Tempted (6 page)

“I. Don’t. Dance. Got it?”

“Got it,” I whisper.

He laces his fingers through my hair then
gently trails his index finger down my cheek.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?”

“So you keep telling me.”

“And I won’t stop.”

Tremors run through my body as I stare into
his eyes. With just a look, he makes me feel like the most
beautiful woman in the world.

“Tell me something about you,” he says in a
low voice.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“Wow…that’s specific.” He leans in and bites
into my bottom lip. “Ow!”

“Keep it up. I might put you over my knee
yet.”

“Okay, okay. Where should I start?”

“Tell me about back home.”

I shrug, not really knowing what to say. “My
dad raised me and Lonnie. She left when she turned eighteen, and
then for a long time it was just me and him.”

“How’d he die?”

“Killed in the line of duty…armed robbery
gone wrong.”

“What about your mom?”

“Never met her.”

“How come?”

“She was some kind of heiress. Her parents
didn’t approve of my dad. He was Mexican and a cop, so he wasn’t
good enough for their princess. When she found out she was
pregnant, they gave her an ultimatum. Us or the money. They
actually wanted her to get an abortion, but she opted instead to
give me up to my dad.”

His arm tightens around me supportively. I
haven’t talked about her in a long time. I don’t know how she could
do it. How do you leave a baby you spent nine months carrying
inside your body? And afterwards…she never even tried to see me
once. “Daddy was my rock. After he died, I was a little lost.
Everything moved so fast. Lonnie swept in, signed some papers, and
packed me up. I didn’t even get to go to prom or graduation.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I do, especially Toni. She’s my best friend.
But there’s nothing there for me anymore.”

“You don’t have any other family?”

“Nope. I was accepted into the Miami
International University of Art and Design, but I had to give it up
when I moved.”

“Art? What were you going to study?”

“Graphic and web design.”

“There are other art schools around.”

“I know. I just have to get some other stuff
sorted out first.”

“Like what?” He asks.

“I need to get my own place. I can’t stand
living with Lonnie. I just wish my birthday would hurry up and get
here.”

“You and me both.”

I lay my palm flat on his hard chest and move
closer. “Why don’t you remind me what’s in it for you?”

His hand creeps under my shirt, and his
fingers slowly dance up my spine. My breathing gets ragged and my
body trembles against him.

“I finally get to do what I’ve wanted to do
since the moment I saw you…sink my dick deep inside you.”

I can barely keep my eyes open, but I fight
it because the look on his face is affecting me as much as his
touch. “Is that all?”

He traces circles over my heated skin – my
hip, the dip of my waist, and up my ribcage. His voice, low and
hoarse, weaves its way into my senses.

“I’m going to kiss every inch of your
gorgeous body.”

I slide my fingers into his hair and lean in,
our lips just inches apart. My pussy is twitching, begging for
attention. He gets close to my breast and I arch into him, but he
withdraws his fingers.

“Once you’ve come on my tongue a few
times…I’m going to fuck you nice and slow.”

“Gage…”

“At first. But then I’m going to take you
hard and fast…in every position and location I can.”

He parts my thighs and places his knee
between them. I move my hips, desperately trying to ease the ache
between my legs.

“When I’m done with you, you won’t be able to
walk for a month.”

“That…sounds painful.”

His fingers continue their exploratory
mission, trailing over my thigh. I moan, feeling like I might
shatter at any moment.

“I’ll have you coming so hard, you’ll welcome
the pain.”

Dios
. “Please, Gage. I don’t want to
wait.”

He stops instantly, pulling my shirt
down.

“No, Raven.”

“It’s just a few weeks. What difference does
it make?”

“I just can’t.”

“I have something I want you to hear.”

I sit astride him, reach for my phone, and
play the song Toni sent me earlier – “Nobody Has To Know” by
Kranium. He raises a brow at me, and I wonder if he’ll understand
any of it. I lean in close to his lips and whisper, “No one has to
know.”

Toni’s been giving me a few pointers, so
let’s see how they work. Moving to the beat of the music, I roll my
hips and grind on his now rock-hard dick. He lowers his gaze,
biting into his bottom lip as he watches. I reach up and cup my
breasts, kneading them and pulling on my nipples. With a moan, I
throw my head back and imagine doing this while he’s inside me. He
grabs my hips, chest rising and falling rapidly as his breathing
gets out of control. I smirk as I turn around, kicking things up a
notch. He groans as I pull my T-shirt up to my waist.

“Raven…”

I lean forward, place my hands on the bed
between his legs and slowly bounce on top of him. Let him see what
he’s missing…what he could be getting right now. He growls and
pulls me down onto the bed.

“Fuck, Raven! Stop it.”

“But –”

“No. I…”

He takes a deep breath and pulls me into his
arms. I lay my head on his chest, waiting for him to continue.

“Go to sleep, doll.”

***Gage***

An ungodly sound rips me out of a deep sleep.
What the fuck
? Raven reaches over me and silences her phone
then falls back on my chest. She groans, yawning and stretching. I
pull her back into my arms when she tries to roll away.

“I have to get up,” she mumbles.

“What the fuck for?”

“Work…and you have to take me by the house
first so I can change.”

“Stay.”

“As much as I want to, I can’t.”

She gets up and I growl in irritation. Two
nights of having her in my bed and I don’t want her to leave. Shit.
I don’t even recognize myself. The shower comes on and I look at my
phone. Five-thirty. The ass-crack of dawn.
Fuck.
I hug her
pillow and her scent washes over me, both lulling me back to sleep
and arousing me at the same time. Fuck me, I’m referring to it as
her
pillow. Two nights. Two fucking nights.
What is she
doing to me?
I don’t know, but I wish she’d just come back to
bed. Damn it. I sit up and shake the sleep away then get dressed.
She walks into the room wrapped in a towel, and I almost give in to
the urge to take what’s mine.

“Good. You’re up.”

Shit…in more ways than one.

“It’s probably cold outside. Can I borrow
something to wear?”

“Take whatever you need.”

“Thanks.”

By the time I brush my teeth, she’s dressed
and waiting. I grab two hoodies from my closet and hand one to her.
She takes it wordlessly and slips it on. I hold her chin between my
fingers and raise her face to mine. “I hate this sneaking
around.”

“Me, too.”

“Once we get past all this, the only place
you’ll be sleeping is in my bed. Got it?”

She sucks in a breath and her eyes widen.
Then she nods.

“Words, babe.”

“Got it.”

I grab her backpack and we head out to the
Bimmer.

“I meant to ask you, how did they repair the
Mustang so fast?”

“They didn’t.”

“So…it’s a different one?”

“Yeah. I got a few.” I tell her.

“Wow.”

“What?”

“You make it sound like nothing…so
mundane…like ‘yeah, I got a few lying around’.”

“What can I say? Gotta be prepared.”

She turns in her seat, and I just know she’s
coming with something serious.

“Those guys the other night –”

“I’m taking care of it.”

“But…why would they come after us?”

“No, baby doll. They came after
me
. It
has nothing to do with you.”

“I don’t know why they came after you, but I
know you do more than security and customize cars. Illegal
things.”

I remain quiet. She’ll learn more about me as
time passes. Will she still want me when she finds out the kind of
person I am? She takes a deep breath and continues.

“That first night you took me to the
clubhouse…what kind of shipment were you protecting for those
Mexicans?”

“That’s club business. I can’t tell you
that.”

“After getting shot at and shooting a man,
you owe me more than that.”

“Raven...”
Fuck!
I shake my head in
frustration, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. She’s right.
I owe it to her to make sure she knows what she’s getting into with
me. That still doesn’t mean I can disclose club secrets though.

“Please, Gage. I promise anything you tell me
stays between us.”

“You sure you wanna know?”

“Yes.”

Fuck me. I hope I don’t regret this.
“You don’t repeat this to anybody. Got it?”

“I won’t.”

“Fine. The Mexicans have a guns-for-coke deal
with the Columbians. A couple of their deliveries were jacked. They
needed extra security and know I’m the best.”

“So…you transported guns for them?”

“No. I just made sure the shipment got where
it was going.”

“Were you attacked?”

“Mexicans had a leak. I found it before we
even loaded up the truck.”

“How’d you do that?” She asks
incredulously.

“I suspected it was one of his drivers. I
gave each of them a different route and had Tek tap their phones.
We found the rat and sent him and a few guys with a fake shipment
while we went the other way with the real one.
Jefe
found
his leak and sent a message to the guys who were stealing from
him.”

“I see…and you do stuff like that for other
people?”

“I do.”

She leans back into the seat and remains
silent for the rest of the drive to her house. The journey to
Millie’s is no different. I guess I’ve given her a lot to think
about. She already had an idea, but now she has confirmation.
I
hope all this doesn’t scare her away. I don’t want to lose her.
When I drop her off at work, she mumbles “thank you” and reaches
for the door.

“Raven.”

“Hmm?” She turns to me expectantly.

“Come here.”

She leans toward me and I grab the back of
her neck, pulling her in. I kiss her lips gently, needing to taste
them. I need to know we’re okay. She moans and opens up, giving me
free reign. I flick my tongue against hers, and her little whimper
goes straight to my dick. Her response is the only affirmation I
need. I break away reluctantly. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she says with a smile.

“I’ll send Ron to pick you up later.”

“’Kay. Will I see you?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

I reach across and open her door then watch
as she runs inside the diner. On the drive back, all I can think
about is how good she feels in my arms and how these last two
nights I’ve slept better than I have in a really long time. Again,
what the fuck is she doing to me? To be honest, she hasn’t done
anything but be herself. The more I see of her, the less it becomes
about waiting for her birthday so I can fuck her. I can’t believe
I’m actually developing feelings for this girl. The question is,
what am I going to do about it? I can’t do the relationship thing,
especially after what happened the other night. She could have been
killed, and it would have been because of me. How long were they
following me? Did they see me put her in the car? There could have
been others or they could have been communicating with the rest of
their crew. Shit. I need to find these motherfuckers fast.

Tek approaches me when I arrive at the
clubhouse. Good thing because I was just about to drag his ass out
of bed.

“Found ‘em, boss,” he says.

“Who are they?”

“Call themselves The Muscle. Just a group of
guys who hire themselves out as security or muscle, as it would be,
if needed.”

He turns his laptop toward me and shows me a
picture of the group of men. I spot the two from that night at the
Kitty and the two from the other night. I count ten in all and we
took out four, so I’ve got six motherfuckers gunning for me.

“Word on the street is they’re on a
manhunt.”

“That means I have to get to them before they
get to me.”

“What are you thinking?”

I’m thinking I need to take them out all at
once. The only place I can get them together and know we can get it
done without being seen or heard is the warehouse where I keep my
other cars and bikes. “Call the number. Tell ‘em you got a job that
will need the whole crew. Offer to triple their regular fee. Make
up whatever backstory you need and get ‘em to the
warehouse…unseen.”

“Got it.”

“Wake up the boys. Keep Rico and Motor with
you. The rest of us are heading to the warehouse. We got a trap to
set.”

I’m listening to music and having my lunch in
a booth at the back of the diner when I decide to make a playlist
for Gage. He definitely deserves his own playlist. The first song I
add is Saving Jane’s “Butterflies” because, well, he gives me
butterflies. Or maybe Alicia Keys’ “Butterflyz”...
What the hell.
I’ll add both.
Next, I add Maroon 5’s “It Was Always You”. I
have to add Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly” and definitely “’03 Bonnie
and Clyde”. We’re totally like the new Bonnie and Clyde...minus the
whole part with the dying. Oh, also Tamia and Fabolous’ “So Into
You”.

My heart leaps into my throat when someone
slams their palms down on the table. I look up to see Chrissy
grinning down at me. Chick scared the hell out of me. I remove my
earbuds and smile back at her.