected that to scare him. Really, the guy has been dealing with my family for so long that it’s a little hard to scare him.

  “I think we’ll fornicate for a while longer before spending money on some rings. I like it when he uses his tongue. Wouldn’t want him getting lazy anytime soon just because of a piece of jewelry telling him I’m his.”

  Benson chokes on air, not turning around, as Janice’s face turns three shades of red.

  “I…think…Oh! I see Clara. I need to go there. To her. Now,” she says rapidly, stumbling over all her words.

  She’s gone in the next instant, and I grab some frozen peas. A bunch of them.

  “Why all the peas?” Benson asks, recovering from the way I dismissed our annoying busybody stalker.

  “Great for sore balls,” I state absently.

  He groans as I toss in a couple more packs.

  “Why?”

  “I forget you don’t shop with me usually. But the thing is, my brothers piss me off a lot. And when it’s two-to-one, I have to capitalize on their greatest weakness. I also feel guilty every time I do. Therefore, I buy frozen peas.”

  He blows out a breath, like he’s tired of trying to understand me, and I guide him through the store as he pushes the shopping cart.

  “Speaking of which, why are you shopping with me today?” I ask him as we turn the corner to the chocolate aisle—A.K.A. the heavenly aisle.

  His eyes come up just as Chuck comes walking down the aisle. At least I think it’s Chuck. I’m still getting used to real faces and not figuring them out based on the beard.

  Chuck’s gaze drops to my legs, just as Benson’s arms come around me, his hand possessively spreading over my hip.

  “Chuck,” he says, nodding politely despite the edge to his tone.

  “Benson.” He nods by way of greeting, since Benson’s hands are too occupied with my body to offer a handshake.

  “Heard you two were thinking of tying the knot,” Chuck says, eyes lingering on my chest for a minute.

  I’m wearing a T-shirt of a little woodpecker flipping a feathery bird finger. No cleavage to be seen.

  “We’re together,” Benson says vaguely.

  Chuck walks away, and I contemplate just how weird that all was.

  “Well, that’s why,” Benson grumbles, tossing in my favorite chocolates.

  He really is perfect.

  “Why what?” I ask, confused.

  “Since the beardless party, all the men have a double shot of ego and confidence. I’ve been jealous since before you were mine. I sure as fuck can’t stand the thought of someone hitting on you now.”

  I grin before I can help myself, and he turns to face me, arching an eyebrow.

  “You may actually get dubbed an honorary Vincent if you keep acting like one.”

  He cocks his head, studying me. “You saying you get jealous?”

  “I hissed at a sixteen-year-old girl not ten minutes ago for giving you the eye. And I thought about rearranging Lindy’s face with a beer bottle before cutting off her vagina lips. You forget I’m a corner of crazy.”

  His smile is instant, and I press against him as his arms come around me.

  When his lips brush mine, I get lost for a minute, forgetting we’re in the one and only grocery store.

  “Let’s hurry up and get out of here,” he whispers across my lips, never kissing me, as though he knows—like I do—that a kiss will lead to the inevitable indecent exposure that will get us banned.

  Like my brothers.

  Who I have to shop for.

  We finish our shopping trip quickly after that, and stop at the hardware store, where I get left in his truck, because he knows there will be more men he’d have to show his jealous side to.

  Since I find it cute, I let it slide, especially since he’s buying the necessary items to fix my bed once and for all. It’ll support two people’s weight from now on.

  We’re almost back to my place when I decide I can’t take it any longer, and start kissing my way up his neck, sliding across the single-cab bench seat to push right up against him.

  He shifts gears, groaning as my hand starts undoing his jeans. My smile spreads when I feel him pulling off the road, and in the next instant, his hands are on me, tugging me onto his lap as he kisses my lips.

  My ass hits the horn, but he flips the lever, pushing the steering wheel up enough to give me more room to work. Our kisses are frantic, almost like we’re two teens in a hurry to get to the good stuff.

  I can’t seem to help myself as I get his pants worked down.

  My skirt slides up with ease, bunching around my waist, and he groans when he realizes…no panties.

  “Really? You’ve been walking around like this all day?” he says, his voice strained as I finally free him from his boxers and stroke his cock in my hand.

  It’s already hard, so there’s not much prep work involved.

  “You forget, I still have no underwear.”

  “Because of bugs,” he murmurs, grinning as his lips find mine again, and his tongue takes control as I slide down on top of him.

  We both break the kiss to take a deep breath as I sink onto him completely, taking him inside, and roll my hips.

  His hands go to my hair, holding my head as he stares into my eyes for a long, intense moment. I move again, and he holds the eye contact as I rise up and push down harder, faster.

  That’s when his lips seize mine hungrily again, and I pick up the rhythm, riding him as hard as I can, chasing that incredible release. The windows fog, the truck rocks, and we’re a tangle of tongues, lips and hands, both of us trying to get our fill of the other.

  When my orgasm tears through me, he grabs me by the hips, taking over, fucking me from underneath as I shiver and ride the wave of euphoria, unable to do anything but feel.

  It’s not until his body is shuddering, and he’s gripping me too tightly, that I realize he’s found his.

  He goes lax underneath me, and I smile against his neck, kissing it.

  “I should have been shopping with you all these years if this is what happens at the end of the trip,” he says through his heavy breaths.

  Before I can answer, there’s someone tapping on the window. During the commotion, my skirt fell down around us, hiding the good stuff. Thankfully.

  Obviously I can’t move, because my skirt is all that’s covering his naked middle right now.

  Benson rolls down the window to reveal our lone officer of the law. And…Benson is slowly softening inside me. This is not awkward at all.

  “Benson. Lilah. Think you two could not pull over on the side of the road unless there’s better coverage next time?” Vick asks, annoyed.

  I smile and nod, and Benson answers, “Sorry, Vick. Found out why shopping trips are a good idea today.”

  Vick grunts and rolls his eyes, muttering something about the beardless epidemic as he goes back to his patrol car.

  Benson laughs while leaning his head back, and I kiss his jaw as his hands smooth up and down my back.

  “Well, now everyone will be wondering if we’re skipping the wedding and going straight to baby-making,” he says on a long breath through his chuckles.

  “We’ll tell them we’re practicing, but I’m not having babies. Multiples are a hell no.”

  He starts to speak, when we hear Vick griping at us through his car’s speaker.

  “Get of
f the road. Now.”

  I shift off Benson, laughing as he does his pants back up, and he reaches over, taking my hand and kissing it before he shifts gears and starts driving.

  Again, perfect.

  Chapter 14

  Wild Ones Tip #361

  Wild Ones don’t notice the way people stare. But they will make your life hell if you want to be rude.

  BENSON

  Lilah bends over the bank on the far end, her ass in the air as she curses. I drink my beer, watching her ass without having to be sneaky about it.

  Joey rolls up to the edge farthest away from her just as Lilah gets her whopper of a fish pulled in, bouncing up and down in joy, since it’s a beast. I’m not looking at the fish, though. Eyes are still mostly focused on her ass.

  It takes me several seconds to realize Joey’s boat is loaded down with five girls, all of them in bikinis and soaking in the sun while it’s warm.

  Joey is posturing like he’s the king of the world, and I roll my eyes, smirking when Lilah grins over at me, showing me her beast of a fish.

  “Yo, Benson. You want to ride with us for a while?” Joey asks, gesturing to the boat.

  “We’re good here,” I say dismissively. “That’s her fifth fish, and she hasn’t been at it long. Don’t want to mess up a good thing.”

  He rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t inviting the Vincent. I have other company.” He gestures to Tonya Murphy, who gives me a sly wave. “Tonya asked for you personally to join us.”

  “What’d he say?” Lilah calls from the other side of the bank as she starts walking toward us, dragging her string of fish with her.

  Just as she nears, I grin and say, “Says he wants me to ride with him and his entourage, but you’re not invited. Tonya’s idea.”

  Joey darts a wide-eyed, panicked glance at me as he pales, horrified like I’ve betrayed him.

  Lilah just smirks at him as she moves out onto the dock, getting closer to where they’re idling.

  The girls all pale as well, and Tonya starts hissing for Joey to get them the hell out of there.