With a loud curse, Tone threw himself against me with abandon, riding the wave I was just coming down from. When he stilled, we both laid there for a moment. Stuck to each other. Breathing hard.
He rolled to the side, and in a very unladylike manner, I mostly just sprawled there, waiting until I could see something other than stars.
The bed bounced for a second, and I saw him disappear into the bathroom. I closed my eyes briefly, grinning to myself. Then the bed dipped, and he was back, reaching across my body to pull me into his side.
And he cuddles? If someone pinches me, I’m going to be so salty.
It took some doing to roll onto my side so I could face him—seeing as how my body was mostly gelatin instead of bone—but I pulled it off. He had one arm behind his head while the other remained draped across my shoulder. Afterglow looked good on him, really good.
Major companies would pay serious money for a filter that looked anywhere close to how Tone did.
On the other hand, I could already feel the clump my hair was in and the strands stuck to my face. I probably looked like I’d gotten caught outside during a hurricane.
Not too far from the truth.
Giant, muscled bikers that moved their bodies the way he did counted as forces of nature, right? If not, well, they did now.
“You’re something else,” he said quietly, making my heart squeeze at the tenderness in his voice.
I rested my hand against his chest, feeling the thundering beat of his heart. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He grinned, and his smile stayed firmly in place. “Does this mean I’ve been upgraded from fungus?”
“Please don’t mention fungus right now. You were doing so well.”
“Baby, you have no idea,” he rumbled, eyes going dark again. Movement caught my eye and I glanced down to see his cock growing harder by the second.
“Seriously? Again?”
I was willing, although I wasn’t sure how ready my body was.
“You think I wasn’t gonna keep my promise to turn this ass red?” he asked, cupping the flesh in question.
“I don’t remember agreeing to that promise.”
“Good thing I made it to myself then.”
He rolled on top of me, hand going between my thighs. When he cupped me possessively, heat curled from my core and my whole body tightened in anticipation.
“I can feel you getting wet,” he growled, pressing against me a little harder.
“Then what are you waiting for?”
He rolled me over in one smooth movement, adjusting my body so that my hips and butt were in the air. Tone shifted to his knees, a hand going to my lower back. “Look at that arch,” he said appreciatively. “You’re a natural. And those fucking tits hanging. Goddamn.”
I wiggled my butt to get him back on track, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.
He didn’t make me wait long.
He rubbed one side with just his fingers. Back and forth and back and forth until my heart sped, waiting on the slap to come.
His teasing touch vanished, and before I could look his way, my body echoed with the sharp crack that ushered in a night I wasn’t going to forget anytime soon...
Chapter Fifteen
Tone
Sleep fogged my brain, but I could swear I heard buzzing right next to my ear. I shifted beneath the covers, grumbling.
What is that?
There was something incredibly soft against my hip, but when I turned over again it had moved. I reached out blindly, finding nothing before small, warm hands caught mine.
“Go back to sleep,” a soft voice said, relaxing me instantly. Lips pressed against my face before disappearing along with the vibrating.
I rolled back over, sublimely content.
***
I sat up in bed, blinking the sleep from my eyes. For a moment, I didn’t know what day it was, or what woke me up in the first place. Then I caught it, nostrils flaring.
Bacon?
The night before came back in a rush that had my dick going hard as steel.
Me. Naomi. Engaging in the kind of things that were only fantasies when I was younger. I glanced at the bed beside me, grinning when I spotted the indentation where she’d slept.
It had been a long time since I spent the night with someone in my arms. Too long. There was a spring in my step when I stood from the bed and stretched. Although going by the semi-darkness outside the window, it was still way too fucking early to be awake.
Especially to be awake and cooking.
But if my girl was making me something, I wasn’t going to miss out.
I paused on the way to the bathroom.
There it was again.
My girl.
I wasn’t sure what I was waiting to feel while I rolled the thought around on the display case of my mind, but whatever it was never came. The only thing that registered—strong and sure—was satisfaction.
Was there a reason to deny it?
After last night, her body was definitely mine. No more doubt. No more questions.
Anyone who thought differently would meet a version of me that wasn’t buried quite so deep these days.
I quickly brushed my teeth and splashed water on my face so I could be somewhat presentable, then threw on a pair of sweatpants. My feet refused to carry me down the hall at much more than a slow shuffle. They weren’t used to being forced into activity this early.
But when I reached the kitchen and took in the sight there, I decided maybe mornings weren’t so bad after all.
Naomi looked freshly showered. Wet, black hair fell down her back, swinging while she moved. She was in an irresponsibly tiny robe that I knew didn’t belong to me. For one thing, I didn’t wear robes. Assuming I did, I was positive there wouldn’t be anything in my closet small enough to fit her.
So, at some point, she had gotten out of bed and gone home before coming returning.
Had she worn that when she walked back across?
Better yet, had any of our neighbors seen her going down the street wearing that? Most of them were older, but that wouldn’t spare them from the evil-ass glare I would hit them with if I caught anyone ogling her.
Naomi mouthed words to a silent song while she peeked in the oven to check on the bacon. She opened the fridge and bent over, giving me a perfect view of her ass. So perfect I could tell she didn’t have anything under that robe.
I bit my knuckle to keep a groan from escaping.
Watching her while she didn’t know I was there was probably something I should’ve felt bad about. I didn’t. And even if I did, I could justify it to myself with a simple reminder of how obvious she had been watching Axle and I out the window of her shop the other day.
She pulled out a carton of eggs and rolled her sleeves up before cracking them over a clear bowl. The movement made her robe gape at the top, and I decided it was probably better to reveal myself after all.
I should at least give her a chance to be prepared for what was going to happen if she kept putting her smooth, tan skin on display.
Despite the...variety we had tried out last night, I was no less hungry for her this morning.
Her taste was a memory away. Still embedded in my psyche.
I knocked on the wall before I stepped into the room. She glanced my way in surprise before gracing me with a smooth smile. Walking straight up to her and kissing those gorgeous lips wasn’t so much a conscious decision as it was a pounding need.
“Good morning,” she said brightly, dropping down from her tiptoes. Glancing up at me from beneath her lashes. “I was starting to think you were going to sleep the day away.”
“The sun isn’t even up yet,” I rumbled, leaning against the countertop opposite her so I would be out of the way. It also gave me a great view of her silhouette from the back. “Please don’t tell me you’re a morning person, Smoothie Girl.”
She didn’t look back at me, but I could feel her smile anyway. “Some of us like to g
et moving before the rest of the world. Is that such a crime?”
“On account of you having bacon and eggs ready first thing, I’m willing to keep this between us instead of taking you to trial. Be warned though, this might go on your permanent record.”
“You better keep the record book somewhere safe then. You heard Lynn yesterday. I’m pretty much a criminal mastermind in my own right.”
“Only if the crime was stealing my total and complete focus.”
She glanced over her shoulder at me then, eyes a match for the sunlight rising over the surrounding trees. My heart pounded so hard out of nowhere that I rubbed at it, but the feeling was gone.
“Does that come with a plaque?” she asked, pulling a sheet overflowing with bacon out of the oven. I ambled forward, reaching out for a piece while she removed my black mitts. Her hip shot out, knocking into mine so that I only grabbed air. “You’re gonna burn yourself. They’re still covered in hot grease.”
“If I burn my finger will you suck on it and make it all better?”
She rolled her eyes at me, nose wrinkling. “You’re usually pretty good at this, but you can take that line and throw it right in the dumpster. Because that was trash.”
“Ouch.”
“I tell it like I see it.” She grabbed a plate and a paper towel, transferring the pile of bacon over while she blotted them. Naomi grabbed a piece and held it out towards me. “Here, Greedy. You can have one now.”
Instead of taking it from her, I leaned over and bit it in half. She stared incredulously at the remaining piece in her hand and then up at me while I chewed.
“What?” I asked, swallowing.
“Were you raised in a barn?” she huffed. “Not so much as a thank you. No grace. I’m appalled.”
I could only chuckle at her put-out expression. “No, you’re not.”
Her lip curved and she popped the rest of the bacon in her mouth. “You got me.”
She returned to the eggs, and I went back to watching her. Wondering when I woke up in a tv show, and how long before the producers canceled it and sent me back to the real world.
This was so utterly...normal.
Breakfast was usually me forcing down a bowl of oatmeal while I caught up on texts of what was going on with the club. An assessment usually followed by me making the rounds and seeing to the potential hazards of this life before they could become a problem.
It kept me busier than you might think.
Cramming hundreds of overbearing, alpha-male personalities together in one area tended to spark a lot of dick swinging that could quickly get out of hand.
Go figure.
Despite knowing those things would still need my attention once this brief reprieve was over with, I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so wholly unconcerned about anyone else’s life but my own.
Hell, honestly speaking, I used to not give a damn about my life at all.
The sound of silverware clinking brought me back to the present. To the beautiful girl setting two plates down on my functional table. And yes, by functional I meant it was the plainest, black thing in the store. But sturdy as hell.
I took a seat across from her while she grabbed another piece of bacon. “Did you walk back over here with wet hair?”
Naomi held up a finger while she finished chewing. I waited patiently. Watching her eat was equally as interesting as watching her cook.
Ignoring the rest of the week, I would’ve known we would get along great if I’d met her for the first time last night.
For a tiny thing, she’d demolished a full plate of ribs with surprising ease. Without any of that fork and knife bullshit either. She attacked her food with her hands like a fucking champion.
She swallowed, poised finger dropping. “Does it matter if I did?”
I kept my smirk to myself. “Do you do that intentionally, or is it habit?”
“Do what?”
“Treat every question like there’s a fight waiting at the end of it. Sometimes a yes or no would get the job done just as easily.”
“Must be habit then.” She arched a brow. “Guess you’ll just have to get over it.”
This little. “That’s a great way to catch a cold.”
“I brought some stuff to make us smoothies, but you’re making me rethink that.”
She knows how to put the brakes on the smartass train.
I raised my hands in surrender, and we ate the rest in comfortable silence. At least until she got up and made like she was going to do the dishes as well.
“Nuh-uh.” Standing, I snatched the plates from her. “Cook doesn’t clean. That’s a law.”
She laughed. “Be my guest. That really was habit. No one in my family was ever a big fan of either, my mom especially, so I got in the habit of doing both.”
Naomi’s expression shuttered at the mention of her mom. She clutched the same pendant from the night before. Seeing it again tugged something from my past free.
“What kind of stone is that?” I nodded at the necklace when she glanced at me. Except she didn’t answer.
Trying to give her a moment, I headed into the kitchen.
She followed me in silence. I quietly washed dishes in the sink while she grabbed fresh strawberries and bananas. Pulling ingredients from my fridge I knew hadn’t been there the night before.
Smoothies done, she slid one to me before wandering out into the living room and turning on the large flatscreen. She parked on one end of the sofa, pulling her legs beneath her.
It did something to me. Watching her make herself at home in my space. I could get used to it: this light, airy feeling in my chest.
Trailing after her, I took a sip of the ambrosia in my cup and smacked my lips in pure bliss. Given the pensive look on her face, it probably would’ve been wise to let her have some room and sit somewhere else.
But not being close to her was unacceptable for reasons I was setting aside for later.
Pulling out coasters for us both, I sat down close enough for our thighs to touch and nothing else. Then I played the waiting game, reading subtitles of the local news.
“Chalcedony,” she said eventually. “It’s a form of-”
“Quartz,” I finished, earning me another of her assessing looks. “My grandfather was big on stones and crystals. I didn’t really think I’d ever paid much attention when he was explaining them to me, but I recognized it and couldn’t put my finger on why.”
“Do you remember what it’s for?”
I shook my head.
Naomi looked away, out the windows towards the street. Not that I thought she was seeing anything out there. I knew a thousand-yard stare when I saw it.
“Goodwill,” she said. “Benevolence. Health.” She paused. “Unity.”
Naomi set her drink down and I did the same. She cupped the sky-blue stone in her hands and met my eyes again, showing me the sadness in them. “It was my mom’s favorite. This one was actually one of hers.”
Was?
Fuck.
“What happened?” I asked automatically, not sure if I was overstepping.
She bit her lip and let the necklace fall back onto her chest.
“Bad luck,” she muttered on the tail end of a soft laugh that lacked humor.
The waiting game and I were already friends, but we were becoming closer today. My lips stayed seal, giving her the same courtesy of time and patience that she had given me when I told her things no one else knew.
“My mom was diabetic. Type one.”
“That’s...not supposed to be a death sentence.” I wasn’t a paragon of completed education, and my medical knowledge was limited.
But I knew that much.
“Not these days.” Her eyes shone, but the pain fell from her lips instead. “But every case can be different, depending on the person. Like I said, she was terribly and unfairly unlucky. Because her body was unable to process the things it needed for so long, the problem spread to her kidneys. By the time the doctors realiz
ed how bad it was, it was too late.”
My heart ached, familiar bony fingers resting against my back. Too late. In this context, those two words brought back memories I didn’t think I would ever be rid of.
The doctors had said the same thing in Katherine’s case.
Naomi sniffed and a single tear worked its way down the slope of her nose. I caught it with my thumb. Forgetting that I was trying to give her space. Hating that I couldn’t do more.
I already knew there was no happy ending coming. And the gorgeous woman beside me deserved all the happy endings there could ever be.
“They put her on a transplant list.” She twisted the bunched fabric around her thighs. “I’m pretty sure it was just to appease Lawson since he was on the warpath. It’s not like it mattered anyway. We all knew she didn’t have that long, even if none of us wanted to admit it.”
“She gave me this necklace a few days before she...“ Naomi took a shuddering breath. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against me. She let her head fall back onto my arm. “Before she passed. I still remember being so damn mad in that moment that I didn’t even say thanks.”
More tears fell, and I caught them one by one.
“My mom was dying.” Her words came faster. More urgent. Heavy with a weight I could grasp but never relieve her of. “I didn’t want some stupid rock. I wanted her to get up out of her hospital bed and come home. I wanted to hear us all laugh again as a family. I wanted to hug her without feeling cords and bones and smelling that stupid soap they made her use.”
“Like mothballs and disinfectant,” I added.
Naomi turned towards me and I looked away from the question in her eyes, jaw tight.
“Yeah,” she said softly, not pressing me for more. “Just like that.”
“What made you keep it?”
Despite his wife’s protests, Katherine’s dad had tried to give me an old Polaroid of the two of us from around the time we first met. Two kids playing in the dirt with no idea how much they would mean to the other. No idea that their time together would be finite. Limited to a handful of too short years.
Tempted by a Sinner (Seven Sinners Book 4) Page 16