Chapter Three
Viv
Dinner had barely settled when I suggested spending the evening breathing in the crisp forest air while soaking in a hot tub.
It was my idea, so why am I hesitating?
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea, because I didn’t anticipate getting naked—well, almost naked, with the most handsome man I have ever seen.
It’s bad enough that we’re going to be sharing a room tonight, and now I have to climb into the hot tub and pretend I’m not checking out his body? And good Lord, what a body he has.
For years, I’ve had to endure Rick’s disgusting habit of walking around bare-chested. I was subjected to the unwelcome view of his torso for so long that I was certain I would never find another man attractive and yet, here we are.
I can’t look away from Kyle. Shirtless, his body is a piece of art.
His arms are resting on the edge of the hot tub, exposing the muscles of his biceps and forearms. I can tell he works out. Swimming or maybe track. He appears lean and strong with intricate ink that runs over his pecs and down his torso before disappearing into the water.
He’s breathtaking.
Quit stalling, Viv. Get in!
I try to psyche myself up but still, I make no move to climb in. Instead, I stand beside the tub with my towel clutched in my hands, shivering in the freezing winter air, staring longingly at the water. It looks so inviting with steam curling into the night, but I’m a nervous wreck.
I swallow when Kyle looks over, a smile playing on his lips, and my heart does a little flutter. “Coming in?” he asks, his voice a warm breeze that sends a shiver rolling through my body. “The water is nice, I promise you.”
Oh, I don’t doubt it.
I take in a deep breath, forcing a smile as I start for the edge. He’s watching me, and I can feel my cheeks burning as I get closer, my fingers trembling as I tug the towel off me. The idea was to jump into the water before he has time to see what I have on, but his gaze pins me in place and…
Even without glancing down, I know what he sees.
I didn’t pack a swimsuit, because I didn’t think swimming or soaking in hot tubs would be part of the itinerary on my “run for my life” trip. And surprisingly enough, a bikini wasn’t included in Pope’s duffel bags of supplies either.
So here I am. In my lacy underwear. Fighting the urge to cover my body from Kyle’s heated gaze. My nipples are hard, beading against my bra, and it isn’t all because of the chill.
“Viv,” he says, and I can’t tell if it’s in my head or if his voice really sounds a little hoarse. “It’s cold. Climb in.”
“Right,” I hum, dipping my toe to test the water. It’s so perfect that I shudder. Quickly, I step in and slide into the space across from him. My eyes flutter closed as heat spreads through my body and chases off the chill. “This is heaven.”
“Close,” he mutters, and there’s something in his voice that sends my eyes springing open. I flush when I find those dark green eyes locked on mine. I look away, turning to focus on the bubbles, on the steam…on anything but him.
“So, um, what’s it like working for the Steel Rebels?”
He smiles. “It has its moments.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, dipping lower into the water.
“How about we take turns asking each other questions?”
His words give me pause, and I brave a look up. “What if you ask a question I don’t want to answer?”
“Then you simply don’t answer, but to make things interesting, we’ll include a penalty for every question we don’t answer.”
“What kind of penalty?”
“The other person gets to decide.”
I bite my lip as I think his words over.
There are things about my life I would rather not speak out loud.
I know Kyle wants more details about why exactly I’m running from my mother and Rick, what they’ve done to me to make me so afraid, and I’m afraid that bringing them up will pull me back into a dark space.
But there’s also a part of me that’s terribly excited by the prospect of penalizing Kyle, or even more exciting… being penalized by him.
“Okay then,” I say, slicking my hands over my hair and leaning back to stare at the man. “You go first.”
“How old are you?”
I chuckle. “That’s easy enough. I just turned eighteen a week ago. My turn.” My heart flutters as I push the same question at him. “I’m usually good with ages, so I had you pinned at twenty-five, maybe twenty-six.”
“Twenty-six.”
“I was right.” I beam. “Do they recruit people your age into a motorcycle club? I mean, all the guys I see on TV are usually kinda old with long beards and wrinkled faces.”
“I believe it was my turn to ask a question.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?”
“No.”
He grins. “Your turn.”
“Why did you join the Steel Rebels?” I ask, curious as to why anyone would want to be part of a gang in the first place, but Kyle simply shakes his head.
I don’t miss the flash in his eyes, something akin to misery, but it’s gone before I can wonder too deeply about it. “You’re skipping the question?”
“Yes. So how will you penalize me?”
I bite my lip and think it over for a second. The first idea that slips into my head is to have him remove an article of clothing. Isn’t that what people do during games like this? But I blush when I realize he’s only wearing a pair of boxer briefs. Removing them would make him entirely naked!
I turn my head, staring out over the peaceful backyard of the cabin. Though the roads are almost completely clear, the yard still holds on to an expanse of snow, undisturbed since the last snowfall. “For your penalty, you have to run into the yard and make a snow angel.”
He raises a single brow, a smirk playing on that sexy mouth. “A snow angel?”
I blush even harder, hoping he’ll attribute the flush in my cheeks to the hot water.
Does he think that’s too childish? “If you’re scared…
oh!” I shriek when he climbs to his feet, splashing water at me playfully as he jumps out of the hot tub.
I nearly stop breathing when I spot the massive bulge pushing against his white boxer briefs, but too quickly he turns away and runs toward the yard.
He yelps when his bare skin hits the icy snow as he lies down, and he obligingly waves his arms and legs to make the shape of an angel.
I giggle at his antics when he jumps up and runs back toward me, making exaggerated faces with each press of his bare feet against the snow.
His mad dash gives me an excellent view of his strong limbs and gleaming naked torso, covered in tattoos.
As he sinks back into the hot water, he lets out a groan that makes my core clench. “You’d better be prepared for my question, Viv. I won’t take it easy on you if you don't answer it.”
I nod hesitantly, and he asks his next question without needing to stop and think, as if it had already been on his mind.
“Have you ever been kissed?”
My breath catches in my throat. That’s not the question I was expecting.
The answer is no, but for some reason, I can’t bring myself to admit this to Kyle. I know he already thinks of me as Knox’s little sister, but I don’t want him to know the true extent of my inexperience.
“I’ll take the penalty,” I say.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
I nod, swallowing deeply as something heated crosses those dark eyes and suddenly, I don’t care about the question at all. “I’m sure,” I say even as my heart flutters fiercely in my chest.
“Let me kiss you, Viv.”
My heart stops. Or maybe it’s the world that glides to a halt, I can’t tell. All I know is that the moment as Kyle crosses the distance to me is a blur, and when he stops in front of me, mere inches from my face, I realize I’m not breathing.
“Y-you want to kiss me?”
“It’s a penalty,” he rasps, his voice hoarse and so darn sexy. “Of course, you could always say no—”
“No! I mean, yes. You can kiss me.”
“You’re sure?” He’s closer now. So close we’re almost touching, his chest with mine. I resist the urge to push up against him and rub my nipples against his pecs, because what if the penalty is just a quick peck on the lips and I embarrass myself by throwing myself all over him?
Stop overthinking, Viv. Or he’ll think you’ve never been kissed before.
And we can’t have that. I was teased one too many times by friends for not having experienced my first kiss, but it didn’t feel right to just give it up to anyone.
Kyle might be a stranger, but he’s the first guy I’ve ever felt this kind of pull toward.
And I want this.
For him to give, or rather…take my first kiss.
Under the moonlight and the soft scent of the forest, I want this man that I’ve known for less than a day to be my first. So I stay still and wait for him to move closer. The promise of a kiss is a breath away. So achingly close that I could cry.
“I’m sure.”
His lips touch mine, swallowing the words before I’m done voicing them, and he steals my breath away completely.
I clamp my lips tightly and shut my eyes as he kisses me.
His fingers move to grip my nape and hold me in place as his mouth moves over mine and I’m afraid to do anything that might ruin the moment.
Kyle backs up a little and I figure it’s the end of the kiss. “Open your mouth for me, Vivienne,” he rasps.
“W-what—”
His mouth takes possession of mine and I gasp when his tongue sweeps inside my mouth.
His free hand snakes around my waist and he pulls me forward, water splashing between us as he settles me on his lap, causing my breasts to press against his sturdy chest. I wrap my arms around his shoulders to brace myself, blushing fiercely when I feel the hardness against my ass.
His mouth is warm and the kiss starts soft, coaxing, before his hand tightens around me and his mouth slants over mine with hunger and desperation. It drives me wild, and I let out a ragged moan.