3. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Lilli
When Friday rolls around, I’m resolved. Darcy is messing with me, and I’ll politely decline her invitation, but when she passes through the crowd with a smile, the answer dies on my lips.
Maybe this is all a ruse, but I need to know. With Miriam’s secrets and my own self-imposed anarchy, my world is already tipped on its axis.
I told Rachel that I had to do research in the library. Tonight is scripture night for our parents and they’re often home late. This buys me a few hours at least.
“Let’s go,” she says without a greeting, and I roll my eyes behind her back. Still, I follow.
At her car, a beat-up relic, I hesitate. Is it foolish to go somewhere alone with her?
“Don’t be a pussy,” she sneers, and I grit my teeth, before pulling open the door.
Once we’re on the road, I ask, “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” she says before turning up the music.
“Whatever,” I mutter, not that she can hear me over the sound.
She crosses through the downtown area, past the old train tracks that demarcate the other side. I shift in my seat when we round the water tower, and before me is an area I’ve never been to.
The houses slowly become more rundown until there’s not much left to see. On our left is a trailer park and I glance around curiously when she pulls in.
Clouds of dirt rise with each spin of her tires, and my cheeks flame when I spy an old guy sitting in a lawn chair in his front yard in nothing but a pair of boxers.
Averting my gaze, I meet the stare of an older woman standing in front of a broken-down trailer that saw better days about twenty years ago.
When Darcy parks before a sad rendition of the same and exits, I slowly follow, asking, “What’s going on?”
“Relax, you’ll see.”
Once inside, she grabs a beer from a tiny refrigerator and turns to me. “Want one?”
I hesitate but when she smirks, I summon a smile and hold out my hand. “Yes.”
Raising a brow, she hands me the beer and collapses next to where I’m sitting rigidly on the couch.
The inside is tiny but clean with a small kitchen facing the sofa. From here, I see two closed doors down the hall.
Beside me, Darcy takes a loud slurp of her beer. I stare at her wide-eyed before following suit.
Despite my unease, it feels strangely liberating to do something that I know my parents would not approve. My palms may be slick with sweat at the knowledge of what this could bring—a whipping at the least—but there’s a part of me that wants to see where this goes.
Miriam’s defiance opened a door and now I’m standing on the threshold wondering what might happen if I step through. Besides, pride may goeth before the fall, but I refuse to see Darcy’s mocking smile again.
Taking a long sip of mine, I ignore her chuckle as I grimace at the bitter bite while the foam fizzles on my tongue.
“So?” I ask, with another sip before hiding my burp behind my hand. Beer isn’t all that great, at least not from where I’m sitting.
She rolls her eyes but pulls back the curtain, revealing a surprisingly new and clean trailer beside hers. The lights are on, but the curtains are closed, barring the sight of anything salacious going on inside.
“In an hour, just wait.”
Nodding, I drink my beer while she’s in the bathroom, fluffing her hair and changing into an outfit that wouldn’t clothe a toddler in. She looks good, just bare.
After the designated hour and another fifteen minutes, I stumble to my feet and move to walk down the hall, my fuzzy brain not computing as a car pulls into the slot next door.
The bright lights catch my eye, and I lean over, pushing the curtains aside. My mouth drops open, and I watch as my daddy emerges from his sensible sedan, wearing his church suit as he marches to the door.
I can’t believe my eyes and I shake my head when he slips inside the trailer, closing the door behind him.
“See? Told you?” Darcy says.
“That doesn’t prove anything,” I whisper, knowing I’m fighting my own disbelief.
What else would he be doing here on a Friday night when he’s supposed to be reading scripture?
“Ha! Fine, c’mon.” She grabs my arm, and I wobble on my feet before following her out the door and behind the trailer.
She skips to the other side and pulls me in toward the window of her neighbor and I hear quite clearly, the moans and groans of two people…
“Fucking,” Darcy says with delight turning to me with a wide smile that fades at my expression.
“Shit, c’mon.” She pulls me back to the trailer and I collapse to the couch before burying my face in my hands.
He’s with some other woman. Right now. The man who whipped me for saying damn once. The man who shamed me when I asked if I could wear lip gloss. The man who…
Glancing up at Darcy who’s leaning against the counter with a frown, I say, “I’m sorry.”
Her shoulders drop and she looks away. “For what?”
“Him. All of it,” I say. “I can’t believe…”
Darcy sighs and waves her hand. “It’s whatever.”
“No,” I say standing. “Can I have another beer?”
An hour later, I’m weaving in place and Darcy is laughing hysterically.
“You’re shit-faced. Epic.”
“Hmm,” I mumble, turning to her with a silly smile. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
Waving my hand I say, “Anywhere! Somewhere fun.”
She eyes me closely before saying, “Fuck it. Let’s go.”
Darcy’s car shudders and whines as she pumps the gas and turns the ignition. Finally, it starts, and she exhales before caressing the dash. “You’ve still got it, you sexy beast.”
“Sexy beast?” I giggle and she swats my arm.
“Ha! This car does more for me than any dick ever has.”
With a smile, I lean my head back and close my eyes. Since Darcy already lives on this side of town, it’s a short drive and I’m humming under my breath when we pull up to the racetrack.
With a wide smile, I say, “Fun.”
She rolls her eyes and studies me before saying, “Hold on.”
Before I know it, she’s coaxed me out of my button-down shirt, leaving me in a camisole, and she’s tied the ends of my skirt, exposing my thighs.
“Better,” she says before pulling out her lipstick.
“No red,” I say, and she blinks before selecting a deep purple hue.
Pulling my hair from my braid, I glance in the mirror and admire the way my dark eyes pop against my dark lips.
“Let’s roll. I need a toke,” she says, and I happily oblige, my head all buzzy.
We blend into a group that I don’t recognize, and when she hands me what I presume to be marijuana, I shrug and inhale heavily.
My breath wooshes out of me in a choke before I gasp at the burn. I’m subjected to a round of laughter from my peers, but I pay them no mind.
Holy crap. My lungs are burning.
After a while, my brain starts to dance. My limbs get all noodly and with a giggle, I twirl around before bumping into a wall behind me.
The wall grabs my arms, and I slide my gaze up a hard chest, strong chin, and pretty lips formed in a frown before meeting Wolf’s gaze.
And then I giggle, pressing my hands against his warm pecs. His eyes flare, turning a molten granite before he pushes me down on a log and says coldly, “What are you doing?”
Darcy shrugs, her lips forming a pretty pout. I don’t like it. I don’t like how she looks at him—at all.
“We’re having fun,” she says.
“By playing with children?” he growls.
“H-Hey,” I hiccup, before covering a burp. “Oh, excuse me.”
With a sheepish smile, I meet his wide-eyed gaze and shake my head, before listing to the left and righting myself.
“I’m not, I’m not, shoot,” I say, waving my arms.
“Fuck me,” he mutters, grabbing my arm. “You need to go home.”
“No!” I wrench away and drop to my ass.
He sighs and I squint.
“Why are you so grumpy?”
“Grumpy?” He rears back, raising his brows and his eyes go soft before he shakes his head. “You're wasted. You need to go home and hope your dad doesn’t spank your ass.”
“More like whip me,” I mumble.
“What’s that?” he asks.
“Nothing. Geez. I’m not going home.” I cross my arms to emphasize my point but the world tips on its axis and I’m falling forward.
Wolf catches me and wraps me under his arm before stalking away. From behind him, I hear Darcy call, “See you around, Lilli.”
“Yeah,” I say, closing my eyes when my stomach starts to churn. Ugh.
“Um,” I say, swallowing down the saliva pooling in my mouth.
“Nope, you’re going home, baby girl.”
My insides warm at the endearment but I shake my head and push against his arm. “Uh, I’m going to be sick.”
He drops me like a bag of potatoes, and I wince when I hit my knees, before retching horribly. Everything burns, including my lungs as I sag into the dirt.
“Um,” I hum, wiping my mouth. “Do I have the flu?”
He chuffs, “You’re not sick. You’re wasted.”
“Oh.”
I don’t protest when he helps me to my feet, but I do stumble along until he turns with a vicious scowl and barks, “Home.”
“Okay, you don’t have to yell.”
His eyes narrow and he leans into my face. “Are you sassing me?”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
I’m quite sure I wouldn’t dream of speaking to the big bad biker this way if I had a filter, but I don’t. I also wish I had a breath mint.
With another sigh, he pulls me along, and this time I close my eyes in misery. My head hurts. I think I’m going to puke again and my dad’s a disgusting excuse for a human being.
On the wings of that thought, I sniffle and Wolf glances down at me, wide eyed. If I weren’t so miserable, I’d find his panicked expression funny.
Who knew the bad ass biker would balk at a few sniffles?
“What? No tears. Shit, you are just a baby.”
“What? No, I’m not. Take it back.” I pull away, crossing my arms and stomping my foot.
He rounds on me and says, “Really?”
Ignoring my juvenile tactics, I glance around for inspiration before dropping my arms. “Yes. Really. Would a baby do this?”
With jerky movements, I pull my shirt and bra off in one go, flinging them behind me.
His eyes drop to my bare chest and his nostrils flare, the pretty gray hue darkening to charcoal. All thoughts of proving my point fade into a liquid heat that burns me on the spot when he licks his lips and brings his molten eyes back to mine.
I’m frozen in place, caught in his snare, and wishing for things I’m not sure I know how to follow through with.
He reaches out and traces his finger down my skin, starting at my shoulder. Goosebumps erupt as the rough pad crosses over the globe of my breast. Shivering, I suck in a breath, my nipples forming hard peaks.
“Fuck,” he growls, and the sound sends a thrill straight to my core.
Unfortunately, the spell is broken when some guy says, “Fuck man, did you see that?”
Wolf’s head whips around, his hand dropping from my skin.
I shudder at the loss.
His eyes are icy when he turns back to me, and I squeak when he pulls me flush against his chest.
Only the thin material of his shirt separates us, and I bury my nose in his warmth, breathing deep. The musky scent of him tingles in my nose and I whimper.
My skin burns. My core is pulsing, and I move to tip my head back, but he shoves me once more into his chest.
“Yeah man, fuck her up,” the guy says, and Wolf stiffens.
“Fuck off,” he barks, causing a shiver to roll down my spine. But when he shifts, I can’t resist, arching a little closer to him and moaning at the sweet slide.
“Fuck,” he grunts, tipping my head back, and searching my gaze. His eyes blaze as he says, “You're playing with fire, baby girl.”
“I like fire,” I whisper, and when he groans, I arch once more, heat spiraling through me in waves.
His arms tighten before he steps back, averts his gaze, and pulls his vest off.
I watch, squirming at the burn I’ve never felt before as he removes his shirt. Only to gasp at the glory of his chest, all smooth skin, and hard muscles. More beautiful tattoos cover his torso and my fingers tingle to touch the designs.
It’s gone all too soon when I’m engulfed and I wobble as he shoves his shirt over my head, obeying like a recalcitrant child and shoving my arms through the holes.
All the while, I’m fighting back the flood of disappointment because I’d hoped this was heading somewhere far less clothed.
When I’m covered to his satisfaction, he dons his vest, grabs my hand without looking at me and leads me to another group of guys, snapping at the one seated nearby, “Keys.”
The guy looks at me with a shark-like smile, before tossing him a set of keys, and saying, “Jailbait, now?”
“Fuck off,” Wolf says, grabbing me once more and pushing me toward a truck parked beyond the tree line.
He should look silly wearing that dang vest with nothing underneath but that’s far from the case. His arms gleam in the lowlight of the fire. When he turns, I stare at his pecs, blushing to the roots of my hair when I consider what it would feel like to run my tongue over his nipples.
Once again, I fight a surge of something that flows through my veins, ending in my pulsing core.
When I stare at the door dumbly, he opens it, grabs me up by my waist, and deposits me inside. I bounce on the seat and groan, grabbing my stomach while he rounds the truck and gets behind the wheel.
Without another word, he backs out and drives to the street before making a left. The bumps jerk me around and I lean my head against the cool window, taking deep breaths in the hopes that I don’t vomit in his friend's vehicle.
After a short ride across town, he pulls down my street and I sit up, staring at my house still lit up from within.
Shoot.
“What time is it?”
“Eleven,” he rumbles, and I wince. I’m in so much trouble if my parents are home.
“Um, can you just stop right here?”
He pulls to the curb, and I push open the door, dread snaking down my spine. I've never done something so egregious before and I’m sure I’m not going to like the consequences.
“Baby girl?”
The husky tone brings me around and I clutch the door as he assesses me, his gray eyes unreadable. After a moment, he says, “Stay away from the track.”
“Why?”
“They’re not your people.”
“And you?” I whisper, searching his cool gaze.
He pulls his lips into a wicked smirk, and I shiver. “I’d eat you alive.”
Biting my lip, I nod, ignoring the way his eyes flash, before shutting the door and heading toward my punishment.
I’ll deal with Wolf and his warning later, assuming I survive Daddy’s displeasure but when I enter, hell has already broken loose.