by Dawn Ryder
“Zoe.” She was shaking his hand out of reflex.
Mr. Untamed wouldn’t shake my hand.
It was a majorly unfair thought and really bitchy of her but there it was. Gut response. Honest and brutal. Saxon didn’t deserve it but she doubted he needed to be jerked around, either. He was looking for company and she wasn’t interested. Not a bit. All she wanted to do was turn back around and stare at the leather-clad animal stuck in her brain.
Another peanut crackled between her fingertips before Zoe’s cell phone buzzed to rescue her. She didn’t bother to check the caller ID; it was better not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if it was a telemarketer, she was taking the call. It beat throwing a pity party.
“Excuse me.” She slid off the bar stool.
“Hello?”
“Hey, sis.”
Zoe pushed the front door open and hurried outside where she could hear her brother’s voice better. “Bram? It’s been bloody forever since you called.”
Her brother snorted on the other end. “Been working. I assume you recall just how often we servicemen get separated from our loved ones while we’re deployed? After all, you grew up with the same active-duty dad I did.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. How are you?” There were rules when she talked to her brother, “no serious questions allowed” sort of rules. Keep it light and friendly because it just might be the last conversation they had. Guilt could be a razor-sharp bitch.
“How are you?” Her brother’s voice was firm and serious.
Zoe frowned and leaned against the exterior of the bar. “Fine. Why are you asking in that tone of voice? As well as redirecting the conversation?”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Static crackled while she waited for her brother to respond. He finally offered her a dry laugh that drew every muscle she had tight with tension.
“I’m just thinking about you,” he muttered. “Keep your guard up, sis.”
“Why?” The word was out of her mouth before she remembered who she was talking to. “All right, forget I asked that.”
There was a deeper chuckle on the other end of the line, one that almost put her at ease, but not quite.
“You know me a little too well, sis. Keep that intuition sharp and make sure you watch your back. Call me if there’s anything suspicious happening, even something small. Leave a message.”
“Is that all the information I’m getting?” she said, her voice filled with frustration.
“For the moment.” Bram laid down his decision with every bit of arrogance she’d just decided Biker Boy had. “If you don’t notice anything, there is nothing to worry about. Don’t hesitate to call.”
“I won’t,” she groused, far from satisfied with the lack of details.
“That sounds like my brat sister, nosy to the core,” Bram accused her with amusement in his tone, enough to make her throat tighten because it had been too damn long since she’d heard it.
“Got to go.” Bram’s voice had chilled and hardened, tightening her neck muscles once again. “Remember, leave a message. If all I see is a hang-up, it will concern me.”
The line went dead and she worried her lower lip. Her brother was on another continent. If there was some kind of trouble, there wouldn’t be much he could do to help her. But she sure as hell wasn’t going to do anything to distract him while he was crawling around God knew where.
“Bad news?”
She jumped, fumbling the phone, and ended up with it pressed to her cleavage to keep it from falling to the ground. Mr. Untamed was watching her with eyes as black as his hair. This close, the term Biker Boy didn’t fit.
He was all man.
Still a few paces away, he managed to strike her as huge. She wasn’t used to feeling delicate, but the wide expanse of muscle-coated chest sent a shiver down her spine. He put her on edge, for no other reason than she knew he was stronger. It was a primitive idea, one that rose above every bit of faith she had in equal rights. She was staring and he was watching her do it.
“Ah … not really,” she forced out before tearing her gaze off him. He was too distracting.
I mean too tempting …
Behind him, on the other side of the front doors, was a motorcycle. It was coal black but clean enough to pass a white-glove inspection.
“I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t finish your beer. It doesn’t look like you brought a designated driver.”
His lips twitched and she regretted making the joke because the guy was even sexier when he was grinning. Still arrogant but it looked good on him. Just a hint of playfulness.
That could be so much fun …
Crap, she must look desperate. She felt like it sure enough. Her breath was caught in her throat, anticipation sharpening her senses.
“You’re perceptive.” He shrugged, the motion looking impossibly sexy. Behind her loose top, her nipples contracted. His gaze dropped to the hard points and his lips thinned. “I didn’t come for the liquor.”
He closed the gap between them and leaned against the building with one shoulder while watching her. Sensation shot through her, tingling and filling her with an intense awareness of him. She had to fight the urge to allow her gaze to slip down past his six-pack to see what his leather pants offered her to admire.
“Why did you come?” His voice was husky but his gaze sharp. He was still leaning against the building as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but the look in his eyes didn’t match his lazy posture. He was intimidating but it struck her as a challenge. At last she was able to grasp her wilting self-control and master the surge of lust flooding her. She wasn’t going to simper in the face of his brawn.
“I came with a friend, who’s off dancing now. Nosy.”
He studied her, looking like he was gauging just how solid her resolve was. Another jolt of awareness hit her but it annoyed her as much as it thrilled. She would not melt at his feet.
“Maybe I got the impression you wouldn’t mind me being nosy.” His gaze slipped back down her chest to where her nipples still raised the silk of her top. When he made eye contact with her again, heat simmered in those dark orbs.
Maybe … I should just let my impulses rule …
“Yeah, well, maybe I should recall the pepper spray my dad gave me for my twenty-first birthday.” She was poking him with a stick now but at least she sounded confident.
One dark eyebrow rose in response to her threat. “Pepper spray works better when you don’t warn your target.”
“You’ve got a point,” she agreed, trying to sound amused. Unconcerned. It was a lie, though. She was rattled. Her belly queasy with nerves. The guy was setting her on her ear without even trying.
Pathetic. Yet really interesting because it’s never happened before.
He studied her for a long moment. “I’ve always preferred to experience those boundaries instead of just being told where they are.”
What an experience he’d be, too …
She looked past him to the motorcycle, an image of him clasping the mean-looking machine between his thighs surfacing. “I believe you.”
“Does that mean the pepper spray will stay in the bottom of your purse?” he asked in a slow drawl that made her shiver again.
She laughed, the sound husky and full of heat in a way she couldn’t recall feeling in a very long time. There was no buildup, no warning from her better judgment to establish a stronger foundation for trust. There was just need, hot, burning need. She wanted it satisfied. Now. It was the intensity of her reaction to him that made her dig her heels in. A protective instinct rising above the flood of pheromones trying to drown her common sense.
“Nothing personal but we’re strangers.”
His gaze lowered to her chest and came back up. “Why don’t we change that? Let’s go for a ride. As you noticed, I’m still sober, and not interested in dulling my wits.” His eyes narrowed and homed in on her lips. “I’m in the mood for highs that don’t require mind
-numbing chemicals.”
Oh hell yes …
Her mouth went dry and her body pulsed with excitement. Lust chiseled away at her resolve, pushing her toward the impulse to do exactly what she wanted without a care for the regrets that might show up at sunrise.
“Ah … I shouldn’t.”
But I sure as hell want to …
His grin was gone, pure intent shinning in his eyes. “Why not? It will be more fun than standing here waiting to drive your friend home. I promise you that.”
And his voice dipped down, loaded with suggestive possibilities. Ones she was all too tempted to entertain.
“Careful,” she warned him. “I don’t desert my friends.”
He lifted his hands in mock surrender. “I can respect a lady who keeps her word.” His voice dipped down again while something flickered in his eyes that looked like victory. “But you’re no baby and neither of us came out tonight because we wanted to drink. I think your friend would understand if you altered your plans. She struck me as confident enough to arrange a cab ride home all by herself.”
“So why not be impulsive?” Her darker side was gaining the upper hand and the words spilled out, part of her longing for any excuse to just give in and indulge. To challenge the boundaries around her and be wild.
“Exactly.”
His tone deepened, becoming something almost too decadent to resist. She gave in to the urge to look down the length of the man teasing her. Below the six-pack, his leather pants outlined a bulge promising her exactly the sort of ride she’d been thinking about.
A deep chuckle pulled her attention back to his face. He reached out and stroked her cheek. She shivered in response, the feeling of his skin against her own nearly explosive.
“Like what you see, baby?” His hand moved to cup her nape, gripping it just enough to send another ripple of need through her. “I do.”
He planted his free hand on the wall next to her head as he maintained his grip on her neck. The lights from the parking lot were blocked out when he leaned over and kissed her.
Oh hell …
She twisted in his embrace, overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment. No kiss had ever affected her so deeply. He followed her, pressing a hard kiss against her mouth. More than a kiss, it was a challenge, but that only drove the heat index up another few notches. It shouldn’t have. She’d never been a fan of overbearing men, but a moan surfaced from her chest as she reached out for him.
No sweet, sedate, agreed-upon kiss had ever set her blood on fire, either.
His chest felt as good as it looked: a feast for her fingertips. She moved closer, kissing him back with the same intensity his mouth was applying to hers. Lust became need, her body begging for less clothing and more skin. He pressed her lips apart, and the tip of his tongue teased her lower lip before slipping inside her mouth.
She shivered, her body alive with a thousand different points of awareness. Her nipples contracted and her clit throbbed with need so intense she pushed him away. She reached up and shoved her hand between their lips to separate them. It was a desperate motion, one driven by the knowledge that she was in way over her head.
“Just … back off a second.” She didn’t recognize her own voice; it was too sultry, too needy to be hers. Mentally toying with being reckless was far different from doing it. Consequences were often 100 percent unforgiving. She needed to think but her brain felt frozen.
“Why?” His hand slid down her neck, across her shoulder, and down her chest until he cupped her breast. He thumbed one hard nipple without hesitation, sending a little jolt of hard pleasure down her core.
Shit!
How in the hell did his touch make her feel so good? She should have taken a swing at his face. Instead she bit back a husky sound of enjoyment. His gaze homed in on her lower lip, victory flickering in his eyes.
“You’re just as interested as I am, baby. Let’s take a ride and feed our appetites. No games, no meaningless chitchat. Blunt … honesty.”
She actually thought about it. The passion smoldering in his eyes was too hot to ignore. He teased her nipple with his thumb, sending a rush of heat through her belly. It was so intensely carnal her hips jerked, moving without any sort of decision. Part of her really wanted to know just how the ride might be with him, for no other reason than that she was pretty sure she’d never been so turned on in her life.
“That’s right.” He slid his hand farther down until he was cupping her hip. He moved in closer, pressing against her lower body while his mouth landed back on top of hers. “It will be explosive,” he whispered against her lips. “Better guilty of being impulsive than missing out.”
She opened her mouth to say something but her mind went blank. There was only the touch of his lips against hers, the scent of his skin filling her senses, and the pure desperation to get another taste of him brewing inside her.
This time she was overwhelmed. The wave of desire washed across her and swept her into its powerful surge. He guided her hips closer to his, until the hard bulge of his erection was pressing against her belly. Her clit pulsed and her passage ached. Sex had never been so necessary before. Tonight she actually hurt with yearning. Her body quivered with it, hunger ruling her as he thrust his tongue down into her mouth. The hold he had on the back of her head was harder than she liked, or thought she liked, because that little taste of his strength sent her common sense flying in favor of following her impulses. Her pride didn’t care for it but the intensity of her desire was like a drug she was addicted to. She’d do anything to experience the high.
“Let’s get out of here. I need to get you naked.”
His voice had a ring of authority that didn’t sit well with her. It was the splash of cold reality she needed to grasp at the shattered remnants of her self-control.
“Look … I’m sorry … but … no.”
She wished she sounded more convincing. He’d stepped back from her but frowned and made to close the space between them again.
“I mean it … no, I’m not that kind of girl.”
But I am tempted …
She planted one hand in the middle of his chest. She really didn’t have the strength to hold him off if he decided to kiss her again, but he flattened his hands on either side of her head, caging her but granting her enough space to hold on to rational thought.
Maybe.
“Married? Boyfriend … lover?” His voice was low and rough with frustration. “If you were devoted to him, you would be in his bed instead of here. If he was smart, he wouldn’t be letting you roam. Or leaving you hungry.”
I have an appetite all right.
There was a flicker of something in his eyes that looked like jealousy. And no matter how absurd it was, she felt a tingle of respect for him. The guy wasn’t a douchebag.
“My reason doesn’t matter. I told you to back off.”
His lips twitched up but it wasn’t a pleasant expression. “It matters, all right.” He cupped her nape again, massaging it, and sent ripples of sensation down her body instantly. “Do you really want to play the dating game? Neither of us is a teenager.”
She pushed harder against his chest, but he only lifted one dark eyebrow. Her temper flared up; he was too damn smug. “That doesn’t mean I jump into bed the second a guy snares my attention. That’s also a result of no longer being a teenager. It’s called self-control.”
“Bull.” He delivered the word like a whip crack. He threaded his fingers through her hair and closed his fist until she felt the delicate strands pull just enough to send prickles of pain across her scalp. But he somehow managed to keep the pressure perfect, leaving her balanced on the edge of true pain. It fanned the flames of lust again. His smile grew before he leaned toward her and tilted his head so she felt his breath against the side of her neck.
He is an animal … deadly when he decides to claim what he wants.
“What do you really want, baby? Honesty?” His lips grazed the delicate skin of her neck, sendi
ng ripples of pleasure down her length. “The honest truth is, you turn me on. My cock got hard the moment I saw you, and you couldn’t keep your eyes off me, either.”
He lifted his head and released her hair. A second later he stepped back, giving her the space she’d demanded, but no relief showed up. Instead disappointment sliced through her like razor blades.
“Sexual arousal isn’t enough—”
“Enough to trust me? If I wanted to rob you, it would be done.” His eyes narrowed. “Same thing goes for rape. The music is loud and you chose a dark corner to take that call in. I’d already have used you and been done if that was how I got my rocks off.”
His tone was blunt and cutting, his eyes full of confidence in his ability to overpower her. The fact that he was boldly letting her know he was aware she was at his mercy made her tremble. The problem was, she wasn’t afraid of him and she really should have been.
As in, really, really should have been.
Foolish …
He stepped back farther and pulled a pair of riding gloves from his pocket. They were black leather and he shoved his hands into them with hard motions before tugging the tension cord around the wrist tight. No Velcro to announce his movements. The man was definitely lethal.
He extended his right hand toward her, palm up, the invitation clear.
Well, challenge actually.
“I’m not into bars, so if you want to get to know me, let’s go someplace we can explore personal details about each other.” Arousal flashed in his eyes. “I’m real interested in doing that. The hard points of your nipples tell me you are, too.”
They’d be naked before she learned his full name.
She wanted to.
Hell, she felt like she needed to. The heat was still swirling around in her belly so intense, it felt like her skin might blister. But she shook her head.
“Sorry, it’s still not my style.”
His gaze lowered to where her loose top was just revealing the very tips of her hard nipples. She shivered again because he had such a commanding presence; it was so tempting to let him call the shots. Bending beneath that arrogance would be a very convenient way to sidestep guilt.