You only turn twenty-one once.
He opens the door of his Chevy, white with navy blue stripes. He shuts the door for me, and runs to the other side. I lick my lips, looking around the worn leather interior. It smells like cedar and pine needles and a little like leather. But not the sort of leather the bikers wear. This kind isn’t black, it’s dark brown, and instead of silver grommets and spikes, the kind of leather in this truck is the type that slowly drives up a mountain with the windows down. The kind of leather that is buttery soft, the kind of leather that has never been in a gun fight, never threatened a man’s life. Never hit. Never hurt. The kind of leather that heals.
I breathe it in and I know it’s crazy. Foolish. Naive. But it’s also here. With me. Because as Reed gets in the truck and slams his door shut, the rain pounding on the windshield the same way my heart beats fast, faster, faster still, I realize this smell is Reed personified.
“What are you thinking?” he asks, starting his engine then looking at me, the glow of the overhead lamp shining down between us. As if it’s the only light in the whole damn world, illuminating him and me.
“If I told you, you’d think I was unhinged.”
“Try me,” he says. His voice low and gravely, making my mouth water. His beard thick, his eyes dark.
I exhale. “I was thinking about the smell of your truck.”
He leans in, close. I swear to God he breathes me in and I press my knees together because what I really want to do is crawl into his lap and kiss him. Which is probably a bit fast, all things considered.
“And how does my truck smell, Rainey?”
“Like the home I’ve never had but always wanted.”
He chuckles. “Lines that like might get you in trouble.”
“I don’t want trouble,” I tell him.
“What do you want?”
I look out the window. “I want to dance in the rain.”
He runs a hand over his jaw, eyeing me as if whatever he might say next could change everything.
God, I hope it does.
“Even with this downpour?”
I nod, licking my lips. “With you? Yes.”
“Well, damn, Cinderella, let’s get you to the ball.”
Reed
It’s a bad idea for a hundred different reasons, yet I’m putting the truck in reverse and driving her to someplace better than this gravel parking lot. If she wants to dance in the rain, then we can fucking let loose. But I know five minutes later she’ll be shivering, cold to the bone, and will need to warm up.
“Where are we going?”
“To my secret hiding place.”
She lifts her eyebrows. “Should I be scared?”
“You’re the one who left the bar with a stranger.”
“You friend and the bartender didn’t seem worried for my safety,” she says.
“You read people pretty well then, huh?” I smirk, running a hand through my wet hair.
She says, “When you live with a club like I do… it’s part of survival.”
The truck is climbing up the mountain and I turn to look at her out of the corner of my eye. “Are you safe there? With them?”
She nods. “I’m safe. They’re just protective.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” I say. “Better than careless.”
“I’ve never been pressured to date any of the guys, or do anything I don’t want to do. They respect me.”
“That’s good,” I say. “I respect you too. For saying what you want. But I gotta warn you, Rainey. I’m not Prince Charming.”
She laughs softly. “Are you more of a beast?”
“I’m not used to company.” I pause, looking for the right words. “I’m loyal to a fault, have a little too much hair, and protect what is mine.”
“You sound like a Golden Retriever.”
I chuckle. “Well damn, that’s not what I’m going for.”
“No?” she asks, a lilt in her voice as I turn on the blinker, headed to my private road. “What are you going for, Reed?”
I put the car in park, turn to her. “I’m trying to figure out how in the hell I can make a move without scaring you away.”
“And why would I be scared?” she asks, her voice catching, her eyes wide.
“Because once I start, Rainey, I won’t want to stop.”
“Maybe you’re more like a beast than you know.” She licks her lips, and my cock is damn near ready. I’ve been waiting for this girl my whole fucking life.
“No,” I say, leaning in, growling in her ear. “I’m your mountain man.”
I kiss her, in the truck that smells like home, in the woods that feel like heaven. I kiss her lips, soft pillows of perfection, and I want so much more. She does too. I feel it; when she parts her mouth, her tongue finding mine. A kiss meant for more than just one night. A kiss that means forever.
“We gotta dance before this rain stops,” I say into her ear and I feel her smile against me. I get out of the truck, then open her door, taking her hand as the rain falls.
“You sure this is what you want?”
She laughs. “Yes. It’s like a scene from a book.”
I take her hand and lead her down the steps behind my cabin, toward a secluded spot on my property. On the slate patio, I shrug off my coat and she sets down her purse, and I pull her close. There is no music, only the beat of our hearts, and fuck, when I draw this sweet thing to my chest, I can more than hear it… I feel it. She does too.
Slow dancing in the rain, our clothes get soaked through. She is small against me, her body fitting perfectly against mine. She rests her head on my chest and I rest my hand on her back.
“Can you sing?” I ask.
She laughs again, that soft kind of laughter that is both happy and sad. Hopeful.
