“What? No!” Although the idea of watching her grow round with my child sent longing through me.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not the right sort of man for Ariana. She deserves better than me.”
“Jesus, you’re an idiot.”
“What?”
“Whatever you do, don’t bloody give Ariana that crap excuse, will you? Cause she’s not stupid.” We’d reached Kingsville, and Van drove down sleepy streets.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that’s the worst brush-off ever.”
“I’m not brushing her off.” Except I was. “It’s not about her.”
“Of course it fucking is. Pull your head out of your ass, Luke. It’s all about her. She’s the reason you’re walking around like a ticking time bomb, ready to go off. You punched me because you thought I was sleeping with her. You attacked Joel because he upset her. You want her. But you ain’t got the balls to go after her.”
He pulled up outside a small apartment building.
“I’m doing it for her sake. I can’t change who I am for her.”
“Who said you had to?”
“You know what I need. Ariana is too innocent for that.”
Van snorted. “I’ll give it to you that Ariana is inexperienced, but you do know what she writes about, right?”
What did that have to do with anything? “Romance.”
Van laughed. “Something like that. Why don’t you ask her to show you one of her books? I’m sure it will open your eyes to all sorts of things. Like the fact that Ariana might be more in-tune with you than you think. Don’t write her off by thinking you’re doing the right thing for her. The right thing for Ariana is doing what she wants. How about you ask her what it is that she’s looking for instead of deciding you already know?”
Fuck. He was right. I knew I had a habit of making decisions about what was best for those around me. I liked to take charge. I’d been told a time or two that I could be a bit overbearing.
“Doesn’t look like they’re home, but let’s check.”
I climbed out of the truck, frowning at her beat-up Nissan parked in front of us.
“Looks like Ari drove here,” Van commented. “Lola usually picks her up and brings her out here. She’s a terrible driver.”
“So I’ve been told.” And that was something she and I would be having words about. No matter how upset she was or how much of an ass I’d been, putting herself in any sort of danger was not acceptable.
Van knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
“What now?” I asked as he pulled out his phone. “I’ve tried calling, she isn’t answering.”
“But hopefully, her phone is still on. If it’s not, I know Lola’s will be. She never turns it off.”
“Are you going to call her friend?”
“Nope, I’m tracking their phones. Got it.” He turned his phone around, showing me the screen. They looked to be about a mile away.
“They let you track their phones?”
“I didn’t exactly ask for permission,” he said dryly. “Let’s go. I think I know where they are.”
Ariana
I’d lost track of time. I couldn’t even remember the name of the cowboy I was dancing with. Had he even given me his name? Who knew? Who cared? Right now I certainly didn’t. It was bliss not caring about anything. About the way I looked. About who was watching. About falling over and showing off my butt to the entire dance floor.
As I threw my arms up into the air, the cowboy in front of me suddenly disappeared. Huh, that was weird. I blinked dizzily and stumbled slightly.
“Whoa, Teeny. Jesus, how much have you had to drink?”
Ah, so I must have fallen asleep. ’Cause I knew for sure that wasn’t really Luke pulling me against him and placing his arms around my waist. I sighed. Dreams were nice. I could be whomever I wanted to be.
“Dance with me,” I told Dream-Luke.
“What?” he asked, startled.
I frowned. This wasn’t the way I wanted my dream to go. “Do as you’re t-told, Dream-Luke. D-dance with me.”
“Dream-Luke?” he questioned as he started to sway, holding me close.
“That’s better.” I snuggled into him. “When I’m d-dreaming you do what I want.”
His chest moved, and I thought he was laughing, but it was hard to hear over the music. I frowned. Why didn’t I just turn it down? This was my dream. But then, not everything went the way you wanted it to, not even when you were dreaming.
Luke leaned down, his breath wisping across my ear, and I let out a low moan. “Is that right? And what if I want you to do what I want?”
“And w-what do you want?” I dared ask. In my dreams, I was much bolder than in real life.
“I want to cuff your wrists together and blindfold you. I want to spread you out on my bed and feast on you until you scream. I want to fuck your mouth, your pussy, and your ass. I want to spank that gorgeous butt of yours, both for pleasure and in punishment.”
“P-punishment?” I squeaked out. Jesus, Dream-Luke was even better than I remembered. “I wasn’t naughty.”
“Oh, you’ve been very, very naughty.” He reached his hands down and cupped my butt. His fingertips went up and under my too-short skirt, brushing against the underside of my cheeks.
“W-what?” Need made it hard for me to think. Well, that and the cocktails I’d been guzzling down. “What did I do?”
“Let’s see. You came to a bar alone, dressed in the hottest clothes I’ve ever seen, and danced with strange men. I’d say that’s very naughty.”
I snuggled closer as he squeezed my ass. God, that felt good. I wasn’t worried about his threat. This was just a dream after all. And right now, the idea of a spanking was a total turn-on.
“I’m single, and I’m n-not alone. L-Lola’s here.”
“Lola’s not good protection against the sharks in this bar circling around you.”
I had to laugh. “No one’s circling.”
“No? How many men have asked you to dance?”
“They’re j-just being polite.”
“These assholes aren’t polite. They want to dance with you because you’re fucking gorgeous, sexy, and a temptation they can’t resist.”
I sighed. “That’s nice of y-you to say so.”
“Nice?” I gritted out. “I wasn’t saying it to be nice. I’m about ready to knock some fucking heads together if they don’t stop lusting after you.”
I closed my eyes as we swayed. A faster song came on but Luke didn’t seem to care, he continued to dance with me slowly. “How much have you had to drink, darlin’?”
Darlin’? I liked the sound of that. “I d-don’t know. Four? Five?”
“Jesus, you’re you’re gonna be feeling that in the morning.”
Yeah, but the morning was a long way off, and right now I didn’t care.
“Ready to go?” A low voice asked, and I frowned at the intrusion, opening my eyes and turning to see Van.
“Van? What are you doing in my d-dream?”
He smiled then cupped my cheek. “Whoa, someone’s had a few too many.”
“Like you t-two haven’t gotten d-drunk in the past.”
“Yeah, but we’re not little bits of nothing like you. Let’s go. I have Lola.”
“What ya goin’ to d-do with her?” I asked, giggling as Luke led me out of the bar. He kept me plastered to his side, his arm around my waist.
“Well now, I’m thinking I might take a leaf out of Luke’s book and spank her butt for coming here unescorted.”
I laughed, the idea of Van spanking Lola was hilarious.
Chapter Eight
Luke
I watched her rest, unable to sleep myself. Once we’d all returned to Lola’s place. I’d steered Ariana into her spare bedroom, helping her undress and climb into bed. I’d done the gentlemanly thing and turned away as she’d changed, although it had killed me to do so. I’d
never take advantage of her, and I knew she was plastered and not thinking clearly. After all, she thought this was all some sort of dream.
I hoped she wouldn’t see it as a nightmare when she woke up.
I snuggled in next to her, drawing her close. At least tonight had shown me one thing; there was no way I could let her go. Watching some strange cowboy paw her had made me furious. And jealous. Without thinking it through, I’d shoved him away from her. Luckily, Van had been there to back me up.
She shouldn’t be touching another man. She should never have been in that bar without me. Never again. It didn’t matter if she wanted to go on a girls-only night. I’d sit back, I wouldn’t interfere—unless it was necessary—but I’d be there. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. It was everyone else I had a problem with.
Maybe she hadn’t noticed the way everyone had been staring at her last night, but I’d seen them watching her with lust in their eyes. I’d wanted to lay claim to her right then.
But she needed to sober up. Once she had a clear head, I was going to claim her as my own. I should probably take things slowly. But I knew I wouldn’t.
She clearly needed some boundaries. Rules with consequences if they were broken. Because I wasn’t about to let her risk herself. Ariana liked to look after those around her, but she needed someone to look out for her interests. And it would be my pleasure and privilege to do so.
Ariana
I was dying. I didn’t care that you probably couldn’t die of a hangover. I was dying. End of story. And if I wasn’t then someone could at least have the decency to end the pain for me. I whimpered as I attempted to roll over. My stomach heaved.
Fuck.
Suddenly I was in the air; cradled against a firm chest. Unfortunately, the movement just made the nausea worse, and as we reached the toilet, I exploded.
It was violent. Messy. So damn disgusting.
When I was done, tears dripped down my face, and my stomach continued to clench and unclench.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” I sat back, leaning against the cool, tiled wall of the bathroom.
“Here, this might help.”
A glass of water appeared. I stared at the hand holding the glass. It was tan and large. Very different from Lola’s pale and refined one. Not that I truly thought Lola had been the one to carry me into the bathroom.
But one could wish for a miracle.
I glanced up at Luke as he flushed the toilet then turned and wet a cloth in the sink.
“Oh, God. Oh, God.”
He crouched down and grinned. “That bad, huh?”
I whimpered as he leaned me forward and placed the cool cloth on the back of my neck. “Drink up, you’re dehydrated.”
I didn’t want to put anything into my tender stomach, but the look he gave me didn’t allow for any argument. I took a cautious sip. Slowly, I drank the glass dry. Luke immediately took it from me and filled it up again.
“What are you doing here?” I asked when I wasn’t in danger of spewing my guts up again.
“Van and I came looking for you when we found your note.”
I studied him, noting that his eye wasn’t as swollen. “Your eye looks better. Is it still sore? Maybe you should put some more ice on it.”
“Stop, Ariana,” he said firmly.
I gazed at him in bewilderment. “Stop what?”
“Trying to take care of me.”
Oh. I tried to hide my hurt at those words.
He sighed and placed a finger under my chin, tilting my head up. “I said that wrong. What I meant is that I’m not the one who needs taking care of right now. You are.”
“I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh, that’s why you look like death warmed over, you just vomited, and I bet your head is throbbing, am I right?”
“Maybe. Why did you guys come looking for me?”
He glanced away then back. “I was worried about you. I thought you might have run off because of what happened.”
“I owe you an apology,” I told him. “I s-shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m so sorry. I f-feel—”
He placed a finger on my lips, stilling me. “You’re not at fault here, I am. And if anyone kissed anyone, I kissed you, got it?” His face was so serious that I nodded.
Then I winced as my head protested. “I’m never drinking again.”
He chuckled. “You won’t be the only person saying that this morning, I’m sure. Still feel sick?”
“No.”
“Come on then.” He hauled me up, and I gasped, clinging to him. He carried me back to the bed, laying me down gently. “I’m going to go find you some pain killers then you can go back to sleep.”
He brushed the hair from my face. I knew I had to look, and smell, terrible. Yet the expression on his face was tender.
“Why did you come after me, though? You could have waited until I got home to talk to me. And you really shouldn’t have stayed the night. What about C-Caroline?”
“Caroline left. And before you try to take the blame for that, she decided to leave. I was on my way to tell her it was over and I found her with her bag packed, ready to go. We both realized we were nothing more than a crutch for each other.”
“A crutch?”
“I liked taking care of her, and she liked being taken care of. And as long as I was with her then I didn’t have to worry about finding someone I truly cared about.”
“You didn’t want to find s-someone you really liked?” I frowned.
“I didn’t think I did. Until I realized that my obsession over a petite brunette with a heart of gold and a tendency to take care of those around her without looking after herself was more than just brotherly concern.”
“Me?” I squeaked.
He tapped my nose. “Yes, you, Teeny. I like you. I want to date you. I want to kiss you. Touch you. Fuck you.”
Oh, hell. “D-did you have to tell me that now?”
His eyebrows drew together. “Why not now? Have you met someone?”
“No, I haven’t met someone. But look at me, I stink, my makeup is probably all over my face, I just v-vomited. This is not great timing.” Would the earth just open up and swallow me whole?
He smiled. “Yeah, you do look like crap.”
I gasped. He did not just say that.
“But I still want you. I can’t keep my eyes off you, and if you were feeling better, I’d be in that bed with you, showing you just how desirable you are. So what does that tell you? Lie there, I’ll find you some painkillers. You and I need to have a serious talk. You’re in big trouble.”
“What? Why?”
“Uh, let’s see.” He held up his hand and started to tick off his fingers. “You ran off without telling anyone. You drove here.”
“I left a note, and I have a license,” I protested.
“Yes, but you knew Joel made a rule for you about driving.”
“He did not make a rule for me,” I muttered. A rule? That made it sound like I was a child.
Luke raised an eyebrow. “As good as. But fair enough, I’m not Joel. I’ll make my own rule for you about your driving.”
What?
“I haven’t judged your driving skills myself. We’ll go for a drive as soon as you feel better so I can get a handle on your ability. Then I’ll make a decision.”
“Um, Luke, you know I’m a grown woman, right?”
He ran his gaze over me. “Oh, I know.”
I could feel myself blush.
“I’m probably getting ahead of myself. But I want you to know I’m serious about you. About us.”
“We haven’t even d-dated.” I felt nervous. Part of me didn’t believe it was real. Why would he want me?
“Dating is about getting to know each other. I know you. At least I know the core of who you are, although I’m starting to realize I don’t know everything. But I’ll find out all of that. Because I’m not letting you out of my sight for a while. Not when you end up in a bar, wearing next to nothing with strange
cowboys groping you.”
“Are you s-sure you want me?” It was still hard to believe.
“Yes, I came here last night to tell you I wasn’t good enough for you. Van pointed out to me we don’t get many chances to be happy, and I’d be crazy to let you go. He also told me you might not be scared off by my desires.”
“What does that mean?”
“Do you remember what I said I’d like to do to you last night?”
I thought furiously. What had he said? Much of it was a haze. Suddenly a memory drifted by and I grabbed it. With a small gasp, I stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“You said you wanted to cuff and blindfold and . . .” I trailed off.
“And spank you.”
“Do you . . . are you . . .” Holy hell, I wished I could get my words out.
“I’m a Dominant. I like to be in charge in the bedroom. I enjoy bondage and submission.”
“You’re into BDSM.”
“Yes.”
“And outside of the bedroom?” I dared ask.
He shrugged. “You know me. I’m bossy. I like to take charge. I don’t want to tell you what to wear or who to be friends with, although the jury’s still out on your friend, Lola.”
“Hey! Lola’s a good friend.” I scowled at him. If he thought he was going to tell me I couldn’t be friends with Lola, he’d better rethink his attitude.
He raised an eyebrow. “So it was your idea to go to that bar dressed in next to nothing and drink until you were out of it?”
“I wanted to go. And what’s w-wrong with what I was wearing?”
“Nothing. If it’s for my eyes only. Everywhere else I’d prefer you were covered up. From head to toe.”
“That’s kind of s-sexist.” I rubbed my head. I felt awful. I really needed to be in top condition to talk to Luke, or he was going to be running circles around me, and I’d find myself agreeing to some of these ridiculous rules of his.
“So you and Van are close.” His face showed no hint of what he was thinking.
“We’re friends.” I wondered where he was going with this. “Close friends.”
Luke (Bad Boys of WildeSide Book 3) Page 8