Snake Charmer (Rawkfist MC Book 2) (8 page)

Donovan

J
ourney settles down once we begin
complaining about hiking. She even gets the giggles after we quietly mock a
gung-ho couple passing us. Her arm remains linked with mine while we shuffle
down the path. I know for Journey this move is a big deal. So is her every
smile, and she smiles at lot as we spend the next hour inching along the paths.

“When my coworker talked about hiking
on a date,” I say, wiping sweat from my head, “I thought it sounded like a
horrible idea.”

“Do you now feel vindicated?”

Grinning, I nod. “The company is sexy
as hell, but I could do without the allergies.”

“Poor, copper. All you wanted was to
get in my pants, but now you’ll spend the night with red, watery eyes.”

Journey reaches to caress my face
before pausing mid-air and considering whether to continue. She finally allows
her fingers to brush over my cheek. I think about how Journey went from shoving
me against a car to barely capable of touching my face. Had the light of day
zapped her courage?

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever
eaten?” I ask when she studies me for too long.

Thrown by my question, Journey thinks
about the question for nearly a minute before smiling.

“Poppy’s dad was on a health kick years
ago. Back then, I was certain he was having an affair. Christine was working a
lot, and Paul isn’t the kind of guy to spend time alone. So one night during
his health kick, he made an awful tomato and tofu concoction that he shoved
into half of a grilled green pepper. That was the entire meal. Poppy was around
seven. When her dad said that was all we got for dinner, and we could eat it or
starve, she started bawling.”

“Did you eat it?”

“Frick no. We didn’t starve either. I
was driving by then, and Jared bought me a used blue sedan. Once I had the car,
I found a job and stopped listening to Paul. I hadn’t been good at listening to
him before then, but he was just white noise after my car. So I took Poppy and
Justice to Burger King for dinner. Paul tried stopping me. The dipfrick even
made threats. I made threats too. When he said he’d call the cops if I hit him,
I warned how I’d say he hit me first. Paul always backed down when it came to
violence. His strength was emotional abuse. The physical stuff scared the piss
out of him.”

“You’re a good big sister.”

“Don’t talk down to me,” Journey
grumbles, yanking her arm free.

“I’m not. I’d have fucking loved to
have a big sister to stick up for me growing up. Oh, and a sister to buy me
food too.”

Studying me, Journey decides I’m square
with her. Her arm slides through mine, and we walk again.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to be
an only child.”

“It was lonely.”

Journey’s taken back by my honesty. She
stops walking for a moment and stares up at me. I don’t flinch under her
intense gaze. She wants me to open up, so I plan to be an open book today.

“Did your mom raise you alone?”

“Off and on. At times, we moved in with
my grandparents. Mom would get in over her head. Once she felt more centered,
she’d begin fighting with them a lot. Soon, we’d move out, and she’d try to do
it alone.”

“What was she like?”

I’m not particularly surprised Journey
knows my mom is dead. Word gets around Tumbling Rock. No doubt the minute people
heard about our first date, they began bombarding her with my life story.

“Mom was stubborn, self-centered,
stubborn, restless, and stubborn. You get the picture.”

“I can’t imagine growing up in such an
uncertain situation.”

“I bet you can. Your stepdad sounds
like a piece of work.”

“Paul’s the kind of man capable of
breaking down insecure people. I’ve never been insecure, though. I’m me, and
I’ve always been me. I don’t get upset when people don’t want to be my friends.
I never care if I’m popular. I’ve had lots of friends, but they were never
close. I don’t trust people with my heart. Even as a kid, I kept them at arm's
length. People need to earn my trust, and Paul never did. He was so clearly an
insecure douche from day one that I never gave a flying frick what he thought
of me.”

“So nothing anyone can say will hurt
you?”

Journey frowns as if I’ve asked the
dumbest fucking question ever. “Of course, if my mom, dad, or sisters said
something cruel, I’d feel it. I trust them. My father less so since I didn’t
know him that well growing up. We’d visit him, and he’d feel real, and I’d
begin to trust him, but then the visit would end, and I’d start all over. With
my sisters and mom, I’m completely open. If they turn on me, I’ll have no
protection.”

“You make human contact sound so
aggressive.”

Journey isn’t sure if she wants to
smile. Finally, she relents to my laughter.

“That’s what it feels like to me. Not
so much when I was a kid, but once I got older, I saw how people struggle to be
in control. Well, mainly Christine does. She is great on her own. With certain
people, she turns into a nervous little kid. I never want that to happen to
me.”

“You kinda act like that with me.”

“Eat feces, cop,” Journey says,
laughing and tightening her hold on my arm. “I’m cool as ice with you.”

“Sure, little lady. You’re a damn
iceberg.”

Glancing up at me, she sighs. “I’m
sorry I said your face was made of feces.”

“Considering you kiss the damn thing, I
sure hope you don’t think my face is made out of shit.”

“I miss saying ‘shit.’ Oh, and a good
‘fuck off’ would be an excellent release.”

“Have at it.”

Journey glances around. “There could be
kids in the woods.”

“Not yours, though.”

“Oh, yeah, so who cares?” she says,
grinning.

Journey lets go of my arm, leaving me
cold. After leaning forward and taking a deep breath, she lets out a string of
cuss words that’d make the nastiest meth head nod with approval.

“Feel better?”

Wearing a glorious smile, Journey wraps
her arms around me. “Yeah, I do.”

I take advantage of her happy mood and
plant a kiss on her grinning lips. Journey tightens her grip, nearly knocking
me off balance. When she grabs me with such ferocity, I can barely contain my
need to have her under me in bed. I want her to call my name out when she
comes. I ache to feel her pussy tighten around my cock and know I’ve brought
her pleasure. Making Journey come apart is all I desire.

I’m blinded to all else, but the
feeling never lasts. The world returns, and I’m just Donovan Mooney. Soon, I’m
left with only negative thoughts killing all of my dreams.
I can’t win this
woman over. I won’t keep her with me. There’s no future for us. I’m only
fooling myself.

Quiet is the right kind of living for
me. I spend most of my time alone. I enjoy the silence. Journey probably won’t
want everything so quiet, but she doesn’t complain while we sit on a bench and
drink water.

She caresses my forearm and leans down
to look closer. “You have blond hairs on your arm.”

“That I do.”

“I hadn’t noticed that about you,”
Journey says and then leans back. “Seems stupid, I’m sure, but I realize I
hadn’t paid much attention to you on our first date. I was too busy wondering
why I was sitting with you rather than with my family at home.”

“Did you ever figure that out?”

Journey gives me a little smile. “I’m
not ashamed to say I went out with you simply because of lust. You looked
really pretty at the fair.”

“And you were damn handsome.”

Journey shares my smile. “Is it so bad
that I’m uncomfortable chasing men?”

“I’d lose all respect for you if you
chased me.”

“Nice to know you have standards.”

I reach out and pretend to brush
something off her face. Her skin is unbelievably soft under my touch.

“I want to chase you.”

“Except isn’t the fun part of chasing
having one person make it hard to catch them? Have I made it too easy for you?”

Laughing is a bad move to make with a
woman like Journey, but I can’t help it. She’s wearing the sincerest expression
when she claims to have made the chase too easy for me.

“What’s funny?” she asks, partly amused
yet mostly leery.

“Your idea of easy isn’t the same
definition most people would use.”

“Well, I don’t have much experience
with dating. To me, it feels like I’ve given in too quickly.”

“Oh, you’ve given in, have you? Well,
then let me claim my prize.”

Leaning across the table, I cover her
lips with mine and suck tenderly. Journey doesn’t react coldly. Instead, she
presses closer and opens her mouth for my curious tongue. I taste mint first
and then the heat of her intense arousal that I’m not expecting.

A barking dog grudgingly separates us.
Journey doesn’t glance at the passing hikers. Her gaze remains locked on me.

“Dating is lame,” she whispers,
standing up and walking around the table before sitting on the same bench and
facing me.

“You’re fearless,” I say, reaching out
to cup her cheek.

“How do you figure?”

“You take what you want.”

“Because I changed spots on the table?”

“Because you wanted me to kiss you
again, so you came over here to make it easier for me,” I explain, sliding
closer. “Now I can hold you close and let my fingers explore your sweaty flesh.
That was brave of you to offer me such access.”

“Umm… I’m not sure I…”

My lips shut up her weak protestation.
Journey might not be confident about the dating gig, but she’s a fan of
kissing. This time, when noisy people pass us, our lips remain stuck together.
Journey’s hands slide up the back of my shirt while she lifts her legs over
mine. Soon, she’s on my lap, ready to crawl under my skin.

Journey actually growls when I pry free
my lips. I feel her tensing in my arms until my mouth latches onto the spot
where her throat and shoulder curve together. Sighing approvingly, she relaxes
in my embrace even while digging her fingers into my back. If a little neck
action riles up Journey this much, I can’t wait to strip her down alone
somewhere.

A half hour of her hips pressed against
mine, sending my erection into a painful funk, is all I enjoy before Journey
regains her senses and pulls away.

Fumbling with her backpack, she
pretends her panties aren’t drenched and her nipples don’t stretch the fabric
of her shirt.

“What now?” she says while we walk back
to my car. “Did this hiking date go well?”

“What do you think?”

“How would I know?”

“Did you have fun?”

“I didn’t like hiking.”

“What about the part where you hung out
with me?”

Journey caresses her lips and gives me
a once over. She won’t provide my ego any easy comfort. Instead, she considers
our day together and shrugs.

“You were agreeable.”

Even as she says the words, Journey
wraps her arms around me and squeezes my ass.

“Your lips say one thing, but your
inquisitive hands say something completely different.”

Grinning wide, she gives my ass another
squeeze. “Not really. My hands think you’re agreeable too.”

“My hands like you too,” I say, kissing
her forehead gently while my hands cover her curvy ass.

“Is this how dates are supposed to
end?” she asks, leaning her head on my chest as her hands get comfortable in my
back pockets.

“Sure, why the fuck not?”

“Is this how you usually end dates?”

“I don’t go on dates.”

“So you’re just making crap up as you
go along?”

“Again, why the fuck not?”

“Should we have another date or end
this one with the knowledge that it couldn’t have gone any better considering
it involved hiking?”

“I’d like another date. I think your
fingers digging into my ass want another date too.”

Journey laughs against my chest. “They
find you very agreeable.”

“So you’ll go out with me again, and
we’ll fondle each other. Might even have a conversation that doesn’t involve
shitty food or how much we dislike other people.”

“You’re probably aiming too high with
those expectations, but I guess you’re just a dreamer.”

“For you, I’m giving the dreamer
schtick a try. I promise nothing.”

“I wouldn’t believe your promises
anyway.”

“I’ll take you home now, so you can get
a cold shower.”

“Cold showers are for repressed church
types. I have a vibrator, and it’s my date for the evening.”