Page 5 of Sinful Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #9)

Chapter Five

Daisy

I spent the day with my parents. They loved the painting. They’re still hesitant about me leaving, but I can’t turn down an opportunity to study art in Paris. Anyhow, I’m going to put them out of my mind, because tonight is my last night with Brody.

My fingers shake as I brush them over the lace on my bra and then my underwear. Yes, they’re new. I’m not saying anything is going to happen tonight, but I’m not saying it’s not.

We’re staying in. I offered to cook for him, but he didn’t want me to take time away from my family, so he’s picking up pizza on his way over.

I’m so fucking nervous. I don’t know why. I’ve spent every day this past week with him.

There’s been several times throughout the week I thought about throwing caution to the wind and ditching Paris. But like I said, I know I’m very privileged to have gotten a full ride with room and board. I can’t pass it up, nor would he let me. We’ve already talked about it.

I slip the simple black sundress over my head and shimmy into it. I’m giving myself a once over in the mirror when I hear him pull up outside. The rumble makes my heart ache. I’m going to miss riding with him.

Quickly, I rush out to the living room to hold the door open. His arms are full.

I laugh. “Did you invite guests?” I tease.

He winks at me, leaning down to give me a kiss on the cheek as he passes. “Woman, you should know by now I like to eat.”

This is the thing I love most about him.

Not that I love him. That didn’t come out right.

It’s just that he’s always in a good mood.

Even on our last night together. I should have expected it.

Not once has he made me feel guilty about leaving.

He’s been my biggest cheerleader. Well, the only one really.

Not that I’m a loner. I have people in my life, but not many. Enough. Art has always filled my heart. There wasn’t much room for anything else … until I met Brody.

“Go sit down. Let me serve you,” I tell him, bumping my hip against his thigh.

He grabs my hands in his and holds them behind my back. Brody can take my breath away with a single look, but when he manhandles me … it sets fire to my soul.

He walks us backward to the couch, and then he gently shoves me onto it. “Don’t you dare move. I’m serving you tonight.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, saluting him.

The way he shakes his finger at me in warning kicks my pulse into overdrive. I don’t know if this is normal. Probably not. I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never felt this way before.

It’s strange that a man I just met has put me at ease enough to finally let my guard down. God, I would give anything to lay it all at his feet. But this is more than enough. I just don’t understand why it’s happening now.

Maybe he came into my life to show me that I can do this. I can meet new people, and I can let the world see the real me. My fingers dance over my necklace. The lady who gave it to me said an angel was nearby.

I shift on the couch, so that I can watch Brody in the kitchen. He’s beautiful. My sinfully dark, masculine angel.

“Do you have a vase?” he asks.

“Under the sink.”

When he bends over, I rise to my knees on the couch, stretching to get a better look. He turns around and catches me.

“You’re full of it tonight, aren’t you?” he jokes.

I rest my arms on the back of the couch. “Well, it’s not every day I have a handsome biker in my kitchen.”

“You mean it doesn’t happen all the time?”

“No.” I pout, sticking my bottom lip out for effect.

He pulls a bouquet of flowers out of the bag, and my heart stops. Brody puts them in the vase, fills it with water, and then walks over to set them on the coffee table.

“For ambiance,” he says, tossing me a wink on his way back to the kitchen.

I sit forward and run my fingers over the black dahlias. He didn’t bring me bright colored flowers. I glance over my shoulder, but he’s busy filling our plates. I turn back, staring at them.

Does he see the darkness in me?

“Do you like them?” he asks as he sets two plates on the table.

“I love them,” I whisper.

He pushes the coffee table away from the couch.

“I thought we could sit on the floor.”

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Sorry I don’t have a table. It’s just been me. I’ve never needed one.”

Brody goes back to the kitchen to retrieve the wine he brought. It’s the same kind I served him that very first night. “The floor is better. I can sit closer to you that way.”

My butt lands with a little thud when I slide to the floor.

He lowers himself to the ground beside me, stretching his long legs out in front of us.

“I saw you admiring the ones in my tattoo,” he says when he sees I’m still staring at them.

“I was going to buy you daisies, but you didn’t seem very fond of your name. ”

“Oh, daisies are pretty too, but these make me feel a certain way. I’ve never gotten black flowers before.”

He shrugs as he takes a drink. “I like to do what feels right in the moment. Societal norms drive me nuts. How do the flowers make you feel?” He looks at me expectantly.

My cheeks warm, and I pat them. I grab my glass and start swigging like someone who’s been in the desert for weeks.

Brody reaches out and takes the glass from my hand. “Slow down. We have a long night ahead of us.”

I’m so nervous, I think I could cry. This is what I thought I wanted. No, it is what I want.

“Hey.” His knuckles brush down the side of my face. “Just eat. We’ll talk about this later. Relax.”

“Okay.” I offer him a small smile.

We slide back into easy conversation. I listen as he tells me about his club.

“We’re all a little rough around the edges, but I think that’s what I love most about them. They’re my family.”

“I’m glad you have people in your life who love you.”

His eyes soften at the corners. “How did it go with your parents?”

I shake my head. “They’re still worried about my leaving, but I guess that’s normal.”

“I think so. You’ll be halfway around the world.”

I pull my legs up and hug them. “My mom and I went shopping. She bought me a whole new wardrobe for the trip. And my dad …” I roll my eyes.

“Here, I’ll show you.” I hop up and grab the box of books he gave me.

“Look at all these books on France. I don’t know how he thought I’d travel with them. ” I laugh, rubbing my temples.

Brody digs through them. “You’re not taking them?”

“No. They’ll weigh my luggage down. I did pack a few small ones.”

“Can I take a few?” he asks hesitantly.

My eyebrows rise in surprise. “Sure. I was just going to leave them for the new tenant. Take whatever you want.”

He eagerly begins to thumb through them.

“Um, do you like books?”

“Naw, but I want to read about where you’re going. I don’t know much about Paris other than the Eiffel Tower is there.” He hands me one of the books specifically about Paris. “Will you mark some of the places you are planning to visit?”

A warmth settles in my chest as I sit down next to him with a highlighter. He places his arm along the couch behind me.

I rattle off all of the museums I’ll for sure be visiting. “The Louvre, Musèe d’Orsay, and the Petit Palais …” I pause, noticing he’s not looking at the book anymore. His attention is on me.

“What?” I laugh lightly. “Am I boring you?”

He shakes his head. “Not at all. I love watching your face when you talk about things that excite you.”

I dip my head, enjoying his attention. “There’s a map in this one.”

He sits up straight as I open it over our laps. “This is where I’ll be living.”

“Is it a safe area?”

“Yeah. It’s on campus.”

His tattooed hand smooths over the map, and his brows pull together as he studies it. Now that I’m watching him, I see the same worry lines my parents had.

I place my hand over his. “I’ll be okay, Brody. Remember how street smart I was the night we met?”

It doesn’t make him laugh like I thought it would.

“I promise I’ll be safe, and I’ll pay attention to my surroundings.” My hand rests on his.

“This is harder than I thought it was going to be,” he admits quietly. “But don’t get me wrong, I really do hope it’s everything you’ve imagined and more.”

“Me too,” I whisper.

He sighs and leans back against the couch. “It really sucks we have to say goodbye.”

“We can still talk on the phone and write to each other.”

Brody shakes his head adamantly. “No. I think we need to make a clean break.”

My heart sinks.

He grabs my chin in his big hand. “I want you to experience it all. You might tell everyone you’re going there to study art, but I think you’re really going to find yourself.

You won’t be able to do that if you’re constantly thinking of me back here in the States.

” He pauses to run his thumb over my bottom lip. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“You’re right. This really sucks.”

He laughs. “It does, but I don’t regret it. I’ve had the most memorable week with a special girl. I’ll never forget you.”

“Maybe when I get back …”

“Don’t do that to yourself. Keep your heart open. You never know where life will take you. I mean, you’re going to be in Paris for fucks sake. Isn’t it the romance capital of the world?”

“I thought you didn’t know anything about it?” I grumble.

He laughs. “I will miss your sass.”

I stare into his galaxy eyes. It would be so easy to get lost in them. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Brody. I don’t regret our short time together either. But I hope you know I’ll never forget you. How could I?” I laugh sadly.

He leans in and presses his lips to mine. My stomach flips clean over, and every cell in my body begins to vibrate. His kiss is soft, yet firm, and I don’t want it to ever stop.

His tongue slides along mine, and he grabs my face in his hands, holding me still. He takes his time, and I wonder if he’s placing everything to memory, same as me.

When he pulls away, we stare at each other. “Why are we torturing ourselves?” I ask, swallowing hard.

“A little pain always makes pleasure more enjoyable,” he whispers over my face before kissing me again.

His words float around in my mind as he takes me higher and higher. I’m starting to feel a little drunk.

I place my hand on his chest, and he slowly pulls away, his gaze locked on mine. “Do you want me to stop?” he asks.

“No, I want more, but …”

He patiently waits for me to finish my thought.

God, this is so embarrassing. I scratch my head, struggling to find the right words.

“Just talk to me, baby. If this is going to make it harder for you to say goodbye, we’ll stop. I’ll go back to the hotel.”

I shake my head, feeling a knot forming in my throat. “I want you to stay.”

“Then what is it?”

I look at the flowers and take a deep breath. “I’m … I mean … ugh … okay … I’ve never done this before.”

He glances at the flowers and then at me. “You mean you’ve never invited someone to spend the night?”

I shake my head no.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and I know he finally understands what I’m trying to say.

“Are you a virgin?”

I cover my face with both of my hands and nod my head, mortified.

Brody pulls them away, his gaze bouncing over my face. “We don’t have to do anything. I can sleep on the couch.”

Again, I shake my head, because that’s not what I want.

“Daisy, if you’ve been saving yourself for the right guy, I’m not going to take that away from you.”

I reach over and pull one of the dahlias from the vase.

“You asked me what these flowers made me feel.” I twirl it between my fingers, finding it easier to focus on it rather than Brody.

I shake my head. “My family is very … well, very by the book. I’ve always kept parts of myself hidden from them.

The darker, less accepted by society, parts.

But when you gave me this …” I hold up the flower. “I’ve never felt more seen.”

He pushes my hair over my shoulder and slides his hand along the back of my neck, resting it there. “Daisy.”

“You’re right. I have been saving myself. Saving myself for someone who saw me. Someone who would embrace all of me. Someone I felt safe with. That person is you. I don’t want to pass this up, Brody. What if I never find it ever again?”

His fingers squeeze the back of my neck gently. “But what if you do?”

“Then I’ll consider myself lucky for finding two special people to share my body with.”

He smirks. “You’ve taken a debate class, haven’t you?”

I smile at him. “Am I winning?”

“You’re making it awfully hard to say no.”

“If you don’t want to, I understand. I mean, I have zero experience. That can’t be that exciting for you.”

“Oh, I’m excited. Make no mistake. I just don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”

I open my mouth to argue, but the look he gives me makes me snap it shut.

“I … I also don’t want to hurt you.”

“It can’t be that bad. Can it? I mean, almost everyone does it at some point. Brody, I’m practically an old maid.”

He laughs at me. “I don’t think mid-twenties is anywhere close to being considered an old maid.”

“Well, it sure feels like it.”

He unbuttons his pants. “Give me your hand.”

I place my hand in his, and he drags it toward his open jeans. He keeps his eyes on mine as he shoves our hands down the front of his boxers. He wraps my fingers around his … oh … oh … oh my god.

My eyes widen. “Holy fuck,” I whisper.

It makes him chuckle. “And I’m only about halfway there.”

He pulls our hands out of his pants and releases me.

I wrap my fingers around my own wrist as he buttons his pants. I’m at a loss for words about what I just felt. But it doesn’t have the effect he was hoping for. I know he’s trying to scare me into being good. He thinks I’m saving myself for a husband. That’s not at all what I was doing.

I’m not going to lie, that thing terrifies me.

But the way he took my hand, the way he slid it into his pants, the way he wrapped my fingers around him …

I loved all of it. It stirred up all those dark feelings I’ve tried so hard to ignore.

It excites me. I want Brody to hurt me. I want him to do whatever he wants to me. I know that’s wrong …

“Change your mind?”

My gaze snaps his direction. “No.”

Brody pulls his head back in surprise. “No?”

“No,” I say, looking him dead in the eye. “If you want to do this, I do too.”

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip before biting it. “You’re sure?”

“As I’ve ever been.”

He pours me another glass of wine and hands it to me. “Drink.”

I offer him a flirty smile as I take it from him, bringing it to my lips.

He shakes his head. “I’m going to ruin you for all other men.”

“I’m okay with that.”