Dirty Boy by Nichole Rose

 

Chapter Four

Dante

 

"Where are we going?" Ella asks, peeking up at me through her lashes from the passenger seat of my truck as I pull out of her driveway. She looks edible with her hair in soft curls and her eyes all smoky and dark. I don't know how she made them even bigger than they already were, but I'm not complaining. Her thin Pink Floyd t-shirt stretches over her tits. With her sitting, her shorts have ridden up a little, allowing me to catch glimpses of her inner thighs.

The whole truck smells like vanilla and sunshine.

My dick is in danger of breaking off. Though, let's be honest, it's been in the same state since I caught sight of her in her lifeguard uniform—a red, one-piece bathing suit—this morning. I'm definitely going to be spending all my time on her beach because she looked far too good in the damn thing.

I'm thinking of starting a petition to ban men from her beach. I figure that's less of a dick move than trying to ban bathing suits, right? Right. Besides, I still want to see her in that suit. I just don't want anyone else with a dick to see her in it. Beating off in the ocean is probably illegal, and bad for the environment. It's definitely bad for their chances of survival.

"How do you feel about bumper cars?" I ask her, rolling to a stop at the sign. She's staying in a little cottage not far from Nan. When I asked her about it, she said it belongs to her best friend's family and then changed the subject. I didn't push her, but I'm determined to gain her trust. Eventually, she'll see that I would never reveal her secrets.

"Bumper cars?" she asks.

"Yeah." I smile, pulling off again. "I figured since I hit your car, it's only fair to let you ram into me for a while." Her soft laugh fills the cab of my truck, hitting me right in the heart. "Once you get all that aggression out, I'll show you Little Tybee Island."

"Aggression?" Another burble of laughter fills the truck. "I'm not aggressive."

"You tried to drown me today."

"You are so full of it. I splashed water on you!"

"I could have drowned," I mutter, grinning like a crazy person. "Scientists say you can drown in a millimeter of water per kilo of weight."

"You're…wait. Seriously?"

"Mmhmm."

"How did they figure that out? Actually, never mind," she says, her eyes wide and her lips pulled down into a frown. "I don't even want to know how they figured that out. It probably involved animals."

"Bastards."

"The animals or the scientists?"

"The scientists. Obviously. Who hates animals?"

"I mean, you did almost murder a Chihuahua the other day…" she says, hitting me with a devilish smirk that makes me want to pull over and pull her into my lap. "Maybe you need the bumper cars more than I do."

"Chihuahuas aren't animals, Ella," I say, hooking a right and heading toward the pier. "They're neurotic little balls of hate trapped in tiny bodies. Like cats, only more vicious." Bee, my mom's Chihuahua, thinks she's in the mafia. She'd probably run the whole organization if she were. She's Satan with four paws. Cute, but evil.

Ella laughs again. "They are neurotic."

"And evil," I say. I'm not usually a big talker. In fact, I think I've said more to her since I met her than I've said to my teammates in the last three years. Something about her just makes me want to say ridiculous shit. I love the way she looks at me with her hazel eyes all bright and full of humor. And her laugh is incredible.

I never understood why men lose their shit over women. I get it now though. There's not much I wouldn't do to get Ella's attention or to make her smile. She has me all twisted up into knots, and I don't hate it nearly as much as I thought I would. I love every second of it, truth be told.

"What's Little Tybee Island?" she says, still smiling.

"It's a nature preserve just south of the island. Because it's protected land, no one lives there, but the beaches are gorgeous. Especially at sunset. I thought you might like to see it."

"It sounds beautiful," she says, laying her head against the glass and then tipping it back so the early evening sunshine hits her face. She looks more relaxed than she has since I met her.

It's not exactly what I want, but it's a start.

 

 

"No!" Ella squeals, furiously turning the wheel of her bumper car as if that's going to prevent me from bumping her again. It's a useless attempt. She's terrible at bumper cars. She's spent most of the last hour spinning in aimless circles or bouncing off the barrier around the track. Despite how terrible she is, she's having a blast. Her eyes practically glow with happiness, and she hasn't stopped smiling.

Somehow, she manages to evade me this time. My car sails right past her into the corner of the track. I turn the wheel and hit the gas, trying to back up. My wheels spin but my car doesn't move. Half a second later, Ella bumps into me from behind. Her hit knocks my car into the track bumper.

"Ha!" she cries, throwing her hands up in the air in triumph. "I win."

I chuckle, shaking my head at her. "You lost by like eighty points, baby girl."

"That's awful big talk for a man stuck in a corner," she taunts me.

I unlatch my seat belt and climb carefully out of my car. Fitting into it at my height wasn't easy. My damn knees are killing me. Seeing her laugh was worth every fucking second of it.

"What are you doing?" Ella asks, her expression turning from triumphant to wary as I step onto the track and stalk toward her.

"Coming to kiss the shit out of you."

"You can't do that here," she says even as her eyes immediately drop to my lips.

"Yeah? Says who?"

"The rules."

I reach her car and lean down to unlatch her seatbelt. Her tits shudder, a soft whimper blowing hot across my cheek. I growl and wrap my arms around her waist, helping to lift her out of the hot pink car. She places her hands on my shoulders, her eyes locked on mine.

As soon as her feet touch the ground, my mouth is on hers.

"Fuck the rules," I growl. I kiss her hard and deep, not letting up until she's squirming in my arms, her tits pressed up against my chest. She tastes as good as she looks, and her lips are soft and sweet.

I don't have a whole lot of experience kissing anyone, but I've done my homework. She seems to like what I've learned. Especially when I gently tug on her bottom lip with my teeth and then lick inside her mouth to play with her tongue. Somehow, that ends up with my hands on her ass and hers clutching onto my shoulders. She's so close to me I know she feels my dick against her lower belly. It'd be impossible to miss him with him in his current state.

"Dante," she whispers.

My heart and dick throb at the same time when I catch the soft look on her face. Her lips are parted, her eyes closed. She looks like she's in heaven. I know I am. There's nothing in the world like feeling her lips on mine while her soft body is pressed up against me.

I already know I'll never get tired of it. She's my one. My person. The only living soul on the planet sent to make my world complete. She hasn't figured it out yet, but that's all right. I've got nothing but time to make her see that I'm her person too.

"God, you're beautiful, Ella." I press a kiss to her forehead and then to each of her round cheeks. "You've got my heart racing."

"That's the adrenaline." Her eyes flutter open.

"No, it's you," I disagree.

She sinks her bottom lip into her teeth, looking up at me through her lashes again. "I think it's you too," she whispers, all shy and sweet.

I tip my head forward to kiss her again.

"Off the track, Duncan!" Bill Bowman shouts, breaking into the moment. "I've got a line of customers waiting for me to open the track."

Ella jerks in my arms, startled. I expect her to pull away or shut down on me, but she doesn't. She buries her face in my shoulder, her body shaking with laughter.

"What?" I say when she mumbles something I can't understand.

"I said I can't believe you blackmailed him into shutting down the whole track for an hour," she says, lifting her head. Her lips quirk into a teasing smile. "Every little kid on the island currently hates you."

"I didn't blackmail him. I called in a favor." I also paid him a small fortune, but that's between me and him. I have a feeling she'd get all worked up about me spending that kind of money just to chase her around a bumper car track for an hour. It was worth every penny though.

I tuck her wild hair behind her ears, kiss her on the forehead again, and then slip my hand into hers. "Come on. Let's get out of here before they realize the track wasn't closed for service."

She cuddles up against my side, letting me lead her off the track and then around to the side entrance where I parked. I lift a hand and wave at Bill, who flips me off in response. He's a crabby bastard considering how much money he just made from me. Then again, Bill is always crabby. He has five daughters, three of whom are teenagers.

Ella mutters something under her breath about Thor and Monster trucks when we reach my truck and I have to help lift her into it. She thinks it's too big. I'm not seeing the problem since it means I get to touch her.

It's not a Monster truck anyway. It's a Ram 2500. The truck was my dad's fourth baby. My mom kept it until I was old enough to drive, and then passed it down to me. We had a wheelchair lift installed for Chelsea so I could drive her places while Mom worked. The lift takes up a lot of room. I don't think Ella has realized that's what the equipment in the back is though. She hasn't asked about it.

"Here," I say, putting my hand on hers to halt her before she can grab her seatbelt.

Her eyes meet mine, a question in them.

"Let me." I grab the belt and reach across her to buckle it in. Her vanilla and sunshine scent tickles my nose and I have to resist the urge to bury my face in her tits. I can't fucking wait to get her naked just so I can smell her all over me.

She watches me with a little furrow between her brows but doesn't say anything. I'm not sure I'd know how to answer her question if she did ask it. Something about taking care of her and making sure she's safe appeals to me on levels I can't even begin to articulate. I like the thought of being the man who holds her when she's afraid or reminds her that she's a goddess when she's doubting herself. I want to be the one who sees to all her needs and protects her.

I was old enough when my dad died to see how he was with my mom. They never fought. He treated her like a queen. She fussed at him all the time about spoiling her, but it never stopped him from doing it. It's been fourteen years, and she still hasn't moved on. I don't think she ever will.

That's the kind of love I want in my life. My teammates give me shit for it, but I don't care. Especially now that I've met Ella. I'd rather have her for the rest of her life than have a lifetime of meaningless hookups and casual sex.

I gently squeeze her thigh once she's buckled and then close her door before jogging around to the driver's side. She looks at me and smiles when I climb in beside her.

"Are you hungry?" I ask, pushing the button to start the engine. The truck rumbles to life, making her mumble under her breath about Thor again. I have no idea what she's talking about.

"I'm a little hungry," she says before I can ask.

"Good." I smile, backing out of the spot and then heading toward Little Tybee Island. "Before my aunt retired, she owned a restaurant here on the island. When I told her about taking you to Little Tybee, she insisted on packing a picnic."

"You're staying with your aunt?"

"And my little sister, Chelsea."

"I didn't know you have a sister."

"I have two. Chelsea is sixteen. Gia is older than I am. She's married with a baby and another due later this year."

"I bet you drive your sisters crazy," Ella says, smiling at me.

I shrug because she's not wrong. I'm protective of my sisters. The first time I met Gia's husband, I hated him. The fucker made her cry, which Gia doesn't do easily. Bryant and I are cool now, but only because I know he worships the ground my sister walks on. If he ever hurts her again, I won't hesitate to hunt him down. Luckily, I don't think that'll be a problem. He can't stand to see her anything less than happy.

"Do you have any siblings?" I ask.

"No. My mom died when I was young. My father never remarried."

"Damn. I'm sorry, baby girl." I stroke her cheek, trying to soothe her. "Losing a parent fucking sucks. My dad died when Chelsea was still in diapers."

"I'm sorry you lost your dad," she says, her voice soft.

"Your dad raised you?"

She nods.

"I bet you two are close."

"No. We're not." She glances away from me, her body suddenly tense. She twists her fingers together in her lap and clears her throat. "Um, your mom raised you?"

I hesitate for a minute and then shake my head and let her get away with changing the subject. For now. "Yeah, she did. She worked her ass off to take care of us. I can't wait until I'm drafted to the NFL so I can take care of her and Chelsea."

"You're being drafted?"

"Next year. I could have gone this year, but my mom would have kicked my ass if I didn't finish school first," I explain, taking the turn for Little Tybee. The sun is just starting to sink toward the horizon. We have a good hour or two of sunlight left, plenty of time to make the trip across to the island. "The draft is why I'm here."

She turns a questioning look my way.

"Chelsea," I say by way of explanation. "We've always spent the summers with our Aunt Nan to give our mom a break. I know I won't be able to do it next summer, so I made a point to come this year to spend time with her."

Ella's expression softens. "That's really sweet, Dante. I bet she adores you."

"Yeah, she does," I say, grinning.

Ella laughs quietly. "The feeling is clearly mutual."

"She's my hero," I say, not lying. "She has developmental delays and spina bifida. It's been hard for her, but she never lets anything stop her. She says God made her different for a reason and it wasn't to be sad all the time."

"Aww. She sounds amazing. I can't wait to meet her," Ella says, reaching out to slide her hand into mine.

"I like that."

"Like what?"

"I like knowing you plan to be around long enough to meet her." I pull into the parking lot of the little bait and tackle shop so we can take the boat across. The only other car in the lot is a Jeep with a kayak strapped to the top. I turn to glance at Ella again to find her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I like you," she blurts out. "But I'm only here for a few weeks, Dante."

"You may be leaving in a few weeks, but you'll still be mine, Ella," I say. "This thing between us isn't going to end just because summer does. I'll drive however far I have to drive to make this work. Now, get your pretty ass out of the car so I can see how sexy you look on a beautiful beach at sunset."

She stares at me for a second and then shakes her head and smiles. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Nah, baby. I just know what I want. And Ella? If it wasn't clear enough already, I want you."