Rebel (Renegades 2)

Wes laughed, but the sound was self-deprecating. “Right up to the day I told them my plans in Hollywood. ”

“Well,” she said, turning back to the rig, “based on your rig design for Wyatt, I’d have to agree with your father on the aptitude part. You’ve got something really amazing here. ” She glanced at him again. “Do you realize that?”

The look he cast her was so deep, so genuine, and so…meaningful was the only way she could describe it, something twined around the pit of her stomach and squeezed. But the resulting sensation that oozed through her body was one of bondage, as if he were reaching inside her and tying off her lungs.

The twist of panic was familiar, but in a distant way. She hadn’t let anyone this close in so damn long she couldn’t gauge its severity. Couldn’t tell if it was the kind that would fade in an instant or the kind that hung on, seeped in, and choked her when she least expected it.

His arms tightened around her, and his mouth lowered to her shoulder again. “I’m well aware I’ve got something amazing right here. ”

“I’m serious, Wes. ” She covered his arms and had to fight not to pry them away with some lousy excuse to get room. “I know craftsmanship when I see it, and this is really special. Have you thought of selling it?”

She’d never suggest he do business with her father, but her mind was already stirring up ways to at least use Dolph to gauge the market interest for the rig.

Wes pressed closer, and the way he fit so perfectly to her every curve and dip made her mind blur around the edges. His hands released her waist and slid toward her belly. Sizzles erupted lower and gathered between her legs.

His chuckle said the thought was ridiculous. “No, I’m not interested in selling this thing. It’s just another one of my crazy-ass inventions. All I want is something that’s going to work for Wyatt. ”

“You two are close, aren’t you?”

“He’s my big brother. ” His tone was soft, filled with meaning as if that statement should have said everything. “I’ve idolized him my whole life. My parents would never admit it, but I know they wished I’d turned out more like him. ”

“Then he must be something extra special, because it’s impossible for me to imagine what more they could want in a kid. ” She ran her hands over his arms, turned her head, and kissed his cheek. His scruff was long enough to be soft beneath her lips. “Because you’re a good man, Wes. ”

She deliberately extricated herself from his hold and sidestepped until they were three feet apart before she picked up the rig from the table and held it out to him. “Show me how it fits to you again. ”

A grin slanted across his mouth as he took the rig from her, his gaze sliding over the shirt clinging to her curves. “Will you get on your knees for me?” He swung the rig behind him, settled the crossbar low on his spine and the metal arms down the outsides of his thighs. “You’ll have to strap me in while I hold it in place. ”

She took the straps attached to the crossbar at his hips and pulled them to the center of his body, pressing the Velcro together. Heat wafted off his body along with the scent of pure Wes and the ocean. If she didn’t lower to her knees to get the straps of the thighs secured, she’d have to bend over, which would expose her bare breasts beneath the too-big T-shirt.

She chose the lesser of the two evils and lowered to her knees.

“Oh baby,” Wes murmured, his voice low and tight. “Do you have any idea what that does to me?”

The same thing it does to me.

She glanced at the thick, rigid line his erection created beneath his pants, remembered the feel of it in her hand. Against her ass. And grew wet. “I…think I might. ” But changed the subject quickly. “What’s your next step with this?”

“Work those pants a little lower in front of your cute little nose, and I’ll show you. ”

The will to keep him at arm’s length—okay, maybe finger’s length at the moment—was quickly fading. It took so much damn thought and effort. So much more than she had to give any other man.

“Because you’re crazy about him. Because you care. Because he matters. None of the others did. That alone should tell you everything you need to know. ”

Lexi’s words filled her head, and she suddenly forgot why—exactly—she was holding him away instead of grabbing this damn contraption and using it to haul his cock into her mouth.

The thought caused an unexpected bubble of laughter to roll from her throat.

“What’s that about?” he asked.

She lifted her gaze to his. “Nothing. ”

He reached out and skimmed the back of one finger over her cheek. “Give me a peek into that wicked mind, precious. ”

“Dangerous. ” She was growing freaking sick and tired of thinking about why she couldn’t allow herself to have this decadent man. “So where are you going with this contraption next?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. I’ve taken it as far as I can on my own, and even implementing your suggestions, which were amazingly intuitive, by the way, it’s still not what I envisioned, and I don’t think it’s going to be what Wyatt needs. ”

She pulled her lower lip through her teeth as she finished securing the remaining straps. She had her hands pressed to the inside of his thigh when she glanced up. His gaze looked more blue than gray tonight.