Loving Me, Trusting You(15)

My hands move away from Gaine's cock, and Crystal's take my place, stroking and teasing, drawing his male essence up like a magician casting a spell. I tickle my fingers down her body until I find the hem of her dress, drawing it up and exposing her bronzed ass, perfect from lazing around in the summer sun.

“Ride him for me,” I whisper in her ear, watching over her shoulder as Gaine's eyes open and find mine. He's hot and flustered, three shades of red in his cheeks and forehead. I have to admit, Gaine's is the only face besides Austin's that I can remember the expression on after sex. Hot, flushed, sweaty, wide-eyed and openmouthed. “Ride him hard, Crystal.” I grab the sides of her thong with my fingers and drag it down to her ankles as she leans forward and nips at Gaine's ears with a chuckle.

The f*cker doesn't look like a red-blooded man with a passion. Instead, he sits there with his eyes on mine and his lips downturned.

“We're not here to do your friggin' taxes, Gaine,” I whisper up at him as Crystal strokes him with a light, fluttery touch of nails and kisses at his throat. “Show some respect, and f*ck the girl while I watch.”

It all happens in a split second. One minute, there I am crouched behind Crystal, pulling her panties over her heels, and the next, she's stumbling back and landing on her ass on the oil soaked pavement while Gaine zips up his jeans with a growl.

“No.”

That's it. A single word. And I'm supposed to get what he means from that and that alone. I f*cking hate men. Talking doesn't disintegrate dicks, you know? It's okay to actually say what's going on inside those thick skulls of yours.

“No, what?” I snarl back at him, rising to my feet and tossing Crystal's thong to the cement near my boots. “I don't know what that means, Gaine.” I flip hair over my shoulder and shiver as it brushes along my neck. I'm so hot it hurts inside. But broken, too. I feel like a volcano ready to explode with all of this molten heat filling the hole inside me. I think I'm trembling as Gaine takes a step closer to me, but I'm not sure.

“Kiss me,” he says, and I don't like the tone in his voice. I look into his dark eyes, shimmering like metal under the hot sun, reflecting back all of that faraway energy, that untouchable power that only grazes us gently, hinting at its presence but never overpowering. I swallow and cross my arms over my chest. When his hands come down and his fingers touch my waist, diving in through the rips of my T-shirt and making love to my skin with each soft stroke, I shove him back.

“What the f*ck?” asks Crystal, who's struggling to get to her feet, swaying like she's drunk even though I know she's not. I could see how Gaine might have that effect on someone. I take in the square set of his jaw, the way the skin on his cheeks tightens like he's bitin' his tongue or something. “What's going on?”

“I want to kiss you, Mireya Sawyer, and nobody else.”

“Oh, Jesus f*cking Christ!” I scream, letting my head fall back and my eyes flicker shut. I can't take the strain. Gaine might not know he's putting any on me, but he is. He's loading me to the breaking point and I can't take it anymore. He wants me. Fine. But I don't want him, not like that. I'm not ready to bind myself to somebody else's soul. I don't know if I'll ever be. Sometimes I even consider hopping on the back of my bike and just heading off into the world alone. I think things could be better that way.

I drop my chin to my chest and narrow my eyes. This is how I defend myself, how I've always defended myself – with anger.

I take a step back.

“You're twenty-three years old for f*ck's sake, Gaine. You don't know shit about shit. Act your age and have a good time. Stop brooding around waiting for me because you're going to waiting a hell of a long time.” I poke his chest for emphasis, feeling cruel, like a wicked stepmother pointing her finger at the young hero. My fingertip brushes his chest, shocking me with a burst of static electricity that lifts the hairs on the back of my neck.

“What in the hell is going on here? I came down here for a good time. I don't want to deal with any f*cking drama.” Crystal's mumbling under her breath, snatching her panties from the ground and stuffing them in the pocket of her trench as she tosses it over her shoulders. Neither Gaine nor I pay her any attention.

“Mireya,” he says, taking a step forward, making me feel like I'm the young, immature one, like he's got the wisdom of f*cking ages shoved up his tight, firm ass. His fingers encircle my wrist, strong but not forceful, burning me with the pain he carries around for me. I don't know why he does it, why he cares so much, but ever since he joined Triple M, he's had his eyes on me. Everybody knows it, and maybe I'm the only one who doesn't know why. “I don't want to f*ck that girl or any other girl for that matter. You're the only one I'm interested in. You're the only woman I'd let on the back of my bike, the only girl I want wrapped around me in the bed or out of it.” He pauses as Crystal chucks a box of matches at the side of his head. They hit him in the temple, but he doesn't flinch, just stands there as they bounce off and clatter to the pavement. I flip the bitch off.

“Have fun with your old lady, *,” she says as she storms off in a flurry of flowers and a swish of hair.

“Don't feed me lines, Gaine. You know that shit doesn't work on me.” I pull my wrist away, even as my body begs me to step closer, to let him hold me, to trust him the way I've never trusted anyone else. I don't need a man to take care of me. I can take care of myself.