Chapter Nine
Iwoke up with my calf trapped between two hairy thighs and the kind of pain that would cripple any normal person. It was a white hot needle pain through my skull, but it wasn’t the crippling hangover headache that was freaking me out. It was those hairy legs.
Just how drunk had I been last night? I already knew the answer to that.
Two drinks and I had been steaming enough to vomit if the bad taste in my mouth was anything to go by, and lose my memories, because I had no recollection of getting home or the man I’d brought with me.
How did people do this every weekend? And then do it all over again.
I felt lousy, and I never wanted to feel like it again.
Drinking just wasn’t me and neither was waking up in bed with a man’s naked legs trapping my own.
Turning my head caused a fresh wave of pain and nausea to rush through me and I clapped a hand over my mouth as I stared at the man sharing right back at me.
“Pocket,” I whispered into my palm. Somehow I had ended up in bed with Pocket. Pocket, who was at least ten years older than me. Pocket who was a Savage Son.
Ghost was going to kill me.
“Good morning, beautiful.” Stretching his arms above his head, his muscles bulged and my eyes bulged with them. “Enjoying the view?” He arched a dark eyebrow.
I blushed and turned my head away. “Sorry.”
“Hey.” Tenderly, he pulled my face back towards his. “Don’t go all shy on me now. Not after last night.”
A small part of me died. “I’m sorry, but whatever happened last night was…” I couldn’t finish. How could I have been so stupid?
“The kiss didn’t feel like a mistake,” he murmured. “It felt intense and new and familiar all at the same time. It was perfect until you puked all over me. Don’t get that drunk again, Chloe. Promise me. And don’t go wandering around by yourself after dark either. I want you to be safe here.”
“Kiss?” My brow furrowed. “You mean we didn’t…?” I pointedly looked down at the bed, where our bodies were clearly outlined under the quilt.
“No. I mean, I would have loved to, but you were barely conscious and I’m not into that.”
I shifted my weight. “But you undressed me?”
Again, he shook his head. “No, Sy did. I just waited to make sure you didn’t die in your sleep and must have drifted off myself.
Sorry.” He gave me a rueful grin. “But I should go. People will talk if they find out I’ve been here all night.
And it will get back to Ghost. He won’t like that,” he mumbled.
“No, he won’t,” I whispered. “And thank you for not taking advantage of me. It’s bad enough I don’t remember my first kiss. I can’t imagine if—”
“What?” Pocket's voice was sharp.
Mortified, I tore my eyes away from him. “It’s nothing.”
“That didn’t sound like nothing.” His hand slid up my cheek. “You don’t remember me kissing you?”
Mutely, I shook my head.
“And it was,” he swallowed hard, “your first kiss?”
I didn’t say a word as shame filled me. When he said it out loud, it sounded so pathetic. “I know it’s sad. I’m twenty-one and—”
“You’re perfect, Chloe. There’s nothing wrong with keeping yourself for someone special. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“But I’m—”
“Nothing wrong,” Pocket insisted, his hand slipping beneath my matted hair. “Close your eyes,” he ordered.
“Why?”
His breath floated against my face. Warm and soothing. “Because if I am your first kiss, then I want you to remember it. So close your eyes.”
I did what he asked without hesitation, holding my breath as he moved me closer to him.
And then his lips were on mine, brushing against them like he was sipping an expensive wine. Over and over again, they moved against mine until I couldn’t help myself. My hand reached out to tangle in his dark hair. My lips parted under his as I sighed.
Now kissing was more my thing than drinking one thousand percent.
A moan slipped between our lips as his tongue finally touched mine.
Tightening my grip on him, I pulled him further into my body and we fell down onto the mattress together.
Our mouths were hungrily devouring each other.
And it was like nothing I had ever experienced before.
I might not be drinking ever again, but this? Kissing I wanted to do every day.
Pocket knew how to make me feel like a woman, and he wasn’t pawing at me either. Part of me wanted him to, though. Under the thin t-shirt, my nipples were so hard they ached. I wanted his hands on them desperately.
Greedily, I grabbed his hand and tugged it to my chest.
“No.” He pulled away slightly and his eyes bored down into mine. “We don’t need to rush.”
Frowning, I scooted up the bed. I had thought that all men wanted to move things on quickly. At least, that’s what I had been told, and here I was willing and squirming with a need I didn’t understand and he didn’t want to.
“You don’t want to?”
Pocket’s eyes flashed. “Oh, I want to, but I won’t.”
My heart sank. “Because I don’t have experience? Because I’m too young for you?”
That’s what he had said last night. That I was a kid.
“No. Because I want this to be a good experience for you. So we will go slow. You don’t even know me, really.
Maybe after a few dates, you will dump my ass and move on to someone softer.
” He ran his hand down my side and slid it under my tee.
The feel of his fingers against my skin made me whimper. Pocket’s eyes flashed.
“You keep making noises like that and I’m going to forget I’m a gentleman.”
“You’re a gentleman?”
Throwing his head back, he boomed out a laugh. “Well, no, I’m not a gentleman, but I’m going to try to be one around you. Where would you like me to take you on our first date?”
“A date? I don’t know if I should. I mean—”
“Dinner then. You saved my life. The least I can do is take you to dinner. Somewhere nice because you deserve that.” He hovered over me. His lips were only inches from mine. “Can I take you out for dinner, Chloe?”
“I don’t have anything to wear.” I couldn’t keep wearing my housemate's clothes, and Ghost hadn’t been in touch with any orders about what I should do next. In fact, he would drop dead on the spot if he found out what I had been up to.
“I said I would take you home to grab your things, and I will, but we need to wait a while before I can drive you.” Pocket’s dark eyes glittered.
Moving his leg over mine, he shifted his weight on top of me.
I could feel something hard against my leg and I shivered.
He might be in boxers, but I could feel it. And it felt big.
“Why? Do you need to sober up?” I knew I had to get rid of this hangover before I tried travelling.
“No.” He chuckled. “I just want to spend some more time kissing you first.”