8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
“What was that about?” Woods glares at me. I should come clean about Willow and me. He’s not stupid. On some level, he already has to know.
I know the second I’ll do he’s going to kill me. He’s warned me several times what will happen to any man who lays a finger on her. I’m not scared of him, but I’ve worked my ass off for this club and I hate that I’m betraying my best friend.
“She was showing her ass. Had too much to drink and was grinding all up on some fucker that was getting a little too handsy.”
“She never gets shitfaced.” His tone comes out accusatory.
I weave my fingers together behind my head, cracking my knuckles and stretching. “That’s probably my fault. She saw me doing a line off some whore’s ass.” The lie rolls off my tongue like butter.
“Fuck, man. I’ve got to ask and don’t bullshit me. Do you have something going on with my sister?” He takes a hard drag from his cigarette. His nostrils flare and he balls his fist like he’s about to lay my ass out.
“No. Fuck no.” I’m a terrible liar. “You know, I think of her as my own blood.” That used to be true. I looked at her like a bratty kid sister, but that’s changed. I’ve tried to fight it, but I think deep down I’ve always loved her in some way.
He shrugs and relaxes his shoulders. “If you say so.” He snubs his cigarette out with his boot. “I’ll catch up with you later. Keep an eye on Low. If anything happens to her, it’s your ass I’ll be shoving a boot up.”
“She’ll be fine.”
“She’d better be,” he growls and walks off with Wicked.
Fuck me. We are going home tomorrow. He’s got a stick up his ass because Faye chose not to come. He needs laid. Hell, we all do.
I open my cell and check the tracking app I have synced to Willow’s phone.
Since her little stunt at the strip club the other night, it’s better if I keep tabs.
Besides that, we’re too close Lamb Society hunting grounds.
It’s no secret that they kidnap, trade, sell, and breed women.
They’d be fools to try something with KOAMC property, but there’s a first time for everything.
I follow the beacon on my screen. I find her easy enough. She’s sitting on a log outside her tent nursing a beer, talking to Madz and that Smoke guy from West Virginia.
Madz shoots me a knowing grin. It’s a wonder my ears aren’t on fire. I’m sure Willow has been bitching about me to her. The two of them have grown quite chummy. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.“Let’s give them some privacy.” Madz gets to her feet, taking Smoke with her.
Willow doesn’t acknowledge my presence.
I sit down next to her and kick her boot with the toe of mine, knocking my knee against hers. She’s never been good at giving me the silent treatment. “How long are you going to be nursing this snit?” I elbow her, and she returns the favor. Only hers is pointy as a damn tack.
“Fuck.” I rub at my side, and I catch the semblance of a smile crinkling at the corner of her mouth. “What? You think this shit is funny? That fuckin’ hurt.”
“Poor baby.” Her mouth snaps shut as she realizes she has broken her vow of silence already.
“Come on. It’s our last night here. I’m sorry I yelled at you.
” Sometimes I forget how young she is. That I’m ten years older than her.
That I’m putting a lot of pressure on her by asking her to keep whatever this is on the down low.
Sure Madz knows about us, but I know she won’t rat us out to Woods.
She’s got it too good living at the clubhouse for free and being on the payroll. “You can’t stay mad at me.”
“Aren’t you afraid my brother is lurking around?”
“He’s preoccupied.”
“With what?”
“You know better than to ask me that.”
She rolls her eyes.
“We’ll do whatever you want.”
“I should make you go stick your dong in one of those ween measuring tubes.”
I snort. “Baby, if you want to see my dick, all you’ve gotta do is ask.” I go to unzip my jeans, and she scrambles to put her hand over mine in an attempt to stop me.
“Can we catch the last of Bad Habits’ set?”
“Anything for you, gorgeous.” I flick the tip of her nose, earning me a flip of her middle finger. “That’s my girl.”
I thread my fingers through hers, knowing no one’s paying attention to us.
It’s dark and everyone’s drunk and caught up in their own shit or off getting laid.
I feel like a dickhead. I’ve been inventing meetings and keeping busy to keep Woods from seeing me with Willow. He’s already asking questions.
It’s not only pissing off Woods that eats at me.
I was raised by a womanizing, alcoholic, cheating bastard.
I’m terrified of being just like my father.
I’ve got his taste for hard liquor and easy pussy.
I’ve never been faithful to any woman I’ve dated.
I’m not good at the whole love and commitment thing.
And Willow deserves to be treated like a queen.
Woods knows I’m not capable. That’s why he tells me to leave her alone.
He knows I’m going to be just like my father. Hell, my track record proves I already am. Any woman tied to me will have her heart broken. The way I’ve treated women like Kaylene and Madz. They aren’t the only ones. Just the most recent on my roster.
Willow isn’t like them.
She means something to me, but I know I’m only going to let her down in the end. But right now, I’m being a selfish prick.
I’m addicted to the way she looks at me like I’m a better man than my father was. Even if it’s a lie because our hearts eat lies when they are hungry.
We blend into the crowd that’s left. I pull her back to my front. My chin resting on the top of her head. The band is on its last song for the night. A cover of Never Say Never by Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson.
Out here in the dark, lost in the crowd, it’s easy to pretend that I’m not my father’s son. That I’m capable of loving someone. That I can be good for Willow. That I can deserve all the sweetness inside her. All the love she so freely gives me.
We walk around the edge of the property sharing a couple of beers until we wind back around to our tents. I have every intention of kissing her goodnight and leaving things there, but Woods isn’t back. He’s not here to remind me or deter me.
I follow my best friend’s little sister into her tent, terrified of fucking everything up, yet unable to stop myself.
She kicks off her boots and shimmies out of her shorts.
She’s illuminated by the low glow of a solar-powered lantern that’s about lost its charge.
I take off my boots and stare at her in nothing but her tank top and panties, looking like a dream.
Her hair hangs over her shoulders in loose waves.
Freckles from being out in the sun dusts the bridge of her nose and her shoulders.
There’s never been a prettier sight.
She sucks her lower lip between her teeth.
Fuck me, I am in so much trouble. My cock is practically weeping in my jeans.
I want nothing more than to be inside her, but I swore I wouldn’t fuck her until I’m worthy of her.
I can’t go back on that. Not with her.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Admiring the view, pipsqueak.”
One day I’m scared she’s going to see the real me, and the day she does I’m going to lose her. I’m not ready for that to happen. I refuse to let it.
She crooks a finger at me and pats the empty space next to her.
I crawl forward, moving deeper into the tent, wondering if God is going to strike me down right here because Willow is an angel and I’m a devil.
“I shouldn’t be in here. Your brother is going to skin me alive.”
“He doesn’t own me.” She lies on her side, and I lie next to her on my back.
“You should sleep. We’re riding out early.”
“I’m not tired.” She looms over me, the tips of her hair brushing my face as her lips move closer to mine.
“You’re really testing my self-control,” I murmur as her lips move against mine. The tip of her tongue traces the bow of my upper lip.
“You really need to shave,” she tells me, cupping my jaw. Her tongue slips between my lips, and what little grip I have on my sanity slips. I move, rolling us so that I’m holding my weight over her.
My cut slides down my arms and is tossed to the side. My shirt is next to go. I keep my jeans on even though her fingers undo the button and zipper.
I’m coming apart at the seams. I’m nearly delirious with this need to consume her. To claim her as mine. I keep telling myself that I can’t take it that far, but right now I’m so far gone for her. I’m poison and she’s wine. If I had a soul, I’d sell it to make her mine.
I kiss down her throat, carving a path down one side and back up the other while I palm one of her tits under her bra. “This needs to come off.” She nods as I bring her tank over her head.
I go back on my calves as she shits up to unhook her bra. She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Don’t get shy on me now, sweetheart. Let me see you.” I pry her hands from her chest.
Fuck, her tits are perfection. Not too big, but not small.
I drop forward, sliding one of my legs between hers. She goes to slide her panties off, and I stop her. “I meant what I said. I won’t fuck you until I earn it.”
“You don’t want to?”
I put her hand on my cock over my boxer briefs. “You feel that. I more than want to, but I respect you too damn much to use you.”
“I don’t need you to be a gentleman or to handle me with care. I want you, Gray. I need you.”
“You’ve got me, Low. You’ve fucking got me, but for now this is all I can give.”
“I’ll take you any way I can have you.”
She’ll take me any way she can have me.
Fuck, she’s sweet.
Her lips meet mine and I take care of her with my fingers and tongue.
Her nails score down my back, leaving a mark.