Page 20

20

Reagan

“Does this work?” I stop in the archway to the kitchen and brush my hands over the front of my dress.

Jesse’s eyes snap up from his phone, flaring at the sight of me. His gaze sears as it trails down, pausing at the hem of my very short, very tight black dress. The thinnest straps hold it on my shoulders, while the dress hugs every curve. The only pop of color comes from my cherry red pumps, which match my lips.

Since Jesse has made a point to mention on multiple occasions how sweet I look in sundresses, I decided to change it up tonight, and clearly, my plan to tease him in a new way is working.

After all, we’re going downtown in Vegas on a Saturday night and stopping at the Twisted Kings strip club on the way to the bar. I don’t want to be sweet and breakable. I want to look the part .

Jesse lifts off the stool at the island and walks over to me. With every step, I swear my dress hugs my body tighter. And when he pauses in front of me, my breath stutters. I can hardly handle his gaze, much less the delectable scent of his cologne.

Jesse reaches for my face, brushing his fingers down a blonde curl that ends at my shoulder. While I usually wear it up, I let it down tonight, only pinning it off my face with a simple clip.

Luna told me I looked like I could be a pinup—all boobs, curves, and red lips—but I didn’t believe her until this second, when Jesse can’t tear his eyes off me.

There’s still so much left unsaid between us, but I can’t find it in myself to hit the brakes on our reckless behavior.

“You are absolutely beautiful, Reagan.” Jesse brushes the curl off my shoulder.

“Thank you.”

He leans in, planting a soft kiss on the sensitive skin below my ear. “And just so I’m clear, only a fraction of that beauty is your appearance.”

Jesse pulls back, and my throat tightens. He remembers what I told him about my parents. About the mask I’ve been forced to wear my whole life. No one’s bothered to look beneath the surface, but he sees me. Something more than my blonde hair and curves.

I’m not able to speak as he steps back. But I feel him all over.

“I wasn’t sure if this dress was too much.” I clear my throat, trying to regain my composure .

Jesse matches me in all black, but he’s casual with his T-shirt, jeans, boots, and cut.

“You’ll fit right in.”

I sigh with relief. “I figured it’s Vegas, so I couldn’t go wrong. And Luna said she’s dressing up. But I’ve never been to a bar, much less a strip club, so I wasn’t sure.”

I probably shouldn’t have said that last part. Jesse’s eyes widen with the reminder of how young and inexperienced I am. I’ve never been to a bar that wasn’t the one at the Twisted Kings clubhouse or ordered a drink legally.

My experiences are nothing like what Jesse has seen and done, and the last thing I want is him looking at me like a barely legal girl with my head in the clouds.

I’m still surprised he invited me out tonight.

When Ghost first mentioned the club visiting the Strip in front of me, I got the impression Jesse was agitated. He immediately brushed it off. But then on Thursday, something must have changed because when he mentioned it again, he said it more like an expectation than an offer.

Rude to the point that I considered turning him down if he hadn’t cut off my sassy comeback by planting his mouth on mine.

Hopefully, my insecurity doesn’t make Jesse second-guess his decision.

“You look perfect.” He nods, an equal measure of lust and longing in his eyes as his phone chimes. “Van’s here.”

He leads me outside, and with Bea and Margaret already in bed, he doesn’t hesitate to grab my hand .

Three black vans sit at the curb in the neighborhood, waiting for us. They’re nicer than the ones I usually see parked outside the clubhouse with tall, tinted windows. They’re clearly built for chauffeuring parties around town, but instead of hired drivers, I notice prospects are at the wheels.

“No bike?” I nudge Jesse with my hip as he guides me to the waiting caravan.

I’ve still never been on the back of Jesse’s bike, and even if the thought terrifies me, I’m curious.

Jesse leans down, a breath away from my ear, and whispers, “No one’s allowed to see you straddle my bike in this dress except me.”

I can’t hide the grin when I look up at him. “Promise?”

A slight tick of his jaw is the only answer I get, and his silence speaks volumes. For a man always in control, I sense him having to restrain himself.

Steel and Ghost guide Tempe and Luna into a van first, and Jesse’s hand falls to my lower back as he ushers me to follow them.

I’m thankful he stands behind me so I don’t flash anyone, and I slide into the first bench against the window. Jesse climbs in next, taking the seat directly at my side, not shying away or keeping his distance as his arm wraps around the seat behind me.

I melt against him and let him be my shield, shoving aside the warnings constantly screaming inside me.

Jesse’s fingers toy with the hem of my dress, drawing slow circles on my bare thigh. And for right now, I’ll let myself think this is possible .

Soul and Chaos are in the far back, betting on something, while Steel is in the middle, warning everyone not to get arrested. In the seats directly behind us, Ghost and Luna are whispering.

But my attention is on Jesse sharing the bench seat with me. We’re in our own world. His hand skates back and forth at the hem of my dress as he buries his nose in my neck, breathing me in.

“I can’t decide what I like more.” His voice is gravelly in my ear as he whispers, “Your pretty little sundresses or this wicked thing.”

His hand teases the inside of my thigh as I slowly widen my knees.

My heartbeat thrums between my legs as his rough fingertips stroke down to my calf and back up again.

With where we are in the van, no one can see him toying with me. The only person in the front is the prospect focused on the road. But it doesn’t stop my cheeks from heating. Every touch of his fingers has me tightening my grip on his thigh. And when his hand skims all the way between my legs, meeting my core and pressing on the spot I’m damp and desperate, my teeth dig into my cheek as I attempt to stifle my moan.

“What are you doing?” My whispers are choked as he strokes his thumb over my core.

“Showing you what this dress has me thinking about tonight.” His finger hooks on the fabric, peeling it aside to drive himself in.

In the middle of a van full of his brothers. Tempe, Luna—my friends .

Jesse cages me against the window, his body blocking me from view as a second finger joins the first.

My nails dig into his jeans, but I don’t try to pull away. I grab him harder and force myself to stay still and quiet while he plays with me in the darkness.

His lips brush my ear. His breath tickles my skin.

I’m on the brink of erupting.

Sensations skitter and branch out to every nerve in my body.

“Jesse.” His name catches in my throat.

“Keep quiet for me, sweetheart.” He grins against my neck. “Don’t want my brothers hearing you come. Your pretty moans are for my ears alone.”

He shoves a third finger in, and I barely catch the moan that’s desperate to escape. My fingers dig into his strong thigh, and I do my best to stay silent. I fight my body’s urge to move. For my hips to seek him out. The resistance somehow adds to the tension building between my legs.

Or maybe it’s just Jesse making it difficult with every sweep of his thumb. Every drive of his fingers.

He kisses me behind the ear as he shoves deep, and my vision blinks out. My pussy grips him. My scream silences as I swallow it down, but I’m panting. Riding out my climax surrounded by people.

The flutters subside, and I realize I’m frozen. My back is ramrod straight, and my nails are digging into the seat. Looking up at him, I’m met with amusement as he slips his hand out and lifts his fingers to his mouth.

My eyes widen as he sticks them in his mouth to taste me. Savoring what he’s done .

I’m still silent and frozen when he drops that hand back to my thigh, adjusting the hem of my dress like nothing happened.

“You okay, sweetheart?” He drags his teeth over his lower lip, teasing me. “You look a little flushed.”

Luna and Tempe claim the stools beside me the second Jesse leaves my side. Without looking, I feel them both pinning me with their gazes and grinning.

I draw my straw between my teeth and take a sip like it will excuse me from the onslaught of their interrogation.

“You can’t ignore us.” Luna nudges my arm, and I look over to see her narrowed gaze wild with amusement.

“I’m not.” I shrug.

Except I am. Ever since I saw how they looked at me when Jesse put his arm around me in the van, I’ve stuck to his side, knowing they’d have questions about what we did. Or what we’re doing.

I was able to avoid them during our brief visit to Sapphire Rise because Jesse wouldn’t let me go. His hand was on me at all times, in one way or another. Around my shoulder, on my lower back, wrapped through mine. I expected him to want space when surrounded by beautiful, naked women, but all it seemed to do was make him want to hold me closer .

But now that we’ve moved downtown, he’s relaxed enough to meet Chaos and Havoc at the bar for a shot, leaving me at the mercy of Tempe and Luna.

“So… you and Legacy…”

“What about us?”

Luna rolls her eyes. “You’re fucking. When did that happen?”

I ready my lie, but Tempe shakes her head.

“Don’t try denying it; Jameson already confirmed it’s true.”

My face blanches. “How does he know?”

“Soul probably. I think he heard from Havoc.” Luna scans the group of guys like she’s deciding how the rumor started.

“They’re gossips.” Tempe takes a sip of her drink. “They think we’re bad, but the guys are ten times worse. They can’t keep their mouths shut. Well… except for Ghost.”

Luna grins, passing a glance at her man, who is watching her over the crowd. He doesn’t look like he’s listening to a thing Steel is saying to him as he stares at Luna.

“You’ll get used to it. Nothing stays a secret for long at the clubhouse,” Tempe continues like it’s no big deal.

Like I’ll be here long enough that it will be something for me to get used to. Like this isn’t just a job to pass the time while I look after Margaret and figure out what I’m doing.

I shake that unsettling thought. “I’m just surprised.”

“That they gossip like teenagers?” Luna asks.

“That Legacy said anything. ”

At the beginning of the night, it felt strange calling him by his road name. But the transition is becoming habit when I’m around his club. I understand that’s who he is to them, even if to me, he’ll always be Jesse.

“To be fair, I don’t think Legacy actually said anything.” Luna smiles. “Soul has this way of getting it out of them regardless. From what I heard, it was a very eventful afternoon at Kings Auto when Soul asked Legacy for your phone number.”

“Not that he wants your number…” Tempe clarifies. “He just wanted to see how Legacy would react to it.”

“And how did he?” I shouldn’t be curious, but I am.

“Like a man obsessed.” Luna grins.

Butterflies kick up in my chest. They crawl my ribs and tickle my throat. I catch gazes with Jesse through the room, and I wonder if he can sense what we’re talking about.

“Your cheeks are giving you away right now.” Luna laughs, dragging my attention back to her. “I’m happy for you, Reagan. You deserve it.”

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t know what?”

“I’m not even sure if I’m sticking around.” I frown. “Or that he wants me to. We still haven’t talked about what we’re doing. As far as I know, we’re having fun while I wait for him to find Margaret’s replacement. Then there’s Bea…”

It hurts to swallow. Like thorns and rocks in my throat.

Bea is the most important person in the world to Jesse. He’d never let anyone close enough to hurt his daughter, and that’s what being in a relationship is. Letting someone in.

Tempe rests her hand over the back of mine. “I get what you’re saying, more than you know. When it was just me and Austin, I had a hard time imagining letting anyone in. Much less them wanting to take on the responsibility I came with. It goes both ways—the resistance and the fear. But you’ll never know if you don’t try. And Legacy’s a good guy. When Jameson and I were first going through it, Legacy was the one who helped open his eyes.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s ready for it himself.”

“You’re right; it doesn’t. But if he is, he’d be an idiot not to want it with a girl like you.”

A girl like me.

One who comes with so many problems that he had to take my phone away to get Lincoln’s contact information before he does something worse than what he’s already doing. Just this week, I got a notice of three new credit cards opened in my name. My best guess is that Lincoln stole my information from my employee file at the school. I know it was him because he texted with an ultimatum to come back, or he’d start doing worse than making me unemployable, and I believe him.

But I don’t admit any of that to Tempe and Luna. I swallow those fears and force a smile. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I am.” Tempe grins.

If only I believed it.