Wild Ride (Wind Dragons MC #4.5)(17)



TALON helps me off the bike, then pulls me in for a cheeky kiss, the first one of the night. After an amazing dinner—the food was delicious—dessert, and even better conversation, we stopped here, at the beach.

“You taste like chocolate,” he says, sucking on my lower lip before pulling away.

“So do you,” I say, walking with him onto the sand. “Romantic walk on the beach?”

“Not exactly,” he says, and I catch his wolfish grin in the moonlight.

“Then what?”

When he bends down to take off his biker boots, I raise my eyebrow. His shirt comes off next. When he starts to take off his jeans, I start looking around frantically. I don’t see any people around us, but that doesn’t mean that anyone can’t show up at any time.

“Uhh, Talon?”

His soft chuckle brings my attention back to him and his now-naked form. I lose concentration. He’s standing on the beach, butt naked, staring at me.

“Are you going to join me?” he asks, nodding his head toward the water. “The beach is usually empty. Trust me, no one will show up.”

He’s taking me skinny-dipping on our first date? I’m actually kind of impressed. This is a date I will never forget, both because of him, and because I’m about to strip down and join him in the ocean. He doesn’t take his gaze off me as my clothes join his in a pile on the sand.

“I read somewhere that if a woman’s bra and panties match, she was planning on having sex that night,” he says as I remove the matching panties to my red bra. “Or it wasn’t the man who made the decision to have sex, or some shit like that.”

“Where did you read that?” I ask him, covering my bare breasts with one hand and down there with the other. “Cosmo?”

“Did you think I was going to f*ck you tonight?” he asks, stepping forward and gripping me by the hips. I lower my hands, letting him see everything.

“Aren’t you going to?” I ask, pressing a kiss onto his smooth chest.

“You want me to put out on the first date?” he asks in a mock high-pitched tone, making me laugh. I squeal as he lifts me into the air, tossing me over his shoulder. The slap he gives my ass should make me yelp, but instead it makes me moan. I hear him murmur, “Interesting,” before I’m dunked in the water. Luckily it’s warm, and I’ll forgive him for the salt burning my eyes a little. I resurface and watch him standing there, a smirk on his handsome face.

“Jerk,” I say, before I jump on him, wrapping my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck. “Can’t say I’ve ever done this on a date before.”

“Really? I do this with all my dates,” he jokes. I bury my face in his neck and lick the salt from his skin. His hands roam down to my ass, and he squeezes the round globes in each hand. “I can’t believe I’ve taken you to my two favorite spots tonight.”

“I like that,” I tell him, lifting my head and looking into his eyes.

“You better.”

“Why did you bring me here?” I ask him, resting my forehead against his. “If it’s not somewhere you would usually bring a woman.”

“I don’t know,” he says softly, closing his eyes for a second. “I guess I just wanted to share it with you.”

His actions speak more than his words ever could. I wonder if he realizes that.

“Thank you,” I whisper, bringing my lips to his ear. “Tonight has been amazing.”

“It’s not over yet,” he says, running his lips along my jawline. “This is going to be the most cringeworthy shit I’ve ever said, but you look beautiful in the moonlight.”

I kiss him in response, and feel him smile against my lips.

“Okay, maybe I should say shit like that all the time,” he says, returning the kiss.

I’ve had butterflies in my stomach the whole night, and I just feel giddy, my head light and a permanent smile on my lips. I don’t even know what it is, but all the cons of being with Talon don’t even matter to me anymore. The pros outweigh everything.

This feeling, right here, I’d do anything for. I can’t even explain it. He’s different to me, somehow. I felt it the first time I saw him; there’s something about him that screams mine. Sometimes two people just have a connection, even if you can’t understand it. With Talon, I feel comfortable. I accept him as he is, flaws and all. There’s nothing about him I’d want to change.

Tonight I’ve been on cloud nine. I’ve wanted a date with him ever since I first laid eyes on him; I wanted his attention, but he never gave it to me until now. It hurt my ego a little bit, but it soothes me to know that he did want me the whole time—that the attraction I felt wasn’t one-sided. He was just able to hide his better, but in usual Tia form, I was open and honest with what I wanted, even if I didn’t understand why.

Being with him right now, like this, in his arms, it just feels right. It feels like I belong here. It’s a scary feeling, but also a hopeful one. This man could end up being my everything, my future, my family, or he could end up being another disappointment. I guess that’s the gamble one has to take. With the other men I dated casually, I always had the upper hand. With Talon, however, I don’t, because I know how I feel, and I’m not going to f*ck around with that.

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