Zane (Inked Brotherhood Book 3)

by Jo Raven

  I lick my lips, caught in a fucking trance. Christ, I need a drink. Or a cigarette. Or both.

  She walks to me and takes my hand, tugging me toward the sofa. “It’s chicken salad sandwiches. Erin said you like them.”

  What’s happening? I let myself be pushed into the sofa and receive the plate. She’s gone for a minute, then returns with tall glasses of juice.

  I feel as if I’ve stepped into an alternate universe. I can’t remember anyone ever taking care of me like that. Emma brought me to her home when I was practically an adult, and I took care of myself. Erin cooked for me sometimes, but this…

  I put the plate back down. “What do you want?”

  “A tattoo?” She smiles and shrugs.

  “Fuck.” I press the heels of my hands into my eyes.

  “Here.” She scoots closer to me, offering me something.

  A pen.

  “Are you serious?” My head is pounding, my dick is hard, my thoughts are a mess—and she wants me to draw on her?

  Her smile is fainter now. Red colors her cheeks, and her eyes glitter.

  I reach for the pen without another thought. Why is it so important to her that I ink her? I don’t get her. She has no need of dragons on her pretty, smooth skin—no scars to hide, no bad memories to fight. What’s on her mind?

  She turns, offering me the golden expanse of her slender back. Her tattoo is nestled between her shoulder blades. I don’t know the artist, but the design…

  “A butterfly of death,” I whisper. It has a skull on its body, and the sight disturbs me more than it should. I mean, damn, I’ve inked my fair share of skulls and zombies on skin. Dark lines entwine around it, like a crown of thorns. And now I see it—a faint, long scar, thin like a surgical cut.

  “Actually, it’s a Death’s Head Hawkmoth.” She glances at me over her shoulder, her blue eyes sparkling, her smile widening. “Acherontia lachesis.”

  I frown as I put the pen against her skin and start drawing. I have no picture in my mind, so I just let my hand guide me. “Why?”

  She doesn’t immediately answer. She hunches over a little, and I put my hand on her arm to straighten her. She’s warm and smells of sun and grass. I suck in a deep breath.

  “Do you know they squeak when you pester them?” she says.

  “What?” What is she talking about?

  “Death’s Head Hawkmoths.”

  Laughter rises in my throat. “And that’s why you got one tattooed on your back? Because it can squeak?”

  “Well, it likes honey, too.”

  I can’t help it. I laugh out loud. “So you like honey, too.” Another fact to file away.

  My drawing is spreading over her ribs, curls and lines. I still don’t know what it is. As I draw, tension is leaving my body. How did she know this could help more than drinking myself stupid?

  She shivers under my hands, and maybe it’s our discussion, but now I think I smell honey. My mouth waters. I bend closer and press my mouth to the top of her tattoo, on her spine.

  The air leaves her lungs in a low moan, and the pen drops from my fingers. I wrap my arms around her, haul her back until she’s on my lap. She squirms, her sweet ass pressed against my hard-on, and I almost lose it. I reach up and place my hands over her breasts. Her nipples are tight, poking into my palms.

  “Zane…” She whispers my name, and her hands cover mine. Together we cup her breasts and knead them. Her head rolls back, her eyes closing. Her body arches.

  I hiss, my cock aching inside my still wet pants, and I bite lightly on her exposed neck. I need to mark her, leave hickeys all over her body.

  Jesus.

  She settles fully on me, and her hands fall away. I reach down, lifting her dress, and her legs part. I place my hand between them, over the fine lace of her panties. Swallowing hard, I slide a finger underneath.

  Dammit. My whole body tightens. I feel as if I’ve never touched a woman before.

  She’s smooth down there, and I wonder if she shaves. I part her folds, and she’s wet and hot. She makes a mewling noise when I rub my finger back and forth.

  “Christ, Zane,” she whispers when I find her swollen clit and press down. Her hips lift, and she turns her face so that our lips almost touch.

  I turn my face away and push my finger inside her. It’s so damn tight I can’t stand it. I fuck her like that slowly, and my dick throbs in time to my heartbeat. I push a second finger inside her.

  She’s panting hard, making those sexy little noises that tell me she’s getting close, and I rub her clit with my thumb. I know how to make a chick feel good, how to get her off. Problem is, normally I’m not holding them close, feeling their every move, hearing their every breath. Normally I don’t feel like I’ll come just from touching them.

  This time is different.

  I close my eyes, count backward from ten, trying to come back from the brink. She pulses around my fingers, and I grit my teeth, feeling an answering pulse in my dick.

  Her small hand rests over mine, between her legs, and her breath catches on a sob as she comes, writhing in my lap.

  I bite into her shoulder to stifle a groan and keep stroking her, feeling the waves of pleasure rolling through her, making her shake. God, it’s never been so hot before, seeing a girl come. My cock weeps and twitches.

  “Oh, God…” Her arms fall to her sides, limp, as she struggles to catch her breath.

  I’m panting just as hard. As I pull my fingers out of her, she whimpers, and fuck, my cock doesn’t need any more encouragement. My balls draw tight, and I blow air through my nose, fighting for control.

  Her head is resting on my shoulder. She turns to look at me, her eyes wide. It makes me want to smile as I pull back.

  That’s when I finally see what I’ve drawn on her back. It’s a humming bird.

  I drew a bird on her last time, too. Wings, I realize. That’s what I want to put on her. Wings, so she can fly. Not the scaled, dark wings of a dragon, but great, feathered wings, the kind that can take you high, close to the light.

  Where I can’t follow.

  Chapter Four

  Dakota

  I’m still leaning on Zane’s strong chest, struggling to breathe, reduced to a puddle of pleasure. Holy shit, this boy knows how to play music on my body. I’m still thrumming everywhere, still clenching inside.

  When I stare into his hooded dark eyes, the pupils are blown to hell with need. His arousal is a rod of steel at my back. He’s so beautiful, so hot, I want to grab his face and kiss him senseless.

  But he pulls back.

  No kissing. This is so weird. He strokes my back, sending shivers through me, and stands up.

  What…?

  I lean back on the cushions, pulling my dress down, suddenly self-conscious. After all, he touched me but didn’t even see me. He touched my breasts—over the dress—and made me come without even seeing what he was touching… And oh God, the memory makes me clench again. And again.

  He’s standing by the sofa, fumbling with a pack of cigarettes. I get he’s not the cuddly type, but it’s like he couldn’t wait to get away from me after he made me come.

  I should be freaked out. I don’t know Zane so well, and although he’s super sexy and I want him, I didn’t expect anything like this to happen so soon. Not before talking and finding out more about him.

  Heck, I only came over to check he was all right after what happened at the park. The way he’d struggled in the water, thrashing and hitting right and left… After he’d left with Asher, Erin told me Zane never liked water. Yeah, okay. But it wasn’t just that he didn’t like it. What happened looked like a flashback, and it was scary as hell.

  I look at him as he stares at nothing, still toying with the packet. He hasn’t pulled out a cigarette yet. His wet T-shirt sticks to his chest and shoulders, outlining every taut muscle, every ridge and plane. I see the black of tattoos through the wet fabric, curling on his chest and upper arms. His dark brows are drawn together, his gaze
distant. What’s on his mind?

  Bad idea or not, everything about him draws me close, including his demons. Including his tattoos, his piercings and his Mohawk, his Inked Brotherhood and absent family. Including the bottle of whiskey sitting on the table, and the fact that he’s still dressed in his wet clothes.

  What happened in the park is a crack in his armor, a widening fissure that lets me glimpse inside him. I’m sure what I’ll find won’t be pretty, but it’s what makes Zane who he is, and I want to know him.

  He burns so brightly.

  “So,” I say, sitting there, pretending nothing has happened—that he didn’t draw on me, give me a hickey and get me off with his hands a mere two minutes ago—and cross my legs. “I’m still looking for a roommate, and so are you. Won’t you at least interview me? I like your apartment.”

  His gaze slides to me, blank. “Interview?”

  “Yeah, you know, check if we are compatible as roomies. If I’m quiet, and don’t stay out late and don’t smoke in my room and all that.”

  “You don’t smoke, you don’t stay out late, and I don’t care if you’re quiet.”

  I blink. Okay… “Then ask me if I have enough money for the rent, if I cook, if I commit to pay half the expenses—”

  “No.” He rubs a hand over his chest. “You can’t stay here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because…” He looks at me, his hot gaze gliding over my skin. “You just can’t.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  Why am I pushing him? He’s right. It’s not a good idea. What I need is a nice roomie, a girl I can have pajama parties with and boy talk. Besides… after touching me, things have shifted between us, and I’m not sure it’s for the better. He seems more distant now than ever.

  It makes my chest tight.

  This was a mistake. I get up and smooth my dress over my legs. “Fine. I’ll be going, then.” I glance at the plates and glasses on the low table. “Enjoy your sandwich.”

  His body vibrates with tension, and his jaw is clenched tight. “Not hungry.”

  That stops me. A boy who isn’t hungry is a boy who isn’t well. I don’t have a brother, but I do have plenty of male cousins and friends, and I know this for a fact.

  “Are you sick?” I regret the words as soon as I speak them. Prying again. “Forget it. I’ll just—”

  “Stay.”

  I gape at him. “What?”

  “I mean... Fuck.” He runs a hand over one of the shaved sides of his head, his eyes locked on the far wall. He swallows. “You haven’t eaten, either. Stay a while longer.”

  I realize my mouth is still open, and I snap it shut. I really should go.

  But a shadow in his eyes holds me still.

  Pain.

  I can’t just leave when he’s in pain. He did ask me to stay. And as always when it comes to Zane Madden, I throw all caution to the wind, and do crazy stuff.

  Like staying when I should run.

  ***

  “Why are you looking for a roommate?” Zane swallows the last bite of his sandwich and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “My roommate’s boyfriend is moving in with her. She’s so in love with him, it’s driving me up the wall.”

  His lips curl in a faint smile. “And why don’t you move in with your parents until fall?”

  I shrug. I’m only halfway through my sandwich. I’m discovering that Zane sitting right next to me is very distracting. He’s changed into loose jogging pants and a dry T-shirt. He’s barefoot, and a black tattoo curls around one ankle. I can’t see what it is.

  “I’d rather not move back in with them.”

  “Why? Audrey said you get along.”

  “You asked Audrey about me?” There I go, gaping at him again. This evening’s full of surprises.

  His face closes off, and I find I miss his smile.

  I nudge him with my elbow. “She’s right. We get along fine. I just like it, you know? Living on my own.”

  He nods, relaxing again.

  “What about your parents?” I ask. “Do they live in town?”

  “Don’t have any.”

  The words don’t sink in immediately, I guess because I wasn’t expecting them. “You have no parents?”

  He shrugs. “Never knew them.”

  The way he says it, so easily… You’d think he doesn’t care, but again a shadow passes over his face, and I know he’s just making light of it.

  “But you have other family?” Surely he must have… what, siblings? Cousins? Aunts and uncles?

  His hands hang between his knees. He stares down at them. “I have a sister.”

  Oh. Okay. Well, that’s something. My family is huge. I can’t imagine someone living without all that support and warmth and love. “Does she live close by?”

  “No, out of town. Listen…” His hands are clenching and unclenching, and a vein in his neck is beating frantically. He stands up. “Mind if I smoke?”

  I shake my head and put my sandwich down. He changes moods like I change panties. He walks to the sliding door, opens it and steps out onto the balcony. The cool breeze carries a scent of flowers, mingled with car fumes and cigarette smoke.

  I follow him out. He’s leaning on the rail, smoking, and I have a great view of his long legs and broad back, all lean muscle and sinew. There’s an ashtray on the floor, full of cigarette stubs.

  “Do you smoke?” he asks.

  “No.” I step up to the rail and lean back against it to look at him. It’s then I notice his hand holding the cigarette is trembling.

  What’s wrong with him? Worry turns my stomach into a stone. Is it what happened at the park? I don’t dare ask him about it. I’ve been nosy enough for one evening.

  “My dad smokes sometimes,” I say. “Cuban cigars. He says he likes the smell.”

  “It’s a bad habit.” Zane chuckles softly, and it sounds bitter. “Got plenty of those.”

  “Like?”

  “Like…” He stares out into the night, the embers burning red. “Drinking.”

  “Drinking, but not getting wasted?”

  He laughs. It’s a beautiful, deep sound. “I told you that?”

  “I thought part of the drunk definition is that you remember what you did? In contrast, you know, to being wasted?”

  He laughs harder. “Fuck me. I guess I really was wasted when I told you that.”

  “I guess.” I grin and turn around to prop my elbows on the rail. “Any other bad habits I should know about?”

  “You’re better off not knowing,” he mutters and crouches down to stub out his cigarette in the ashtray.

  I press my lips together and try not to think of all possibilities. Hard not to. “So, about me moving in…”

  He straightens and shoots me an incredulous look. “What?”

  I bite my lip not to snicker. “I hope you don’t smoke inside the apartment in winter. And I need to know that you will clean and not leave me all the housework, because I suck at that. Also, we need to have popsicles in the fridge at all times.”

  One corner of his mouth lifts in a crooked smile. “Popsicles, huh?”

  “Yeah. And orange juice. And Fruit Loops. It’s a condition I must insist on.”

  “I see.” He raises his brows. “Well, I don’t just take anyone in who asks, girl. You have to prove yourself first.”

  A snort escapes me, but I stop myself from laughing out loud. He may sound like he’s joking, but what if he means it? What if the only way to unlock his mystery and get close to him is to prove myself? Show him he can trust me?

  I was there when he took care of Asher and Tyler—I saw how he did all in his power to help. What makes him so strong? What makes him who he is? I don’t think he lets many get close to him.

  I want that. I want him to lean on me, desire to be with me. I want him to trust me enough to look at me as he touches me and kisses me.

  And I have a feeling he’d be worth it.

  ***
<
br />   “What’s that? A new drawing by you-know-who?” Bella peers at my back as I step out of the shower wrapped in my favorite yellow towel.

  Damn, I forgot about that. After I left Zane and went back home, I just dropped to sleep, thinking about everything he said and the way he touched me.

  I twist to look, but I can’t see anything, so I march into my room and check my back in the full-length mirror there. “Another bird.” He didn’t sign it this time. Then again, we got distracted toward the end…

  “A humming bird,” Bella says, following my inside. “Why is he drawing on you with a pen? Can’t you afford a tattoo?”

  “He won’t ink me.”

  “Seriously?” Bella’s brows arch. “Why? Because he’s your boyfriend?”

  I look up, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “What do you mean? He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “So it wasn’t him who gave you that hickey?”

  Oh crap. Forgot about that, too. I turn my head and, holy shit, it’s red and purple. I clap my hand over it. How didn’t it hurt when he did that? I only remember pleasure. Incredible, pure pleasure, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

  And I shouldn’t be thinking about that, not when he closed off afterward, and we parted ways without touching again. Not when I want to gain his trust as a friend.

  Why did he touch me, if he didn’t want me touching him? He was so aroused... I don’t understand…

  “Oh my God, you’re all packed!” Bella goes to stand by my bed where my suitcase is lying. “You didn’t tell me you found a place.”

  “It’s temporary. I talked to Audrey this morning, and she told me Tessa could put me up for a few days.” I don’t know Tessa very well, but she seems nice.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  I have to be. Bella’s boyfriend is arriving tomorrow. I’ve cut it real close. Then again, Audrey said Tessa may know someone who’s looking for a roomie.

  The doorbell rings, and Bella goes to open as I pull on some cut-off jeans and a T-shirt and check my hickey one more time, caught between horror and pleasure at seeing Zane’s mark of desire on me.

  If he desired me, why didn’t he touch me again afterward? Why did he move away as if my skin burned? This is driving me crazy.