18. Char #2
After pulling some things from my closet and gathering some of my more comfortable clothes from my dresser, we were off.
We kept a couple of lights on to make it look like I was still there, then we locked the place up and headed for his bike.
Deac was kind enough to load my stuff up while I got situated on the back of his bike, and as I gazed up at the sky, I couldn’t help but be taken by its beauty.
It was a new moon, which meant the stars were in full force.
Twinkling above the desert without a clue in the world as to the chaos seated just below them.
The blueish hue the stars cast across Layborn stole my breath away.
I’d never seen the desert so alive before.
Deac slid his leg over his bike and I wrapped my arms around him, and the warmth of his body coaxed my cheek to his leather jacket.
I gripped his shirt, twisting my fingertips into the excess fabric as he struck up the loud, vibrating engine.
Then he kicked off and raced us into the darkness.
There were no words exchanged between the two of us.
No sentiments to be had. No jokes to quip.
There was just us, the wind wrapping around our bodies, and the stars lighting our path.
The revving of his engine blocked out the sounds of the world as I watched it whizz past us.
I felt Deac’s muscles flexing as we took sharp turns, with our knees damn near dragging against the ground.
I melded to him, locking around him as tightly as possible as he picked up speed. As dust kicked up behind us.
As we blazed a trail toward a sand dune where he parked his bike.
“Everything okay?” I asked as I picked up my head.
But all Deac did was slide off his bike and offer me his hand. I watched him wiggle his fingers, his lips completely sealed on whatever the fuck was happening. And I had to admit, I enjoyed the mystery of it all. So I slid my hand into his and allowed him to help me off the bike.
He yanked me close and picked me up against him.
“Deacon?” I asked softly as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He buried his face into my shoulder as my feet dangled above the ground. “Baitfish is dead, Char.”
I already knew that, but hearing him say it broke my heart. “I’m so sorry, Deacon.”
He nuzzled his face against my pulse point. “Jesus Christ, he’s actually dead.”
My lower lip quivered before I placed a kiss on his temple. “I’m right here. I’ve got you, Deac.”
He tightened his grasp. “If they can kill him, they can kill you. That’s why you have to be with us.”
He lifted his head as his words dawned on me. Holy fuck, I didn’t even stop to consider that. And as he stared me down, locking his eyes with mine, he set me back down onto my feet.
He grabbed my shoulders. “That’s why you have to be with us. That’s why we can’t be tracked. It’s all so that we can protect you.”
Desperation. I’d never seen that look in anyone’s eyes, much less a man like Deacon’s. He was desperate. Scared. Fearful, genuinely. He was scared for me. Scared for my safety.
No one ever cared like that before.
My heart came alive at the prospect, and I couldn’t help myself as I pressed my lips to his. At first, he didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch, and I thought maybe I fucked up. So I stood there. I held my ground, drinking in his warmth as his pillowy lips stayed connected with mine.
He grabbed the back of my head.
“Oh little one,” he groaned as his tongue pierced my lips, “you may just be the death of me yet.”
My body fell against his bike as he blanketed me away from the dark, harsh world that cropped up in front of me.
His tongue ran along the roof of my mouth, causing me to shiver as his knee parted my thighs.
He hiked me up, gripping my ass cheeks before settling me down onto the leather seat of his bike.
And as his hands crawled up my spine, he sucked my lower lip in between his teeth.
“Oh, Deacon,” I whispered.
He growled before claiming my mouth again. His hand enveloped my hair before he pulled my head off to the side. His lips trailed downward, caressing my neck. Lapping at my pulse point. Shaking me to my core as he sucked a patch of skin between his teeth.
“More,” I said breathlessly, “please.”
His hand fell against my thigh before his fingertips slipped in between my legs. “You beg so beautifully. Who am I to resist?”
“Oh fuck,” I whimpered.
My head fell away from him as his arm draped around my lower back.
He kissed down to my chest, sucking in random patches of skin that made me jump.
I threaded my hands into his tendrils. I yanked that stupid man bun, wishing to free his hair just so I had something to cling to.
His lips slithered along the rise of my breasts.
His tongue dipped into my cleavage. My body grew so hot and needy for him that I was sure my clothes would melt right off into the sand.
That was until the wind kicked up.
“You smell that?”
Deac lifted his head from my chest and drew in a deep breath. “I sure do.”
I sniffed again. “Smells like?—”
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating our surroundings for a split second.
“Rain,” we both said in unison as we gazed up at the sky.
“Come on,” Deac said as he whipped his leg back over his bike, “this is a flood zone. We need to get home.”
I scooted myself back onto the passenger’s seat and spread my legs to accommodate his body. “It’s getting closer. We need to get a move on.”
And after wrapping my arms around his waist, he cranked his bike back up.
He peeled away from the sandy dune mountain with lightning flashing over our heads.