Hard Roads (25 page)

“Nah, Munch. It’s not something you said. Guess I just suck at losing to a girl.” I winked and she smiled a crooked grin while picking up her cards to play her hand. “’Sides, Vegas might be a good stop on the way out of here. Would be awesome to have enough money to keep you going while you figured out where you want to live and what you want to do.”

She shrugged one shoulder as she set down her cards. “Doesn’t matter as long as it doesn’t involve bikers.” Looking up from the table, she added, “Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be giving up the freedom of a bike. I just don’t want the stress of the asshole that rides it. I’m not going to be like my mom. My man will respect me. He won’t cheat on me and give me a disease that kills me. He’ll be there to raise our kids.” Her voice grew wistful and a distant look flooded her eyes. “Long as I have that, I don’t care where I live or what I do.”

I dealt the flop and saw a smile try to force its way from her lips when she saw the cards. She had the worst poker face ever. She must have noticed I was staring because she attempted to make her expression blank, which only made her cuter.

After considering what she’d just said, I wondered how she planned to get away from the life. All she had was the MC and her father. She’d never mentioned having friends or family outside of the life. “So, how are you going to get away? Do you have people elsewhere who can help you?”

Shaking her head, she didn’t bother to look at me when she responded, “Nope. I’m going to figure out a way on my own.” Finally looking up, she said, “I mean, you’re doing it on your own. Don’t see why I can’t do the same. Just need to get a job and save up some cash, or …” She gave me a pointed look. “I can just go to Vegas. So, I think you had a good plan there.”

Glancing down at my cards, I noticed I had a two of hearts and a nine of spades. That basically equaled crap in poker language, so I threw them down. “I fold.”

She sat back in her chair, eyeing me with a suspicious look. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’.” I looked down at the table, my hand reaching out to absently play with a pretzel stick.

“You’re lying.”

I pushed back my chair, the legs scraping angrily against the wood. Standing up, I kept talking to her as I crossed the room into the kitchen. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong, woman. I just need a drink.” I opened the cabinet that was stocked with bottles of whiskey. Saying a silent ‘thank you’ to Henry, I reached in, pulling out a new one and twisting the top off before bringing it to my lips and swallowing down the bitter liquid. Fuck, it tasted good.

By the time I turned back in her direction, she’d stood up and walked in behind me. Nodding her head towards the bottle, she asked, “You gonna share that or what?”

Tilting the bottle in her direction, I offered her a drink while asking, “You sure you should be drinking this?”

She took it from me, tilting it to her lips and swallowing down three large gulps. Pulling it away, her face contorted in response to the sting of the alcohol. Blowing out a breath, she finally answered, “A girl’s got to get over shit at some point, right?” Shaking her head, she finally chased away the sting. “Guess, now is as good a time as any.”

She was tough. I’d give her that. After hearing what those men had done to her, I was impressed as hell to see her so normal after living through it. I could see where the life had made her hard, but how her own spirit kept her soft inside. She reminded me so much of her mother. Laughing as I took the bottle from her hand, I thought back to when I first met the Saint and how I secretly wished that she’d been my mother as well.

I took another swig and looked around the tiny, cramped house. Realizing I needed to get out, I asked, “Wanna go on a walk with me?”

Her eyebrow cocked in question. “Do I have a choice? Seems to me that you haven’t let me out of your sight for the past three weeks. You sure you trust me not to do something stupid when you’re not here to babysit me?”

Warmth spread over my body while I listened to her joke around. “Nope, you don’t have a choice. So lemme rephrase that.” Setting the bottle down on the counter, I reached over quickly, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder. She screamed out her laughter as I picked up the bottle and moved to leave the house. “We’re going for a walk.”

Once we were outside, she was still kicking and punching at me, but I held on. “Don’t make me spank you again, Munch. I know how much you like that.”

“Whatever, asshole! Put me down!”

After we were clear of the driveway and I’d walked several feet out into the woods, I set her feet down on a tall rock, the height of which made her stand eye to eye with me. Her face was glowing with laughter.

Wrapping her arms around my shoulders, she feigned annoyance. “How dare you make me come out here? I was enjoying looking at the same four walls for hours.”

“I’m sure you were, but it’s a beautiful day and we should enjoy it. Can’t stay inside all the time.” Grabbing her hand, I dragged her down a small path to the left. “’Sides, we haven’t explored this path yet and for fucking once it looks like it’s not going to rain.”

Our steps hit heavy against the ground, when she said, “I kind of like the rain. It washes everything away clean. I feel like I can breathe after a storm, you know?”

Minutes passed as we walked the path and it narrowed towards the end. Turning, I reached to help Holly over a fallen branch and silently turned back, holding her hand in mine. I liked the feel of her hand, her body, everything about her and it was fucking killing me not to attempt anything more with her than being friends. I’d lived a life of fast fucks and loose women. I wasn’t used to having to watch myself or make an effort. Club sluts didn’t care anything about a man as long as he lived hard and rode harder. I was never sure what the attraction was, considering most of those women ended up used and left behind, but it kept them happy and I didn’t question it.

In all honesty, Holly was the first woman who’d ever made me wonder what it would be like to stay with one woman longer than a night or a few days.

Finally, spreading out again, the path dumped us along a circular field of grass, a small pond positioned in the center with tendrils of light streaming down through the branches of the tall trees that bordered the field.

Her voice was filled with wonder, when she said, “Holy shit. That’s really beautiful.”

Releasing my hand, she stepped out from behind me, walking out onto the grass. She kicked off her shoes almost instantly and sauntered out into one of the larger beams of light, raising her face up into its warmth. Damn she was gorgeous.

Turning, her colorless eyes sparkled like diamonds in the light when she looked at me. “I think I like this place better than the lake. It’s smaller, more hidden and intimate.”

Whiskey sloshed in the bottle when I brought it to my lips. Swallowing hard, I could hear my throat work to force the liquid down into my stomach.

She walked up to me, taking the bottle and swallowing the whiskey down as well. She stared at me for a few minutes, her body shaking slightly as she forced herself not to react to the alcohol. She stilled suddenly, locking her gaze with mine for what felt like forever, both of just simply staring at the other in a place that concealed us from the world. I could tell that she was thinking about something odd because there was a glint in her eyes that I’d never seen before. It was wild and mischievous, a small spark of her spirit shining out in blinding light.

When she opened her mouth again, she said something that felt like a sudden punch to the gut.

“When are you going to kiss me again, JD?”

I stepped back, partly catching myself and partly putting distance between us. Blinking slowly, I took another swig from the bottle in order to buy time to think of a response. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss her, that I didn’t fucking crave her with every fiber of my being, but I didn’t want to do to her like I’d done before. I didn’t want to use her and I sure as hell didn’t want to go too far and push her back into memories that she hadn’t thought or dreamed of in the past three weeks.

Pulling the bottle away, my voice was rough from the burn of the alcohol. “I think you’re a lightweight, Munch. You need to stop drinking because you’re asking questions that aren’t good for you.”

“I don’t see how it won’t be good for me. It was pretty damn good the way I remember it.” There was a slight lilt to her words, the alcohol rushing through her blood and warming her body.

She stepped towards me, wrapping her fingers over where mine held onto the bottle. Breath hissed over my lips and the muscles over my spine pulled tight. I didn’t trust myself with her, didn’t trust that I could resist taking every single piece of her if I had just one small taste.

With her other hand, she used one finger to pull up the hem of my shirt, allowing the tip to trail over the skin. My abdomen rippled where she touched me, my cock tightening almost painfully against my jeans to have her so close.

“Munch…” I could barely speak, her name said on a growl that I had to force out. There was nothing harder than saying ‘no’ to a woman you would fucking do anything just to be allowed to touch.

“Way I remember it, was that you poured something on me. Wouldn’t let me touch you either and I wasn’t very happy about that.” Wrestling away my fingers with her own, she took the bottle from my hand. She still held my shirt up when her eyes caught mine. I heard the whiskey sloshing in the bottle before I felt it trailing down my stomach. Without looking away, she smiled.

“I think it’s time for me to get even.”

I watched the top of her head as she knelt down. As soon as her mouth touched my stomach and her warm tongue peeked out to lick away the whiskey, my hips jerked and my hands fisted as I tried to keep from shoving them in her long and wild hair.

“Fuck, woman, don’t do this…” My cock slammed against my jeans begging to be released. I didn’t have the control to restrain myself when it came to Holly. She’d proven to me over the time that I’d known her that she was unique, that there was no other woman like her. Stopping myself would be impossible if I let her go any further. I wasn’t good for her, I was afraid I would hurt her.

“Holly, stop. If you keep going, baby, I won’t stop. I’ll take you, all of you, and I don’t want to do that to you again.”

Pulling her mouth away from me, she stayed close enough that I could feel her breath brush across my damp skin when she spoke. “What if I’m asking you to?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and my muscles were strained as I struggled to resist picking her up and stripping every last stitch of clothing from her body.

Forcing the words out slow, I asked, “What do you want from me woman?”

It was a dumb question. It was obvious what she wanted. But I needed her to say it. I couldn’t let myself go if there was any chance she didn’t want this.

Seconds passed with thick tension between us.

“I want you to fuck me, JD. I want you to make me feel good.”

Chapter twenty-six

~ Holly ~

His skin tasted like salt and his body smelled masculine and earthy. In the shade of the trees, shadows played over his body, cutting down to define every muscle on his stomach and the cheek bones on his face. Somehow, his eyes still managed to catch the light, the color mimicking the places where that same light illuminated the sand beneath the water of the pond.

I could tell he was breathing heavy and I knew he was nervous to lay a finger on me. It’s what made me want him more. Even after everything I’d been through, I still wanted him. Over the past three weeks, I’d seen an entirely different side to him. He wasn’t some asshole biker who was looking to get a piece and then go back to his brothers. He was a man looking to live a normal life where he could be proud of what he did and who he did it with. That meant something to me because it meant he wasn’t like the man who’d raised me. When it came right down to it, it also meant he wasn’t truly the same man he’d been when I met him on the road. He was someone like me and I couldn’t fault him for that.

When he looked down at me, I saw nothing but raw need in his eyes. I’d woken something in him that made my insides tighten and my legs squeeze together. It was feral and pure when he looked at me in a way I’d never experienced before.

“I’m telling you this now.” He spoke slow, his voice rough over every word. “If I start, I won’t stop. You get me?”

I nodded, opening my mouth to respond, but not having time before he’d reached out and pulled me to him. Picking me up from my hips, he lifted me so I could throw my arms around his shoulders and me legs around his body.

“Are you still saying yes?” His eyes burned into mine.

I was breathless, my ability to speak completely stolen by the feel of his body against mine, so I nodded my response.

His mouth was over mine within seconds, his lips forcing mine apart as his tongue invaded. He was warm and sweet tasting, the remnants of the whiskey still heavy in his mouth. When his hands came up behind my head, he held me in place, his passion rolling out from his body as he quickly took control. I gave it to him, surrendering every bit of my stubborn will.

It felt like we kissed forever, my lungs screaming for air and my mouth in pain from the force of his lips. He took his time, pacing the way his tongue moved over mine as his hands explored my body. I was shocked that he could hold my weight for so long, but he didn’t so much as shake from the strain. Eventually, he turned and pressed me up against a tree and I felt the evidence of his want and need pushing up between my legs. A shiver ran over my spine and I couldn’t help but rub myself up against him, silently begging for our clothes to simply disappear.

Memories touched my thoughts, the first night I’d been with him weighing heavily on my mind. It turned me on even more, stoking a flame of desire inside me until I was whimpering in need.

He pulled away, nipping at my bottom lip before saying, “You keep making sounds like that, little girl, and I don’t know how slow I’ll be able to take this.”