I nodded, and I was kind of relieved. I wanted Dane badly. But I was also scared of what would happen when we took things there. What if it was bad? What if it felt weird? Wrong? Dane had been my best friend for so long, what if it just didn’t feel right?
I shoved those thoughts from my mind and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
He gave me another quick kiss, then opened my door for me and I climbed in.
* * *
Three hours later I stood by Dane, holding his hand, a beer in the other, at my first real party.
There was a bonfire blazing that someone had lit when the sun disappeared behind the mountains. People were standing around it or sitting on logs that had been made into seats. Someone had even brought an old couch.
There were a few Ramblers here, but they were younger—Dane and Grifter’s age—as well as some local Rocktown guys, not that I knew any of them, but Dane said they went to the same gym.
There were lots of girls as well, and a few make-out sessions were already happening around us.
Dane squeezed my hand, and I looked up at him.
“You good?”
I grinned. “I’m with you.”
His eyes slid to my mouth. “Yeah, you are,” he said, voice husky and sexy.
Someone hooted in the distance, and we turned to see who it was. Another group of people appeared at the top of the lake track. Lila was one of them, and she broke away as soon as she saw me and ran over.
“You’re here,” I said, crazy happy to see her. Lila wasn’t sure she could make it. They’d had a family thing at her sister’s place in Rocktown and she hadn’t been sure how long she’d be stuck there.
She grinned back. “Tanner offered to give me a ride. He and a few other guys were coming out already.”
Lila knew Tanner from school since she’d lived in Rocktown for a while before her parents moved to Springhaven and bought their ranch. Her older sister had stayed behind, though, with her boyfriend, now husband.
“I stopped in to see if Trix could come, but she had to work.”
That sucked, but I was so happy Lila had made it.
“Let’s get you a drink,” I said, about to lead her toward one of the coolers full of beer.
Dane was talking to some guy, one of the Ramblers, and he stopped me. “Hey, Lila,” he said before his eyes slid back to me. “You need something?”
“I’m just getting Lila a drink.”
“I’ll get it,” he said. “You stay here.”
I watched him walk away, and I knew I looked like a dreamy, loved-up idiot but I didn’t even care.
“So you two, you’re really together?” Lila said in a low tone, eyes bright, excited for me.
“Yes.” I squeezed her hand. “It’s crazy, but yeah, it feels right.” Lila and I were equally inexperienced, but she was also kind of shy. She’d been self-conscious about her weight for a lot of years and, thanks to an asshole ex, had taken a major confidence knock. But Cassy, Quinn, Trix, and I had been helping her with that. She also never judged and was one of the most supportive people I’d ever met, which was why I loved her so much.
Then Dane was back handing her a beer and sliding his arm around my shoulders. Lila grinned at me and I grinned back.
“Bambi,” Grifter said, appearing out of nowhere. “You came to celebrate my birthday. I didn’t know you cared.”
Lila flushed. It was something she hated about herself, but not something she could control. “Happy birthday,” she said in her soft and right then shaky voice.
“Thanks, baby,” Riff said, his unusual green eyes moving over her hungrily.
I had to bite back a smile at the way Lila’s eyes widened. She was also crap at having a poker face. My girl showed every emotion, it was all there, and I got the feeling she liked Grifter a lot.
He took her hand. “Why don’t you come sit over here with me and tell me all about your day?” he said, eyes wicked, a smile curving his lips.
Dane shook his head. “Stop harassing the girl. Lila, you don’t need to go anywhere.”
Grifter shot Dane a look that told him to shut it.
Lila, still furiously blushing, looked up at Grifter. “Um…maybe a little later?”
Grifter swallowed, his Adam’s apple working. “I’d like that, sweetheart.”
Dane leaned down, his mouth going to my ear, and chuckled low. “The boy has it bad.”
I laughed softly, because it was plain to see. It was also pretty entertaining to see this big bad biker look kind of thrown by my shy, sweet friend.
The music was turned up and people started to dance. Lila and I loved to dance. I glanced at her and she nodded. “Back soon. Must dance,” I told Dane, and Lila and I ran off to join the others gathered by the speakers.
We ended up with another couple of girls. They were nice and we stayed all dancing together for a long time. Sometimes it was just us but no one seemed to care.
Finally, thirst drove us back to the cooler and another beer.
That’s when Grifter took my friend’s hand and again invited her to go sit with him. This time Lila went willingly, giving me a wide-eyed oh my God expression as she went. The people on the couch jumped off as they walked over.
I was grinning to myself when someone grabbed my arm hard. I spun around and came face-to-face with Tanner.
“Heeey, Everly,” he said, or rather slurred.
I tried to pull my arm free. “Um…hi.”
“You don’t like me much, do you?” he said.
I blinked up at him, not sure what to say. “Ah…well, sure I do.”
He shook his head so vigorously he almost lost his balance. “Never thought you were one of those bitches,” he said, face screwing up.
“What?” I whispered, shocked.
“We went out. I thought it went okay, except for the…you know.” He motioned to my head and the still-visible cut. “Then some asshole with tattoos and a bike comes along and you ignore me like nothing happened.” He stumbled to the side.
I straightened my spine. “Nothing did happen. It was just one date. And I didn’t ignore you. You avoided me.”
“You trying to make me jealous or something, hanging around with that prick?”
“No. I wouldn’t do something like that. I’ve known Dane since I was twelve.” I stopped myself. I didn’t need to explain myself to him, and he was too drunk to have a rational conversation anyway. I was also getting seriously pissed off. “Maybe you should stop drinking now. Calling guys with tattoos and bikes assholes, while surrounded by bikers, isn’t very intelligent.”
“I could take any one of these fuckers.” He sneered at me. “You’re like all the others here. You’ll spread your fucking legs for these pricks. Whores like you—”
Tanner was yanked back hard. And if Dane didn’t have him by the back of his shirt, he would have hit the ground.
“What the fuck did you just say? What did you call her?” Dane roared in Tanner’s face, looking as angry as I’d ever seen him, which was saying something.
Everything went quiet. The music turned off.
Dane pushed Tanner back, shoving him against a tree, and I stood there stunned.
“You don’t talk to her. You don’t look at her, and you sure as fuck don’t touch her.”
“She was mine before you came back,” Tanner said. “I fucked her first, and I’ll fuck her again.”
Dane growled, loud and vicious, and drew his fist back. Grifter was there suddenly and grabbed his arm before he could let it fly.
“He’s wasted,” Grifter said. “Not in the mood to drive this fucker to the emergency room.”
Dane didn’t seem to hear him, and he looked like he was fighting to hang on to Tanner and against Grifter at the same time. That was the same anger I’d seen when Dane had lost it eighteen months ago. When someone tried to hurt me.
I was moving before I knew what I was doing, and I didn’t stop until I was crammed up against Dane’s side.
�
��Back up, Everly,” Grifter said.
I ignored him and grabbed Dane’s jaw, forcing him to look at me. His eyes were wild, so full of fury I flinched. But that anger wasn’t directed at me. Dane would never look at me that way. “I’m all right,” I said, voice as strong as I could make it. “I don’t care about him. I care about you. You need to let him go, Dane. Let him go for me.”
He blinked hard, the rage clearing some. His jaw tightened and he shoved Tanner away, pulled his arm from Grifter’s hold, and scooped me up, carrying me away from what had just happened.
I watched as Tanner’s friends came and pulled him away, leaving the party. Grifter yelled for someone to put the damned music back on, and everything went back to normal around us.
Dane carried on over to his truck and lowered me to my feet so I was leaning against the side. He crowded me, arms bracketing me, locking me in like he was afraid I’d make a run for it.
“I’m sorry, baby. I thought you were still dancing. I was talking to some of the guys. Didn’t know you were getting a drink—”
“Shhh.” I cupped his face. “Dane, I’m fine. Tanner was just drunk, and his pride was hurt. He lashed out. His name calling didn’t hurt me. I don’t care what he thinks.”
A muscle in Dane’s jaw jumped. “No one talks to you like that.”
Before, I’d never known how to calm him down, but now I did. Now I knew how to distract him. I got up on my tiptoes and pulled him down, kissing him. He growled softly against my lips, and I felt it move right through me. “Let’s stay over here for a bit,” I said.
Dane nodded and reached over me, grabbing something from the back of his truck. A couple of blankets. He spread one out right by the truck on the long soft grass and sat, leaning against the rear tire, then pulled me down. He positioned me so I was sitting between his bent knees, resting against him.
I could feel his heart racing, so I pressed back and pulled his arms around me, doing my best to calm him down. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my temple.
It had grown cooler, especially now I wasn’t dancing, so I made a noise of approval when he pulled the other blanket over us.
How many times had we done this? Hidden ourselves away somewhere dark, somewhere no one would find us. Most of the time it was the old woodshed at the back of Wayne and Sonya’s. Curled up in a blanket, usually with chips and sandwiches that Dane had made. He’d pull me against him and tell me to sleep. I knew he never did. He always had that hunting knife by his side, and before he’d saved enough to buy that, a steak knife he’d swiped from the kitchen. His heart would beat hard for a long time after we hid until he was sure no one saw us, that no one followed us.
I breathed in deep, taking in Dane’s familiar scent, letting go of the memory on my exhale. Reassuring myself with the solid warmth of Dane against my back that it was over and that I had him back.
“Warm?” he said against my ear.
I nodded and he made a sound in the back of his throat of approval, contentment. Somehow that one sound said it all, and I knew I was right when he kissed my temple again.
Where we were, I had a perfect view of the party, the bonfire, and what was going on around it. All the vehicles were lined up by us, and we were out of the ring of light, tucked in between Dane’s truck and another one.
His hands tightened around my waist. “You sure you’re okay?”
I threaded my fingers with his. “More than okay. He’s gone. It’s over,” I said, even though my heart was still racing from what had happened. A fight was what took Dane from me the first time, because of his temper, his need to protect me. If he’d beaten Tanner a moment ago, if he’d lost it with him like he had back then…
I shut down those thoughts and watched the party going on around us. As I did, Dane’s hands began to move over me, petting me, holding me, making me feel safe and wanted. Driving me crazy.
Lila was still with Grifter, and I bit my lip when he lifted her and planted her in his lap. She looked more than happy to be there.
We drank our beer and stayed in our cozy, shadowed nook. All the while, Dane’s hands stayed on me but never going where I wanted them so badly.
Things got wilder over the next half hour. Lila was making out with Grifter, and I saw his hand slide up her leg, about to go under her skirt, but she jammed her knees together and pulled away. I stilled, worried he’d get mad, being a scary biker and all, but he just moved his hand to her hip and pressed a kiss to her hair.
There was no missing how heavily he was breathing or the pain lining his face.
Dane chuckled. “Never seen him like that. Grifter’s the kind of guy who doesn’t fuck around taking it slow. The guy doesn’t need to work for it, so he doesn’t. A woman’s not into him, he finds someone else.”
Dane pressed a kiss to the spot between my neck and shoulder as a moan reached us from the shadows.
I spun around, and that’s when I spotted a couple going at it not far from us. They were away from the fire, beyond the vehicles, but there was a full moon and I could see pretty much everything. Her skirt was hiked up around her hips and she was bent forward, using one of the trees lining the clearing for support while the guy she was with pounded into her from behind.
I squirmed.
“They’ve been there a while,” Dane said, low in my ear.
“Oh…I hadn’t…aren’t they worried someone will see them?”
“Guess not. They’re not hidden in the shadows like us,” he said roughly.
My gaze shifted back to the couple and I squeezed my thighs together.
Dane felt me do it.
“You like that, baby?” he said, his voice somehow even rougher.
The idea of admitting I was turned on watching the live sex show playing out in front of us should have been embarrassing. But I was there with Dane, my boyfriend, in a dark corner. He couldn’t see my face, and if I couldn’t tell him when I was turned on, then we already had a problem.
There was also the fact that I didn’t want Dane to keep seeing me as some delicate thing who needed to be coddled or protected all the time. I wanted him to see me as the woman I’d become. Sexual.
Sexy.
I just wanted him.
So I took a steadying breath and nodded against his chest. “Yes.”
He kissed the side of my neck, arms tightening around me. “Fuck, Eves,” he groaned. “You aching, baby?”
My heart was beating faster, my breath coming quicker. “Yes,” I said again, telling him the truth, and went one step farther. “I’ve been aching since we kissed at the gym.”
Dane cursed. And that’s when I became aware of how hard he was behind me. That impressive bulge pressing into the base of my spine.
God, excitement flowed through me. No, I didn’t need to gather my courage for what I did next. I was so turned on at this point from his hands on me since we sat down and from the couple over there moving harder and faster, I would have started begging if I didn’t get more of his touch.
Grabbing his hand resting on my thigh, I dragged it across and moved it where I wanted it between my closed thighs. My hand stayed over his, holding him there.
His rough exhale and the way his fingers flexed against me told me I’d surprised him. But he liked it. There was no mistaking that he liked it.
“You want me to get you off, Eves?” he grated huskily again my ear.
I opened my clenched thighs slightly, letting him feel more of me through my shorts. “Yes…please.”
Chapter Twelve
Dane
I was breathing so hard and fast I felt fucking dizzy. Everly’s hot-as-fuck pussy was under my hand, her soft, smaller one over mine, keeping me there, making sure there was no mistake about what she wanted.
After what happened with Tanner, what he’d said to Everly, I’d been fucking vibrating with rage. All the hard work I’d done to master the anger I carried around inside myself, to control the darkness that boiled in my gut more often than I wanted to adm
it, had gone out the window. The way it coiled tighter, there’d been no chance of stopping it from taking over.
Until Everly grabbed me, until she forced me to look at her. She brought me back down with one touch, her eyes on mine, and the sound of her voice.
And now all I could think of, all I wanted in this moment was to get closer to her.
I hadn’t planned on this. I hadn’t. I thought we’d definitely make out some more and that I’d rub up on her some, work us toward this maybe a couple more dates down the track.
Eves had other ideas, and right or wrong, I was fully on board. Though honestly, nothing between us could be wrong. How could it?
If she wanted to get off, I was going to give it to her, and I was going to do it properly. I pressed my mouth to her ear. “I want to undo your shorts and put my hand inside your panties. You okay with that?” This was us, and no matter how right it felt for me, I didn’t want Everly to have any regrets or reservations about what we did together.
Her hand pressed down on mine. “Yes.”
My cock was throbbing behind my zipper. Christ, it had its own heartbeat, so hard I thought it might fucking bust through.
But I ignored it because tonight wasn’t about me. I’d waited forever for her. The pain was nothing. I’d suffer for eternity as long as I had her like this. When Everly was the reward, you’d wait ten lifetimes if you knew she’d be there waiting at the end.
I kissed her neck as I popped the button on her denim shorts, noting how hard she was breathing as well and how she pressed back against me more. My other arm was banded around her waist, my hand on her hip.
I groaned and slid it higher as I sucked on her neck, kissed her jaw, then finally—fucking finally—covered one of her tits, taking that heavy weight in my hand. I was determined to make this good for her and growled from deep in my gut when she squirmed against me, not missing her moan when I used my palm to graze her tight little nipple.
“You got the best tits, Eves. Wanted to get my hands on these for a while now.”
“Ha-have you?” The hand not trying to force mine down her pants lifted to cover my other one, silently asking me for more and telling me to stay right where I was.
Meant For You: Rocktown Ink, Book 3 Page 12
