Bad For You (Rocktown Ink Book 4) Read online

  He’d gone quiet and I twisted to look up at him. He had an odd look on his face. “Jesse?”

  “Christ.”

  “Hey! I’m not showing you my bathroom now, you’ll only mock my towels.”

  “What’s up with your towels?”

  “They’re pink with dark pink polka dots.”

  He nuzzled my throat. “I like it, it’s you. Soft and sweet, and it smells good, too.”

  I drew in a giddy breath. “Your reaction when you saw my room makes me think otherwise.”

  “That reaction had nothing to do with the color.”

  I glanced at him over my shoulder again and raised an eyebrow.

  He made a rough sound. “That’s what you sleep in, Bambi?”

  A bit of tangerine silk and lace peeked out from under my pillow. I liked pretty nightwear as well. “It’s just my pj’s.”

  He dragged his nose up the side of my throat. “Sometime soon, I’m gonna need to see you in those.”

  My heart banged harder in my chest. “Okay,” I whispered.

  He flicked the light off suddenly and all but towed me out of the room, pulling the door firmly shut behind him.

  “You heard from Brooks?” he asked.

  “No. And I doubt very much I will after what happened.” There was also the fact that everyone had seen Jesse and me leave the bar together the night Bull kicked Brooks out. That news had spread all over town.

  “Good. Now let’s eat, woman,” he said gruffly and gently pushed me toward the kitchen.

  When I obviously didn’t move quickly enough, he swatted me on the butt and laughed when I narrowed my eyes at him. I walked ahead and could feel his eyes on me the whole way.

  I liked it.

  After we had dinner and dessert—Jesse had two helpings of both—we chose a movie. Jumanji, the new one with The Rock in it. I loved Dwayne Johnson, so I highly approved of this choice. Something that Jesse noticed a short way into the movie.

  “Bambi, you get all starry-eyed when The Rock comes on screen.”

  I glanced at him. “Well, yeah, he’s hot.”

  “You like that, all those muscles?” he asked.

  His thigh was pressed against mine, the hardness and heat of his body making me tingly and breathless. “What’s not to like?” I said back, teasing.

  Jesse growled and tackled me, taking me down on the couch, somehow managing to flip us so I was lying on top of him, against that long, lean, hard body.

  He cupped my face. “You saying you don’t think I’m pretty? I’m deeply hurt, Bambi.”

  I grinned down at him. “The Rock means nothing to me. I promise you’re the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.”

  “Man,” he said and licked his lips.

  “Sorry…prettiest man,” I repeated. “Muscles shmuscles.”

  “Now I have no muscles?” he said in fake outrage.

  “I’d have to see them to assess,” I said and kind of froze after the words left my mouth.

  The air around us became charged.

  “If I start taking off my clothes, I’m gonna want to take off yours as well,” he said low and growly.

  I bit my lips to stop myself from blurting anything else. As much as I wanted to be naked with Jesse, right freaking now, I was also inexperienced and seriously self-conscious.

  My lack of response obviously told him all he needed to know. He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Since we decided to take things slow, you’re just going to have to imagine my ripped-as-fuck chest while you kiss me and make it all better.”

  “It’s the least I can do,” I whispered.

  Jesse’s big body trembled as I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his. His fingers slid into my hair, cupping the back of my head, the other hand on my lower back, but he didn’t try to take over, he let me lead, and I did.

  I took my time tasting his gorgeous mouth, gliding mine over his, taking small sips of his perfect lips, luxuriating in the texture, the plumpness, the way the stubble on his jaw scraped against my skin.

  I’d never done this before, taken the lead like this, and I liked it.

  His breath was sawing in and out of his nose and he bent one of his legs, leaning it against the back of the couch, so my legs ended up between his. He was hard against me, so very hard.

  I squeezed my thighs together and slid the tip of my tongue along the seam of his lips. He opened on a groan as the hand on my lower back slid to my butt and squeezed. Oh God, that felt good.

  We explored each other’s mouths, searching, caressing, making out like our lives depended on it. Jesse tasted like sweet apples, and I couldn’t get enough.

  The longer we kissed, the hotter I got. I was slick and aching between my thighs, turned on in a way I never had been in my life. Jesse rolled so we were on our sides, dislodging my mouth, and I chased his again, wanting more.

  He let me catch him for several more minutes, then panting, he slowed things down, giving me shorter, sucking little kisses that included the odd flick of his tongue. He was panting when he pulled back, his green eyes darker, heavy.

  He softly slid his thumb over my lower lip, those drowsy, sexy eyes following the movement. “I could kiss you all damn night, but if I don’t stop soon, I’m gonna disgrace myself.”

  I was finding it hard to focus with his hard-on pressed into my belly and his strong, hot body wrapped around me. The way his lips moved was suddenly mesmerizing.

  “Fuck, Lila, don’t look at me like that,” he rasped.

  I tried to shake off the haze, it wasn’t working. Not when my nipples were insanely hard and aching and being pressed up against Jesse’s hard chest felt so good. I licked my lips and wished his were back on mine. “Like what?”

  “Like you want to lick me all over.”

  My face heated.

  He groaned. “Goddammit, I want to keep on kissing you.”

  “Then kiss me,” I said, voice so tight with need I barely recognized it.

  He laughed, on a shaky breath. “Did you not hear what I just said, Bambi? I keep kissing you I’m gonna blow in my jeans.”

  “Oh.”

  He squeezed my butt again, and his big body shuddered. “Yeah, oh.”

  Despite his concern over losing control, he continued to massage my ass, kind of tugging me closer, pressing his hardness against my belly.

  “Talk about something unsexy,” he said roughly, still kind of grinding against me.

  That I’d made him like this, so turned on, it thrilled me. “Um…I thought I’d make cupcakes tomorrow?”

  “Nope,” he croaked.

  “How can cupcakes be sexy?”

  “I’m picturing you naked in one of those frilly aprons…yeah, spreading frosting on your nipples for me to lick off.”

  I bit my lips, trying not to laugh and now even more turned on than before as well. “You have a dirty mind.”

  “Woman, you have no idea.” He pressed into me again and groaned. “Quick, something else.”

  “I have a bunch of books to re-shelve tomorrow? Since people are reading more with the colder weather.”

  He shuddered and whimpered.

  “What? Seriously? Putting away books is turning you on?”

  His eyes locked on mine. “Everything you do is sexy. And considering you put away books in those tight fucking skirts, and how many times I’ve thought about you bending over and…” His nostrils flared.

  “And?”

  He shook his head.

  I wanted to know what he was thinking. I liked hearing how hot I made him, his dirty fantasies about me. “Tell me, and who knows, one day I might make it a reality.” I couldn’t believe I’d said it out loud.

  His fingers dug deeper into my ass and his eyes narrowed. “You’re not playing fair, Bambi.”

  I don’t know where my confidence suddenly came from. Maybe it was knowing just how much he wanted me. It was heady. I pressed my lips to his. “Come on, tell me,” I said against them.

  He growled and chased m
y mouth. I pulled back and shook my head. “No more kisses until you finish what you were going to say.”

  “I thought you were a nice girl.”

  My parents had tried their hardest to make sure that’s exactly what I was. I’d been playing the part so long I’d started to believe it myself. I didn’t want to be a nice girl…a good girl, not anymore. “Looks can be deceiving.”

  His eyes were glittering. He was enjoying this as much as me.

  “Okay,” he said, voice low, almost a whisper. It made everything even more intimate. “You’re putting books away when I come in, so I come up behind you, walk you to one of those tables people sit at, and ease that tight little skirt up your thighs.”

  I squeezed my legs together. “And then what?”

  His eyes were dark and hungry, heavy with lust. “I drop to my knees behind you and tug your panties down.”

  I was shaking now, my breathing coming in agitated pants. “And then?”

  “You bend over for me, and I get you to spread nice and wide…then finally, I lean in and taste your pussy.”

  My inner muscles clenched and there was no holding back my whimper.

  We stared at each other, both breathing hard.

  My phone rang and I nearly fell off the couch.

  Jesse stopped me with a strong hand to my back, and sat us both up. “Get your phone. I gotta use the can.”

  He headed for the bathroom and I tried to gather my thoughts as I checked my phone.

  Mom.

  I sucked in a painful breath. She hadn’t spoken to me for months and she calls now? It’s like she had some kind of sixth sense, that she knew I was doing something she wouldn’t approve of and was determined to ruin it. If that wasn’t a bucket of ice down my pants, I didn’t know what was.

  The little girl in me wanted to answer and beg her forgiveness. Even though I’d done nothing wrong.

  I missed my parents, but I wasn’t ready to talk to them. Not yet. I wanted them to accept me for who I was, even if I was still figuring that out myself. To at least try and understand why I’d moved away. And to be okay with me living my own life.

  But most of all, I needed them to say they’d made a mistake with me and Kate, that they loved us no matter what. They weren’t there yet. They might never get there. And I wouldn’t listen to my mom spreading her poison while I waited for something that might never happen.

  I just couldn’t do it.

  Jesse walked out a few minutes later. “I better head off.”

  I didn’t want him to go.

  My mother had interrupted my date with Jesse, had managed to kill the mood, without even being here.

  I stood and, after several kisses goodbye, he left.

  I hugged myself. I was done allowing my mother to dictate my life. She wasn’t even here, but I was still letting her do it.

  Not anymore.

  Chapter Ten

  Jesse

  Groaning, I rolled to my back. I’d left Lila’s last night hard as a rock but smiling like an idiot. How was that possible?

  She’d cooked for me. The last person who’d cooked a meal just for me was my mom…

  Pain sliced through me and I shoved it right back out of my head.

  Instead, I thought of my girl. Christ, I’d never wanted to fuck someone so bad as I did her, but waiting, not going there yet was hot. I never expected that. Fuck, that juicy ass of hers, so soft and warm. Yeah, I was looking forward to having it bare and snuggled up against my dick in the morning after I finally got inside her.

  My cock started to throb just thinking about it.

  I rolled to my side and snatched my jeans up off the floor, pulling the scrap of pink and white polka dot silk from my pocket. Maybe it made me a sick and incredibly perverted individual, but I couldn’t stop myself from stealing Lila’s panties from the laundry basket by her washer and dryer in the bathroom last night. They were right there, and I was so horny after making out with her on the couch that I couldn’t help it.

  All I could think about was how they’d cupped her bare pussy, and I’d shoved them in my pocket before I knew what I was doing.

  I bet all her panties were like this, pretty and delicate.

  Shit, that made me harder.

  I held them up, pictured them molded to her ass and between her thighs and groaned, pressing them against my face and breathed in deep.

  Oh fuuuuck.

  I’d taken them from her dirty laundry pile.

  My hard dick pumped full of blood so hard and fast it made me dizzy. I could smell her—her tight, barely fucked pussy—as if my face was buried up against it.

  I held that scrap of silk to my nose and started jerking it. “Oh fuck, Lila.” I stroked harder, faster while I imagined her sitting on my face. It was too much, after all the kissing last night until I thought my cock would snap off, now the scent of her pussy filling my nose—it only took minutes before I was barking out a curse and coming all over my stomach.

  I lay there panting. Stunned. How could beating off just thinking about Lila be better than actual sex with anyone else?

  It might kill me when I finally got to sink inside her.

  Hopefully, taking the edge off would help me today. I’d promised to take her for a ride on my bike before the weather got too bad. But I had a feeling having her pressed against my back, her thighs spread around mine would drive me insane. Heaven and Hell all rolled into one.

  My phone rang while I was getting dressed after my shower. I knew who it’d be before I checked the screen. He’d probably forgotten that he’d already called. Wouldn’t be the first time. When you spent ninety percent of your time drunk, shit like that was bound to happen. I ignored it. I wasn’t letting my father screw up my day. Not today.

  I headed to Lila’s place, and she walked out onto the front porch as I pulled up the driveway. She was wearing jeans again, boots, and a soft-looking blue sweater. Her hair was down and her face was flushed. I wanted to kiss her so bad my lips actually throbbed. Then I remembered I could. Because she was mine.

  Swinging my leg over my bike, I grabbed the leather jacket I’d brought for her to wear and strode toward her. Her smile was wide, welcoming as I moved in nice and close and dipped my head. “Hey, Bambi.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, but I kissed her before she could and moaned against her lush lips.

  Dropping the jacket, I hooked an arm under her hot round ass and lifted her so we were level and pressed her against her closed door. She made a sexy sound, a cross between a whimper and a moan, and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, kissing me back.

  I’d never enjoyed kissing like I did with Lila. Every time was sweet and hot as fuck. She smelled like soap and cherries and Lila, and I wanted to suck on her tongue, then lick a path up her throat and take a bite out of her.

  When I pulled back grinning she laughed, all bubbly and filled with pleasure.

  “Hello to you, too.”

  “Christ, you’re hot.”

  She glanced down at herself and frowned.

  “You could be wearing a sack and you’d still give me a hard-on.”

  She bit the side of her lip. “I remember a time you weren’t so excited to see me.”

  I groaned. “Don’t remind me, Bambi. I was fucked off my face. It kills me to think about that.” Her legs had found their way around my waist and I pressed deeper. “Also makes me insane thinking about your mouth on my dick and not being able to remember it.” I brushed my mouth over hers again. “I’m so sorry, baby, you know that, right? I was in a shitty place and didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”

  She nodded. “I know that now, I do.”

  Knowing how insecure she could be, I understood how huge it was for her to come to me that night, offering herself. I’d decimated her trust that night. I hated that most of all. But I’d do whatever it took to get that back, to get us there again.

  “That’s why we’re taking this slow. I don’t want you regretting anything
we do together.”

  What would she think if she knew what you did for the club, what you’d done to your own brother?

  “Okay,” she said softly.

  I buried my face against her throat and breathed her in. Her scent, the feel of her soft body pressed against mine soothed me like nothing and no one else ever had. I couldn’t lose her again. I’d keep her safe—and as far away from the old man as I could.

  “You ready to go?” I said when I lifted my head.

  The lovely pink of her cheeks deepened. “Yep.”

  I reluctantly eased her down my body and picked up the leather jacket. “You’ll need to wear this.” I held it up and she slid her arms in the sleeves. I zipped it up to her chin. The thing swamped her smaller frame, but I wasn’t taking any risks with her. I led her to the bike and she was bouncing with excitement by the time we reached it.

  I put a helmet on her and did up the strap. “Tap my stomach if you freak out or want me to slow down, okay?”

  She nodded and I climbed on. Lila climbed on behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I didn’t let just anyone ride on the back of my bike. Sofia was family and I’d had to ride with her out of necessity, but that seat behind me had always been reserved for my old lady when I got one.

  I wanted that to be Lila.

  Maybe it was too soon to be thinking like that. I didn’t give a shit. I’d known it from the first time I’d laid eyes on her. Now I had her back and there was no way I was letting her go.

  But for now, we’d take it slow. Lila was shy, needed time to adjust. Eventually, I’d introduce her to the club. I thought I could keep her and that part of my life separate, but that wasn’t going to work. I wasn’t going to rush it, though, and mess everything up. It had to be on my terms so I had complete control over the situation. Definitely not until I was sure my old man wasn’t a threat anymore.

  Then all bets were off.

  “Hold on, Bambi,” I said and started my bike.

  The rumble of the engine filled the air, the bike vibrating under us, and Lila squeezed me tighter as I eased out and onto the street. I took it easy to start with, taking the corners carefully, before going a little faster. She seemed okay, so when we hit the highway, I opened the bike up.