Tangled rescue, p.9
Tangled Rescue, page 9
“Have fun! Make sure you spend time with me before you leave.” She slid the drink over to Dakota and then pushed Dakota’s money back at her.
The bar was swamped. Liv flirted her way down to the other end. Dakota spun around and watched the dance floor while she sipped her drink. She was here to relax and let loose. Downing her drink a little faster than she usually would, Dakota set the empty martini glass on the bar and made her way into the throng of people.
Hot, sweaty bodies rubbed against each other. Cologne and perfume mixed and mingled, weaving around the dancers. None of them smelled like aged leather.
Dakota put herself in the centre of the floor, marked by the larger black square among the checkered pattern floor. With her arms over her head, she swung her hips. The rhythm beat through her body, making her blood vibrate. She matched her movements and caught the gaze of the blond man making his way toward her. Kind eyes raked over her body, but they didn’t linger. He looked young. Maybe a year or two younger than her twenty-eight.
He danced his hands over her hips and bent his head. “Hi, gorgeous.”
“Hi.”
“What’s your name?” Even yelling in her ear, his voice sounded muffled.
“Trixie.” Dakota stretched the name and added a seductive girlie tone.
He chuckled and nodded, getting the point. No names. Just here to have fun.
They danced for a few songs, but when Dakota didn’t give him any signs to take things further, he moved on. The next guy moved in behind her. Shaggy brown hair and thick scruff on his face. He didn’t even bother with the niceties. The beat of the music turned more seductive, and the guy pushed his hips against her.
Dakota sent him a look and took control of the dance, turning in his arms and putting an inch between them.
She ignored the chill coursing over her skin, despite the sweat running down her spine. Each touch was like an icicle piercing her skin. She separated herself from the shaggy-haired guy and went back to the bar.
Liv made her a drink before she came over to chat for a minute while the other bartenders took over her section. “Having fun?”
“Yeah.” Dakota forced a bright smile and took a drink without meeting her gaze. She was trying so hard to forget everything and get lost in the night. That was what she needed. This vacation needed to be a reset for her.
Not a constant reminder of who she ran from.
Dakota talked with Liv for a few minutes, but they couldn’t get into any deep conversation with the music and crowd around them. But it was nice to see a friend not connected to home.
She finished her drink as Liv made her way through the customers again. One more try. Dakota planned to go back to the dance floor and let people dance around her, but a tall, sandy blond guy met her at the bar.
He immediately dipped his head, sidling his body up to hers. They touched in several places. “Want to dance?” He spoke low into her ear, and she had no trouble hearing him over the music. But his voice grated, making the chill of the icy touch hurt more.
He was handsome enough and seemed to want the same thing. Just a little escape. Dakota needed this.
“Sure.” Setting her glass down on the bar, she let him lead her to the dance floor. He pushed through the crowd until they were in the centre. Her favourite spot. She wondered if he’d seen her dancing earlier.
The dancing started out like all the others. Swaying. Her hands on his arms and his on her hips. But he shifted, pulling her closer. The icy feeling intensified. He ground his pelvis against her and the cold wasn’t only in the touch; it shot through her veins.
This wasn’t right. All her effort to relax vanished in an instant and she heard Kane’s voice in her head.
Danger.
Dakota blinked and spun her head, searching for him. But he wasn’t there.
Danger.
She shook her head and pushed on the guy’s chest. “Sorry! I have to go!” she shouted.
“No way. We aren’t done.” He gripped her wrist and pulled. His fingers dug into the pressure points under the sensitive skin.
“Let go. I’m leaving.” Dakota pressed her heels into the floor to gain traction, but he overpowered her. His other hand slid under her shirt and the touch on her bare skin was painful enough to make her lash out.
“Fuck off, asshole.” Dakota pulled her free arm back and punched, hitting the guy to the side of his nose. Her hand hurt, but thankfully, so did his face.
His head swung and his grip loosened, but not enough for her to get free. “Bitch.”
As soon as Dakota realized he wouldn’t let her go, she pulled her arm back, bringing him closer, and threw her leg behind him. Twisting her hips, Dakota dropped the guy to the floor. People jumped out of the way, and within seconds they had a circle around them and were the centre of attention.
“I said, Fuck off!”
She had to get out of there. Pushing through the crowd, she caught Liv’s gaze at the bar. Dakota didn’t want to talk. She sent an apologetic look to her friend and a signal that promised a phone call. She waved and left.
It had been a mistake to leave town. There was only one touch she wanted. And only one touch that would make this feeling go away.
Dakota couldn’t sleep. She drove back to Firebrook, fueled by the need for Kane and a hell of a lot of caffeine. Let him scold her for it. She didn’t care.
She parked her truck at home and then walked to Kane’s, using the hiking trails on the other side of the lake. At four in the morning, the place was quiet. Peaceful in a way that any other time, Dakota would take the time to appreciate it.
No one should be around to see her, but the need to be unseen wouldn’t let her take the risk. Walking through town was out of the question and so was his front door. Neighbors were nosy enough that someone would get out of bed to look out the window, wanting to discover who saw who in the middle of the night.
Kane’s backyard had a fence with a latched gate from the inside. It wasn’t enough to stop her.
Jumping, she grabbed the edge and pulled herself up and over. Not the first time she’d jumped a fence. She’d learned a lot of tricks trying to keep up with her brothers.
Dakota ran up to the double glass door and knocked. Not hard. She didn’t have to. He should have heard her jumping his fence. He didn’t have curtains over the door, so when he came around the corner and turned on the light, she blinked at the brightness.
Kane was shirtless with sweatpants sitting low on his hips. Very low. The ‘v’ leading down was more defined than she remembered. Sharp edges hinted at what he hid beneath the drawstring waist.
The harsh frown on his face increased her already heaving breath. Dakota still had the same clothes on that she’d worn to the club. Make-up and hair all the same. Maybe she hadn’t tried that hard to sleep at the hotel before hitting the road.
Kane slid open the door and stepped back. He said nothing, but the more he inhaled, the harder his face got. His eyes swirled. He looked so good in front of her, and he was getting deliciously angry. Frustration and exhaustion filled her. Words were there, trying to get out, but she wasn’t sure how to say what she needed.
Kane didn’t move. Didn’t help her by asking questions. Didn’t tell her to leave. Didn’t touch her. He waited as if he had all the time in the world. It only made the build up inside her worse.
“I went on my vacation.” She used air quotes.
“I smell that.” Not see. Smell.
“I had a massage. Got my nails done. I was fucking relaxed and then I went to the club.”
“Alone?”
“Yeah, alone. I drank. I danced. And it fucking hurt. It didn’t work. Every touch gave me chills, and not the good kind. Not the kind that spreads over my body when you touch me.”
His eyes dropped to her wrist. The one the last guy grabbed. Looking down, she saw faint bruises. Damn. She hadn’t noticed them.
Kane’s chest seemed to grow. Everything about him seemed to grow.
“You ran from here, from me, to go to a club alone. You’re not that naive to go out alone.”
“I know the bartender.” Dakota rolled her eyes.
“A busy bartender that can’t see past the faces in front of her. What happened to your wrist, danger?” His voice dropped deeper with every word.
Dakota swallowed. “It’s nothing.”
“I suggest you don’t lie to me right now.” Kane closed the distance and wrapped his hand around her bruised wrist.
“I was dancing. Someone must have had a tighter hold than I realized.”
His other hand gripped her chin. “What did I say about lying?”
All the ice inside her finally melted. Every point of contact she had with him burned. “The last guy got too rough. I’m fine. He’s the one that landed on his ass in the middle of the dance floor.”
“Oh, danger. You’re in so much trouble.” Kane towered over her, dropping his gaze down her body like a caress.
“I didn’t want to do anything. I just wanted to dance and have fun.”
“The next time you want to dance, you come find me.”
“Oh sure, cause you look like you really know how to two-step with the best of them.”
“You’d be surprised what I can do.” He moved his hand to the back of her neck, holding her in place.
Dakota sighed. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s over and I’m here. At your door, because I need…”
“Danger.” He smirked. She couldn’t tell if he called her danger or saying she was there because she needed danger. “I know what you need.”
She leaned into him, letting go of everything and giving herself up to him.
“We’re going to set a few things straight. You will never go to a club alone again. Understand, danger?”
“I’m friends with…”
“The bartender. So you said. But that bartender was busy and if you never showed back up at the bar, she had no reason to believe that you hadn’t found yourself a good time and gone home for the night. She didn’t witness this.” Kane held up her wrist in front of her face. “That guy could have dragged you away.”
“You forget that I’m the one that put him on his ass.” She could hold her own. Always had. That wouldn’t change.
Kane leaned down so his nose brushed against hers. “All it takes is one unsuspecting hit, slide of a drug, or prick of needle, and you’re the one on your ass before you even realize what’s happening.”
He was right, not that Dakota would admit it to him. She didn’t like the nausea his words created.
“And you will not let another man lay his hands on you again.”
The statement was so utterly barbaric that it left Dakota speechless. And she fucking loved it.
“You have too many scents on you. I’m going to mark you, danger. In every way you’ll let me.”
“Kane. You can’t bite me.”
“Be careful what you tell me I can’t do.” He gripped the front of her shirt. Dakota felt the zing of magic. A rush of chilly wind brushed across her chest. His hold on the back of her neck was too strong for her to break or to look down.
Dakota gasped as he ripped her shirt from her body, baring her. She hadn’t worn a bra, and the fabric had been of little substance. The reality of her venerability registered, sending a tingling over her nerves that she couldn’t interpret—fear, excitement, nerves. Or was it heat?
“Pretty easy to gain access, danger.”
She tried to back away, just enough to look at him. Something strange crawled along in his voice. A threat. His thumb massaged behind her ear. Tilting her head, Dakota enjoyed the touch. Her breathing slowed.
“Such smooth skin.” Kane trailed his fingers down her chest and over the tip of one breast. Her nipple pebbled and she whimper. His hand kept moving until he reached her wrist again.
Before she realized what he was doing, he’d spun her around with her arm behind her back and the grip on her neck circled the front of the long column.
“As I said. You’re in so much trouble, danger.”
Kane was beyond pissed. He was fucking obsessed. Sharp fangs pinched the inside of his lips. The anger whirled in his mind, driving him crazy. His mate put herself in a dangerous situation and he hadn’t been there to protect her. Damn, his nickname for her held more meaning than he thought.
He needed to make his point, and he was going to enjoy teaching her a lesson. Fuck, he wanted to bite her, but it was too soon. And that had nothing to do with her blatant denial.
This woman was easy to fall into and easy to fight with, but the fight had left her now. The moment she set her eyes on him when he turned on the light, something in her relaxed. A tension that squeezed her shoulders lifted.
“What could have happened to you last night, Dakota? Could you be at someone else’s mercy right now?”
“Kane,” she whimpered.
“Answer me.”
“I don’t have an answer.” She let her head fall back against his chest. Kane followed her with his grip. He squeezed.
“Do you have any idea what someone could do to you once they have you like this?”
She arched her back, pushing her ass against him.
“You said their touch hurt. It wouldn’t feel like this, would it?” Kane let his hand move from her throat, sliding it over her breast. Reaching the tip, he rolled it between his fingers and squeezed. “How does that feel, danger?”
“Good.”
“But?”
“I understand. It wouldn’t feel good if it wasn’t you.” That admission was enough to ease some of his pain her constant rejection fed. Reaching for the fly on her jeans, he released it and dipped his hand beneath. He pulled a little harder on her arm behind her back to stop her from squirming.
She was wet. Maybe she was as crazy as he was. All this turned her on as much as it did him. And he planned to take it so much further. He wanted to tear away every other scent on her skin but his own.
Kane worked her clit, using her juices dripping from her entrance to coat the sensitive nub.
“You want to come, don’t you, danger?”
“Yes,” she hissed, pushing herself up on her tiptoes.
“I don’t think you deserve it. Not yet.”
“What?” Dakota tried to push off him, but his hold never changed. She only made herself whimper in pain.
“You heard me.” He worked her clit mercilessly, holding her upright in his livingroom until her muscles quivered. Kane backed them out of the livingroom, hitting the light switch with his shoulder on the way to his bedroom.
The way her voice caught indicated she was close to her release. Kane planned to drag this out until he tortured himself. He was going to be fucking selfish with her body. She came to him. Needed him. His mate was going to get the real him.
Pulling his hand free, he set his fingers on her lips. “Suck them, danger.” He ran his fingers over her bottom lip.
Dakota gasped, and that sound was enough to make him weak. Kane slid his fingers along her tongue. She closed her mouth around them and gently sucked. He moved his fingers around in her mouth, forcing her to get everything off them.
When he pulled them out, he moved his hand back down her body and under her jeans. Scooping more of her juices, he brought his fingers up for his own taste.
Her flavour made him snap. Turning her around, he tossed her on the bed. Before she got her hands under her to push herself up, Kane pulled her jeans from her legs.
He had no control over the low growls that escaped from his chest. The sounds mirrored her small moans and whimpers. Kane shucked his sweats and crawled onto the bed on top of her.
He needed to regain his control. Gripping her hair, he bent down and kissed her. He needed everything he could take from her. Everything he planned to keep.
She tasted like the best euphoric drug in existence. And coffee. Sweetened, creamy coffee.
Lifting his head, he used his grip on her hair to pull hers back so he could glare down at her. “You had coffee.”
“I needed to stay awake to drive.” She reached for him, running her hands up and down his sides.
“You aren’t allowed to have coffee.”
“Allowed?” Her haughty retort held no power in her position.
“You had another option. You could have called me to come get you instead of driving through the night hyped on caffeine.”
“You would have come?” Soft surprise wiped away her fight.
“Yeah, danger. All you have to do is call.” Kane loosened his grip to massage her scalp while capturing her mouth again. But only long enough to drive them both crazy, making their hips arched toward each other. “You’ve been bad, danger.”
He tightened his hold and reared, using his other hand to flip her body over on the bed. Scooping an arm under her belly, he pulled her up on her knees. The only hold he had on her after that was the one in her hair twisted around his fist. He pushed her down so her cheek sat on the blankets and her ass was high in the air.
“This is such a delicious ass. I can’t wait to take a bite out of it.” He slid his hand over one luscious globe.
“Kane? What are you doing?” Dakota froze, her breathing shallow.
“What do you think I’m going to do, danger?” He continued to stroke her ass. “I’m angry. You put yourself in danger and then hyped yourself on caffeine. You ran away and tried to deny what’s between us.”
“You don’t have the right to punish me like that.” She laid still in his hold.
Kane chuckled, sinful and lacking all humour. Turning her head, he bent down to look into her eyes. “Are you going to stop me?”
She didn’t answer him. While he held her gaze, he lifted his hand and slapped her ass as hard as he could from that angle. The sting would only be a muted taste of what he’d deliver when he straightened.
Dakota’s lips parted, and her green eyes sharpened.
“You’ll take it, danger.”
Chapter Ten
