by Jess Bryant
He wanted inside her. He wanted to claim her. He wanted to make her his in every way. But until she was ready for that, he’d claim her in every other way he could.
She was staying with him, indefinitely. They were living together. She was sleeping in his bed. She was his and he wanted the world to know it.
“Remy, please…” Rachel begged again and he groaned because he knew that he couldn’t give her what she needed. Not like this. Not their first time. But he could make her come. He could give her that.
He slid his hands up beneath the loose fitting shirt and unsnapped her bra, “Off.”
“Yes.”
Rachel scrambled to help him, pulling the shirt up and knocking her elbow against the window in the process. She winced and he frowned. He pulled her elbow up and kissed the spot that would probably bruise on her soft skin. She sighed and then wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned down to kiss him again.
He took control this time, stroking his tongue into her mouth and earning another moan. Her tongue met his with eagerness and passion, twining and then chasing him back into his mouth. He sucked and she bucked against him, those needy little moans falling from her again and reminding him of his intention to suck on another part of her.
He pulled her shirt up, had it over her belly button and would’ve had her full, lush breasts uncovered in another second if a loud and resounding horn hadn’t chosen that exact moment to blare. Remy froze and Rachel squeaked and jerked back. Her head collided with the roof of the car and she winced. His head spun around, instantly looking at the driver’s seat and the wheel before reason told him that it wasn’t their car honking.
The noise continued to blare and he groaned as reality sank back in. They were in the middle of nowhere. They’d been alone out here all day. Nobody would have just randomly wandered upon them which meant that whoever was out there, whoever was honking, had come looking for them.
“Damn it.” He cursed as he threw his head back against the headrest.
“Oh my God! Someone’s here?” Rachel’s pink cheeks flamed red and she scrambled, trying to crawl off his lap. When he caught her by the waist, holding her in place, she frowned at him, “Let go.”
“No.”
“Remy…”
“You’re not going anywhere until you put that bra back on, baby.” He smirked when the flush spread down her neck and under the hem of his shirt. “Whichever one of my bastard cousins is out there, they saw enough of you at the barn the other night.”
Rachel bit into her bottom lip again, “How do you know it’s one of your cousins?”
“They’re the only ones that know about this track other than me.”
“But your brothers…”
“Have never been out here as far as I know.” He sighed as the dark reasons for that crawled out of the box he tried to keep them in, “I was long gone by the time they were old enough to drive. I never brought them out here and I seriously doubt anyone else would’ve bothered.”
Rachel’s eyes softened, “You can’t blame yourself for every single thing you missed in their lives, Remy.”
“Who else can I blame? I’m the one that left.”
“You had to leave to save yourself.” She cupped his face and forced him to look at her, “If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here now to save me.”
His heart thumped hard and he felt something warm and suffocating clog his throat. He couldn’t speak to that. He couldn’t find the words. So instead of saying anything, he leaned up and kissed her. He poured his heart and soul into the kiss because they were both hers, always had been, always would be.
The horn blared again and he broke the kiss with a curse, “Stay here. I’ll go see what they want.”
“But…”
“No buts. Stay.” He deposited her back into the driver’s seat and did his best to rearrange his erection so it wasn’t pressed painfully against the zipper of his jeans.
“Don’t order me around like a dog.” Rachel frowned.
He frowned right back, “That’s not what I…”
“Sit. Stay. Be a good girl? That’s the kind of crap Craig says to me, Remy.”
Shit.” He leaned close to her again and gripped her chin, “I didn’t mean it like that, Rach. I promise. I just meant that I want you safe and right now, until I figure out who is out there and what they want, it’s safer if you stay in the car. Okay?”
Her eyes were soft again when she nodded, “Okay. Just say that next time.”
“Anything I do, it’s to keep you safe. Always.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and then another to her forehead before pulling back to the sound of short bursts of clearly agitated honking, “I’ll be right back.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.” He winked and ignored her eye roll as he pushed up and out of the car.
He straightened his clothes again once he was vertical and when he saw the classic, cherry red, Chevelle SS sitting just on the other side of the track, he scowled. He slammed the door of the Challenger shut and glared at his cousin who was leaning against the side of his car, one heavily tattooed arm still stuck through the open window to lay on the horn again. Even across the distance and with the beard shielding his lips, he could see Ford grin before he honked long and loud.
Remy flipped his cousin off as he stalked towards him, “Lay off. The horn is unnecessary.”
“Oh, I thought you’d appreciate I announced my presence from over here but if you’d have preferred I walk over and knock on the window when clothes were coming off, I’ll keep that in mind next time.” Ford was clearly smirking beneath his heavy beard now.
“How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to see your little bird spread her wings and fly.”
Remy growled, “You saw her cross the finish line?”
“Yep. She’s pretty good. In another life, she might’ve had a real shot at driving.”
“She’s not gonna be a getaway driver for you assholes.”
“Course not.”
“You saw all that so I guess you decided to wait and enjoy the show instead of announcing your presence as soon as she stopped?” Remy felt his fists clench at his sides even imagining his cousin seeing Rachel naked.
“Hey, once you’ve been locked up you learn to take your kicks where you can get ‘em.” Ford smirked and then stepped back when Remy started towards him, “Damn, slow your roll, Remy. Link’s right. You boys are too easy to rile these days.”
“It’s real easy not to rile us too. Just don’t talk about our women.”
“Noted.” Ford nodded his chin towards the Challenger, “So that’s what she is huh? Yours? You sure about that?”
“You were there the other night. You heard it yourself. She’s mine. What’s with the questions?”
“Nothin’.” Ford pushed off the car to his full height, “Link just asked me to check in with you. See how things are going with the girl.”
Remy frowned, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. He just asked me to check on you two so here I am, checkin’ in. He wanted a status update after I told him about what went down at the salon yesterday. Said he wanted to talk to her himself when he gets back to town.”
“He’s still gone?”
Ford nodded.
“On business?”
Ford nodded.
“Is that normal?”
Ford shrugged.
“As usual, you are just a wealth of information.” Remy snorted and earned a smirk in return, “I don’t know what Link’s deal is with Rachel but you can tell him he isn’t talking to her without going through me.”
“Will do.”
Remy didn’t like Lincoln’s sudden interest in his girl. Not at all. He’d thought Lincoln being all over her at the fight had just been about messing with him. His continued interest in her was unsettling. If Lincoln wanted to talk to her, Remy would know exactly what it was about before he got with
in twenty feet of her. He loved his cousin but he didn’t like him all that much these days and he damn sure didn’t trust him.
“While you’re at it, tell your twin that Rachel’s brother is part of his crew and he’s a grade A asshole. He needs to take a good hard look at that bastard because the way he talked about Link the other day, he ain’t a fan or an ally.”
Ford scowled behind his beard, “I told Link about the scene at the salon. What’s this about him talking to you about Lincoln?”
“He corned me and Rach after the fights the other night. Spouted some shit about Bomars being trash and thinking rules don’t apply to us. I don’t like the guy and I don’t trust him. I don’t think Lincoln should either.”
“Good to know. I’ll take a harder look into him myself. I didn’t like that scene I walked in on at the salon so he’s got something coming down the pipeline for threatening the girls anyhow.”
“Good.” Remy rubbed his hair and then remembered what else Rachel had told him this morning, “Oh, your little brother’s been hanging out with that bastard by the way. Rach said she’s seen him at the trailer a few times. You might check with him.”
“Royce.”
Remy snorted, “How’d you know? Could’ve been Bent.”
“Nah, if Bug is involved it’s probably trouble and trouble is Royce’s favorite kind of fun.”
Remy nodded and then stopped, “Wait? Bug?”
“Craig Grant. Rachel’s brother. Bug. That’s his nickname.”
“Because of the eyes?”
“Because of the eyes.” Ford smirked, “Funny because they fit your little bird perfect, all big and innocent like...”
“Stop talking about Rachel’s eyes. Now. Before I give into the urge to put my fist through your ugly mug.” Remy warned with a smirk of his own.
Ford barked out a rough laugh, as if he hadn’t used it lately, “Damn, it really is too easy. Keep your fists to yourself Remy. I’m going.”
“Good. Get gone.”
“Tell Rachel I said hello.” Ford waved as he pulled the door of the Chevelle open and laughed again when Remy flipped him off.
He watched his cousin leave and couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness that had overtaken his earlier pleasure. Not even when Rachel pushed open the driver’s side door of the Challenger and stepped out, smiling at him. He moved back towards her, because he had to. She was like a magnet. But his worries didn’t ease, not even when he kissed her and told her Ford was just checking on them.
He didn’t like Lincoln’s interest in Rachel. He didn’t like that his cousin was keeping tabs on her. He didn’t like that Craig was a part of Lincoln’s crew or that they were currently looking for a traitor in that crew. He didn’t like the way things were starting to add up in his head and he really didn’t like that Rachel still hadn’t told him what it was her brother had threatened her with to send her running to him.
But he wouldn’t push her. He’d told himself that. He’d promised himself that. And he wouldn’t break that promise. Not to himself. Not to her. Not ever.
He trusted her and he trusted that if there was any foundation for this new fear that had cropped up that she would have told him.
Chapter Eleven
“Honey, I’m home.”
Remy grinned as he pushed into the trailer and kicked his boots off at the door. Damn, there was something about coming home to Rachel that tied him up in knots. It felt so… normal. Domestic. But it was also foreign and special and he loved the idea of it because he’d never really seen scenes like this anywhere but on TV.
Decker had certainly never hurried home after a long day of work. He’d never been happy to come home at all. Whenever he did stumble in the door, he’d been drunk and angry and he’d taken it out on his wife and children. Chrissy had never been the kind of woman to wait up on him either. She’d never been sitting at home, making dinner and keeping house and home for him. Their house had never been a home but that was what Remy and Rachel were building.
Home.
Maybe it had only been a few days but those days had been perfect and their nights had been magical.
They woke up wrapped around each other. They fought over warm water in the shower or he snuck into the small space and teased her until the space was hot and the water was cold and they both ended up being late to work. She rode into town with him every day and kissed him right there on the street where they’d first met. She went to Split Ends and he went to Fine Lines and whoever managed to get away grabbed lunch and they ate together every day. They rode home together most nights and then Rachel insisted on cooking dinner and they cuddled on the couch until inevitably cuddling turned into something else.
They hadn’t made love yet. Not yet. Not for lack of wanting to on both of their parts but he’d stopped them from taking that step time and again.
He wanted it. He wanted her. He wanted to claim Rachel and make her his in every way. He loved her and he thought she loved him but she hadn’t told him yet and he couldn’t bring himself to take her virginity until she did.
Maybe the words shouldn’t have mattered so much to him. Not when it was obvious in all of the ways she looked and talked and touched him that she did. But he needed the words. Maybe because he’d never heard them much in his life. Maybe because there’d never been anyone that told him those words that he’d been able to believe. But he needed to hear Rachel say she loved him so he could believe it was true when he was certain she was still keeping something from him.
That thought sobered his good mood just as it had for the past five days. Ever since Ford had shown up at the track that day and told him Lincoln wanted to talk to Rachel. Ever since he realized that Rachel’s brother was a low-life member of Lincoln’s crew and that they were looking for a rat in that crew. Ever since the thought had entered his mind he hadn’t been able to shake it.
What if Craig was the rat they were looking for? What if that bastard was threatening more than just Rachel? What if he was the threat to Remy’s family too?
He’d tried asking Rachel more about her brother but she shut down whenever he mentioned Craig. She’d told him about her half-brother threatening to hurt her, about the times he’d come home drunk or high and smacked her around. She’d told him about the few times he’d shoved her in her room and told her not to come out because his shitty friends were trying to touch her. But whenever he brought up what had happened that last night when she showed up at the barn scared for her life, she shut down.
He’d let it go this week or, he’d tried to let it go. He’d let her get away with distracting him from his line of questioning with kisses and touches. And he’d told himself that he was overreacting, worrying about nothing, that he was assuming the worst. But the truth was, he assumed the worst because in his life, that was usually the way things went. If it could go bad, it would but this was Rachel and he refused to let the worst touch her.
Lincoln would be back tonight. He’d sworn he would. He’d been mute about where it was he’d been for the last week but he’d said he would be back tonight for Cash and Jemma’s wedding. He wouldn’t miss the biggest family event in years. Not even if Cash would have preferred he stayed far, far away from his pregnant, soon to be wife. The entire family would show up tonight to celebrate the happy couple, or for the open bar, and Remy planned to corner his cousin as soon as possible and demand answers.
“Remy? Is that you?” The sweet voice drifting out of his bedroom pulled him back to the present and he smiled again as he remembered it wasn’t his room anymore. It was theirs.
“Nope, it’s the big bad wolf.” He chuckled as he headed down the tight hallway.
Her giggle floated to him and he basked in the sound. That was the best sound he’d ever heard. It didn’t matter if he actually said something funny or not, he loved the sound of her laughter wrapping around him. She’d told him that was what Skylar called him the first time she warned Rachel away and though he didn’t find the reference all that
funny, she seemed to, so he used it… a lot.
“Babe, we’re running late so I’m gonna hop in the…”
He stopped in the doorway of the bedroom because his heart stopped at the sight of her. His throat went dry and whatever it was he’d been saying, he forgot it. The pain in his chest was so sharp and overwhelming that he raised his hand to the spot and then worried that he’d suffered a heart attack and he was dead. Because the vision standing in front of him was his version of heaven.
Rachel was standing in front of the dresser, her back to him as she adjusted the necklace that dangled around her slim neck in the mirror. Her dark hair was down and curled around her shoulders. Her small, curvy body was hugged by the most seductive piece of black satin that he’d ever seen. The long sleeves belled from her arms whimsically and covered her elegantly even though the short hem left her shapely legs bare. The matching heels completed the picture perfect look and instantly he was hard as he imagined bending her over the dresser and sliding beneath that short dress.
“Remy?”
Rachel saying his name jerked him out of that fantasy and he met her gaze in the mirror. Her face was done up with makeup again which he hadn’t seen since that night at the barn. Dark red lipstick and thick black eyeliner highlighted every bit of her beauty. Her big, blue-gray eyes met his and his heart jumpstarted again as he rushed towards her.
“My God, you’re gorgeous.”
“Really?” She turned before he reached her and the worry he’d seen in her eyes in that mirror was still there.
He didn’t stop, he simply got close enough and then pulled her into his arms, “I love you, Rachel.”
She gasped but he didn’t give her time to respond to the words. He captured her mouth with his and moaned as her sweet taste flooded his system. She kissed him back but when he tried to deepen the kiss, wanting, needing, to meld himself to her, she nipped his lip and then pulled back.
“Stop.”
