by Rebel Hart
I wondered what the changing of the leaves might look like going this fast down the road.
When we pulled into what looked like a subdivision, though, I perked up. Where were we going? We had been riding for a while. At least, it felt like a while. How long had we been riding around?
Pay more attention, Dani.
We rode through the subdivision and out a back exit. The road we turned onto was lined with trees and ditches on either side, and riddled with potholes. I felt my gut growing nervous. Where in the world was this man taking me?
My question got answered, though, when we pulled into a driveway.
The leaning trees shadowing the concrete expanse gave way as we pulled up to the house. My eyebrows rose as I studied it, trying to come to terms with it. I don’t know, it felt… out of place. The white exterior. The pristine porch. The uncracked driveway that looked as if it had been recently poured. The red shutters made sense, though. Blood red, like the roses on Max’s arm tattoo. Blood red, like the colors of his bike. Of my helmet.
Of the Red Thorns.
“Where are we?” I asked.
Max didn’t answer me. He simply turned off his bike and put the kickstand down.
“Coming inside?” he asked.
I pulled my helmet off. “Is this your place?”
He shrugged. “Mine and my brother’s place, but yeah.”
“You have a brother?”
He pulled his helmet off. “You coming or what, Bambi?”
I grinned. “Oh, I’m coming all right. Just let me get… off… ugh.”
His hands fell to my waist and he practically picked me up off the bike. He set me down onto my feet before taking my helmet from me. Then I watched him hang both of the helmets on either side of his handlebars. Mine was slightly smaller than his. I liked the way they looked side by side on his bike. His hand fell to my lower back and he guided me to the front door. The blood red door that matched the shutters.
Once I got inside, I couldn't keep my shocked gasp inside any longer.
“What? Did you think I’d live in a dump?”
My eyes took in the vaulted foyer ceiling. “I don’t know what I expected. But it wasn’t this.”
“Nicer than you expected?”
I didn’t want to answer his question because I didn’t want to seem mean.
“Eh, it’s fine. This is the house I grew up in, actually. Sits on seven acres, got a lake on it if you ride far back enough into the backyard.”
I turned to face him. “Maybe we could go see it?”
He grinned. “Sure, sometime.”
I nodded. “So is your brother around? I’d like to meet him, if that’s okay.”
“John’s not here right now. Just the two of us.”
Butterflies erupted in my stomach. They flew around, fluttering so hard I thought I’d take off toward the vaulted ceiling. I swallowed hard as nervousness crept up my back. Did he bring me here to--?
“Breathe, Bambi. Don’t forget to breathe.”
I drew in a broken breath. “Sorry. Yeah. I--yeah. Yes. Okay.”
His smiled at me like a hungry beast. “You didn’t think you’d be able to get away with looking that hot today without me needing you, did you?”
I blinked. “I… I--it--”
He walked toward me. “And those kisses. So soft against my cheek. Did you know what you were doing? Or did that simply come natural to you?”
My back fell against the front door. “I--well, it--”
His hand fell beside my head. “Use your words, Daddy’s girl.”
I licked my lips. “Please, call me Dani.”
His other hand came down against the other side of my head. His eyes held mine. And as his hot breath pulsed against my lips, I wanted to lean forward and kiss him.
“Okay, Dani.”
I should’ve been scared. But I wasn’t. Not of Max, anyway. The look in his eye seemed carnal. I’d never had a man look at me like that before. It was intoxicating. The feral growl falling from his lips. The way his breath tasted good. How was that possible? For breath to taste like something? My eyes danced between his. My elbows tingled and my knees grew weak. His nose nuzzled softly against mine, and I knew he was waiting for me to speak. Or move. Or do something.
I knew he didn’t want to move until I did.
“Max?”
“Dani.”
I smiled softly. “Kiss me?”
His eyes ignited with fire. “Don’t mind if I do.”
His lips fell against mine and I fisted his leather jacket in my hands. I pulled him closer to me, standing on my tiptoes. He rose in front of me, like a bear finally being let out of its cage. His arms wrapped around me and he picked me up, pulling me flush against his body.
“Max,” I whispered.
“You’re coming with me.”
I kissed across his cheek. I tried to recall every romantic movie I had ever watched to try and figure out what came next. I cursed myself for being weird about porn. I bet if I watched it, I’d know what to do next. I wrapped my legs around Max’s body as his hands cupped my butt cheeks. I kissed along his jawline, listening to him grunt and growl as he walked us down a hallway. I licked at his neck. I kissed it. Sucked his skin. Ran my teeth softly over it. I didn’t want to hurt him. But all of this felt so right.
“Dani,” he growled.
I felt my body dropping away from his.
My back bounced against something soft. I looked around me while Max shed his leather jacket. I was in a bedroom. On a bed. Was this his room? I wanted to have a chance to take it in. To see his style. How he laid out his own space. My mother always said you could tell a lot about a person by the way they kept the rooms in their home. Where their safe places were. What their mindset was on any given occasion.
However, I felt something strong wrap around both of my ankles and then I was being pulled.
I yelped.
Max’s chuckle graced my ears as my shoes went falling to the floor. He pulled off my socks and kissed my toes. I giggled and jerked around, rolling onto my stomach.
“I’m ticklish. Max!”
He grunted with delight. “I’m coming for you.”
“Max!”
He grabbed my ankles and pulled me back again, causing me to burst out in laughter. He gripped my leather jacket and hoisted me up, settling me down onto my knees. My jacket came off. His lips came down against my neck. And as my head fell off to the side, his hands roamed my clothed body.
Massaging my breasts.
Gripping my waist.
Sliding up and down my thighs as I moaned for him.
I felt my defenses coming down, the fight draining from my veins. His fingertips slid underneath the hem of my shirt, and his touch made my skin prickle. The hairs on my arms stood on end. My toes curled as he hooked his fingers into my belt loops again. He pulled me back, grinding his pelvis against my butt cheeks. Something large pulsed against me. I felt his chest rising and falling with his breath. But when his hand gravitated to the button of my jeans, I froze.
And he stopped with me.
“What is it?”
My eyes slowly fell to his fingers, watching them as they settled over the button of my new jeans. What was I doing? Could I really do this with him?
He needs to know.
“Dani, talk to me.”
I sighed. “I don’t want you to go away once I do.”
He kissed my neck. “That could never happen. What did I do wrong?”
I shook my head. “You did nothing wrong. It’s me.”
His kisses made me moan as my head fell to the side again.
“You could never do anything wrong.”
I paused. “Maybe take off my shirt first?”
He chuckled. “Don’t mind if I do.”
I shivered as I knelt there on the bed, with his chest pressed into my back. I lifted my hands as he gripped my shirt, and for the first time in my life, I felt a man take off my clothes. It was invigorat
ing. I felt alive as my bare skin came into contact with the air of his room. His lips fell against my shoulder as I heard my shirt bunch up onto the floor. Then, Max stepped back.
“Where are you go--”
I peeked over my shoulder and watched him slip his own shirt off. And when I saw his torso for the first time, my jaw fell open. Because he did have more tattoos.
He grinned. “Like what you see?”
I reached out for him and his shirt fell from his hands. He came closer to me, and I let my fingertips run along the ink embedded into his skin. Over his heart, there sat a circle of interwoven vines, like the ones wrapped around his bicep. There were thorns on the vine, with little roses. It was almost identical to the one around his arm. And in the middle of the circle was a red rose. A large one. And behind the entire thing was a sun rising over the hill of his chest. I traced the colors with my fingertips. The sunrise itself spanned almost the entire width of his chest.
It was mesmerizing.
“Rogues in Arms?” I asked. I hadn’t noticed the words underneath the circle of thorns until my eyes followed the colors down in that direction. “What does that mean?”
My eyes rose back up to Max’s and I found him staring at me. Hard.
“It’s the Red Thorn mantra.”
I paused. “What does it mean?”
He cupped my cheek. “Maybe someday, I’ll tell you.”
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
He grinned. “Because that might ruin the mood.”
He went to capture my lips again, but I pulled back.
“Dani?”
I swallowed hard. “There’s really something you should know before this goes any further.”
He furrowed his brow. “I don’t think there’s anything you could tell me that I don’t already know.”
“Wait, what?”
30
Max
Fucking hell, this girl was the cutest thing I’d ever come across on the face of this planet. Her lips were swollen from my kisses, her cheeks pink from how turned on she was. My cock was rock hard, ready to go and be played with however she wished. I felt myself already leaking against my boxers. My hands were ready to explore her folds, tease her until she was wetter than she’d ever been in her wildest dreams.
I knew what she was about to say.
“You know?” she asked.
I smoothed my fingers along her cheek. “Why don’t you act like I don’t?”
The second she pulled away from me, I knew I had fucked up. I wasn’t sure how, but I had. She fell to the bed and curled her knees to her chest, trying to cover herself as much as possible. The pink of her cheeks turned to red. Arousal to embarrassment. I didn’t like seeing her that way. I didn’t like her caving back in on herself like that. But I understood it.
This kind of thing was different for girls.
“Here,” I said.
I scooped my leather jacket off the floor and handed it to her. She eyed it carefully before taking it and quickly wrapping it around her body. I turned my back to her and jammed my hand down my pants. As much as I wanted to make this girl orgasm until she begged for mercy, I couldn't do that without her permission. And I sure as hell couldn't do that when she was so uncomfortable with the situation.
Fucking idiot. I’m a fucking idiot.
With a heavy sigh, I turned around and crawled onto the bed. Dani had scooted herself up until her back sat against the wall. Her feet were tucked under the covers and her knees were still up to her chest. And with my leather jacket draped over her body, I couldn't see a damn part of the beauty I had successfully uncovered.
A shame, really.
“Whenever you're ready,” I said.
I slipped underneath the covers and folded my arms over my chest. I peered over at her, waiting for her to say whatever it was she had to say.
“If you know, why say anything anyway?”
I shrugged. “Because it looks like you need to say it.”
She snickered. “Why bring me here if you know?”
Her eyes slowly panned up to mine and I grinned.
“Simple. You’re hot. I’m drawn to you. Your kisses turned me on. Figured this was a nice setup, especially with my brother not being around.”
She nodded. “So that’s all this was? Just… to have sex?”
“Would it bother you if I said yes?”
She paused. “I’m not sure.”
“Would it make you uncomfortable to lay down with me?”
“Might not be comfortable in this leather jacket.”
“Then take it off.”
She swallowed hard. “Then I’ll be--”
“--covered by your bra, Dani. Which I won’t touch unless you want me to.”
“Promise?”
I nodded. “You have my word.”
She quickly tossed my leather jacket off the side of the bed and hunkered down beneath the comforter. Watching her dark hair splay across my pillow made my heart skip a beat. The confident woman I’d brought to my house had given way to the self-conscious girl I always found on campus. And I wasn’t sure how to draw that confidence back out again. My cock still wanted to bury itself inside her. My gut churned with a need to taste what was between her legs. And my head? Well, it wasn’t thinking straight.
Because the only thing it told me to do was pin her down and take what was mine.
“Max, I’m sorry. It’s just--”
I shook my head. “Don’t apologize.”
She paused. “What?”
“I said don’t apologize. If you do something, mean it.”
“But I know you’re--”
“Fuck me, Dani.”
She grinned. “That’s what you were hoping for, at least.”
I chuckled. “There she is.”
“There who is?”
“That playful, confident woman stuffed into the body of a self-conscious college girl.”
She sighed as I slid down underneath the comforter with her.
“You have to learn to own your actions, no matter how they make others feel. You can’t be so scared to walk around in this world. It’ll eat you alive if you are.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“You got uncomfortable. I saw that and stopped. Don’t apologize for that. Talk to me about why. Don’t apologize. Just explain so I can better understand.”
“I’m a virgin, Max.”
She blurted out the words so quickly it made my eyes widen.
“Well, that’s one way to do it, I guess.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I just--I’ve never been in this situation before and I’ve never felt these things for anyone before and I’ve never had my clothes taken off or anything before and it just--just got--”
I let her ramble until the words finally came to her.
“I got overwhelmed and wasn’t sure what came next,” she said.
I nodded. “I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling.”
“When did you have that feeling?”
“The first time I kissed you.”
She sighed. “That bad?”
I snickered. “Trust me, I’ve known plenty of experienced girls who were terrible kissers.”
She winced. “How many girls have you been with?”
“Bad question to ask.”
“I mean, you know I’m a virgin. Wouldn’t hurt to know what number I am.”
“Dani…”
“Max.”
I snickered. “There’s that confident voice again.”
She looked me straight in my eyes. “Am I just another number in your life?”
Her question caught me off-guard, and now I was the one struggling with what to say. So many things were swirling around in my head. Like how much of an oaf I was for letting my cock dictate what came next. I had asked her for too much too soon. This girl was nowhere near ready for the shit that came with me. Then again, I always got what I wanted.
And what I wanted was her.
“D
ani, I don’t know what you are to me right now.”
Her voice fell flat. “How romantic.”
“If you're looking for romance, you’re barking up the wrong tree. I’m not a romantic guy. When I want something, I get it. Always. That’s how I’ve lived my life, and it’s gotten me this far.”
“Are you happy, though?”
I took a chance and reached out for her. I let my hand settle into the natural crook of her waist and felt her skin jump underneath my touch. But she didn’t pull away, so I scooted closer to her. Just to be nearer to her warmth.
“I don’t think ‘happy’ is the word,” I said.
She sighed. “Then what are you when you’re with me? Why put all of this energy into a girl who you had a feeling couldn't give you what you usually want from women?”
I shrugged. “You… make me feel something.”
“What do I make you feel?”
“I don't know, Dani. Usually, I don’t feel anything. The other girls I’m with? They’re a way to pass the time. I feel time passing with them. That’s what I feel. But with you, it stops.”
“What stops?”
“Time stops.”
She blushed. “Oh.”
I slid my hand over the swell of her hip and down the side of her thigh. She moved her leg toward me and I opened my own, capturing her against my body. With her leg pressed between my own, I rested against her. I scooted closer, letting my hand slide back over her waist and around to her back. She kept jumping. Flinching. But her skin puckered and her eyes fluttered closed. I kept shifting closer until her chest fell against my own. Until our bodies rested without a space between us.
Her eyes opened and found me again.
“Hey there.”
She smiled. “Hi.”
“Feeling better?”
She drew in a deep breath. “Much.”
“Dani, I don’t have answers for you. The only thing I know is that I want you. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know what is different with you. I just know it is different.”
“I feel the same way. I think that’s part of why I’m so confused. I don't know why I’m drawn to you. I just am.”
My hand slid up to her cheek. “So with all of that said, I’ll wait as long as it takes. You’re not ready for sex? Fine by me. There are plenty of other things I can do to your body that would make you scream, beautiful.”
