Double Dare (Devil's Fighters MC Book 3) (9 page)

Alyssa watched her skeptically. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

“But then…how are you going to convince him?”

Anna smirked. “Don’t worry about it. Let me deal with Derek; you just focus on your man.” She hesitated. “By the way, any chance I can meet him?”

Alyssa laughed. God bless Anna and the merry glint in her brown eyes. “I think so.”

“Good.” Anna stood and patted her arm. “Now, don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll be here through the whole affair.”

Alyssa frowned. “Won’t Derek threaten to fire
you
, too?” She didn’t argue with her friend’s offer, however. She felt like she could use all the support she could get.

Anna winked. “I told you, you let me deal with Derek.” She grabbed her phone and disappeared out the back door.

Alyssa remained seated, feeling utterly devoid of energy. It felt good to let someone handle things for a change. Over the past two months, she had felt like she had been alone in the world. Even with Xavier and Lynn, and sometimes Rick, by her side, she had felt like it was all up to her. It was refreshing to have one thing that she didn’t have to deal with personally.

The wait seemed to stretch on forever, but when Anna finally came back inside, the clock on the kitchen’s wall told Alyssa it had only been twenty minutes.

She sat up straighter. “Well?” she asked, trying to keep her trepidation out of her voice.

Anna smiled triumphantly. “Four weeks for you and three weeks for me,” she announced. “They’ll call in someone from the downtown clinic. Mind you, he wasn’t thrilled about it, and he’ll probably make us pay with night shifts for a lifetime once we’re back.”

“I don’t care,” Alyssa said, standing up and all but flying at her friend to hug her. “Thank you, Anna! You’re a lifesaver!”

Anna hugged her back fiercely and then pulled away. “Yeah, well. Let’s focus on saving your boy’s life, shall we?”

Alyssa smiled, even though the familiar dread came back to squeeze at her insides. “I hope we can.”

“Oh come, Alyssa, be positive,” Anna said. “What are medics for?” She winked again. “Now, how about grabbing a bite somewhere? I’m starved.”

Alyssa grinned. “I know just the place.”

CHAPTER NINE

Anna hit it off surprisingly well with Xavier. Alyssa was not expecting that, but they seemed to click. As they all sat at a table in Lynn’s diner, the two had been bantering and joking back and forth ever since Alyssa had made the introductions an hour ago. It was a pleasant surprise, and even though superstition prompted her not to let herself go and give in to fantasies about what their lives after the Devil’s Fighters may look like, she couldn’t help but entertain the thought that it was a very good thing that Xavier was getting along with someone who would be in Vancouver when—
if
, Alyssa corrected herself sternly—they got there.

“Anna has convinced Derek to give me more time off,” Alyssa said now, as Lynn brought them their refills of drinks and food.

Xavier beamed. “That’s great. Thank you, Anna.”

“How did you do it?” Rick asked. “Alyssa made it sound like your boss is pretty strict.”

Anna smirked. “He is. But after thirteen years working with the guy, I have my ways.”

Rick waggled his dark blond eyebrows expectantly. “Do tell.”

Anna laughed. “Nothing like
that
.”

“Pity. I was hoping for a hot work gossip story.”

Anna winked. “He wishes.”

Alyssa smiled happily. This was the first normal moment she had in what felt like ages. She’d had her fair share of mundane times with Xavier, too, but this was different. This was them, out with friends, having fun. It felt almost surreal.

Xavier grabbed her hand underneath the table and entwined their fingers together.

Alyssa responded immediately, running her thumb along the back of his hand.

“So…I was thinking…” she began then. A thought had entered her mind since Anna had told her about the result of her phone call with Derek, and now she felt it was time to voice it. “Since I’m going to be here for another month…”

Xavier frowned, guessing that she was going somewhere he probably wouldn’t like. “What?”

“Maybe you don’t have to fight,” Alyssa said. “I mean, let’s face it, we now have more time to figure out an alternate way.”

Xavier shot a worried glance at Anna, and even Rick looked alarmed.

“Oh, relax,” Alyssa snapped, frustrated by their stupid secrecy. “Anna knows everything.”

“You told her?”

“She’s my best friend. Yes, I told her.”

“I won’t tell anyone, if that’s what worries you,” Anna offered.

Xavier watched her skeptically. Finally, he nodded, seeming satisfied that he could trust her. “Good,” he said. Thank you,” he added as an afterthought. He turned back to Alyssa and sighed. “Aly, I told you, we’ll never be able to create the right circumstances. If we don’t take this chance, it’s quite possible that we won’t get another one.”

“But—”

“No,” Xavier cut her off firmly. “It’s done, Aly. I’m doing this. I have to.”

Alyssa scowled. Eventually, she sighed. She supposed she couldn’t be faulted for trying. “Fine,” she finally relented. “I hate this.”

Xavier smiled gently at her. “I know. I’m not particularly thrilled about it either.”

Alyssa stared at him. It occurred to her that in all of this she had not once stopped to think about how it must feel to him. He wasn’t fighting for the glory; he was fighting for survival. He was fighting because, once again, he had no other choice.

Those thoughts accompanied her for the next twenty-four hours. Anna had her mind set on going to a hotel in order to let Alyssa and Xavier spend as much time with each other before the big fight, and Lynn had been adamant that she should stay at her place and not pay for a hotel room.

So, the day of the fight, Alyssa had her house and Xavier all to herself. She had not slept the night before, but she didn’t feel tired. In fact, she felt wired, alert, and taut—again. She always felt taut of late. Xavier, by contrast, seemed to be at peace with the entire universe. Presently, he sat on the couch in the living room, reading a book as Alyssa prepared lunch.

When she peered out of the kitchen’s door and saw him lost in the pages as if it were just another afternoon, Alyssa exploded. She turned off the stove and marched to where he was. She stopped in front of the couch, her hands on her hips, towering over him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Xavier looked up. He appeared utterly confused. “What?”

“
What
?” Alyssa repeated, incredulous. “
What
? You’re going up against that…that…
thing
in five hours, and you’re sitting here reading as if nothing was about to happen!”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“You could fuck me!”

Alyssa blinked, astonished at her own outburst. That was
not
what she had planned to say. It just came out.

Xavier smirked up at her. Instantly, his green eyes darkened with desire and took on a malicious twinkle that never failed to make Alyssa weak in the knees.

“I mean—” she tried to stammer, still not believing herself.

“No, no, no,” Xavier said, forgetting everything about
The Call of the Wild
and standing up, ready to respond to an entirely different kind of call. “No backsies.”

Before Alyssa could protest, he was scooping her up in his arms. She squealed in surprise.

“What are you doing? Put me down!” But she was laughing.

Xavier began to walk with her in his arms, his step never faltering.

“Where are we going?”

“To the kitchen, of course. I want a reprise of the first time.”

Alyssa’s breath caught in her throat. His eyes were deeper than she had ever seen them. She felt like she could drown in them. Moreover, she
wanted
to drown in them.

Xavier walked to the kitchen and laid her gently down on the floor. The terracotta tiles were cool against her skin. He leaned over her and kissed her so long and deep that her head spun. As always whenever Xavier’s lips touched hers, Alyssa’s usually sharp brain short-circuited. She didn’t know where was up and where was down anymore. Hell, when Xavier kissed her, she hardly knew her own name.

It was like the first time, and yet it wasn’t. Back then, despite their shared past, Xavier had tasted like a stranger that she was just getting to know. This time, he tasted familiar. That familiarity filled her with warmth so fast and so fierce that she was almost overwhelmed by her own emotions.

Alyssa reached up to wrap her arms around his powerful shoulders, and she pulled him impossibly closer still, and she kissed him again. Xavier responded immediately, circling her waist with one arm and lifting her a little. He buried the fingers of his other hand in Alyssa’s dark, long locks, as he cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. Alyssa grabbed the front of his tank top with her free hand and held on for dear life, irrationally terrified that if she ever let go he would disappear and all would be lost.

Like always when Xavier’s touch was on her, she felt as though her whole body was consumed with fire. The energy that ran over her in waves was electric, and Alyssa had no choice but to abandon herself to it completely. Their searching hands wandered all over each other’s body, past the fabric of the clothes, seeking warm skin.

“I love you, Aly,” Xavier breathed, pulling back just enough to stare deep into her eyes. “I want you.”

Alyssa’s heart was beating a mile a minute within her chest, and for once it wasn’t out of tension. “I love you, too,” she said fervently. “And I want you too, more than I ever wanted anyone.”

The urge took over then. They undressed each other in earnest, impatient to be skin-to-skin on the kitchen’s floor. Alyssa ran her gaze along the whole length of Xavier’s body and did her best to brand the image into her memory. Xavier’s body was a thing of glory and perfection, and try as she might to hold on tight to her self-esteem, she still couldn’t believe he had gotten naked for her. He was better than any fantasy she might have had when they were younger—and that was saying a lot, because those had been some hot fantasies.

Xavier’s breath on her skin was warm, but instead of adding to the insufferable Louisiana heat, it only added to her arousal. As always, whenever they lay naked together, Alyssa turned her mind off and allowed herself to just
feel
. And Xavier could make her feel everything. Whenever he lay on top of her, it was all about him. The world faded away and only he existed, only he mattered. Alyssa loved the way the universe disappeared and her mind quieted whenever Xavier made love to her.

“I want you,” Alyssa said again.

Xavier smirked like he had smirked that very first time. He said the same thing, too: “Yes, ma’am.”

And then his lips were on hers, tracing a steaming hot pattern from her neck all the way down to her navel. Alyssa spread her legs wider, her heart rate increasing with the sweet anticipation of what was to come. She craved Xavier’s tongue on her vagina in the same way that lungs craved air.

Xavier didn’t make her wait for very long; he, too, was too eager to take his sweet time and tease her mercilessly, as he so often did. His palms roamed over Alyssa’s naked belly, hips, and thighs even as his tongue began its dance, as if he longed to touch her with his whole body. Throughout the mind-blowing passion of Xavier’s touch, there was always an underlying tenderness that filled Alyssa with love.

Once again, the tip of Xavier’s tongue worked its magic. He moved it in ways that Alyssa had never thought possible, pleasuring her in ways that she couldn’t even pleasure herself whenever she set out on a self-love session. He was eager, but he still paced himself, leading her through a gradual process that would ultimately, as always, culminate in ecstasy. The tip of Xavier’s tongue brushed gently over Alyssa’s clitoris, delivering energetic little flicks that were like electric jolts and small, teasing licks that drove her insane.

He coaxed her patiently, steadily, and maddeningly into orgasm, and when her climax finally exploded it was as if the whole world turned white. Alyssa barely realized he had pulled back. It took her a few moments to regain her bearings, and when she did, Xavier was grinning down at her, clearly pleased with herself.

“I’m glad you enjoyed that,” he said, his voice rough with his own desire.

Alyssa reached out to grasp his shoulder. She pulled him down for yet another deep kiss that she was very glad she was lying down for, because it would have been sure to have knocked her off her feet if she wasn’t.

God, but she wanted him.

“I need you, Xavier,” she said, breathing the words against his lips. “Now. I need you now.”

Xavier kissed her back passionately, biting gently at her bottom lip before finally drawing back. “You have me,” he promised. Whether he meant physically or emotionally, Alyssa couldn’t be sure; perhaps, hopefully, he meant both.

Alyssa moaned, expressing her lust freely. The anticipation to have him inside of her made her shiver. It made her impatient, hungry. Starving for him.

Xavier was just as famished. He gently but decidedly slid inside of her, and the sensation took Alyssa’s breath away. She felt herself clench down around him instantly. It was glorious, all-consuming, and mind-blowing. It was something beautiful that defied language and that Alyssa had yet to get used to—and that she hoped she would never get used to and never take for granted. As always, it felt as though Xavier simply belonged inside of her.

They knew each other’s body by now. They knew how to drive each other wild. They wasted no time getting into it, both of them driven by a passion and by an urgency that neither of them would ever admit had quite a bit to do with the impending doom that seemingly awaited for them later that night.