Page 17 of Scars of the Sun
Río swaggered around the side of the house and held my hand in a loose grip as we made our way to a haphazard collection of cars and a few motorcycles parked out back. There were a few people smoking and drinking out here, and they all gave lazy waves or head nods that Río returned. They didn’t eye me with him like it was strange that he was leading someone around that they didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure how to take that. I barely knew him, and I very much didn’t want to be the blushing virgin that attached themself to the first person they’d shared an orgasm with. At the same time, though, I really didn’t want whatever sizzling connection between us to fizzle when the sun came up.
His hair swished on his back, and his boots crunched on the gravel. I’d been so preoccupied with taking in the shifting of his muscles beneath his clothes and the way the light from the back porch of the house swam against the inky color of his hair that I stumbled into him when he brought us to a stop.
I flinched, starting to pull myself away, but he curled his hand around my lower back, keeping me nuzzled next to him. “You ain’t gotta be so skittish, Princess.” There it was again—that southern drawl that came out sometimes when he spoke.It was uncommon enough in this region that it stood out, and I found myself burningly curious to know where he was from.
Then his assurance sank into my mind, and I scoffed, albeit weakly. “I’m not skittish.”
His lips pulled into a wide, knowing grin, and the metal in his face shined brightly against his skin. His thick, black brows and sharp nose were strong lines that contrasted so much with the softness of his smudged eyeliner and long lashes. Not to mention those kissable fucking lips. I’d never thought of lips in that way, but finding out that they were just as soft as I’d imagined after seeing him for the first time was as exciting as it was a little unnerving.
“Sure.” He bopped me on my nose and turned to the bike in front of us. He dropped the arm around my waist, and I immediately missed the warmth. The anchoring.
Río’s motorcycle was a sleek black, and the helmet he plucked off of the leather seat was the same color. He handed it over to me. “You weren’t worried someone would steal this?”
I pulled my hair behind my shoulders and lifted the helmet above my head. Río watched me pull it on and fiddled with it, making sure it was on properly. He shrugged his broad shoulders, “I’d find anyone who did.” The words sent a shiver down my spine. Río seemed cool and nonchalant most of the time, but there was something underneath his words that made me pity anyone that crossed him. Shifters, generally, weren’t people you wanted on their bad side, and I had a feeling Río wasn’t any different.
He sat on the seat and pressed on the ignition. The bike roared to life, a deep rumbling purr, and he patted the stretch of leather behind him.
“Not scared of a little ride, are you, Princess?” The words were a little muffled with my ears in the helmet, but the teasing in his tone was abundantly clear.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s a stupid nickname. Especially since you know my real name, now,” I grumbled while I hitched my leg over the seat and settled behind him. My skirt was pulled high with the position, but it wasn’t like I could do anything about it. And he’d already had his fingers up under it anyway.
Río snagged a hair tie from around his wrist and tied his hair back in a messy bun. The shaved hair above his nape and behind his ears was a shadow of black against his skin. He let his hands fall to his lap and twisted around to smirk at me. “I’d have to disagree. You’ve had that pretty nose in the air every time I’ve seen you, Ramona.”
Out of his mouth, my name sounded rough and smooth at the same time. It was doing weird things to my chest, so I just grunted to acknowledge that I’d heard him.
He plucked my left hand off of my thigh and placed it against his stomach. My heartbeat picked up, and I tried like hell to get it to slow, but to no avail. He brought my right hand to his front, and I swallowed at the touch of the hard planes of his stomach. How this was more nerve-wracking than having his cock in my mouth, I didn’t know. Was being dick-drunk actually a thing? It must’ve been.
“Make sure you lean with me as I take turns. If you don’t, it could throw us. And if you need me to slow down, tap twice on my hip, all right?”
I nodded and belatedly gave him a verbal reply, “Yeah.”
“Now, where am I goin’?” I fumbled in the back pocket of my skirt and pulled my phone out. One-handed, I pulled up my brother’s address on Google Maps and showed him the directions. Río ran his eyes over the screen and nodded back at me once he was done reading.
“Hold on.” I put my phone back in my pocket just before Río revved the engine and pulled us out of the makeshift parkingarea. My grip on him tightened, but I wasn’t scared, necessarily. He guided us smoothly onto the deserted streets.
It was past one in the morning, now, and though the party we’d left was still going in full swing, Antler Pointe as a whole was dead. The summer night air whipped past us, fluttering both of our hair as we left downtown. On the long, quiet road out to where my brother lived, the motorcycle was a pleasant, growling vibration against my legs, and I felt stronger with my arms around Río.
Just like he directed me, I leaned with him as we made turns, but it wasn’t hard with the way my body sank into his. He didn’t wear any cologne, and even with the air coursing past us, his clean smell of chile and clove filled my nose. The fabric of his t-shirt was thin and soft to the touch, but I held back the urge to move my fingers against the ridges of his muscles like I wanted to.
Soon, we were crunching on the gravel road of my brother’s private drive, and Río slowed the bike while we went between the trees. My brother’s cabin came into view, and the glowing of the porch lights had my throat constricting. O and Sylvie had never left them on, as far as I knew, so it must’ve been because of me.
Río pulled up next to Orion’s car, and steadied us by planting his feet on the ground. I released the hold my own boots had on the passenger pegs of his bike, but untangling my arms around him took longer.
I studied the patch of skin between his shirt collar and his hairline, wondering what I should say. Would it be weird to give him my phone number? He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who fiddled with social media, and it wasn’t like I was super active on there, anyway, but I really didn’t want this to be a one and done.
Before I could settle on what to say, the front door of the cabin opened, and my heart sped up for reasons other thanbefore. My brother stepped out of the house, clad in only his pajama pants, and marched down the steps. Orion’s tattoos swirled up and around his pale arm, spreading to his chest and ending just above a large pink scar just near his ribs. Río’s tattoos, on the other hand, were harsh, striking artwork that marked him nearly everywhere.
My brother’s stare was icy, appraising, and it was weird how much it reminded me of Mom’s. I’d rarely seen the look on him before, but based on the times that I had, I knew what it meant. This wasn’t my gentle brother, but Pack Leader Orion.
Río cut the engine of his bike, and I fumbled the helmet off of my head. Orion came to a stop a few paces from us and stood with arms crossed. Shit, I didn’t think he’d be awake. Or at least, I didn’t think he’d bother to come outside while I got dropped off.
“Hey, O,” I barely succeeded in keeping my tone light, hoping to deescalate the tension pinging back and forth between my brother and the shifter I’d attached myself to, at least for the night. Río’s body wasn’t loose and relaxed like it’d been at the house and on the ride over here. His back was straight, and the muscles tensed against my front. By the similar strain in Orion’s jaw, I briefly worried how I would pull the two shifters apart if it came to that.
“Get in the house, Mona,” Orion’s voice wasn’t the dry monotone it was most of the time with me, which was not fucking good.
I started to scramble off of the motorcycle, but Río’s hand on my knee made me hesitate. “What are you, her dad?” His defiant tone made Orion’s light green eyes flash in the low light, and I groaned in exasperation as Dahlia’s little head poked out around the frame of the door. Even with her bonnet on, fuzzy red ringlets always managed to escape. Sylvie’s satin-wrapped headpopped up above hers but with the same curious tilt. Great. Just perfect.
“No,” Orion shot back at him then turned to me. “Ramona, you had Sylvie worried when you didn’t answer her texts. Get in the house.”