Untitled Book 2(19)
“I wear my bikini every time I go swimming. If you can’t control yourself or your dick, that’s hardly my problem.”
He makes a sound, a mix between a growl and a groan. “Coming from someone who wouldn’t even watch me undress. Too tempting for you, was it?”
“This conversation is pointless,” I call out as I swim a little farther out, and it was. Yes, we’re clearly attracted to each other, but he’s trying to ignore it and so am I. Even though I hadn’t had sex in just over a year now. Hell, I can barely remember what sex is like at this point. Maybe that’s why I was so tempted. Although none of the other guards had tempted me, and a few of them were okay-looking. I duck underneath the water, resurface, and then make my way back to shore. Vinnie follows. I realize we’re going to have to walk back all the way to the car, and sigh heavily. Yeah, I’m going to be feeling all this exercise tomorrow. I pick up my clothes and glance over at him.
I don’t know what expression he sees on my face but he grins and says, “Do you want me to carry you?”
I decline, tempting as the offer sounds. We walk back to the car in silence, and I allow myself to enjoy being in the sun, on the beach—the sand beneath my toes and the wind in my hair.
Who knows when I’ll be back here.
* * *
He takes me to get ice cream without my having to ask. I have to admit, it’s a very sweet move on his behalf.
“Anywhere else you want to go?” he asks, scanning the area as we sit on the grass.
“Nope. How about you? Do you want to go anywhere?” I ask, even though I was fucking tired and just wanted a shower and a nap.
“I’m good,” he says, licking the soft-serve vanilla cone. “Can’t remember the last time I had ice cream like this.” He pauses, then adds, “I think it was when I was a prospect and Faye was pregnant. She’d make me bring her ice cream, or take her out to get it all the time.”
“Faye?”
“My president’s old lady,” he explains, making my eyes widen in realization.
“Oh,” I say, my tongue chasing some of the ice cream as it drips down the cone. “I forgot how good it was, just to get some fresh air and enjoy the simple things in life, you know?”
He nods, watching me for a moment before returning to his frozen treat. “You know you can’t live like this forever, right? Something needs to be done about the whole situation. I don’t get how your father and Talon can allow this to continue, with you having to hide because of whatever shit he got himself into.”
“I know, but I don’t really have a choice. I considered leaving the country, but I’d have to take a new identity and leave behind Talon and my father, who are the only family I’m close to. I’ve been hiding for a few months now, hopefully it won’t be too much longer.”
“I don’t get it. Why doesn’t Talon just hide you in his MC?” he says, sounding angry. “Or I don’t know, come up with something other than your being stuck with strangers and being sent here there and everywhere. It’s fucked.”
Talon wanted to hide me in the Wild Men MC clubhouse. In fact, that was the first thing he said to me. However, something changed, and he had to come up with a new plan. He didn’t explain to me why, but I have the feeling something’s going on with his MC and he didn’t feel I’d be safe there for some reason. It doesn’t really make sense, because those men are family to Talon, so I didn’t really understand the situation either.
“He wanted to,” I say, wanting to stand up for my cousin. “But something happened. I don’t know what. I do know that he has a reason for not taking me there though.”
“Something else to discuss with him,” he says, jaw tight and clenched. “I’d feel like shit just leaving you, you know? Going back to my life and handing you over to some other dick, not knowing what the hell is going to happen to you.”
“That’s sweet of you, Vinnie,” I say, laying my hand on his forearm. “But I’m not your problem. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I don’t know what is going to happen, and I’m trying to just take things day by day. It is unfair that people want to use me as leverage against my father, but there isn’t anything I could do about it besides try to survive. He is right though, something has to give.
“It’s not as simple as that,” he says, taking a crunchy bite out of his cone. “I don’t know; I need to think about it, but things aren’t going to be the same when I leave as they were before I got here.”