Impulsively (Dante's Nine MC) (11 page)

“Lucky man,” Leo nods.

“Lucky as hell,” Brooks agrees, wrapping his arms around my
waist.

“Kelly here wanted to push Tyke your way,” Leo says to me,
his golden eyes gleaming, “but I guess you prefer your guys a bit rougher
around the edges?”

I think of puny Milo and bite back a laugh. “You might say
that,” I allow.

Kelly and Kassie look at me intently. I can tell they’re
trying to give me a way out, if I want it. I know they’re still trying to get a
read on Brooks, since he’s so new around here. But despite their confidence
that no one here will do me harm, I have no way of knowing that for sure. My
head doesn’t have the information it needs, but my gut is telling me that
Brooks is my best bet tonight. And my gut is never wrong.

“Let me get you a drink,” Brooks says, running his hands
over the points of my hips.

“God, yes,” I mutter, before I can stop myself. Surely I’m
not the first undercover agent to toss back a few with the people she’s
investigating. I have a feeling that teetotalers don’t get invited back to
these club shindigs.

“I like her!” Kelly’s old man crows.

“She’s growing on me,” Declan allows.

“Just don’t try to keep up with these maniacs,” Kassie warns
me, jabbing her thumb at Declan, “they’re tanks.”

“I promise,” I assure her, as Dani lines up a long row of
shot glasses along the bar.

The men and women of the Wraiths and Nine crowd against the
long wooden bar, each grabbing up a shot of whiskey as Declan calls for their
attention.

“Here’s to Caleb Brooks,” he crows, “the newest man of
Dante’s Nine, one of the best men I’ve ever met. Welcome to the family, bro!”

Stomping feet and rallying voices fill the already
cacophonous space. Someone puts a classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song on the jukebox,
and the party has officially begun. I feel myself getting swept up in this
place, this energy. I stare down at my glass of amber liquor and smile to
myself. When in Rome, have a fucking drink, right? I knock back the shot,
steadying myself against Brooks’ incredible body. He looks down at me, pleased
and clearly turned on by my gumption. One thing’s for sure—I’ve never had this
much fun at work in my life.

“Hey, Sparky,” Leo calls across the bar, “why don’t you go
do what you do best so we can have some fun?”

A maniacal smile spreads across the red-bearded face of
Sparky, the Wraiths resident pyro. He scampers out the back door, and the rest
of us follow in a wave. I drink in a huge breath of night air, the smoky taste
of the whiskey still fresh on my tongue. Looking around at the assembled men
and women, I have to admit that they’re not what I expected. Though there’s an
element of danger to them, they protect each other, following a fierce code.
There’s honor among thieves—could there be honor among outlaws too?

Brooks keeps one hand on me at all times. I feel myself
pressing back against his touch, reveling in the small point of contact. I’ve
already decided to see where things go with him; why not enjoy it?

“How’re you feeling?” Brooks asks, guiding me away from the
jostling crowd.

“I’m good,” I tell him, “just enjoying the party.”

“I can tell,” he grins, running a hand up between my
shoulder blades. I can’t stop a shiver from running through my body at his
touch. “Wound a bit tight there?” he asks, his crooked smile widening.

A pulse of excitement lights me up as the word
tight
trips off his lips. I
remember my sexy dream all at once, every single image. Thank god the darkness
is hiding the color in my cheeks. Before I can respond to Brooks’ evocative
question, a roar goes up from the party. A huge crackling sound and blast of
heat erupt as a wild light shoots into the sky. A roiling, massive bonfire
comes to life at the center of the gathering. Sparky holds his arms up in
triumph before the blaze. Guess having a serial arsonist around can come in
handy.

“Impressed?” Brooks asks, looking at the fire.

My eyes don’t rest on the giant blaze. They’re fixed on
Brooks’ face as the firelight dances across his features. “Yes,” I breathe.

He glances down at me, and shakes his dark curls. “I knew
you didn’t really want me to stay away from you,” he says.

“The jury’s still out on that one,” I insist. But we both
know it’s a lie.

“Whatever you say, Red,” he laughs, drawing a flask out from
within his cut. He unscrews the cap and takes a long swig before offering it to
me. I happily accept, eager to let my lips brush against the place where his
just were. A mouthful of fire courses down my throat, warming me all over. Or
maybe it’s just the closeness of Brooks that has me heating up.

“Come on, Red,” Brooks says, urging me further away from the
group, “I want to show you something.”

I bite my lip, glancing back at the assembled party. Kassie
and Kelly are wrapped up with their old men, laughing and having a good time.
Clearly, they’re not too worried about little old me. I’m on my own with this
sexy stranger of a man. I adjust the straps of my bag and take a calming
breath.

“Sure,” I say, gathering up my courage, “let’s go.”

We turn our backs on the blazing fire and set off across the
Dante’s Nine compound together. I pause to kick off my stilettos as we veer off
into the wide-open land. I can’t believe that last week, my idea of a good time
was a Netflix marathon and a bag of kettle corn. Who am I, all of a sudden?
Wandering off from biker bars with strange, gorgeous men, shooting whiskey,
taking crazy risks?

“Can I ask you something, Brooks?” I say, breaking the
silence that’s been hanging like smoke in the air between us.

“Shoot, Red,” he says, as we climb up a low, rocky rise.

“Why didn’t you just let me fend for myself tonight?” I ask,
glancing at his sculpted profile. “What’s it to you if I’m safe or not?”

“It’s pretty simple,” he shrugs, “I didn’t want anyone else
getting to you first.”

“I don’t think it
is
that simple,” I challenge him. “I think you wanted to protect me as much as you
wanted to call dibs on me.”

“You need some kind of romantic explanation? Fine,” he
laughs, “Think whatever you want to think. As long as I still get to call you
mine around here.”

“You’re not as hard to read as you think,” I grin, teasing
him gently.

“You don’t know the first thing about me,” he growls, “If
you did, you wouldn’t have followed me out here.”

The steely edge to his voice takes me by surprise. For the
first time, a real jolt of fear runs through my heart. What if I’ve totally
misjudged this man? What if I’ve really put myself in danger, trusting him
tonight? But something about the pained expression that crosses his face tells
me he’s no heartless bastard. Flawed, perhaps, but not heartless.

We walk along in silence once more, the sounds of the party
fading behind us. My heart slams against my rib cage as if trying to escape. I
don’t blame it. My fingers tremble as I clutch my purse tightly against my
side. I’ve never been more relieved to be armed in my entire FBI career. If the
slightest thing goes wrong, I’ll have to act without hesitation.

“Where are we going, Brooks?” I whisper.

“You’ll see,” he replies, his shoulders squared away from
me.

Just as I’m about to make a break for it, turn and run back
to the party, the ground levels out before us. Brooks stops dead in his tracks,
and I crash right into his rock solid body. I look around wildly, but there’s
nothing around us except low hills and dusty terrain.

“What...uh...” I stammer. “Why did we stop?”

“You’re such a city chick,” he laughs, stepping up behind
me. His manner softens just slightly as he eases up against my body. Brooks
places a hand dangerously low on my hip, and raises my chin with the other.

“Look up,” he whispers roughly.

My blue eyes go wide as I lift them to the heavens. Above us
hang a million blazing pinpricks of light. The stars careen overhead in a
sprawling, incomprehensible array. I’ve never seen anything like it before in
my life. I let my bag fall heavily from my shoulder, and it lands with a thump
in the dust beside me.

“Bet you don’t have skies like this in New York,” Brooks
grins.

“No...” I breathe, impressed that he remembered the hometown
of my alias.

“What did I tell you,” he goes on, his voice riding low in
his chest, “I can show you all
kinds
of things, Red.”

I let my head fall back against his firm chest as he brushes
my hair to the side. He trails his fingertips along the bare curve of my neck,
across my collarbone, down toward my breasts—

“Brooks,” I say breathlessly, spinning around to face him.

“Just let go,” he urges, grabbing me at the waist. His
fingers nearly circle my slender torso as I rest my hands on the hard panes of
his chest. “You want me. I want you. We’re out here, all alone...”

“I know,” I say, shaking my head. “I just—”

“What?” he rasps, his green eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
“What’s stopping you?”

I slip my quaking hands beneath his cut, my palms skimming
along every defined muscle. My fingers close around his metal flask, cool
against my skin. I unscrew the top and knock back a long swallow of courage.
The fiery gulp sets the landscape around me spinning. In the entire world,
Brooks is the only solid thing. The only thing that matters.

“I just really needed that,” I laugh nervously.

“You missed a drop there,” Brooks growls, his eyes dropping
to my mouth, “let me get it for you...”

In one swift motion, Brooks catches my lips in his. The kiss
sets every cell of my body spinning out of control. I dissolve into him, my
body softening in his strong, sure arms. I catch his powerful, scruffy jaw in
my quaking hands as our mouths open together. His tongue glides against my own,
and the taste of him—whiskey, smoke, richness and warmth—bewitches me
completely. I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders as he slides his hands
over the rise of my ass.

He tugs me against him, and a moan builds in my throat. I
can feel his cock, rock hard against me. My hips grind against him as my sex
throbs with want. I can feel myself growing wetter by the second. Brooks’
tongue fills my mouth as his kisses become more urgent. I can only imagine what
it’s like to be filled by him everywhere.

Maybe I’m about to find out.

“Goddammit Red,” he says, kissing along the tender skin of
my throat, “I can taste how badly you want me. I can practically
smell
it.”

“I’m gonna need another shot if you keep talking like that,”
I laugh, plucking up his flask once again.

I slip out from under his arms, giggling like a teenager.
His crooked smile widens as I dash across the dusty ground, egging him on. He
sets off after me, a patient cat toying with his mouse before pouncing. I bring
the flask thirstily to my lips. The stars are already blurring above me, but
I’m too overwhelmed by the moment to care. I can feel myself letting go,
loosening the iron grip of composure and anxiety that’s kept me unhappy all
these years.

“Slow down, babe,” Brooks calls, “or I’m gonna have to carry
you back.”

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” I grin, spinning around to
face him. “You’d just love to throw me over your shoulder and carry me back to
your cave.”

“Of course I would,” he says. “Do you have any idea what you
do to me? Just look at you. I’d be fucking crazy not to make you mine.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?” I ask, struggling to
focus on Brooks as the world around me spins madly on. He catches up to where I
stand, steadying me. “Are you going to make me yours, Brooks?”

“Don’t you get it, Red?” he says, running his hands through
my hair. “I already have.”

He lowers his lips to mine once more, running his hands down
my sides. Any pretense of restraint I had goes flying away into the brilliant
night sky. Screw decorum. Screw modesty. Screw the rules. Sure, I just met the guy
yesterday. And sure, he doesn’t even know my real name. I’ll have to sort this
all out at some point. But that can wait for tomorrow. Right now, all I care
about is the gorgeous, incomparable man in front of me.

“I don’t usually do things like this...” I murmur, giving my
full weight to Brooks’ strong, cut arms.

“I can tell,” he grins. “I bet you’ve never met a guy like
me, have you?”

“Hell no,” I laugh, letting my head fall tipsily against his
shoulder.

“If it makes you feel any better, Red,” he says, brushing
the hair out of my face, “I’ve never met a girl like you, either.”

“Don’t usually go for redheads?” I grin.

“Oh, I go for redheads every chance I get,” he laughs,
running those perfect hands all over my body, “But a smart, feisty, ballsy
redhead who always looks like she’s keeping a secret? Not so much.”

“I’m not keeping a secret,” I insist, trying to keep the
alarm from my voice. How could he have guessed a thing like that?

“Everyone’s got a secret,” he says, cocking an eyebrow, “And
the people who deny that have the biggest secrets of all. I should know.”

“I...That’s not...” I stammer, fighting for coherence and
losing to the whiskey pulsing through my veins.

“Looks like you’re going to need a ride after all,” Brooks
grins, his green eyes sparkling with mischief. Suddenly the sky flips upside
down, and I feel my feet fly away from the ground.

“Brooks, what the hell?!” I exclaim, as the brawny biker
slings me over his shoulder.

“I warned you,” he grins, giving my ass a playful slap.

“You’re out of your damn mind,” I cry, pounding my fists
against his back. But even I know that I’m only playing at being irked. How is
every single thing this man does so incredibly sexy to me? Even
this?

“Crazy as shit,” he replies, marching back toward the
clubhouse, “and don’t pretend for a second that you don’t love it.”