Chapter 14 #2
She opened her mouth and closed it as reluctance shone from her eyes. “Nickel—”
“Ryan.”
“We shouldn’t.”
“Why?”
Her gaze shifted away from me and she sighed.
“Just kiss me, Ives.”
That earned me her eyes. They were narrowed, but I liked riling her up.
“Only one person has ever called me that.”
“Should I stop?”
“I’m not sure. The way you do it is… almost nice.”
There was way more to this story, but this wasn’t the time to push for more. Or it would defeat my main objective.
“Come here,” I said as gently as I could.
She came to me.
I grabbed her hand, tugging her onto the couch. “One kiss.”
She shifted toward me, put a hand on my shoulder and pushed up.
Our lips met and as if she felt the same zing of sensation that I did, her lips parted.
My tongue swept into her mouth. She tasted like strawberries and lemons.
I felt her other hand drive into the hair at the back of my head.
It felt like her fingers were twisting some of my hair.
I wrapped my arm around her back and pulled her closer. The kiss kept going. She rose up on her knee and twisted her body. Then she settled her ass in my lap.
I groaned because that was exactly where I wanted her.
She broke the kiss and rested her forehead on my collar bone. The sound of her panting breaths filled the room. “Why did I give in to you? I knew that was going to happen.” She raised her head. “One kiss, eh?”
I rubbed my hands up and down her back. “Are you really complaining?”
She still had a hand in my hair, playing with it, staring at me.
“What’s bothering you, Ivy? You may not know me that well, but we’re far from strangers. I might be able to give you a different perspective.”
She didn’t exactly roll her eyes at me, but they did go up and to the side for a beat. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
I chuckled. “What is it?”
With her deep inhale, I felt her breasts press into my chest. Ignoring that was damned difficult, especially since that kiss had my cock at the ready.
She dropped her hand from the back of my head and sat back. “Chad is insistent that I go to the bar tomorrow night to talk to Lark. The problem is that I don’t think that’s such a good idea any more.”
I didn’t either, but that was for different reasons.
“Why not?”
She shook her head. “I can’t talk to you like this.” Her hands went to my shoulders so she could get up, but I tightened my grip on her body.
“You can totally talk to me like this.”
Her eyes flared. “Ryan, this is serious.”
I widened my eyes at her. “I know it is. Most men don’t want to be surprised by anything, but they damn sure don’t want a surprise kid to show up.
The fact he donated sperm surprises me, and yet, given his road name, it makes sense.
I don’t have the full story on why they named him Lark.
It’s either that he’s so damned methodical and a type-A planner that he’d never do shit on a lark, or it’s the fact he does everything on a whim. ”
She shrugged. “My gut says he’s a total planner because I am, but that’s the thing.
What difference does it make? What am I going to get out of telling him that mom chose him to make a baby and here I am?
I’ll probably fuck up his life… Hell, Chad was right.
The universe was giving me a sign when you kept me from seeing him the first time. ”
I hated hearing the defeated tone in her voice.
Tightening my arms, I pushed up and gently laid her down on the couch and settled my weight on her. “It wasn’t a sign. I made assumptions and it got us both in a fucking mess. Lark’s cool.”
“So you think I should tell him tomorrow night?”
I glanced away for a beat. “What I think doesn’t matter. Going to the bar tomorrow night isn’t happening though.”
She dragged her fingers down my spine. “Why not?”
I pulled a hand out from behind her and cupped her cheek. “Tonight, there’s going to be brothers patrolling the outside lot. Those bastards behind our abduction are going to come back. I don’t want you around the bar until they’ve been dealt with, so you going to the bar isn’t happening.”
“Are you patrolling the lot tonight?”
Instantly her facial expression shifted to shock, like she hadn’t wanted to ask me that.
“Are you concerned about my safety, Ives?”
She shook her head. “It’s official. Please don’t call me that.”
I nodded. “Are you worried about me?”
Her expression became abashed. “Maybe. I hadn’t meant to ask that out loud. I usually have more self-control around people.”
My lips tipped up. “Tonight, I have the night off, and I’m spending it with you.”
“Why?”
I swallowed back a chuckle. “Are you shitting me right now? We got interrupted back at the clubhouse, but our chemistry is off the fuckin’ charts. I’m gonna taste more of you, you’re gonna taste me, and we’re gonna do that in a number of ways.”
“Ryan,” she whispered.
“What?”
“This isn’t a good idea,” she whispered.
I dragged my nose alongside hers. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”
“Casual isn’t an option for me.”
I felt one of my eyebrows lift. “You’re after a commitment.”
She frowned slightly. “I didn’t say that, but you…” She sighed. “You’re different.”
That was vague, and yet, I understood where she was coming from because deep down, I felt the same way about her. Something about her was different from other women I’d seen in the past.
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m not after anything, serious or casual. I’m practically married to the bar these days. Most women expect so much attention—”
She shot me a look. “I’m not most women.”
With a grin, I nodded. “Believe me, I got that.”
Her eyes danced over my face. “Do you think this is just a weird form of Stockholm Syndrome?”
I turned my head to the side and huffed out a disbelieving chuckle. When I faced her, I tried to keep my tone level. “No. I don’t. If it were that, you’d be mourning the death of at least one of those assholes.”
“Going through trauma connects people, though,” she muttered.
I hesitated a moment. “Yeah, but the thing is, on the day you showed up, my astute sister pointed out that you tick all of my boxes. So…don’t downplay what’s going on here.”
She gave a reluctant nod. “That’s fair.”
“Right. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, so if you want me to stop, I’ll get up and leave you alone, once I get someone else here to keep you safe.”