by L. E. Bross
I exhale in relief. I guess he just hates me. Well, and the boys, of course.
I watch Baz zip around and around and he holds a solid third for most of the race. On the last lap he pulls into second and crosses the finish line right on the first guy’s tail. Despite how they feel about me, I still cheer loudly.
As soon as the last racer crosses, a new group pulls up to the start. I strain my eyes, looking for the familiar blue skull helmet. I scan the line twice before I realize that Riot’s not at the starting line. X is lined up next to Luc, but where’s Ry? I know he had on his gear earlier, so why isn’t he racing?
Now I’m worried. What if something happened? I hop off the bale and push through the crowd toward where I saw him last.
The coolers are empty and there’s no one around.
The bikes rev and I hear them all take off.
I catch a glimpse of Riot heading toward the starting line and before I realize it, I’m following him. There are a couple dozen people standing around and he stops to talk to a couple. The lights all point to the track, so I am able to stand off in the shadows, hidden by a toy hauler, and watch him without getting caught.
From here I can see the bikes come up over the hill, then bank on the curve and go back down. It’s actually a good place to watch the race. I can honestly tell Luc I saw him.
When the bikes come around again, I see Luc and then X right on his heels. When I glance back to find Riot, he’s gone.
I stand up straighter, straining my neck to find him.
“What are you doing in the dark, Peep?”
The deep voice sends a rush of goosebumps down my arms and I fight the urge to melt. He’s behind me, I can feel his presence as good as if he were touching me.
He knew I’d follow him.
He planned this.
A better person would take five steps forward and move into the light.
I stay still.
“Watching,” I say breathlessly.
My brain is starting to short circuit but I don't turn around. This is part of his game and I want to know what he’s going to do.
“You do that a lot, don’t you? You’re a little fucking voyeur, aren’t you, Ever Darlington?”
I shiver at the accusation because it feels more like a caress. His knowing chuckle raises the hair on my neck.
He steps right behind me and I feel a wall of heat close to my back.
“What else do you like to do?”
God, the gravelly sound of his voice makes my knees weak. I’m not impervious to him, not at all. As Luc races around the track, Riot moves until his front is pressed against my back.
His hands slip to my waist, then around to rest at the top of my thighs.
The only thing between us is the thin material of my skirt.
“Did you wear this for him, or for me, Peep?”
He teases the tips of his fingers just above my knees and I lean back against him. The feel of his hands sucks away all my willpower. He nudges at my neck with his nose, inhaling greedily, then his lips are right there, so close to my ear that I feel his hot breath.
“Tell me.”
We’re in the shadows and far enough away from the crowd that I’m pretty sure no one sees us. Almost everyone is watching the race anyway.
“For you,” I admit.
He sucks in a harsh breath and presses his lips to my shoulder.
“Fucking right you did.” He bites down on the spot where my neck and shoulder meet and I gasp. “Staying away from you all week drove me fucking crazy.”
“Why did you?”
His growl vibrates against my skin. “Because I didn’t want to see you with him.”
His frank admission takes me by surprise.
I never thought he’d admit to being jealous.
God I wish I could tell him it was all an act. Peter made me promise, but I never expected to feel like this. I still have a job to do, but that doesn't mean I can't take something for myself right now. Something I can look back on and remember as all mine.
“I’m not with him right now,” I whisper.
I rock my hips back and press my ass against his dick.
“What do you want?” His lips move back and forth, skimming so lightly that it’s driving me crazy.
I reach back and dig my fingers into his thighs. Through the leather I’m not sure he even feels it, but he shifts and slides his hands under my skirt and I don't care. I’m just holding on now.
He uses his thumbs to skim over the front of my panties, touching but not where I need it. He’s teasing me and every second that goes by is another one we lose.
The bikes are flying around the track. I have no idea how many laps are left before it’s over and Luc comes looking for me.
“Touch me,” I grind out.
He drags his tongue up the column of my neck until his lips are at my ear. “Where? Here?”
His thumb moves over my clit and I suck in a breath.
“Yes,” I hiss out, closing my eyes and dropping my head back to his shoulder.
He moves his boots between my legs, which forces them apart. Now my boots are on the outside of his and I’m open and at his mercy.
The bikes fly by again.
He dips both thumbs under the elastic and moves them together, gliding down the outside of my pussy.
“Fuck, you’re soaking wet,” he growls, dipping one whole hand under the fabric while sliding the other free. “So fucking ready for me. You’d let me bend you over and slide right in, wouldn't you, Peep? So a a voyeur and exhibitionist, huh?”
As he says it, he pushes two fingers inside me and I let out a load moan.
Luckily the bikes drown out the noise when he starts moving them in and out because his groan is louder than mine.
“Christ, you feel good.” He pulls my earlobe between his teeth and grinds his dick against my ass, keeping up the steady rhythm with his fingers. When he uses his thumb to rub my clit, I clench around him and shudder.
It’s crazy how close I am already. I could come anytime, but Riot keeps teasing me. Keeps me on the edge. Lap after lap he strokes in lazy circles, kissing my neck until I’m dizzy.
Then the race is over and one by one, the bikes pull off the track and the riders dismount.
I see Luc pull off his helmet and hook it on the handlebars, then push his bike to the side. The whole time I see his gaze scanning the crowd.
“What do you think he’d do if he saw you right this second, Ever?” Riot whispers. His fingers alternate between stroking my clit and dipping inside where I am hot and wet. “My fingers buried in your sweet pussy, you about to come all over them.”
I can’t seem to draw enough air into my lungs and I dig my nails into Riot’s forearm.
“Ry,” I moan softly and my knees start to shake. I can feel it building inside, and everything around us fades. It’s just him and me and the rush of my impending climax.
Ten feet away, Luc turns in a slow circle, looking for me.
Riot slides his fingers inside me and crooks them upward. A new sensation hits me and I fight the urge to cry out. It starts in my gut and spirals between my legs. I throw my head back, lean against his shoulder, and grit my teeth.
The hand on my stomach slides up until he’s got his fingers around my throat. His dick presses into my back, hard and heavy. He’s enjoying this as much as I am.
I start to shake.
I’m not in control. Even as he tightens his fingers and my breathing gets raspy, he continues to push in and out of me. His thumb rubs circles on my clit. Fingers press against a spot inside that I never knew existed outside of legend.
“That’s it, Peep,” Riot growls in my ear. “You’re so damned close, aren’t you? You want to come all over my hand like a good little exhibitionist? Should I make you scream my name for everyone to hear?”
I whimper. Luc finally turns toward the trucks and it seems like he’s staring right at me. I don’t think he can see into the shadows but I’
m not one hundred percent sure.
“You may have chosen him, Peep, but this…” He does something with his fingers that has me arching up on my toes. “This is mine. I fucking own you and your pleasure.”
Fuck. Through my hazy vision, I see Luc coming this way.
“Ry,” I whimper. He needs to stop before we get caught, but I’m too far gone to ask him to.
“That’s it, baby.” He presses his lips against my neck and sucks hard, marking me. “You say my name when you come.”
Riot tightens his fingers around my throat, holding me prisoner with my own need. He strums my clit, pumps his fingers inside me and I’m gone. Stars explode in my eyes and the hottest, sweetest sensation crashes over me in waves so strong, I’d be swept away if it wasn’t for Riot’s hold.
I spasm uncontrollably around his fingers, feel my wetness coating them as he continues to draw out my orgasm. If it weren’t for the way he’s holding my throat, controlling my air, I’d be screaming loud enough for everyone to hear, even over the noise of the crowd.
Tears burn my eyes. His fingers slow as he leisurely brings me back to earth with lazy touches to my clit. When he loosens his grip on my throat, I suck cool air into my lungs.
Luc is much closer now.
“Ever?” Luc squints into the darkness.
“What would he say if he saw you right now? My hand buried in your pussy. The smell of you in the air.” Riot’s gravelly whisper has me unconsciously clenching down on his fingers and the way he chuckles, it’s pure debauchery. “Don’t forget who claimed this pussy first, Peep. You’re mine now.”
I whimper his name when he slips his fingers free and smooths down my skirt. Quickly I make sure my shirt is straight and that nothing is out of order. Except for the way I’m breathing. And the unsteady step I take away from him.
His voice lowers. “You might be here with him, but your scent is all over me. Remember that.”
Riot fades into the shadows just as Luc appears.
“Ever, what are you doing in the dark?” I hear suspicion in his voice and I straighten my shoulders.
“Hey, sorry, I heard you calling but I had to pee and didn’t want anyone to see me.” I step to his side and he drapes his arm around my shoulders. When he presses a kiss to my temple, I see movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Did you see the race?”
I nod, hoping he doesn’t ask me who won.
Several feet away, I see Riot step out of the shadow and watch him suck his fingers into his mouth, cleaning my release off them like he’s eating a fucking ice cream cone. I fight the urge to moan. God, this guy. His lips tilt up when he finally pulls them free, but when his gaze flickers to Luc, his eyes narrow.
He strides over as if he were coming from the track and stops in front of us. I hold my breath.
“Hey, man, that was a decent race. A little light on the throttle but not bad. Congrats.”
Luc totally misses the mocking glint in Riot’s eyes.
“X was off his game.” There’s satisfaction in Luc’s voice and his arm tightens, pulling me closer. “But a win is a win, right?”
His gaze slides to me then back to Luc. Riot smirks and something primal dances in his eyes.
“Maybe next time.”
He sticks out his hand and after a second, Luc shakes it. I stare down at his long fingers, clasped around Luc’s, and heat burns into my cheeks.
The fucking bastard.
Triumph dances in his eyes and with one last wink, he walks away.
It’s after midnight and I can’t sleep.
There was too much confusion in my head to try and salvage the night, so I pleaded a headache after Riot left Luc and I alone, and though Luc wasn’t too happy to have our date cut short, he obliged.
I still can’t believe I let Riot do that to me, and yet every time I replay it in my head, a familiar ache settles between my legs. I’ve paced my room, sat on the balcony, and nothing distracts me enough.
I have no idea if this changes everything, and even if it does, it can’t. It only complicates what I have to do. I throw myself on the bed and cover my head with a pillow.
When did this shit get so out of hand?
Finally, when I accept the fact that I’m never going to get to sleep, I wander through the silent house to the dark kitchen to get a snack. It’s one of the best parts of living here, if I’m hungry, I eat.
I’m not really right now, but I need something to do.
I grab a yogurt and a spoon and slide onto the bench, then sit sideways so I can see out the window. The lights in the bottom of the pool are the only ones on, everything else is shrouded in darkness. I dip my spoon into the container and freeze. Movement catches my eye and when I lean forward, I see someone in the pool.
They get to the end, duck under and push off, then disappear again. The water barely ripples they cut through so cleanly. It’s too dark to see who it is, so I get up and move closer to the patio door.
When the head breaks the surface again, I make out Baz.
He shoves off the side once more and the ferocity of his strokes makes me think he’s trying to outrun demons like Ry does on the dirt track. He pushes himself so hard that he must be exhausted, but he keeps going, lap after lap.
I start to worry about him when he shows no signs of slowing down. What if he gets too tired to stay afloat? What if he goes under? I can’t swim. I wouldn’t be able to save him. I’m out the door, air lodged in my lungs, before I can think.
“Baz!” I run to the side of the pool and yell his name until he stops.
“Ever?” He squints at me, then swims over to the side. “What are you doing?”
He pants heavily and my skin prickles.
“Can you please get out?”
Water clings to his eyelashes and he drags his fingers through his hair, pushing the wet strands off his face.
“It’s a swimming pool. I’m swimming.”
I sink down cross-legged next to the edge and fight back the panic that is rising. “No, you’re running.”
He blinks at me, his gaze searching before he exhales heavily. “I’m not done.”
I grip the raised edge and lean closer. My heart is racing and I can see the bottom of the pool but it looks so damned deep it seems to go on forever.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone, what if you got a cramp, or are too tired to get to the edge?” Now I’m panting and the ripples I see aren’t all in the water. I feel sick.
I scramble back until I’m a safe distance away then pull my knees to my chest. Baz watches me, still treading water. His breathing seems a little slower at least.
“Are you afraid of the water?”
I nod because my tongue feels too thick to speak.
“Can you swim?”
I shake my head.
He pushes up with his hands and every glorious inch of Baz lifts from the water. It runs in rivulets down his chest and the underwater lights make him glow like some kind of merman king rising from the depths.
His swim trunks hang low on his hips and cling to his thighs. He pads over and then sits next to me, bending one knee and resting his forearm on it.
“If you are so scared of the water, why’d you get so close?” he asks softly.
I tilt my head, looking at him from under my eyelashes.
“I was worried you’d get tired. That you’d go under and I wouldn't be able to save you because I don’t know how to swim.”
My voice is barely more than a trembling whisper, but he hears me. His eyes soften and he leans his shoulder against mine.
“You don’t have to save me, Ever.”
The rawness in his voice breaks my heart.
“What if I want to?”
Baz looks down at me and the pool lights reflect in his eyes. I feel a connection with him. Two damaged souls that have lost so much. It’s there with Riot and X, but not strong. Riot wants me but I feel like Baz needs me.
The longer we stare at each other
, the deeper the connection grows.
Somehow, in the dark, it’s easier to tell the truth.
“I’m trying to find my little sister.” I stare out at the pool. “We’ve been together in foster care since she was a baby, but I screwed up this last time. They took her away and I don’t know where she is.”
Tears spike my eyelashes and I don't even realize they’ve slipped free until Baz reaches out and wipes my cheek. His touch is soft, but it soothes the hurt. This is the closest I can come to telling them the truth right now.
“I can help you. I will help you, whatever you need. We’ll find her, I promise.”
I reach over and squeeze his hand.
“Thank you , Baz.”
My throat grows tight as we stare out at the water. Baz sucks in a deep breath then exhales slowly.
“My father killed my mom when I was seven. I saw it happen.”
The stricken look playing out over his face makes my tears fall harder and I reach out and grab his hand, linking our fingers together and holding on tight.
“He was a fucking bastard, always beating on her. And me.” His gaze drops to his knees. “I’d try to stop him but my mom would always put herself between us. I have a picture of her, she was beautiful…” He scrunches his eyebrows down. “I don’t remember her looking like that, though. All I see when I think about her is the shell she was at the end.”
He looks over at me and my tears continue to fall unchecked. He looks a little lost, like he’s reliving it as he talks.
“I hated her for being weak. For not leaving him. For making excuses and trying to protect him.” His voice breaks and my heart goes along with it. “That’s the last fucking thing I said to her, Ever. That she was a weak bitch.”
His eyes go glossy in the dim light and I reach out for him, pull his head down to lean on my shoulder then wrap my arm around him. His body trembles, likes he’s cold, but I know otherwise.
“My father laughed when he heard me say that, then looked into her eyes and told her that even her kid hated her. That she was worthless, unlovable and a waste of space. He shot her in the head. I didn’t even see the fucking gun in his hand.”
A sob breaks free from my lips and I duck my head down, pressing my wet cheek against his hair. I’m clinging to him now, my heart shattering for seven-year-old Baz.