Chapter One #2
I shrugged. “You didn’t even tell them you were leaving.”
“So? We don’t do everything together.”
That’s not what I heard.
I bit my tongue from voicing that out loud but he saw the question written all over my face.
His sexy lips pulled into that trademark smirk. “Got something on your mind, little girl, just ask.”
His “little girl” comment annoyed me. I wasn’t that much younger than him. “Is the rumor true?”
“Which one?”
He knew which one I wanted to know, he was just forcing me to ask it. I refused to. Not yet, maybe because I wasn’t ready to hear the answer.
“Are you as dangerous as everyone says you are?” I asked instead, something I probably should have gotten out of the way before he took me out in the middle of nowhere.
His easy demeanor dropped, a hardness entering his eyes. “Depends.”
“On?” I asked, my breath stalling in anticipation as I waited for his answer.
He drew in another long pull of his smoke and blew it out. “Whether or not you fuck with my family.”
I snap out of the memory when someone knocks into my table as they pass by.
“Sorry.” They toss the apology over their shoulder, stumbling to the bathroom. Clearly they’ve had one too many already.
Not many words were spoken between Justice and me after that.
He ended up driving me home, making sure to drop me off down the street from my house.
Something I felt bad asking him to do. I didn’t need to elaborate why.
He knew but he didn’t seem to care. Probably because he was used to it.
He and his brothers weren’t well liked, especially by the founding families who believe Winchester is their town.
People like my parents.
Over the years, Justice and I have had several more interactions.
Usually running into each other by chance.
We’d often end up going for a ride and talking, sometimes until the sun began to rise.
As time passed, my infatuation for Justice grew and became so much more.
I fell irrevocably in love with him yet he still keeps me at a distance.
I’ve learned he keeps everyone at a distance except his brothers.
I haven’t seen them around in a few weeks and figured they were out on a mission; should have known he would show up here tonight.
He always seems to come at the worst times.
It’s not that I don’t want to see him; it’s the complete opposite.
But how am I supposed to have fun now when every single girl in this place is falling all over him?
“Hey, Ryanne.” The masculine voice belongs to Derek Lancaster, son of Samuel and Donna Lancaster, another one of the founding families.
Our parents are good friends. All the families stick together, almost like a creepy cult.
Derek is a jerk to most people but is nice to me, a little too nice at times.
“Hey, Derek.”
“Happy birthday,” he says, taking the seat across from me.
“Thanks.”
“Why are you sitting by yourself? Shouldn’t you be the rowdiest one here?” he says, making a joke.
I tilt my glass toward him. “Just waiting for this Diet Coke to kick in.”
He chuckles, the charming sound barely making its way over the loud music.
“Who did you come with?” I ask.
“Dustin and Barry.”
I figured, the three of them usually hang out, the star football players and richest guys in school. Most of the time girls are falling all over them, except when the Creed brothers are in town…like now.
“How about a birthday dance?” he asks.
I’m not in the mood but I also don’t feel like sitting here all night. I open my mouth to oblige when a presence suddenly looms over me, casting a dark shadow. By the way my heart leaps I know who it is before I even look.
“Happy birthday, Ryanne.” Justice’s deep, gravelly voice triggers goose bumps across my skin. I look up; head craning all the way back as I meet his intense eyes, the dark irises rocking me to my very core.
“Thought you guys were out of town?” I say in greeting, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
“Just got back last night.”
Lucky me…
He remains where he is, his hard gaze making me shift in my seat. I swear he does it on purpose.
“If you don’t mind, we were having a conversation,” Derek says, his voice thick with arrogance.
Justice flicks him a hard glance that would have anyone pissing their pants.
No one fucks with Justice and everyone knows it, including Derek. However, his ego is bigger than his common sense.
Justice brings his attention back to me and leans forward, one hand braced on the table and the other on my chair as he cages me in. His scent and body heat surround me, penetrating all my senses.
“What are you going to do, Ryanne? You gonna stay here and dance with this asshole? Or are you going to come with me so I can give you your present?”
The fact that he even knows it’s my birthday is a shock in itself, but a present?
“Where?” I ask.
“My place.” That one answer whispers across my lips, the distance between us seeming to grow smaller.
Every fantasy I’ve ever had when it comes to him assaults my mind, fantasies I’ve dreamt about for so long.
“What’s it going to be?” he asks impatiently.
“You.”
I’d choose him a million times over.
He pushes away from the table and extends his hand. I place mine in his warm one and allow him to pull me from my seat.
“Ryanne!” Derek snaps, reminding me of his presence. I turn back to see him standing from his chair, his expression enraged as he eyes Justice and me. “What are you thinking going anywhere with him?”
“I suggest minding your own business, Lancaster, before you get yourself hurt.” The warning in Justice’s calm voice has a shiver of fear trickling down my spine.
“I’ll be fine, Derek,” I assure him. “We’ll have that dance another time, okay?”
Before I have a chance to hear his response, Justice tugs on my hand, pulling me through the crowded bar. My steps are quick as I fight to keep up with his long strides.
Many glares are tossed in my direction, mainly from the girls who realize their chance for the night is gone. I pay them no mind though, with the exception of one.
Knox.
His expression is hard and filled with something I can’t name, but it has me feeling like I’ve done something wrong.
Once Justice and I reach his bike, he passes me his helmet.
“What about your brothers?” I ask, Knox’s angry eyes still fresh in my mind.
He quirks a brow. “You want them to come?”
There’s so much meaning in that one question and we both know it. I shake my head, my pulse kick-starting at the thought.
A sexy chuckle leaves his lips. “That’s what I thought.” He climbs on his bike without another word, and with the swift drop of his boot he brings the machine to life beneath him.
Taking a deep breath, I put the helmet on, loving the familiar scent that invades my senses, then climb on behind him.
He curls an arm under my bare knee, bringing me flush against his back.
A sharp breath breaches my lips, the center of my satin panties colliding with his belt as my dress rides up my thighs.
Oh god.
I swallow back a moan, my body trembling in need.
The bike rolls forward seconds before he picks up speed and we hit the main road.
The cool air whips across my heated flesh but offers little reprieve.
My mind reels with all the scenarios that are about to happen, fear and want colliding with one another.
My body is more than ready for him but my heart is another story, a page I’m terrified to turn.
It takes only minutes before we reach his complex, an apartment he shares with his brothers near the edge of town.
I climb the metal stairs behind him that lead to the side door of his apartment and follow him inside, stepping into the living room.
He closes the door behind me and flicks on the lights.
I take in our surroundings, the simple yet clean apartment somehow suiting him.
“You want a drink?” he asks, his voice right behind me, whispering into my ear.
I shake my head, finding my throat too dry to speak.
“You sure? I’ll even let you have some alcohol.” Amusement coats his tone as he walks past me, removing his jacket then grabbing himself a beer.
My eyes narrow. “No one lets me have anything, Justice Creed. Goes to show how well you know me.”
Laughter dances in his expression, the corners of his lips lifting. “I know you better than you think, sweet Ryanne.” His tone drops at the endearment and dances along my skin.
He takes a swig of his beer then starts toward me, his gait relaxed and easy but his strides determined.
It makes my heart beat faster. My head drops back to hold his stare as he comes to stand just in front of me.
That’s when he passes me a small present I didn’t see he’s been holding.
The blue wrapped package is not what I was expecting but my heart warms all the same.
“Happy birthday.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I tell him, even though I’m touched by the gesture.
“Open it.”
I peel back the wrapping paper to find a small gold box. Lifting the lid, a large white pearl attached to a silver chain is revealed, its smooth, polished surface glowing with beauty and taking my breath away.
“I got it from a small village in Milan,” he says, taking the piece of jewelry out of the box. He slips the long chain over my head, the pearl resting just past my breasts. “It’s the gift of a saint, it represents purity. The myth says it protects the worthy and remains loyal to its wearer.”
The meaning and thought behind his generosity has warmth invading my chest. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you,” I whisper, fingering the dainty necklace.
“Not what you were expecting though.”
My eyes meet his, the truth passing between us. “No, not what I was expecting but still special.”
He steps closer, invading my personal space. “What is it you really want?”