I looked at Ethel, who was in the kitchen yelling at Gravel for pinching her butt. It was a typical scene for the two. I shrugged and scraped the last of my apple pie onto my fork. “That’s just Ethel.”
After Harlyn and I finally managed to get out of my room this morning, I had been proven correct when I had said my mom was going to have our day all planned out for us.
Breakfast with her and Lo, lunch over at Cyn and Rigid’s, a run back home to grab the apple pie Mom had made, and then we were over to Ethel and Gravel’s. None of which I minded, but it didn’t give me much time with Harlyn alone.
As soon as we had gotten to Ethel’s, Ethel had pulled her into the kitchen, leaving me out on the front porch with Lo and Gravel. Now, I finally had her next to me and no one within ten feet of us sitting on the front porch. Gravel and Lo were in the backyard starting a fire, and Mom and Ethel were in the kitchen cleaning up. Well, Gravel had been in the backyard, but it seemed he snuck into the kitchen for more pie and to give Ethel a little hell.
“Your family is awesome. I don’t know why you don’t come home more.”
I set my plate down on the table next to my chair. “It’s not that I don’t want to come home. It’s just, they get to be a little much. I like to have my time to myself sometimes.” I hitched my thumb toward the kitchen. “As you can see, being alone doesn’t happen much with all of them and the club.”
She leaned her head back and rested it on the back of the chair. “I guess I can get that. I didn’t have a big family growing up. It was just me and my mom, so this just seems amazing to me.”
I reached out and threaded my fingers through hers. “You can have my crazy family, baby. I think my mom has already claimed you, anyway.”
I had brought girls home before to meet my mom, but she had never embraced any of them the way she had Harlyn. She always seemed to keep herself in check with the others. With Harlyn, it was like she let her crazy flag fly, and Harlyn loved it. They were more similar than I had realized.
“She wouldn’t think it was weird if I came to hang out when you were out on the road?” she laughed.
“Mom,” I called. “Harlyn wants to come hang out the next stretch I’m gone.”
Harlyn slapped my arm. “What are you doing?” she hissed. “She’s going to think I’m crazy.”
I cocked my eyebrow. “We’re talking about my mom here, Harlyn.” I held up a finger, then two.
“Oh, my God! That would be awesome.” Mom came charging out of the kitchen and burst out on the porch. “We can totally go to the mall next time. They have this awesome pretzel place, and then we can get a cinnamon roll and pizza from the food court.”
“Are you going shopping or for dinner?” I laughed.
Mom smacked me upside the head. “You say that now until you get home tonight and tell Harlyn to bring you home a cinnamon roll when we go.”
She was right. You really couldn’t beat a cinnamon roll from the mall.
“I really don’t want to impose. I know you have other things to do than babysit me while Remy is away.”
Mom tsked. “Puh-lease. Since I quit my job and help Lo at the shop, I really don’t have much to do.”
“Uh, you could actually make it to work every day at the shop. That might give you something more to do.” Mom technically worked at the bike shop, but you were lucky if she was there two days a week and before noon.
“Like Lo really needs me there. Half the time, he yells at me for all the suggestions I make.”
Harlyn cleared her throat. “Like painting his bike purple?”
Mom sighed. “Purple passion paradise, you mean. And yes, that is exactly what I mean. The man wouldn’t take one of my suggestions if it knocked him upside the head.”
“I am not painting my damn bike purple, woman!”
Mom’s jaw dropped, and she stepped to the screen of the porch. “Yes, you are, and how the hell did you hear me?”
Lo walked around the corner of the house with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. “Your voice carries, babe. A lot.”
“That’s a load of crap,” Mom protested.
I stood up, pulling Harlyn up with me. “Well, we’re gonna get headed back, Mom. We both have to be to work in the morning.”
“But it’s only six-thirty,” Mom whined.
“And it’s a four-hour ride for them back to Leeds Square, Meg. Hug the boy and let them go,” Lo ordered.
Mom stomped her foot. “No. I don’t want to. You need to tell Brooks Cummings he needs to move his shop to Rockton. There is so much more to do here, and well, I’m here.”
I pressed a kiss to the side of Mom’s head. “And I’m sure the selling point will be you live here.”
Lo laughed, and Harlyn let out a little giggle.
Mom wrapped me up in a hug and squeezed tightly. “Don’t make me have to come kidnap your girlfriend again so you’ll come visit,” she warned.
“I thought it wasn’t a kidnapping,” I wheezed. Mom had one hell of a bear hug.
She gave me one last squeeze, then let me go. “It wasn’t,” she grumbled. She moved to Harlyn and gave her the same hug, but she also whispered something to her I couldn’t make out.
“Let the kids go, Meg,” Lo called.
Mom begrudgingly let Harlyn go and collapsed into the chair I had just been sitting in. “Go. Just leave me all alone.”
“Christ sake,” Lo rumbled. “We need to get you a cat, or I don’t know, hang out with the twenty friends you have.”
Mom flipped him off and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “You’re being a butt.”
Lo moved to walk up the steps of the porch, and I knew it was time to get out of there. I grabbed Harlyn’s hand and tugged her to the screen door.
Lo opened it and moved past it with a pat on the shoulder to me and a quick hug for Harlyn. “Stay out of trouble, and call your mother,” he said quietly. He always told me the same thing every time I came to visit.
Harlyn sniffled behind me, and I turned to see she had a couple of tears falling. “Lordy, not you too, baby.”
I pulled her down the steps and over to the Challenger. I opened the door and helped Harlyn into the car.
“I don’t know why I’m crying,” she hiccuped when I slid into the car and reached over to buckle her seat belt. By the time I pulled out of the driveway and pointed the Challenger in the direction of Leeds Square, her tears were coming faster.
I leaned over and draped my arm over her shoulders. “Baby, you’re fine. You’ll see her in a week or so.” Harlyn had said she liked my mom, but I didn’t realize she had gotten so attached to her.
“You probably think I’m a weirdo.” She sniffled, trying to stop crying. “I mean, I really don’t know why I’m crying.”
“What did my mom whisper to you?” I asked.
A small smile touched her lips. “She said to balance my crazy and classy but to make sure you always know my crazy is there.”
I busted out laughing. That would be something my mom would say.
“And also she couldn’t wait to go get a cinnamon roll with me. I think that was when I started crying. I haven’t had a mom to do stuff with for a while.”
I threaded my fingers through hers. “I don’t know if you’re with me because you like me, or if you like my mom.”
“Um, it’s both, but I like you a teeny tiny bit more.” She held up her finger and thumb and squinted at me through the small space between them.
“I guess I’m going to have to work a little bit harder to widen that gap.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder and sighed. “I really don’t think it’s going to take much.” She smothered a yawn with the back of her hand. “Though you might have to wait until we get back to my place. I need a nap right now.”
I found a station on the radio and relaxed into my seat. “Sleep, baby. I’ll wake you when we get home.”
She sighed, content, and snuggled into me.
Pop Evil played quietly on the radio whil
e Harlyn fell asleep, and I couldn’t help but think that there wasn’t anywhere else in this world I would rather be.
*
Chapter 28
Harlyn
He took a step closer to me and brushed his fingertips against my arm. “Hello, Harlyn.” His voice was low, and the deep timber sent shivers down my spine.
“Hi,” I whispered. That was all I had in me. It was taking all of my thought and concentration to not close the gap between us, and I prayed to God he would wrap me up in his arms. The man had only said my name, and I was ready to be putty in his hands to mold and play with.
I had woken up in the car when Remy pulled into my driveway. I sleepily rubbed my eyes and looked over at him after he shifted the car into park. I could feel his desire and need coursing through him. While I had slept, I could tell he thought about the things he planned to do to me when we got into the house.
“Tell me what you are thinking, baby.”
I shook my head slightly. Not a chance he was going to know.
“I’ll tell you what I’m thinking, if you tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
So tempting. His proposition was what every girl wanted to know when trying to figure out what the hell she was doing. Knowing what he thought would help me to figure out if he’s into me as much as I’m into him.
“Only if you go first.”
He closed the gap between us and goosebumps spread over my skin as he nuzzled his face close to my ear. His lips brushed against my ear. “I’m thinking I missed you.”
Ding, ding. His thoughts were right on track with where mine were. We were pulled to each other, and neither of us understood it. “Um, I might have missed you, too.” He was obviously open to whatever was going on.
His head dipped, and his lips pressed against the sensitive skin behind my ear. “Might have,” he whispered. His hand brushed against my arm and skimmed around my waist, settling on the small of my back. “You’re going to have to do better than that, baby.” His other hand rested on my hip and gently squeezed.
“Um, I’m not sure what more you want.” I wasn’t trying to play coy. My brain seriously lacked the response he wanted to hear.
He trailed kisses along my neck, and I tilted my head to the side to grant him more access. “Maybe you can’t form the words to tell me what you want, but your body is screaming that you want me.”
I groaned my reply as his lips pressed against my collarbone. His hand traveled up my back, and his fingers delved into my hair. He tugged my head more to the side, while the hand on my hip pulled me flush against his body. “Remy.” I had never spoken a word with more need in it than I had then. One word, and it felt like I had spilled everything to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and splayed my hands across his back.
He groaned against my skin, and his hand snaked around my waist, over my ass. He squeezed. “Not gonna lie and say this isn’t what I came for. Two weeks,” he growled. “Two long weeks of texts and phone calls. Two weeks of my need for you growing every day.” He lifted his head and looked down at me.
I slowly righted my head and bit my lip.
“Two weeks of wondering what you would feel like under me.”
A gasp escaped my lips. Whoa.
“Speechless?”
I nodded my head once. “A bit.”
“Normally, I’m not like this, baby. But with you, I can’t seem to control myself. Three dates with you, and then a day with you at my mom’s, and you’re all I can think about.” His eyes heated with desire, and he bent his head closer. His lips were a breath away from mine. “I’m going to kiss you.”
Not asking. Telling me.
A kiss.
One kiss I knew was going to lead to a whole hell of a lot more.
More that I wanted.
I closed the space and surrendered to the pull between us. I yielded to his touch and just felt.
His lips pressed against mine. His hands traveled over my back, pulling up the hem of my shirt. My hands needed to know what every inch of him felt like.
The cold air rushed against the bare skin of my back, and then the skin was immediately warmed by Remy’s touch caressing me.
“Fuck me, Harlyn.” His words rumbled against my lips.
I delved my fingers into his hair and pulled him to me. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to hear anything except for the sound of our hearts and breaths mingling with each other’s.
His hands grasped my butt and lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and he walked the short distance to the couch. He laid me down, his body covering mine.
“Tell me to leave, Harlyn,” he rasped.
I opened my eyes and blinked. “Huh?”
“Tell me to leave right now, or I can’t promise you’ll ever get rid of me.”
Getting rid of Remy wasn’t anything I wanted to do. “Stay.”
*
Remy
The pull this woman had over me was crazy and amazingly intense.
The sharp and staccato gasps that fell from her lips only encouraged and inflamed my desire for her.
Part of me had wanted her to tell me to leave, because I knew if I stayed even a second longer, I wasn’t going to ever want to leave her. The other part of me had beat my chest like Donkey Kong standing on the top of the Empire State building.
She wanted me as much as I needed her.
Her hands roamed over my back, pulling up the fabric of my shirt.
My lips never wanted to leave her soft skin, knowing they would never touch anything the same ever again. I trailed kisses across the small section of her chest that was exposed, and she threaded her fingers into my hair. “Where are you going?” she gasped.
“Nowhere, baby.” I had no intention of being anywhere except with her right then and there. She tried to tug my head back up to her lips, but I needed to find out if the rest of her tasted as good as her mouth.
I pulled her shirt up, exposing her stomach and bra-covered breasts. “Green for go,” I muttered. It had to be a sign she was wearing a bra that was the exact same shade as the green light on the Christmas tree in drag racing.
“What happens if I wore red panties?” she giggled.
I pressed a kiss to the well of her breasts. “Then I’d just have to take the fuckers off.”
Laughter bubbled from her lips. “Such a problem solver.”
I raised my head and winked. “Always finding the fastest way to satisfaction.”
“Is it safe to say that might be your slogan? Satisfaction guaranteed?”
“When it comes to me and you, I’m pretty sure satisfaction is going to be a given.”
“So cocky,” she mumbled.
I continued my journey of her body with my hands, worked her shirt over her head, and tossed it on the floor, joining mine. “Much better.”
Our bodies pressed together, skin-to-skin, again fueled the need to have her with me. I pulled down the cups of her bra, her lush breasts spilling out. My mouth latched onto her nipple while my hand teased and taunted the other.
“Remy,” she gasped. She shifted beneath me, her heels digging into the couch to press her body into mine. My body nestled in between her legs, pressing down on her while she pressed up. We fit together like two pieces of the same puzzle.
Her hands continued roaming over my body, pulling me closer. With our shirts off and my lips on her breasts, I still needed to be closer to her. “You’re driving me crazy, Harlyn. I can’t stop.”
“Then don’t,” she moaned.
I kissed her like I wanted to make sure she knew if anyone kissed her after me, they wouldn’t compare. Harlyn was it for me, and I was going to make damn sure she felt the same way.
She wrapped an arm around the broad expanse of my shoulders and pressed her other hand against my chest. “Make love to me, Remy.”
I leaned back and looked down into her dark green eyes. I knew right then and there I was in love with her. Harl
yn Krinston was mine, no matter what. I was too stunned to react for a second, but once I got enough blood pumping to the head on top of my shoulders, I lifted her off the couch and carried her down the hallway to her bedroom.
She buried her face in my neck, pressing kisses to my adam’s apple while I pawed around on the wall for the light switch. As soon as my fingers flipped it up, I stalked to the bed and tossed her down on top of the dark blue blanket she had draped over the top.
She rested back on her elbows, her eyes hooded with desire, and watched me kick off my shoes. Nothing on this Earth made me hotter than Harlyn looking at me like she wanted to devour me.
I popped open the button on my jeans and dropped them to the floor.
“You weren’t lying when you said you don’t wear underwear,” she gasped. I looked down, and my dick bobbed up and down, waving at her.
“Yeah, wasn’t lying.” Underwear had been a thing I stopped wearing years ago. And right then, I was thankful for the one less layer of clothing I needed to take off. “Pants off, baby,” I ordered.
She fumbled with the button of her jeans but managed to pop it open and work them down her legs. I grabbed each pant leg, pulled them over her feet, and tossed them on the floor.
“Come here, Remy.” Her voice was all husky and cloudy with need. She crooked a finger at me, and I automatically planted a knee on the bed and crawled my way up her body. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close.
I rested my hands on her hips, just above her blue underwear. She shivered at my touch and slightly bucked her hips. I didn’t need any more encouragement. I hooked my thumbs in the waist of her panties and slowly slid them down. She lifted herself, pressing her body into mine, giving me the space to pull them over her lush ass.
“Maybe I should stop wearing underwear too,” she whispered. I slipped out of her arms, worked them down her legs, and tossed them over my shoulder.
“Whatever you want, baby. I like you either way.” As long as she was close to me, I wouldn’t care if she was wearing panties, a trash bag, or a tutu. Harlyn just needed to be near me. I kissed her, hoping she could feel all the words I wanted to say, but knew I shouldn’t.
Burndown (Nitro Crew Book 1) Page 15
