Fuck. This was Nova’s sister. His almost eighteen-year-old sister.
I should’ve turned on my heel and walked out. Left her behind and forgot all about her. I should have done a lot of things. Everything but what I did.
Instead, I closed the distance between us and cupped her neck, pulling her in for a quick but deep kiss. It would have to hold me for a couple of months.
When I pulled back, her eyes were glazed, her skin flushed, and her lips a little swollen. So very fuckable.
“Stay away from other men,” I commanded. “Including the little fuckers you go to school with. Do you understand? No one touches you.”
“Umm…” She looked confused, but she nodded, making me feel a little less on edge.
“See you soon, baby.” With one more fast but softer kiss, I stalked from the kitchen to go hide like a fucking coward in my room.
I watched her from afar all week, but never got close or let her know I was there. My good girl kept her distance from any men, scurrying away if they attempted to touch her.
When she finally left to go home, I was torn between relief and anguish. The only way I was able to keep myself from going after her was by putting a plan into motion. I had two months to get everything ready, and then I was coming for her.
I had been completely serious when I’d laid claim to her. She was mine, and no one was going to stand in my way—not even Nova. And my plan would make sure of it.
2
Arya
“Arya,” the girl sitting behind me hissed after kicking my chair. I jerked awake, my eyes popping open as my head whipped up. Luckily, our calculus teacher hadn’t noticed that I had fallen asleep because he was busy scribbling on the board. He was still working on the solution to the same problem from when I’d started to drift off, so my eyes must have only been closed for a minute or two. He was enough of a jerk that he’d drop my semester grade even though I’d never gotten into trouble during his class before. Unfortunately, he liked the sound of his own voice a little too much, which made it hard to stay awake when I was so darn tired.
Sneaking a quick glance over my shoulder, I whispered, “Thanks.”
While Mr. Martin finished his long and boring monologue about the solution to a question that wasn’t even going to be on our final exam, I bit back another yawn. I’d never had a problem with insomnia before, but I hadn’t been sleeping all that great the past two months—ever since I’d gotten home from my trip to see my brother during spring break.
I hadn’t been able to get the kiss Dax laid on me out of my head. It could’ve been because I’d never really been kissed beyond a quick press of lips before. Or maybe it was how my knees had gone weak while his tongue explored my mouth. Then again, it might’ve been the gruffness in his deep voice when he warned me to stay away from other guys since that had just about made my panties spontaneously combust. His commanding tone had made the already sexy sergeant at arms for the Silver Saints MC even hotter, which should’ve been impossible. With his thick, strawberry blond hair that was short on the sides but long on top, full beard, green eyes, and tall, muscular build, Dax had been the star of a lot of my fantasies for the past year or so. In my dreams, he’d done a whole lot more than kiss me, but the reality of having his mouth devour mine blew away anything my imagination had come up with.
Whatever the reason, I’d spent way more time reliving Dax’s kiss than studying for finals. It was a good thing that my grades were high enough that I could almost flunk the tests for most of my classes without dropping my grade point average. Not that it would’ve been a huge deal since my parents didn’t pay much attention to my report cards, and I wasn’t planning on going to college. But my brother would have gotten worried, and I had a feeling that Nova wouldn’t be happy with me telling him that I let my grades tank because I was obsessing over one of his club brothers.
Nova was ten years older than me, and he took his big brother duties seriously, even from afar. His relationship with our parents wasn’t great, but he called me at least once a week to check in and make sure everything was going okay. Ever since I hit my teen years, those conversations always included questions about boys—and a reminder that he was more than willing to come back home to kick some butt if anyone broke my heart. Not that any of the boys who went to school with me tried to ask me out. People still gossiped about the trouble Nova got into when he was a student here, and the talk always took a turn for the worse when my brother visited and our neighbors were reminded that he was in a motorcycle club.
It had always been easy for me to laugh off Nova’s concerns about me dating when we talked. If I’d ever been tempted to like a boy around here, those feelings would have been quickly squashed the first time he repeated something stupid about my brother. The way everyone treated Nova around here was a big part of why I wanted to leave town as soon as I graduated. It was also the original reason I’d fibbed to him about my graduation date. I knew he wouldn’t want to miss the ceremony, and I didn’t want him stuck in the audience with a bunch of judgy people who I couldn’t care less about.
Little had I known when I’d given Nova a date a full two weeks later than the actual graduation that my lie would be so useful later. But when the bell finally rang, signaling the conclusion of Mr. Martin’s torture by math and the end of the last regular school day before finals, I knew it was finally time to put my little plan into action.
Leaping out of my chair, I raced toward the door to beat the crowd out of the building. Once I was close to home without anyone near, I stepped off the sidewalk and ducked behind a big oak tree in front of one of our neighbor’s houses. The couple who lived there were out of town, so I knew nobody would be able to listen in while I made a call. I tossed my backpack on the ground, pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and dropped down onto the grass.
A couple of years ago when I was visiting my brother, he’d put a few phone numbers into my contacts. He’d wanted me to be able to reach someone in the club if he was out of contact for too long, but I’d never expected to use them. I was lucky he’d been thinking ahead, though, because now I had Dax’s number without having to ask Nova for it.
After scrolling down to his name, I took a deep breath and jabbed my finger against the screen before I lost my nerve. I bit my bottom lip and let out a little puff of air when Dax picked up. “You okay, baby?”
When he’d called me baby after kissing me, I’d thought it was something special for just me. But hearing his greeting, I couldn’t help wondering if he used the term of endearment for all the women in his life since he had no way of knowing I was the one calling him. I felt as though my heart was being ripped from my body and was getting ready to disconnect the call when he barked, “Arya, fuck. Say something to let me know you’re okay.” An engine revved in the background. “If you can’t talk because someone’s hurt you, baby, you’ve gotta know I’ll find you and fix whatever the fuck happened.”
“I’m sorry,” I gasped as I finally came to my senses with his vow ringing in my ears. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“You’re good?”