“That feels so good,” I breathe, allowing my eyes to close. I lift my hips to meet his, thrust for thrust, the two of us so in sync it’s like we’re made for each other. I open my eyes and look into his to find him already looking down at me, a sheen of sweat on his brow. I’d never admit this out loud, but he looks like a god right now, like a dark Adonis, his hair falling out of its restraints and framing his handsome face. It’s not long before he has me coming again, but this time he joins me. He really was waiting for me to come once more before he allowed himself to do the same.
He rolls over onto his back with his cock still inside of me, so I’m on top of him. I push his hair out of his face and kiss him deeply. I can’t pretend there’s no emotion between us in the sheets, because there is. It’s a part of what makes the sex so amazing, so addictive. It’s that connection, the one thing everyone craves the most to find. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a connection so strong as the one Ranger and I share.
It’s a dangerous thing, because I don’t know how far I will go to keep it.
He kisses my forehead and lingers there, while I close my eyes and wonder how the hell this happened. I have no logical answer for it. We were meant to be enemies, yet we fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. I don’t really know him, yet I know him so well. So many contradictions. The only thing I know is that right here, with him, is a place I don’t want to leave or lose.
“I’ll be happy to get home tomorrow,” he says, moving his lips back to mine. “I want you in my own bed.”
“At your clubhouse?” I ask, wincing. “I don’t think I’ll be welcome there, Ranger.”
He laughs softly, then says, “It will be fine. I’ve got another house I could always move into if it’s an issue for you.”
I pause, suspicion taking over me. “How did you pay for the house? What illegal operations do you guys do anyway?”
I don’t expect him to tell me, but he should probably know that I’m not okay with it. It goes against everything ingrained in me. Am I going to have to turn a blind eye to all this shit?
“Relax, Jo. I make money from stocks and investments. All legal. I can show you, if you don’t believe me. And I have enough money for both of us to never work again from this day forward. Anywhere you want to travel to? Hawaii? Portugal? We can leave tomorrow.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m kind of impressed he’s been able to do so well for himself. If he’s telling the truth, and he did all this on his own, he must be a very intelligent guy, which I’ve seen for myself. I’m sure his start-up money came from the club though, but I can’t really use that against him, can I? He is who he is, and I am who I am. I don’t know how it will work, or if it will, but it’s worth the try. He’s worth it.
“I have to go back to work,” I say, amusement filling me. “Rain check on Hawaii.”
“Done.”
I lay my head on his chest and close my eyes. I don’t want to ruin this moment by letting any guilt hit me, but I do feel it. Elizabeth is going to hate me, but I’m too far into this now, and Ranger doesn’t feel that way about her anyway. Does that make it okay? No, but why should both of us not have him? I run my hand down the side of his stomach, feeling his rigid muscles. I’m hoping she forgets about her infatuation over him and just concentrates on getting better. I never would have done this if I knew who he was, and that is the honest truth. I’m not a bad person, I don’t think, and I value loyalty and honesty above all else, so this is really killing me.
Yet I can’t stay away from him.
That’s pretty fucked-up in itself. If there is any time to bail, now would be it, before we return home and bring each other into each other’s daily lives. Lines will be crossed, and someone is going to get hurt. Elizabeth doesn’t deserve to be hurt any more than she has, she really doesn’t.
“Stop thinking so hard,” Ranger says, kissing the top of my head. “We’ll sort it out, okay? And don’t even think of being some fuckin’ martyr and leaving me because of it. It won’t work. I’ll just keep coming after you.” He pauses, and I can hear the smile in his voice as he adds, “I do like a challenge.”
“I just feel like such a bad person,” I try to explain to him.
“You’re not,” he says instantly, his hands roaming to cup my ass. “And if you leave me, then you’ll hurt me. So that’s not even an option.”
“You can handle it,” I mutter, sighing softly. “The difference is, I don’t think she can.”
“We just need a little time,” he says, sounding so sure that I want to believe him. “We’ll keep us to ourselves for now, and when the time’s right, then everything will be fine.”
He makes it sound so easy. Stressing isn’t going to fix anything though, so I try to push everything out of my mind and just enjoy the feeling of my skin against his. I haven’t had something like this in so long, I forgot how good it can be. Bikers . . . who would have thought?
“Can we stay at my house instead of the clubhouse?” I ask him, my mind going back to that.
His chest shakes as he laughs. “You already planning sleepovers, Jo?”
“Apparently I am,” I grumble, kissing his chest. It’s like my common sense fails me when he’s involved. He makes me blind, weaker and stronger at the same time.
I don’t know how that is.
But I think I’m done trying to figure it out.
TWENTY-ONE
“HAVE you been talking to other women?”
“Yes . . . but it’s not important.”
I ignore the couple sitting next to me as we’re waiting to board the plane, and their ridiculous argument. What did he mean it’s not important? I look at Ranger, who is watching my facial expressions and smirking. I narrow my eyes and silently warn him that I don’t care how big and bad he is, if he ever says that to me, my gun will be drawn. He laughs, which garners Elizabeth’s and Helen’s attention.
“What’s so funny?” Elizabeth asks, looking between the two of us. She and Helen are seated opposite us. Our aunt and uncle caught the earlier flight home because there weren’t enough seats left on this one.
“Nothing,” Ranger says, looking over his boarding pass, a smile still playing on his lips. The two girls watch him, both intrigued, but for different reasons. Helen is probably fascinated by the man who has her sister so enthralled, while Elizabeth is probably wondering if Ranger is the same man that Cam was. I look away from all three of them, and pay attention to my phone. It’s so easy and natural for me to be around Ranger, for us to laugh and joke and tease, and with them here I feel like I shouldn’t do that. It’s a tell. They shouldn’t know how close we are.
It makes me sad that I have to hide the first good thing to happen to me in a long time, but there’s no alternative. I can’t be selfish. Not yet. There are more important things that need to be handled first. We all board the plane, and I count down until I can be home.
? ? ?