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She wanted to say Let’s get out of here, but where would they go? Certainly not to the clubhouse. Gia had never had to do the morning-after walk in the clubhouse, and she never would. The fallout from that would be worse than if she had a boy in her bedroom at home. Speaking of which, she didn’t have a bedroom at home anymore. She had a fancy shed in the yard.
It would serve her parents right if she christened the place tonight, but ... that felt weird. Too bound up in the general weirdness of that tiny house. Also, who knew what Dad would do if he discovered Zaxx there. She didn’t allow her parents to dictate her life (much), and she’d specifically made it very clear that she would date as she wished, but that didn’t mean Dad was cool with such things. He would still be a thundering madman about it.
She wasn’t ready to know what any of this meant. But she didn’t want to have a big convo about it, either.
So she kissed him again.
This time, Gia kept the reins. She went in more forcefully, pressing her open mouth to his, sending her tongue out in search of his. Zaxx followed her lead, sucking on her tongue, shifting his stance to wrap his arms around her, drawing her firmly against him, lifting a little so her heels came off the floor and their bodies fitted exactly in place together. His hand slipped under her jacket, then under her top; the heat of his palm seemed to scorch the small of her back. She moaned again and felt the vibration of his answering groan on her tongue.
“Hey. You okay, Gia?”
Gia had been so transported by that kiss, Nolan’s voice, right at her side, seemed to come out of nowhere. Zaxx backed off at once, still holding her but also suddenly too far away. She opened her eyes and saw her own shock reflected in his expression, her own frantic heartbeat echoed in his panting breath.
There was something happening here, between them. Something with weight and substance.
But Nolan stood beside them, his attention shifting back and forth and his expression shifting with it—a scowl for Zaxx and a worried frown for Gia.
Adored child or sacred artifact: what the Night Horde MC thought of her. Gia shook her sensual stupor off. Vaguely, she registered that the band wasn’t playing; they must have finished their set at some point.
“You’ve been drinking, Gia,” Nolan said and then turned a pointed scowl at Zaxx. “What the ever-lovin’ fuck do you think you’re doing, asshole?”
“I—” Zaxx started. He was still focused on her, but his expression was taking on shadows of guilt and worry.
Absolutely not. Nolan did not get to play proxy daddy and fuck around in her business. She was a grown woman with the ability to make her own choices and the intellect to choose well. Fuck, she almost had a goddamn PhD.
She grabbed Nolan’s arm and pulled his attention back her way. “Hey, back off. I kissed him, and it’s not your fucking business, anyway.”
Nolan’s expression became so paternal she wanted to punch him. “You’ve been drinking, Gia. It’s not cool—”
She cut him off. “Do I look sloppy drunk to you? Am I acting compromised in some way?”
“You’re practically fucking against the bar in front of about a hundred people, so yeah, I’d say you’re compromised.”
She’d already been pissed at Nolan’s meddling; now she was furious. Red hot. But she kept her voice deadly calm when she told him, “I tell you what, Nolan. Why don’t you worry about yourself and stop trying to play daddy with me. You’ve got your own kids, and I’ve got my own father. You are neither needed nor wanted here, and frankly it’s creepy you’re so interested in my sex life. So kindly fuck all the way off.”
Nolan did not reply. He looked at her for a long time, his jaw fixed in an aggressive jut. Gia saw in his eyes that things between them were changing, right now, in this moment. She’d hurt him, and he would never again be there for her like he had most of her life. That was what she’d wanted, why she’d said exactly what she’d said. But there was loss, too. That teenage version of her still held Nolan above most men.
Shoving aside incipient regret, she lifted her chin and stared back at him defiantly.
He turned to Zaxx. “Are you prepared for what this means?” With a dismissive flick of his hand, he indicated that this meant Gia.
Zaxx met Gia’s eyes again, but he didn’t answer right away. Those shadows of guilt and worry had overrun his expression.
That in itself was an answer, wasn’t it?
“Fuck you both,” Gia said and shoved her way between them.
“Gia!” That was Zaxx, calling after her.
She didn’t stop or look back. She strode to the door, keeping her back straight and her head high, ignoring all the people watching her go.
Fuck this whole day right up the ass. She should have stayed at school.
Chapter Seven
The last ten minutes might well turn out to be among the most confusing of Zaxx’s life. After hours of ignoring him, Gia had come right up to him like she had an errand, and the errand had been to turn him into a puddle of hormones. Those kisses had been ... something. He had no idea if they’d been the first waypoint on a longer road, he didn’t know her well enough to read her intentions, but every cell in his body had been ready to go wherever she wanted.
Until Nolan had shoved himself between them, and Zaxx had been too spun by it all to think or react.
