Ugly girl

Chapter 22

Slade pulls his driver’s door closed and I glance across at him. “Damian’s not really going to see Rachel, is he?” I ask as Slade starts the engine and I feel it rumble beneath my seat.

“Nope, he was trying to be discreet,” he explains as he pulls away from the curb and starts heading toward my place. “He wants to give us time alone.”

“To do what?”

“Figure shit out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out,” I tell him.

“Oh, there’s plenty to figure out.”

I glance across at him. “Like what?”

“Like why you love it so much when I kiss you.”

My cheeks flame and I feel like a child again. I don’t think I’ve blushed since I was twelve years old yet here I am, beet fucking red with a guy staring at me, proud as punch. “For the record,” I say, needing to bring his ego back down to earth. “I don’t love it, I just like it a bit, and it has nothing to do with how I feel about you because you drive me insane. You just happen to know what you’re doing with your tongue and I’m taking full advantage of a good situation.”

“You’ve got a lot to learn, Virago,” he tells me. “Rule number one, if you’re going to lie about something, at least put a little effort into it. Makes it more believable.”

“Dare I ask about rule number two?”

He glances across at me and the smile he gives me nearly blows me the fuck away. “You’re not ready for rule number two.”

I roll my eyes. Why is this guy growing on me so much? How is it possible to go from wanting and desperately needing to hate him to feeling something so pure and good? He’s still the Slade I met on that very first day, still lethal, sinfully wicked, and unpredictably wild, but I no longer want to fear those traits. They once made my heart race with adrenaline but now they make it race with something else.

I get lost in my thoughts and look up just in time to see my home zoom by. “Where are you going? You just went past my place.”

“I’m taking you to my place.”

Bad fucking idea.

“No. Flat out no. That’s a terrible idea. Are you insane?”

“What’s the matter?” he teases. “Scared?”

He meets my eyes and the one word I thought I’d never say comes shooting out of my mouth. “Hell freaking yes, I am.”

“Don’t worry, Virago,” he says, reaching across and taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes bore into mine and for a moment I wonder just how good his driving skills are but as he opens his mouth, the world falls away. “You never have to be scared again.”

His hand drops away and just when I think he’s about to focus back on the road, he pulls into a driveway at the end of my street. “Where the hell are we?”

“My place.”

My eyes bug out of my head as I wonder how the hell I missed that. “No shit. All this time I’ve been living right up the street from you? The same fucking street?”

He grins as he cuts the engine and swings his door open wide. “Yeah, you’re pretty damn oblivious to everything around you,” he laughs. “It’s not like I’ve been hiding it. My truck is always in the drive and I come past every single day.”

“To be fair,” I tell him. “I never really drive down this way.”

“Uh-huh.”

He climbs down from the truck and I open my door and jump down, praying I don’t fall. It’s been a shit afternoon and my hand and leg aren’t exactly feeling magical. Slade meets me around the front of his truck and he leads me toward his home.

Nerves begin to plague me, wondering what the hell is going to happen in here. If he comes at me with that strong body, wide shoulders, and devilish smirk, I don’t think I’ll have the strength to tell him no.

Slade leads me through his front door and the first thing I notice is that it’s deathly quiet. It’s a Saturday night and I recall him telling me that he had little sisters. Surely, they should be here with his parents, right?

Slade’s eyes remain on me as I glance around his home. It’s bigger than mine, but there’s no surprise there. His parents would have bought the place for a family where Shay and Ben bought their home for the two of them with the thought of a home gym in mind.

“Your family?” I question nervously.

“Mom and Dad are at a business di

Right, so we’re all alone. Just…great.

I nod, glancing back over my shoulder at him. “So, your parents wouldn’t get you to watch them?”

He shakes his head, gri

Laughter bubbles out of me. “Why am I not surprised?”

Slade’s soft chuckle echoes around his home but my mind goes blank as he steps into my back, threading his fingers through mine as they hang by my sides. “You defended me to that cop,” he says referring to the fight before the cop had pushed me.

I turn and look up at him and he switches his hold on my hands. “You punched that same cop.”

Slade pulls on my hands and it forces me closer into his chest, right where I like to be. “How could I not? He put his hands on you.”

I meet his eyes and I struggle to get the words out past my emotions. “Apart from Blake, no one’s ever cared like that.”

Slade releases one of my hands and slides his fingers around the back of my neck, slow and firm. His thumb reaches around to the bottom of my jaw and he pushes my chin up, both of us knowing that what’s about to happen is going to mean so much more than either of us are ready for.

He brings our joined hands up and presses my palm against his chest before leaving it there and snaking his arm around my back.

My heart races as the need to kiss him slams through me. His dark eyes stare down into mine and it’s so freaking intense that the need to look away takes over me, but I don’t dare. I don’t want to miss a second of this. “I want to make you feel again,” he whispers, his words wrapping right around me.

I shake my head, feeling his thumb gently ru

His lips come down on mine and my eyes close as our co

He deepens the kiss and I moan into him. How is this so good?

Slade’s hands travel down my back until they’re at my ass and he’s lifting me effortlessly into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist as I hook my arms around his neck, holding on tight.

He walks down the hall and into his bedroom, closing the door behind him then making his way to his bed. I can honestly say that this is a place I never thought I’d be in. Slade’s freaking bedroom, but here I am and I’m far too distracted to even bother looking around.

I’m laid down on his bed and his big frame comes down on top of me. He keeps himself propped up on his elbow to avoid crushing me but the feel of him completely surrounding me is absolutely mind-blowing.

His hand slips up my shirt, leaving a trail of goosebumps and shivers behind. It’s so damn intoxicating.

I grab hold of his shirt and pull it up over his head. I’ve never seen his body, not like this at least, and damn it, his skin is so fucking warm. My hands roam over his strong back, feeling the tightness of his sculptured muscles. He’s simply beautiful.