“You sure you want to do this, honey?” Ronin mumbled.
Devin froze, her breathing stopped, only to return in stilted rushes. Ronin felt the instant change in her as he stood still before her, his body not leaving hers, but he had stopped moving as well.
“I take it that’s a no,” he said under his breath. He leaned his forehead against the tree just above her shoulder, and his own labored breathing fanned the downy hair on her neck.
“Ronin,” Devin quietly and carefully said, “it doesn’t really have anything to do with you.”
“Mmm hmm,” Ronin mumbled as he loosened his grip, letting her feet slide to the ground. He took a step back and looked at her closely, brushing her swollen lips with his thumb. “Except that I’m not Jake, right?”
Devin couldn’t look him in the eye, didn’t want to see the anger or disgust that might be there. Shamefully, her gaze dropped to the forest floor. The moonlight gave it all an unearthly glow, and the whole situation took on a surreal feeling. The sound of the fire crackling in the distance could faintly be heard above their ragged breathing as the passion cooled.
What could she say? Jake was… Jake. Her first love. Her only.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a small, choked voice.
Ronin closed his eyes for a minute, and he took a deep breath. “No, honey,” he said. “It isn’t all on you. It was my shenanigans that got us moving down this path in the first place. I’m the one who went all cave-man and carried you off into the woods. I’m the one who asked you to get all lushy to help me chase away the party ho.” Devin’s eyes had yet to lift to his face, and he nudged her chin up with his fingers. “Friends. We’re friends, Dev. It’s okay.”
She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Friends.
“Go on back to the fire. Give me a few minutes to calm down, and I’ll be there, good as new like nothing happened.”
Devin nodded as she bit her lip. Ronin’s gaze flickered over hers for a split second longer before he turned around and took a few steps deeper into the woods. A war waged deep in Devin’s heart as she watched him disappear into the trees. The urge to follow him, to wrap her arms around his neck and murmur against his lips that she wanted him… not Jake, but him! She stood there for a second longer before she turned to run back to the fire. Back to the others to clear her mind of the confusion that suddenly seemed to pull all the air out of her lungs.
Ronin heard her footsteps lightly tread through the undergrowth towards the fire. He listened as Joanie called out her name. He looked up into the stars and willed himself to calm down. To ease the ache that consumed him, both body and mind.
It was so easy with her, so easy to forget how things were supposed to be. So easy to get lost in the feel of her, the taste of her. Every faint moan and whisper and gasp shot straight to his cock. With a pained chuckle, he remembered the look on her face right before she asked him to kiss her.
Was it even his face she saw? Or, in her mind, was she pleading with Jake?
A fierce possessiveness swept through him as he thought of Jake and the shit he put Dev through, day after day, week after week. Pulling her back when he was bored, pushing her away when Melanie came back to town. Thank God they hadn’t had the nerve to show up at his place again. It was all he could do to keep his anger in check around the guy.
But what right did he have, really? He could tell she was affected by him, but she was very clear about how she felt towards Jake, how much she still loved him. A poisonous love, the way he had loved Kim. To this day, a twinge of agony still ghosted his soul as he recalled how all that had ended.
After some time, Ronin slowly walked back over to the fire, and they laughed and joked, just like he had said—like nothing had happened. The beer dwindled and the fire died down. A rumble of thunder echoed across the mountains, and the group began to break up to head back to town. Rather than facing the crowded ride again in Joanie’s mid-size truck, Devin took Ronin up on his offer of riding back to town with him. Ronin opened the driver door and took a step back to allow Devin to slide in before him. She slid into the truck, in the center of the seat next to Shane, who looked conflicted.
“Shit,” he muttered as he watched Matt flirtatiously pick up Amy to carry her to Joanie’s truck, instantly seeing the need for a more prudent chaperone than Joanie for his baby sister. He looked over at Ronin’s raised eyebrow. “I, uh, I think I’m gonna ride with them.” And he was out of the truck in a flash. Considering Shane’s heavy build, this would make their ride home in Joanie’s little truck even more crowded than it had been on the way up.
Devin looked up at Ronin, their shoulders brushing with the close proximity. Ronin only laughed at his friend’s turmoil. “He’s gonna have to let that brat grow up someday,” he chuckled as he started up the truck. His hand grazed her inner thigh as he shifted the manual transmission into reverse, and this lightest of touches sent a shiver through Devin. “Cold?” he asked, backing the pickup away from the trees to turn around. “You can turn on the heat if you’d like.”
Devin shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said in a quiet, breathy voice that she couldn’t quite control.
The tone caught Ronin’s attention, and he gave her a long look before shifting back into first gear. Again, his fingertips grazed her soft skin, and her breath caught again.
Ronin’s eyes fell shut for a moment. “Damn, honey,” he whispered. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and began to drive down the narrow path towards the main road.
Devin considered sliding over to the other side of the bench seat for a moment. But she didn’t move, and she really wasn’t sure why. She did manage to adjust her legs somewhat to keep the contact to a minimum. Unfortunately, this meant opening her thighs wider, which caused Ronin to let out a gruff, strangled growl. A overwhelming flare of sexual energy ricocheted through the cab of the truck, and he was deathly and agonizingly quiet as they drove down the curving mountain road. As they came out of the small gorge between the mountains and began to follow the road down across the bluffs, the wide valley before them lit with lightening that flashed across the sky. The loud clap of thunder following it broke the uncomfortable silence.
“Wow,” Devin breathed. She focused on the storm, but couldn’t quite tear her mind away from Ronin’s strong thigh pressed up against hers. From his hand as it rested on the gear shift causing his forearm to brush against her bare leg every so often.
“Quite a storm,” Ronin said softly. He pulled to the side of the road and shut off the engine to watch the thunderheads as they rolled out of the mountains and followed the range’s curve around the edge of the town. They were on the very edge of it, and the thick epicenter streaked with lightning that was filtered by the heavy curtain of rain. Devin shivered again, this time actually feeling a chill emanating from the wind that had picked up speed around them. Ronin reached behind her head for a blanket that lay over the back of the seat, gently tucking it around her bare legs and leaving his hand resting against the slight curve of her inner thigh. His fingers mindlessly stroked the blanket covering her as the smoldering weight of his hand all but seared the skin underneath it. A turbulent spatter of rain dashed down on the windows of the truck, obscuring and warping the striking view. Lightning flashed again, and a low, booming thunder resounded across the valley.
Devin and Ronin sat there, a bit awed by the intensity of the mountain summer storm. Without realizing it, Devin’s head leaned over to rest on Ronin’s shoulder. He nuzzled against her hair in a mindless motion, captivated by the dazzling display of nature’s beauty all around them. They continued to watch the storm as the front quickly moved across the bench above town, propelled by a fierce wind current. A few minutes later, it had been quickly shooed away. Devin and Ronin were mesmerized by the show before them, gazing ahead as it became just a flash in the clouds, moving farther and farther away.
“Wow,” Devin murmured. “That was stunning.”
Ronin turned his gaze t
owards her. As he watched her tongue dart out to lick her lips, the fire in his eyes demonstrated the inner war he was waging, desperately resisting the urge to taste her sweet kiss. Devin’s breath caught in her throat at the intensity, and her lips trembled slightly. The slight movement broke his resolve, and he softly touched his lips to hers. Sweetly. Innocently.
“Ronin,” she drew in a short, stilted breath. The ache in her body was reaching a tortuous level.
“I know. I’m sorry.” Ronin studied her closely before he softly said, “Had to.” He inhaled deeply through his nose, and let the breath out in a long puff. “I better get you home, sweetheart.”
“My home?” Devin quietly asked.
Ronin looked down at her. “Do you want to come with me to mine?”
Her mind kept pushing her to say she should go back to her own place. It was the smart thing to do. It was really the fair thing to do.
But she nodded instead.
“But just to sleep, right?”
A spark of guilt flashed across her face, but she nodded again, nipping at her lip.
“Fuck, baby, you’re gonna kill me,” Ronin exhaled, looking at her tenderly as he brushed his fingertips along the curve of her jaw causing her heart to flutter. After a moment, he dropped his hand, faced forward, and started up the truck.
The storm faded into the distance as they pulled back onto the road and began the descent back to town—to his place.
Chapter 8 – Bar IX
“Joanie,” Devin groaned as the cashier rang up her lunch order. “It’s a date. You are going on a date. I don’t want to go, too. Three’s a frickin’ crowd!”
“Devin, we’re going all the way to Bozeman, and that’s like over an hour away! I barely know this guy! I can’t go that far with a guy I barely know!” Joanie exclaimed. “But I want to go out with him sooooooooooooo bad! And he says he can get us into the Bar IX, even though we are under age! A real club, Devin!”
“So you want to drag me along because I’m such a big tough bitch that I’ll protect you? You’re, like, three inches taller than me. You know that, right?” Devin laughed and sat at a table outside on the patio to wait for her lunch. Joanie plopped down across from her.
“Maybe you could take a date, too.”
“I can’t do that. You know I can’t. Things are just too weird for me right now.”
“Well, then… not as a date. Maybe Ronin. He’s good at backing guys off. He’s protective. He’d keep us safe. Plus, he’s a blast to have around!” Joanie suddenly grinned as she looked off over Devin’s shoulder. “Hey! Speak of the devil… Ronin! Over here!”
Devin turned to see Ronin walking their way. He’d been working, and had a thick coating of sheetrock dust that created a somewhat faded look to his T-shirt and jeans. Somehow, the dust highlighted the thick musculature that lay beneath his clothing, and made him look… really fuckin’ good actually. He tipped his ball cap back as he stopped by their table, one hand on his hip as he pulled off his aviator shades with the other.
“Ladies,” he smiled and nodded in their direction. “What’s up?”
“Well,” Joanie said, “I have a guy that wants to take me to Bar IX in Bozeman. But I want Devin to come along. Dev’s being a party pooper, though. She doesn’t want to be a third wheel, but doesn’t want to find a date either. Although,” Joanie winked at Devin, “you know there will be lots of majorly hot guys there, right?”
Devin rolled her eyes and looked at Ronin. “Do you see what I have to deal with? What the fuck, Joanie?”
“Joanie, you shouldn’t be going that far with some dude all by yourself.” Ronin looked concerned.
“I know!” Joanie hollered. “That’s what I’m trying to tell Devin. But she’s all like ‘I’m just a little girl. How am I going to help you?’”
Devin laughed at Joanie’s high-pitched mimicry of her. “I do not sound like that!”
Ronin pulled up a chair and turned it to face away from the table, straddling the back and scooting it closer to Devin in an attempt to keep the aisle clear. “Well, she has a point there, Jo. She’s only like five feet tall.”
“Hey, I’m five feet and two inches, buddy!” Devin protested.
Ronin simply raised an eyebrow at her before he continued as though she hadn’t even spoken. “How’s a little thing like her going to keep this guy from being a dick? Hell, that will just get both of you in trouble.”
Joanie’s eyes popped open as though a light bulb had just flickered on in her brain. “Why don’t you come then!?” she smiled excitedly.
Ronin raised an eyebrow, not totally convinced by her innocent act. He glanced sidelong at Devin who chuckled and rolled her eyes.
The waitress walked over and set a basket of finger steaks and fries before each of the girls. “Hey, Ronin, need anything?”
“I’d love a big ol’ iced tea to go please, Millie,” he told the young, shy girl. She flushed crimson at the sound of her name, and turned on her heel to get his drink.
“Oh, that poor girl, you just made her day, Ronin,” Devin laughed at the girl’s response. “She’ll be dreaming of you for weeks.”
“Um, she’s a little young for me, Dev. I don’t think she’s even old enough to drive yet. I think I’ll have to pass.”
Joanie cleared her throat and bit into a French fry. “Sooooo, back to the Bar IX…” she reminded them as she chewed.
“When are you supposed to be going?” Ronin asked.
“Friday night?” Joanie looked exceedingly hopeful.
Ronin looked at Devin who just gave an exasperated shrug, causing him to grin widely. “If you can wait until about six o’clock to head out, I’m game,” he said to Joanie, and she bounced in her seat and clapped her hands like a child.
The waitress returned with a forty-ounce go-cup of iced tea, which she set on the table before Ronin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple bucks.
“Here you go, Millie. Keep the change.”
Millie mumbled an almost incoherent “thank you” as she accepted the payment before turning and all but running away.
“You better leave before you give that poor kid a heart attack,” Devin giggled.
Ronin laughed and pulled his hat back down over his forehead, slipping his shades back on.
“We can do six o’clock, right Dev?” Joanie smiled. “And who knows, you may even have fun.”
“We’ll see about that,” Devin replied with a tart expression.
“Babe,” Ronin looked down at her as he stood, “when don’t you have a good time with me?” And with a nod and a wink, he left the patio to climb back in his truck.
“Damn,” Joanie breathed. “I just can’t figure out why you aren’t all over that. He’s fiiiiiiine.”
“Joanie, we’re friends. He’s kinda become my rock lately when shit goes bad. I don’t wanna fuck that up with a bunch of, you know… stuff.”
“You mean, you still aren’t convinced that you and Jake are really through, right?”
Devin played with her French fry before setting it back in the tray. She exhaled deeply. “Don’t wanna talk about it, Joanie.”
“This just doesn’t seem like the type of music you would ordinarily dance to. You’re a bit more of the barroom band type, aren’t you?” Devin shouted over the techno pop beat that pounded a rhythm and vibrated throughout the room. “Maybe preppie boy over there will dance with me.” She sucked down her tequila sunrise, and glanced at Ronin.
“Jesus, he’s got date rapist written all over him. You’ve got more sense than that,” Ronin snorted and took a drink of his Mountain Dew. “The guy’s last name is probably ‘Roofie.’”
Devin laughed and sat back down on the barstool. “Bartender!” she called, holding up her glass to indicate her desire for another.
“Not just yet,” Ronin said, waving the bartender away. He stood and held out his hand. “C’mon honey. If I’ve gotta stay sober to drive your drunk asses home, at least dance with me a littl
e and let me show you a few things.”
Devin narrowed her eyes for a moment before she allowed Ronin to lead her to the dance floor where Maroon 5 was just beginning to play Love Somebody. Lights were flashing as the bodies around them began let loose. Ronin pulled her up against him, their hips pressed tightly together, and he began to move. To Devin’s surprise, he moved very, very well.
His hands seductively skimmed down her ribs, caressing her as the beat echoed throughout her body. A tremor ran through her as he twirled her around to press up against her back, his hand down below her waist to pull her tightly against him. The entire time, his body pulsed to the rhythm, pulling hers along with it in one smooth movement. From time to time, he’d swing her away, then pull her tightly back up against him, curving her hips into his and increasing the ache developing deep inside her.
Devin lost herself in the feel of this music and this man, both entities seeming to combine into one incredible sensation. She turned in his arms to face him. The intense expression in his hazel eyes seemed to cut into her psyche, and, combined with the tequila she’d finished off, it gave her confidence, made her feel sexy and powerful. The music slowed a bit, and her lips pressed to the hollow between his collar bones. She ran her hands under his shirt along the rigid muscles of his stomach. With a flutter rippling up his abs, Ronin’s pulled back and lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger as the lyrics reverberated through her.
And then he kissed her, his body had stopped moving, but her heart beat against his to the rhythm of the song. Devin felt like the star of a chick flick for a second, so much that she practically expected a fade-out. One long, hard, wet kiss.
Devin’s eyes remained closed after he lifted his head away, their mouths were a scant breadth away and the air between them became a magnetic force that locked them in place. They didn’t move, only stood in the middle of the dance floor, in the midst of the undulating bodies, in a little bubble that was just them as the song ended. Devin’s eyes fluttered open to see Ronin studying her face intently. He flashed her a half-smile that completely dislodged her filter.
Little Conversations Page 7