Moonlight Moments (Steele Family Book 2)

by Emily Bowie

  I have to bite my tongue when all I want to do is lash out. Sounds like Sloan’s been gone as long as I have. She’s not the same girl she was back then, just like I’m not the same person either.

  Slowly, I turn back toward him. “That’s the beauty of her. I want her to stay wild and free. I have no intention to tame any part of her.”

  “You will only cage her in.”

  I lift my eyebrow in question, annoyed he’s even bringing this up right now. “You know nothing about me.” My voice is hardening with him digging into my nerves, lashing out more than necessary.

  He smiles, realizing he hit a nerve. I’m more controlled than this.

  “All I’m saying is she’s a bit of a gypsy. She’s capable of more than destroying a man’s heart. It’s the only time I will give you that warning.”

  I hear her laughter echo off the steel walls, and I spot her. Her fingers pull at her curled locks, twisting it high on top of her head. The black ink on her wrists play peekaboo as she twists the elastic off her arm and into a messy bun.

  Her makeup is light, making her green eyes sparkle. She’s what every man dreams about—a lady in the streets and a demon in the sheets.

  “I love a woman who lives by her own rules.” I smirk, thinking about all of the naughty things I will do to her later.

  “For you, I hope it’s her own rules.” Russ says it so low I almost think I imagined his words. Before I can demand he clarify himself, he’s off giving my girl a hug.

  In fact, it looks like everyone here knows each other but me. Sloan waves to two men in the other corner. I want to walk up to her, needing to claim her lips in front of everyone, telling them to fuck off.

  Instead, I go for a casual arm around her shoulders, whispering into her ear, “You still sure you’re cool with this?” All she needs to do is give me the word and I will haul her ass out of here in an instant.

  She graces me with that gorgeous smile of hers. “To one last hurrah,” she whispers back.

  CHAPTER 37

  Tonight while sitting in the warehouse, Kellen holding my hand and Kip giving his inspirational speech, I realize I’ve let myself overstay my welcome. If I stay, Ace will continue to use me against Kip, just like he is tonight. Making me put my cousin and Kellen in danger. I can’t do that to either of them.

  I hate that I let him get to me.

  What makes it worse—each time Kellen looks at me, he looks in awe, like I can do no wrong. How very wrong he is. I tell myself I’m doing this for everyone’s well-being. I think I am. It could also be argued it’s for me, as I do what I’ve always needed to—look out for myself.

  “To one last hurrah.” I have a hard time finding my voice. I’m thankful there is no moonlight to expose me, only dark sky, like my world has been scribbled on with black ink, rewriting my future.

  My hands feel like ice in Kellen’s large warm ones. The cold seeps into the rest of my body, making me shiver. Kellen wraps his arm around me, bringing me close to his body. His woodsy, masculine scent coils around me. I don’t want to leave the warmth and protection of his body. I wish I would’ve found a way to stay longer in bed with him this morning.

  He opens the door for me, his lips pressing against my head. I can’t help but sink into them. I’m determined to make the best out of the situation.

  I want Kellen to think about me for years to come, because I know I will be doing the same when I let him go.

  “Tell me how you got so good at this.” I can see the curiosity in his eyes.

  I can’t help but laugh. “You won’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me,” he challenges.

  I settle into our decoy car, bringing my knees to my chest. “Books.”

  “Books?”

  “Yup. Kip knew Granny would murder him if he let me tag along, so I had to prove myself. If he wasn’t going to teach me, then I thought I would teach myself. I must have spent a month in the library, reading everything they had about cars and the subject.”

  Kellen’s laugh booms throughout the car, making me smile larger.

  “Granny couldn’t figure out how I was spending so much time studying and still wasn’t passing. My mother didn’t bother to know where I was, and I lived with her. Never mind what my grades were.”

  “So how did Kip take you on then?”

  “Well, I met Ace while I was visiting Kip one day. Ace took me out and showed me. After that, I guess Kip thought it would be better if he did instead of Ace. That’s when everything started to go down.”

  I watch as Kellen stiffens at hearing Ace’s name. I reach over, placing my hand on his thigh and giving him a small squeeze. He relaxes in my touch immediately.

  We drive, exchanging stories about ourselves from back in the day. I think if Kellen and I had met each other years ago, we would have gotten into a lot of trouble with the fun we would have had. Maybe we could’ve saved one another other back then. Knowing my luck, we would have brought out the worst in each other, leading us to our predestined paths anyway.

  Kellen kills our headlights as we go down a sleepy street, and he parks across the road from our first pickup.

  “How is it that this type of car is here in the Three Rivers area?” I muse.

  Kellen just shrugs. “Lots of people with secret money. No one likes to flash what they have around here. I bet that car has been driven once a year, only when our annual car show comes to town.”

  I can’t see the car, as it’s under a brownish cover, and all I can think about is how sad it is that no one sees this beauty except for one or two times a year. What a waste.

  “Is that Molly?” I point toward the blonde walking up to the country house.

  “Didn’t realize this was Sam’s place.” I can see Kellen thinking.

  “She told us tonight that they broke up.”

  We watch Molly adjust her tiny jean skirt that barely covers her thighs. She’s obviously changed since I saw her earlier. Both our eyes watch her walk in her high heels as she heads toward the door.

  There are no lights on, in, or around the house, making me strain my eyes to see her. She pauses at the front door before she throws her hair back and lifts her hand.

  My fingers itch to roll down the window to see if I can hear words exchanged.

  The door opens just as her hand is about to knock, telling me that whoever it is was expecting her or has been watching their front yard.

  Molly takes a small step forward as her hands go around whoever just answered and kisses the life out of them. Hands are moving everywhere. It looks like they’re literally eating each other’s face before she jumps onto him.

  I have to admit it’s hot to watch. I look over at Kellen to see him watching as intently as I am. As they fumble with each other, a light gets flicked on in the house, showcasing their shadows onto the blinds.

  Kellen clears his throat, bringing my eyes to him and down to his lips. I—the girl who has never gotten attached—have officially been caught, hook, line, and sinker without trying. Somehow, this chemistry convinced me that all I wanted was to fuck him out of my system, and it has definitely changed into more.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I realize I will not only be breaking my heart, but his as well when I leave.

  Kellen lets out a deep, throaty growl before he cups my chin, guiding our lips together. It’s the way he kisses me. Each of his kisses seem like words that speak to my heart.

  My hands pull at his button-down shirt, needing him closer. Molly is the furthest thing from my mind. We won’t be able to get the car for a while now. It seems justifiable to have some fun while waiting.

  My core clenches, wanting him to touch me everywhere. The way his tongue licks mine is full of passion I’ve never experienced before. His touches become frenzied as we lose ourselves in each other. I have never felt this much fire with raw passion for another person before.

  I’m about ready to rip off his shirt, buttons be damned, when I hear two loud, hard knocks on ou
r now fogged-up, tinted windows.

  It startles us enough to gulp in some air as we catch our breaths, our foreheads never leaving each other. My heart is beating out of my chest. I’m sure Kellen can feel it with his proximity to me.

  Grudgingly, he huffs before leaning toward the window as he rolls it down. A flashlight blinds our eyes, making me see dots and stars before the light is taken away.

  “Kellen Steele.” The dark voice has me sitting up straight. I know that voice. “Sloan Tate. Should have known you two would have become fast friends,” Officer Rhodes greets us, plastering on his good cop, fake smile.

  “Now, mind telling me what the hell you two are doing out here?” He eyes us, and I’m brought back to when I was almost sixteen and the summer I spent with Kip, following him around relentlessly.

  “Nothing you haven’t caught me doing before.” Kellen chuckles while tilting his head toward me, grinning like a boy who was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Want to smell my fingers?” he taunts, and I gasp at his cockiness.

  I can feel my face burning alive, while Officer Rhodes shines his flashlight back inside toward me.

  “Sloan, are you okay?” This time, his voice has kindness, playing his act perfectly. I also know he’d do anything to have a reason to pull Kellen out of this car. He did similar things to Kip back in the day.

  “More than okay, sir.” I give him an all-teeth smile as I think of the possible ways to murder this sexy, too-cocky-for-his-own-good man beside me.

  Rhodes looks between us while evaluating. “License and registration, Steele.”

  Kellen nods toward the glove compartment. I have no idea whose car this is, or if it’s stolen or dirty.

  “Dispatch. Calling all dispatch.” Officer Rhodes’s radio starts going off a mile a minute while he pushes off the car to get a better listen.

  “Go home or get a room. I don’t want to see either of you out tonight,” he warns us before jogging back to his car. He pulls a U-turn and heads in the opposite direction.

  It takes a minute before we’re left in darkness and my mind catches up with my body. I hit Kellen hard on the shoulder, hurting my palm in the process.

  “Rub it like it hurts,” I order, knowing I did more damage to myself than to him. He only laughs before doing as I say to appease me.

  “I know something you can rub.” His eyebrow cocks up while I roll my exasperated eyes at him.

  “You’re an ass.” There is no malice in my tone, causing him to wink at me before a flicker of light distracts us both.

  “Well, look at that.” I nod toward the house Kellen is looking at, to see all of the lights are back out.

  CHAPTER 38

  “Looks like it’s showtime.” For dramatic effect, I pull out my bright red lipstick and apply it to my lips.

  “Now what show are you referring to?”

  I look beside me to see Kellen’s playful smirk. “I think you’re referring to the encore, not the show,” I announce, ready to ride him as soon as we get back home.

  “Why, yes, I think I am.” He bends toward me, giving me a kiss. “Let’s go.”

  Getting out, we never let our car doors slam. Our feet move lightly, and when we reach the car, we both grab hold of the cover. Taking small steps at a time, we start at the back, moving the dirty cover over the car slowly until it hits the ground on the other side.

  “Maybe we should put your car under here,” I joke, thinking it would be funny to watch the owner open this up in a few months to be sadly mistaken.

  He groans while bending his knees. “A girl after my own heart.” His hand goes to his chest in awe. “If this car was dirty, I would totally have done that.”

  I pretend to snap my fingers as I move my hand across my body in an “ah, shucks” gesture, trying not to make too much sound.

  “You ready?”

  “Never been readier.” My adrenaline is now starting to flow. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I forgot what it feels like, how my body hums for it.

  My hand goes for the handle, when Kellen’s low, husky voice catches my attention. “Aw, shit.”

  “What?”

  “The moron didn’t close his door properly.” I hear the small click of Kellen shutting the door.

  “I’ll wait, just in case it doesn’t start.”

  I look over at him, finding those dark gray eyes and the worried smirk breathtaking. He’s adorable in the manliest sense possible. I love that he cares.

  “I’ll be fine.” And I mean it. I’m a big girl who can take care of herself. This is second nature to me. Just like riding a bike, it all comes back to me.

  I blow him a kiss before winking at him, my smile permanently on my face.

  As I open the car door, it’s all black and I crouch down, humming lightly to myself as I work to get the car hotwired. It’s a pity newer cars can’t be done this way. The magic of it is gone.

  It takes less than ninety seconds, a personal best.

  I press on the clutch, rocking the car backward without making a sound. I see Kellen nod before he’s off.

  The car comes to life under my touch. “Good girl,” I tell myself while still humming as I pull onto the road.

  “You always were a hummer when you got too happy.”

  I scream, and the car swerves into the other lane. Ace stretches over me, his large frame invading my space while his hand grabs the steering wheel, getting the car under control.

  I feel a blunt object pressing into my side. I don’t need to look down to know it’s a gun.

  My hands go back to the steering wheel, my body starting to shake. Ace leans back into the small back seat. His hand touches the side of my face, causing my body to revolt and move closer to the door.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” My voice is slow but in control.

  “I noticed the car I wanted you to take has had people watching it all night.”

  My shoulders want to sag, but I keep straight. “Thought I would eliminate your problems for you, just like old times.”

  He grunts behind me. “You want me to believe you were planning on Kellen and Kiptyn getting hauled in for it, not me?”

  “I thought you didn’t want any part of that car.” I bat my eyelashes innocently, referring to the car he wanted me to add to the list.

  “That’s bullshit. You knew I was doing a drug delivery, and now it’s compromised. I’m out of a lot of money, doll.”

  I play dumb. I had been a nervous wreck about that until I headed out tonight. Kiptyn even had to take me into his office to calm me down in the warehouse.

  I start driving toward the mansion, my cell phone securely in my bra. Rounding my shoulders, I feel for it, wishing I could get to it without Ace noticing.

  “So I was thinking we should sell the house before we go back home,” I purr to him, using that seductive voice he used to like so much. “I bet we could grow the company with that type of money.” I try to play to his greedy side.

  “Yeah, you and me playing house once again. I like the sound of that, baby.” I can feel his gun loosening in his grip. “Don’t you dare turn.” His lips touch my ear as I see the turnoff to freedom. “Remember the good old days of me driving, and that cute ass of yours up in the air as you would suck my cock?”

  I can taste the vomit entering my mouth. I was so young and naïve back then. I had honestly thought he cared about me.

  “You know Kellen is just like me.” Ace’s fingers outline my neck, reading my emotions.

  I take the bait, hating how he plays me. “Kellen is nothing like you.”

  “Oh, baby, baby, baby.”

  I twist out of his touch, hating his voice, hating him. I’ve had enough of his manipulation.

  “Turn.”

  I take the turn at the last moment as his gun digs deeper into my side. The car is heavy as it protests the turn. I hope it doesn’t take it too swift to put us into the ditch to roll.

  “Fuck, your sassiness turns me on.
” He laughs, enjoying our interaction. “So pretty and headstrong. I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”

  “What do you want, Ace?”

  “To hurt you like you hurt me. To hurt Kip like he hurt me. To hurt Kellen for touching what’s mine. And I can do that with one task.”

  “They won’t let you hurt me,” I say bravely.

  “They don’t have a choice. No one ever had a choice. I let you go. I could have dragged you back by your hair any time I wanted. But I liked you scared. Ever notice how I always came back right when you started to get your life together? You are my puppet, and I am your master.” The pure venom spitting out of his voice shows me just how much he resents me.

  “Where are we going?” I’m not afraid of Ace. I should be, but I’ve spent too much energy scared and on the run from this man.

  “To the Steele ranch.”

  I can see his face in my rearview mirror. He looks happy with his evil grin. “Why there?”

  “To show Kellen what his mistake has caused. I hear you won’t be the first dead girl killed by his gun. Does Texas still have the electric chair?”

  This is what my life has turned out to be. I remember the last time I was in a fast car with Ace. I thought we were getting out of town and I was going to make something of myself. I thought this town would drop off the face of the world as I went ahead into life. I was happy and proud. How wrong I was. But I knew for sure Ace was not going to define me.

  At this point, I don’t care if or how I get out of this. I refuse to give Ace the satisfaction of seeing me scared. He won’t even hear a whimper from my lips. I will go down smiling, no matter what.

  CHAPTER 39

  As I enter the back of the mansion, cars are already lined up, and half of them have been dismantled. Give it another hour and no one will be able to put together this puzzle they’re creating. Another car rushes in, and I watch as the guy gets out; already, the tires are being taken off. Think NASCAR on steroids. I see a guy frantically waving at me to get out of the car, and I move it to the side, looking in the rearview mirror for Sloan. She couldn’t be more than a minute behind me.