But sitting here now across from a sweet, innocent woman who knew nothing about brutal violence and who was blissfully unaware of the dark slimy underbelly of bad men doing bad things, Silver suddenly didn’t want to even vaguely hint at this ugliness. Between the Highwaymen scuffle and now his careless words, Ana was looking kind of freaked out as it was, and Silver didn’t want that.
He wanted something else entirely.
OK, so she wasn’t from anywhere close to him, so he wasn’t going to see her again. Now that he thought about it, though, he actually had no clue why she was so far from New Mexico, no idea what had happened with her ex, no sense of what she did for a living. Hell, he didn’t even know her last name. None of this was his style, exactly no part of it.
But somehow it was still OK. In fact, it was better this way. Almost ideal.
If he was going to spend precisely one night with his dream woman, then why not make it the ultimate fantasy? Meet a gorgeous woman in a bar, have wild and passionate sex with her based on nothing more than primal attraction and pure lust, and then go their separate ways in the morning with nothing but amazing memories… Silver had done that a few times in his younger days, and he still recalled those encounters with fondness.
Ana would be a whole different level, though, mostly because Silver was older and wiser – and better in bed. He also knew better what he liked, and he was better at asking what a woman wanted. And all he knew was that he wanted Ana to have a mind-blowing night with him. Mind-blowing both ways.
So first order of business: take that look of fear off her beautiful face, bring back that luminous, pure smile. Now.
“Bad for Sabotage means that he’s going to be demoted,” Silver said, knowing that death was indeed a form of demotion, albeit a pretty permanent one. “That’s the ultimate humiliation for someone like him. He’ll lose serious face.”
Ana gave a sigh of relief. “Will he be able to stay with the club?”
“I doubt that he’ll want to. Then again, this might be the knock to the head that he needs to get a bit humble and be a better part of the family.”
“Do you really think so?”
Nope. He’ll be in pieces and in some lake within eight hours. “Sure, why not? People change all the time, right?”
She looked very happy at that, her glowing smile back. “They do. They do it every day.”
“That is damn correct, sweet thing. All day every day, and sometimes in the most surprising ways.”
People change all the time… all day every day, and sometimes in the most surprising ways.
Zeke’s words echoed in Jo’s ears a few times. Funny how this guy seemed to really understand her without knowing a single real thing about her. Not even her name.
Well, so what? He didn’t need to know, did he? He’d be hauling that amazing ass back to Arizona to finish his custom-order chopper, and she’d be in Colorado possibly working as an accountant for an ex-criminal MC. Worlds apart, universes between them. Why not just enjoy the situation for what it was?
And what it was was that they were two consenting adults in a bar, adults who were clearly attracted to each other, adults who were far from home – and her cabin was just across the highway.
The next step confounded Jo, though. How to get the man across the damn highway? She’d literally never done this before, this one-night-stand thing, so how exactly did she indicate her interest? Did she bat her eyelashes, or drop a few sexy hints, or throw herself at him? Maybe all of the above?
She scrambled to remember that she was as-good-as a single woman, confident in herself and her attraction to the opposite sex. She looked at his broad chest and admired the groove of muscle so visible through the thin cotton t-shirt, and her eyes suddenly saw the beer stains. Her gaze slid down his powerful thighs, made a point of noting the impressive bulge between them, and saw more stains on his jeans.
“Hey,” she said. “I forgot that you got splashed when Sabotage dropped that beer under your manly grip.”
He glanced down at himself with a wry smile. “Right? I reek and it’s kinda gross, I gotta tell you. I hate beer and so I’m really not enjoying sitting here soaked in the stuff.”
“You should get out of those clothes then,” she said, pitching her voice low and warm, already turned on at just the suggestion of this drop-dead hot man being naked. “Freshen up.”
Immediately those silver eyes flared hot and molten, and Jo felt the answering burst of heat in her stomach.
“You think so, huh?” Zeke said in that drawl that made her all faint and weak at the knees, even sitting down.
“I do.”
“It’s a real shame that I’m not in cabin number seven. It has this amazing, deep, huge claw-footed bathtub.” He winked at her. “You’d love to have a bubble bath in it, angel. You’d be able to swim lengths in the damn thing, I swear.”
Without a word, Jo reached into her backpack, dangled a key in front of him. He stared at it for a few seconds, puzzled, then he saw the number on the piece of wood attached to the keychain.
“Wait. You’re staying across the road too?” he rasped. “In number seven?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” For good measure, Jo batted her eyelashes and he laughed. “So what do you think, shall we get you out of those beer-stained clothes and freshened up in my bathtub?”
“Maybe. You gonna be in there with me, Ana?”
“You bet, Zeke. Swimming lengths.”
He laughed again, then he stopped and stared at her. Like just stared, stared like he’d stripped her red dress off her trembling body, stripped off her white cotton panties, stripped off all her defenses and left her vulnerable and completely naked under that intense gaze. Like he saw every single thing that she was and wanted to be, all her tangled-up dreams and wishes for tonight, and for tomorrow. Like he was seeing her as she so longed to be for him, for herself.
Like he was seeking her damn soul.
“What are you doing here, sweet thing?” he asked softly, and she heard the layers and levels to that question. “What are you really doing here?”
“In this bar?”
“No, angel. Here. With me. Now.”
And that’s when Jo decided to just take the plunge – straight into the goddamn deep end. After all, life changes, the big ones, didn’t happen by dipping in a toe. Jo took a breath, summoned her inner silver-screen siren and then said:
“What would you say if I told you that I was looking for trouble?”
Silver knew that this woman wasn’t relationship material, wasn’t a future – which made her like pretty much every other woman in his life. She was achingly sexy and sweet, but in the end, she was one night. That was all that Silver was good for, all he could offer, all they could have with him in Colorado and her in New Mexico… and it was just going to have to be enough. He’d take it. Despite not actively seeking out one-night-stands, he was damned if he’ d pass up a chance to touch this woman’s midnight hair, kiss the curve of her hip, feel her moving against him in that age-old rhythm of primal need.
He smiled, a slow smile, loving how her eyes flashed fire in response.
“You’re looking for trouble?” he echoed. “Then I’d say that you sound like my kind of girl.”
“Is that right?”
“It is.”
“Huh.” She toyed with the cabin key, slid her fingers up and down its length, and Silver’s cock hardened, pressed against his zipper. “Interesting.”
“And what would you say, angel,” he asked her, his voice getting rougher and deeper. “If I told you that I was exactly the kind of trouble you were looking for?”
Jo looked up at him, suddenly realizing that this was going to happen. That her fantasy about seeing this man naked, having this man in her body, was actually going to come true. That she was moving past and beyond Brian now, moving away from the self-loathing
and -doubt that he’d instilled in her so deeply that she’d lost herself. That her old life was no more than a faint outline in her rearview mirror as she sped away from all that darkness, towards the sunrise. That her new life was about to begin.
It’s already begun.
She smiled, ready for anything that was about to happen in the next hour, tomorrow, next year. “I’d say prove it, querido.”
Chapter Four
Jo knew that she was in way over her head when her hands were shaking so much, she couldn’t open the damn cabin door.
She shut her eyes, said a quick prayer for help because Tap dancing Christ on a cracker get a grip, took a deep breath and relaxed. Hard to do with two-hundred-plus pounds of hard, hot man standing right behind her, but she managed.
The key turned in the lock.
She opened the door, stepped into the warm little space, turned to beckon him in. The cabin was welcoming and adorable, all honey wood and colorful throw rugs scattered around. The kitchen was fine for coffee and toast, the living room was fine for a glass of wine on the sofa while watching a movie.
The bathroom was more than fine for a long, hot bubble bath with a gorgeous man. The bedroom was absolutely more than fine for whatever the hell was going to happen after the bath – Jo still didn’t quite know what to expect from Zeke. She just hoped that she’d enjoy it.
The door closed behind them.
Feeling more nervous than she’d ever thought possible, Jo took off her coat. Suddenly, she felt very keenly her lack of experience in this department. In her younger years, she’d been flirty and into parties, always a bit of a social butterfly, but even something as harmless as casual kissing hadn’t been her thing. Forget about casual sex.
She’d have to wing it.
“So,” she said brightly, thinking that she’d just start to talk. “This is it.”
Zeke quietly removed his jean jacket and for some reason, that made her start to freak out.
“I was surprised when I first walked in the door, actually,” Jo babbled as she crossed the living room, waving her arms idiotically like a real estate agent on an open house tour. “I mean, it’s not that it’s a big cabin, you know, but it’s so well laid out that it’s bigger than I thought when I saw it from the outside. I guess it just uses space really well and that makes it so homey. I think it’d be so cute as an office space, if I were an artist or something. Don’t you think?”
“Ana.” His voice was low and dark.
“Erm…” she stammered. “Yes?”
“Come over here.”
She stared across at him, silent and stunned, her body humming with desire. Oh God, oh God. This was going to happen.
Slowly, she did as he said: she walked back over to the door, feeling her heartbeat in her fingertips, in her throat, in her pussy. And then there she was standing right in front of Zeke, gazing up at his moonlight eyes, feeling the heat and strength of his body even without touching it.
“Are you sure?”
“Am I –” She shook her head, confused. “Am I sure about what?”
“About this.” He cocked his silver-blond head, nailed her with that damn x-ray-vision look that he had down pat. “If you’ve changed your mind or it doesn’t feel right, you tell me that and I’ll go to my own cabin. No harm, no foul, angel. But you need to tell me before things heat up, because then it will only get harder to tell me the truth. I don’t want you doing anything that you’ll regret.”
“Oh.” She swallowed hard. “The thing is, I’ve never… ummm… never done this before.”
Slowly, Zeke reached for her. She gave a little squeak as his hands rested on her hips, splayed out so his fingers were on her ample butt, just skimming her curves.
“Never done what?” he said.
“Never moved this fast.”
“Is it too fast?”
“No.” She managed a shaky grin. “But then again, we haven’t actually done anything more than take off our coats.”
“True.” Zeke stared down at her thoughtfully. “Well… how about we start with a kiss? See how we go from there?”
Jo’s heart leaped into her throat as she zeroed in on those amazing lips, hovering just inches above her own. She waited for him to kiss her, she even swayed a bit in his direction, but he didn’t so much as lean towards her. He just kept looking at her, his eyes flames in his face – but he didn’t budge an inch.
“You’re going to make the first move, baby,” he grated out. “You’re going to start things up here, ‘cause I have to be sure.”
Jo blinked, astonished that he was actually going to stand there like a stone statue, hands touching her lightly but absolutely still. Idly, she wondered how long he’d actually wait for her to do something before he cracked. Then she took in his self-control and his patience, and she realized that he would wait a long time.
Well, maybe he was able to wait. She wasn’t.
Without giving herself too much of a chance to get more nervous about what she was doing, she reached up, pulled his face down to hers, pressed her lips to his. He inhaled sharply, then he pulled her tight and close, kissing her hard. Right away she melted, her whole body going limp and almost boneless at his touch. His immediate response showed her how much he’d been holding himself back but Lord, his desire and want were washing over her now in waves.
His hands were alive and thank God, moving over her hips and ass insistently, then pulling her lower body up against his. She moaned as she felt his hardness against her softness, and the answering growl in his throat made her knees weak.
Suddenly, Zeke pulled back. He was still again, his hands back around her waist and unmoving. He held her gaze for a few intense seconds, then he smiled and said, “For a first move, that one was damn impressive.”
Jo giggled in surprised relief. “Really?”
“Hell yeah, angel.”
He moved his hands up her body, up the sides of her breasts to rest lightly on her bare shoulders. She shivered at his warm touch, wanting to feel it all over her body, over every inch of her skin. That was when her fear just dissipated like dew in morning sunshine, just fell away like scales on her eyes. She suddenly understood that she wanted and needed this, and that she wasn’t going to feel afraid or ashamed about what she wanted and needed.
She’d spent enough years of her life steeped in fear and shame. That ended this second. It ended here.
A woman with a mission now, Jo took Zeke’s hand and gave him a small tug to follow her to the bathroom. He did so without a word, let her take the lead without protest. They got to the bathroom and stood in the room softly lit by the lights outside and the winter moon, listening to each other breathe.
Again, Jo knew that she’d have to make the move here. Shy but determined, she reached out to him, found the bottom of his t-shirt. She pulled it up his body, watched as muscles and tattoos emerged an inch at a time, both more amazing than she’d have imagined. She got the shirt over his head, dropped it on the floor, then just stared at the rugged vision of masculine beauty standing right in front of her.
And yes, he had the ‘v’ going down into his jeans, which was nice as hell – but he had a large, solid upper body, the kind that was literally the stuff of her dreams. But Zeke was real, flesh and blood, hard grooves of muscle and bone, and she could touch all of it. All of him.
She wasn’t even aware that she’d reached out again until she felt the heat of him under her fingers: she was running her fingertips over his corded shoulders, down the curve of his pecs, over his strong collarbone, then down the middle of his body, tracing the line of blond hair down, down… and down farther.
He made a sound in his throat as she stroked his cock through his jeans; the sound was something wild and inarticulate, and Jo felt the most female part of herself respond to it. It was primal and dark, something that was about sensation not tho
ughts, and she rejoiced in the knowledge that she’d evoked that in this man.
Without a word, she turned her back on him, moved away. She felt his eyes on her body as she slowly bent over the claw-footed bathtub, turning the water on and pouring in some rose bubble bath provided by the cabin. With a sense of feminine power, she arched her back a bit, knew that the movement made her ass curve up invitingly as she posed and offered herself to his gaze. She looked over her shoulder at him with a sassy heated glance, a coy little invitation… and he RSVP’d immediately.
In two steps he was on her, yanking her up straight and turning her around to face the wall. She gasped at the change in dynamic: her teasing and taunting were shoved roughly to one side and now he was in full and total control. Jo trembled as he dropped a slow, sexy kiss on her right shoulder, then lightly nipped her soft skin before moving his mouth to her ear.
“Don’t you move, angel,” he murmured. “Keep facing forward.”
Before she could even breathe out, his hands had moved to the zipper on the back of her dress and it was gliding down with a soft hissing sound. The material fell open, revealing naked golden skin – and no bra.
“Huh,” he said as he traced the curve of her spine down. She longed to writhe under his touch, but she heeded his order to stand still. “You seem to be missing something under here, baby.”
“The cut of the dress doesn’t work with a bra,” she said. “It needs a strapless one, and I don’t have that.”
“I ain’t complaining, believe me.” He pulled the dress down to her hips, cupped her breasts in his rough palms. “Less for me to have to take off.”
She gasped again, threw her head back onto his broad shoulder. She hoped hard that he didn’t consider that moving against orders, but she couldn’t help it: he was tweaking her nipples, pinching them gently, and all she could do was fall against him for support.
“This is such a fucking hot dress,” he said in a guttural voice. “It looks great on you, but I think it’ll look even better on the damn floor.”
In a single movement, he had the dress down her legs and pooled around her feet. She was suddenly very aware that she was standing there in white cotton panties and knee-high boots, and if she were being honest, she’d never felt sexier in the whole of her life.
The Devil's Silver (The Road Devils MC Book 2) Page 7
