by Nicole James
She was feeling more comfortable with her talents in design with every choice she made and seeing how it all came together. They shopped at a discount home store, and she picked out a cool mirror and some knickknacks that Joker didn’t think he needed, but that she said he absolutely did, and he later agreed the stuff looked the bomb.
She was having a great time experimenting.
It was Wednesday, halfway through her spring break and they were out on the deck, hanging light fixtures. Well, Joker was doing the hanging, she was directing.
When he got the last one up, he wiped his brow with his forearm. “Tell me that’s all of ‘em. It’s hotter than fuck out here.”
His tattooed skin glistened under the relentless Louisiana heat. It was only March, and he was already tanned a beautiful brown. Her eyes dropped to where his Levi’s were slung low on his hips, revealing a stripe of skin untouched by the sun. Her gaze moved up his perfectly muscled back from the twin dimples at the base to his broad shoulders.
“Babe…?”
Her eyes flicked to his face, and she straightened. “Hmm?”
“Asked you to hand me that bottle of water. You daydreamin’ or you been out in the heat too long?”
She smiled to herself as she passed him the water. “Both.”
He tipped it up, chugging it down, his eyes on her.
She watched the muscles in his throat work and followed a drip as it trailed down to his chest. She glanced away, out over the bayou. Lord, she needed to get a grip. Ever since that night, all she’d been able to think about was sex.
He lowered the bottle and studied her. “Hey.”
She looked back.
“I know you run, but do you ever go to the gym?”
“You mean like, lift weights?”
He nodded and pointed to a bar installed where the roof overhung a few feet. “Can you do pull-ups?”
She eyed the bar. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
He moved behind her, and before she knew what he was about, he grabbed her waist and lifted her up to the bar.
“Oh, we’re doing this now? Okay.” She grabbed the metal, and he let go. She just hung there.
He chuckled. “This is where you’re supposed to pull up.”
She strained and made it to the bar with her chin, then dropped, brushing her hands off. “There. I did it.”
“Yeah, one.”
“How many can you do?”
He jumped up on the bar. She lost count somewhere after twenty, too distracted by his bulging muscles and the rivulets of sweat that trailed down his chest to disappear below his waistband. Her eyes followed that sexy stripe of hair that went from his belly button down.
Finally, he dropped to the ground and looked at her.
She shrugged. “Okay. That was adequate.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Adequate? Let’s quit the trash talk.”
His phone went off, and he dug it out of his hip pocket. He poured the rest of his bottle of water over his sweaty skin as he listened to the caller.
“Yeah? What time?”
He picked up his T-shirt and wiped his face dry.
“Okay. We’ll be there.” He disconnected.
“We?” she asked. “We’ll be where?”
“Club’s goin’ down to Top Deck tonight. Party for Mooch’s ol’ lady. It’s her birthday. Told him we’d be there by eight.”
Holly had heard of Top Deck. It was a two-story nightclub on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. It supposedly had all kinds of cool decks overlooking the water. All the kids tried to get in there, but she’d heard they were really strict on carding. “You know I’m not twenty-one yet. Not till the summer.”
“You got a fake ID, don’t you? Thought that was how you got into bars in the Quarter.”
“Well, yes, but there’s no guarantee. They might turn me away.”
“I know the bouncers. We’ll have no problem, Holly.”
She grinned. “You know you’re contributing to the delinquency of a minor, don’t you?”
“Yeah, she’s already pretty delinquent, from what I can see.”
She huffed out an indigent breath and teased right back. “I’m a good girl.”
“Hmm. Corrupting someone so good—that might be right up my alley. Nobody better at makin’ good girls go bad than a badass biker. Any patch in the Evil Dead will tell you that, little girl.”
Her smile faltered, and he ran a hand over his face. “Shit, Holly. I didn’t mean to remind you of…”
“No, it’s okay.” She smiled again. “I’m fine. I know I’m safe with you. With all the guys in the club, really.”
He nodded. “You are. Absolutely safe with every one of ‘em. Ain’t a patch in the club gonna let anyone mess with you.”
“Okay. Well, hit the shower, mister. You stink.”
He grinned. “Maybe if you’re nice to me and get me a beer, I’ll leave you some hot water.”
“Oh, you better.”
His laughter followed him inside, and her eyes dropped to his cute ass. Then she hurried after to go through her clothes and figure out what to wear tonight.
Chapter Twenty
Holly stood at the wall of glass windows on the upstairs level overlooking the water. They’d had no problem with getting her in. Since the bouncer knew Joker, he let her walk right in with the group. The place was packed and just as awesome as she imagined with several different levels and decks.
She’d snuck off and found the one small area that was relatively quiet and empty while Joker was called to powwow with the club for a few minutes.
She sipped on her daiquiri. It wasn’t one of those frozen blended ones, it was the classic version, shaken over ice and poured in an elegant martini style glass.
And it was amazing!
She studied her reflection in the window. She hadn’t anything fancy with her at Joker’s so she’d done the best she could pulling together a pair of dressy shorts with pockets at the hip in a pale orange, a sparkly beaded tank in gold that dipped low in the back, and a pair of wedges. She’d slathered on body lotion that gave her sun-kissed shoulders a bit of shimmer.
There was movement in the reflection, and she saw Joker standing there, one hand in his pockets as he watched her, the other holding a glass of some amber liquor. Tattoos ran up the length of his arms, a thick silver chain hung from his wrist and sparkled in the reflection, along with the rings on his fingers. He had beautiful hands, strong hands, ones she wanted gliding over her skin. Her heart raced, just like it did every time he was near.
She took another sip of her drink and their eyes met.
He approached, stopping just a foot behind her and to her right.
“Hi, beautiful. Do you come here often?”
She smiled over the rim of her glass. “First time.”
“What’s your name?”
“Heather.”
“Can I buy you a drink, Heather?”
“I’m meeting someone.”
“A man?”
“Of course.”
“Lucky guy.”
“He may get lucky… if he plays his cards right.”
“And how does a man play his cards right with you?”
“I like a confident man, one who knows what he wants and goes after it.”
“Hmm, I thought you looked more like the type who liked to play games.”
“Games can be fun occasionally.”
“You have gorgeous legs, perfectly sculpted thighs… the stuff of wet dreams.”
She let out a tinkle of laughter. “A man has to earn his way between these thighs if he wants those dreams to come true.”
“I bet he does.”
He stepped closer, his heat almost touching her back, his breath warming her skin.
“You have a beautiful back. I’d love to trail the tips of my fingers down your spine.”
“Why don’t you?” She tilted her head to the side. Her hair was pulled up, exposing her neck, and she fantasized about his
mouth on her skin.
He stepped back and brought his glass to his lips, murmuring over the rim, “Sorry. I’m gay.”
She whirled, giggling up at him and smacked his chest. “Why’d you have to go and ruin it? I was having fun.”
He laughed down at her upturned face and lifted his free hand to brush a tendril off her face. “Sorry, Heather. You’re just not my type.”
***
Undertaker stood at one of the upstairs bars, his eyes across the room at where Holly stood laughing at something Joker had said to her. He couldn’t help but notice the chemistry bouncing back and forth between them.
AJ came to stand beside him. “She doesn’t look at you the same way anymore.”
He swirled the drink in his glass. “That’s a good thing.”
“But still, it must hurt just a little, huh?”
“I’ll admit I feel a twinge in my macho ego. But this is good.”
“It is good. She looks happy.”
“She does… and I bet she’s turnin’ him inside out, and it’s drivin’ him crazy ‘cause he knows he can’t touch her.”
AJ eyed Joker. “Maybe you should let him off that leash.”
Undertaker grinned. “Probably, but it’s so much fun to watch him squirm.”
“Baby, she’s tortured that poor boy enough.”
He lifted a brow at her. “Ha. Poor boy? Just watch. I turn him loose, and he’ll be tugging her out the door before you can blink.”
“He’ll treat her right, won’t he? She’s still fragile.”
Undertaker lifted his chin. “Go ask him. Tell me what you think.”
She moved off, pulling Joker to the side for a short, but by all appearances, serious conversation. When she returned, Undertaker asked, “Well?”
“We discussed it. He’ll treat her right. He promised me.”
Undertaker took a swig of his drink. “It ain’t you he needs to worry about. He hurts her it’s me he’ll deal with, and there won’t be any discussion. It’ll just be my fist meeting his face. Repeatedly.”
“I told him you wanted to speak to him after I talked to you.”
His brows shot up. “Oh, you did. Thanks a lot.”
She patted his chest and walked away.
Undertaker turned his back and leaned his forearms on the bar. Joker took the empty spot next to him.
“You wanted to see me, Prez?”
Undertaker stared over at him. “She doin’ okay?”
Joker glanced back at Holly. “Yeah, she’s fine. She’s been happy this week. I’ve been keepin’ her busy. She’s painting and—”
“If you want a make a move on her,” Undertaker cut him off, “and she’s receptive, that’s your deal.”
Joker frowned, a little slow on the uptake. “Say that again?”
Undertaker straightened and huffed out a breath. “I’m sayin’ I’m good with it. I’m lettin’ you off the leash.”
Joker blinked up at him a second, then turned his head slowly to Holly. He moved to step away, and Undertaker gripped his arm. “I know how long you’ve been waiting for this. Be careful with her. You’re probably only gonna get one shot. I would hate to see you blow it all to hell.”
Joker nodded, and a moment later he was striding across the room, taking Holly’s drink from her hand, then tugging her toward the stairs.
Undertaker turned back to the bar. “I fuckin’ called that one.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Holly tried to keep up as Joker pulled her through his living room, past the kitchen, and straight down the hall to his bedroom.
“I don’t understand. We can have sex now?”
He hefted her up in his arms, and her legs wrapped around his hips. He took her to her back on his bed, his big body coming down on top of hers, and his crotch pressing right where she’d wanted him to be for so long.
He lifted up and brushed his hand over her forehead, smoothing back tendrils of curls then began taking the pins from her hair.
She stared up at him. “Joker. Did he really say that?”
“Yes, ma’am. You’re not changin’ your mind now, are you?”
“No way.”
“Good to know.”
When her hair was down and he’d run his fingers through it a dozen times, she got the sense that he was stalling. She stared up into his eyes, which were watching her hair glide through his fingers. “Baby, you okay?”
His gaze dropped to hers. “Just thinkin’ about how I want this to be good for you, and I’m not sure if you’re really ready.” His eyes shifted between hers. “I don’t want to hurt you or remind you of anything bad.”
“I want it to be you. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”
“I want to heal all the pain you went through. I want to be the one who washes it all away and makes it better—make sex good again for you—but I don’t know how.”
“Yes, you do. You’re doing it now. Taking time with me, being concerned about my feelings… That makes me know you’re the right person.”
He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. “What I told you last time still goes. We start this and you want to stop, we will. Okay?”
“I’m not going to stop us.”
“Babe, I need to hear you say you understand that option is there.”
“I understand.” She loved that he cared enough to be so sweet and gentle with her. “I’m not fragile. I want to be like any other woman. I don’t want you to treat me differently.”
“You are different, and not just because of what happened, because I’ve never waited so long to have any other woman. Never thought about her day and night until I couldn’t get her outta my head. Never had a girl make me laugh like you do, frustrate the crap outta me like you do, drive me crazy like you do, and make me so hungry for her I’m literally on edge whenever she walks in the room.”
Her eyes glazed over. “Joker?”
“Yeah, brat?”
“Shut up and kiss me before I start to cry and ruin everything.”
He dropped his head again and kissed her like he’d kissed her the other night, holding nothing back.
He slid off her, and lifted her foot, undoing the strap around her ankle. When the sandal dropped to the floor, his hands glided up her calf. Then he repeated with the other foot.
“Best legs I’ve ever seen,” he said as he smoothed his hands over her skin. “Sexy damn shorts, too. The kind that drive a man crazy.”
She smiled, melting inside at his compliments, and he reached for the button and zipper. She lifted her hips to help as he pulled them off.
All she had on was her panties and backless tank. She thought she’d help him along, so she sat up and yanked the tank over her head. The look in his eyes was worth it. They dropped to her breasts and turned to liquid heat.
“Best tits, too,” he murmured, and she let out a tinkling laugh.
“I think you’re mighty over dressed, mister.”
He took off his cut, hung it over the back of a chair, and came back to her.
She reached for his belt. His hands closed over hers.
“You’re shaking. We don’t have to do this, Holly.”
“I want to.”
“Then why are you trembling?”
“I don’t know. It’s our first time together.”
He pushed her down. “Nothin’ to be afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid. I swear I’m not.”
“Good. Relax. It’s just us, just you and me.”
She nodded and drew his face down for another kiss. He obliged, his hand settling on her belly and giving her a start. She sucked in a breath, but he swallowed any sound she mewled out with another scorching kiss.
He broke off to glance down. “Christ, your waist is tiny. I can almost reach from side to side with one hand.”
She pulled him back for another kiss. That straying hand smoothed up over her ribs to close over her breast.
She moaned loudly, and he broke off the
kiss, squeezing as his mouth began the trek toward her nipple. He kissed her neck, sucking on the flesh there, then lower, tasting her collarbone and her shoulder. He used his teeth on her bare breasts, nipping his way to the crowning peak then sucking so hard on her hard tight nipple that she gasped at the ecstasy shooting straight between her legs. Her back arched and her head pressed into the mattress.
Her breasts thrust up against him, and he took full advantage, sucking on one nipple and tugging and pinching the other until she was thrashing and begging for more.
“These beauties are perfect—round and firm, topped with the prettiest nipples I’ve ever seen. They’re puckering up and just begging for my attention.”
“Yes,” she moaned. “More.”
He gave her what she wanted, until he finally glided down her body and hit his knees at the foot of the bed.
She watched his every move now, and he held her eyes as he slowly peeled her panties down. His palms, big and rough, glided back up her hips.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“That I want to taste you.” His hands slid to her knees, and he held her eyes as he pushed them apart.
Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breath accelerated. He didn’t miss it, his gaze dropping to watch her chest rise and fall.
“I won’t hurt you, Holly. I promise. Okay?”
She nodded, and his hands moved up her thighs, his thumbs brushing gently over her pussy. They sought out her clit, and he gave it several barely-there strokes. Her whole body quivered in response, needing more.
As if he read her mind, he lowered his head, and her eyes slid closed as she felt the velvet stroke of his tongue. Once, twice, again, again. She soon lost count, and her fingers curled into the coverlet at her sides.
He lifted his head and slipped two fingers inside her, stroking until he found that spot that lifted her hips off the bed and a low moan crept from deep in her throat.
He kept at her, then used his thumb to rub circles around her clit.
She shuddered. Oh, God he already knew her body so well, knew just where to touch, knew just how much pressure she needed.