Page 155 of Burning Ember

Before I can second-guess myself, I toss his cut behind me on my seat, and then slowly seize him by his belt buckle and pull him toward me. Mav hand come up and slip around my neck. And then he’s crushing his lips to mine. His tongue plunges into my mouth and swirls around as I sneak my hands around his waist and under his shirt. I hold on to him with an intensity I’ve never wielded before.

He groans and breathes against my lips, “Fuck. How can I already be so addicted to you?” His lips blaze a scorching trail down my neck sucking hard enough to leave a mark. “I’d take you right here if I could.”

“That could get us both arrested,” I moan and try to remind myself why that’s such a bad idea. But even the threat of Davis isn’t enough to pull me away from Mav right now.

Thunder rumbles in the background and we continue to get soaked. We disregard it all as he dips me back and his hot kisses move to my collarbone.

“Yeah, it would. Especially the way I want to take you.” He straightens and looks down at me. “The second we get back to the clubhouse, I’m gonna be buried inside you.”

“The second?”

His hand leaves my face to travel down my body. He cups and squeezes my butt. “You can bet your ass I am.” His crooked smile is genuine. Happy. And it makes my stomach do a tilt-a-whirl. Absolutely no trace of the sorrow and stress that covered his face a couple of hours ago remains. It’s as if today at the house never happened. Only it did. I saw a part of him that no one else has seen. I saw who he really is and how deeply he can love. I saw how utterly amazing his heart is.

Resting his forehead on mine, he teases, “You’re gettin’ me all wet here, Doll, and it’s supposed to be the other way around.”

“I’m plenty wet too.”

This earns me a raised eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Here?” He cups my sex from behind and my core muscles start to throb as they beg for more.

“Yes.”

His fingers push my shorts and panties to the side. And an unintelligible sound leaves me as two fingers sink inside me.

“How much time do we have before your meeting?”

“About an hour.”

I push him off and then hand him his cut by shoving it into his chest. “Then you better drive fast.”

He kisses me hard and slow once more before backing up. Then using his cut to cover himself, he makes his way to the driver’s side.

“Damn, it’s pourin’,” he hisses as he slides behind the steering wheel and sweeps his hand over his face. His gaze slides to me and he motions with his hand. “C’mere.”

I scoot close, weave my arm around his, and lay my head on his damp shoulder. Mav’s hand curls around my thigh. He places a kiss on the top of my head as he starts the truck.

The rightness of this moment steals my breath for second. So much so that I wish I could capture it somehow and save it. Re-experience it days and years from now.

It feels too damn precious to just let it simply slip by.

But that’s exactly what happens.

As we make our way across town, he has to pull his hand away to fight through the puddles on the road. Torrents of rain continue to slam against the glass, and the windshield wipers work overtime to give Mav a clear view. Every so often, lightning flashes through the clouds and the whole sky brightens.

I’m glad he’s the one at the wheel, because I’ve never been very good at driving in weather like this. It makes me nervous when I can only see what’s coming. I hate the not knowing.

Witnessing what I like to call a New Mexico mini tsunami, I think of all the people who are scrambling for a dry place to sleep for the night, and again I think of Ivy. I hope she’s not out in this. But at the same time I know the shelter isn’t the safest place for her either.

I murmur, “The next time it’s like this.” I gesture with my chin to the torrent hitting the windshield. “Will you take me somewhere?”

“Yeah, Doll, anything you need. Where do you wanna go?”

“To a shelter in Albuquerque.” He spares me a glance and gives me a curious look. I explain, “There’s a friend there that I’ve been meaning to pay back. I owe her money.”

“You got it. But you can also take the truck and go if you want.”

Looking up at him, I ask, “You’d just let me take your truck?”

He glances at me again. “Yeah, I told you. I trust you and I’ll take care of you. That’s means if I can do somethin’ for you, I will. All you have to do is ask.”