I shake my head. “Mom, please don’t. His love life is not our business.”
“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“Oh my, God! Why can’t you let it go?”
“Why are you so mad? Is it because you do have feelings for him but he’s Cliff’s friend, and it could get weird?”
I get up from the stool ready to storm off. “I’m not mad. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. The only way that will happen is if I go home.”
“Sit down! You’re not a child scared to answer a damn question. You’ve gotten yourself involved in a world you know nothing about. So if Jonah is willing to protect you while you’re part of a motorcycle gang, then so be it!”
“Why are you so sure anything bad will happen? We are not a gang!” My voice lifts. I never yell at my parents. “My club raises money for research, Mom. We also ride for fun and fellowship with other clubs with the same goals. Why can’t you see that?”
“Dammit, Cliff got shot! I almost lost my son because he was part of a motorcycle club that was supposed to be fun. There are no guarantees nothing will happen, baby. I don’t want you to get hurt too.”
I was stunned. Mom never curses unless she’s mad. I hesitate to approach her. The kitchen is suddenly quiet except for the humming from the vent over the stove.
Wow, this is my fault. I let my bad mood ruin her perfect day. “Mom, I’m sorry. My plan was not to upset you but to spend a nice evening with you and Dad.”
“I’m to blame too,” she says. “Please stay and have dinner with us.”
“I’d like that very much,” I say. I start to walk over to my mother when I hear footsteps.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” comes a male voice from the doorway.
I turn my head and see Jonah standing there. He saunters through the kitchen and over to my mother, giving her a big hug. The sight causes a series of sensations to rise in my stomach. He is the last person I want to deal with today. My heart sinks just looking at him. Good Lord, he is built.
The white tee-shirt and B2R vest covered with patches add to his appeal. I could happily sit for hours staring at those tatted muscles. His dark brown hair is freshly cut; his beard is trimmed close to his chiseled face. And those eyes speak for themselves. But what I find most appealing on Jonah are his full and sexy lips. I shiver at the thought of what those lips could do to me.
I probably would know if I hadn’t taken my behind to bed. That night seems so long ago, yet even given my drunken state, I can recall everything about it.
After Jonah hugs my mother, he turns to me. “Hey, Carrie,” he says as he pulls me into his arms.
My legs tremble as his arms close around me. The woodsy cologne pleasingly fills my nostrils. It’s been so long since I’ve had strong arms wrapped around me. My heart and trust were so affected by what Anthony did that I vowed never to feel that way again.
I return his embrace and let my hands spread across the hard muscles of his shoulder blades. Opening my eyes, I see my mother smiling lovingly. How disappointed she’ll be when she learns first-hand that Jonah is not available. Only then will she let it go.
“Hi, Jonah,” I whisper against his shoulder. His tall frame has me standing on my tiptoes. I know my lipstick has transferred onto his vest. That’s sure to rile what’s-her-name when she spots it.
“I’m so glad you could make it to dinner, Jonah. Carrie will be joining us too,” Mom says as she tugs Jonah away. “Go wash your hands, and we can eat.”
I roll my eyes. Yup, this is going to be a long night.
8
Jonah
There’s an odd tension between Momma and Carrie. I don’t know when I started calling Mrs. King that, but she never corrected me, and I feel more comfortable with the Kings than I do with my own family. Though the conversation at the dinner table flows nicely, whenever Momma tries to ask me a question, Carrie interrupts or changes the subject. Mr. King notices the odd behavior among the women but chooses to ignore it; I follow in his footsteps.
After dessert, Carrie offers to clear the table and ropes me into helping her. It’s as if she’s intentionally keeping me away from her parents. Snapping the lid on the last container, I put it in the fridge. Carrie is loading the dishwasher and cleaning the counters.
I walk over to her. “What’s going on, Carrie?” I ask. For my sanity, I need to get to the bottom of what is going on. Walking into this house was like walking into the Twilight Zone.
“What?” she asks as she wipes down the counter vigorously with a sponge.
I place my hand over hers; she inhales deeply. I say, “Talk to me, please. What the hell was tonight about?”
She looks up at me with those beautiful hazel eyes. When her long lashes flutter, my heart skips a beat. Carrie shrugs. “It was nothing, Jonah. Mom and I disagreed on something earlier, but we made up. I’m sorry if you felt uncomfortable during dinner.”
“What was the fight about?”
“It wasn’t a fight about anything important. I had a bad day at work, then Dawn and I had words. I come here, and she says stupid things that upset me. I should’ve gone home after work, and this could’ve been avoided.”
“Was the final straw about your club? I know she hates motorcycle clubs.”
She nods. “Sure was. If Cliff hadn’t got shot, I don’t think it would bother her so much.”
“Don’t be hard on her, Carrie. She’s looking out for you just like I am.”
“She has to realize I’m an adult and can take care of myself,” Carrie replies. “You have to realize that too.”
“Sweetheart, when I look at you all I see is a beautiful adult woman.” Time for me to turn up my game. She shot me down before, but I’m not ready to give up.
Carrie folds the dishtowel neatly and places it on the counter. “I should get going,” she says, not making eye contact with me.
“What’s the hurry? The night is young. We should go for a ride.”
“Workday tomorrow, plus my bike is at home.”
“You can ride shotgun,” I suggest.
She releases a slight chuckle. “In a dress and heels? I don’t think so.”
“I’m sure your mom has something you can wear,” I murmur. I let my hand softly caress her bare arm. I feel the goosebumps rise against my knuckles. She is so damn beautiful. The summer dress clings to every curve of her body. Her lips are pouty and shiny, drawing me in. I gotta kiss her. If she slaps me until I see stars, it will be worth it.
Carrie is trapped between me and the counter. She is looking at me, and I can feel the heat radiating from her eyes. And she isn’t moving away. Does that mean she wants what I want? I’m about to find out.
I move my hand to lift her chin so my mouth can reach hers. The first touch of our lips. Boom… electricity travels throughout my entire body. It’s what I dreamed about for our first kiss.
The kiss takes on a life of its own. My tongue presses for entry; she grants it willingly. I hear her soft moans as I probe her sweet mouth, exploring first gently then more aggressively. My hands are holding her head steady; my fingers are embedded in her soft, silky hair.
My cock is straining against my jeans. I know she feels it—we might as well be fused together in the confines of the corner. She still isn’t pushing me away. I get bolder and move my arm around her waist. The ache to explore her body is real, but I won’t cheapen the moment by feeling her up. Right now, I’m keeping it clean to respect her—and I know that her mother or father could catch us at any moment.
Breaking the kiss, I press my lips against her neck and nibble my way up to her ear. Such tiny, delicate ears. My tongue traces every inch. Carrie’s hands are on my biceps, squeezing. Her breathing increases the more I kiss my way back around to her mouth, capturing it again.
“Excuse me. Don’t let me interrupt,” Florence says.
I break away from Carrie. She looks at me horrified. I already see where this is headed, so I take the blame.
“I’m
sorry, Momma.”
“For what, Jonah?” Florence asks. “There is nothing to apologize for—unless you forced yourself on Carrie?”
“Mom, stop,” Carrie says. Her eyes are narrow. “You know Jonah didn’t force himself on me. And stop smiling, thinking you were right all along.”
I’m confused about what the heck is going on. “Right about what? You guys want to fill me in on the secret?”
“Gladly,” Carrie says, whipping her head around to face me. “Mom wants us together, Jonah. My sweet little mother wants to be a matchmaker and bring us together.”
Florence laughs. “No, no. What I said is I wouldn’t mind if you two were a couple because you have chemistry together. But I was told you have a girlfriend, so that is not likely to happen.”
I raise my brow and look at Carrie, who is shielding her face with her hand. “Momma, I’m flattered you’d trust me with your daughter’s heart.”
“Honey, I think of you as a second son,” Florence replies.
“Can this get any weirder?” Carrie huffs.
I’m starting to agree with her. It is weird her mother and I are on the same wavelength. With a little luck, she might be the person to push Carrie in my direction.
I rub my hands together, knowing I’m the only person to fix this mess. “Well, Momma, let me first say I love you so much. I would never want you to think of me as scum or a man that would double-cross your daughter by cheating on her. With that said, I do not have a girlfriend, but Carrie and I are just friends—sorry.”
“My daughter is stubborn and will stick to her guns until the sun burns out. But she’s a bad liar.” She walks over to me and taps my cheek with her hand. “And so are you. That kiss told me all I needed to know. Dad and I are going to bed. Lock up when you leave, please.”
Carrie’s head is resting on her hand. She’s acting like a teenager caught doing the nasty with her boyfriend.
“I’m sorry, Carrie,” I say. “I got carried away.”
She folds her arms across her chest, and I drop my gaze to take in the soft mounds of her breasts created by her actions. Her face is ablaze with anger. “Ya think?”
Her words strike a nerve. I don’t allow any woman to talk trash to me. I avert my gaze from Carrie to keep from saying something I might regret later. She’ll get away with it this time because she is upset; I can’t say what will happen next time.
She huffs, displeasure clear as day on her face. “I apologize, Jonah. The kiss threw me off. Now that woman has the leverage needed to hold over my head. Every time she catches us in a compromising position, she will gloat.”
“What? Am I the worst man you can be with?”
“Honestly, I don’t have time for any man, especially my brother’s best friend. I keep telling her over and over not to get her hopes up on anything happening between us. We are too different, and you have other women or a woman in your life—so I thought.”
I lean forward and stare her in the face. “I don’t care about any of that, Carrie. What I need is for you to have your facts straight before telling your parents about my private life.”
Surprise spreads across her face. “Wait, a minute. I can’t gossip about something I don’t know about. Believe it or not, Jonah, I don’t go around talking about you. You have one big ass ego sitting on your shoulders.”
“Yeah, my ego is big, and I have the means to back it up. That’s how I’m able to protect you.”
“Protect me? I didn’t ask for your help. Cliff got you involved.”
“But did you turn down my help?” I shove away from the counter. “I’m out.”
I’m almost to the door when I hear her say, “I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just mad.”
Carrie’s apology nearly falls on deaf ears. People get one shot with me. Friend or not, no one shits on me and gets away with it.
I turn to face her. She looks defeated and small standing there. “I’ve got nothing but your best interests at heart, Carrie. Anything else between us is a bonus, but don’t fuck me over to prove shit to your mother. I don’t need her to think I’m an asshole.”
Her eyes widen, and she sucks in a breath. “I wasn’t doing that, I swear. This day has… Ugh! None of what I’m going through is your fault, and I had no business taking it out on you or Mom.”
“I’ll gladly listen to your problems and will help how I can. Assuming my big-ass ego doesn’t get in the way.”
Her lips quirk. “Thank you for the offer, but I have to handle my problems. I can’t expect you or Cliff to come to my rescue all the time. So go home and enjoy the rest of your night before I ruin that too.”
“Too late for that, missy. Why don’t we take a ride and see if it’ll ease both our moods?”
“I have a gut feeling you won’t take no for an answer. So, where are we going if I decide to go with you?”
“I know this quiet place off the cut where the police don’t patrol. It’ll be total seclusion with beautiful scenery. On a clear night like tonight, the stars go on forever.”
“Sounds beautiful.”
I got her on the hook—now to reel her in. “You’ll see for yourself. Think Momma will mind if we borrow a blanket?”
“I don’t think she’ll mind, since it’s you. However, it is kind of strange when you call her that knowing what just happened between us. After all, we aren’t brother and sister.”
“Gotcha,” I reply. “Let’s go before you change your mind again.”
The night is warm, my mood has lifted, and the feel of Carrie’s arms wrapped around my waist as we roar down the street is magical. I’m a hardcore biker using feminine words. The only reason is that Carrie has been my secret crush for years but knew I couldn’t act on it.
We reach my favorite spot. After parking the bike, we walk a few feet up the hill to the area I come to when I need to get away from everybody. I help Carrie maneuver through the rocky hillside since she has on heels.
“Wait here while I put the blanket down,” I say.
“Are there snakes or coyotes out here?”
“Probably both,” I reply, meaning it as a joke. The look on her face tells me otherwise. “Don’t worry about the animals; come sit down. We’ll be long gone before they go on the hunt for food.”
She is attempting to sit so her dress won’t rise. I’m looking, hoping to get a glimpse of more of those luscious thighs. I love women no matter what their race, because each woman brings a different flavor to the table. Lately, I’ve only been with women of my race. Cliff never discouraged me from dating black women; he just kept them for himself, even though he knew I was interested in a few.
Club events were my chance to meet women. But usually, couples were already paired up. Then Darla came along at a moment of ignorance. Now is my chance to be with the woman I want.
“Need help? Or you don’t need my help for that either?”
“Funny,” she says, and then takes my hand to sit down on the blanket. “You should try doing this in a dress.” She looks around. “I hope no bugs crawl up my underwear.”
“Damn lucky bugs,” I say under my breath.
“What did you say?” she asks.
“I didn’t say anything. Sit back and take in the sights.”
“Other than the crickets, it’s so quiet. Almost a little scary. But you’re right—it is beautiful out here.”
I pull my phone from my pocket and scroll the apps until I find what I want. Music by Prince starts to play, but only loud enough for us to hear. “Music makes it even better.”
She smiles. “It really does. I want to have a formal dinner party for donors on the fence about the July toy drive. I don’t have anywhere to hold it. The places I’ve called are booked until next year.”
“That’s a reputation we have to deal with. You’re free to use Nutty’s if you want. Just let me know when so I can have it cleaned up.”
“Don’t be playing with me, Jonah,” she says with her brows pinched together.
&n
bsp; “I’m trying to play with you, but you won’t let me,” I tease, “But if you’re talking about the other stuff, then I’m not playing. Have your party. Tear the place apart if you want.”
Her smile brightens the dark night. “I could kiss you.”
Her eyes haven’t moved from mine, and somehow we’ve connected. “Do it,” I dare her.
Her eyebrows shoots up, and she sucks in a breath. Her lips part and I hear her short, choppy breaths as they quicken. I keep my eyes focused on hers, and we stay locked like that for a moment, just watching each other, taking everything in.
My senses are assaulted by her; all I see, smell, and hear is her. Her eyes soften; the hard glare she was looking at me with a second ago, gone. A flush comes over her cheeks, and a hint of a smile touches her lips. When her tongue darts out and licks her lips, electricity shoots right through me and wraps itself around my cock to settle in the pit of my stomach.
Damn, what is that sweet scent she’s wearing? It is messing with my head and my body.
Carrie moves closer to me; her long hair brushes across my face. She makes a noise that sounds like a moan before mumbling, “I love dares.”
Without saying a word, she covers my mouth with hers. The urges surging through my body are killing me with the most incredible sensations I’ve ever experienced from a woman initiating the sex.
Carrie’s lips are soft and gentle against mine. I take my time exploring her mouth with my tongue. My hands start to explore too. I caress her bare thigh, my fingers inching up and beneath the hem of her dress.
Her skin is soft and supple as my fingers move closer to the fruitful paradise hidden between her legs. I push her hand to the bulge in my pants, where she can feel what she’s doing to me. Either she will pull back or be a willing participant in what comes next. So far she isn’t stopping me, so I continue to the next phase.
The kiss grows more passionate and hotter with each thrust of my tongue inside her mouth. I put her back on the blanket and lie partially on top of her. I want to feel her under me as I take control of her mind and body.
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