Donna rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. She understood that there were rules for a reason, but they didn’t help her find her little brother or discern what he was up to.
“I understand.”
There was a slight pause and a soft sigh on the other side of the line. “That being said, I can say that Kyle, until this last year, has been a model student. His grades were near the top of his class, and his attendance was exemplary. According to his record, all of his teachers enjoyed having him in their classes, and he was involved in several after-school activities. I would have called him one of our best.”
Donna hadn’t known any of that. How much had distancing herself from this city and everything about it alienated her from her little brother? The answer was “too much.” Donna shook her head, knowing that the woman couldn’t see it.
“And did your school have an influx of new students this year?”
“As a matter of fact, we did. We don’t get many people moving into Carson. Here’s the thing, Ms. Mason, unless you can say that you are aware of Kyle’s absence and the reason for him being out was excusable, then I have to say that I’ll be informing the sheriff.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Donna responded, going cold. “Kyle and I are attending a family function today. I realize that school is important, but this recent issue has brought to light that a family support structure might be helpful.”
“Of course.”
It was a nice lie, and both of the women knew it. They also knew that Kyle was, deep down, a good kid. Recent decisions were the exception to his life, not the rule. He deserved a chance, and both of them wanted to give it. Kyle was surprisingly lucky. They exchanged a few more pleasantries before saying good-bye.
When Donna hung up the phone, she felt numb. No, she realized after taking a deep breath, she was angry. It felt like fire was rolling inside of her lungs. Her hands were trembling as she set her phone aside.
“Where is he?” Cody’s voice was surprisingly gentle.
“I-I… don’t… know,” she said, levering herself off the sofa. Her feet made a quick tattoo across the ground as she started to pace. He could be anywhere. “You know this place better than I do now. Where would he go?”
“If he were at the shop, my uncle or Twitch would have called me. If he was at the club, then Hulk would have let me know.”
“What about where we found him before? Where he was tagging?”
He shook his head. “That might be fine for late night, but that stretch of road is pretty busy during the day.”
She cursed. When that didn’t make her feel any better, she cursed louder. It didn’t help any more the second time than it had the first. Donna hated this. It wasn’t just she’d didn’t know where her brother was, or who he was with, though there was certainly that. It was also the fact that he was giving up his entire life to skip school. And for what? Some girl?
“This is ridiculous.”
She felt a hand against her cheek. It was as tender as it was callused, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Donna paused in her stomping to turn and face Cody.
“What do you need?” he asked.
It was a simple question, but a loaded one. What did she need? She needed to get back to her simple life where the most difficult thing to do was manage a difficult client. She needed a long shower and a bottle of wine. She needed her brother to not be traveling in the footsteps that she had left behind. More than anything, she had to admit, she needed Cody.
“I want to go for a drive.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cody
Cody hit the Cancel button on his phone when it went straight to Kyle’s voice mail for the sixth time in a row. Continuing to call wasn’t helping anyone, least of all Donna. He felt the smooth shudder beneath his body as she hit a hundred and twenty. They’d been driving for at least an hour, and the sun was hanging high in the sky. Even with the windows open and the AC going full blast, he was slick with sweat.
She, however, looked like some kind of modern warrior goddess. The wind from the open windows tore her hair free of the ponytail she had tossed it into, turning the locks into living flames around her flushed face. Her hands, dainty and delicate, gripped the stick shift with confidence. There was a twitch of muscle in her arm as she shifted gears again, slowing as she took a turn on a road he could barely see.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“No.” She kept her eyes forward. Her cupid’s bow mouth had formed into a grim line. It suited the dark jeans and darker shirt that were plastered to that curvaceous body.
“He’ll show up, Donna.”
“Yeah,” she said. She didn’t sound convinced. She sounded angry, and he couldn’t blame her. His warrior woman was the kind who liked complete control over a situation, and right now she didn’t have it. “He wants to go to some concert tomorrow, and I told him no.”
He resisted the urge to smirk. “You think he’s pissed at you, so he took off?”
“I wouldn’t know, would I?” she demanded. “I mean, here I am, back after too many years away and demanding him to live up to standards my parents haven’t imposed.”
“Imposing rules on a teenager doesn’t always help things. Kyle’s a good kid.”
“Good kids don’t go joyriding and skipping school and… who knows what else!” She didn’t take her eyes off the road, but he could see her neck go taught, forming a straight line of porcelain white. If she’d been a softer woman, a more delicate one, she might have looked like a doll. He didn’t think she’d appreciate the sentiment, especially not right now.
“Can’t imagine where he gets the need for speed from.”
She downshifted and took a turn hard enough to slam him against the window. He reached up to grab the little handle above the door as the car came to a screeching halt. Dust swam around the car in a cloud of red-brown. When he looked at her she was breathing hard.
“Are you blaming me?”
“No.”
She slapped the release button for the seat belt, and it skimmed across her chest. It caught for just a moment against the curve of one breast. The moment she was free, she slithered over the center console and into his lap. Her hands planted against his chest, holding him against the sun-warmed leather as she stared down at him with stormy eyes.
“It isn’t my fault,” she snarled.
He gave a short nod. “I’m not arguing.”
Something warred inside her eyes, something hot and wild. Her pretty nails dug into his chest, pricking against the fabric, clenching and unclenching like a cat making bread. Her body settled more firmly in his lap, pushing against him. He felt the firm press of her cleft through her jeans. His shaft hardened in response to the weight of her buttocks against his lap. God, she was soft. How was a hard-as-nails woman like Donna so goddamned soft?
“I… I need,” she growled, dipping her head to run her teeth over the curve of his ear.
“Go ahead,” he answered, settling himself against the seat. “Take.”
Her mouth plastered against his. It was like a fire had been trapped in her lips and she wanted to brand him with it. He drank down the heat and lifted his hips up to her, grinding himself against the jeans that she had poured herself into. She thrusts herself back hard enough to drive him against the seat.
“Let me,” she panted against his lips, pushing at his chest until he stopped moving. “Just… let me.”
“All right.”
Cody had no problem with a woman who wanted to be in charge. Sure, he knew some of the guys might give him all kinds of flak for it. But right now, with this gorgeous woman straddling his hips and kissing her way down his neck? He couldn’t bring himself to give a damn. There was nothing quite like a woman making demands on his body. Why wonder if he was pleasing his woman when she’d just tell him?
Was she his? He wondered as she slunk toward the small space between his legs. The curves of her body fit between his knees. Her mouth danced down his ch
est and then kissed the button of his own pants as if promising him other things. A thrill spiked through him.
“Oh God,” he breathed.
Her chuckle was lascivious and dark: dark like midnight, dark like wine. She reached beside him and hit a lever, sending him several inches back. His body bounced and he found himself wondering if he ought to stop. Sure, it was hot to have her slinking over him like a cat in heat, but what if she started having second thoughts again? It’s not like she wasn’t having morning-after issues earlier.
“Donna…”
“Shut up.”
Her hands slid over the inside seam of his jeans, pausing only when she found his length. His thoughts came to a screeching halt as she squeezed him. The stroking of her palm was muted through the fabric, but it was enough to take his already building erection and turn it to a rock. She stroked, again and again until he was aching. Just when he thought he might resort to begging, she surged up until her breasts, still clad in her slim top, were pressed between his thighs, pushing against his erection.
“Take off your shirt,” she said, her voice a low purr. “And unzip your pants.”
His lips formed a smile. “So bossy.”
She turned her head until her lips pressed against the bulge in his jeans that marked the tip of his shaft. The wet heat from her mouth slid over him, and he went lax.
“Just do what I tell you, biker boy.”
“Or what?” he teased.
“Or I’ll stop.” The response was flat, matter-of-fact and tinged with promise.
He certainly didn’t want that. Still, he didn’t have to just give in either. He plucked at the fabric of his T-shirt, tugging it up just enough to show the lowest part of his stomach. He watched her storm-gray eyes go dark, and her tongue danced over her lips. “You want me to take this off?”
“Didn’t I just say so?”
He tugged it up another few inches. He liked the way she looked at him. Her lips were parted as if she was just waiting to use them all over his body. Cody was more than willing to let her. There was something glorious about a woman who wanted. Her hands dove over his chest, greedily pushing up the cloth he hadn’t moved yet. She tugged hard until the shirt ended up somewhere else.
Her mouth slid over his skin like she was starving and he was the buffet. He wondered if there had ever been another who drove him this wild. Her lips danced over his skin, moving up and up until they fastened over his mouth. He kissed her back with fervor, tasting her as much as she tasted him. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and he held on to her hips, tugging her closer to his body.
“Didn’t I tell you to unzip your damn pants?” she growled.
He nipped at her lips once more before reaching between their bodies and tugging his jeans apart. It felt good not to be trapped inside his own clothes, but it still ached. She’d barely touched him and all he wanted to do was slam himself inside of her until they were both lost.
“Is that what you need?” he asked, pushing his hips up, driving himself against her.
“I’ll show you what I need.”
Her hand slithered down his chest and into the brim of his boxers before her fist wrapped around him like a vice made of velvet. He jerked and all that managed to do was drive him into the tunnel that her fingers made.
“Oh God,” he groaned.
“Do it again,” she hissed against his ear.
“What?”
“Move your hips like you want me, like you need me.”
He did want her. He did need her. This bossy woman drove him mad in a way that no other woman had even come close to. He reached behind himself, gripping the headrest with one hand and the side of the driver’s-side bucket seat with the other. He levered himself up, again and again, driving himself against her hand. It felt so good to have her touching him.
“Is this all you want?” he asked. “Some dirty touching in the front seat of your car?”
“Well,” she said with an impish smile that drove a groan from his throat, “I don’t have a backseat.”
The words should have been innocent, but they purred from her lips, still wet from exploring him. They were ripe with meaning, heavy with lust. Her hand tightened on him, and for just a second he thought he was going to lose control.
“Jesus, Donna.”
“There we go,” she whispered. “That’s what I want. I want you… big, bad, biker boy… to be writhing for me. I want you to groan for me. I want you to moan for me. I want… God, Cody, I want you to beg.”
“Deal.”
He wrapped his arms around her and heaved her closer to his body. She slid her legs over his hips, cupping herself against him. She ground her body against him in unabashed hedonistic desire and dragged his hands to her breasts.
“Touch me.”
He did. He felt the weight of her breasts against his palms, filling them. Her nipples were so hard that the tips had gone rough with texture. He swirled the pads of his thumbs over them, flicking over and over again until she moaned.
“More,” she growled. “Don’t hold back.”
He took the nipples between his fingers and pinched, steadily increasing pressure until she was gasping. Her eyes fluttered and she pushed herself hard against his hands. Her body moved like a wave against him. One pale hand snaked over her own body, undoing her zipper.
“Touch,” she commanded, her voice husky.
He was only too happy to comply. When he dipped his hands beneath her cotton panties, she was wet. She dripped against his palm, and he slipped one finger inside the damp heat of her body. She made a heady sound, and he slid another finger into her again. When she started to move her hips in a quick pulse, he pushed in tandem.
“You’re being gentle.” She said it like it was a bad thing.
“I am touching some pretty delicate parts.”
She scoffed and pulled herself away from his hand. His fingers glistened with her pleasure. She pushed her jeans down toward the floor until only one scrap of fabric stayed hooked around one ankle. Seeing her bare from the hips down in the bright light of the afternoon made him ache. The soft triangle of curls at the top of her femininity led his eyes to the soft pink slit between her thighs.
“God, you are pretty.”
She gave him a smirk that skirted the line of evil. “Is that the best you can do?”
“Well, I’d prefer to use my mouth for things other than compliments.”
Her head fell back, and she groaned out, “Get to it.”
It took a little maneuvering, but she ended up with her round backside pinned to the dash with one foot perched on the door and another around his back. His hands cupped the swell of her hips, and he moved to kiss his way up her thigh. She stopped him with a single finger to his brow.
“No, don’t be sweet, don’t be cute. I need you to drown me with pleasure.”
He thought about arguing with her. She deserved to be pleasured, to be seduced. The hard light in her eye told him that she was being serious. Donna wanted him to dive in, proverbially speaking.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
Her tongue swept across her lips. “You can say that again if you want to.”
He laughed, and then he ravished her with his mouth. He put lips and tongue and teeth to work, tasting the crux of her womanhood. His lips fastened over the pearl at her cleft, and he worked it relentlessly. He felt her fingers slide around the back of his head, holding him in place, and he rolled his eyes up to watch her face as he redoubled his efforts.
He saw the brightness come into her eyes that told him that he was doing everything right. His finger danced its way between her thighs and plunged back into the folds of her soaked pleasure, working in and out until her nails scraped against his scalp.
“That’s it, Cody,” she gasped. “Mmmm, just like that. Don’t stop, not yet, not yet.”
He didn’t ever want to stop, the satin caress of her thighs against his cheeks, the way her hips twitched when he hit just the right spot. Othe
r guys could have their sweet and shy ladies; his Donna was wanton and he loved it.
She was close—he could taste it. He plunged his tongue over her again and again. Then he felt her foot shove him suddenly away. His back met the bucket seat with enough force to surprise him. Her body was swiveling around so that her back was facing him. While it was a very nice view, he couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. What the hell had just happened? He was just about to start asking questions when she plopped her round backside in his lap and told him in no uncertain terms:
“Do it.”
She bent herself forward as much as the tiny space would allow, and he was suddenly very thankful that she did all those yoga stretches. He slid forward, gripped her hips, and pushed himself inside of her warm wetness. She mewled hungrily.
BARE SKIN: A Dark Bad Boy Romance Page 42
