Page 5

Chapter 5

Dirty Dancing

LEVIN

H oly shit.

I don’t know what’s the biggest turn on, if it’s how Chance and Zara just won the race, or the way they’re kissing.

They’re clinging to each other, frantic and explosive. When she wraps her thighs around his hips, I can only imagine the way she feels.

Fuck knows, I like to watch all sorts of stuff to inspire me when I’m alone in my room, but this is hotter than any porn I’ve ever watched.

Some of my friends wouldn’t understand and they would laugh at me for getting turned on by a kiss; all they want to see when they jack off is ass and pussy, but I like videos where they kiss a lot too.

I think a great kiss is as hot as all the rest, maybe even more because it builds the anticipation of the other stuff.

Especially when you get to kiss a gorgeous girl like Zara.

From the moment I saw her about to kick her idiot ex-boyfriend in the nuts, I’ve been on the brink of a semi.

It isn’t just because she’s hot. It’s a combination of that and how feisty she is.

Seeing her ride with Chance just now only made me more curious to get to know her better.

And by the looks of it, my best friend feels exactly the same way.

A pang of jealousy hits me square in the chest. Are Chance and Zara going to hook up tonight?

I watch them with a mixture of longing and irritation, waiting for them to part. Fuck it. We’re at a party and I’m going to see if Zara likes me too. Chance and I have always been drawn to the same type of girls, and we have one rule. Until you have been on a date and you call dibs, neither of us has the right to get jealous.

All I need to do is to get close to her and make my move. This party doesn’t count as a date, so this is my shot.

I see an opportunity when Kristy Black asks Chance and his brothers to discuss a possible meeting with her bosses.

“Hey,” I smile. “That was something out there.”

Redness rises to her face. “I have good balance thanks to gymnastics, and I grew up around motorcycles. Thank goodness my mom hates them, because if she saw the livestream of that race, she would either have a heart attack or ground me for the rest of my life.”

The corner of her lips tips into a smile.

I think Zara is into me as much as she’s into Chance; at least judging by the way she’s blushing and playing with her long, dark hair when she speaks to me.

It’s the way she’s looking at me, too.

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” I chuckle.

The tension in her shoulders eases at my reassurance. “Thanks, Lev. You guys literally saved my life twice today. Not just earlier with Cal. I don’t know how I would have gotten home tonight if you hadn’t invited me to stay with you. There’s a bus service between Bridgeport and Shell Cove, but the timetable sucks. The last bus of the day was way before the qualifier ended.”

My smile widens. “Don’t mention it. First off, your ex is a douche on and off the tarmac. If Ares hadn’t intervened, one of us would have. We’ve hated his guts since we started racing.”

Zara nods. “I can see why. He’s out there just for himself. Winning is all that matters to him, even at the expense of his teammates.”

The fact that she’s aware of what a piece of work Calvin Fox is makes my respect for her increase tenfold. “I have to be honest with you, at the risk of sounding blunt. We invited you to stay with us because it took talking to you for a few minutes to feel like we had known you for a long time. You’re really cool. But there’s something I don’t understand.”

She smiles. “Thank you. I think you guys are cool too. Or no matter how much trouble I was in, I wouldn’t have accepted your offer to hang out with you. What is it that you don’t understand?”

I shrug, hoping my question won’t offend her. “What is a cool girl like you doing with that douche bag?”

Zara looks away for a second, as if trying to decide how much she wants to share. “I don’t know,” she admits, her tone sincere. “I guess I thought he was exciting. He’s older and having his attention made me feel important. It’s also a little bit of a fuck you to my mom, if I have to be totally honest. Don’t get me wrong, I love her. But you don’t know my mom. Since she divorced my dad, it’s like everything that reminds her of him is off-limits. My dad invited me to spend the summer in Dubai with him, where he’s training a new MotoGP team. Mom looked for every excuse under the sun to keep me from going. In the end, she admitted that she didn’t trust my dad to look after me in a foreign country.”

It’s impossible to miss the disappointment in her eyes. “Parents don’t always see us in a realistic light. I’ve known you for a few hours, but it’s obvious that you can look after yourself just fine.”

That was the right thing to say, because her frown turns into a bright smile. “Right? Thanks, Lev. I’m glad you don’t think I’m this helpless little girl who needs constant adult supervision. My mom made a huge deal out of letting me leave the country. She started making impossible rules she knew Dad could never follow because he had to work. In the end, he changed his mind and said that maybe I can go in a couple of years. Once I’m eighteen and Mom can’t invoke the fact that she has full custody of me.”

I’m starting to understand why she was dating that asshole. “So you picked a guy your mom would disapprove of.”

Zara sighs. “That makes me sound immature, right? My mom would say that these kinds of choices—going out with someone like Cal, that stupid tattoo—are exactly the reason why she doesn’t trust me.”

I understand how Zara feels more than I care to admit. “If you’re immature, then so am I. My parents are big shot lawyers. They own a really fancy legal practice in town with my uncle and aunt, and they expect me to follow in their footsteps.”

I never talk about this stuff with anyone. Chance and his brothers are the only people who know how much I resent my parents.

“That’s why you joined Star Arrows? You want to race because your parents hate it?”

I nod. “Yeah, pretty much. It’s the same reason why I keep playing hockey. Whether I go pro or I follow Ares and Atlas to their MotoGP team after high school, I’m not going to law school. It isn’t because I find law boring. I don’t want to work with my parents. Their law practice is their life, to the point that they have no time for me. I’ve pretty much been raised by hired staff because they were always at work. I see them so rarely that they’re like strangers. Chance’s dad feels more like a parent than my own dad. So why should I go out of my way to be a part of the very thing that they always put first?”

Zara considers my words. “I understand. After I graduate from high school, I want to move in with my dad. I want to see the world, be free. I love my mom. I know she thinks she’s doing the best she can to raise me right. But she’s too strict. Sometimes at home I feel like I can’t breathe.”

Fuck.

She isn’t just beautiful, she totally understands how I feel.

“Well then,” I smile. “What do you say we enjoy this party? I don’t know about you, but my parents would be horrified if they knew there’s underage drinking.”

Her pretty lips curl into a devilish smile. “I say fuck yeah. Let’s go do a shot and then let’s dance. Usually guys who are good at riding a bike are great dancers.”

“With you?” I wink. “I could dance all night.”

The air crackles with electricity as we look at each other. I take her hand in mine and lead her to the makeshift bar a few feet away from where Chance, Ares, and Atlas are deep in conversation with Kristy. Heather is by Atlas’s side, watching the other woman with jealous eyes every time she talks to Atlas.

“Cheers,” we bump our plastic shot glasses against each other before taking the shot.

“Let’s go dance.” She giggles.

Dancing with Zara is everything I thought it would be, and more. Our bodies move in perfect sync with the music; we get closer and closer with every passing second, and I can’t take my eyes off of her.

I don’t care that we just met. I want to get closer. I want to kiss her the same way Chance was doing a few minutes ago.

As if summoned by my own thoughts, my best friend joins us. The conversation with Kristy Black must be over, because Ares and Atlas are in line at the bar with Heather in tow.

Chance is dancing behind Zara, closer and closer with every beat of the song. I watch with a mixture of jealousy and excitement when his hands land on her hips.

Rather than pulling her to him and away from me, he advances, pressing her between us.

Zara turns her head to smile at him.

“Look behind Lev,” Chance says, loud enough to be heard over the music, but quiet enough that no one outside our bubble can hear him. “We have an audience.”

She rolls her eyes and I know it must be her ex.

I dance in a circular motion, so I can see too without being too obvious.

The asshole is sitting by the fire with the girl who rode behind him during the race in his lap.

He’s clutching a bottle of bourbon, taking long pulls from it and offering some to the girl every so often. He seems deep in conversation with her, but his beady eyes are zeroed in on Zara.

I’m glad she agreed to stay with us, because I don’t want him to catch her by herself. I wouldn’t trust that motherfucker not to try to finish the job we interrupted earlier at the racetrack.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” I ask her, annoyed by Fox’s mere existence.

Zara shakes her head. “No. I haven’t done anything wrong. I came here with him and I would still be with him if he hadn’t shown me that he’s a violent piece of shit. I want to enjoy the party and I want to have fun. You two are fun.”

I smile. “I’m having fun too.”

She surrounds my neck with her arms, and I inhale her subtle floral scent, mixed with the smoke from the bonfires and a hint of sweat. The scent is intoxicating, and I place my hands on her waist, just above where Chance is still holding her.

“Do you know what would be even more fun?” she whispers. “If we could show him that I’ve already moved on.”

“How would we show him that?” I ask, too drunk on her scent and on the warmth of her body to think straight.

“Kiss me.” She demands.

I close the negligible distance between us, so that our chests are touching.

She’s so fucking soft.

I take her lips between mine, sucking on her plump bottom lip, and she opens for me.

Our tongues tangle, sliding against each other over and over, and I’m instantly addicted.

She tastes like mint, tequila and sin and I deepen the kiss.

I don’t give two shits that she’s trying to send a message to her ex. I’m not under any illusion that this is anything more than making out at a party. I’ve done it countless times with girls I never talked to again after having some fun.

The difference between those girls and Zara is that I’m intrigued by her and I hope to see her again after we give her a ride home tomorrow.

“Hmm,” she murmurs against my mouth. “You kiss even better than you dance.”

I chuckle, nipping at her bottom lip. “I could say exactly the same thing about you.”

We kiss again, still dancing to the pop music that’s blaring from a boombox.

The kiss is deep and daring, and I know she’s as affected by it as I am by the way she’s fisting the back of my t-shirt.

Chance presses against her, smashing her body further against mine, and she lets out a little moan that goes straight to my cock.

I’m one hundred percent sure she can feel how hard she’s making me with just one kiss.

“Our audience looks really unimpressed with the show,” Chance says, his mouth extremely close to the shell of her ear.

We turn around again while dancing and I can’t see Fox. My eyes instead land on Atlas and Heather, who are dancing together not far from us.

I also notice Ares watching us. His arms are crossed over his chest, his jaw tight and ticking in sync with the music.

I wonder if he noticed the way Fox is watching us.

“You two look smoking hot.” Chance’s lips glide from Zara’s ear all the way down the length of her neck.

She leans back, resting her head on Chance’s shoulder.

The movement causes her tight, hard nipples to brush against my chest.

I’m so fucking hard, I can’t think straight. The sight of the way Chance kisses her does nothing to help me remember that we’re on a public beach, at a crowded party.

We offered Zara our room, but if we walked her back to the hotel, would she invite me inside? Would she invite us inside?

Possessiveness makes me tighten my hold on her waist as I watch my best friend devour her mouth. Even if she invited us to her room, would I be ok sharing her with Chance? How would that even work?

I guess I’ll never know the answer to that question, because the situation escalates just as I pull Zara away from Chance and slant my mouth to hers.

Things happen so fast that I can barely make sense of them.

“Fuck, I guess our audience has had enough of our little show,” Chance whispers, with his mouth at the base of Zara’s neck.

That causes her to break the kiss and the flash of fear in her eyes makes me turn to look over my shoulder.

Calvin Fox rises to his feet without any regard for the girl sitting in his lap.

“Hey!” she wails, landing on the sand in a shocked heap.

Fox’s eyes are fixed on us when he throws the half-full bottle of bourbon into the fire.

There’s a lull in the music, just as the glass shatters and the fire flares because of the alcohol.

Fox spits on the ground and takes two unsteady steps in our direction.

I square my shoulders, turning around to shield Zara with my body.

If the asshole wants another beating, I’m more than happy to deliver. He’s a fucking pain in the butt on the racetrack, but I can’t stand a man who would even think about hitting a woman.

The air is fraught with tension, my muscles tense to breaking point.

“Zara,” Ares pulls Zara away from in between us. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back to our rooms. I’ll walk you.”

It isn’t a question. I know that tone. Ares uses it whenever he’s made a decision, and he expects everyone around him to fall in line. His old man used that same tone when we were kids and we got into a fight or broke something in the house.

At the same time, Atlas and some of the guys from the Blue Lightning team grab Calvin by the shoulders.

“Come on Fox,” Atlas says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s go to the hotel bar and get you a coffee. I think you’ve partied enough for tonight. We have a race tomorrow, and I don’t want you to look for excuses when I get to the finish line while you’re still on your second lap.”

To my surprise, the asshole doesn’t put up much of a fight.

“You’re right, Hunter,” his speech is slightly slurred. “She ain’t worth it. Women are all useless cunts. Once we’re done filling their holes, they’re nothing but a fucking headache.”

Atlas rolls his eyes as he and the other guys practically carry Fox away from the bonfire.

Ares and Zara have already disappeared toward our hotel.

“Let’s get a night cap,” Chance claps me on the shoulder. “And then go to bed. You need to be ready for the race.”

There’s an edge to his tone, as if he were talking about something other than the Super Bikes Championship.

I look at him, in search of a clue, but his expression is hard to read.

Is he thinking about sneaking into Zara’s room later? Would she welcome him if he knocked on her door in the middle of the night? Would she welcome me?

We’ll be sleeping in the same room tonight, so if he tries to leave, I’ll be hot on his heels. If he takes a shot at Zara, I can’t let him win.

ZARA

Ares’s hand clasps my shoulder as we leave the sand of the beach in favor of the boardwalk that leads to the group of hotels that are part of Bridgeport’s main tourist resorts.

Warmth seeps from his palm into my skin through the thin fabric of the blouse I borrowed from Heather.

His grasp on me is firm, but not painful. We’re walking at a brisk pace, in complete silence.

The lobby is deserted, aside from a sleepy-looking guy at the concierge desk.

We’re the only two people in the elevator and Ares lets go of my shoulder the second the doors close in front of us.

I shudder, missing the warmth of his hand.

He looks angry, or at least I think he is. I’ve just met him and his friends, but it’s clear that Atlas is the one with the sunny personality, while Ares is quiet, more serious than his twin brother.

I take advantage of the forced proximity to take a good look at him.

While Chance isn’t a twin, it’s impossible to miss the family resemblance between them.

Despite being two years older, Chance has a couple of inches on his elder brothers. I would guess he’s about six four, which would put the twins at about six feet two.

They all have blond hair, but Chance’s is a slightly darker blond with golden hues; the twins are an ashen blond, with streaks that glow silver under direct light.

They’re all muscular and athletic, with broad shoulders, trim waists, long legs and thick, strong thighs.

High cheekbones and soft looking lips give them that heartthrob look that would open all sorts of doors in Hollywood, if they ever got tired of sports.

The biggest difference in their appearance is the shape of their faces—the twins have a more defined oval, while Chance’s face is slightly rounder—and their eye color.

Chance has the most intense shade of blue I’ve ever seen.

Ares’s eyes are a silver color that’s flecked with stormy shades of blue when you’re close enough.

When the doors open, Ares takes my hand, and I let him lead me to my room.

He hasn’t said a word to me since he told me he would walk me back to my room.

“Good night, Ares.” I murmur, searching in his eyes for any kind of emotion; anything other than the stony, slightly angry expression he’s been wearing for the past few minutes.

“Get inside.” He demands, the muscle in his jaw jumping with every word.

“I’m not tired,” I say. “Do you want to come in? We could sit outside on the balcony and talk for a bit. Maybe have a drink?”

“Go to sleep, Zara. It’s been a long day.”

Is that a glare? The way he’s looking at me doesn’t make any sense.

“I—I just wanted to thank you for stepping in earlier at the racetrack.” My words come out in a rush when he starts to turn away from me.

He turns back around, pinning me with those silver eyes. “You said thank you.”

“I know, but… I wanted to say it again. We haven’t had the chance to talk at all tonight and I wanted you to know how grateful I am for your help and for giving up your room. I could have bunked with Heather.”

He snorts. “Right. Heather. Believe me, you’d get no sleep in Heather’s room. I don’t even know why we get her a room when my brother sneaks in every time we go away for a race. I guess it saves appearances with her parents. On the bright side, that means that I’ll have our room to myself.”

There is something in Ares Hunter that draws me in. Something beyond his sexy body and handsome face. “Anyway, do you want to come in?”

He takes a step forward, but that angry, hard to read look is back on his face. I retreat until my back touches the door.

“Why? So you can say thank you?” He bites out, his tone tough, almost aggressive.

I want to nod, but I can’t move. My muscles are frozen by Ares’s icy glare. “Yeah.” I swallow, my eyes drowning in the stormy depths of his gaze. The blue flecks look brighter this close up.

The corner of his lips tips up in just the hint of a smile, but it doesn’t reach those steely eyes. “And then we can talk?”

I’m not scared, but I’m trembling. I know Ares isn’t Cal. He’s a good guy and he wouldn’t put a finger on me unless I asked him to. The realization hits me square in the chest, and I exhale a shuddering breath. Maybe that’s why I’m trembling. Because I want him to put his hands on me. I want to find out if his lips are as soft as they look; if his kiss is going to be hard like Lev’s, or wild and hot like Chance’s.

I realize that Ares is waiting for an answer to his question, so I nod.

“Yeah. We can talk, maybe have a drink.”

He takes another step closer, stopping just shy of our bodies touching. His hand is on the door, just beside my head. “And then what?” he asks, his warm breath fanning over my lips.

“I—I don’t know.” My heart is hammering against my chest, so hard and loud that it reverberates in my ears. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ares could hear it.

“I think,” he bites out. “That you’ve done enough for one night, Zara. First, I thought that bridge was going to take your head off; then you offered quite the spectacle when you were dancing with Lev and Chance.”

His words hit me harder than if he had slapped me; they hurt more than when Cal called me a slut earlier.

“Are you slut shaming me?” I confront him.

The blue swirls in his irises turn into a slate gray. “I would never. I’m just saying that you’ve had quite an eventful night, that’s all. It’s probably better if I go.”

He doesn’t make a move to walk away and I get it. Ares isn’t mad at me. He’s turned on.

“Ok.” I nod, my voice is just barely above a whisper.

“Good night.” His eyes stay on mine for the most intense two seconds of my life, before descending to my lips and returning up to stare at me.

My body is on fire. I lick my lips, my lids fluttering almost all the way down; they’re open just enough that I can see the corner of his mouth tip up again.

“Go to bed, Zara.” His hand leaves the wall, and he leans slightly back, that gaze still burning me from the inside out.

“Aren’t you going to?—”

His smile widens, just a fraction. “Am I going to do what? Kiss you?”

I nod, unable to talk. I want him so much that I think my heart might burst.

“No, not tonight. Maybe one day. You’ve been kissed enough for tonight, and I’m not going to be compared to my brother and his best friend.”

I watch his retreating form, hoping one day is someday soon.