Page 24 of Retribution
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dakota
The sound ofrushing water seeped from under the bathroom door as Dakota looked up at the ceiling and tried to repress the sense of warmth spreading in her chest. It’d been there ever since Cobra had slept on the floor that first night and she’d woken up unharmed. She had her doubts, but the biker seemed to have been keeping his word.
Cobra made her feel peaceful and safe and protected—she hadn’t felt that way with anyone in a long time.
It didn’t escape her that she hardly knew him, and the fact that Cobra had earned a small bit of trust in such a small amount of time had her head spinning a million miles an hour. By the way he acted, Dakota thought that maybe Cobra was feeling a bit secure around her too. For the past several days, her constant attraction to him had been at the forefront of her brain, and it angered her like hell. She always swore she wouldn’t be one of those silly girls who got bowled over by their need to get laid, but she knew in a scared, small corner of herself that wasn’t what the attraction she had to him was all about. There was something about Cobra besides his rugged good looks and mighty fine body with all the artwork that mesmerized her.
Maybe it was that Cobra had plenty of chances to hit on her and he didn’t. At first Dakota flirted with him to bait him, but later, she did it because she liked him and wouldn’t have minded if he tried to kiss her. But he never once acted out. Cobra was a perfect gentleman. Dakota giggled out loud and clamped her hand over her mouth. It was endearing as hell, but a part of her wished his rougher side would come out and play.What am I thinking? I can’t get involved with him. But whyhasn’the tried to kiss me?Annoyance pricked at her. From the way he looked at her to his hard-on in the bathroom just a few minutes earlier, it was obvious he was attracted to her. She’d have to be blind not to notice the way he stared when he thought she wasn’t looking, or the way his body reacted whenever she touched him.
So what are you waiting for?Maybe he thought she was too young, but that was ridiculous. Age was so damn arbitrary, and she wasn’t one of those giggly airheads who annoyed her when they came into the tattoo shop. Cobra and she seemed to have a lot in common, and he was actually going to sit through a romantic comedy just because she wanted to see it.He’s such a sweetie.A carnal tingle skittered down her spine.
If there was anything wrong with their situation, it wasn’t the attraction level, that was for damn sure, which should’ve made everything else far more difficult. Dakota took a deep breath and grabbed for the remote. Once the TV was on, it was easier to ignore her roaring thoughts, her sudden explosion of sexual need clashing with darker things: the memories and pain she hadn’t acknowledged in a long time—that didn’t have any place in this new life.
A fresh new start was why Dakota had come here in the first place. It was only fair that she press the reset button on everything else too. So, sleeping with the first available guy, even if he was playing hard to get, wasn’t going to help the situation.
Dakota closed her eyes, lulled by the channel surfing, until an image appeared of Cobra hovering over her with his biceps bulging and his tats dancing as he crushed his lips to hers while pushing deep into her. She squirmed on the bed cover.Enough. He’s going to be blowing out of this town and that’ll be it. Isn’t that what he said a nomad was—no roots?
“You look deep in thought.” His rough voice sent a hot shiver through her.
Dakota glanced at the bathroom doorway and her gaze traced the small patches of glistening water on his upper chest and torso. His eyes flicked away from her as he walked over to the other side of the bed. Her pulse throbbed at every delicate point in her body as she wiggled over a bit to make more room for him. Cobra’s weight made the mattress creak in objection.
“Almost makes me fuckin’ glad I took the floor,” he said, settling onto the bed.
There was no way not to notice all the space he left between their bodies. It was a small bed, but Cobra managed to keep things super PG. Part of her was grateful, almost relieved, but another part of her roared in protest and whined for her to outline the planes of his abs with her tongue.
Stop it right now.
“Are you, uh …” She hesitated and looked at the screen.
“Am I what?” he asked.
Dakota fidgeted a bit, but determination … and audacity pushed her forward. “Uh … are you like this with all women?”
“What?”
He turned toward her, resting on his elbow, the side of his face pressed into his palm. A crease of confusion knitted his brows. Dakota squirmed a bit then faced him. Her hand brushed his thigh. She chewed on her inside cheek then raised her eyes to his. He looked deep into them as he reached down and grasped her hand. His touch only covered her fingers and part of her wrist, but she felt it in her whole body. Dakota was surprised that the sizzle between them didn’t spark through the air like the lightning bugs that had circled her grandmother’s porch during one of the many trips to Georgia her family had taken when she was young.
Dakota inhaled a deep breath and then let it go. “Do you always keep yourself so closely guarded when you’re around other women? So respectful, or …”
She let the last of her question hang in the air, unspoken between them, and she almost hoped he wouldn’t pick up the thread. She shifted her gaze from his face to the television screen.
Cobra let go of her hand. “I get plenty of ass when and how I want it, sweetheart.” He shifted, making the bed move against the box spring.
“I’m sure you do,” she mumbled.
“I don’t need to take what’s not being offered up, and it doesn’t give my ego a little boost to fuck a woman who isn’t fucking me back. If a woman wants me in her bed, I won’t play games, and she’s going to know exactly what she’s getting from the experience, so putting on a front just to get some ass isn’t what I do. If you call that being guarded or respectful, that’s on you.”
Dakota glanced sideways at him then turned her head and their gazes locked. His stare was intense, as if challenging her to prove him wrong.
“I can appreciate that,” she whispered, brushing a stray hair from her face.
Cobra’s lips tipped up into a small half-smile, his eyes burning.
She dragged her gaze away and averted it back to the screen. She couldn’t believe she’d asked him that.What the hell did I hope to accomplish? Was I giving him the go to have his way with me. I’m so fucked up about all this.
“Cher’s in the movie?”
