Chapter Three
“How does that look?”
Kelley looked at the doorway, and the truth was, she found it so beautiful.
She had opted to have the blue frosted lights around the door of her home.
With Crow’s help, it was really starting to come to life, and it looked so nice.
She pressed her hands together, let out a little laugh, and told him so.
He chuckled. “I aim to please.” And he gave her a wink. Stepping back, he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer.
This was not helping her stay grounded. She kept telling herself that falling for Crow was a fool’s errand. Each time she tried to pull away, he did or said something that pulled her closer, and she couldn’t bring herself to stop it. She didn’t want to stop it.
He was everything to her. And she knew that made her a fool.
“Do you want some hot chocolate?” she asked, pulling away from him and going into the house before he could say anything.
Shrugging off her sweater, because she’d gotten the house toasty warm, she went straight to the kitchen.
Kelley loved having Crow around. But there was one tiny problem—she didn’t want him to leave.
Also, having these feelings for him and not acting on them was getting harder.
She was aware of him all the damn time. Even going to bed at night, knowing he was just across the hall.
This was a nightmare.
She used to find comfort in him being around, and she looked forward to his company with relish. She still did, only now it felt ... darker.
Running fingers through her hair, she put some milk into the saucepan and placed it on the stove to warm through. She felt nervous.
“Are you okay?” Crow asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She didn’t turn to look at him.
He didn’t take the hint, and she felt as he moved closer, and then closer. Her heart started to race as he was nearly ... there. She felt him at her back.
“Kelley, you know you can talk to me. Don’t you?”
She turned toward him, and it was like all the distance faded. She looked up at him, and the words got stuck in her throat. There was no way for her to speak or say anything. He looked so tempting. So sexy. With every fiber of her being, she tried to keep herself contained, but she couldn’t do it.
Even as everything screamed in her mind to not get close to him, to not close that tiny bit of a distance, to keep everything good between them, her body had other ideas. She wasn’t going to touch him. Kelley screamed at her mind to not mess this up.
For five years, they had been friends, and nothing had come between them, until that very moment.
She didn’t move around him. Instead, she put her hands on his chest, and Crow didn’t stop her.
Stop, Kell, what the hell are you doing? Stop. Stop.
Only, she circled her hands around his neck, and then she kissed him. She had not kissed a man before in her life. She hadn’t even kissed a boy.
At first, Crow didn’t do anything. His hands were by his sides, and Kelley knew she had made a giant mistake. Kissing him was not a good thing. Then, it was like he realized what he was doing, and suddenly his arm banded around her waist, pulled her in close, and he kissed her.
She melted against him, unable to pull away, as Crow took control.
He didn’t hold back. He kissed her hard, taking her breath away.
She had every intention of keeping her eyes open and watching, only they closed against her will.
She couldn’t help herself. She fell hard and deep, and there was no way back.
She whimpered his name. He ran a hand down her back, gripping her ass, as the other cupped the back of her neck and held her tightly within his arms. It felt so good, being that close to him and not wanting to let go.
He made her heart race, and there was no getting away from it.
She felt her pussy go slick, and she moaned his name. She was desperate for him, hungry.
There was no turning back. It felt so damn good.
And then, Crow stopped and pulled away. His lips looked red, and Kelley felt how swollen hers were, and she didn’t even need to press her fingers to them.
“I’m sorry,” he said. And in the next breath, he was out the door.
Kelley came back to reality like a bucket of cold water, or more importantly, with the spillage of milk over the side of the saucepan. She quickly reached for it and took it off the heat.
Crow had run out of the house.
That kiss had been incredible, but she also knew it could be the end of their friendship, and knowing that, she felt utterly heartbroken. She didn’t want to lose him, even as a friend.
Stupid impulses.
Stupid desires.
Stupid needs.
She hated herself.
****
Crow tried to avoid the clubhouse. There was a room for him, or so he had been told.
Several of the guys were already there, and he spotted the Christmas tree the moment he fucking entered.
The desire to go and pull the fucking thing down was strong, but he held off.
Now was not the time to lose his temper. That would come soon enough.
He was angry.
He wasn’t quite sure who had kissed who, but he had let it go further. The feel of Kelley in his arms, the sweetness of her kiss, was enough to drive any man crazy.
“You know, you can go to the clubhouse, and the booze is free there,” Willow said.
Willow was Rebel’s woman. The two had fallen in love around Christmastime, and he believed they were the proud parents of two kids. He wasn’t quite sure about the kids. He was never around long enough to see them, and at this time of night, nearing eleven, they were never up.
“Yeah, I’m happy here.”
She chuckled. “Rebel said you avoided the clubhouse at all costs. Just so you know, it’s not infected with anything, and it does get cleaned regularly.”
“I don’t care about germs.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s up?” she asked.
“Do I look like I want to talk?” he asked. He knew he was risking a beating from Rebel, for the way he talked to Willow. Right now, he deserved it.
“Yeah, you do, actually.” She tucked some hair behind her ear and looked completely unfazed as she took a seat. “Spill it.”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“Does this have to do with a certain woman in Creek?” Willow asked.
He glared at her.
“Come on, I’m married to your leader, and I hear the instructions you give, and you’re always calling in and asking about her.” She shrugged. “It’s not hard to realize that little Miss Kelley Rade has your interest.”
“She’s a kid.”
“She’s a grown woman.” She rolled her eyes. “You know, girls grow up. Look at me, manning this bar, and I was a little girl once. Now, I’m a wife, mother, a business owner, and an old lady.”
“I didn’t realize you talked this much.”
She laughed. “No one told me you were grumpy.”
“Fuck off.”
Again, it was like he said some kind of joke that just made her laugh. “Look, if it helps, Kelley doesn’t date. She works hard and takes a lot of pride in what she does. I also know she always looks forward to your visits.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Yeah, well, Kelley is in love with you. She has been for as long as I’ve known her, and Rebel asked me to go shopping in her supermarket. I love having my groceries delivered, and I started going into the store.”
“Does she know who you are?”
“Of course. I told her. I’m not going to spy on her.”
“She’s just a kid,” Crow said.
“No, five years ago, she might have been just a kid, but come on, she’s twenty-one years old, and she knows her own mind. You look out for her, but the truth is, that girl has been taking care of herself for a long time. She is an adult.” Willow got to her feet. “It’s nice talking to you.”
He didn’t tell her the same, because the truth was, it wasn’t nice talking to her.
She chuckled as she walked away.
He took a long swig of his beer. He wasn’t entertained by her meddling in the slightest. It wasn’t even fucking funny.
All he could think about was that fucking kiss, and it wasn’t even memorable.
Who the fuck was he kidding? It was the best kiss he’d ever had, and considering he didn’t kiss any of the women he was with, that meant something.
He had known she was going to kiss him, and not once did he attempt to stop her.
The truth was, he wanted her to kiss him. Even now, he felt his lips tingle.
Fuck, what was wrong with him?
He finished off his beer, left the bar, and climbed on his bike. He didn’t go straight back to Kelley’s place. No, he rode his bike, enjoying the open road, knowing he wasn’t going to leave. He loved to live on the edge, but that wasn’t going to happen right now.
He had no problem dying for the club. His life was with The Rebels MC. Always had been, always would be. They were his life.
Killing himself to get away from a woman and these feelings ... he was not a coward. He never ran from a fight. Which is why he turned back around, headed to Creek, and parked on the driveway.
For the first time ever, Kelley didn’t come to the door. It was late, and he didn’t expect her to. She always gave him a key, and he used it now, letting himself inside the house.
It was no longer as toasty warm as it used to be.
Closing and locking the door behind him, he kicked off his boots and made his way upstairs.
He went straight to the shower, removed his clothes, and stepped inside.
The cold spray hit his flesh, and he let out a little growl, relishing the tightness of his skin.
The ice-cold water woke him the fuck up, and he loved it.
After a good ten minutes, his thick cock hadn’t subsided, so he knew nothing was going to stop his arousal.
It was like his dick had a mind of its own and knew what it wanted.
Fucking thing. He ignored it, climbed out of the shower, and made his way toward his bedroom, but stopped when he heard noise coming from downstairs.
Kelley’s bedroom door was wide open, and he knew she was downstairs. The sane thing to do was leave it, just go to his room, get some sleep, and deal with his erection in the morning. He was a fucking idiot, because wearing only a towel, he did the dumbest thing and made his way downstairs.
He found Kelley in the kitchen, carton of ice cream in hand, and her mouth open as he stepped into the kitchen. Putting his hands on his hips, he looked at her and waited.
“Hey,” he said.
“You came back,” she said.
“Yeah, I didn’t plan to stay out long. Went to the bar, had a beer, then rode my bike until I came home.”
“You didn’t go find some other woman you wanted to be with?” she asked. There was no animosity in her gaze. It was a statement of fact.
“No, there’s no other woman, Kelley.”
She dipped her spoon back into her ice cream. Her gaze kept moving toward him, traveling up the length of his body, and then averting his gaze. He didn’t want her to look away. He wanted her to look at him, and only him.
“You’re ... naked.”
“No, I’m wearing a towel.”
He looked at her, and the truth was, Kelley had stopped being a kid a long time ago. Even before he’d met her, he had a feeling she hadn’t enjoyed a childhood for long.
Taking hold of the knot, he eased it open and allowed his towel to drop to the floor. “Now, I’m naked.”
The spoon she had in her hand clattered to the floor. Her mouth opened, but she had swallowed that lump of ice cream. She looked at him, and there was shock in her eyes, which he was more than happy to see.
“What’s the matter, beautiful?” he asked.
“You’re naked.”
“That I am.” He smirked, and then walked into the kitchen. “And how about you get naked with me?”