Revved (Axle Alley Vipers) (8 page)

“A friend…but Piper, she’s been mooning over the guy for years.”

Okay. He was finally getting somewhere. “So going out drinking, the ‘no more waiting,’ that was Piper’s idea?”

“Yeah. So why didn’t you ask me out?”

She was drunk, but apparently drinking didn’t affect her memory. “Was gonna do that tonight.”

“You were?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you still going to?”

“When you sober up.”

“I’ve enjoyed our talks,” she said, shifting conversational gears, then gave him another one of those light-up-the-room smiles.

“Me, too, Foxy.”

“I like it when you call me foxy.”

Now he was back to smiling.

“Did you like talking to me?” she said, turning in her seat, curling her legs up underneath her.

“Of course.”

“Did you like talking to me…a lot?”

“Yeah, Rusty.”

“Like, a lot, a lot?”

“What are you getting at?”

She was blushing, he could see even in the dim light of the car, but she didn’t turn away, kept those beautiful eyes full of mischief and fire aimed at him. “The last time we talked, I thought…I thought that maybe you…” She bit her lip.

He knew she’d figured out what he was doing the last time they’d talked. Her voice had grown huskier, her breathing heavier. He’d wanted her to know. “What? You thought what?”

She wriggled in her seat. “Were you…touching yourself?”

“I was stroking my cock the whole time you talked to me. Your voice makes me so hard, my balls ache. So fucking hard I had no choice but to take my dick in my hand and get myself off while I listened to you. I finished before our phone call did.”

“Oh.” Her chest rose and fell faster now, and her smooth, bare thighs were squeezed tightly together. “You did that, just from my voice?”

“All I need when it comes to you.”

She looked down, licked her lower lip, then her eyes were on him again. “I like your voice, too.” He glanced over at her. “After you hung up…I…”

“You what, baby?” His cock throbbed behind his zipper, hard enough he could barely think straight, because he knew what she was going to say. And he needed to hear her say it more than he needed his next breath.

“I slid my hand down the front of my panties and…got myself off.”

“Yeah?” He swallowed hard. “You play with your clit?”

“Yes.”

“Did you come from just that, or did you push your fingers inside, imagine my cock moving inside you?”

“Yes.”

“Which is it, Foxy?”

“I used my fingers. I imagined you were inside me.”

Jesus fucking Christ.
A groan slid past his lips, and he reached down to adjust his aching dick. “How many times you done that? Thinking about me?”

“A few,” she whispered.

“I love that, baby. I love that you told me that.”

He had to be a goddamned saint, because as much as he wanted her, he would not fuck her their first time while she was drunk….and he wanted her in a way that he had never wanted any other woman in his life.

But he didn’t get a chance to tell her, because when he turned her way again, she was out cold.

Chapter Eight

A
loud, incessant buzzing sound came from down the hall. Rusty rolled to her back, letting out a groan when the movement had her stomach rolling. The buzz was cut off abruptly by a crash and a string of curses.

Piper was awake.

God, Rusty wished she weren’t.

Head thumping, she glanced down at herself.
I managed to change into a T-shirt.
That had to be some kind of miracle considering the state she’d been in.

How had they gotten so drunk? Then she remembered her and Piper’s never-ending rounds of tequila shots. “Idiots.”

The fuzzy feeling in her mouth was at an all-time high. Gross. Like a small rodent had crawled into her mouth during the night and died. She needed water, and she needed it now.

Her phone started ringing on her bedside table, she fumbled for it and put it to her ear. “Yeah?”

“You sound like shit.” Her brother’s voice echoed down the line, far too damn loudly.

“Thanks.”

He chuckled. “Just making sure you got home okay.”

“Looks that way…”

There was a bang on her door. “Get up,” Piper moaned.

“As much as I’d love to chat, I gotta go.”

“Rusty…”

“Talk to you later.” She hung up on Deacon before he started one of his annoying “why we should respect alcohol” lectures, and flung her phone aside. Though in this instance, he was probably right.

Why had they done this when they knew they had work today? Dragging her sorry ass out of bed, she hung onto her head to fight the pounding dizziness and shuffled to the door, wrenching it open. Light streamed in from the living room window, and she winced.

Piper stood by her door, leaning against the wall, still in the clothes she’d been wearing at the club. Her blond hair was sticking up on one side and lipstick was smeared across her right cheek. “What the hell was I thinking?” she whispered.

Rusty shook her head. “No idea, but let’s not do that again.”

Piper nodded, then gripped her head as well. “Agreed.”

They shuffled side by side down the hall, the smell of fresh coffee a siren song leading them toward the kitchen. “You made coffee? Have I told you lately that I love you?”

Piper stopped suddenly, eyes widening. “Um…it wasn’t me.”

Rusty followed her sister’s gaze, and her mouth fell open. Reid stood in
her
kitchen, as if he owned the place, that overlong hair tied back, leaning against the bench, mug in hand. “Want one?” He lifted his mug and gave it a little shake.

A flash of memory broke through her fuzzy brain: Reid calling her, coming to the club. “You’re here?” She stared down at herself. “Did you…”

He grinned. “I wasn’t going to, but you decided to give me a strip tease.”

“I
what
?”
Noooo. No. No. No.

“I managed to get that shirt on you before the panties and bra came off. Then I took the couch.”

“I stripped?”

“Did a little dance and everything.” His grin turned wicked. “I didn’t peek. Promise.”

Heat started climbing up her neck. She couldn’t meet his eyes and instead focused on the ink covering one side of his throat. It was some kind of swirly design, and she wondered how far down it went. Damn, even his neck was sexy. Could necks be sexy?

Stop it!

Her face was so damn hot now that her eyes actually started to water. “I stripped…and danced?”

“Yeah, you were good, too. Still managed to strip down while you swayed all over the room. That takes some serious skills, babe.”

That’s it. She was never drinking again.

Piper turned to her, mouth gaping, then a smile spread across her face. “Oh my God, Rusty. You didn’t?” Then clutching her head, she doubled over and busted a gut laughing.

Reid was still smiling as he poured them both coffee. He handed the mugs over, along with the bottle of painkillers they kept in the bathroom cabinet. “Maybe you should check your phone, Piper. It was glued to your ear at the club.” After dropping that bombshell, he carried on, sipping his drink.

Her sister turned green and all but ran from the room. Her scream followed shortly after. Wasn’t hard to guess who Piper had been drunk dialing.

Rusty crossed her arms and took in the sexy, smirking pain in the ass in front of her. His beard was thicker this morning, and she had the sudden urge to cup his face in her hands, feel his whiskers on her palms, learn how coarse or soft it was. “You stayed?”

“I wanted to make sure you were both okay.”

Ah hell.
“That was nice.”

“I can do nice.” His gaze moved over her, making her suddenly self-conscious. “How you feeling?”

His voice was gentle, and she swallowed hard. “Like shit.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “It was good of you to stay.”

God, the way he affected her.

Before she could catch her breath, he’d put his drink down and was moving across the room, not stopping until he was right up in her personal space.

His hands landed on her hips. “I stayed because I wanted to. Would’ve rather been in your bed.” He shrugged. “But that wasn’t happening last night.” His gaze turned intense. “You were pretty smashed when I picked you up. In a club full of fuckin’ horny guys just waiting to take their shot. You gotta know how stupid and careless that was?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head. “I don’t want you doing that shit again, not unless I’m with you.”

She stiffened. “Stupid?” He said nothing, just held her gaze.
Like hell.
“First, I don’t take orders, from anyone. So if you think I’ll just roll over and do what you tell me, you’re going to be seriously disappointed. And second, my brother was with us. We were fine. I sure as hell don’t need your permission…”

“He had enough on his hands with his own woman, add in you and your sister…” He grunted. “Not sure how he would’ve handled all three of you if I hadn’t showed to take you home.” He stroked her jaw with his thumb, his gaze following the movement. “Don’t go getting all pissed. I’m just looking out for you.”

He kept stroking her face, her neck, the sensation making her shiver. Suddenly staying angry at him seemed too much effort.

“You tell him about me, Rusty?”

“What?”

“Your brother, you told him we’re talking.”

Jesus.
“Does it matter?”

“Yeah. He knew who I was and why I was there.” He gave her hip a squeeze. “I liked that.”

She gave his shoulders a light shove. “Arrogant.”

He chuckled. “You love it.”

Dammit, he was right. She did. “Look, thanks for getting me home, and yes, my brother knows about you. I also get that you were worried, but none of that gives you the right to issue orders and expect me to follow them like a good girl. That’s never going to happen.”

His gaze sharpened, that square jaw going hard. “I don’t love the thought of you in a room full of drunks. It’s not me ordering you about. It’s me taking care of what’s mine. End of story.”

His? Holy shit.
Her heart picked up pace.

He curled his fingers around the side of her neck, thumb brushing just below her ear. “And yeah, I like that you told your brother about me…means you’ve been thinking about me, and not just when I call. So you’re just gonna have to deal with it.” Then he grinned, and it was hot as hell, all straight white teeth and sexy beard. “Gotta say, despite being shit-faced, you were entertaining as hell. Cute, too.”

Her face heated again. “Do not say another word.”

His smile got bigger. “Found out besides stripping, you get chatty when you’ve been drinking.”

She cringed. “What did I—” She cut herself off abruptly as more hazy flashes of memory broke through.

“You remember our chat in the car?” he said, smug as hell.

It all came back, and she covered her face with her hands. “Shoot me now.”

“Fuck no.” He pulled her hands down, holding them both in one of his, and slid a finger under her chin with the other. He tipped her head up so she was looking at him. “Not after you told me what you’ve been doing when you think of me.”

She groaned, and he chuckled darkly, the low sound making her shiver. “Well, at least I’ve finally worked out what the
I
in R.I.P. stands for…”

“Irresistible?” More goddamn smirking.

She rolled her eyes. “No. Irritating.”

He stared at her for a long time, until that wicked smile slowly disappeared and something else replaced it, something that made her suck in a shaky breath. “I don’t think you get it, Foxy. That you’ve been thinking about me, while you get yourself off? That’s hot as fuck. I’ve been hard ever since you told me. You’re killing me, you know that, right?”

“You’re lucky, then,” she mumbled, lifting her hand to her pounding head. He laughed suddenly, pulling her into him and kissing the top of her head. She scowled against his hard, warm chest, trying to ignore how much she liked being there. “I don’t see how any of this is funny.”

“You’re right. There’s nothing funny about blue balls. But if I don’t laugh, I’ll fucking weep.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive.”

He gave her ass a squeeze. “No thanks to you.” He kissed her hair again. “I gotta go. I wanted to see you later, but I’m thinking you’re gonna need a day. Yeah?”

She nodded against his shirt. “Yeah.”

He leaned back and looked down at her. “You wanna do dinner tomorrow?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He made a rough sound and stared at her with so much heat she was surprised he didn’t pick her up and carry her back to her bedroom. “Seven thirty?”

Her lips tipped up at the corners. She couldn’t help it. She was looking forward to it, looking forward to spending time with him. “Sounds good.”

His fingers slid into her hair, and he leaned in, brushing his lips over hers. “I’ll catch you tomorrow.” Then he let her go, and those long, powerful legs carried him out the door.

What was she getting herself into? He overwhelmed her, excited her, scared the crap out of her. There was more between them than just lust, she felt it, saw it in the way he looked at her, heard it in the things he said. The man was a force to be reckoned with. She had no hope of stopping the freight train that was Reid Parker.

And the funny thing was, despite the risks, she didn’t want to.

Not yet, anyway.

Chapter Nine

R
eid pulled back his damp hair, tying it in a knot at the base of his skull, and grabbed his black shirt from the closet.

It’s me taking care of what’s mine.

Mine.

He still couldn’t believe he’d said those words to her. But yesterday morning, standing in her kitchen, shit, it was as if someone else had taken control over his vocal cords. That one small sentence—it was not him. Those words should not be coming from a man like him, and went completely against the way he chose to live his life, the way he had been living his life for as long as he could remember.

But he couldn’t walk away, not yet. Staying at her place, surrounded by her things, her scent, knowing she was in the next room, had driven him bat-shit crazy. The need to stake some kind of claim over her was not something he could ignore. He realized that now. Just what that was, what it meant, he had no clue. Something had changed, though. Rusty had dropped her guard a fraction more, let him see another piece of her. And he liked it. Liked everything she showed him.

Both women had been out cold when he got them home, and neither had batted an eyelid when he’d carried them to the porch seat, not until the alarm went off when he’d used Rusty’s key to get in. Thankfully, Piper had roused herself long enough to punch in the code, then stumbled to bed.

That left him and Rusty. After he’d carried her to her room, woken her so he could get her to drink a glass of water, dodged her cute yet sexy attempt at a striptease, he’d watched her curl up under the covers and pass out.

Leaving her had not been easy.

He’d never, not once, had the urge to just
sleep
with a woman, without fucking, but he’d wanted to get into bed beside Rusty, pull her into his arms, and hold her. Which was messed up.

Instead, he’d taken the couch, the foreign urge enough of a kick in the pants to get him out of her room. Still, he hadn’t left her place, couldn’t.

Then in the kitchen the next morning, even hungover, she was gorgeous. And when he’d pulled her into his arms…shit. He didn’t know how she did it, went from redhead vixen to sweet and shy, totally innocent, but she did, and just that glimpse of vulnerability nearly did him in.

But when she smiled, giving it to him without any barriers, full-on happy…Christ, he loved it. She hadn’t been hiding from him, she’d let him see what she was feeling, and it had taken all his strength not to lead her down the hall to her bedroom and show her exactly how much that pleased him.

Shit was getting complicated. His
feelings
for her were getting complicated. He’d never wanted another woman the way he wanted Rusty. Hell, he’d never put in this much effort for any woman in his life, never had to. He’d tried to fight it, but seeing that soft side and holding her in his arms had made it impossible.

Then all of it, everything he’d been dwelling on during the night while he lay on her couch—the being out drunk, the risks she’d taken—had come flooding back. It had sent his possessive instincts goddamned haywire, and he’d staked his claim the only way he could: he’d called her his.

It was a mistake. That wasn’t where this was heading.

His course was set, wasn’t it? He wanted West Restoration, wanted to cash in on what the West girls could bring to the table, take R.I.P. to the next level.

He should give her up. But he couldn’t, not yet. He wanted Rusty as well, for however long that might be.

But whatever happened between them, it had a use-by date. It had to.

So yeah, he’d bathe in her light, because he was a selfish prick, then he’d move on when they’d both had their fill. The last thing he wanted to do was extinguish that fire in her eyes, and he would if he stuck around. The dark, toxic crap in his veins would see to that. At least this way they could part on good terms, start their business relationship without any hard feelings.

Focusing on work, making sure his businesses were successful, that was what he had to concentrate on. In the end, that was all he had, all he could ever have.

Shoving his feet in his boots, he laced them up, tagged his leather jacket, and grabbed his keys.

For now, though, he planned on enjoying every moment he had with her.

A
short time later, he was pulling up outside Rusty’s tiny mauve and yellow cottage. Shutting off the engine, he climbed out and jogged up the steps to the front door. Music played inside, so he put a bit of muscle behind his knock. A few minutes later the door swung open and Piper stood there smiling up at him.

“Hey! You’re here.”

He grinned, guessing the curvy blonde had that effect on most people. “Looks like it.”

“Rusty won’t be long.” She winked conspiratorially. “She wasn’t sure what to wear, she doesn’t date, so…”

Piper was shoved out of the way, and Rusty stepped in front of her sister. “Thanks, Pipe. I can take it from here.” He took her in from head to toe and damn near bit off his tongue.

Rusty stared at her sister and jerked her head toward the kitchen, eyes going wide, and said to Piper, who was still standing there watching them, “I’ll see you later.”

Piper offered up another smile and a little wave, then as far as he was concerned, vanished. He didn’t say good-bye, didn’t know if she went to the kitchen, or if she was beamed up to the goddamn Starship Enterprise, because he couldn’t take his eyes off the woman in front of him.

The green dress she wore sat mid-thigh, showing off her killer legs, hugging all the right places. She had on black heels, sexiest shoes he’d ever seen, and her arms were bare, all that colorful ink on display. Her hair hung down her back, sleek and shiny, and the color of her dress made her eyes more vibrant than he’d ever seen them. Exquisite didn’t cover the way she looked.

“Jesus,” he rasped. She bit her lower lip, and her cheeks turned pink. Fucking gorgeous. “Come here.”

“Is this too much? I didn’t know where we were going…maybe I’ll get changed?” She took a step back. “Yeah, I should get changed…”

“I said come here, Foxy.” She stilled, then obviously realizing his reaction was not a bad thing, moved toward him, biting her lip all the way. “Hey,” he said when she stopped in front of him.

“Hey,” she whispered back.

He slid a hand over her hip, because he had to touch her, and smiled to himself when he felt her shiver. “You’re not getting changed.”

She looked up at him. “Okay.”

Taking her hand, he led her from the cottage, out to his car. He could feel the nerves radiating from her. Then Piper’s words came back to him.
She doesn’t date.
What the hell did that mean?

Rusty was a mystery, and he planned on learning some of those secrets tonight.

The drive to dinner started quiet, but not uncomfortable. If anything the air felt charged, damn near electric.

He needed a distraction, because the way she looked, smelled…shit, she had him close to busting through the front of his jeans, and he had a whole meal to get through yet. Then something her brother said popped in his head, and he jumped on it, anything to take his mind off the intensifying ache in his balls. “Why are you and your girls called the Axle Alley Vipers?”

She turned to him, and going by the wide eyes, he’d surprised her. “Who told you that?”

“Your brother.”

“He has a big mouth.”

“So it’s true?”

She sighed. “Yes, it’s true.”

“You gonna tell me why?”

“Do I have to?”

He grinned, couldn’t help it. “You do now.”

“Shit.”

He barked a laugh. “That bad?”

“God, I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this.” She let out another sigh. “It started when we were in high school. A few of the local boys came up with the name after an
incident
at my dad’s garage.”

“An
incident,
huh? Keep talking.”

She shifted in her seat. “Okay, well, Piper was going out with this guy. They’d been seeing each other for a few months. She was crazy about him, but we all secretly thought he was a bit of a douche. Anyway, long story short, he came on to me, and Piper heard the whole thing. We were in the garage, and she threw a wrench at him. Unfortunately, Piper can’t throw for shit, and she missed. But Alex was with her and went ape-shit, tackling him to the ground. Deke jumped in and pulled her off. And Piper’s boyfriend, seeing his chance, jumped up and made a break for his car. But in his hurry to get the hell away, he flooded the engine and the car stalled, and I…”

Reid was struggling to hold it together, but with how miserable Rusty sounded reciting her tale, he didn’t dare laugh. “And you what?”

She groaned. “I went after him, climbed in my dad’s tow truck, and rammed the asshole’s fender. I’d pushed him halfway across the parking lot before my dad came out and stopped me.”

“Shit,” he choked out.

She snorted. “You can say that again. The guy actually
did
crap himself.”

He laughed, unable to hold it in. “Poor bastard.”

“He totally deserved it.”

“Yeah, I guess he did. I bet you have a few more stories like that?”

The smile slipped, and she looked away. “Yeah, a few.”

He didn’t know what just happened, what caused that killer smile to drop, but he got the feeling if he pushed, she’d push right back, and he didn’t want to ruin what had started off to be a really good night. So for the rest of the drive he kept things light, worked at bringing that smile back.

They arrived at the restaurant a short time later. Costa’s belonged to Law’s aunt, and he came here often. The atmosphere was cozy; he guessed some would say romantic. It was also welcoming and had the best pizza in Miami.

When they walked in, Law’s aunt Connie bustled over, making a fuss over him, kissing both his cheeks, then scolding him for not coming sooner. He’d known the family since he met Law in high school. He didn’t know what either of them would’ve done without Connie and her family over the years. They’d been there for Reid when he’d had no one but his mother, and she’d barely been able to take care of herself most of the time.

These people were family to him. He’d never brought a woman here before and decided not to think about his reasons for bringing Rusty tonight, what it might mean.

“And who is your lovely date?” Connie asked, a smile on her soft, round face.

“This is Rusty. I thought she should try some of your world-famous pizza.”

Connie beamed. “Always the charmer.” She turned to Rusty, who was still clutching his hand. “Rusty? This is a nickname, yes?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What is your given name?”

He felt Rusty stiffen slightly at his side, then she mumbled, “Jane.”

Jesus.
The name couldn’t be more wrong for her. The woman was no plain Jane, not at all.

Connie screwed up her face. “Okay, I’ll call you Rusty.”

Rusty made a little snorting sound and squeezed his hand. He could feel her body shaking against his. “I’d like that,” she said, laughter in her voice.

Connie headed across the restaurant, showing them to their table in the back. She took their order, brought them wine, and bustled to the kitchen.

He took a sip of the tart liquid, smooth on his tongue. He rarely drank, his introduction to alcohol, and more importantly what happened to some people when they drank it, had put him off the stuff for life. He only made an exception when there was a special occasion.

He looked across the table. Like tonight.

Rusty was playing with her napkin, smiling over at him. “This place is great.”

“I spent a lot of time here as a kid. The place is owned by Law’s family.”

“You’ve known him a long time?”

“Yeah. I guess you could say they’re like my family as well.”

She fidgeted with the napkin some more. “And your family. Where are they?”

“My folks split. I’m close with my mother. My father…we don’t talk.”

“Oh.” She looked a little surprised, but then nodded. “I know what that’s like. After my parents split, my mother vanished. She chose her new man over her kids.” She shrugged. “Some people just aren’t cut out to be parents, I guess.”

Wasn’t that the truth—or married in his father’s case. “That had to be hard, growing up without her.”

“I had Dad. I also had Piper and then Alex, and an overprotective big brother who watched over me. I did okay.”

“Your brother, he get in a lot of fights?”

She frowned. “Yeah, nearly every week. Why?”

“A wild guess.”

She snorted. “They usually started because he was protecting Alex’s honor.”

“Babe, I’m guessing he spent a lot of time protecting yours as well. What you’ve got going on didn’t happen overnight. You’re gorgeous. The boys at your school would’ve been following you around by their dicks as soon as they were old enough to notice.”

The humor making her eyes sparkle, dimmed. She seemed to close off before his eyes, then glanced down at her hands, shoulders stiff.

He reached over and took her hand. “What just happened, Rusty?”

She lifted her head, and goddammit, the wall was up. “There’s more to me than the way I look. I stupidly thought you already knew that.”

The pizza arrived, and he waited until their waiter left before he spoke. He’d worked out for himself she didn’t trust guys, that she got uncomfortable when they paid her too much attention. But he wasn’t just any guy. He didn’t know the reason for it, but he did plan on finding out what had caused it. “Foxy.” She was back to looking at her hands, posture stiff. He was sure she’d bolt any minute. “Look at me, Rusty.”

Finally, she lifted her head, no fire in her eyes, no light.

“I’m not stupid. I can see there’s an issue. Someone did you wrong, and it left a scar. But I’m not gonna bullshit you. You’re fucking stunning. I’m not gonna lie and say that isn’t one of the reasons I started chasing you. And I don’t chase women. Ever.”

She narrowed her eyes, dropped her napkin to the table, and started to stand, no doubt ready to storm from the restaurant. He kept hold of her hand, tightening his grip, not enough to hurt but enough to let her know she wasn’t going anywhere.