“God, no.” She gives me a strange look. “It’s over between Russell and me, Zach. You don’t need to worry about that.”
I laugh and almost ask her why the fuck should I worry about something like that, but the words lock in my throat. We’re alone, and I don’t have a rep to uphold when it’s just Grace and me.
Fact is, it does kind of bug me that she might get back with him. How crazy is that?
“Okay.” I accept her word, the way I would a brother, and that takes the crazy to a whole new level. Not that she appears to find anything strange about it, and I guess it’s not so bad. After all, no one’s going to challenge me about it.
…
It’s late the following morning, and Grace is snuggled up on my lap in the living room as I sprawl on the sofa. I told her not to wear anything, since only the two of us are here, but she wasn’t having any of it. And when I saw the sexy, deep blue and silver corset and matching thong she was wearing as she strolled out of the bedroom, I’d been more than happy to let her win this round.
“Aren’t you going to your club this morning?” She circles her fingers over my chest as though she doesn’t realize what she’s doing.
“I’ll go later.” There’s no church so there’s no rush. And I sure don’t want to leave Grace alone if there’s no need.
“Do you go there everyday?”
She’s playing with my nipple now, and it’s getting hard to concentrate. “Most days. Depends.”
“How many members are there?”
“You ask too many questions.” If any other chick dared give me this kind of inquisition she’d be out on her ass. My arm tightens around her, which goes against everything I believe in, but what the hell.
“Only because I’m interested.”
“Nosy, more like.”
She abandons my nipple and strokes my jaw. I’ve no idea why it feels so good. “So it’s a state secret?”
She’s laughing at me, and I don’t mind. “Yeah. If I told you I’d have to kill you.”
“Guess I’m not that interested.”
“Give up easy, don’t you?” I pull her toward me for a lingering kiss, and cup her gorgeous tit. It doesn’t matter that we fucked all night. I need her again, right now. “There’re nine of us, including me.”
She rakes her fingers through my hair. “Now you have to kill me with orgasms.”
I laugh, only too happy to oblige, and the downstairs door bangs shut.
She freezes, a look of horror on her face. If it wasn’t for the fact it means my cock’s going to remain in agony for longer than a few minutes, it’d be funny. Kat’s timing really sucks.
“Let go of me.” Grace tries to wriggle out of my arms. “I’m nearly naked.”
“Bet you wear less on the beach.”
“I’m not on the beach.”
There’s a thumping on the stairs, which doesn’t sound like Kat at all. Ah, shit. It’s not my sister.
Gage appears at the door of the living room, and Grace goes rigid. He sweeps a calculating glance over her, which for some reason gets my back up.
“You need something?” There’s no way I’m releasing her while my brother’s in the room.
“Just passing. You going to the club?”
Grace’s car is outside, which means there’s only one reason he’s here, and that’s to check her out. Even though he’s looking at me, he sure as hell can see more than enough of Grace, with her tits all but spilling out of the sexy corset and her red hair tumbling over her shoulders.
“Later.” I don’t know why I’m so pissed with him. It’s not the first time he’s walked in when I’ve been with a chick, but that’s when we’ve been at the club, and who gives a shit there. This is different, and I’d never take Grace to the club in any case.
I look into her blue eyes, and something twists deep inside my chest. She doesn’t say anything, but it’s obvious she wants to sink through the floor. Most of the girls I go with would be giving Gage flirty glances, and it’s not unheard of for us to share women. If he thinks for one second he’s got a chance with Grace, I’ll break his fucking neck.
Before I can stop myself I throw him a challenging look.
“Princess, this is my brother, Gage.”
“Pleased to meet you.” She sounds cool and collected as though she isn’t wound up so tight I can feel her bones vibrating. The same strange warmth surges through me like it did when she got her tat.
“You, too.” There’s an odd note in his voice, one I’ve never heard before, and I narrow my eyes at him. He doesn’t notice, since he’s staring at Grace, but not as though he wants to nail her. More like he’s trying to work out what’s she doing here, as it’s obvious she stayed the night and who wants a chick hanging around all morning?
I ignore that thought, as I want to spend a few more hours alone with Grace before she leaves. “You know where the door is.”
“Don’t leave on my account.” Grace tries to stand up, but I’m not having that and tighten my hold on her. I don’t care what she wears on the beach, she’s not giving my brother an eyeful of her gorgeous body poured into that corset. He can see enough as it is.
“See you around.” The expression on his face doesn’t give anything away, and not until the front door bangs behind him does Grace sag against me.
“Ugh. That was so embarrassing.”
I stroke her back, hiding my grin, because she’s so cute when she gets flustered. “No, it wasn’t.”
She pulls upright. “How can you say that? It was excruciating.”
“I’ll put a Do Not Disturb sign on the front door next time you’re here. How’s that?”
“Very subtle.”
“I’ll fix an inside bolt on the door. Then when we get down and dirty we’ll know for sure we won’t be interrupted.” I leer at her, and she groans. I’m only half kidding about the deadbolt. It’s never bothered me before the way Gage wanders in and out of the apartment as though he still lives here, but that was before Grace.
It takes a couple of seconds before that thought fully penetrates. Before Grace? This is just a casual thing. Why am I planning ahead?
I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. She’s here now, and that’s all I need.
Chapter Eleven
Zach
It’s early Thursday evening, and I’m standing on the forecourt with Cade when Kat strolls home. I break off from checking out his bike. “Hey, Kat.”
She gives us a bored glance. “What?”
“Grace’s coming over. Can you sort something out to eat?”
She frowns. “Why’s she coming over tonight? You only ever hook up on weekends.”
Can’t deny that. For the last three weekends she’s stayed over either one or two nights, but she called earlier and asked if it was okay to get together tonight. Why would I say no to that kind of offer?
“You got a problem with it?” They seem to get on all right, and my sister’s even stopped making cracks about how she can never get to sleep when Grace is here.
She shrugs. “Whatever. Cade, you’re staying. I’m not going to be the only one trying to eat while those two are being disgusting with each other.”
“Are you cooking?” Cade sounds dubious about the whole thing, and I laugh since it’s obvious his reply depends on whether my sister plans on doing anything in the kitchen. He’s known her long enough, I’m surprised he even has to ask.
She gives him a death glare. “No, I’m not. Takeout tacos or fried chicken. Take your pick.”
Kat’s not been gone long when Grace arrives. As Cade silently checks out her car, she comes toward me with a smile that always makes me want to grab her and never let her go.
To hell with it. Cade’s never given me a hard time about the way Grace nearly passed out when I took her for her tat, or the way I held her afterward. And even if he had, I don’t care anymore. Grace is mine, and if anyone has a problem with that, I’m happy to set them straight with the help of my fists.
>
I pull her close and kiss her like we haven’t seen in each in years instead of four days. Considering I was never a great one for kissing before I met her, I’m sure making up for it now.
She pulls back, looking a little flustered, and glances at Cade. “Hi.”
“Hey.” He even gives her a brief smile. “Had any trouble with the tat?”
“It’s been great. No problems at all.”
I’m still holding her hand as they pass a few more comments, and it’s weird. Not Grace being friendly and polite, because that’s just the kind of girl she is. It’s Cade. He’s treating her as though she’s Kat, or Ty’s kid sister Savannah, not a hot chick who shares my bed.
My fingers tighten around hers. Cade’s accepted her as part of my life, and I don’t even know how I feel about it. I enjoy hooking up with her and we’re great together. Hell, we even text each other, and I’m not just talking about sexting. I’ve never thought any more about what we have because it’s nothing serious.
How can it be serious when she’s from Malibu?
I’ve no idea where I’m going with this, and it’s starting to freak me out, so I shove it to the back of my mind. Why ruin a good thing by over thinking it?
…
A couple of hours later, the four of us are in the living room drinking beer and hanging out as if this is something we do all the time. Truth is, I expected Cade to leave as soon as we’d eaten, but he looks set for the night, sprawled on one of the armchairs with his legs stretched out.
Grace is curled up on the sofa next to me and my arm’s draped around her shoulders. And while I can’t wait to get her to bed, I’m in no hurry to drag her there right now, in front of my sister and Cade, like I would with any other chick.
Which is crazy, as I want Grace more than any other woman I’ve ever met, but I know her, and she’ll go red and stress that they’ll hear everything we do. It’s like no one has sex in her world, or if they do it’s all done in secret with the lights out.
But that’s okay. She’s not going anywhere tonight. And the strange thing is I’m enjoying this evening, as much as if I was hanging with a couple of my brothers instead of my girl.
“So how many tattoos do you have?” Grace asks my sister, who’s perched on the arm of Cade’s chair.
“Five.”
I frown. “Thought you only had three.”
“You don’t know everything about me, Zach.”
I transfer my frown to Cade, who appears to find nothing wrong with this conversation. “You give her all five?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, of course he did.” Kat sounds irritated. “And why would he tell you every time I get one done? I don’t need you to hold my hand the way you did for Grace.”
That’s not the issue, and she damn well knows it. “Where’re the extra two tats?”
“On my ass.”
Cade chokes on his beer. “They’re not on her ass.”
Grace snorts with laughter. “I nearly had my iris done on my ass.”
That manages to distract me from the fact Cade failed to let me know when my sister commissioned two more tats from him, and I give Grace a disbelieving grin.
“Why the hell would you want a flower on your ass?” Although the more I think about it, the better I like it.
“So no one would see it. But I like this way better.” She admires her wrist again.
I’m still thinking about her butt. “You could have a rosebud on one cheek and…” Fuck, I don’t know anything about flowers. “A poppy on the other.”
She gives me a scandalized look while Kat makes gagging noises.
“Are you serious?” Grace sounds as though she’s trying not to laugh. “I wouldn’t be able to sit down for a month.”
I’m getting hard just thinking about it. “You’d look real hot with a couple of butt tats in those sexy thongs you wear.”
“Cade, get me out of here.” Kat gives a dramatic shudder, although she also shoots Grace a smile, and Cade pushes himself out of the chair without a word.
After they leave the room I haul Grace on top of me. “Thought they’d never go.”
…
Grace
I oversleep in the morning, which is hardly surprising considering Zach and I spent most of the night having sex. My shower is super fast, and it’s a relief when he doesn’t wake up and join me. Not that I don’t want him to, but I’m already late leaving for work.
I smile dreamily at my reflection in the en suite as I finish putting on my makeup. It was a last minute decision to call him yesterday and see if it was okay for me to stop by. I’m not even sure what made me do it, except for the fact I wanted to see him.
Is this really a friends-with-benefits thing? I haven’t hooked up with any other guy, but we haven’t talked about being exclusive. I’m not stupid, and I know it’s likely he’s seeing other women, especially given the MC lifestyle, which my sister has very kindly ensured I learned about during the last few weeks.
I can’t say I’m thrilled about the things she told me, but just because some clubs have resident groupies doesn’t mean Zach’s club does. Not that I’d know first hand, though, since he’s never invited me there.
This is just a wild fling. I keep forgetting that, because I can’t get him out of my mind and when we’re together things are so great it’s hard to remember we’ve barely known each other a month yet.
He’s the reason why I didn’t request a transfer from L.A. Sure, I know I told him I was going to resign and set up my own business, but this is real life, not some fantasy where everyone can do exactly what they want. I think Mom and Dad were half expecting me to want to relocate. But moving to another city, maybe even another country, isn’t something I want to do right now. I’d much rather risk crossing paths with Russell at work than end this thing with Zach.
When I go back into the bedroom he’s sitting up in bed with his hands clasped behind his head. His sexy grin makes me want to forget about work and crawl all over him. How did I ever think he was an arrogant asshole?
“Come here.”
I know exactly what will happen if I do. “I can’t. I need to leave now, not in an hour’s time.”
His grin turns lethal. “Maybe you should call in sick.”
It’s tempting. “At least it’s Friday. We can have the whole weekend together.”
“Yeah. Leave your gear here and come back tonight. You can stay over until Monday.”
The only other time I’ve stayed three nights in a row was the weekend we met. I’m about to agree, when an idea stops me.
“Why don’t you stay at my apartment this weekend?”
He stares at me as though I’ve just said something incomprehensible. “In Malibu?”
“It’d be different. We could go to a club, if you like. You could meet my sister.” I want them to meet, so Charity can see Zach isn’t anything like the jerk she seems to think he is simply because he belongs to an MC.
There’s more to it than that, though. If he agrees, it’s like he’s tacitly accepting what we have together has evolved from a casual hookup into, well, something deeper. And if the press finds out about us, which is likely once we’re seen in public, it won’t matter to Dad’s precious reputation because Zach and I are together now.
“Why would I want to meet your sister?”
For a moment I think he’s joking, then I realize not only is he serious, but he isn’t trying to be deliberately rude. He genuinely has no interest in meeting her.
Still just a fling, after all. I guess when you’re only having sex with someone without the added benefit of being in a recognized relationship, you don’t meet their family.
Except I’ve met his, and he obviously doesn’t mind about that.
I could let it go, because this could easily become an issue and I don’t want anything to spoil what we have. On the other hand, if I don’t say something, that’s going to be a whole new issue of its own, even if it is only inside my head.
“Because I’d like you to meet her. I’m not suggesting we all go out somewhere together. She has a hectic social life.” That’s true enough. It doesn’t matter if I’d had a half-formed idea that we might all go to a nightclub together.
“I work Saturdays.”
I’d forgotten about that. Sometimes he works on Sundays, too. It’s definitely a valid reason why he prefers me to come here, but I dig my heels in anyway.
“How about I stay here tonight, and you come to my apartment tomorrow when you finish work?”
There’s a long silence. His face gives nothing away, and I have a terrible feeling I’ve pushed him too far. If I have, then my secret conviction we have a lot more going for us than just sex is nothing more than my over-romantic imagination.
And then he speaks. “Okay.”
…
I arrive home late Saturday morning, after spending the night with Zach, and Charity is curled up on the sofa in her PJs nursing a hangover. I texted her yesterday to let her know I’d be back today, but I didn’t tell her Zach’s staying tonight, as that’s a face-to-face conversation. She peers at me from over the top of a cushion.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
I smile sweetly. “Something you’ve been telling me to do for years. Having the best sex of my life.”
“Ha ha.” She sits up and hugs the cushion to her chest. “You’re playing with fire. You know that.”
I should. She’s told me often enough. “Yes, Mom.”
“Don’t throw my words back at me.” She glares at me, but it’s only a front, as she’s trying not to laugh. How many times in the past has she mockingly called me “Mom” when I’ve only been trying to give her sisterly advice?
“Anyway, you’ll be able to meet him yourself tonight. He’s staying over.”
“Jesus, Grace. That’s not a good idea.” She’s not messing about anymore.
I fold my arms. “Look, he’s not some depraved criminal.”
Don’t forget he fixed my car.
Well, maybe he skates near the edge, but it’s not like he’s out drug running or anything.
And how would I know if he was?
“I’m not saying he is. You can be a criminal without being depraved.”
Hooked (Viking Bastards MC) Page 9