Текст книги "Revved"

Автор книги: Sherilee Gray

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

Chapter Seven

Rusty climbed the stairs to the cottage and scooped up the mail, flicking through it. As usual, over half of it was from real-estate agents wanting to sell their place for them, all with buyers waiting and willing to pay top dollar. Being the last residential property on Axle Alley, the land was worth a lot and highly sought after. It was getting ridiculous. No matter how many times they said they weren’t selling, would never sell, the letters kept on coming. The bastards were relentless.

Distracted, she opened the front door and let out a shriek when a shrill sound blasted from the house. “Holy shit!”

Covering her ears, she stumbled back a step. The sound cut off abruptly, and Cole Black, her big brother Deacon’s best friend, poked his head out the door, gave her a chin lift and a rough, “Sorry,” then disappeared back inside.

Rusty followed him in, eyes landing on her sister sitting on the couch, feet propped on the coffee table, painting her toes. “What the hell?”

Piper shook her head, scowled over at Cole, then carried on doing her nails. “Deacon decided to follow through with his threat, and no matter how many times I tell Cole to stop what he’s doing because we don’t need all this security, he won’t listen.”

Cole didn’t stop what he was doing or even turn in their direction, which Rusty noted made her sister grit her teeth. They hadn’t seen Cole much over the last few years, not after he joined the police force and moved away, and not after the accident that destroyed his dreams, taking away the only job he’d ever wanted.

Now he was back, but it seemed her sister didn’t give a crap about any of that, or the years that had passed. She decided instead to pick up where she left off…which meant trying desperately to get Cole’s attention and getting pissed off when it didn’t happen.

“Is it really such a bad thing?”

Piper looked at her liked she’d killed her kitten, then jerked her head in Cole’s direction, no doubt expecting her to read her narrow-eyed look. “Don’t you think this is a little over the top?” Then her eyes went all wide, and Rusty knew if she didn’t agree, her sweet sister would kick her ass.

“Um…yes?”

Piper stood and sent Cole an I-told-you-so glare, only to scowl harder when she realized he was still ignoring her.

“So, are you seeing Reid tonight?” Piper asked.

He’d called her every night for five days straight, and besides their accidental sort-of date after the Speedway—which wasn’t really a date because Piper and Dom had been there—she hadn’t seen him again, and he hadn’t suggested anything more.

“No. He said he’d call, though.” God she sounded pathetic.

You’ll have to let me catch you to find out.

Those words had been on repeat in her head every day since he said them. Well, now she was ready to be caught, but…nothing.

“Well, next time you speak to him, would you ask if Law’s single? I’m thinking of asking him out.”

Rusty did not miss the glance she shot Cole’s way. “Sure…I can do that. But you know he’s a biker, a member of an outlaw motorcycle club, right?”

“Yep, and thanks.” Then Piper spun on her heel and started toward her bedroom.

“Wait,” Cole’s rough, damaged voice rumbled from across the room. Ever since his accident, the guy sounded like he was gargling gravel. Piper stopped in her tracks instantly, slowly turning to face him.

“You want something?” Pipe stammered out, hope in her eyes.

“You need to know how to work this.” He pointed to the security keypad.

Piper deflated. “I don’t really care.”

He shook his head, mumbled something under his breath, rattled off how to use their new system and the codes to turn it on and off, then packed up his stuff and, without a backward glance, limped out.

Piper started after him. “What a jerk.”

“You don’t really want to ask Law out, do you?” Her sister was as transparent as a sheet of glass.

“I could. I’m sure he’s a nice guy.”

“Piper.” She crossed her arms.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Only to me, but only because I know you’ve been hung up on Cole since junior high.”

Piper planted it on the couch. “I was just surprised to see him, you know? I got momentarily sucked back in a time warp. I’m over it now.”

Rusty got them each a beer and settled in beside her. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” Piper turned her bright smile Rusty’s way, then took a sip of her drink. “Tell me about Reid. You two going out soon or what?”

She inwardly cringed. She had no idea where they stood. He’d kissed her twice, thoroughly. The best kisses she’d ever had in her life, granted, she hadn’t had many…okay, hardly any, but she knew instinctively she’d be hard-pressed to find better. They had chemistry in spades, in truck loads—so why hadn’t he asked her out? Maybe he was one of those rich guys that got bored once the chase was over. Guys like him, that had everything, how else did they amuse themselves? Guilt squirmed in her belly. She felt bad for even thinking it. Reid wasn’t like that, despite the money, the privilege he’d more than likely been surrounded with growing up.

Rusty took a pull of her own beer. “No idea. The man’s an enigma.”

“I think you should ask him. What can it hurt? I’m sick of waiting for guys to make the first move. I refuse to do it anymore. From now on, if I want something, I’m going for it.” Piper took another swig of her beer, a terrifyingly determined expression moving across her face.

“Okay, are we still talking about me and Reid here?”

“Of course. I’m just saying, women as a whole tend to wait for the guy to call, wait for him to ask her out, wait for him to make the first move. Wait, wait, wait. Well, I’m done waiting, and you should be, too. In fact, I’m in the mood to go out tonight. Maybe I’ll meet someone new, someone hot. What do you say?”

Why the hell not? It wasn’t like she’d gotten a better offer. “Call Alex and tell her to meet us. I’m gonna grab a quick shower.”

A few hours later, they were in the club. The place was full, the music pumping. Alex and Piper were laughing their asses off about something across the table, and Deacon sat beside her, sipping his orange juice, waiting to drive his intoxicated fiancée home. They’d only come out for a couple of quiet drinks, but a couple had turned into five, and Rusty was feeling it. Work would be hell in the morning, but right now she didn’t give a crap. They’d been working hard, all of them. They deserved this.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and fished it out. Reid’s name flashed on the screen, and she grinned. Blocking one ear, she held it to the other and answered. “Helloooo!”

Silence. “Rusty?”

“Yup. How’s it hanging, big guy?” How’s it hanging? Big guy? Did she really just say that? Oh God. No more beers for her.

More silence. “You drunk?”

“Yup.” She giggled. Why in the hell was she giggling? She never giggled, like ever.

“How drunk?”

“Um, kinda…quite a bit drunk?”

“Why’re you kinda, quite a bit drunk, baby?”

He sounded amused. She liked it when he sounded amused. She liked the sound of his voice period. “Because Piper and me decided we’re not waiting anymore.”

“That’s right!” Piper shouted across the table, apparently listening, or lip reading her side of the conversation over the music.

“What aren’t you waiting for, Foxy?”

Her belly fluttered. She loved it when he called her that. At first it pissed her off, but the way he said it…well, now she liked that, too. A lot. “What aren’t we waiting for again, Pipe?”

“Men!” Piper yelled.

“Men? Oh that’s right! We’re not waiting on a man to call us and ask us out. We’re gonna go out and go after what we want.”

“What the fuck, Rusty? You’re out to pick up a guy?”

“Um…” Suddenly she was confused as hell.

“Where are you?” he growled, not sounding amused anymore.

“Cracker Jacks, but…”

“Don’t fucking move and don’t talk to anyone till I get there. And no more drinks.” Then he hung up on her.

She stared down at her phone. “Oops.”

Piper slid another drink in front of her. A shot. Rusty picked it up and sniffed. Reid said no more drinks, but he wasn’t the boss of her. Shit, they hadn’t even been on a proper date yet. Plus, she got the feeling when he came through that door, she’d need the extra liquid courage.

“Tequila!” Piper cried and downed her drink. They turned to Alex. She downed hers as well…and when it sprayed from her nose, and she started coughing and sputtering, Rusty and Piper laughed their asses off.

Rusty lifted her drink. “Tequila!”

Reid walked into the crowded club and scanned the room. He had no idea what Rusty was playing at, but if it included drinking and picking up some random asshole, they had a serious problem. He’d been taking it slow, a first for him, trying to ease her into things. Get her to trust him. They’d talked for hours the last few nights. He’d assumed that’s what Rusty wanted. Obviously not. The only conversation he usually had with the women he slept with was asking if they wanted him to call a cab when they were done. But then Rusty wasn’t like any other woman he’d met. Shit, he’d been hard as iron every time they’d spoken, and he’d heard that husky voice down the line. But he’d told himself to hang back, give her time.

Surprisingly, he’d enjoyed just talking to her, learning more about her. Shit, he’d looked forward to it every night when he got home from work.

Obviously, that was the wrong play, because she was here now, drunk and looking for a guy because she was sick of waiting. Christ.

Then he spotted them across the club, the three women and who he now knew, through their phone calls, was her brother, Deacon. He pushed through the crowd and, after a chin lift to the brother, went to his woman—because that’s what she was until it ended between them, she was his and his alone. And right now, his woman was completely smashed and giggling her ass off.

Rusty spotted him immediately, spun in her seat, and beamed up at him like he was fucking Santa Claus. Instantly, all the pissed off, the fear he’d felt started to dissipate. “You’re here!”

“Told you I was coming, Foxy.” Her smile brightened. And fuck him, she was gorgeous even when she was shit-faced. “You ready to go home?”

“Yup.”

He looked over to Piper, who was talking animatedly into her phone. He got the feeling whoever was on the end of that drunk dial would have a treat to wake up to in the morning.

Deacon stood from his seat, wrapped his arm around Alex’s waist, who had a serious sway going on, and moved around the table toward him and Rusty.

Deacon held out his hand when he reached them. “Reid Parker, I take it?”

“Yeah.” Reid shook the guy’s hand. “Rusty’s told me a lot about you.”

Deacon held his gaze. “I understand you’ve been spending time with my sister?”

“She told you that?” He was about to get the third degree from Rusty’s big brother, and all he could think was that she’d told Deacon about him. For some reason that pleased him a hell of a lot.

“Is she wrong?”

“No.”

Alex chose that moment to bust out laughing at something Rusty said and reach for another drink. Deacon not so subtly drew her out of reach of the glass. She spun on him, scowling, and the guy laughed and kissed her.

When he turned back, he lost some of the attitude, or at least forgot about the grilling he’d planned for Reid, which would more than likely include uncomfortable questions about his intentions toward his little sister. Thank fuck for that.

The guy actually grinned. “Well, good luck with that. The three of them aren’t called the Axle Alley Vipers for nothing.”

Axle Alley Vipers?

“Rusty said you’re taking them home?” Deacon tilted his head to Rusty and Piper.

“Yeah.” Deacon looked unsure, conflicted over leaving his drunk sisters with a total stranger. “I’ll get them home safe.” That was the best he could do. He wasn’t used to dealing with concerned brothers or, shit, families for that matter.

The guy opened his mouth to say something more, but Alex grabbed Deacon’s arm and whispered urgently in his ear before slapping a hand over her mouth. The woman had turned green.

That was all it took. Deacon turned to him, eyes hard. “I’ll be checking they got home safe.” With that parting warning, he was on the move, leading Alex quickly from the club before she threw up on the dance floor.

The guy had a fun night ahead.

After some maneuvering, Reid rounded Rusty and Piper up and got them out to his car. Piper climbed in the back, curled up against the door, and fell instantly asleep. Rusty climbed in beside him, skirt hitched up around her hips, high enough he got a flash of bright yellow lace panties, and grinned over at him. “This car is bitchin’.”

“Bitchin’?” Jesus, she was also cute when she was drunk. And no one was cute when they were drunk. “Tell me if you feel sick, yeah? I’d rather you didn’t puke all over my bitchin’ car.”

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing his concern, and leaned forward to play with the stereo. She finally stopped on a rock station—then proceeded to sing her head off. The woman was beautiful, she had attitude, she was talented, had hidden depths—but she could not sing. Could not hold a single note. And he couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face while he listened to her.

She massacred two more songs, then at the beginning of “Sweet Home Alabama,” her hand shot out, and she turned it off, then looked over at him. “Hey, why haven’t you asked me out?”

Surprisingly, he liked drunk Rusty. Drunk Rusty didn’t hold back a damned thing. “Me not asking you out? That have something to do with you and Piper deciding not to wait?” Whatever the hell that meant.

“No, that was about Cole.”

All humor fled, and he glanced over at her. “Cole?”

“Yup.”

“Who the fuck’s Cole?”

“Deacon’s friend.”

“And why does you getting shit-faced have something to do with this Cole?”

“It doesn’t.”

He was this close to banging his head against the steering wheel. “Rusty, who is Cole to you?”

“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.