Ceaseless (10 page)

              
She had to go a week without a laptop. I 
knew
 it would be difficult 
for 
her. I wanted her to have something to type on.  Pagan liked to 
take 
thorough notes. She wouldn’t be able to do that with a pen and paper. “I’ve got a 
lap top
 I’m not using. You’re welcome to borrow it until yours gets here.”

              
Her eyes lit up, “Really? You have an extra?”

              
I didn’t own a laptop but I’d 
go
 purchase one as soon as I 
left
 
here
.
 “It’s all yours.”

              
“Thank you. You’re a 
life
-
saver
. That is such a sweet offer. I promise I’ll take care of it.”

              
The look on her face 
made 
me want to go buy her five lap tops and anything else she wanted.

              
“About the concert Friday night,” she began. Please don’t let her be backing out on me now. I wanted her there.

              
“
What time do we need to be there? Do you go early and warm up?”

              
“Concert starts at eight but we’ll warm up around five. Then we relax and hang out backstage until show time.”

              
“Oh, wow. What time 
should we get there
?”

              
I hadn’t been prepared for this question just yet. I’d wanted to ease her into coming to my practice with me
,
 and 
letting Miranda come with 
Gee
 
later.

“Would you be against 
riding with me to practice and staying the entire evening with me?”

              
She didn’t respond right away. I watched as a series of emotions crossed her face. “Um, well. What about Miranda and Gee? Would they be coming early too?”

              
I shook my head, “No, they’d come a little later.”

              
I wanted her without her posse.

              
“Oh,” she replied and bit her bottom lip several times before looking back up at me. “Would it be okay if I just came with them? Miranda is looking forward to this and Gee still makes her nervous. Plus while you’re warming up I’ll be all alone.”

              
I tried hard not to let the disappointment show on my face. “That’s fine, Pagan. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.
”
 Reminding myself that this was going to take time was difficult. I wanted to get back what we had. But to Pagan I was still a guy she’d just met. One she wasn’t sure she trusted.

              
“Okay, thank you,” she replied 
and began pulling more papers out of her book bag. 
I’d forgotten we were here to catch me up on what I missed in class. “
Like I said, 
I took notes but I probably took more than necessary. You can look over them and write down the highlights. I’m going to go find a copier and make you a copy of the syllabus. Oh
,
 and I’ll look for the book too.” She 
stood up and headed for the stairs. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. One day
,
 I’d have her back.

CHAPTER 9 

Pagan

              
Finding the 
copier
 was easier than I’d 
thought
. Finding 
Ethan 
Frome
 was also a breeze.  Seven minutes later I was headed back upstairs to the little secluded hideaway with Dank. I had used 
finding the copier and book as an excuse
 to get away from him 
so I could 
take a deep breath and 
gather
 my thoughts. He was definitely interested in me. I couldn’t deny that now.  I was also more than positive he’d picked this area for more than study purposes and it excited me and scared me all at 
once
.

              
Dank was lean
ing
 back in his chair with his feet propped up on the table and crossed at the ankles. Something about that pose was 
oddly 
familiar. Th
is was th
e second time I
’d
 felt li
ke I had
 seen him doing something similar before. Was I dreaming about him? Was that it?

              
“That was fast,” Dank drawled as he turned his head and his blue eyes met mine.

              
I placed the book in front of him and walked back over to my empty chair. “Here you go,” I handed him the syllabus. “You are all set. Did you look over my notes?” I asked to make small talk.

              
Dank let his legs 
drop back
 down to the floor and he lea
ned
 forward on the table, “Yeah. I got what I needed. Thank you for 
helping
 me 
get
 caught
 up. I shouldn’t have missed this morning.”

              
When he dropped his voice like that I wanted to fan myself. He was already lethally sexy. He didn’t have to make his voice go all husky and deep. It made the sexy worse.

              
“I’m glad you’re coming 
Friday night
,” he said 
leaning
 closer to me. I felt myself leaning toward him
,
 unable to stop the pull.

              
“Thank you for inviting me,” I replied. My voice sounded breathless. Just great. I sounded as affected as I felt.

              
Dank 
pushed 
his chair back and stood up. I watched as he walked over toward me then held out his hand 
to 
me. I knew what he wanted and I wanted it to
o
. If I was going to get a re
-
enactment of 
what happened 
yesterday by the tree
,
 then I was very okay with this.

              
Dank pulled me up and wrapped my hand back behind his neck. I threaded my fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I liked seeing 
how 
my touch affected him like that. Slipping my other hand up his arm and around his neck I watched his face
,
 fascinated by the eagerness 
evident 
in the tight way he held his 
mouth
 and the gleam in his eyes.

              
I decided I wouldn’t wait 
for 
him
 this time. 
I pulled
 him to me 
and
 captured his mouth with mine
, and
 took the liberty of licking his bottom lip. It was so full and soft looking that I’d wanted a taste of it since the first time I’d seen him
.

              
Dank’s
 hands slid up my ribs until the
y
 rest
ed
 just below the underside of my bra. As far as 
knowing about 
boys
,
 I was pretty 
naive
. Jay and I had done some kissing and rubbing but nothing that exciting. I was more than positive that if Dank touched my breasts
,
 I 
would
 burst into flames. The
re was no way he wouldn’t notice my
 rapid breathing
.
 I was almost embarrassed by my reaction to his touch
,
 but the 
soft appreciative growls coming from his 
chest
 as he tasted my lips and 
my skin
,
 
assured me he 
was enjoying this just as much as I was.

              
“Please 
ride with me Friday night
,” Dank begged as he continued kissing down my neck and along my collarbone. This was an unfair request. He got me all hot and bothered then begg
ed
 me. How was a girl supposed to think clearly?

              
“I can’t. Miranda
 needs me
,” I replied my heart slamm
ing
 against my chest. His mouth hovered over the low neckline of my shirt and 
his warm breath
 tickled the 
sensitive skin
 there. I was almost at the point of begging when his hands slid down and cupped my butt 
and 
picked me up and sat me on the table behind me. Dank stepped between my legs and put his hands back on my waistline.

              
“It’s probably for the best,” he finally said as his mouth lowered to cover mine again. I wanted to know what he meant by that but his tongue was inside my mouth doing things to me I’d never had done before. I pulled his body closer to mine and kissed him back with all the excitement and need he was provoking in me.

              
“If you c
o
me I 
won
’t
 
be able to practice. I’d want to be alone with you. Listening to you 
talk
, watching you smile, finding reasons to kiss your body.”

              
Whoa. Maybe I should go…

              
His hands slowly slid up my stomach until his hands were each gently cupping one of my breasts. When the pads of his thumbs grazed my nipples I broke free from the kiss and gasped for air. The sensation coming from his touch shot through my body straight to my core.

              
Dank stilled and watched me. He didn’t move his thumbs again but he didn’t move his hands away either. I 
gazed up at him letting him see I was waiting. He’d surprised me but I wanted more of this. His thumbs moved again and this time his hands shifted until fingers were slipping into my bra and tugging it down.

              
That’s when we heard the footsteps and 
voices
 on the stairs. 
Dank’s
 hands were gone instantly and he was straightening my shirt as he backed away from me. I scrambled off the table and sat back in my chair because I wasn’t sure my legs were ready to actually walk just yet.

              
I braved a glimpse at Dank who was sitting back in his chair with my notes 
in his hands
.  His mouth was fixed in a crooked grin and I could see traces of my 
lip-gloss
 on 
his lips
. Reaching over I ran my thumb over his lips to wipe away the traces our kiss had left.  Dank grabbed my wrist and kissed it before letting it go and standing up. 
              
“I can’t stay in here and look at you without touching you. I need some 
fresh air
,” he admitted.

              
I liked that. I liked that a lot.

Dank

              
My concentration 
wa
s 
shot to hell. All I 
can 
think about was the w
ay Pagan had felt in my hands, a
ll soft and sweet. If we hadn’t been interrupted I wasn’t sure how much further she’d have let me go
ne
 and if I’d 
have 
been able to stop if she 
ha
dn’t stop
ped
 me.

              
I would be leaving to gather souls soon but 
first 
I had a band practice
.
  I didn’t show up for all the practices but luckily the band members never remembered that. Sometimes they were too high
;
 other times I had to help them forget.

              
“You practicing tonight?” Gee asked as she appeared in front of my Harley after I’d parked it.

              
“Yeah, why? Is Pagan okay?” I asked not getting off in case I needed to leave.

              
Gee rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Pagan is fine. She’s holed up in her room studying. I’ve been banned from 
entering. Apparently I interrupt her.”

              
Smiling
,
 I got off my bike and headed for the entrance to the club we used for practice. They had a back room with a smaller stage that was a good set up. The drummer,
Loose
, was related to the owner. 
Gee fell into step beside me.

              
“What are you doing?” I asked glancing over at her.

              
“
I’m bored. And 
Loose
 is sexy as hell.”

              
Great. Not what I needed. Gee hooking up with a human. The Deity would be all over me.  “You can’t do anything with him, 
Gee
.  He’s human.”

              
“It 
ain’t
 like I’m 
gonna
 marry him and have his damn babies, Dank. The guys a man whore. A sexy dirty boy who appeals to 
me.
 Just a night of fun is all I want.”

              
I stopped outside the entrance and put my hand on the door to keep her from opening it. “You can’t go in there and flirt with him. I have the Deity screwing with me right now because I pissed them off. If you 
break
 the same rule it will be me who suffers.”

              
Gee rolled her eyes, “Drama much? I just want to have a little kinky fun with him. That has never been a rule breaker. It’s the falling in love with humans that is a no
-
no.
Fucking
 the naughty ones isn’t a big deal. It’s been done before.”

              
I couldn’t
 argu
e
 with her because she was right. As long as she wasn’t going to fall in love with 
Loose
 then we’d be safe. And I knew 
Loose 
was in no danger of falling in love with any one female because he loved them all.

              
Gee walked in front of me into the practice room and I realized she’d done a quick clothing change. The jeans and “Fuck You” 
tee shirt
 she had been wearing were now gone and she was in a short tight red dress with 
black boots
 that had red skulls on the sides. Shaking my head, I headed over to the cooler and grabbed a 
bottle of 
water.

              
“Look at you. Thank you
,
 all that is holy
,
 for the tits about to fall out of that dress,” 
Loose
 called from behind the drums.

              
“Down boy. We 
have 
to run through Friday night
’
s songs before you haul her off to the restroom and make use of your favorite stall.” 
Les
, the other singer and 
bass
 guitar, warned him.