Dare to Live Page 13

  Hell, I was dying. I continued my assault until my lips were fused with hers. When her tongue pushed in, sucking mine into her mouth, I couldn’t see straight. We both stripped off our clothes as fast as we could. When she was completely naked, all I could do was mentally snap picture after picture as my gaze strolled down her perky tits, her smooth curves, down to the one spot my dick wanted more than life itself.

  As she eased open her legs, I groaned loudly. Her long lashes fluttered, her lustful eyes pleading with me to do more than just admire the goddess. But when she slid her hands down to settle between her legs, my brain went blank and my body took control.

  I straddled her, placing my hands on either side of her head. “You truly are fucking beautiful, Jessie.”

  She sighed, scraping her nails along my back as she raised her hips. When she did, my dick grazed the inside of her thigh, and the sensation made me shudder.

  “Talk to me,” I said. “Tell me what you want. Tell me one thing that you want to feel.”

  Her breathing became shallow. “Touch me everywhere. Run your tongue up and down my body. Kiss me like you mean it. Give me one glorious night that I can remember forever.”

  Fuck me.

  She sounded as though I would never see her again. Sure, we’d agreed on one night. But something told me one night wasn’t going to be enough in my book. Regardless, I couldn’t deny her request. My rock-hard body wouldn’t let me, even if I tried. So without another thought, I licked my way down her chin, where I nipped lightly, then continued along her neck and chest before settling on her breasts. I sucked in one nipple, teasing and biting, as my hand slid between her thighs and found her clit.

  “Fuck, baby doll, you’re soaked.”

  Her cheeks flushed redder than before. “Kody, if you don’t stop teasing and do something soon, I might flip you over and sink down on your dick.”

  The chocolate-eyed beauty wasn’t shy in the least. She was feisty, and that sent fire down to grip my balls. “You wouldn’t get any protest out of me. But first…” I adjusted my big body until my mouth was just above her clit. “Is this what you want?” I captured her bundle of nerves in my mouth and sucked.

  She shot off the bed and moaned—a sound that made my dick turn to stone.

  I played, licked, and circled her clit with my tongue until she was writhing furiously beneath me, clutching strands of my hair, tugging and tugging and tugging until she was screaming my name.

  Man, the sound of my name falling from her lips in the heat of passion almost made me lose my shit. I could seriously listen to her scream my name for the rest of my existence.

  I crawled up, peppering kisses all over her as my pulse rammed against my ribs, sweat beading on my back. “Good?”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all.”

  I raised an eyebrow. I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or not since her pinched features didn’t match her tone.

  “It will be better when you fuck me.”

  I reared back. “What’s your pleasure? Soft, slow, hard, fast, or somewhere in between?”

  “Fuck me like you mean it, like you’ve never fucked anyone before.” Her firm tone along with her pretty, dick-squeezing smile was enough to spur me into action.

  I scrambled off her and found a condom in my wallet on the floor before straddling her.

  She dug her nails in my arm. “No condom. I’m on the pill, and I don’t sleep around.”

  I frowned. “As much as I would love the freedom to really feel you tighten around me, I always use a condom.” Unless I’m serious about a girl. But I didn’t want to tell her that part, or she might start analyzing what was happening between us and break the sexual tension we had. Then I would have blue balls until the next time I could jack off.

  She didn’t argue. Instead, she sat up as I was about to roll the condom on, swatted my hand away, and sucked my dick into her mouth.

  Holy fuck!

  I cupped her cheeks. “Baby doll, as much as I would love to enjoy this ride, I’m dying to be inside you.”

  After popping my dick out of her mouth with an erotic sound, she lay back and opened her legs with a seductive smile.

  I could normally go a long time before I came, but with her, that wasn’t going to happen. At the moment, I didn’t want slow or a long time. I wanted hard and fast, just like she did.

  I plunged into her before she could blink. When I did, her mouth formed a perfect O. She was tighter than I’d experienced in a long time, and I almost released in a split fucking second.

  My vision blurred. “Are you okay?”

  She gripped my ass. “Better than okay.” She moved her hips, urging me to get my act in gear.

  I pulled out then thrust in, fast and hard. She was wetter than before. Her breasts bounced as she clutched my biceps and wrapped her legs around my back.

  All of a sudden, my balls tightened. I didn’t want this to end. I wanted to keep pounding into her, but I couldn’t hold back. With one last thrust, stars coated my vision as sweat dripped down my temples, my back, and my chest.

  I lowered my head to her lips as I kept enjoying the way she was gripping my dick. “Kiss me.”

  She obeyed as I rode out my release. We kissed slowly and sensually, our tongues melding together.

  “Thank you,” she whispered against my lips. “I’ll never forget this.”

  I brushed sweaty strands of her hair off her forehead. “You sound like we’ll never see each other again.”

  “We agreed to one night.”

  “Maybe I want another.” I got this amazing feeling when I looked into her eyes. As much as I thought she wasn’t my type, I was learning that maybe I didn’t know what my type was after all. Or maybe I did. Maybe women on motorcycles were my type. I erased that thought for the moment.

  Dare to live.

  She pouted, which was adorable with her flushed cheeks, and for the first time, I noticed a scar near her pierced eyebrow.

  “You said I was all wrong for you.”

  I ran my finger over her piercing. “Is this why you have a piercing here, because of the scar?”

  She blinked. “Yeah. So my question.”

  I kissed her nose. “You said you’re not the girl for me. Do you want to tell me why?”

  “Not really.”

  “I guess we’re at an impasse, then. How about we get to know each other better without sex?”

  “Says the guy who is growing hard inside me,” she said playfully.

  It would be difficult to be around her and not get naked with her. But I wanted to get to know her, not just her body. “Well?”

  She chewed on her lip. “Like a date?”

  I nipped at her chin then kissed along her jaw to her ear. “Yes. A date. I want to know who Jessie Ryan is. I want to learn more than your exquisite body.”

  “You’re making it hard for me to say no, Kody Maxwell.”

  I found her lips, pushed my tongue inside her mouth, and kissed her so she wouldn’t forget a fucking thing about tonight, and so she wouldn’t say no.

  She returned the kiss, sucking on my bottom lip. “Does the date have anything to do with you trying to get me to sing?”

  I lifted up slightly, cocking an eyebrow. I wasn’t thinking along those lines while still inside her. “What’s your hang-up with singing?”

  “I’m not any good.”

  My mouth fell open. “You don’t strike me as someone who has low self-esteem. Do you not hear your own voice? Or did you not hear how crazy the crowd went when you finished that song?”

  I got up and ducked into the bathroom to clean up. If I stayed glued to her, I wouldn’t let her leave until the morning, and I had to take things slow. I could feel myself falling for her.

  When I returned, she was slipping her blouse over those beautiful breasts.

  I grabbed my jeans. “Would you do me one favor? Jake and I are jamming at The Cave tomorrow night. The club is closed. So it would be a perfect time for me to record yo
u. Then you can listen to yourself and be your own judge. If you still think you’re horrible, then I won’t bug you any further on singing.” After I buttoned my jeans, I wrapped my arms around her. “But I still want that date.”

  She sighed. “You drive a hard bargain.” Her tone was playful.

  I would love to hear her sing one of my songs. Standing with her coconut scent penetrating my nose, I began to toss a couple of lines around in my head. Maybe I was breaking through my writer’s block.

  She shrugged away to slip on her sandals. “I need to get going. I promised Lowell I would visit him tonight. I’ll think about tomorrow.”

  Grinning, I threw on my T-shirt. At least she hadn’t said no. We exchanged cell numbers on the way to her car—one step in the right direction.

  “Kody,” she said seriously. “I’m sorry about your sister, Karen.”

  A pain zipped through me at the mention of my sister. Anytime anyone brought up Karen, my chest tightened. I’d seen my dad and Jessie out at Karen’s memorial. I was surprised my dad had taken Jessie out there. Only family ventured to that secluded area. I was sure my dad had his reasons. I also wondered what Jessie and he had talked about and why she was talking to my dad in the first place. I would have guessed the topic was her brother. I could have asked my dad, but he would have said he couldn’t divulge his conversations with his patients. Not only that, I wasn’t one to pry.

  I kissed her tenderly on the lips. “I hope to see you tomorrow.”

  She gave me one of her beautiful smiles as she ran her hands up and down my chest. “But tomorrow isn’t an official date, right?”

  “It’s whatever you want it to be. After The Cave, we can do anything you want.”

  She pecked me on the lips. “I had a great time. I’ll text you my answer sometime tomorrow about singing.” She got in her car.

  I took comfort in knowing she was in a car and not on her motorcycle. Otherwise, I might’ve changed my tune about dating her.

  I waved as she backed out, praying that she would show tomorrow.

  Chapter 14

  Jessie

  I stared at myself in my bathroom mirror, talking to myself as I brushed my hair. The blond strands stood out over the subtle reds and darker browns. My dad had been a redhead, his mom a blonde, and my mom had had a lighter shade of brown. I’d been the lucky one to get a mixture from them all.

  “Hey, girl. Are you ready?” Roxanne’s voice cut through the funk I’d been in since leaving Kody’s place the night before.

  Lowell had even asked me when I went to visit him on my way home what was wrong. I couldn’t answer him because I was trying to figure out the reason. I should’ve been screaming at the top of my lungs that I’d had the best darn sex on the Eastern seaboard. Mack had wowed me, but Kody had blown my freaking mind. His body was sculpted as though he was training for a weightlifting competition, but he was more than a hot bod. He was tender, rough, attentive, and talkative, asking me what I wanted. Mack had never asked me what I wanted.

  My cheeks reddened when Roxanne walked into the bathroom. She smiled, her brown gaze assessing me. I hadn’t seen her all day. She wasn’t on shift when I’d picked up Lowell that morning. When I’d spoken to her around lunchtime, I’d only asked if she was game to go to The Cave that night to hear me sing. I’d thought long and hard about singing and had decided to give Kody’s suggestion a try and listen to my own voice so I could hear for myself whether my voice was any good. I needed moral support, and Roxanne was my biggest cheerleader. However, I hadn’t told her about my romp in the hay with Kody since I’d been with Lowell all day.

  “You look amazing,” I said.

  Her black jeans hugged her curvy hips, right down to her ankle boots. A soft peach peekaboo blouse clung to her big breasts, and her makeup was done to perfection.

  She waggled her eyebrows. “Not so bad yourself. An up-and-coming star, if you ask me.”

  The word “star” made me flinch a little. I’d never dreamed about singing. I didn’t feel as though I was any good. I rolled my eyes at her before zeroing in on my outfit in the mirror. I’d decided to wear something simple—jeans rolled up at the ankles, sandals with two-inch heels, and a red V-neck cotton shirt that showed a little bit of cleavage. As soon as my gaze landed on my breasts, I turned and slumped against the sink.

  Roxanne held out her hands. “What’s wrong? Lowell is doing great. I just saw him downstairs, and you’re about to have Kody record you.”

  Lowell’s blood tests had come back normal with the exception of his glucose. He’d had low levels of sugar. But once he’d eaten, his glucose levels returned to normal. So Dr. Navar concluded that Lowell’s low sugar and lack of fluids had caused him to seize and lose consciousness.

  I grabbed my breasts. “These are what’s wrong. I love my breasts. I love feeling the sensation of a guy sucking on them. I won’t ever feel that again if I go through with the surgery.”

  She furrowed her pretty eyebrows. “You don’t know that. You have options. By the way, did you get ahold of that woman, Ms. Harold?”

  Roxanne was right. I’d read several cases on blogs and other websites in which women have had implants, reconstructive surgery, or chosen to just wear a prosthetic. The only option that resulted in a chance to feel any sensation in the nipples was the reconstructive surgery, but even then, it wasn’t a guarantee.

  I puffed out my cheeks. “I sent her an email this morning.” I hoped that hearing Ms. Harold’s story would help me with my own decision. “I’m getting ahead of myself, I know. But after last night—”

  She pressed her red lips into a thin line. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with Mack.”

  “Kody.”

  She squealed then slapped a hand over her mouth. “For real? I want to hear everything before we leave this bathroom.” She backed up and sat on the edge of the tub.

  “He’s freaking amazing.” I sighed. “He is everything I imagined. The way he played my body as though he was strumming his guitar. The way he kisses.” I let out another dreamy sigh. “When he looks at me, I feel like I’m the most beautiful person in the room, and he’s only looking at me. I’ve never had that feeling with any guy. Not only that, the pull toward him is strong. It’s as though I belong with him.”

  She inhaled deeply. “So you’re pouting because you might fall for him, and you feel that he wouldn’t accept you if you decided to have the surgery?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “Something like that. Plus, he hates motorcycles.”

  She huffed. “So the heck what if he hates motorcycles. I don’t like them either, but I love you, anyway.”

  The difference between Roxanne and Kody was that Kody had experienced a loss from a motorcycle accident. Roxanne hadn’t.

  Lowell’s accident had made me consider giving up on motorcycles altogether. But I hadn’t for a few reasons. For one, I wasn’t on a racing team, competing at death-defying speeds around a track like Lowell had been when he’d gotten into the accident. Two, I only rode on occasion. And three, I was a firm believer that when my time was up, fate would take over. Lowell had agreed with me even though he worried when I got on my Ducati.

  “Please do me a favor,” Roxanne said. “Set up your appointment for your mammogram. Get that out of the way. Those test results will put you at ease for now. Then talk to Ms. Harold. By the way, how did it go with Mr. Maxwell?”

  I snagged my lip gloss off the counter and smeared some on my lips. “He encouraged me to tell Lowell.”

  “I agree. You can’t keep this from him, Jess.”

  “I’m afraid he’ll stress out more and end up in the hospital again.”

  Rising, she stuck her hands on her hips and gave me one of her you better or I will looks.

  “I need time to process all this.”

  “Fair enough. Now let’s go see that hunky man of yours.” She giggled.

  I laughed along with her as we headed downstairs.

  Lowell and Mack were lounging in
the family room. Mack had been working in the shop all day on the few bikes that had come in for tune-ups. Lowell had been successful in getting Mack to help out, and in exchange, Lowell would pay him when business picked up. But according to Lowell, Mack didn’t want a dime. “You’re a great friend, and I owe you,” Mack had said. “You took me under your wing all those years ago. It’s time I give back.”

  I wasn’t shocked at all at Mack’s response. Despite all his faults, he was a sweet guy, and I knew he would do anything for us. Yet I didn’t want to even think of the tension between him and Kody or what would happen if Mack found out I’d slept with Kody or was dating Kody. Then again, it wasn’t any of Mack’s business.

  I kissed my brother on the cheek. “Are you feeling okay?”

  He shoved his messy curls from his face. “Go and have a good time.”

  I eyed Mack. He’d shaven the scruff off his face, reminding me of that young teenage boy I’d met so long ago. Mack diverted his attention from the TV to me and grinned.

  Roxanne tipped her head at the door.

  I circled around Lowell’s chair to the back of the couch, and squeezed Mack’s shoulders from behind. “Thank you for picking up the slack today.”

  He touched my hand. “You know I would do anything for you and Lowell. Have fun tonight singing. Don’t worry about this knucklehead, either. I got him.”

  I whipped my head at Lowell. “You told him?”

  Lowell lifted a shoulder. “Mack is family. So what that you’re singing. It’s not like you’re dating Maxwell. Besides, doesn’t Mr. Robinson own a record label? Maybe he’ll sign you.”

  Roxanne pressed her lips together.

  I could correct Lowell since Kody and I would be going out on a date. But one date wouldn’t constitute a serious relationship, and until that time, I didn’t see any sense in saying anything, particularly with Mack in the room. I had to say I was a little surprised that Mack wasn’t mumbling or mouthing off about Kody.