Chapter 34

 

Ava

 

 

“THAT’S JUST IT. I don’t know,” he murmured, his eyes searching mine.

Having had a few sips of beer, I was slightly buzzed. I was also feeling more attracted to him than ever, which was stupid and very, very dangerous. Not so much for my safety, but my sanity.

“I thought we were just enjoying a nice evening together,” I replied, my heart hammering in my chest from the way he was staring at me. It was almost like he was inside of my head, trying to dissect my thoughts.

“We are,” he replied, touching my arm lightly with his fingertips and making me shiver. “I guess what I’d like to know is if we’re enjoying it as friends or… something more.”

Nervous, I brushed a lock of hair away from my eye. “What… what would you like it to be?”

He smiled slowly. “You can’t tell?”

Of course I could, but the words wouldn’t come out. I just stared at him, breathless.

Jayce slid his hand along my cheek and leaned in to me. I closed my eyes as his lips touched mine and he began kissing me. Enjoying the moment, I opened my mouth to his. My body felt like it was humming when his tongue moved in and began exploring my mouth. Although we’d done it before, this time it seemed different. It was a slow, leisurely kiss, both of us taking our time and enjoying the moment. I involuntarily pushed myself into him, and his hand immediately dropped from my cheek, slid lightly down my neck, brushed over my shoulder, and after trailing down my arm, landed on my waist, pulling me against him. He smelled so good, and his kisses were so intoxicating that I could feel myself begin to respond to him.

My body was igniting with desire. Everywhere.

It may have been the alcohol, or maybe it was just that I was so completely and utterly attracted to Jayce, but I was suddenly on fire. I dropped my cup onto the grass and slid both my hands around him, feeling hungry and desperate for more. My legs felt like jelly as I kissed him back with a passion I didn’t know lived inside of me.

Jayce groaned in the back of his throat, and soon both his hands were on me, one in my hair, the other holding me up. I could feel his hardness pressing against me, and unlike all the other times I’d considered a man’s erection, I was suddenly aching to feel it inside of me. Knowing that it wasn’t the time or the place, I managed to find the strength to pull away from him. When our lips separated, we were both out of breath and practically panting. We stared at each other. Jayce finally opened up his mouth to say something when a stranger walked around the corner, unzipping his fly with the intention of relieving himself.

“Oh, shit,” he said, looking embarrassed. “Sorry, my bad.”

“No problem,” Jayce replied. He put his arm over my shoulders and guided me around to the front of the barn.

“We forgot our cups,” I said, picturing them still lying on the grass.

“Forget about ’em. I’ll throw them away later. Let’s get some fresh ones,” he said softly. “You still hungry?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

His eyes met mine and they were lit with a blue flame of desire. “I’m hungry, too. Just not for what’s being served in there,” he murmured, kissing me on the temple before we walked into the barn.

I know the feeling.

We grabbed some food and more beer and then walked out of the barn to a picnic table, where a bunch of his club brothers were already seated. I recognized some of them from the birthday party the other night. This time, however, there were less wives, but plenty of club groupies.  One of them, a tall, pretty brunette, looked at Jayce and then at me. Her eyes widened for a second and she opened her mouth. I thought she was going to say something, but apparently changed her mind because she remained silent.

Jayce and I sat down across from Phoenix and Brass. They both greeted us and then began talking about motorcycles and trips they were planning to take. I listened as I ate, my mind still on what had just happened. It had felt too right and that was wrong. Very wrong. I couldn’t afford to lose myself like that again. I decided to ease back on the beer to try and stay focused. Soon there would be a lot of drunk bikers and loose lips. At least, I hoped.

“Where are you from, Candi?” Phoenix asked.

I cleared my throat and looked up from my plate. “Vegas,” I said with a smile.

“What are you doing in Minnesota? Do you have family here?” asked Phoenix.

“No. I was just tired of Vegas and decided to move on,” I replied.

“I can appreciate that,” Len said from the other end of the table. “Although, I’d be more inclined to leave Minnesota and go to Vegas.”

Some of the others agreed.

“Sin City, man,” Len said. “Gotta love it.”

“Why did you pick Minnesota?” Tarot asked, staring at me intently.

“I haven’t exactly picked it yet,” I replied. I don’t know if it was the way he was looking at me, or my own paranoia, but I suddenly felt like I was being cross-examined. “I was on my way to Canada and that’s how I ended up here.”

“You thinking of staying?” Brass asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” I replied.

“I think it’s cool how you decided to just leave everything behind to start over somewhere,” said a girl named Eve, one of the club groupies. “I’d love to be able to do that. I just couldn’t afford it.”

“It’s definitely an expensive and risky move,” said Tarot. “You looking for a job at all? Phoenix mentioned you’d done some waitressing. We’re always in need of a good server at my establishment.”

I relaxed. Maybe my paranoia was just acting up again. “I might just be. Thank you.”

“No problem.” He looked at Jayce. “Bring her by the Wild River Saloon next week sometime. If she decides to stay in town.”

“Yeah. Definitely,” he replied and looked at me. “I hope you stick around.”

I smiled at him. “I’m definitely thinking about it.”

He grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed it. “Good.”

The tender gesture warmed my heart, but it also made me feel guilty as hell. Jayce was turning out to be a really nice guy and didn’t deserve the lies I was feeding him. When he found out later, he’d hate me. The idea made me sick to my stomach.