Chapter Six
“Nah, no woman would do that,” Dinah said.
“What?”
“Argue for a man, or beg to have a man choose her.” She and Road had been arguing now for at least an hour over the unrealistic representation of … love within movies and television. Even as she stared across the room at Road, she couldn’t believe they were having this debate.
“Ah, but you think it would be perfectly acceptable when it’s the other way around?” he asked.
“No, I don’t. For me, it feels a little tacky.”
“Come on, you cannot tell me you wouldn’t love the idea of two or more men fighting for you?”
She sighed and grabbed her bowl of ice cream, walking it back into the kitchen. Dinah had lost count of the number of these dates they had enjoyed. It felt like every time she got off work, Road was at her home, or her work, waiting to spend time with her. She couldn’t recall the last time she was alone, not that it was a problem.
Since her mother died, she had been quite lonely. She’d always found it hard to make friends, because after her mother’s attack, she hadn’t trusted anyone.
Road was the first person she kind of trusted, and that had come with him threatening her. Now, that seemed like such an odd night to her. She felt so comfortable with him, which again was why she’d opened the spare bedroom for him to use to crash on the nights it got too late for him to go home.
“More than one guy chasing me? Hell, yeah, I would hate it.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Hate it. That for me is not true love. Going on different dates with different guys, trying to remember stuff, and being pulled left, right, and center. To me, that sucks. In a big way.” She shook her head. “No, I refuse to think that. Love shouldn’t be about competition. It should be acceptance, and going out of your way to be with a person.”
“Have you dated a lot?” he asked.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m just curious if you’ve dated.”
“It doesn’t matter if I’ve dated.” She walked into the kitchen, not liking the way the conversation was going. This was supposed to be friendly banter, talking about movies and television shows, or more specifically, the storylines. Not about her own personal experiences with love.
“Oh, come on. You sound like you know a thing or two. Have there been multiple guys attempting to win your affection?” he asked.
She put her bowl in the sink and spun around. “Stop mocking me.”
“I’m not mocking you.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“I’m curious, that is all. You sound like you know a thing or two when it comes to … you know, the male mind and dating multiple men. I only know it from the perspective of dating women.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Have you been part of a competition to win a woman’s affection?” she asked.
“No, I wouldn’t do that shit. If a woman can’t choose me, then so be it. I’m a guy. It’s different for us. Tell me about yours.”
Dinah sighed and knew Road wasn’t going to let this go. She spun back around to the sink and began to wash her bowl as well as his. “I’ve never dated.”
“What?”
“You heard me, Road. I’ve never dated. Never had the time to go on one date.”
“Wait. That’s not possible. You must have gone on dates.”
She grabbed a towel and the bowl, and turned toward him. “When? After taking care of my mom? Studying? Learning? Working? When do I have time to do anything else? Trust me, dating men after what I saw happen to my mom, was off the cards. You’re the only man I’ve spent any time with, and trust me, I know this is not a date date.”
He kept staring at her as she finished cleaning her dishes.
“Why are you looking at me funny?” she asked.
“Because I’m trying to figure something out.”
“Figure what out?”
“Well, if you’ve never been on any kind of date, and all you’ve done your whole life is work and take care of your mom, I’m curious if you’re trying to tell me something.”
“This conversation is pointless, and we need to move on.” She attempted to brush past him, but for some reason, Road was not letting this go. She didn’t know why he wasn’t, and in all honesty, she didn’t want to think of the reasons.
“You’re a virgin,” he said.
She shrugged. What more could she do? “So?” she asked.
He jerked back. “I don’t have anything. No diseases or anything. You’re not going to catch the virgin bug. Trust me, I’ve heard once it’s gone, it isn’t coming back.”
Any other time, he would have probably laughed at that.
“Why?” he asked.
Dinah frowned. “Are you seriously asking me why I’m still a virgin?”
“At least you admit it.”
“I didn’t deny it before. Why are you so confusing? This is not hard math. My mother was attacked by a man she didn’t want to be with. As her punishment for denying him, he ruined her life and career. Trust me, to a young woman, she takes notice, and I realized I didn’t want to get to know any kind of man that could do that.”
“Sergey is a different kind of man.”
“Yeah, I know, but with everything going on, taking care of my mother, trying to give her something to live for, dating wasn’t in the cards.”
“Did you even have guys that asked?”
“There were guys that asked, that wanted to, but … I loved my mom. I wanted to spend all my time with her. She was a sweetheart. Would never hurt anyone.” She pressed her lips together. This was not what she wanted to spend her evening doing. “I’m kind of tired, I think it’s time I just go to bed.”
She didn’t even wait for him to argue with her. He had a room to himself, so he could choose to stay or leave. She moved toward the back of the house, and all too soon, she was grabbed from behind, spun around, and hugged. It took Dinah a second to realize what was happening, and then, when she figured it out, she held onto him, not wanting to let go.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
And for some reason, she felt like everything was going to be okay, which was insane, because this was Road. He’d attempted to attack her during the first night of getting to know one another. In some twisted way, he’d become one, if not her only, best friend. Raine certainly hadn’t come back to apologize.
Dinah had already placed her name on the calendar for when Raine would be back. When her hair needed styling, the only person she liked doing her hair was Dinah.
****
“What about kisses?” Road asked.
It had been several days since he discovered Dinah was a virgin. He couldn’t believe it, and had even asked a few of the club what it was like for a virgin. He’d tried to talk to some of the club women, but they thought he was hitting on them. There was a time he would have used the club women, but since meeting Dinah, the appeal of a woman flinching from his touch didn’t appeal.
He liked being around Dinah. She didn’t stare at his scars, or make them obvious. She laughed and yelled, and glared at him. Never did she flinch. There were nights he forgot he had them, and it was only when he was in the bathroom and saw his reflection in the mirror that it came flooding back.
Dinah had that ability to make him forget. And he found it addictive.
It was refreshing to be around someone who didn’t give a fuck about the way he looked.
Dinah sighed and put her fork on the table.
“Okay, you know what, we’ll do the whole Q and A thing you clearly want to do right now. What do you want to know about kisses?” she asked.
“Have you ever been kissed?”
“By a guy?” she asked.
“Yes, of course by a guy, or a girl.”
She rolled her eyes. “No.”
“On both counts?”
“Yes, unless you’re counting when I kissed my mother on the cheek, or she would kiss me.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Nah, thanks.”
She giggled.
“Then no, no kissing. What else?” she asked.
“You’ve not even been felt up?”
“Wow, where do you come up with these questions?”
“Simple, dates and fumbling lead to something, and you know—”
“Let me stop you right there. I’m a virgin. Men terrified me after what happened. If you want me to keep repeating the same cycle, I will. I have not been hugged, kissed, or had sex. Nor have I been felt up.”
“So, does that mean you’ve never had an orgasm?” he asked. He watched her face go bright red. “I don’t even know if that is a yes or no right now.”
She sighed and looked down at her plate. “You as well as I know, Road, you don’t need a man to have an orgasm. Has every orgasm you’ve experienced come from a woman?”
“Oh,” he said.
He hadn’t even thought of that and now he couldn’t help but imagine Dinah touching herself. He could imagine her in bed, late at night, feeling between her thighs. Did she touch herself right? Did she make it feel so good?
Road watched as she picked up her fork again and started to eat.
“You ever been curious?” he asked.
“Wow, you know, when you have kids, I can’t help but wonder if they are going to be as inquisitive as you,” she said.
“I don’t have kids yet, and I don’t plan to have any.”
“Why?” she asked.
He paused for a second. He’d been open and honest with her the whole time he’d known her. Not that he’d talked about the personal life of being at the Evil Fallen Bratva MC. She didn’t need to know what he did.
“I’ve got a job to do, and a kid, he or she, doesn’t need to grow up with a father on a mission to make this world safer.”
There was silence and he watched her as she lifted her head and looked at him.
“You’re talking about Sergey Golubev,” she said.
“Yes.”
“You plan to kill him?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not even worried that I’ll go to the police?”
He laughed. “You’ve had many chances to go to the police in the last few weeks, and not once have you, because I do believe you said they are not to be trusted, so, no, I don’t believe you will.”
“Isn’t this some kind of bad thing?” she asked. “Won’t your club be angry at you for telling me?”
“No, because I have a feeling you’ve got the same vendetta I do,” he said.
“Yeah, but I guess the only difference between us is that you can do something about yours?” She tilted her head to the side and raised both of her brows.
“I’m getting there.” Road wasn’t happy with the lack of progress they were making. He knew Nikki, Golubev’s eldest son, had been in touch with Brute, and asked them to back off for the time being. He didn’t like it.
Now was the time to strike at Golubev. If they allowed him to get stronger, he’d come after the club and they would be royally fucked. However, with Brute now dealing with a wife and having a kid on the way in a matter of weeks, he’d changed.
He knew Brute would still make decisions for the club that would keep them all alive, but Road wanted action. He wanted his revenge.
Damn it, he wanted to see the Golubev fucking burn and that included the likes of Nikki. He didn’t know when the bastard had decided to start working against his father, but he’d made some decisions that would cost any man his soul.
Road had, and glancing over at Dinah, he knew there was one he’d already made that was coming back to bite him in the ass.
“We’re getting off subject here. Have you ever been kissed by a guy?” he asked, trying to stay focused on Dinah and her virginal state.
She pursed her lips. “You already know the answer to that question.”
“No?”
When she rolled her eyes that way, he loved it. She looked so adorable, and inpatient, and he wanted to keep irritating her just to see it.
“No, there. I’ve not been kissed by a guy. Wow, Road, you are so obsessed with this.”
“Do you want to be?” he asked.
She took a deep breath. “What? Do you think I should just go up to some random guy, grab him and kiss him?” She giggled.
“No, but you could kiss me.” He didn’t like the feelings that evoked in him from her suggestion. There was no way any other guy was going to touch her. He wouldn’t allow it, and that felt odd for Road.
He’d used women in the pas t— a lot of the m— and he didn’t care what that meant. Women had been a commodity, an easy way to gain information, and now as he looked at Dinah, he saw something different. Her plump red lips looked so inviting, and knowing no other man had touched them, well, it turned him on. Dinah was new to everything, and for the first time in awhile, Road felt an addiction.
“Nah, I can’t kiss you.” She got to her feet, picked up her plate, and walked into the kitchen.
He followed her through.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because … you’re my friend and friends don’t go around experimenting on each other.” She frowned.
“Is it because of my scars?” he asked. “Is that why?”
She spun around, put her plates on the counter, and then gave him her full attention. “Are you being real right now? Are you seriously asking me that?”
“I’m just … I’m curious is all. That is all.” He held his hands up. “Aren’t you?”
“About kissing?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I guess I have been, but what you’re suggesting is not right.”
“Why not?” he asked. “I’m a willing volunteer.”
“You’re more than happy for me to use you as practice for kissing?”
“Go ahead, kiss me. See if you even like it.”
She pressed her lips together and he truly thought she was going to deny him but then she frowned and stepped toward him, closing the small distance between them.
Road watched her and in that moment, he saw just how beautiful she was. Her long brown hair had been styled into a curl. Last night, she had those curler things in her hair, kind of like she did the first night. He’d been watching her take care of herself for the past couple of weeks. It surprised him they had only been friends a short time, when it already felt like a lifetime, and not in a bad way either.
Her hands landed on his chest and she jerked back as if she had gotten burnt from his touch. He reached for her and placed her hands behind his neck. “You’ve got to get really close to kiss.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Then start out slow,” he said.
“How?”
He kissed her lips, just the lightest of touches, and Road’s lips tingled. It had been years since he felt a woman’s lips. No one had dared get close to his face since he had gotten his scars.
Road jerked back.
“What?” she asked. “Was it wrong?”
He cupped either side of her face and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. There was so much he’d taken for granted, but he also knew this was different because of Dinah. Leaning in close, he brushed his lips against hers, and he heard her subtle moan. It was so quiet, yet it felt like such a loud, erotic sound. No woman had made that sound.
The moment his lips touched hers, Road lost all sense. Sliding his fingers into her hair, he gripped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. She tightened her hands around his neck, and he felt her press her body against his. She felt so incredible. Full, ripe tits, thick, juicy thighs, curves in all the right places. This woman was his walking dream, and he had only just realized it.