Glory (16 page)

Wetting my fingertips, I slicked down any annoying fly-aways around my hairline. The body had long left, making my hair look limp. In a frustrated exhale, I used the rubber band I found randomly on the counter and used it to tie my hair up in a high ponytail, pulling until my scalp hurt. “There,” I muttered. “Instant facelift.”

Washing my hands was my next task. But what to do about the smell? A shower was simply out of the question. Once naked, there would be nothing to stop me from resisting Hastie. In a huff, I grabbed the towel and dampened it, running it under my armpits just to be safe. Scanning the counter, I found no cologne. Hastie didn’t seem like the type to use it anyway. There was aftershave though, but Eau du Musky Man was not something I thought I could pull off.

Deciding that I had wasted enough time, I stepped out of the bathroom, switching off the light behind me. It plunged me in the darkness again, but I didn’t mind. This was where I was most comfortable. The demons were easier to ignore that way.

However, temptation lay only a few feet away. Hastie, no longer shirtless, had changed into new clothes. The black shirt fitted to his body like Saran Wrap, encasing that hard body. Dark jeans covered his thick thighs but he wore no socks on his feet. This was a far more laid back look for Hastie, but he still had that deadly appeal that turned women into frenzied sluts.

The truth of the matter was, I wanted Hastie. Badly. I wanted to run my tongue up those washboard abs and around those hard pecs. I wanted to draw my fingernails along his back, marking him for my pleasure. I wanted to do things to Hastie that would make me the slut everyone believed me to be. And I wouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.

When Hastie’s gaze landed on mine, it was difficult not to drop my panties right there. He studied me with an expression I couldn’t exactly describe, those green eyes scrutinizing my face. “You look the same,” he whispered.

“Were you expecting me to look like a hag without makeup?”

He chuckled as he moved towards me. “No. It’s just that other women without makeup look drastically different. You . . . you still look drop dead gorgeous. You test a man’s will, babe.”

Oh God. Be still my heart.

“Indy, relax. I’m not going to pounce on you.”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“You have this look in your eyes.” “The look” he was referring to was probably me trying to resist tearing all my clothes off and attacking him. “You don’t need to hide from me.”

“You just make me nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“I can’t seem to control myself around you,” I admitted.

That lopsided grin of his twisted my stomach into knots. Hastie had to be well aware of the effect he had on me. He was a sadist for bringing me here, testing my control. That glint in his eyes told me that he wanted me to break. To surrender. But I wouldn’t. The second I did, he’d want more from me. And there wasn’t enough of me to give. “Like I said, no expectations. You give me only what you want.”

At that precise moment, with him looking at me like I was the only woman in the world, I wasn’t certain what it was that I wanted anymore.

I nodded as he pinned me with that intense stare. When I figured he thought he got his words across, he left the room, leaving me alone and wondering what the hell I just said no to.

Hastie

Turning away from Indy was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but it was necessary. I didn’t know if the sight of Kitt and Beck with that woman had really thrown her off, but Indy was standing there like she didn’t trust herself. I didn’t like it one bit.

She looked like she needed space, so that was what I would give her. I wanted her to be at ease, not some scared rabbit who would run at one of my slightest movements. We could do something normal instead, something I hadn’t done in a long time. All the drinks I had earlier left me uncoordinated so racing was out of the question. But maybe if we . . .

Christ, this was so fucking far from what I was used to. I had no clue how to woo a lady. Let alone how to reassure her that I wasn’t some psychotic thug. My idea of relaxing involved cleaning my guns, but I doubted that handling firearms would make her less scared of me.

I winced as I adjusted myself in my jeans. She had me hard as a diamond, those sweet curves of hers reminding me of that time I tasted her tits in her Chevelle. Her soft moans flashed through my mind in a cruel reminder of that night. Letting out a frustrated sound, I gave a mental shove at the memory. But the vision lingered like a phantom, no doubt fuel for fantasies later on.

The sound of light footsteps behind me caused me to turn around. Indy stood there, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted as her breath came out in soft puffs. She didn’t say anything at first. She just looked at me with an intensity I could feel burning through my body like a brand. It seared me into spot despite the desperate need to cross the distance between us and crush her mouth to mine.

I’d had a taste once. And like a dying man, I wanted one more chance to experience it again.

TWELVE

Skin on Skin

Indy

I
n the minutes right after Hastie had left the room, I realized my mistake. When a person had feelings for another, they usually expressed that through their actions. Sex was a part of that. To deny Hastie would be the same as leaving him in the dark. He at least deserved to know where my feelings lay.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want him. It was that I
couldn’t.

I wasn’t sure what it was about Hastie that made me want him so bad. Was it the fact that his MC membership allowed him to understand my more reckless ways? Was it because he had a family in Glory MC and I had always dreamed about having something like that? Or was it because of the man himself?

From the very first moment Hastie dragged those emerald green eyes down the length of my body to my kickass Louboutins and smirked that sexy one-sided grin of his, I knew he wasn’t for me.

There was no man in this world for me.

But damn, there was something about him that I couldn’t walk away from. You try denying sex from a man like Hastie and see where your feelings lay. See how badly your body betrayed your mind like mine was in this moment.

“Indy, are you all right?” Hastie asked.

I shook my head. No, I was far from being all right. Hastie was making me doubt myself and all he was doing was just standing there!

“What’s wrong?” In seconds, he was before me, handling me more gently than I thought a badass biker would be capable of.

Tilting my head up, I met his concerned gaze. Feeling as if my breath would burst from my lungs, I blurted out what I wanted to say a thousand times this night. “Kiss me.” The look in Hastie’s eyes darkened and intensified, clouded by a storm of emotions. The moment hung between us. I felt as if I was teetering right on the precipice, waiting for him to either catch me or let me fall. “Kiss me, Hastie,” I said more urgently, tugging on his shirt.

Without a word, his mouth descended on mine, hard and punishing. To my embarrassment, a moan escaped me.
Oh God.
Everything
was
better when emotions were involved.

I licked at his lips, coaxing him to open. And then I dove in with my tongue, teasing and tasting. My head felt light and fluffy, clouded with lust. Balance slowly deserted me, leaving me high and dry. I clutched at his shirt, trying to ground myself, but beneath the hard concentration of his kiss, I felt completely dominated. Surrendering had
never
felt so good.

Hastie’s fingers found a place in my hair, tugging it back so that my neck was exposed when we finally pulled away for breath. Air raced in and out past our lips. “What changed your mind?”

“What does it matter?”

He nipped me on the tender side of my neck with his teeth, little punishments that made me wild. “It fucking matters.” His grip tightened deliciously in my hair. “Tell me.”

“Just trying a new way to live.”

Hastie pulled back to study me with emerald eyes. I had put as much nonchalance in my words as I could muster. Primal heat clouded over his expression. When he shook his head once, his voice was firm and clear. “No.”

I stiffened beneath his touch. “No? What do you mean
no
?”

For a long moment, he just stared at me, and I immediately felt the walls around me start to crumble. Like ice cold water was being poured over me, my mood chilled and I jerked away from his embrace.

The one time I decided to have sex with someone not because I could, but because it was someone I was emotionally attached to, he refused me! The slice cut deep, more painful than an acid burn. Screw these emotions! I didn’t care if they made the sex more incredible! This rejection
hurt!

Strong arms enfolded me and I fought him, trying to get myself free. When Hastie slowly moved his mouth up the side of my neck beside my ear, I felt his words burn against my skin. “It means that when I fuck you, you won’t ever have second thoughts of me come morning.”

Arousal shot through my system at his crude words. I hated how my body reacted to his words. It made me feel so confused.

I wish there was a Dating for Dummies manual that I could consult for all this. Or, more specifically, a How to Handle Hastie Handbook that laid out clearly in columns the instructions of what to do. His growled words against my ear left me stunned. And beyond turned on.

Hands on his chest, I curled my fingers into him. His gaze remained stern as he looked down at me. “I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you in any way.”

“You won’t hurt me. I’m not a virgin whose innocence you’re stealing. You’re not saving me from anything by doing this. Do you look down on me so much that you think I can’t make up my mind on what I want?”

His lips formed a stern line as my words settled in. “Fifteen minutes ago, you were dead set on keeping your legs shut. What changed? Why now? I don’t want this night to be something you regret.”

“I don’t know. I realized I didn’t want to fight what’s between us anymore. I want to know what it’s like to be in your bed rather than wonder. I want to speak freely with you.
Be free
with you.”

He gave one shake of his head, conveying his confusion. “Freedom has nothing to do with this.”

“It does to me,” I said simply. “You’ve lived your entire existence doing as you please, never having to worry about the consequences of your actions. I’m looking for
my
turn now. I want to live wildly with no regrets.” I pulled him in closer, letting him know how much this meant to me. “I want to be wild with you. But if you’re not interested then I’ll just find some other guy to be with.” The last bit was a taunt. I pushed off him, growing frustrated by the second.

Hastie gripped my wrist and pulled me back to him. His voice was a low, threatening growl. “You’re not going anywhere with anyone.”

I looked into his deep green eyes. “I know what I want and I want you, Hastie. I was stupid for saying I wouldn’t have sex with you earlier. I was just trying to convince myself that I didn’t want you as much as I really do. But there’s no point in denying it anymore. We both know it.
I want you,”
I repeated. “
And only you
.”

There, in the dim light of the moon, Hastie’s face was partially obscured by shadows. But I could make out the slow wolfish smile that spread his lips. His lip ring glinted in the low light and it only reminded me of how it felt against my own lips.

Then, the unexpected happened. Hastie laughed in a loud burst that echoed through the room. “You surprise me, Indy. Every goddamn time I think I have you figured out, you surprise me. Come here.”

A couple steps forward and I was in his warm embrace again. He kissed me on the forehead, the gesture so sweet it took the anger out from me. “Will you kiss me now?” I asked where my face was mashed up against his chest.

On a pained laugh, he said, “Yeah, babe, I’ll kiss you. But just to make sure there are no regrets come morning, I still won’t be taking you out of your panties tonight.”

I pushed back from his chest, tipping my head up to look up at him. “Fine,” I said coyly, “Then I’ll take them off for you.”

His head tilted back on a roar of laughter. I loved the way it transformed his face, but he shook his head as I tried to pull back. “The panties stay on,” he said firmly. I pinched him in the tender place on his side. “Ow. Watch it. You may not like your punishments. Get on the bed.”

My eyes widened at his command. But excitement surged through me. So what if I had sex with others before this? Being with Hastie was like doing it for the very first time. The butterflies resurfaced, fluttering frantically in my tummy. The uncertainty of what to do with a man like him made me nervous.

His gaze roamed from my painted hot pink toes all the way up my legs to my belly button and lingered there. As he moved towards me, he undressed, peeling off layers and layers of clothing that seemed like a violation. Nothing should ever hide his exquisite body. “You’re looking at me like you want to eat me right up. Do you like what you see?”

I nodded, too turned on by that point to speak. “Good,” he said, lowering his head to me. “I like your hungry eyes on me. I’ll leave these on for now.” My eyes dropped to his dark jeans and how they encased his thick thighs and huge erection. Thoughts fled me as his lips descended on mine in a heated possession.

I was gasping for breath when he stopped his slow destruction and edged down my body, using his rough hands to explore my curves. Heat pooled in the apex of my thighs. Did he know just how wet I was?

As if he could read my mind, he palmed me there, the motion swift and possessive. Instinctively, I rocked into his hand, but Hastie steadied me with his other hand on my hip. “Come on,” he said as he slid both hands along the sensitive inside of my thighs, opening me wide. “Spread these thighs for my tongue.”

Growing dizzy by every command, I did as I was told, widening my legs as much as I could. I felt his rough fingertips push my skirt up slowly, exposing skin. Immediately, Hastie’s gaze dropped to my hidden core and I felt a sudden zing of excitement at the response I could get from just following each of his heated commands.