Page 78 of Ravage God

“You’ll see,” I said, putting the truck into drive and pulling out of the neighborhood. She settled back into her seat, and even if I couldn’t see her clearly, I could sense her excitement.

Isa nodded, her fingers reaching over for mine across the center console. Her touch was gentle, hesitant, but I could feel the current between us—that invisible pull that had only felt stronger and stronger with each day I spent in her presence.

I flipped my hand over and grabbed hers in mine, taking in the delicateness of it.

We made the drive mostly in silence. I was never one for words. It seemed, growing up, that Matteo and Giulia talked for the rest of us.

So I liked the silence. I liked that she was comfortable with it, too.

There weren't a lot of cars out tonight, but still, I found my eyes straying to the rearview mirror every once in a while, taking in my surroundings. While we weren’t in a full-blown war with the Devil’s Wings MC, it helped to be careful. We got to Lake Mead in under an hour. Isa turned to me with a look of confusion on her face.

“We’re going swimming? I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”

“While the thought of you in a bikini is tempting, we’re not going swimming tonight.”

And we wouldn’t be swimming in Lake Mead. Not at night, but especially since I knew of a few lazy fuckers who thought the lake was the perfect place to get rid of bodies.

I parked the truck backward, so the bed faced the lake, and turned to Isa.

“Come on,” I said, opening my door and getting out. I grabbed the basket from the back seat, along with several blankets and a few pillows.

“Help me set up,” I said.

She looked at the stuff in my arms, then at me, before jumping up and down excitedly. “We’re having a picnic in the bed of your truck?” she asked.

She sounded like a kid who was just told they could stay up past their bedtime.

My heart hurt for her.

I never really thought about my own freedom, or at least, my freedom compared to hers.

While I was still bound by my family’s expectations and traditions, I was able to come and go as I pleased. I didn’t fear the world like I was sure she was taught to—the same way I was sure my brothers and I had unintentionally taught Giulia.

“Yeah, baby. We’re having a picnic in the bed of the truck.”

She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down and kissing me. I held still. She rarely ever initiated anything between us, and I didn’t want to scare her off.

She pulled away much too soon and grabbed a blanket from my arms, moving over to the truck. I stayed where I was for two long seconds before pulling myself out of my reverie and walking over to her, helping her set up.

Twenty minutes later, we had the blankets laid out and the pillows leaned against the back window. The picnic basket was open, with some food spread out in front of us, while Isa sat between my legs, looking up at the stars in the sky.

I took in the solid feel of her in my arms, that sweet, addictive scent of hers that I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be able to go a day without, and wondered how the fuck it had taken me this long just to realize how much I fucking needed her like this.

“This has been such a perfect night.” She sighed as I fed her a grape. “I don’t want it to end.”

“Just because it ends doesn’t mean there can’t be other perfect nights,” I said to her.

She didn’t answer me right away. I had set up a small lamp at the end of the truck, which provided just enough light for me to catch that strange look on her face.

“What?” I asked softly, turning her around a bit until she looked at me.

She shrugged. “There aren’t that many perfect nights for me.”

“Bullshit,” I responded fiercely.

She smiled a little and cupped my cheek. “I don’t mean it like that. I have had nights, but they’re mostly just… you know,nights. Nothing to write home about. My life is kind of boring.”

I tightened my arms around her. “Well then, we just have to change that, don’t we?”