She glanced over the half wall and found a dozen or more pictures on the walls, but her gaze was riveted to one of her sitting on Eddie’s lap by a bonfire with Dare, Doc, and Birdie. It was taken a few weeks before Eddie’s accident at a Dark Knights’ barbecue at the ranch. She remembered that night because she’d known she’d needed to end things with Eddie, but she hadn’t wanted to hurt him. He was looking at her like she was the light of his life, and she was looking at Dare like he was hers. She felt the walls closing in on her and reached for the partition to steady herself, her eyes trailing south to the area behind the half wall, where her old racing bike was parked, apple red and shiny as new, MANCINI painted down the forks in black.
Her chest constricted. “How did you get my bike? I told my dad to get rid of it.”
“I asked him for it. I’ve got your equipment, too. I thought you might want it one day.”
Her mind reeled, conflicting emotions pummeling her. “Well, I don’t.” She hurried out of the shop but heard him coming after her.
“Billie, wait.”
She spun around, unable to stop her emotions from spewing out. “Why did you have to do that? You make everything so much harder!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Those pictures, the bike, the park, the way you show up at my work at closing time after guys are jerks.”
Confusion riddled his brow. “I care about you, and as for showing up, I just want to keep you safe.”
“I know.” She threw her arms up and paced. “Damn it, Dare. I have been a dick to you for years, and you’re still here, coming around, being the good guy.”
“I’m not trying to be the good guy, Billie,” he said vehemently.
“No shit! That’s the problem. All you have to do is be you, and I lose my mind. I can’t fucking get you out of my head.”
He stepped into her path. “Why do you want to? What have I done that’s so fucking unforgivable?”
Tears welled in her eyes, years of hurt and anger roiling inside her like a volcano ready to blow. “You make it impossible to love anyone else, and Eddie didn’t deserve that. He was such a good person, and I tried. God, how I tried to love him with everything I had, and I did love him. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get you out of my head. You were always there, reminding me that something was missing. I never would have even known something was missing if not for you.”
DARE TRIED TO make sense of what Billie had said, but it sounded a hell of a lot like she was blaming him for her not loving Eddie.
She started pacing again, and he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “I never tried to come between you and Eddie until you accepted his proposal, and I only said something because I didn’t want to see you make the biggest mistake of your life. But you told me the other day that you had already broken up with him, so why are you blaming me?”
“Don’t you get it?” she seethed. “I broke up with him because my stupid heart has always wanted you.”
He tightened his grip on her wrist, her words clawing their way through his chest, and spoke through gritted teeth. “Define always, because the one time we were together, you booted my ass to the curb pretty damn fast.”
“I didn’t want to be a notch on your belt! And you didn’t even fight for me, so don’t pretend that’s not what I would have been. You wasted no time finding another girl to hook up with that night.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I told you I wasn’t done with you, and you made it crystal clear that what I wanted didn’t matter, because you were done with me. I was an eighteen-year-old kid who had finally gotten the only girl I ever really wanted, because I couldn’t try to get with you before that. Eddie and I had made a pact that neither of us would make a move on you, but if you made the move, we could go all in. And you, Billie, my best friend in the entire fucking world, used me and threw me away. So you’re damn right I found someone else to be with that night, because you crushed me, and it was either that or…I don’t know what I would’ve done, but it wouldn’t have been good.”
She shook her head. “A pact?”
“Yes, and it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
“You can say that again,” she snapped. “Did it ever occur to you two idiots that I could make up my own mind about who I wanted to be with?”
“I don’t fucking know. That was forever ago, and we were trying not to hate each other for both being into you. I wanted to fight him for you, but he didn’t want any part of that. Why do you think I went off the deep end after that night? Because in my head you were mine, but you didn’t want me, and I didn’t have a clue how to handle that.”
“I did want you. I just didn’t want it to mean nothing to you.”
“How could the first person I think of when I wake up, the pain-in-my-ass challenging girl who’s just as crazy as I am, the girl I’ve been fantasizing about since the day I realized that what’s up here”—he tapped his head—“translates into some awesome feelings down there”—he eyed his crotch—“mean nothing to me?”
She laughed softly and shook her head.
“I’ve been in love with you since we were six years old, when you kissed me in the barn and called me a dummy. It’s always been you, Billie, and I have no fucking idea why we’re arguing, but I’m done wasting time.” He tugged her into his arms and crushed his mouth to hers, urgent and possessive, hoping she wouldn’t pull away or clock him in the jaw again.
She was right there with him, clutching his shirt, rising onto her toes, kissing him feverishly, unleashing years of repressed desire. Their tongues battled for dominance, just as they had years ago. Her fierceness was so damn hot, he’d wondered if he’d embellished it in his memory, but every swipe of her tongue made him ache for more. He backed her up against the Chevelle, their bodies grinding together as he fisted one hand in her hair, angling her mouth beneath his, taking the kiss deeper. Her mouth was sweet and hot and so damn perfect, he wanted to kiss her forever. She moaned and arched, rubbing her soft curves against him. He wanted to touch all of her at once, his hands moving down her hips, over her breasts, earning more sinful sounds as he pushed his hand beneath her shirt, needing to feel her hot flesh.
He unclasped her bra and tore his mouth away as he tugged up her shirt, growling, “I need my mouth on you.”
Flames flickered in her eyes. “I need your mouth on me.”
God, he fucking loved that. He teased her nipple with his tongue and teeth, and she grabbed his head, holding him there as he sucked and licked, earning one addicting sound after another. He wanted to OD on those seductive sounds. When he tugged open her shorts, she pushed them down. So damn hot. He sucked her nipple to the roof of his mouth as his fingers slid into her tight heat. She gasped, and her head fell back, so sexy and trusting. He lavished her other breast with the same attention, grazing his teeth over the taut peak as she rode his fingers, and he teased her clit with his thumb, earning sharp, pleasure-filled inhalations. She clung to him, moaning and panting, her every sound making him ache to be inside her. Her legs tensed, and he quickened his pace, her fingers digging into him as her orgasm took hold, and she cried out his name, her body pulsing around his fingers. He rose up and captured her cries in another demanding kiss as she rode out her climax.