Wild as Her (Beckett Family #2)

Chapter 24

Indie

S team pours from the bathroom door as Wild stands before me, shirtless, his jeans undone and hanging loosely from his hips. My eyes travel down to the happy trail leading?—

No, Ind. You will not be tempted by this man’s body again.

Wild smirks as I force my eyes away from him.

“C’mon. I told you we have plans, and I know you’re good and rested now.” Grabbing my hand, he leads me toward the bathroom.

He’s right; I am well-rested. The remainder of the trip went by in the blink of an eye. It was pitch dark out when we arrived home, and a shower sounded great at the time. I didn’t really think he meant we’d take one together. Why, I haven’t a clue—the man hasn’t said anything he didn’t mean yet.

“I’m just gonna go to bed,” I say, pulling from his grip.

I know he wants to keep this thing going between us, but my head tells me it’s a bad idea. At one point, I thought we might be able to try, but now that we are home and reality is kicking in, I don’t think I can go through with it.

But what does your heart say?

It doesn’t matter… My mouth says, ‘Shut up, Heart, you weak bitch.’

The internal battle rages on, and the corner of Wild’s lip quirks, seeing me being so undecided.

“Don’t be a chicken. You know you wanna come in here with me,” he coaxes.

I glare in his direction, doing my best to hide the fact that I do want to join him. Being a bitch is what I’m best at—especially where this guy is concerned.

“I ain’t scared of you, Indiana,” he states cooly, running his hand over mine and loosely wrapping his fingers between mine.

“You’re so irritating,” I huff in annoyance, pulling my hand from his.

The dimple on his left cheek makes its appearance as he spins me and pulls my back against his chest.

“That’s right, give me all that bark. Hell, give me your bite, too,” he whispers into my ear. “You know I love it when you leave your mark on me.” His lips ghost along my neck, causing my breath to catch in my throat.

Pushing away from him, I step to leave the room again—but Wild doesn’t miss a beat. Reaching out his hand, he grabs ahold of my wrist and stops me. When I turn to meet his gaze, his eyes are filled with something I’ve never seen in them before, and it makes me pause.

“I know you’re scared of what you feel for me. Hell, I am, too. But I know you feel this,” he motions his finger between us. “Don’t fight it,” he shakes his head. “Stop runnin’ from me, Ind.”

As I stare into his pleading eyes, I fight every urge in my body that wants me to give in—to see where this thing between us could go. These last few days have been great between us, and who knows, maybe it could work out. One thing I do know is that I need all of this talking to end. If he keeps going, I’m liable to give him damn near anything he asks for.

His lips part like he’s going to speak again, but I close the small distance between us first, stopping his words by crushing my lips on his.

His day-old stubble, mixed with his intoxicating taste, helps me forget all about my worries.

He quickly pulls my shirt off over my head before our lips, like magnets, find their way back to each other. The bathroom door is slammed shut behind me with a kick of my foot.

“Just tonight,” I clarify, pulling back from him.

With a slight smirk, he studies me for only a second. “I can work with that.”

“So what are we gonna do with our last few days off?” Wild asks from the kitchen as he places his bowl in the dishwasher.

“I’m gonna relax and not do a damn thing. Not sure what you’re doin’,” I reply, sipping my coffee. “I might actually go visit Wren, though. If she can get a day off of work.”

Last night, when I texted everyone that we had made it home safely, she asked if we could hang out one of these days before my vacation ended—I’m still waiting to hear back from her.

This job at the hospital seems to run her life. The poor woman practically lives there, and I wonder if she’s really happy with it like she hoped she’d be. When I asked her once, she got upset and insisted she loved it. I haven’t brought it up again. I know she’ll talk when she’s ready.

Wild peeks his head around the corner of the open cabinet. “Don’t be difficult, Ind. You know we are spendin’ these days together.”

Shutting the cabinet door, he walks into the living room. When he plops down beside me, I almost spill my full cup of hot coffee in my lap.

“Wild!” I push at his arm. “If you make me spill this, I’m dumpin’ the rest over your head,” I threaten, glaring over at him.

“I dare you to try that,” he smirks.

My brow raises. “You don’t think I would?” I challenge back, fully ready to show him I’ll do it right now.

“Oh, I know you would.” He leans in closer, coming nose to nose with me. “But are you ready for the consequences if you do?”

Fuck, I want to know what they are now.

“You don’t scare me,” I half lie.

He does scare me—but not in the way he thinks he does.

He pulls back slightly, and his eyes do that sexy thing where they trail down to my mouth. I nervously pull my bottom lip between my teeth, unable to handle his stare.

“You better go get dressed if you plan on leavin’ here today. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to throw you over my shoulder and take you back to my bed so I can fuck you until that pretty little voice is raw.”

I dramatically roll my eyes to mask the desire I know he’d see in them if I didn’t. The fact that I love sleeping in his bed is something I still want to keep to myself.

“Keep rollin’ them damn eyes at me and see what else happens.”

My throat goes dry at the threat I want to test him on. Before I can respond to him, though, my phone vibrates in my lap.

Wren

Hey! I work the overnight shift tonight if you wanna Netflix and chill today?

Thank God. Saved by the sister.

Babe, I’ll let you get to first base, but I already told you, I don’t think we should take this friendship any further than that.

Wren

What if I ask nicely?

I’ll think about it I’ll head your way in a bit.

Wren

See you soon

When I set the phone down on the coffee table in front of me, I glance over and see that Wild still hasn’t taken those smoldering sex eyes off of me. He looks fucking delicious.

“I’m gonna go see Wren today,” I say before I can let my thoughts of him go any further. “You have fun doin’ whatever it is you do when you’re alone.” I pat his knee and instantly regret it. Feeling his warm skin through his joggers has me wanting to feel more of the warm places on his body.

“I’ll come with you.” He stands from the couch nonchalantly.

“What? You can’t just invite yourself. We were just together for the last few days. It’s probably good for us to take a break from each other.”

“I never need a break from you.” His eyes stay pinned on mine. “Besides, I was plannin’ to go see Carson today anyway. We can ride up to the city together. I’ll drop you off.”

I know my car is on empty now since we got in late from our trip last night—and it’s not cheap to drive up to the city.

Plus, I kinda like when he drives me around.

“Fine,” I huff, standing from the couch and heading toward my room. “I’ll be ready in five.”

“What’s wrong with what you have on?” I hear him holler from behind me.

Standing in front of my bedroom door, I pause. “Wild, I know I look like a hot mess eighty percent of the time, but even I won’t show up to a date lookin’ like I just rolled out of bed.”

He rolls his eyes with a grin and shakes his head.

“First of all, bite your tongue, Indiana. You are not goin’ on a damn date,” he points his finger at me. “Second, if you get any hotter, I’m gonna have to get the hose out.”

Now it’s my turn to shake my head.

One thing Wild has always been good at is making me feel beautiful—even when I am the textbook definition of a mess.

Ignoring his compliment, I walk into my room and gently close the door behind me.

As I rummage through my closet I hear my phone vibrate on the dresser.

Wild

Wanna play a game before we go?

Umm… no? We don’t have time for a game.

Wild

I beg to differ. There’s one I know we could do pretty fast.

What? Rock, paper, scissors?

Shaking my head, I toss the phone down on the dresser again and throw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. As I stand in front of the mirror, sliding my earrings in, the phone lights up from beside me.

Wild

Hands only. A new game I just thought of.

I let out an embarrassing laugh as I feel my cheeks heat.

And you think that’d be quick, huh? I thought you liked winning games.

Wild

Oh, I’d win that, no questions asked, Wildflower.

Wanna see?

I’m not taking the bait, Wild…

Wild

Scared I’d win?

In your dreams.

Wild

Baby, in my dreams, it’s not my hands I have you squirming on.

Desire sparks to life inside of me at his words. Biting at my lip I debate what to text back.

Wild

Come play with me, Ind.

I’ll have you screaming my name in under three minutes. Bet.

A big part of me is tempted to take his bet. But I ignore that greedy hoe and type one final text before walking back out of my room.

Rain check. I’ll have you in under two.