Gauge looked between us both and shook his head before walking away, grumbling something under his breath. Things were not getting any easier between them. If anything, they were getting worse. Little did Gauge know that soon enough Laney wouldn’t be his problem, but mine. I smiled at the thought.
“I hate him,” she said, still watching after him.
“Ain’t no secret about that.” I grinned.
Her cheeks flushed pink at the sight of me, and I could tell she was restraining herself from smiling. She brushed her hands down her dress nervously and I watched appreciatively. Goddamn, she looked beautiful. Could only imagine what she would feel like wrapped around me—at least for the time being.
“You wanna beer?” I asked and she nodded and smiled again. Beautiful. Fucking beautiful.
We headed to the bar and Rose popped open a beer and slid it over as we got close. “Looking real pretty tonight, Laney.”
Laney blushed and looked down at herself, and that time there was no mistaking that she was trying to hold back a smile. “Thanks, Rose, just something I threw on, nothing special.”
“Really? Well, darlin’ you scrub up good. Ain’t that right, Jesse?”
Both women turned to look at me and I had to hold back on my eagerness to reply. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen Laney look anything but good,” I said, looking between the two women.
Rose’s eyes sparked with mischievousness. “Well, that goes without saying,” she replied.
Laney picked up her beer and cleared her throat loudly before taking a swig, and I could barely tear my gaze away from her damp lips wrapped around the end of the bottle. I shifted uncomfortably, needing to rearrange my junk but thinking better of it. Pussy-whipped before I’d even gotten any. Casa was fucking right.
I turned to Laney. “You wanna go for a walk?”
“Sure,” she replied, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. Christ on a bike, even her ears were beautiful. How was that even possible? “See you later, Rose,” Laney said as I placed my hand on the bottom of her back and started to guide her away.
“You two kids have fun,” Rose called back and I shot her a look.
We headed outside, away from the noise and the crowds, and into the humid September evening air. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over everything, and little insects were buzzing around. I walked us over to the trees to the left of the clubhouse, intending to sit down at one of the small picnic tables we’d set up earlier that year, but when we got there Laney reached down and took my hand before leading us further away and out of sight.
Her hand in mine felt like fuckin’ heaven, her grip both soft yet strong. And goddamn, being this close to her I could smell whatever shampoo she used and I’d be damned if she didn’t smell like strawberries. Strawberries and cream, goddamn. My jeans grew tighter, and while still holding my beer, I reached down and rearranged myself.
The music faded the further away we walked, until it felt like we were the only two people left in the world. I smiled, knowing that I wouldn’t have minded that for one minute.
“What’s the smile for?” she asked.
I turned to her, sucking in my bottom lip and letting it out again. “I was just thinking about what it would be like if we were the only two people left on earth. Think I’d like that.”
“Well, aren’t you the poet?” She smiled and nudged my shoulder.
I pulled her to a stop and looked down at her. Goddamn, she was turning into something spectacular. She had always been sexy as hell, but she was a beautiful fucking woman now, and one that I wanted. Didn’t matter how many women I fucked, my mind always strayed back to Laney. My hands weren’t on those other women’s hips and my dick wasn’t ramming into their bodies. It was always her and her beautiful body that I felt wrapped around me. Her that made me come so hard my knees fucking shook.
It was always her.
I’d nailed so many women in an attempt to try to forget about her, but it wasn’t working. Not even a little bit. I knew it was wrong; she deserved better than me. Ain’t nothing that I could give her that would be good, but there was only so much one man could take before he cracked. And I had reached my limit.
I leaned over and kissed her hard, my teeth nipping at her lips before my tongue slid into her mouth and claimed it for my own. I was hard in my jeans, so hard I was sure I was going to poke a fucking hole through them any minute.
We were by one of the back walls of the clubhouse and I pushed Laney up against it, and tilted her face upwards so I could kiss across her neck and down to her breasts. She moaned and rolled her hips as I pressed my body against hers, grinding against her hard enough to hurt, but all she did was sigh.
I pulled out of the kiss and pressed my forehead to hers. “I’m no good,” I said. “I need you to know that right from the start, because there’s no going back after tonight. There’s only so much one man can take before he just takes what he wants.”
Her pupils dilated and her breathing hitched. “And what is it that you want, Jesse?”
“You,” I growled out, swiveling my hips and grinding myself against her. “I want you.”
