Untitled Book 2 (7 page)

“You don't need to use such ugly words,” I say, chewing thoughtfully. “But yes, that's exactly what I'm doing.”

“Fine.” She gives in but doesn't look happy about it. “But I want to go somewhere every day while you're here. Who knows if the next guard will take me anywhere.”

I don't
like the fact that a few days from now, another man will be here protecting her. Probably doing a shit job of it too, making her miserable and stuck inside. If I offer to stay longer though, Talon will know something is up. I'd also have to run it by Sin, which would prompt questions. Staying longer isn't a good idea anyway, considering the fact that we already kissed after only two days. I can just imagine what will happen the longer we stay around each other. An image of her, naked, my head between her legs, flashes through my mind.

“Vinnie?” she interrupts, stealing my attention from my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“You stopped eating and were just staring straight ahead. It was weird,” she says, wrinkling her nose.

“Just lost in thought,” I say, continuing to eat. “Yes, we can go wherever you want to go, as long as it's not too crowded.”

“Deal,” she says, eyes on the TV screen once more. Apparently we're pretending the kiss never happened, and that's more than fine with me. I finish everything on my plate and then rinse my dish in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher. Grabbing a spoon and the tub of ice cream we bought today, I sit back down in my chair.

“You could just serve it into a bowl,” she grumbles, staring at the tub of cookies and cream.

“You got another flavor, so I just assumed this one was all for me,” I say, shrugging and scooping a spoonful.

“I got two so we could have a little variety. Do you want to eat the same ice cream every night? That reminds me, I have to make the cheesecake.”

I swallow before I reply. “Shay, if you want some, then have
it. We've already had our mouths on each other, so I don't think it fuckin' matters if we eat out of the same tub at this point.”

So much for pretending the kiss never happened
, I think, cringing to myself.

“Seriously?” she mumbles, sighing. “I think sharing a kiss is a little different.”

“Pretty sure it's exactly the same,” I fire back. “We share saliva either way, end of story.”

She throws her hands in the air all dramatically. “You're impossible, you know that?”

“Are you grumpy because you're sexually frustrated?” I ask, sucking on the spoon. “Because I can take care of that for you if you want. I'm really good with my mouth.”

She looks at me like she wants to kill me. “I think I'll survive, thank you.”

“Offer stands,” I say, giving the spoon one long lick. “You've been kept prisoner for a while, I'm sure it's been some time since you got any dick.”

I thought my crude words would put her off, but her expression doesn't even change, once again surprising me.

“Unless I fuck all my bodyguards,” she fires back, smirking.

My hands clench at the thought, but I don't believe it for one second. “You're not the type.”

“Making assumptions again?” she asks, a haughty look on her face. She raises her eyebrow in a way that makes me want to strangle her and kiss her at the same time.

“I'm sure if you were fucking your bodyguards, they'd stick around longer,” I say, smirking. “Poor Mike couldn't get out of here fast enough.”

She might think her scowl is ferocious, but it's actually just cute. “You're such an asshole, do you know that?”

“I get no complaints from the women I'm around,” I reply, closing the lid on the ice cream and setting the tub on the table. “I happen to think I'm an okay guy. Not the best, but sure as hell not the worst.”

“Is one of those women yours?” she asks, tilting her head to the side.

“Wouldn't have let you kiss me if that were the case,” I say, leaning back in the chair and studying her. “You didn't know if I was taken and you still kissed me. Not such a good girl after all, huh, Shay?”

Her eye twitches a little. “I didn't kiss you. You kissed me. And if you have a woman it's your responsibility to be faithful to her, not mine.”

I chuckle and enjoy watching her as she squirms in her seat. We both know she made the final move for the kiss, even though I was the one to close the space between us. “If you say so. We were both there; we both know what happened.”

A muscle ticks in her jaw as she grinds her teeth. “It doesn't matter who kissed who because it won't be happening again. A minor lapse in judgment, that's all it was. Like you said, I haven't even kissed a guy in a long time. I don't know what your excuse is, but that's mine and I'm sticking to it.”

She returns her attention to the TV screen, dismissing me. I pick up the tub, open it again, and take another huge spoonful out, pretending like my cock isn't throbbing. But it is, even though I'd just made myself come not even an hour ago. Is it going to be like this for the rest of the week?

Because if so, I'm not sure I'm going to survive it.

I
REST
my palms on my knees, catching my breath. It's been so long since I've been able to jog along the beach. It's a beautiful sunny day today, and I'm glad I wore my swimsuit underneath my workout clothes.

“Finished already?” Vinnie asks from beside me, not even breaking a sweat. “Let's do at least another fifteen minutes, then we can go for a swim.”

I was pretty tired, but for some reason I didn't want him to see me as weak or as a quitter, so I nod and force myself to continue. By the time we're done I'm pretty much dying, gasping for air and already feeling the burn in my calves. Vinnie hands me some water, which I gulp down.

“You did well,” he says, looking impressed. “I thought you'd come to a standstill whenever you'd had enough but you pushed through.”

“Is everything a test with you?” I ask, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I felt like it was. He was always expecting me to react a certain way and wanting to see if he was right.

Last night after dinner we both went to bed in our separate rooms, but I'm not going to lie, it was hard knowing he was so close, and probably naked in bed the whole night. It was a long night of tossing and turning and playing out various scenarios in my mind. Part of me was hoping he'd come into my room and ravish me, but the realistic part of me was glad he stayed away. Why was everything with this man so confusing?

He studies me for a few seconds before replying with a yes.

I throw him the bottle of water back, and lift my T-shirt off, revealing my black bikini top. “Can we go in the water, please? The sun is scorching, and I just want to relax in the waves.”

His eyes linger on my breasts, and then on my stomach. I let him have his fill and then slide my shorts down, revealing the bottom. I'm not going to lie, I enjoy the feeling of his eyes on me, as he continues to take in every part of me. I put my clothes in a pile on the sand and take a step toward the ocean. “Are you coming or not?”

He takes his T-shirt off, and I turn toward the water, not wanting to miss the show, but not wanting to stand there staring at him like an idiot yet again. Instead, I walk into the water, letting the waves brush past my knees. The cool water is so inviting, I decide to dive in without waiting for Vinnie. Refreshing coldness surrounds me as I swim under a wave, then push up for air. I look back to the sand but don't see him standing there. I scream as hands grab me from behind, momentarily startling me.

I hear an amused chuckle, and turn so I'm face-to-face with him. “Don't think the bad guys are out waiting for you in the water, Shay.”

“Wasn't worried about them,” I say, holding on to his shoulders. “More like a shark or something.”

His hands wander to my waist, dangerous territory if you ask me. I run my fingers over his head. I don't know why he shaves it, but it suits him. I touch the short hairs there, liking how they prickle my fingers. My face is so close to his, so close I can see flecks of green in his brown eyes.

“Heard you tossing and turning last night,” he murmurs, squeezing my waist. “Why was that exactly?”

My gaze narrows. “There's no way you could have heard anything. My room isn't that close to yours.”

His lips twitch upward, and I have no idea what is so amusing until he admits, “I might have come to your door once during the night. Or twice.”

I absorb that information. “Why?”

“You know why,” he replies, letting go of me and swimming backward. “I wanted you, and I was tempted, but I managed to control myself.” He scoffs. “Trust me, it wasn't fuckin' easy either. So next time you want to give me a little show in your bikini, you should probably keep that in mind.”

“I wear my bikini every time I go swimming. If you can't control yourself or your dick, that's hardly my problem.”

He makes a sound, a mix between a growl and a groan. “Coming from someone who wouldn't even watch me undress. Too tempting for you, was it?”

“This conversation is pointless,” I call out as I swim a little farther out, and it was. Yes, we're clearly attracted to each other, but he's trying to ignore it and so am I. Even though I hadn't had sex in just over a year now. Hell, I can barely remember what sex is like at this point. Maybe that's why I was so tempted. Although none of the other guards had tempted me, and a few of them were okay-looking. I duck underneath the water, re
surface, and then make my way back to shore. Vinnie follows. I realize we're going to have to walk back all the way to the car, and sigh heavily. Yeah, I'm going to be feeling all this exercise tomorrow. I pick up my clothes and glance over at him.

I don't know what expression he sees on my face but he grins and says, “Do you want me to carry you?”

I decline, tempting as the offer sounds. We walk back to the car in silence, and I allow myself to enjoy being in the sun, on the beach—the sand beneath my toes and the wind in my hair.

Who knows when I'll be back here.

*  *  *

He takes me to get ice cream without my having to ask. I have to admit, it's a very sweet move on his behalf.

“Anywhere else you want to go?” he asks, scanning the area as we sit on the grass.

“Nope. How about you? Do you want to go anywhere?” I ask, even though I was fucking tired and just wanted a shower and a nap.

“I'm good,” he says, licking the soft-serve vanilla cone. “Can't remember the last time I had ice cream like this.” He pauses, then adds, “I think it was when I was a prospect and Faye was pregnant. She'd make me bring her ice cream, or take her out to get it all the time.”

“Faye?”

“My president's old lady,” he explains, making my eyes widen in realization.

“Oh,” I say, my tongue chasing some of the ice cream as it drips down the cone. “I forgot how good it was, just to get some fresh air and enjoy the simple things in life, you know?”

He nods, watching me for a moment before returning to his frozen treat. “You know you can't live like this forever, right? Something needs to be done about the whole situation. I don't get how your father and Talon can allow this to continue, with you having to hide because of whatever shit he got himself into.”

“I know, but I don't really have a choice. I considered leaving the country, but I'd have to take a new identity and leave behind Talon and my father, who are the only family I'm close to. I've been hiding for a few months now, hopefully it won't be too much longer.”

“I don't get it. Why doesn't Talon just hide you in his MC?” he says, sounding angry. “Or I don't know, come up with something other than your being stuck with strangers and being sent here there and everywhere. It's fucked.”

Talon wanted to hide me in the Wild Men MC clubhouse. In fact, that was the first thing he said to me. However, something changed, and he had to come up with a new plan. He didn't explain to me why, but I have the feeling something's going on with his MC and he didn't feel I'd be safe there for some reason. It doesn't really make sense, because those men are family to Talon, so I didn't really understand the situation either.

“He wanted to,” I say, wanting to stand up for my cousin. “But something happened. I don't know what. I do know that he has a reason for not taking me there though.”

“Something else to discuss with him,” he says, jaw tight and clenched. “I'd feel like shit just leaving you, you know? Going back to my life and handing you over to some other dick, not knowing what the hell is going to happen to you.”

“That's sweet of you, Vinnie,” I say, laying my hand on his
forearm. “But I'm not your problem. You don't need to worry about me.”

I don't know what is going to happen, and I'm trying to just take things day by day. It is unfair that people want to use me as leverage against my father, but there isn't anything I could do about it besides try to survive. He is right though, something has to give.