“Ummm, good,” I mumble, not knowing what to say but not wanting to be intimidated by him. I don’t lower my gaze, even though I can feel my cheeks start to heat as the look in his eyes does.
Finally, when I can’t take any more, I lower my gaze to his lips.
His lips quirk, in a familiar way.
I puff out a breath. “Well. I have . . . stuff to do.”
“Do you need any help?” he asks, flashing me an innocent look.
I purse my lips. “I didn’t think you did housework. I’m pretty sure Anna said you have women picking up after you.”
He shrugs, eyes dancing with amusement. “Doesn’t mean I don’t know how.”
I open my mouth and then close it. It really irks me that he turned into such a man-whore. And he doesn’t even deny it. He just accepts my digs and acts like he doesn’t care in the least what I think about it. He makes no apologies. At least I was his first, and that’s something that no one can change, no matter how stupid that sounds. I’d never even admit it out loud.
“It’s fine,” I tell him. “You can leave if you like. Tia is here and nothing will happen to us in the middle of the day.”
Rake scowls, his mouth tightening. “Pretty sure that fucker approached you in the middle of the day last time.”
I hate that he’s right.
I look around the room. “It’s just weird you . . . hanging around here.”
“I said I’d help. Put my ass to work,” he says simply, like he isn’t a big, bad biker, dressed in all black, like he does car pools every day. I study him. He really is a handsome man. More than that, electric. Sensual. The stubble on his cheeks gives him a rugged look, while the glint in his eyes tells you that he would definitely give you a good time. He oozes sex appeal, confidence, but there’s also a goofiness around him that I haven’t seen much of since being back in his presence. I don’t know if that’s because of me or because he’s changed over the years. Maybe this life has made him harder. Or maybe he’s just guarded and moody around me.
“How handy are you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Growing up without a father, Rake was born the man of the house, so he was always the one fixing shit around the house.
He tilts his head and raises an eyebrow, knowing the question doesn’t even justify an answer.
I push my hair back behind my ear. “I have a list of a few things that need fixing. I was going to call a handyman in.”
“Give me the list,” he demands softly. “And from now on, you need anything fixed, you call me. No point wasting your money when I can do it for you.”
“You don’t need to—”
“Give me the list, Bailey.”
I walk to the fridge and pull down a piece of paper from the top of it. I can feel my T-shirt rise and quickly pull it down, then turn to face him. “Here.”
He takes the list from my hand, our fingers touching. I pretend I don’t feel the shock wave from such a simple touch, and rub my fingers together as he reads over it and nods his head. “No problem. I’ll have all this done by tomorrow for you.”
He walks by me, then stops.
I can smell him.
His cologne is delicious, a mixture of spice and citrus that has me wanting to melt into him.
But I stand still.
He looks like he wants to say something, but then he shakes his head and leaves the room.
I release the breath I’m holding.
FIFTEEN
SO,” I say a little awkwardly. How does one make small talk with a biker? It’s easy with Rake and Tracker, but the rest of them are a little trickier. I don’t really know anything about Wolf, or Vinnie, which is what all the women call him, other than the fact that he looks pretty young, has a shaved head, is handsome in a masculine way, and has dark eyes.
He glances my way but doesn’t say anything. He’s probably still angry I told him I wanted to drive and didn’t give in to him no matter how much he tried to intimidate me with his scowl, large size, and narrowed gaze.
“I’m sorry you were stuck tagging along for my errands. I had no idea that Rake was going to make you come with me when he said he’d fix up a few things at the house,” I say, nervously babbling to fill up the silence. “I don’t really know anything about you.”
He sighs and shakes his head. “Not much to tell. Club is my life; the men are my family. I don’t mind doing whatever needs to be done. I like to be useful.”
“Oh,” I say, thinking of something else I could ask to break the ice a little more. “What’s your favorite meal?”
He chuckles, and I find myself both liking the sound and relaxing a little.
“You gonna cook for me?” he asks, now sounding amused.
I shrug. “Sure. I mean, I’m thankful for everything you all do for me. I’d love to cook something for you.”
“I don’t think Rake will like that,” I hear him mutter under his breath, followed by a few more deep chuckles.
“He will have to deal,” I say quickly, making him laugh some more.
“My favorite meal is lasagna with breaded chicken,” he finally says. “I don’t like the tomato bits in the lasagna though.”
I make a face. “Lasagna with breaded chicken breast? Isn’t that a little weird?”
He sighs, but I see his lips twitching. “Typical woman. Ask me a question, then complain about the answer.”
I smile at that.
A few minutes later, when I drive past my house and see a few of the neighbors on my front lawn, I have to wonder what the hell is going on.
“What’s this about?” I ask Vinnie.
He lowers his head to look out the window. “I have no fuckin’ clue, let’s go and find out.”
He gets out of the car but grabs my arm when I try to walk ahead of him. Rolling my eyes, I walk behind him to the right, until we stop dead.
“What the fuck?” I hear him mutter, but his voice is filled with humor.
He lets go of my arm and I peer around him. What I see has my jaw dropping open. Rake is on a ladder, shirtless, cleaning out the gutters. All he has on is a pair of dark track pants, outlining his perfect ass. I look from Rake to the women, and then back to Rake. Does he not care that he’s being ogled by women double his age right now?
“Seriously?” I growl, much to Vinnie’s amusement.
Rake climbs down the ladder then and turns, lifting his chin when he sees Vinnie and me. From his face, I look farther down to his smooth chest, his cut abs, and then to the V that leads into his pants.
“Fuck,” I whisper as I notice I can actually see the outline of his penis in the track pants.
Even Vinnie looks away, saying grumpily, “More than I want to see of you, bro.”
“Okay, show’s over,” I say loudly, throwing evil looks at the groupies Rake has attracted. I walk up to the man himself and poke at his chest.
“Seriously?” I hiss.
“What?” he asks. “I did everything on the list.”
I point to the women who were slowly making their way off my grass. I’m sure snails move faster. “Did you not see them watching you and salivating?”
The bastard shrugs. “They’re harmless. Their husbands probably have beer guts and male-pattern baldness.”
My nostrils flare. “Get inside.”
“Why?” he asks, smirking and running his hand down his jaw. “You don’t like them seeing me?”
“Rake,” I say in a deathly quiet voice. “Get inside.”
“Only if you give me a kiss,” he presses, licking his lips.
Is he serious right now? “How about if you don’t go inside, I go inside and kiss the shit out of Vinnie?”
Green eyes narrow. “You wouldn’t.”
I look behind him.
The women were still there, whispering among themselves.
“Please?” I ask, using a softer approach.
He kisses the top of my head, then walks inside, pulling me behind him.
I can’t help it.<
br />
I stare at his ass the whole way.
Fuck!
* * *
“Dude, you and Rake can’t stop staring at each other,” Tia says so only I can hear, glancing around the kitchen.
I am currently having bigger problems than the building sexual tension between Rake and me. “How fucking hard can it be to make lasagna from scratch?”
I am on my second batch. The top was burned on this one. Vinnie is going to be here in an hour or two and I want his meal ready and waiting.
“Did you do the béchamel sauce?” Tia asks, looking down at the lasagna and scrunching her nose.
I still. “The what sauce? The recipe didn’t say anything about a sauce. What the hell is it?”
Tia giggles and starts opening the cupboard. “I’ll make the sauce. You get everything ready for the third and final batch.”
We finish the meal just in time for Vinnie, Tracker, and Lana to arrive.
“Something smells good,” Tracker says, heading straight for the kitchen.
Lana rolls her eyes, then hugs me. “How have you been, honey?”
She glances at Rake and wiggles her eyebrows.
“Fine,” I tell her, rolling my eyes. “Dinner is ready. Where’s Anna?”
“Arrow has taken her away for a few days,” she says, smiling. “Romantic getaway.”
“As if Arrow knows romance.” Tracker smirks, grabbing a plate and serving himself. “He’ll probably just take her camping and fuck her in the dirt.”
Rake slaps him on the back of the head. “My sister, asshole.”
Vinnie grabs a plate, then looks at me when he sees what’s on the menu, shaking his head and smiling wide. “You’re so fuckin’ cute right now, Bailey, you know that?”
“What . . . the fuck . . .” Rake growls, his whole body tensing, “did you just say?”
Everyone in the room stops what they’re doing and looks at Rake, a tense silence taking over the easy atmosphere of a few moments ago.
Tracker stops piling food on his plate and looks between the two men. I step between them and put my hand on Rake’s chest. He doesn’t even acknowledge me, gaze still firmly locked on Vinnie in challenge.
“Relax, Rake,” Vinnie says in a calm yet firm tone.
“I wanted to say thanks to him for going around with me while I did my errands the other day, so I made him his favorite meal.”
His body relaxes a little under my palm. “Right, okay.”
Everyone in the room breathes easier; I can actually feel the tension in the air clear up.
“Love the man, love the club,” I hear Tracker mutter, making Rake lift his head and look at me, emotions playing on his face. I look away, not knowing how to react to the intensity coming from him.
Cara and Rhett walk into the kitchen with Tia soon after, Cara coming to sit in between me and Rake.
“Did you finish watching the movie?” I ask her, giving her round cheek a kiss.
“Yes.” She grins, then turns to look at Rake. “Adam said I remind him of Belle.”
I look over Cara’s head at Rake. She and Rhett were watching Beauty and the Beast, because it was Cara’s turn to choose a movie. They’re slowly getting through every Disney movie ever created.
“That was nice of him,” I murmur, not looking away from him.
“I think she looks like Belle too,” Rhett throws in, picking up his fork.
Tia and I share a glance. Rhett is going to be the biggest ladies’ man this town has ever seen with those smooth lines. I can’t help but laugh when Rake bumps fists with him over the comment, obviously thinking they were on the same page.
Vinnie takes a few bites, then looks up from his plate. “It’s fu—” He glances at Cara, then starts again, “It’s really good, Bailey.”
“Tia helped,” I admit, shrugging a little sheepishly. “But I’m glad you like it.”
We finish dinner, chatting easily among us. As I look around the table at everyone laughing, smiling, and teasing one another, I realize just how lucky Rake really is, how amazing his family is, and he’s now sharing that with me.
I glance over at him to see him already watching me.
Something passes between us. A moment of understanding. A moment of thankfulness.
He smiles then.
And so do I.
SIXTEEN
One week later
I DON’T think it’s too much to ask for you to wear a shirt when you’re walking around the house,” I say with my hands on my hips.
Like seriously, there is only so much I can take.
“No one’s even here, what’s the fuckin’ problem?” he asks, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.
“I’m here,” I point out.
He closes the fridge and steps closer to me, cornering me against the countertop. “What’s the problem, Bailey?”
I swallow. “N-nothing is the problem. You don’t see me walking around half-naked. It’s common courtesy!”
He opens the bottle and takes a sip. All I can do is stare at his throat, his ripped arms, and his chest as I wait for him to continue.
“It’s not like I’m walking around without any pants on,” he says after he swallows a mouthful and puts the lid back on.
No, he’s wearing pants.
Jeans, in fact.
Jeans that should be freaking illegal.
Low on his hips, the top button undone.
“Rake, I . . .”
He lowers his head. “Bailey, what’s the real problem here? Are you as turned on as I am? Because I’ve been walking around hard ever since I fuckin’ saw you again, so if I have to suffer, then so do you.”
“Wait . . . what?” I groan. “Pretty sure we had a silent rule not to bring shit like that up around each other.”
Rake exhales, then moves close enough to bury his face in my hair. “Fuck, Bailey. Do you think it’s easy for me to see you after everything we had and not be able to touch you? I want to fuck you, punish you, and worship you at the same time. I want to make you hurt; I want to take away your pain. I want you to feel what I felt when I lost you, and I want to save you, all at the same time.”
“Do you think I wasn’t hurting, too?” I breathe, looking deep into the depths of his green gaze. “You destroyed me. You broke me.”
“You’re the one who cheated, Bailey,” he grits out, voice hoarse. “I would have stayed faithful to you until the day I died.”
I shouldn’t take his words; I should call him out on the truth right now, but I don’t. Maybe it makes me a coward, I don’t know, but I do know that when everything comes out, it’s going to be worse than it is now. Rake will go from hating me to hating himself, and maybe I’m a sucker, maybe I love him more than I love myself, because I think I’d prefer that he hated me. Does that make me weak? Or strong? I don’t know. He needs to know the truth, I know. There is no right time or right way to say this though, but it does need to be said. It’s long overdue.
“So would have I,” I say with such bitterness that he tilts his head and searches my eyes. “I thought we said we wouldn’t touch the past.”
His abs touch my stomach. His lips move close to mine but not touching.
His eyes still search.
I don’t know what they’re looking for, or whether he will find it.
He closes the space between us, his lips pressing over mine. I want him to kiss me deeply, like he used to, but he doesn’t, and I know it’s because he’s waiting for my permission. I give it to him by sucking on his lower lip. After that, all bets are off.
He picks me up and sits me on the counter, while his tongue slips inside my mouth. He kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before, filled with such intensity and passion, but it’s almost as if I can still taste that hint of regret and bitterness.
I ignore it.
Reaching up, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer.
I feel him; I taste him; I remember him.
My right hand s
lides down his back, feeling the muscles there. I stop just above his ass but then let my fingers roam over that too, squeezing his tight globes. Rake starts to kiss down my jawline and then my neck. When he hits that spot, I’m ready to beg him to fuck me right here, right now. But I don’t. Because I don’t know how I will feel about it afterward.
“Rake,” I whisper.
“Wait,” he murmurs, continuing to kiss across my collarbone.
I close my eyes, feeling not thinking, and when he pulls down my bra and sucks one nipple into his mouth, then the other, I don’t stop him. No, instead, I thread my fingers through his hair and bring him closer, urging him on.
He slides his hands up my thighs, lifting my dress with it, then slides a finger inside my panties.
“So wet,” he groans, biting gently on my nipple before moving back.
When he leans me flat against the counter, spreads my thighs and rips my panties off in a succession of quick movements, I’m torn between pleasure and pain.
The pleasure my body wants and the pain my heart is going to have to handle afterward.
He kisses up my thighs.
“Rake,” I say breathily.
He pulls back and looks at me. “Don’t make me stop, Bailey. Fuck. We need to get each other out of our systems, otherwise the tension is going to drive us fuckin’ insane. I’ll make you feel so good, you have no idea.”
His words are like a bucket of ice water being tipped on my head.
“ ‘Get each other out of our systems’? Like what, a one-night stand? Fuck each other and then pretend it never happened?” I ask, my jaw getting tight. I close my legs and shove my dress down, then fix my bra, covering my breasts from his view.
He looks away. “What do you expect from me, Bailey?”
“More respect than that,” I snap, placing both of my hands on his chest and pushing. “Move.”
“Bailey—”
“I said move,” I say between clenched teeth. “Now.”
He moves.
I jump down from the countertop and walk to my room.
I stop in my tracks when I hear him say, “You fuckin’ broke my heart once, if you think I’ll give you that power again, you’re getting your hopes up.”
Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) Page 11