Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
DANIKA
Okay. Dayum.
It had to be said, Leo Drake could kiss.
No, that wasn’t right. It had to be shouted from a mountain top that Leo Drake could kiss, but seeing I was currently on my back with Leo lying partially on top of me, pressing me into the couch as we engaged in said kissing, I didn’t have the opportunity or inclination to stop what we were doing so I could find a mountain top and yell that out for the masses.
What had started out as the two of us sitting on my couch, eating dinner as we talked and laughed, only vaguely paying attention to the show I’d put on the television, had changed.
I’d been laughing at something he’d just said, my head back, my hair falling over my shoulders.
When I finished and righted my head he was staring at me in a way he never had before.
His lids were half-mast and his hazel eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them.
The mood shifted and he’d moved fast, sliding across the couch to press into me before taking me down to my back and fusing his lips to mine.
What had started slow and sweet had quickly shifted. It turned hot and hungry. He tasted like mint and the hops from the beer he drank with his meal, and I got lost in all that was him. He overwhelmed all five of my senses, and I couldn’t get enough.
My fingers pulled at his shirt, freeing it from where it had been tucked into his pants so I could reach beneath and feel his heated skin. He groaned into my mouth, taking the kiss even deeper as his own hand dipped beneath my sweater and started an upward trajectory.
I whimpered against his tongue when the pad of his thumb brushed the underside of my breast, arching my back and pressing harder into his touch.
“Christ,” he grunted, moving from my mouth to trail wet, nipping kisses along the sensitive skin of my neck. “So goddamn sweet.”
I tugged at his hair, relishing the feel of the silky strands as I moaned and writhed beneath him. His mouth returned to mine as he kneed my legs farther apart, making room for his hips to fall between.
I could feel him, long and hard, pressing against me through the barriers of our clothes.
I wanted more of him, needed more. “Leo,” I gasped against his lips when his thumb and index finger gently pinched my nipple over my bra.
It was sensation overload. I was close, embarrassingly close, and all we’d done so far was make out with a little heavy petting.
“Taste as good as you smell,” he said, sliding his tongue back into my mouth, deep and hard. “Nothin’ but sweetness, Danika,” he spoke against my lips.
I was about to act. I was either going to beg him to take me to bed or find the superhuman strength to flip the massive man to his back so I could tear his clothes off and mount him right there on my couch.
I was still deciding which option to go with when his cellphone started ringing. Once again, the mood shifted, only this time it was like a bucket of ice had been poured over us.
“Shit,” he hissed, breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against mine, both of us breathing like we’d just completed a triathlon and had come in at first and second place. “That’ll be Macie callin’ to tell me practice is just about over and I need to come get her.”
I nodded, trying my hardest to not show how bereft I was that our make-out session was over.
I knew I’d done a terrible job of hiding it when his swollen lips quirked up in a smile and he mumbled, “Fuckin’ adorable,” before kissing the tip of my nose.
He moved to sit up, grabbing my hand and bringing me with him as he dug in his back pocket for his phone.
I sat there, still out of sorts as he swiped to answer and brought it to his ear. “You done, baby girl?”
I freaking loved that he called his daughter baby girl. It gave me the same squishy feeling I got every time my own dad called me Button, shortened from “cute as a button.”
“All right, honey. I’m on my way. Yeah. Love you too.”
He hung up, shifted on his hip to return the phone to his pocket and blew out a sigh as he turned to me. “I gotta go.”
I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips, stretching so big my cheeks ached. He just sounded so damn disappointed. “I got that.”
He stood, still holding my hand and using that grip to tug me along with him as he walked to my door. Once we got there, he turned and put his hands to my hips, pulling me so our chests were pinned together. “Jesus, Danika. I never even got that close to comin’ in my jeans when I was a teenager.”
I let out a giggle, feeling more than just a little pleased with myself. “I’d say I’m sorry, but it would be a lie.”
He chuckled, his fingertips flexing against my hips.
“Yeah, I’m not feelin’ all that sorry either.
” Reaching up, he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and said, “Got a lot goin’ on the next couple days, but the kids both have plans Saturday night.
You free for another dinner?” His grin got bigger.
“Maybe this time we’ll actually watch the show you put on.
” His voice got low and husky as he leaned in close and added, “Or not.”
“I’ve got plans,” I announced sadly. “It’s girls’ night out at Whiskey Dolls.” The air rushed from his lungs and he dropped his forehead onto my shoulder and groaned. “Sorry,” I laughed. “I made promises I can’t go back on. But . . . maybe I could text you if it doesn’t go too late?”
His head came up, a pleased expression on his face. “Yeah, sweetness. You should definitely do that.”
“All right,” I said as he dropped his arms and took a step back, reaching for the door handle. “Then hopefully I’ll see you Saturday.”
“Oh, darlin’, you’ll definitely be seein’ me before then. We just won’t have the opportunity to do what we spent the last fifteen minutes doin’ on your couch until then.”
My cheeks heated and I couldn’t help but lower my head to stare up at him through my lashes, suddenly feeling very shy and all kinds of excited.
He let loose a rumble from deep in his chest and moved back in quickly, grunting, “So damn sweet,” before giving me one last quick, hard kiss. Then he turned and headed out the door.
I closed it, locking it behind him, then I spun around and pressed my back to it, listening to the engine of his truck as he started it and backed out of my driveway. Once he was gone, I let out a squeal so loud it hurt my own ears and slid to the floor like a puddle of goo.
Leo: Have fun tonight, sweetness. Thinking of you.
I bit down on my bottom lip to keep from smiling like a fool as I read and re-read the text Leo had just sent.
It had been two days since our little make-out sesh, and I already had it bad.
Just like he’d said, I’d seen him plenty over the past couple days.
He’d come into Muffin Top during his shifts at the station, staying only a short amount of time before having to head out, only to show up again when he got off work with his kids in tow.
I liked those times best, not only because I got to see Hardin and Macie, but also because Leo also got to hang around the shop longer.
He called both nights after his kids went to bed, and texted as often as he could. I was walking around in a constant state of happiness so immense I felt like I was floating. I got a rush of endorphins every time my phone pinged, making me downright giddy.
We’d only just arrived at Whiskey Dolls a few minutes ago and got settled at our table at the very center of the room—the best seats in the house thanks to Gypsy’s connections—and already, there was a part of me that was itching to leave so I could have time with Leo.
But I wouldn’t. There was also a part of me, an even bigger one that knew I needed this night with my girls. The early blush of a new relationship was all well and good, but the ladies I was with were the ones who would stay in my life for eternity.
The semi-circle booth was so big it fit Gypsy, Tempie, Tessa, Sage, Rory, Eden, and me perfectly, and still had enough room for us to move around comfortably.
Gypsy’s friend McKenna only performed a couple nights a month, choosing to spend the rest of her time with her man, Bruce, running things, so she’d been there to greet us when we showed and took us right to our table.
Stuffing my phone back into my purse, I tucked it in at my side and took in the club. This was my first time here since it was rebranded and re-opened, and I had to say, the place was awesome.
All the women were dressed in the coolest modified cigarette girl uniforms, and the men wore tailored slacks with white tanks, suspenders, and fedoras.
All the wood in the building was stained a rich, deep cherry, the chairs and booths were lined with burgundy leather, and the walls were painted in a deep red with plush, velvet curtains.
“This place looks great,” I breathed as I looked around. “I can’t believe it’s the first time I’ve been in here since it opened.”
“I feel like I need to order a Manhattan or a Sidecar just to be cool enough to be in here,” Eden said. “And I don’t even drink that kind of stuff.”
“Oh! A Manhattan sounds good! I’ll take one of those,” Gypsy told the waitress who’d just walked up.
“Same for me,” Tempie said.
“I’ll have a glass of Cabernet,” Tessa told her. I ordered the same. Eden decided to live a little and ordered that Sidecar, and Sage and Rory each got a beer.
“So,” Sage started as soon as the waitress took off to fill our orders, her eyes pinned to me from across the table. “Who were you texting just now?”
Crap. “Just one of my girls asking a question about the shop,” I lied, wishing desperately that I already had my drink.
She gave me a dubious look. “Mm-hmm. You don’t smile all secretive like you just were if it was just someone from work.” She leaned forward, bracing her arms on the table and drawing everyone’s attention before announcing, “You have a man.”
Oh crap! Crap, crap, crap! I thought I’d hidden my reaction well, but my mom always said I had the worst poker face.
Before I could insist she was wrong, Tessa’s head whipped around, her hair nearly smacking me in the face. “You do?”
“No,” I insisted, looking around the table at all my eager friend. “I do not have a man. Like I said, it was just a work thing.”
“I’m not buying it,” Gypsy declared. “I went in for a coffee yesterday, and she had this big, creepy, Joker smile on her face the whole damn time I was there.”
“Yes,” Rory said, pointing an accusing finger my way. “I saw it too. The day before yesterday. She seemed really happy. Like, that obnoxious kind of happy you are when you first get with a new man.”
“You mean like how you were with Cord?” Tempie teased, earning an elbow to the ribs from Rory.
“I was not obnoxious.”
“Oh please,” Eden said with a roll of her eyes. “We were all obnoxious like that when we first started out with our guys. Well, all of us except Sage. She and Xander went straight from fighting to . . . well, you know.”
“They still fight,” I threw in.
“This is true,” Sage agreed. “We fight because what comes after is so damn fun. But Eden’s right.
I wasn’t obnoxious. Biker chicks can’t be obnoxious, it isn’t in our DNA.
And you,” she said, jabbing a finger in my direction, “are trying to skate around the topic at hand. So who is this guy? Is he hot?”
“More importantly, is he good in bed?” Gypsy asked, then looked around the table. “What? I’m only asking what you all are already thinking, and you know it.”
I didn’t know if Leo was good in bed, but based on how he kissed and drove me out of my mind the other night, I didn’t think I was off the mark in assuming the man knew what he was doing.
And hopefully I’d get to find out soon enough, but still .
. . “Guys, there is no man. Really.” I nearly said “I promise” but caught myself before the words slipped out.
I never lied on a promise. “I’m just a happy person.
If there was a man, you’d all be the first to know. ”
That seemed to do the trick, and while I felt a little bad for lying to my friends, I wasn’t wracked with guilt. This was something Leo and I had agreed on because of his kids. If—hopefully when—I got to tell them the truth, I had no doubt they’d understand.
Our drinks arrived a short while later, and not long after, the lights in the whole bar went down. A spotlight flashed on, lighting up the very center of the stage, and the show started.
And it . . . was . . . awesome.