A rumble leaves Gareth—something between a low growl and a moan—and he catches my lips with his.
I’ve kissed Gareth a handful of times, but this feels different, like a door has opened and is welcoming us inside.
He deepens the kiss, tilting my head back. Demanding access, he bites my bottom lip, and our tongues begin a wild dance of possession. We claim each other in a way we never have before, electricity surging between us in intense, raw need.
Reaching underneath my thighs, he moves me up his body, and I wind my arms and legs around him as he walks, bringing us around the corner of the building, out of sight of the front entrance.
He pins me against the cool bricks, continuing to kiss me with an untamed frenzy. We’re all tongues and teeth, years of pent-up sexual tension exploding from us both.
I moan when he thrusts against me, letting mefeelthe effect I have on him—the same effect he has on me.
Heat floods me, pooling between my legs. I whimper when he rocks against my clit, each torturous movement causing my body to wind tighter.
“Fuck, Indy. I want you so bad. I’vealwayswanted you. Please tell me you’ll break things off with that guy, Trouble. I need you tofinallybe mine.”
His words feel like ice water being poured over me. I can’t believe I’m still lying to him about having a boyfriend. Shame slithers its way through my chest. I shake my head, annoyed with myself.
He misreads my aggravation. “I can’t do this anymore,” he practically begs between placing soft kisses along the edge of my mouth. His voice is strained, the ache apparent. “Not without you.”
With a clean cut down the center, my heart slices in two. A desperation I’ve never felt sears within me, my own soul begging to take away the pain he’s radiating.
He needs my honesty. Hedeservesmy honesty.
“Gareth, there is no guy.” My stomach lurches, the guilt overpowering everything I was just feeling.
He rears his head back, brows lacing with confusion. “What?” Gently, he sets me back down on my feet.
I adjust my clothes, then reach for his hand, needing to touch him. “Zach. He doesn’t exist,” I blurt, then realize that’s not exactly true. “Well, he does, but he’s not my boyfriend. I don’t even know him—he’s just a prospect for The Sinners I’ve met once or twice. He’s nothing more than a name I thought of on a whim and ran with.”
“I don’t understand.” A muscle in his jaw tics. “Ijustconfronted him. You were having a conversation with him. Laughing at his jokes.”
“No, you confronted my boss's husband,” I admit.
“Excuse me?”
I laugh, although the timing is incredibly inappropriate. Gareth had the confidence to walk up to the president of The Sinners motorcycle club—not that he realized what he was doing. Still, he confronted a man who’s bigger than him, and scary as all hell if you don’t know him, and demanded he apologize.
I resist the urge to kiss him again. Instead, I lace my fingers through his. “That guy you walked up to was Cain Michaels. Rosie’shusband, and the president of the club.”
That only deepens his confusion, so I backtrack and explain. “The day you showed up at the club, Cain came outside to check on me. He saw me leave for my break, but I was gone longer than I normal, so Rosie sent him out to make sure I was okay. It’s not like we’re in the safest part of Ridgewood, and it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had some trouble at the bar.”
Wrapping my hands around the back of Gareth’s neck, I pull him toward me. “The man you confronted isn’t my boyfriend.”
“So he’s not—you’re not?” he stammers, taking way too long to piece the puzzle together.
I shake my head. “I lied,” I admit, then silence him mid-thought with another kiss. Taking my time, I pour my feelings into my actions. It takes a few seconds of coaxing before I feel him relax into my kiss, his mind likely still reeling over everything I’ve told him, but understanding what I’m saying.
My heart doesn’t belong to anyone else. Only him.
This time it’s him who breaks the kiss. His eyes are hooded, but still full of questions. “Why would you lie to me? Why make me think you’d finally moved on? Do you have any idea how much it was killing me? Just the thought of another man kissing you…touching you. It drove me insane.”
“Several weeks ago, you sent me a text while Dylan was at my place. Whatever you’d said made me smile so wide my cheeks ached, and Dylan immediately noticed. He knew I was talkingto someone I was obviously into and started attacking me with questions. I lied to protect his feelings like I always do. But a part of me knew he’d run and tell you I had a boyfriend, too. I’d reached my breaking point, Gareth. I couldn’t have you, and after almost a decade of pretending like I was only your friend, I needed to push you away. I’ve been struggling to hold onto why I’ve let Dylan dictate my feelings with a promise I made to him back when we were kids.”
“We’ve protected him for too long, Indy.”
“I know, but how can we break the heart of the one person who has always been a rock for both of us? Dylan and I are practically twins, there is no me without him. I can’t lose him, Gareth.”
He brushes away the tendrils of hair that have fallen into my face, keeping his touch against my skin. “I don’t want to lose him either, but at this point, it’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means I getyou. It’s beeneight yearssince that night, Indy. You’re all I think about, the only thing I yearn for?—”
