PROLOGUE
VIKING
TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO
She’s trashed.Beyond trashed. And sexy as fuck. I watch her body swaying as she animatedly talks to all the other women. I can’t take my eyes off her, not that I ever can. I know that right now, I don’t have to completely watch my back—Piggy isn’t here, so I can make her my complete focus.
She throws her hands up in the air, crying out with excitement; it’s adorable as fuck.
My gaze stays on her, looking nowhere else, because there’s nowhere else to look. Nobody else could matter in this moment. Not even the woman dancing on stage could drag my attention away from Lainey-Rose Colter.
It’s her birthday, and she is a goddamn force to be reckoned with. She’s typically quiet, sweet, and shy. Seeing her this free,this wild, only turns me on more. I wonder if she’s this way in bed, and if she’s not, can I make her?
I’ve never wanted her more than I do right this minute, and I’ve wanted her for years, watching her from a distance. I wonder how much longer I can stay away from her. My fingers itch to touch her, to feel her, to slip inside her.
She turns her head, looking over her shoulder, when her gaze connects with my own. My heart stops fucking beating in my chest instantly. She smiles. I’m seconds from charging toward her, throwing her over my shoulder, and showing her just what that smile does to me.
Lainey shifts her attention back to the stage before my feet can begin to move toward her. That’s good. I don’t need to go after her. I need to stay away from her, not only for my own sake but mostly for hers. I’m not good enough for her. I’ll ruin her.
I exhale, and my heart begins beating again. I don’t know how the fuck I’m holding back, but I am… just barely.
My body practically demands that I take her, that I fuck her, that I keep her.
I can’t do that, though.
Piggy would fucking kill me, and I respect him too much to go behind his back. Even if my body begs me to do just that and hers calls to me. Goose and Ivy are still at odds, even though it’s been a few years since Goose fucked his cousin without telling him, without asking him.
They’re only now somewhat able to coexist in the club without getting into a fight. Lainey is as off-limits as Cidney, maybe even more, because Lainey is Piggy’ssister, not his cousin.
I should walk away, but I can’t. I’m stuck here under strict orders to protect the old ladies for Lainey’s birthday. However, the only thing I want to do is take Lainey away and give her a birthday surprise… in the form of orgasms… multiple ones.
As many as possible and all night long, well into the morning. I can’t stop thinking about her and what I want to do to her. She consumes my thoughts, has consumed them for a while. I want to fuck her hard and fast, slow and easy. I want it all, every piece of her, and I want to keep them—keep her.
Clearing my throat, I try to get rid of the thoughts about Lainey rolling around in my head. It doesn’t work. Her freedom, the way she is absolutely enjoying herself, and as the night continues, gets drunker and drunker, makes me want her more and more.
She’s a force to be reckoned with.
Absolute perfection.
Not because she’s drunk, but because as the night progresses and her inhibitions slowly melt away, she shines even fucking brighter than she ever has. It makes me want her even more than I already did, and I wanted her a hell of a lot.
As the club begins to thin out, the women are being guided by the men to their cars to head home. I stay where I am, watching the women being collected by their old men, and that’s when Piggy walks through the door.
I expect him to make his way over to his sister and an old lady, who are chatting with one another. He doesn’t. Instead, he jerks his chin in my direction and closes the distance between us.
He stops a few feet away, his gaze finding mine as he jerks his chin up slightly. He looks over his shoulder, then shifts his attention back to meet mine before he speaks.
“Can you get Lainey home tonight?” he asks.
I don’t bother asking why. I don’t give ashitwhy. A chance at being alone in a car for almost an hour with Lainey? Not only yes, but hell fucking yes. I don’t say that, though. Instead, I clear my throat, trying to calm myself down before I respond to him.
“No problem.”
“Thanks,” Piggy murmurs.
A few moments later, Lainey has been collected by Piggy, and we make our way to my waiting car. Bullet suggested—in a way that was more of a demand—that we all bring our cars tonight.
I didn’t have a problem bringing my 1969 Dodge Super Bee A12. I fucking love my car and will drive it whenever I can. It was my dad’s. Probably the only good thing he ever did was buy and keep this car.