Page 64 of Damascus & The Wildfire
Fuse caught Leah’s attention with an almost imperceptible nod and pointed at his scotch of choice before returning his eyes to me. “I know losing Rose was hard. Hatchet’ll come around. Once he realizes the Merrick he knew ten years ago is back, once he realizes you and Kenna just work, he’ll be happy for you, too. Let him work through his shit on his own, and don’t lose sleep over claiming that woman.”His tone left no room for argument, his advice echoing through me like an order.
I followed his gaze toward Kenna, my heart both filling with the sight of her and wrenching at the memory of Rose.
“It feels different this time,” I murmured. With Rose, I’d mistaken her chaos and intensity for passion. I’d thought the fighting and make-up sex meant we cared. But the truth settled in my chest—we’d been burning down, not burning bright.
“You finally see it, don’t you?” Fuse asked as if he’d read my mind. “You and Rose were fire and gasoline. You couldn’t see through the smoke.”
My jaw tightened. He wasn’t wrong.
Fuse nodded toward Kenna. “You’re different with her. You don’t brace yourself for a fight when she looks at you. You’ve both buried love. Lived through the kind of loss that strips you to bone. Not everyone comes back from that. But you two? You get it. You both crawled out of the wreckage and somehow found each other through the smoke.”
“I don't know what this is yet between us, but it feels like the first good thing I’ve had in a long time. And after everything we’ve been through, I don’t want to waste time or fuck this up.”
Without looking away, Fuse slid a glass toward me. “To not fucking this up,” he said, raising his glass in a toast.
I savored the way the bourbon cut all the way down. He was right. Kenna had rekindled something within me that had been snuffed out when I buried Rose. My gaze returned to Kenna.
“You don’t get many chances like this in life. Go get your woman before she changes her mind,” Fuse said, pushing my shoulder.
I shot him a glare that only made him smirk, then turned toward the hallway to stalk away. Reaper’s eyes narrowed at me as I approached.
“We’ll be talking about this little surprise tomorrow,” he said.
“You’re one to talk,” I reminded him. He gave a half shrug—asilent acknowledgment that he’d hesitated to admit his obsession with Eva at first, too.
I caught Kenna’s hand and threaded my fingers through hers, tugging her toward the shadowed hallway at the back of the clubhouse.
Eva caught my eye over her shoulder, grinning like she already knew exactly where this was going. She waggled her brows at me before disappearing into the main room with Reaper.
“Where are you taking me?” Kenna asked breathlessly.
I spun her gently until her back pressed to the wall, one hand braced beside her head. “I needed to do this,” I growled, tipping her chin up before crushing my mouth to hers.
She let out a small chirp of surprise that I swallowed with a kiss. I trailed my lips down the slope of her neck, breathing her in. Sweet. Floral. Mine.
“I’ve wanted to touch you all day,” I murmured against her skin. My teeth grazed her collarbone. “Kiss you. Bite you. Taste you.”
I pulled back to gaze into her eyes, her pupils blown wide and cheeks flushed.
“Then do it,” she whispered.
A low rumble escaped my chest as I claimed her mouth again, taking our kiss deeper. My hands traced the lines of her body through the thin dress, memorizing every curve until my palm cupped the perfect round of her ass. She pressed against me instinctively, hips meeting mine. Lust and desire ignited between us, and regret for not making a move sooner coursed through me. I should have claimed this woman the day I met her.
I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “You can tell me to slow down. If it’s too much?—”
“Don’t stop. I want more. I want all of you.”
“Good,” I said softly, my tone deceptively smooth as my hand skimmed beneath the hem of her dress. My fingers toyed just shy of her innerthigh.
“Merrick,” she breathed, darting a glance toward the open end of the hallway. “What are you doing? Someone could see us.”
I adjusted my stance, half shielding her with my body. “They’ll only see my back.” My fingertip teased the edge of her thong before brushing it aside. “And even if they did see you …” I drew slow circles over her clit with my thumb, watching her grip the wall for balance “… no one here would care. We’re outlaws, Wildfire.”
A reluctant moan slipped from her throat. “We should stop.”
I kissed just below her jaw. “You don’t want me to stop. Eyes on me, Wildfire.”
She whimpered, hips tipping forward when I slid my fingers through her slick heat.
