Fall Page 10

  Creed had told me he would be home at his place and I ought to stop by if I ran out of shit to do before it was time to head over to the club. It amused me to no end to see him in his new habitat. The apartment he shared with his girlfriend was shiny clean and decorated with quilted bird pictures and other feminine crap. A cranky black cat crouched in the corner and glared at us. Creed was obviously happy though. He picked at his guitar and listened while I told tales of Emblem featuring everyone but his folks.

  Then Truly came home from work and there was an explosion of bright conversation. Though she must have been tired after a long day and I offered to take the two of them out, she shook her head and insisted on cooking. She hummed softly over by the stove and threw a hundred ingredients into a large silver pot. That Truly was pretty goddamn spectacular.

  Creed offered me a ride in his truck but I wasn’t into being a passenger so I told him I’d meet them there. Truly had decided the clothes she was wearing weren’t good enough so Creed had to wait for her to change and I ended up beating them to the Devil Lounge. Apparently half of Tempe beat them there. The parking lot was full and it took me a few minutes to find a place to stick my bike. I finally found a slot between the side of the building and a black Escalade and rolled it in there backwards.

  When I was at Creed’s place earlier, Cord had called him. Saylor was feeling tired and worn out and Cord didn’t want to leave her alone. They wouldn’t be here tonight.

  The Devil Lounge looked exactly as it had the last time I’d been here, back when it had been called The Crash. There was a country western band on stage and they had a decent sound except for the fact that their singer imitated a cat in heat when he tried to hit the high notes. People didn’t seem to mind though. They were too busy pouring fire down their throats and rubbing their bodies together. Chase and his little cutie Stephanie were among them, lip-locked and grinding like they were trying to conceive a new Gentry in the middle of the crowded floor.

  I grabbed my cousin by the collar and blew in his ear.

  “Asshole,” he cursed, slapping me on the back and laughing.

  Stephanie primly pushed her skirt down and gave me a bashful grin. I winked at her.

  Chase said something to me but the lead singer let out a howl that sounded like he was gargling with acid and I couldn’t hear. I motioned to Chase to try again.

  He shouted this time. “I said, I’ve got a surprise for you!”

  I glanced over at Stephanie. “Are you sharing, cuz? If so, I wouldn’t mind borrowing her for a little while.”

  Chase glared and possessively circled his arm around his girl. “Up yours, mother fucker. Don’t even look.”

  There was a hell of a lot of eye candy around and some of it was looking pretty good to me. A few of the bolder ladies tried to get close and start a conversation but they would have to wait. I wasn’t going to let myself get distracted until after my cousin performed.

  Creed and Truly found us a few minutes later. There was still over half an hour before he needed to be onstage so he hung out with us and we tried to talk as best we could in all that noise. When Creed had to disappear backstage to get ready for his set he kissed Truly first. She whispered something in his ear and he smiled broadly.

  “I still get nervous,” she told me, squeezing my arm. “I get more nervous that he does, I think.”

  “No need,” shouted Chase. “He’s fucking awesome.”

  Indeed he was. Creed’s name was apparently well known and a cheer arose when it was announced to the crowd. I watched my usually stern and aloof cousin take the stage and pour his heart into his music. Shit, he was amazing. After each song I clapped and cheered so loudly that people stared, probably thinking I was a punk full of bullshit but I wasn’t. I’d never been prouder of anyone in my life. Chase was looking at me and grinning like a bastard. I thought he was simply amused by my enthusiasm. But it turned out that wasn’t why he was grinning at all. I just didn’t know it yet.

  Creed was just finishing his set and saying his goodbyes to the crowd. Twice I’d felt a soft nudge in my left side but I had ignored it, figuring it was some chick that wanted attention. I’d have plenty of attention to give out after I was done watching the show.

  Then the nudging became more insistent and a voice said, “Deck!” I looked down to see a pretty face I’d seen before, attached to a body I’d briefly felt before.

  “Thought I took your ID,” I told her, reaching out and twirling a strand of her hair around my forefinger. It was dark in the club, but not so dark that I couldn’t see she’d returned to her natural red color. She was dressed more modestly than she’d been the last time I saw her. Instead of a short skirt and low-cut top she wore jeans tucked into cowboy boots and a button up blue shirt that hugged her figure and showed her shape nicely. In a flash I imagined peeling all that shit off and getting her on her back. Or against a wall. Maybe bent over my bike. Any way she’d take it.

  Jenny jutted her chin defiantly. “You did. I got another one.”

  “Surprise!” Chase laughed obnoxiously and Stephanie tried to shush him.

  Jenny ignored Chase’s outburst and started fumbling in her purse. Her hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. She smelled good. She would feel good.

  “I’ve got something of yours,” she muttered as I got chubbier by the second.

  Fuck me to hell.

  I mean, Jesus, she was right here and I’d thought about her a lot over the past few weeks, no matter how much I tried to avoid it.

  “Yeah you do,” I whispered in her ear, putting my hands on her waist and over her ass without being invited. She trembled and let me draw her close, raising her head slowly. I kissed her. It was just a tease, just a hint of what I really wanted to do. My dick was screaming for it.

  Wasn’t this what she’d come here for anyway? Obviously she’d run into Chase somewhere and he’d let her know I would be around tonight. Jenny looked over her shoulder to where a pair of college-age boys were standing about ten feet away. One was clean cut and looked fascinated by the sight of Jenny in my arms. The other was a fucking brick wall and didn’t appear so easily entertained. Jenny’s nod in their direction made me think they must be friends of hers, probably the ones she came here with. I suffered an odd flash of jealousy until I saw the way the smaller man took the arm of the larger one and they walked away all cozy with each other. They wouldn’t make a claim on her.

  “Jenny Smith.” I said it like a curse, just because her simple name still made me laugh a little.

  She poked me in the stomach. “Remember your manners, Deck Gentry.”

  “Told you last time you’d just about used them up, girl.”

  Jenny looked me right in the eye. “You told me a couple of things last time.”

  “I remember them all.”

  She bit her lip. “So do I, Deck.”

  I got my hand underneath her shirt. She let me. “You want to get out of here?”

  She closed her eyes as I stroked her skin. “Yeah.”

  Creed rejoined us and I kept my arm firmly around Jenny while I heaped a bunch of praise on him, meaning every word. Creedence stared at Jenny curiously. This wasn’t the kind of female I was usually seen with. My choices were invariably older and far sluttier. I told him I was going to take off and he smiled, understanding what I meant.

  “Wait, you gonna stick around town for a few days?” he asked.

  I squeezed Jenny’s waist and she fidgeted. Shit, what the hell was I doing?

  Exactly what I fucking want this time.

  “I might just do that, buddy. I’ll call you.”

  My cousin nodded and I waved goodbye to Chase and the girls.

  When I got Jenny outside I led her behind the building, backed her against the nearest wall and got a good look at her. She may be young but she was wickedly gorgeous, complete with enough curves for a hell of a good time. I ran my thumb over her lips and she tentatively flicked her tongue out.

  “So wh
at is it you have for me?” I asked in a low voice.

  She was shaking. Maybe from the cold, or maybe from the way I had moved my hand down to deliberately brush against her breast. She pulled herself together though. She cleared her throat and dug around in her purse again, coming up with my phone. I pocketed the stupid thing without looking at it. My knee went between her legs, parting them as I pressed against her just hard enough for her to feel it.

  “What else, honey?”

  She let out a shallow gasp and swallowed hard. She probably hadn’t expected me to get so aggressive so quickly. After all, she’d been the instigator last time and I’d even turned her down. Tonight was different though. She wasn’t a lost girl needing help. Tonight she’d come looking for me and it wasn’t just so she could return a fucking phone. Jenny might still have something to prove. She might even be ‘sort of’ a virgin, whatever the hell that meant. But she slipped her arms around my shoulders and kissed me with a rough urgency that made me ache to the core. I grabbed two handfuls of her hair and she whimpered, rubbing against me harder. I broke the kiss even though she didn’t want to let go.

  Her face was flushed. “You said to ask you on another night.”

  I stuck two fingers down her pants, enjoying the warm feel of her skin and the sharp intake of her breath when I found what I was looking for. Oh yeah, I could make myself have the patience for this. I could show her everything and ruin this shit for every other man who tried to get through the door. I would love it. So would she.

  “Then ask me,” I said.

  She was breathing hard, straining her warm pussy against my searching fingers. “I just did,” she breathed.

  “If you’re gonna be with me, Jenny, you’re gonna be dirty. So do it. Be so fucking dirty I’ll have no doubt.”

  “Will you take me to bed, Deck?”

  “Bed?” Laughter rumbled in my chest but I saw a disturbed look pass over her face. Jenny wouldn’t like being laughed at. I smothered the laugh and fingered her lightly, satisfied by the slippery greeting I got. “Bed is for sleeping, darling. I’ll take you on my dick. I’ll take you so hard you won’t be able to sit still for three days. Is that what you meant?”

  “Yes.” She was rocking against me, trying to urge my hand higher. But I didn’t want to give her that, not yet. I took my hand out of her pants. Then I took off my jacket. The night air was chilly and here she was shivering again. I zipped the leather around her body and led her to my bike. At least she was dressed all right for a ride, although it wasn’t too far to the motel. I paused before I started the bike, wishing I’d checked in someplace classier. Too late though; I’d already thrown some of my shit in the room and I didn’t want to waste half the night looking for someplace else. Jenny held onto me and pressed her face against my back. There was no reason to feel guilty.

  I wanted her. And this time I was fucking taking her.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  JENNY

  Deck Gentry had seen right through me. I figured he might, although I didn’t expect him to be quite so crude about it. I should have. The instant he put his hands on my waist and pulled me close enough to feel how hard he was I knew I would let him do whatever he wanted.

  I’d spotted Deck as soon as he walked into the place, though I hung back with Quent and Tevin. Deck was tough to miss; he stood taller than nearly every man there and he was practically busting out of his leather. He looked like the breathing manifestation of ‘hot biker’. That was what Quent said anyway. Tevin didn’t look like he appreciated the crowd or my taste in men. He gave Deck a hard once over and then asked if we could leave soon. People recognized Tevin due to the fact that he was on the football team and they kept trying to high five him but he stuck close to Quent and barely acknowledged them.

  “Go talk to him!” Quent shouted but I shook my head. Deck stood around talking to Chase, Stephanie, the black-haired waitress from Cluck This and some stone-faced dude who looked like Chase. Stephanie saw me and offered a small smile but didn’t point me out to her boyfriend. I was grateful for that; Chase would likely have picked me right up and deposited me in Deck’s lap.

  The stone-faced man who I guessed to be Chase’s brother was carrying a guitar and a few minutes later was introduced before he took the stage. His name meant something to the crowd and they cheered appreciatively before he even started singing. As Creedence Gentry began to perform, I understood why. His voice was not only superior but resonated with an unusual depth of feeling. He really was fantastic.

  Quent kept pushing me in Deck’s direction and eventually I went. Deck was so captivated by the sight of his cousin onstage that he didn’t notice me, not even when I accidentally-on-purpose bumped my shoulder into his side, which was kind of like trying to nudge a wall of marble. Chase, meanwhile, had noticed my arrival and looked delighted. He shouted something to Deck but Deck ignored him.

  Creed was finishing up his last song and I was tired of waiting. Still, I practically had to kick Deck to get him to look down and see me standing there. When he finally did I couldn’t read the look in his dark eyes at all.

  “Thought I took your ID,” he said. Then he ran his hand through my hair, gave me the smile that had been haunting my dreams and I was done. If I had any reservations left they disappeared when Deck circled his big hands around my waist and pressed his rigid lust against me. Tevin and Quent were still watching so I nodded to them that this was all right and they disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone with Declan Gentry.

  “You want to get out of here?” he asked.

  Hell yes.

  For the next few minutes things seemed to proceed with a curious underwater quality. Vaguely I heard Deck congratulating his cousin on a great show before he firmly led me outside. He didn’t even look at his phone when I handed it over. He knew it was just a pretense. Then, when Deck pushed his hand down my pants it was his way of saying that all bets were off. Whatever had been holding him back on our last encounter didn’t apply tonight. I didn’t want him to hold back.

  “Where are we going?” I asked Deck as he secured my helmet and zipped his jacket up to my neck. It was warm from being next to his skin. It smelled like him.

  “Rented a room,” he said, starting the engine of the bike. I was relieved we didn’t have to ride all the way down to Emblem because I didn’t want to wait that long or think too much. The motel wasn’t far but it also wasn’t nice. There were shadows skulking around the parking lot and I turned away to avoid seeing what they were doing.

  Deck parked the bike and lifted me in his arms.

  “You can put me down,” I complained when he kept carrying me up the stairs. He promptly set me down at the top step and plunged a hand between my legs while his tongue invaded my mouth.

  My God, he’s good at this.

  I’d been kissed before, touched before. I’d even allowed myself to enjoy it a few times, although I usually ended it pretty quickly. But I’d never been hit by such a dizzying wave of want that I lost the feeling in my legs. Deck caught me when I stumbled.

  “You change your mind?” he chuckled and carried me the rest of the way with my legs firmly wrapped around his waist. He didn’t put me down again until we were behind the closed door of his room.

  Deck didn’t waste time with pretensions. He took me right to the bed, stripped his shirt off and within seconds his hands deftly lifted both his jacket and my own shirt from my body. I wanted his mouth, his tongue, and I didn’t give up until I got it. As we were once again locked in a furious kiss, my hands roamed hungrily over his shoulders and down his back, enthralled with every hard knot of muscle. Deck wouldn’t be content with kissing for long. He tugged at my bra straps and got my chest bare before he pulled his head away and unleashed his tongue on my breasts, licking and sucking with a feverish intensity that startled me a little. The last time we’d messed around it had been so brief and he’d backed off so quickly. This was the first time I was getting a real glimpse of what it would be like t
o be completely overpowered by Deck Gentry.

  He sat up, pulling off my boots and spreading my legs as he knelt between them. I reached for him, but he took my arms and held them down firmly.

  “Don’t move,” he warned with a glint in his eye and then he was kneeling between my legs again. I’d never known such an excruciating ache before. I wanted my pants to be off. I wanted his pants off. I wanted to let our most basic instincts to take over. Deck had other ideas though. He was suddenly in no hurry as he placed his palms on each of my thighs and rubbed his thumbs over the seam of my jeans. I was throbbing, wild, as he moved his thumbs rhythmically, searching for and finding that place that made me gasp. I squirmed and moaned, wanting him inside, but Declan wouldn’t be rushed.

  “Tell me about this,” he demanded in a low, lusty voice.

  “What?” I whispered, ready to say whatever he might want to hear. If he wanted me to sing a Broadway ballad or recite the pledge in pig Latin I would do it, just as long as he kept going.

  Deck smiled slowly and increased the pressure of his thumbs. “Last time you were unclear about your status, Jenny. Now I’m gonna fuck you either way, don’t you worry. I just want to hear about it first.”

  I still didn’t understand. That was probably because my brain had stopped functioning and every sense I possessed was focused between my legs.

  “Yes,” I moaned. “It’s yes, Deck.”

  “I know but that wasn’t the question.”

  It was torture, what he was doing. He knew he had me on the brink and he was holding back just enough pressure to keep me from coming. I knew how to do it myself. I’d done it many times before but I wanted to feel it from him now. I closed my eyes and arched my back, ready to beg. This time Declan was the one who let out a low moan.

  “Fuck you’re killing me, baby.”

  I opened my eyes. I couldn’t imagine a sexier man than Deck. “I don’t want to kill you. I just want you.”

  He stroked me again, harder. “You tell me what I need to know first. What about this?”