Before she could reply, a heavy arm slung over her shoulder and the guy’s eyes darted next to her. She offered a weak smile of apology and turned her head to inhale Davis’ scent. He hadn’t absorbed the sweaty, dank club smell yet.
“Hi,” she said.
He kissed her in reply.
She kissed him back, right in the middle of the club. Not in the back hallway, or behind the closed door of his office, or in her dark bedroom. It was public—for everyone to see.
She liked it.
Davis led her to the dance floor, stopping in the middle under the cracked, hazy lights. Unlike that last time, the first time, when they kept an electrically charged distance, they danced. This time his hands traveled everywhere. Down her bare arms. Flat across her belly. She pressed close to him. Song after song. Until Ari couldn’t stand it any longer. When she was about to burst out of her skin, she looked over her shoulder and beckoned him with a finger.
He followed.
***
“I broke up with my boyfriend tonight.” Davis halted his kisses at her confession. Both their shirts were off and for some reason, Ari felt like it was the right moment to tell him about Nick. “I couldn’t do both. Not this and that. Especially since I didn’t really want that. Him. Not anymore.”
“But this?” he finally asked.
She touched the fine hair under his belly button. Her thumb grazed the ragged scar left by his brother.
“I know I promised. I made the deal. And you can turn me away if you want. I just wanted something … better than what I have with him. Even if it’s less.”
Davis rolled on his back, the back of his hand draped over his eyes. “I know the feeling.”
“What does that mean?”
“I guess it means that things are about to get complicated.”
Ari stared at the ceiling. She thought about those glow-in-the-dark stars she stuck on the ceiling over her bed in her parent’s house. Back when the only other person sharing her bed was her dog, Jerry, or one of her girlfriends having a slumber party.
“Complicated how?” she asked.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Ari. Not all of it is good. And like I told you before, with my brother on the hunt, getting close to someone is dangerous. You saw what he did to Oscar.”
“Well, Davis, there’s a lot you don’t know about me, too. I’m not going to be scared off.”
“Really? Because I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one behind Jace Watkins coming after you.”
The thought made her blood run cold.
“I’m not afraid,” she lied. Then she rolled toward Davis and placed a series of kisses on his neck. “If it’s worth it.”
He slid one hand under the covers and between her legs, stroking the spot where she’d showed him the two tattoos the other day. Ari’s own hand traveled past the soft hair on his belly.
“Before things get complicated, can we just have one last night? Complication free?” Ari swung a leg over his waist and pulled herself on top of him, easing her body against his. Feeling how hard he was. His need. “Just one more night where this is enough?”
In the shadowy dark of her room, Davis brought her to his chest. Ari closed her eyes and braced herself for him. She expected him to be rough—intense like the other times. She loved the way he rocked her hard, unafraid that she would break. He knew she could take it—loved it, even. He entered her slowly, the furor gone. Surprised, she moved with him, rolling her hips languidly. His touch seared, making her skin burn. Making her feel wanted. Worshipped. He licked the star between her breasts where he’d bruised her. He moved to the two under her collarbone and his mouth felt like a salve, healing her loss. Ari’s fingers traced the jagged and rough scar on his side, wishing his wounds away. Both had reminders of how much they’d suffered. This time they marked one another differently, with desire and affection.
Davis’ movements were so caring, so attentive, that when Ari finally felt herself spiral to that place, she allowed her heart to go along with her body—even just for this once. In the darkened room, her eyes met his and he breathed her name, and she knew he felt the same.
***
Davis left the way he had the other night. Like a ninja through the back window. Before he left, he leaned back in, easing over the windowsill. Over his shoulder, she saw a movement and pulled away. “Davis,” she whispered.
He looked and said, “That’s just Boyd.”
“Did he follow us?”
Pushing her hair out of her face he said, “I’m never alone, Ari. That’s how serious this is.” He kissed her so hard she felt it in her toes. “I’ll be gone for a couple days. Oscar’s funeral and everything. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Okay.”
She watched as he and Boyd both easily climbed the fence.