Falling for Rex by Shayne Ford
17
LUNA RAE
We swimuntil the sun dives below the horizon, and the entire surface becomes a giant pot of blue and red water.
Someone lighted a small fire on the shore, next to a stretch of water behind a cliff. I notice Frankie and Carlos, the new people, and more motorcycles pulling in.
We both spot them, Rex’s eyes harboring concern.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
He answers after a moment.
“Yes, everything’s fine,” he says before looking at me. “Do you want to get out?”
“Yes.”
We swim for a few more moments before the water is shallow enough to touch the floor and walk out of the ocean.
The closer we get to the shore, the clearer the new riders’ faces become.
I don’t recognize them, although I’m certain I’ve seen them before, perhaps even taken their pictures.
One man, I do recognize, if nothing else, for the fact that he looks at the ocean as Rex and I near the shore.
A wall of coldness slides between Rex and me, and it’s probably not intentional. Kian makes his brother tense to the point of mentally detaching himself from me.
I, on the other hand, don’t know how to cope with his intense stare. I feel his eyes on me and even lock them briefly as I hide behind a curtain of wet hair and wring my locks, trying to look busy, not to think that I’m almost naked, my small swimsuit barely covering my slit and chest.
A wardrobe malfunction is the last thing I need right now, so I compulsively check my bra and tug at the triangles making sure they cover my breasts, realizing that my hard nipples are visible anyway.
My hands travel nervously from my bra to my bikini and my strings. And then back to my hair.
The few steps I take toward our things feel like a slow-motion movie.
Just as I want to head that way, Kian’s voice vibrates in the air.
“Hey, brother... What are you up to?” he asks in a gravelly voice that shatters my focus, making me swing my eyes to him.
Despite addressing his brother, Kian looks at me... Legs spread on his bike, his elbows propped against the handlers, his head tipped in our direction, his eyes sweeping us, but mostly me.
His biceps push against his smooth, taut skin.
He wears a white T-shirt, black jeans, a studded leather waistcoat, matching belt, and riding boots.
A necklace dangles from his muscular neck, showcasing his athletic frame, broad chest, and pumped pecs.
He shoots me one of those leery gazes, a mysterious smile tugging at his lips.
Intimidating, he makes me lose my head and forget what I was supposed to do.
It’s not only his cheeky smile and narrowed eyes and wolfish smile that tense me up.
It’s what we both know. What happened last night.
What I carry on my neck, his branding on top of his brother’s branding. The mark is still visible.
It must be.
I covered it with waterproof concealer, but his eyes keep digging into my neck and then my chest and waist and hips.
And thighs.
He even purses his lips as his stare stalls on the piece of fabric covering my crotch. I bet I’m swollen, and the two-piece white swimsuit only makes things worse.
He pushes up and dismounts his ride before taking a couple of strides in my direction. The rest of his crew––four riders–– stays put.
“How’s the water?” he asks me in a friendly voice, and I lose my voice for a second.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Kian asks his brother this time, undeterred by Rex’s coldness.
Reluctantly, Rex makes the introductions, giving Kian a reason to bury my hand in his palm.
He closes his hand around mine, vigorously as if he latches it onto my heart.
I look at him unnerved, trying to remove my hand as quickly as possible.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says facetiously, his eyes locked onto mine.
I already see how much I regret keeping the moment we had last night a secret.
He knows I’m a coward, and I hid it from Frankie and Rex because... I don’t know why. It made no sense to me? It scared me? I didn’t have time to process it?
Maybe all of the above.
He knows I’m scared of him, which bothers me the most, so I intend to show him that I’m not intimidated.
“Same here,” I say coldly, snatching my hand out of his lock.
With that, I spin around and walk away.
“You didn’t tell me how the water was?” he tosses behind me.
I spin–– a bad idea as my chest bounces, and his eyes draw a long line from my breasts to the apex of my thighs–– before I shoot him the answer.
“The water was great. You should try it sometime.”
“I will,” he says as I pivot away before he starts talking to his brother.
I rush to the spot where we have our things. Frankie lies down. Carlos is a few feet away, talking to other people.
I snatch a towel, run it up and down until I’m completely dry, and wrap it around my shoulders before sitting next to her.
She observes me as I hug my knees.
“What happened over there?” she asks, tipping her chin discretely, pointing in Rex and Kian’s direction.
“I officially met his brother.”
“Why are you so gloomy?”
I feel her stare, yet I don’t look at her.
I shrug.
“Did he say something?”
“No. Stupid stuff...”
“Did you tell Rex about him?”
“Yes. I told him he talked to me. He thinks he’s up to no good. He doesn’t like it.”
She keeps her eyes on me, making me swing my gaze to her.
“You may need to play nice with Kian if you like his brother.”
I smile.
“I like his brother a lot.”
A knowing grin flashes across her lips.
“I saw it.”
She flicks her head toward the ocean.
“What did you see?”
My cheeks burn with a blush.
“I don’t know what you two were doing, but that was a long kiss.”
I slap her arm playfully.
“Didn’t you have something else to do? I thought you were busy with your boyfriend.”
She shrugs her shoulders carelessly.
“I was. And he’s not my boyfriend.”
“What is he?”
“A friend...”
“He pissed you off again?”
“No. He’s nice and trying to appease me, but I won’t give in. The moment I do that, he’ll be an asshole again.”
“Oh... That.”
“Mmm-hmm. Oh, look...”
She whips her gaze over my shoulder while I instinctively react.
“What?”
“Kian comes this way.”
“What?”
“Mmm-hmm,” she mutters through clenched teeth.
Her gaze slides up while I slowly turn my head.
He stops in front of me.
Tall, muscular, a crooked grin on his lips.
“My brother wants to know if you’d like to join us at the club this evening.”
The words roll from his lips, but all I see is his magnetic gaze. Trimmed with thick lashes, his eyes glint with a mischievous smile before he narrows them at me.
“Why...?”
I shift my gaze to Rex. Hands clasped on his hips, he observes us from a few feet away.
“Why would he send you?” I ask, tilting my head back and trying to hold his eyes.
He gets a kick out of the fact that I sit at his feet.
“He said it’s up to you, and he wanted me to ask you.”
“He said that?”
“Uh-huh. He’s also afraid that I might want you for myself, so he wants to keep you away from me.”
An amused smile flashes through his gaze.
Frankie’s sunglasses fall from her nose as she tips them down to take a better look at him or maybe to make sure she’s heard him right.
“Did he say that?”
“He didn’t need to.”
“Do you want me?”
I think Frankie just stopped breathing. I know I have.
His grin freezes for a moment while he weighs my words, a dark thought splashing through his gaze.
“Not tonight. I have someone else waiting for me at the club.”
I look at him, speechless.
How can I respond to that?
Frankie clears her throat, prompting me to open my mouth and speak.
“Well. Good to know,” I retort in an even voice, mirroring his arrogance. “I see no problem then. Of course, we can come.”
He nods and spins around before swaggering away while I keep my eyes on him for a few moments.
“Oh, my God...” Frankie says under her breath. “What an...”
“Arrogant dick?”
“Yeah. What was that all about?”
“I think he likes to mess with his brother,” I say, my eyes trained on the man who mounts his motorcycle, tosses a cheeky smile my way, puts his helmet on, and revs up his ride before turning around and jolting away, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
“Did he just wink at you?” Frankie ask.
“I think he did...” I say, sunk in thought. “He must be jealous of his brother.”
“Because of you?”
“No. I mean, yeah, maybe... But it must be more than that.”
“Carlos told me he’s cruel as fuck.”
I shift my eyes to her.
“How does he know?”
“I have no idea. That’s the rumor. No one wants to cross him. And men need to watch out if they have a woman. If Kian wants their women, they can kiss them goodbye. I don’t know if the same rule applies to his brother’s women.”
“When they don’t share them,” I point out.
“Yes, when they don’t share them.”
I shift my eyes to her.
“He’s just teasing him. Anyway... I guess we’re going to the club tonight.”
“We?”
“Yeah... I’m not going alone.”
“So, are you ready for the club?” Amber asks, nearing us.
We both swivel our heads.
Wearing a soft summer dress over her swimsuit, Amber smiles at us, brushing her hair back with her fingers.
“Are we going straight there?”
“Yeah... We can eat over there. The crab cakes and Buffalo Shrimps are to die for.”
I look at Frankie.
“Okay,” we both say at the same time.
