Impulsively (Dante's Nine MC) (29 page)

“Right...” I say absentmindedly, watching as the crowd of
people before him parts. He ambles up with that lazy walk to lean on the bar. I
swallow hard.

Franchise heads over as West casually holds up two fingers.
Franchise quickly pulls two beers from the tap and slides them down the bar.
West grabs the beers and stands up, glancing down the length of the bar as he
turns. Our eyes lock and blood rushes to my face. Fuck. He caught me staring. I
quickly look down at my whiskey and throw back a large sip. It burns on the way
down and I can’t help but wince a little.

“Oh my god, he’s coming over!” Colleen whispers, furiously
fluffing her hair with her fingers.

Shit
.
I keep my gaze fixed on my glass, reminding myself to breathe. This is
happening so differently than I imagined it would. I feel the warmth of a body
next to me at the bar. I slowly turn toward West, letting my eyes travel up the
black t-shirt stretched across his hard chest. He’s even more built than I
remembered. I finally meet his gaze. He’s smiling down at me, a cocky smirk
etched onto his sculpted features.

“Need a chaser?” he asks, placing one of his beers next to
my whiskey.

“Thanks,” I reply, smiling up at him and raising the beer to
my lips.

“So, what’s your name?” he asks. I look up at him in
surprise, choking a bit on my mouthful of beer.

“Hey, West,” Colleen says flirtatiously, leaning around me.

He ignores her entirely, his eyes fixed on me. “Why don’t
you come over and sit with me and my friends?” he asks. I hear Colleen squeak
in protest.

“Sure,” I reply, grabbing both the beer and the whiskey.
With a cock of his head toward the back of the room, West turns and leads me
toward his table. Rather than weaving through the people in his way, he walks
straight through the crowd.

I study the Outlaws’ symbol on his vest as I follow him.
Does he seriously not recognize me? Well, it is dark in here, and it has been
almost a decade. I guess I do look pretty different, too. I finally gave up the
Sun-In and dyed my hair dark, and had my growth spurt to reach the towering
height of 5’6”. And, you know, grew boobs, but shit—for him to totally not
recognize me? Didn’t see that one coming.

Do I really get the chance now to finally not be Stick’s kid
sister? To be a woman, not some bratty little girl? This seems like an
opportunity I can’t pass up.

Chapter Two

A smile crosses my lips as West pulls the curtain aside and
we cross into the back area. Several brothers sit around the tables, each with
a girl (or two) draped across them. Ah, these must be the “sweet butts” that
Stick has mentioned to me. All I can get out of him is that they’re the girls
that hang around the brothers, hoping one of them will make her his old
lady—which in the MC world is like being a wife.

West puts his beer on an empty table in the corner and pulls
a chair for me. I sit down and cross my legs, glad I decided to change in the
airport bathroom into one of my favorite outfits—a short jean skirt and silky
black tank top. I take a deep breath. If West doesn’t remember me, then I can
be the more confident woman I’ve become since we shared that kiss so many years
ago. He drapes his arm around the back of my chair.

“So, what did you say your name was?” he asks.

“I didn’t. It’s...Grace,” I reply, spitting out the first
name that pops into my head.

“Grace,” he repeats. “Have we met before? You look a little
familiar.”

“Oh no,” I say, tilting my head and lowering my eyelashes
suggestively. “I think I’d remember meeting you.”

West smiles, his ego sufficiently stroked. “And you just
happened to stop in here tonight, Grace?”

“I just moved here, wanted to meet some new people. This...”
I say, running my fingers down the smooth, worn leather of his vest, letting my
touch linger. “It’s called a cut, right?”

“That’s right. It’s the cut of the Outlaws MC. MC stands for
motorcycle club,” he tells me.

I turn my body toward him a little and lower my voice so he
has to lean into me to hear what I’m saying.

“Why join a motorcycle club?” I ask, “Why not just ride out
by yourself?”

“It’s a brotherhood, a family,” West replies, “I didn’t have
much of one growing up. Every one of my brothers would die for me, and I’d do
the same for them.”

“Your brother Franchise looks like he wants someone to put
him out of his misery right about now,” I point out. West chuckles and takes a
sip of his beer, letting his hand brush against my knee. His touch sends a
shiver through my whole body.

“Franchise isn’t used to having such an immediate role in
his businesses. He prefers to sit back and have the actual operations run
themselves. Hence his name,” he replies. He leans in so closely when he speaks
that the sound of his voice vibrates right through me.

“Colleen, she said your name was West. How’d you get that
nickname?” I ask. I already know this story because it involves my brother, but
I just want to keep hearing the rich sound of his voice. And what man with an
ego as big as West’s doesn’t like to talk about himself?

“West. That was a name I got when I was a kid,” he says.

“Oh yeah?” I say, encouraging him.

“We were learning all about the Old West in school,” he
begins, “You know, frontiers, cowboys. All these people heading west looking
for freedom. Me and my best friend, we wanted the same thing for ourselves, so
we ran away from home. When they finally caught up with us, all I’d tell people
was, ‘We’re just heading West.’”

“And this...?” I ask, gently skimming my fingers over the
Marine Corps tattoo showing beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt. I brush the
fabric upwards, revealing the eagle astride a globe, with an anchor at its
side.

He drops his hand casually to my knee. I feel the cold sweat
of the beer still on his palm as he gently strokes his thumb back and forth
along the side of my leg. I’m glad we’re hidden away in this dark corner—this
way, he won’t see my blush. I glance around and see most of the other people
back here are focused on the pool game happening outside the curtain.

“No fair,” he growls. “You have to tell me something about
yourself first.”

“OK,” I grin, gamely. “What do you want to know?”

“You said you’re new in town,” he says, “What brings you to
West Clayton?”

“The ambience?” I smile wryly.

He laughs softly. “That wasn’t even a good try. Come on.
Tell me.”

“Well, I was living...East, as opposed to West,” I say with
a smile, delicately balancing my truths and lies. “And...let’s just say I tend
to be attracted to the wrong kind of guy.”

“Maybe you need someone to protect you,” he murmurs, sliding
his hand a couple inches up my leg.

“Oh, no, I’ve had enough protection for one lifetime,” I
say, locking eyes with him. The hungry expression in his eyes knocks the wind
out of me.

“Is that so?” he asks, his hand moving up another inch. I
can barely think straight.

“My brother. He can be really overprotective,” I go on.
Shit. Did I say too much? But West slides his hand another two inches up my thigh,
slipping just his fingertips under the edge of my skirt.

“Well he’s not here now, is he?” West growls.

But before I can respond, he leans forward, and his lips are
on me. My body ignites the instant his mouth presses against mine. He is gentle
but purposeful, opening my lips and sliding his tongue against mine. I receive
it eagerly, matching his every move. He tastes exactly the same as I remember.
I feel his fingers rubbing softly along my leg, moving tantalizingly slowly up
the soft skin of my inner thigh. I uncross my legs and reach across to his leg
with my right hand, sliding my palm over his firm thigh.

Suddenly, his hand disappears and he pulls his face away. He
snakes one arm around my waist and the other under my legs, hoisting me off my
seat and planting me on his lap, both of my legs swung to one side of his body
as he leans back in his chair, resting his head on the wall behind him. I
glance around, worried we’re making a scene.

“Don’t worry, no one’s watching,” he assures me, and he’s
right. There are only a few people in the back now anyway. And while I can
barely see them in the dark, it doesn’t look like anyone is keeping their hands
to themselves. Besides, I’m too high on his touch to care.

I turn back to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and
kissing him deeply. I feel his hand work its way up my thigh. I shift my weight
in his lap a little, and I feel his hard length pressing against my ass. It
seems that
every
part
of West has grown since the last time I kissed him.

His breath catches in his throat as I circle my hips a
little, teasing him. I feel him slide his fingers the final inch up my leg. I
gasp as he grazes my clit with his fingertips, sure he can already feel my
excitement soaking through my cotton panties.

He pulls my head back toward him, aggressively pushing his
tongue into my mouth, exploring me. I start to go limp in his strong arms.
Every ounce of my attention is focused on his fingers as they move around my
clit, circling it slowly. He pulls my underwear to the side with his thumb, and
suddenly his forefinger is pressed directly against that tender little nub. I
would moan, but my mouth is busy. West rubs my wet clit until the pleasure is
almost overwhelming.

I pull my mouth off his and hungrily kiss his neck, sliding
my tongue up to his ear. I want to devour every inch of him. I bite softly on
his earlobe and hear him moan. I gasp as he pushes a finger into me. I feel him
press inside me as far as he can, slipping a second finger inside. He circles
them against my g-spot. Oh, god...I can feel an orgasm starting to build inside
me already as I buck my hips against his hand. I lean my forehead against his,
my eyes half-closed. West is watching me, enjoying the sight of me writhing
under his touch.

“Want to get out of here?” he whispers roughly.

He knows he has me. I nod, only half-aware of my actions at
this point. God, that didn’t take long. Though for me, this hookup has been
over eight years in the making. West’s dark eyes hold mine as he brings his
hand to his mouth and licks my wetness off his fingers. My mouth drops open in
shock at the sight.

I feel wobbly as I rise to my feet, and a little
lightheaded. I grab my purse from the table and West stands up behind me. I
turn around expectantly and he takes my face in his hands. He leans over me and
places a tender kiss on my lips, surprising me. He leans back, his hand still
on my face, and runs his thumb over my lower lips. His brows furrow
ever-so-slightly.

“There’s something so familiar about you...” he murmurs.

But he quickly shakes off his puzzlement and takes my hand,
leading me away. We step through the curtains and into the crowd. The place is
super crowded now, and it takes a little while to move through everyone, even
with West’s intimidating demeanor.

As I emerge from the haze of pleasure I’ve been in, I start
to really think about what I’m doing. I’m about to have sex with
West
. I mean, I’ve dreamed
about what this would be like for years. Seriously, years.

But a worrying realization hits me. Is West taking me back
to where he lives, to the home he shares with my brother? Where I just stashed
my bags? Stick probably won’t be home yet, right? No—this has to work. I can’t
be this close to finally having sex with West and have it not work out.

Just as I’m think I’m finally going to experience the
fantasy, West drops my hand. He’s signaling to someone at the front of the bar.
I feel a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach as I try to peer around
West’s enormous frame.

“Stick!” he yells, confirming my worst fears. Fuck. You’ve
got to be kidding me.

I immediately bring my hand to my hair, desperately
smoothing it down. I take a deep breath, trying to hide any evidence of my
recent activities from my appearance. Now is really not the time for Stick to
have one of his overprotective freak outs.

I see my brother approaching us, weaving through the people
between him and West. He glances toward me briefly, then does such a classic
double-take that I would think it were fake if didn’t know otherwise.

“Olive!?” he shouts excitedly, beginning to push his way
towards us. I see West freeze in front of me. Oh dear.

Stick blows by West and picks me up in a huge bear hug lifting
me completely off the ground. He’s still as skinny as always, but tall and
strong all the same. I shriek and burst out laughing. He finally drops me on
the ground and I punch him hard on the arm, adjusting my hair from where he’s
mussed it up again. He reaches out and rubs his hand quickly over my scalp,
messing it up worse than before. My older brother hasn’t changed much.

“Stop! You jerk!” I yell at him, laughing in spite of my
annoyance. He still treats me like I’m eight.

West turns to face me, studying my face. “Tiny?” he asks in
disbelief.

“No one calls me that anymore,” I deadpan, arching an
eyebrow at him.

“You didn’t recognize her?” Stick asks innocently, clapping
West on the shoulder.

“You know, it’s so weird,” West says, his eyes piercing
mine. “We were just talking for a minute, and I thought she looked familiar,
but I couldn’t place her. You look...different, Olive.”

I clear my throat. “Do I?” I ask, smiling at him.

“Very,” he adds accusingly.

“She’s probably grown a foot since the last time you saw
her,” Stick chimes in. “So wait, what the fuck? I thought I was supposed to
pick you up tomorrow morning at the airport.”

“Well, I already had all my stuff ready to go, so I thought
I’d get an earlier flight and surprise you.” I tell him. “When I realized you
guys weren’t at home, I remembered you said you hang out here a lot, so...here
I am. Surprise!”