Inked (Going All the Way 1)

A glance at the clock showed he would be there any minute. She looked at the breakfast bar, saw the two boxes of pizza and the case of beer, and couldn’t help snorting in amused embarrassment. When she asked him to dinner, she had every intention of attempting to make him a meal, or at the very least ordering something that didn’t come in a cardboard box.

Of course her day had been hectic at work and then at the clubhouse, and the only thing she had time for was making the phone call for the pizza and stopping by the gas station for the beer. Well, she tried, but tonight was more about what in the hell was going on between them and not so much about what they would eat. Stella didn’t even think she could eat anything, what with her stomach in knots.

The sound of a Harley started a small distance away, and even though she hadn’t looked out the window, she just knew it was Cadeon. The rumbling of the engine came closer, and that had her heart beating faster. When the sound of the bike was right in her driveway, she moved to the living room window and pushed back the drapes.

She didn’t want to look like a freak peeking at him through the window, but she honestly hadn’t been able to help herself, and, well, she supposed she wanted to make sure her gut was right and it wasn’t actually her father or a club member who had shown up.

She let the curtain fall back in place but still stared out the window. Cadeon climbed off his big-ass Harley, one that was a monster of a machine, but one he looked damn good on. He wore a pair of dark jeans that were loose but fit him well enough that it didn’t hide the raw power that made him up.

He was once again wearing a T-shirt, this one just as dark as his jeans. Since she had first met him three years ago, she didn’t think he ever wore anything aside from those two pieces of clothing. She had never seen him in a suit or even a button-down shirt. He took off his helmet but left his sunglasses on.

The sun was already setting on the horizon, and there was a pink/orange hue that covered the Colorado sky.

Stella moved away from the window when he started for her front door, but strangely she was suddenly not as nervous as she had been. She knew she should be, because what they were talking about was certainly nothing short of very, very important. He knocked on the door three times, and she turned and looked at it.

She was in the living room, but her open floorplan had the kitchen, dining room, front foyer, and living room all viewable from any point of the room. She smoothed her sweaty hands on her skirt and suddenly felt silly for trying to dress up. But a jean skirt and blouse wasn’t really dressy—at least she tried to tell herself that.

Before he had to start knocking again, she moved quickly toward the front door and opened it. Although she might have just seen him through the window, it still took her a moment to absorb everything that made up Cadeon Morris.

The brightly colorful tattoos covering his arms stood out against the material of his shirt, but all she could picture was all the ink that was hidden beneath it. The boots he wore looked nothing short of the shit-kicker variety, and when she looked into his face, she saw he wore this grin that had all of her girly parts clenching in need.

“You going to let me in or eye-fuck me all day, girl?” His voice was so damn deep and masculine, and even with his crude attitude and coarse words, Stella was still a mush of emotions and want for him. It was like she hadn’t been with him at all, let alone two days ago.

Her cheeks heated, not because of his use of the phrase “eye-fuck”—she had heard much worse—but because he had seen her blatantly checking him out. She moved to the side. “Sorry.” She smiled and chuckled, but it came out awkward-sounding.

He stepped inside, but just as he passed her, she noticed his grin spread, and she narrowed her eyes. She shut the door and leaned back on it. Cadeon walked forward a few more steps, and she watched in silence as he checked out her place. She leaned away from the door to stay out of the way. If he flat-out told her that he only wanted her for an easy lay, she could tell him to fuck off and kick his ass out of her house. “Cadeon….”

He turned around slowly and lifted his hand to remove his sunglasses. His blue eyes were almost eerie in their shade, but he had them fixed right on her, and she felt as if she had nothing on. That was how penetrating Cadeon’s stare was, and it had always been that way. He took a step toward her, and she pressed her back against the door once more. When she felt the heat from his body spear right into her, she sucked in a deep breath.