Dakota roused slowly the next morning, confusion clouding her consciousness as soon as she opened her eyes. Sunlight broke through the closed blinds, falling in streaky patterns on her bedspread. She’d burrowed into a nest, which felt somehow empty since she’d relegated Bo to the couch for the second night. And already she was wondering if maybe she could change that rule…invite him into her bed for the third night…
She yawned and stretched, a strange noise grabbing her attention. She stilled, listening closely, trying to place it.
It sounded like soft huffing…rhythmic. A little grunt.
She turned and looked toward the bedroom door, which she slept with open as a rule. She hated going to bed with the door closed at night. And maybe that was a genius practice, because Bo hung from the chin-up bar in the doorframe, facing away from her, muscles flexing as he pulled himself into chin-ups.
Her mouth parted and she watched, enthralled. She clenched her legs together, unable to control the desperation pulsing through her. Get that man on top of you, immediately. Her body was begging for it. It was practically a necessity at this point. She swallowed the sick morning taste in her mouth, curling into a ball to watch the show.
Bo huffed and puffed softly as he hung from the bar between sets. After a moment, he pulled himself up again, launching a new series. She lost count after a while. What a beast—she could barely do one.
When he paused again, she fluffed the pillows beneath her head, snuggling into a comfier spot. One of her hands drifted between her legs, heading for the needy nub that controlled her fantasies. She flicked a finger over top of it, pleasure shuddering through her. Maybe this was too much, too creepy—but damn, she was aching for it.
Watching those muscles flex beneath his golden skin didn’t help matters. A few beads of sweat trickled between his shoulder blades and she whimpered involuntarily. She froze, pursing her lips together. Had that really escaped her?
Bo dropped to his feet and turned, face glistening with sweat. He must have been at it for a while. “Morning. Didn’t realize you were up.”
She cleared her throat, feigning sleepiness. “I was dreaming and I just woke up.” She forced a yawn.
“Don’t worry. You’re not dreamin’ now, even though it might look like it.” Grinning, he grabbed onto the chin-up bar again, facing her. Workout shorts sat low on his hips—one of the scores from his virtual grocery run the day before. His low abs flexed and flinched as he pulled his knees up to his chest and then down again, up and then down. The wings of some creature tattooed across his low belly seemed to fly with the repeated movements.
She grinned, nestling into the pillows. “You think you’re so dreamy? Think again.”
“I know I’m dreamy.” His tongue poked out a little as he grunted through another lift.
“You’re also arrogant.” She flopped an arm over her eyes. Looking at that body for too long was dangerous. It might lead her down the wrong path. “Among other things.”
He was quiet for long enough that she moved her arm from her eyes to peer at him. He grinned like he had a secret.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Knees to the chest, and then slowly back down. Belly flinching all the way.
“Quit looking at me like that.”
He grunted, lifting his knees. “I’m not looking at you like anything.”
“Yes you are.”
His smile widened, which meant one blossomed on her own face. Jeez—three days with this guy and she was like a teenager around him. Horrible. “Whatever.”
She rolled over onto her side, away from Bo. For how rocky things had started between them, they sure had made a surprising 180 in so little time. Maybe their relaxed evening over beer and wine the night before had a lot to do with it. Where they’d interspersed bad television with interesting conversation and a pointed appraisal of all the things that needed repairs in her apartment. All the while sipping on his favorite brand of cheap American beer, plus a merlot he’d thrown into the grocery mix, because he thought she might like it.
The guy was a walking contradiction. How could he murder a guy and recommend black-out drapes for her bedroom? It didn’t make sense to her. None of it made sense.
But what made the least sense of all was how each passing hour made her more hesitant to see him leave.
His continued grunts and puffs echoed through her, driving her wild. Her pussy throbbed with need. She pushed the covers off of her and slid out of bed. Time for a cold shower.
Bo didn’t pause or even flinch when she walked up to him, just continued his methodical knee lifts. She crossed her arms over her chest, hiding the tight points of her nipples. Her gaze skated over the sweat-streaked skin of his chest.
“Excuse me.”
“I’m busy,” he said, a grin breaking through his concentrated façade.
“Well I need to pee.”
He let a whoosh of air out and dangled from his arms. “So?”
“Lady of the house gets to go to the bathroom whenever she wants, so questions asked.” She narrowed her eyes, but secretly couldn’t get enough of the banter.
He dropped to his feet with a thud, straightening his back. He loomed over her, his cocky grin setting her pulse racing. “Yeah?”
She nodded, clearing her throat, trying but failing to prevent herself from visibly lapping up his bare chest, and all the fascinating rivulets of sweat dripping between those two dime-sized nipples. Would it be so wrong to smooth her hands over it? She just needed to touch it once, then the urge would obviously go away. Forever. “Them’s the rules.”
He stepped aside, gesturing for her to go through the door. “Then by all means.”
She stepped cautiously through the door, gasping when he grabbed her wrist. She spun to face him, heart in her throat.
“Don’t the house rules say the lady can’t go alone?” He pulled her closer, his heat rolling off in waves. From this close, his eyes weren’t just dark, they were a delicious vortex, deep umber with flecks of hazel. She couldn’t look away if she tried.
“Wh-…Well…”
“You might need protection.” He arched a brow. If this was him testing the water, she was doing a piss poor job of establishing the boundaries.
She swallowed hard and yanked her hand back. “I think I can handle my morning piss by myself.”
She hurried into the bathroom, heart throbbing in her ears. Fuck, he was too sexy. And she liked him. What kind of shit was that? She pressed herself against the bathroom door, struggling to calm her breathing. If he tried something like that again…she’d crack. Cave faster than a global warming-inspired avalanche.
She splashed freezing cold water on her face and peed while her knee bounced wildly. She paced the small bathroom for a few moments before she felt ready to emerge. Her nipples were hard enough to cut glass under her t-shirt so she crossed her arms over her chest again, like it might hide the evidence.
In the bedroom doorway, Bo was back to his chin-ups. This time, he held his legs out parallel to the ground while he lifted. His face was flushed and sweat rolled off him. She stopped in her tracks, mouth hanging open.
He didn’t even look at her as he worked through the reps. Her thighs clenched and she spun on her heels. Better to divert to the kitchen…make some coffee or something. Anything to take her mind of the dripping hunk hanging from the chin-up bar. French Press. That was a perfectly fine way to take her mind off Bo.
She readied the coffee grounds in the glass carafe. Staring at the tea kettle while it warmed up, she willed herself to ignore the grunts and huffs coming from Bo. When he let a long sigh, she figured maybe the sinful torture was over. When the kettle whistled, she snapped off the flame and poured the steaming water over the coffee grounds.
“Oh, can I have some?” He wiped a towel over his neck as he approached, his dark eyes sending her heart racing. You can have anything you want. She opened her mouth to respond but a muffled banging distracted her. She turned to look at the shared wall with her neighbor and grimaced. Yep, that was the bed banging against the wall. Just in time to remind her of what she was so desperately trying to ignore as an option.
He laughed, dimple flashing in his left cheek. “Sounds like they’re having a nice morning.”
She forced a smile, capping the glass carafe. “I guess.”
Bo stretched a little, swinging his elbows side to side. God, everything he did was sexy. He could cough and maybe she’d come a little. “Smells good.”
“I buy good coffee.” She stored the bag of grounds in the cupboard. “You want anything for breakfast?”
“Yeah. I want to make it for you, though.”
Inside, she withered. This couldn’t be real. It was like he knew this was the last link in her defense and he knew the code to make it crumble. “Really?”
“Yeah. That’s why I got all these damn eggs, after all.” He smiled cockily and sauntered over to the fridge. She pressed herself against the countertop, feeling plain and sluggish in her oversized t-shirt, having just rolled out of bed.
“Do you work out like that all the time?”
“As much as I can.” He grabbed a dozen eggs from the fridge, and then some Mexican salsa, followed by an onion and a bell pepper. “It’s a good way to start the day.”
“Not what I would—” She bit her tongue before she could finish the sentence: expect from a biker.
His sharp glance told her knew where she was heading. “Right. Well my personal philosophy is party hard, work harder.”
She creased a brow, watching as he rinsed the veggies before he got to chopping. “What do you do for work?”
“Everything. I work on my club, I work on my body, I work on my investments.” He grabbed a sauté pan from the appropriate cabinet without a second glance, a sign that he’d gotten really comfortable, really fast. And maybe she kind of liked that.
“What investments?”
“In the community.” He shrugged, cracking eggs over a bowl. “Making sure things stay good.”
“You couldn’t be more vague.”
“Why should I tell you?” He glanced back at her, his knowing smile searing through to her core. “You don’t wanna tell me things, I don’t tell you things.”
She clucked her tongue, easing onto the stool at the other side of the counter. “I see how it is.”
He chuckled, whisking the eggs with a fork. “Exactly.”
Comfortable silence blossomed between them, but after a few moments, the rhythmic banging of the bed against the wall grew loader. A moan carried through the apartment. She laughed and buried her face in her hands, reminding her of the tight pulse between her legs.
“So you don’t like, have a job?”
“Darlin’, I have a hundred jobs.” He sliced the onion into fine slivers, and then chopped up the bell pepper without even batting an eye.
“But what does the club do?”
He paused, stilling the knife. “We keep shit safe.”
She laughed, but reined it in when he glared. “Safe? Didn’t seem that way.”
“Listen, stuff works different on the streets. I can’t explain it if you don’t live it. This shit is how we live.”
“Still doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Doesn’t have to.”
A comfortable silence settled between them and when she glanced at him next his gaze was waiting for hers. A shiver traveled through her body and she didn’t know what to make of this confusing cocktail of emotions. On the one hand she was desperate to get his body on top of hers, find the sweet slickness of skin-on-skin, taste the kisses from those cocky lips. But on the other hand…he was a fugitive. A bad guy—or at least a questionable guy. She would do well to stay far away from him. Even though he was literally trapped in her apartment.
The banging continued in the next-door apartment. Each thud against the wall reminding her of all the different things she’d love to explore with Bo.
“Those guys,” Bo said, laughing, as though he could sense her internal struggle.
“They don’t let up.” She headed back around the counter top, squeezing past Bo to get to the carafe of steeping coffee. She pulled out two mugs from the cupboard, inhaling sharply when she felt a hand on her waist.
She turned to Bo, hesitant to meet his gaze. She knew what she’d find there—exactly what already thrummed through her body.
“Don’t tell me you’re not curious.” His voice came out husky.
She creased a brow, trying to play dumb. Like he’d buy it. “What do you mean?”
That cocky grin bloomed again. “You know what I’m talking about.” He dragged his fingers up the side of her arm. Goosepimples sprouted in their wake.
Her eyes fluttered shut. His touch did feel good. A little too good. Maybe everything else about him would be better than she’d been imagining, too.
Bo stepped nearer, the heat of him sinking into her. She swallowed hard, forcing her gaze up to meet his.
“Can I kiss you?” He cupped the side of her face, his eyes dark and desirous. There was no way she could say no to this man—not from this close.
Instead of answering him she crushed her lips against his, and he snaked his hand around to clutch her neck, pressing her flush against his body. She whimpered, wrapping her arms around him, one kiss bleeding into a second, then another, and then another. They kissed sloppily, desperately, the passion mounting so quickly she thought she might faint.
Dakota sighed through a kiss, smoothing her hands over the hard planes of his chest, finding him just as firm and solid as she’d expected.
But his scent—holy hell, from this close, he was a walking aphrodisiac. Sweat mingled with something evergreen and crisp, sending her into the stratosphere. He broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against hers, breath coming out in labored bursts.
“Hot damn, lady.” He trailed his hands down the sides of her body, finding the curves through the oversized shirt. He grabbed her hands and squeezed, then brought one between his legs. “You see what you do to me?”
She shivered as her knuckles brushed the ridge in his workout shorts. He moaned low, pressing himself against her, gyrating in slow circles.
“Jesus, Bo,” she gasped, gripping onto his rock-solid ass cheeks. She matched his slow roll until he hoisted her at the hips, pushing her back onto the counter.
She giggled, spreading her legs, hooking her ankles around his back. He found the space between her legs easily, that hard bulge pressed up against her right where it counted most. Her head lolled to the side as she relished the jolts of pleasure. Maybe this is how it would happen—pushed up on the counter beside bell pepper and grated cheese, climaxing with her underwear still on just because he rubbed up against her, like a teenager’s furtive first orgasm.
Bo pushed his hands under her shirt, searching out her gaze before he lifted the fabric. “Can I?”
She nodded her head. He could do anything he wanted, with that body, and that face. “I’d be mad if you didn’t.”
Bo grinned, snagging another kiss, pressing his tongue to meet hers. Their tongues clashed for a few moments, his warm hands stilled on her bare hips.
Knock knock knock.
Dakota pulled back from the kiss, mind fuzzy. She squinted at the shared wall. That knocking had sounded different.
Knock knock knock. It sounded again, but this time in tandem with the muffled banging against the shared wall. She clutched at the hard ridge of Bo’s shoulders. “Bo, I think someone’s here.”
Clarity zipped through his gaze and he straightened. Her gaze fell to the light, warm brown planes of his chest, down over the light sprinkling of black chest hairs. She ran a thumb over the pebbled ridges of his washboard abs, unable to look away.
“I’ll answer it,” he said, squeezing her hips, sending a surge of moisture into her panties.
She nodded, a cool draft replacing his body the second he stepped away. She didn’t move from the countertop—they’d pick up exactly where they left off, as soon as he answered the door.
He peered through the peephole, shoulders squaring. He tugged it open.
Tony stepped inside, looking frantic.
Dakota gasped, pushing off of the counter. “Tony! What are you doing here?”
Bo shut the door behind him and deadbolted it. He lurked behind Tony like a predator, gaze dark and suspicious.
“Came to meet you and Bo,” Tony said, breathing heavily. “Came as fast as I could.”
Bo scowled, and then launched himself at Tony from behind, wrapping a bulging arm around his neck. Tony gasped, hands flying to Bo’s arm, like it might help release the pressure. Dakota choked back a shriek—God help her if Bo took her boss’s life right in front of her. She reached for a knife, grasping the handle as she studied the unfolding drama.
“Where the fuck were you the night I was attacked at Ink Works?”
Tony sputtered, panic creasing his face. “I was in county, in Nevada. They popped me on a warrant. I was supposed to be back that morning but I never made it back.”
“Then how’d they know I was there?”
“It had to be Ray,” Tony croaked. Bo released him and Tony stumbled away. Dakota relaxed a little, loosening her grip on the knife.
“Why the fuck did you attack him?” She gestured at Tony, then ran to him, grabbing his arm to lead him into the apartment. “Here, come sit down.”
“I gotta protect my trail,” Bo said, strutting into the kitchen like a prize rooster. Dakota sighed, turning to pour Tony a cup of coffee, both adrenaline and horniness streaking through her.
This couldn’t be a more confusing or titillating morning.
And just based on these few days together, everything related to Bo was some combination of the two.