I shake my arm free and offer her a forced smile. Truthfully, I’m irritated with her. Her and Sylvia have been annoying me for the last hour, and I’ve done everything to keep my shit together and not be a dick to them.
“I’m good. Maybe you should stop fucking with Roman and tell him how you truly feel. I won’t be a part of your game.”
Her mouth opens in shock, but no sound leaves her lips. It’s probably the first time in a long time that someone other than Dakota has called her out on her bullshit.
Before anyone else can stop me, I make my way outside, watching as Dakota pulls out into traffic and drives off.
Even dressed in her running gear and sneakers she looks like she was made for that motorcycle. Truthfully, it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Nothing has ever appealed to me more than when Dakota rides fast, as if nothing can hold her back.
Watching her now has me completely hard, and imagining things I shouldn’t be—like burying myself balls deep inside her while she straddles me on the back of her bike, riding me hard to release her hatred and frustration on me.
Clearly, my head is fucked when it comes to her, and I need to stop being a shit friend. Touching her the way I ache to is the last thing I can do without messing up eighteen years of a friendship and a family I can’t replace.
Tightening my jaw, I jump on my bike and ride twelve blocks, not slowing down until I’m pulling into Stiles’ long driveway. Dakota might’ve thought I was too preoccupied with Blake and Sylvia on my nuts to pay attention to her, but truthfully, I heard almost every word she said to Hope.
My attention was focused on her.
When I come to a stop at the top of Stiles’ driveway, he’s standing beside his truck with the door open, as if he’s about to leave.
He nods his head and flashes me a crooked smile as I kill the engine and hop off my bike.
“What’s up, Champ? Thought you were hanging with Roman at the pub?”
Shaking my head, I walk up to him, my eyes searching around for Dakota. Her Harley is parked off to the side, but she’s nowhere in sight. “Nah, he was getting pretty busy.” I nod toward her bike. “Where is she?”
He shoves his phone into his pocket and reaches for the megaphone under his arm with a wide smile. “She’s hiking up to the top of the hill to take my baby through the trails. Here, I’ll call her back down.”
I reach my arm out to stop him, right as he brings the megaphone to his lips. The last thing I want is for her to know I’m coming or for Stiles to anger her even more with his stupid megaphone. He finds any excuse to use it. He’s had that thing since he was ten. “No. She’ll shove that thing up your ass and you know it.” I smirk and slap his chest. “I’ll just run up and catch her. And you’re welcome for saving your ass.”
“All right then,” he yells, as I take off fast for the trails. “I’ll be at the tattoo parlor working if you need me. Tell Wonder Woman to be careful with my baby. That woman has super strength when she’s angry and some unlucky bastard pissed her off.”
Yeah, that unlucky bastard is me.
Ignoring Stiles, I pick up speed, hauling ass, so I can catch her before she takes off through the trails. She has a few minutes on me, but I’m faster on foot. If I’m lucky, she’s just now getting to the top.
Adrenaline courses through my veins once I reach the top of the hill to see Dakota throwing her leg over the black and yellow Can-Am Renegade. I don’t even bother stopping to catch my breath. I speed up, needing to catch her before she drives off.
She’s facing the other direction, so she doesn’t notice me approaching until I’m right beside her, grabbing the handlebars. Her eyes harden the second they move from my hand to land on my face. “Did you follow me?”
“Yup.” I admit, while jumping on behind her. “I think you knew I would.”
“I don’t think you really wanna ride with how I’m feeling right now, Easton.” She growls over her shoulder at me. “You should probably get the hell off.”
Smiling, I place my boots on the footrests and wrap my arms around her waist, pressing my body in close behind hers. The feeling of her ass against me has me fucking praying I can keep my dick in check until this ride is over. “You’re not driving the trails alone when you’re as pissed off at me as you are.”
She laughs sarcastically and scoots forward to get away from me. “And what? You think being with me on the trails while I’m pissed off at you is a better idea?”
Wrapping my arm tighter around her small frame, I pull her ass against my crotch again and press my lips to her ear, causing her to let out a small growl. “Maybe I want to see just how pissed at me you truly are,” I whisper. “I’m not getting off… so you might as well show me.”
She doesn’t bother responding to me this time. Starting the engine, she leans forward and takes off fast through the muddy trail.
I’m not used to riding bitch, but for her I’ll take a backseat while she works out her frustration.
Mud flies up all around us, splattering against our bodies and the machine as she rides fast, taking the hills and bumps without letting up, working the shocks hard.
Each time her ass bounces off my lap I become harder, making me want to grab her hips and hold her in place.
Grabbing her neck, I lean in against her ear and growl. “Go faster, Kota.” My other arm wraps around her waist, pulling her down hard into my lap to hold her in place. “But I can’t take you bouncing all over my dick. You know going fast gets me hard.”
I release her neck, my heart racing as Dakota moans out and slides out of my lap. “Don’t talk about your dick with me, Easton, dammit. And don’t remind me.”
Going faster, she takes a quick right, coming close to hitting a tree.
Any other guy would be grabbing the handlebars by now, taking control, but none of them can handle the rush that Dakota brings. My body craves it more than she knows.
I need it.
By the time we reach the end of the trail, we’re both covered in mud from head to toe.
Taking a breather, Dakota kills the engine and we both climb off. Her chest is quickly rising and falling with each breath she takes.
She’s trying hard not to smile, but I can see the smallest hint of one, before she turns away from me and looks around us.
Riding these trails and getting lost in the woods has always made her happy when she’s frustrated. I can’t even count the number of times we’ve come here together over the years before I left.
“I almost forgot how good you look covered in mud, Kota.” Walking up behind her, I turn her around and wipe my thumb under her eyes, cleaning her up a bit. “No one’s ever been able to wear it as well as you. Even after all these years.”
Her lips curl into a smile that makes my heart rate speed up. “I disagree with you there, Easton.” Taking her filthy hands, she wipes mud down my face, not stopping until she reaches my mouth. “I always enjoyed the sight of watching you eat mud growing up.” She taps my lips with her dirty fingertip, jumping back in surprise when I bite it.
“Then you should know I have no problem biting dirty things.” I grab her finger and hold it, while leaning in close to her, listening as her breathing picks up. “So, I’d watch yourself. Mud won’t stop me from doing many things.”
Yanking her finger away from my grip, she swallows, and trudges through the mud back over to the Renegade, jumping on it and starting it back up.
She looks over her shoulder at me walking toward her and gives me a mischievous smile I know well. “Let’s see if you’re still as fast as you used to be. Show me what you got.”
With that, she turns the ATV around, sliding and slinging mud everywhere as she drives off, leaving me to watch her disappear.
Grinning, I take off running, jumping over branches and rocks, being careful not to trip. It’s been a while, but I’ve caught her in the past. I’ll do it again. She always seems to slow down when she thinks she’s lost me.
Plus, I kn
ow a shortcut she’s never taken.
Ducking through the trees, I find the secret path, running so fast and hard that my legs begin to ache.
After about a mile, I come to a stop, taking a few deep breaths, waiting for the Renegade to come around the corner.
As soon as it creeps into view, I grab onto it and jump on behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
Surprised, she lets out a small scream and slows down even more to peer over her shoulder at me. “Where the hell did you come from? I didn’t see you anywhere.”
I laugh into her ear, before reaching around her and turning the ATV away from the tree stump we’re heading toward. “You should worry more about where we’re going before you kill us.”
Grunting, she elbows me, so she can take over steering again. “Keep your hands off. I can handle it.”
“Like you almost handled driving home drunk last night, Kota? We still need to talk about that.”
I feel her body tense beneath my hands, before the Renegade comes to a quick stop and she scoots back, pushing me off the end with her ass.
Catching myself with my right leg, I reach around her and turn the ATV off, snatching the key out, before turning and walking away.
“I never asked you to join me on the trails, Easton! Maybe I needed a little time to myself to figure out why the hell you decided to come back after all this time.”
I stop when I hear her coming up behind me. Her steps sound angry, stomping on branches and slapping in the mud to catch up with me. “Maybe I’m not ready to see you again. Or maybe… maybe I don’t want to. You hurt me, dammit. Why the fuck couldn’t you at least say bye to me and give me a reason for leaving?”
Opening my mouth, I grab her arm and get ready to speak, but she pulls away from my touch and backs away. “Actually, don’t answer that, because you don’t owe me shit. Never have.”
Without another word, she takes off running through the trails to get away from me.
My chest aches as I watch her disappear through the trees. Truthfully, I couldn’t answer her why right now, even if I tried.
That’s something I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for.
After leaving Stiles’ house earlier, after Dakota left me on the trail, I came back to my hotel room and crashed out for a few hours.
To be honest, I still feel like total shit from last night, but I want a chance to catch Dakota before the race tonight. Even if that means waiting in the parking lot until I see her pull up.
Dropping my towel, I hurriedly pull on a pair of ripped up jeans and a white T-shirt, before slipping my jacket and boots on and rushing out the door.
I’m only a few minutes away from the Myers’ Speedway, so as soon as I step outside, the roar of motorcycle engines fills my ears, bringing me back to the past.
The race starts in less than thirty minutes, so some of the racers are most likely taking a few laps around the track to warm up. This is usually around the time that Dakota and the crew shows up.
A little tense from earlier, I straddle my bike and run both hands down my face, before rubbing my hands together. “What the hell am I doing?”
I still haven’t figured it out yet.
“I’m in way over my head.”
By the time I get to the track, vehicles are already piled in, making it hard to see if Dakota’s bike is here.
I drive around the lot, before parking my Ducati next to Roman’s Yukon, keeping my eye on the cars pulling in to see when she arrives.
Ten minutes before starting time, I finally pull my eyes away when I hear Roman yelling my name and whistling to get my attention.
“Hey, man! I saved you a spot. Hurry the hell up. We’ve been waiting for over twenty minutes on your ass. Thought you were on the way a while ago.”
Uncrossing my arms, I push away from Roman’s vehicle and jog across the lot to join him. “What’s up, man?” I slap his back. “Where’s Dakota?”
He slips his phone into his jacket pocket and shrugs. “I guess she’s not coming. Didn’t say why. Let’s go!” Walking backward, he motions for me to move faster. “I have a few beers waiting for us. If we don’t hurry, Stiles will have them finished off before we get to our damn seats.”
Releasing a disappointed breath, I run my hand through my hair and pick up speed until I’m walking beside Roman.
Our friends instantly get excited at my arrival, jumping up to welcome me, but it does nothing to stop me from worrying about Dakota and why the hell she isn’t here.
She never misses a race. Ever.
Which proves to me she’ll do whatever it takes to avoid me while I’m here, and I hate that with everything in me. Makes me feel sick to my stomach, making it hard to concentrate throughout the whole race.
Everything everyone says goes in one ear and right out the other, not making any sense or having any meaning to me. Which makes me feel like total shit, because even with me being here, I’m not really here.
My mind is off somewhere it shouldn’t be.
Like it has been for as long as I can remember.
Dakota
Six o’clock in the morning and here I am, awake, and heading to the shop, looking a hot mess. I’ll be surprised if my shoes even match. I got dressed in the dark and rushed out the door as soon as I hung up the phone.
After the lack of sleep I had last night, a phone call from my dad at the ass-crack of dawn informing me that I had to come in because of an emergency was the last thing I needed.
Honestly, last night was the first time in over fifteen years that I’ve missed a race, and it kept me up all night just staring at the ceiling, drowning myself in self-pity, while my friends all enjoyed the night.
But knowing that Easton was going to be there with my brother kept me from going, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to go without showing my emotions over Easton being back in town.
His presence alone is enough to drive me mad with need, but feeling his hard body beneath mine on the trails yesterday—hell, what girl would be unaffected by it—about brought me to my knees, on the verge of losing every bit of restraint I have left after all these years.
There’s no way I could’ve kept a straight face and acted normal at the race after that, and Roman would’ve questioned me, making it an awkward night I wanted no part of.
Plus, I know how much my brother has missed Easton over the years. The last thing I want to do is to get in the middle of them. That was always my brother’s fear growing up and is exactly why he didn’t want any of his friends dating his sisters.
Parking my bike outside the shop, I pull my helmet off, closing my eyes as the cool breeze blows across my face, helping me to wake up.
My dad’s Chopper is parked right outside the door, letting me know he’s already inside, waiting on me. I let myself inside and tiredly walk down the hall, sleep deprivation well on its way, trying to shake off all thoughts of Easton even though I know it’s a losing battle. It’s always been impossible for me to not think about Easton. He’s my ultimate weakness. The only person who has ever had the power to bring me to my knees and cripple me.
Stepping into Dad’s office, I throw myself down in the chair across from his and set my helmet on his desk. “I’m here. What do you need me for that’s so important? Please tell me it’s worth dragging my butt out of bed for.”
My dad looks up from his computer and grunts at me. He looks tired too, and almost as annoyed as I feel. “You’re not going to like it. But it needs to be done. So, please don’t give me any shit.”
“I love when a sentence starts with those words,” I mumble. “Lay it on me. I’m already dressed and here anyway.”
“I need you to drive to Remington Way to work on that 1925 Henderson Four. James called, and apparently, he needs it ready sooner than he thought. A whole week sooner.”
What energy I have drains. I sit up straight and look him over with tired eyes. “Huh? That’s over an hour away. Why can’t someone else do it? There’s plenty of s
hops in his area.”
“He doesn’t trust any shops near him and you’re my fastest mechanic, Dakota. It needs to be ready to run by nine-thirty. It has to be done.”
“Tonight? Why am I here so early then? Wake me up in a few hours and I’ll head out. I need sleep first, so I can function properly.” I grab my helmet and get ready to stand, ready to get out of here and crawl back into bed.
“No. In three hours.”
I shake my head, laughter already tumbling out.
Is he crazy? He’s my father. What am I thinking? Of course, he is.
“I’m supposed to drive an hour and a half away and still be able to fix it in time? I can’t do that by myself and you know it.”
“I know.” The sound of the office door opening has us both turning to look. “That’s why I called Easton.”
My heart instantly reacts to his presence, my tired eyes looking Easton over as he stands there in his typical faded jeans, white T-shirt, and leather jacket. It’s hard to ignore the fact he’s the reason I didn’t get any sleep last night.
His dark hair is messy and sticking up all over his head, as if he pulled a me and crawled out of bed without a care as to what he looks like. We’re equally a mess, both looking as if we want nothing more than to run back to our beds and pass out.
“Morning, sunshine,” he mutters, while looking me over. “Hope you’re in a better mood today, because it’s going to be a long one.”
“I’m not,” I mutter back, eyes locked on his. “I didn’t sleep much.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Good to see you, Easton.” My dad walks over and gives him a quick hug, not catching on to the tension between us. “How you been holding up over the years? We’ve missed you around here, Son.”
Easton shrugs, while messing with his wild hair, pushing the front out of his face. “Good, I guess. It’s nice to be back though. You have no idea how much I’ve missed it.”
My dad is a huge, tough guy, but I can see the softness in his eyes from seeing Easton again for the first time. Easton was like a second son to him. “Well, it’s good to have you back. It’ll be nice to see you around the garage while you’re here.”
Wreck My World Page 5