Outlaw's Virgin:: New Adult Romantic Suspense (Zodiac Alphas: Cancer Book 1) Read online

  She reached out to caress the apple of Kara’s cheek, making her blush. “My darling girl. My graduate. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you, Mom. I’m going to continue making you proud too.”

  “Oh honey, I’m already as proud as I can get. As long as you’re happy, that’s all I need.”

  I melted into the background as they chatted. Their conversation was normal, pleasant and uneventful. It was as if this was another day in their lives and I wasn’t a strange “friend” sitting there to witness..

  I didn’t mind. The more they talked, the more I’d eat, much to Kara’s contentment. She didn’t say anything, but I’d see her glance over and beam. She smiled warmly, and I could see the message in her eyes.

  Thank you.

  Maddie’s parents either came from money, or saved well. Their house was in Paradise Hills, an upscale neighborhood in Albuquerque.

  “Glad you made it, Best Friend!” Maddie squealed. She pulled open Kara’s door as soon as we pulled up. “Get out! Let’s have some cocktails!”

  With the party in full swing by two in the afternoon, the place was packed with people. Students and relatives alike filled both the inside and outside of the house.

  I avoided interaction with most people, taking the opportunity to relax and watch TV with some of the guys who stayed inside. My attitude toward Kara relaxed because she couldn’t escape easily, and she no longer seemed stressed out or fearful anymore.

  During the evening, Kara came and found me. “Everyone’s been asking me who you are,” she said. “I need to introduce you formally, because they won’t leave it alone.”

  I sighed. I didn’t want to be known or introduced to anyone, but I did have to keep up the appearances.

  “Hey everyone,” she said, bringing attention to a small group of girls and a few guys in the corner. “This is my guest, Luke. He’s a friend of mine. He’s taking me to my new job in Vegas.”

  “Oh cool. Luke, you’re working in Vegas too?” One of the girls asked. Her eyes skimmed over my makeshift attire, yesterday’s jeans with a clean ironed button down from Kara’s dad’s closet.

  “It’s a possibility.”

  Kara cracked open a beer and handed it to me. I accepted and took a swig. Blue Moon wasn’t my thing, but it would do for the moment.

  “Luke’s uncle owns the company. He’s done nothing but take care of me, so helping him out for a while is the least I can do.”

  “Oh, okay, that’s nice.” The friend smiled tightly and excused herself for some food.

  The rest of the evening consisted of small talk followed by more small talk and a ton of selfies. I did my best to avoid being caught in any photos, insisting I was camera-shy.

  I didn’t tell my uncle that I was allowing Kara to extend her goodbye before the transport. The less he knew, the better. Keeping myself and my image off social media - which I didn’t even use - would help.

  As the party began to wind down and guests started to leave, Kara and Maddie said their goodbyes.

  “Can you take this last picture for me?” Kara said, holding out her phone. “Maddie and I just need one for the road, and I’ll be ready to go.”

  “Sure.”

  I held the phone, taking photos and videos for the girls. I had to admit, they looked amazing together, Maddie and her gorgeous brown skin, and Kara’s flawless sex kitten energy. Ebony and Ivory, glamour model edition.

  Maddie turned away to help her mother bring a tray in the house. Kara ran up to me to look at the photos.

  Tears went through her eyes as she looked at the photos, and glanced at the dimming sky, which was giving way to some of the stars twinkling in the twilight.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You have no idea how much it means for me to have spent these last few hours with my family.”

  I looked at her. Maddie had done Kara’s makeup before everyone really arrived, and she looked stunning. Bright pink lips and thick black liner made her look like a summer beauty.

  I desired to feel her, to touch her just once, to taste her vulnerability and softness. It overwhelmed me. I leaned in, breaking eye contact as I swooped in on her lips. They were soft, lush, and felt as sweet as I’d imagined. My cock hardened in my pants, and I was thrown off that such an innocent moment stirred such a viciously erotic reaction.

  “You’re welcome.” I pulled away, adjusting myself to get my bearings. This girl was going to be the death of me if I didn’t control myself.

  Kara’s expression was frozen. She was stunned, her eyes widened by my bold move. She blinked, once, then twice. But said nothing.

  I was about to ask her if she was alright, but Maddie interrupted us.

  “Hey guys,” she called. “I’ve got a few Jell-O shots left. Let’s finish them off before you go.”

  “Yeah, I’m… coming.” Kara turned to yell over her shoulder, and then she looked at me. Her sapphire eyes probed me, silently asking me what just happened.

  I didn’t know what to tell her, so I flattened my gaze and jut my chin towards the house.

  “We’re leaving in fifteen minutes.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, decided against it, and turned to walk away, looking back only once before disappearing inside.

  Kara

  He kissed me.

  That’s all I could think about for the next twenty minutes as we cleaned up and prepared to leave.

  Luke, tall, dark, sexy, mysterious Luke… kissed me. My cheeks burned and my lips tingled.

  I’d never been kissed before.

  Okay, that was a lie. I’d had my first kiss when I was thirteen or fourteen, but it was at a school dance. Kenny Parker kissed me by the punch bowl right before the last dance. There a few sweet moments during my time at Embry-Riddle, yet nothing serious. Besides a little heavy petting here and there, the truth was college guys wanted sex and…

  … Well, let’s just say I wasn’t interested in anything casual, especially when it came to my body.

  Luke was attractive from the moment I’d met him. His dark features were so perfectly structured that he looked like a model. But I couldn’t feel any positive attraction to him because he was serious, imposing, and sharp with his introduction. His only focus was picking me up and taking me straight to Antonio with little fanfare.

  My impression of him transformed with every moment that passed. He softened up, enough to let me spend final moments with my family, with Maddie, and the guests at our joint graduation party. He even played nice as people asked who he was.

  And then… he leaned in, kissed me.

  I wanted to blame it on the beer he’d been drinking, but he didn’t seem like the type to let alcohol dull his senses. If anything, he might let me think that, but he would know exactly what he was doing.

  Luke’s kiss was everything Luke wasn’t. Fiery. Passionate. Steamy. Full of unspoken needs and a yearning to dive deeper. I could feel my nipples tighten, awakening from a long and undisturbed slumber. And just as I felt my body leaning into him, ready to fall into the lust waiting on the other side -

  He pushed me away, stoically informing me to hurry up so we could leave in less than twenty minutes.

  All I could do was nod and walk away, remaining focused on the final moments I’d have with my loved ones.

  I took reverence in helping Maddie and her mother clean up. Putting away food and making a couple of “to go” plates never held so much meaning. Maddie cut a huge corner slice of cake for me, reminding me that she remembered how much I love corners and all their extra-frosted goodness.

  “You know,” she sighed. “I’m really going to miss you. Promise you’ll keep in touch.”

  “I’m going to miss you too, but it’s not like you’ll never see me again.”

  Maddie’s lips, perfectly painted in Lime Crime, curled in a sad smile, but her eyes were knowing. We exchanged looks, and it was only through unspoken words that I expressed my regret. I was in over my head, and I should have listened to her ye
ars ago, but I didn’t.

  The more I learned about Antonio, and even from the way Luke allowed this goodbye to drag out, the more I realized I probably wasn’t going to be working anywhere fun, legal, and productive. Shudders went through my mind at thoughts of dismemberment…

  … And the things that were legal in places like Vegas.

  I didn’t want to think the worst of anyone, especially someone like Antonio who’d done everything possible to help me in my time of need. But the sheer sense of urgency Luke had shown, his coldness, and the increasingly tense way Cori behaved as we inched closer and closer to the end of the night bothered me.

  My mother was also quietly insistent about staying until the moment I’d left. She wasn’t someone who stayed out late, much less inserted herself in loud parties with a lot of people. But she really forced herself to stay and indulge in every moment.

  “You ready?” Luke appeared in the doorway. His neutral eyes rendered him unreadable, despite the curve in his lips.

  “Yeah, we’re just finishing up. Packing some food for the road.”

  He nodded and left, disappearing into the house, I presumed, to head out the front door and start up the car.

  Maddie sighed. “I swear, Best Friend. Be careful.”

  “He’s not that bad.” I said. “He’s just playing tough guy.”

  “That doesn’t make it any better,” she warned. “The Devil doesn’t walk around with red skin, horns, and a pitchfork.”

  “True,” I said. “But look at how much he’s allowed us to do. I should’ve been in Vegas hours ago. I won’t be there until tomorrow now. He’s been gracious.”

  “Okay.” That was her announcement that she was done with the conversation. Silence added tension as we continued putting away food, and a small pang of regret filled me. Maddie was never this way, and I assumed her frustration was with good reason but what’s done was done. All I could do was hope for the best.

  “He kissed me.” I whispered. I broke the secret to break the tension between us.

  “He what!?” Maddie gasped. “Best Friend, when?”

  “Just before I came in the house.”

  Shock filled her eyes. “What kind of kiss? Describe.”

  I filled her in, telling her that it wasn’t anything super crazy, but it was passionate, intense, yearning - and followed up with a cold dismissal.

  Her face twisted. “He’s freaking weird. I think he’s crazy. Don’t let it get too far.”

  “Maddie, I never let it get too far.”

  “Look, all I’m saying is bizarresituations tend to make us all act out of character,” she said, her voice tilting in a motherly tone. “I just want you to protect and preserve yourself and cast not your pearls before swine.”

  Luke didn’t turn on the radio, or play any music for first forty-five minutes of our drive. After all the noise and socialization, I didn’t mind. We both seemed comfortable for some peaceful silence.

  The sun was setting as we drove the highway. Luke navigated in and out of heavy pockets of fast-moving traffic, eager to get away from the dry, vast expanses of emptiness between major stops and cities on the drive.

  Maddie’s words, Cori’s hugs, and Mom’s goodbye, all replayed in my head. There were ugly cries and tears in our final hugs and kisses. An anvil dropped in my stomach as I realized I didn’t know when I would get to come home and visit.

  Or if I’d even be allowed to come home and visit.

  Maddie’s stories of Antonio were menacing. Luke’s discretionary quietness forced me to wonder if I was really dealing with a fair man, one who would continue to be helpful and understanding now that it was time for me to repay his kindness.

  I hoped for the best, because I didn’t know any other way to think or be - and because if I started to let my thoughts go downhill, I wouldn’t make it the first thirty days in Antonio’s casino.

  “Wake up.”

  Strong taps on my leg jerked me awake. I blinked as harsh lights invaded my pupils.

  “Where are we?”

  “Somewhere in Arizona.” He shrugged. “Gas break, but we’re going to get some food.”

  “Are we driving the whole way?” I asked, sitting up to adjust my seat.

  “Depends on how I feel.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “You know, you ask too many questions.”

  I went inside as he pumped gas. The restroom was archaic, but clean, which surprised me because the rest stop looked anything but cleanly in appearance. Dust tracked the floors, and a couple of tumbleweeds and their remnants littered the lot.

  I checked my phone as I power squatted over the toilet. Alerts from IG let me know I’d been tagged in several pictures, most of them from Maddie.

  I looked in my DMs, and saw an unopened photo from Maddie. When I opened it, it was a photo of me and Maddie, with Luke in the background. From the appearance, it seemed as if he was checking me out, with the same signature intensity. And you wonder why everyone kept asking who he was, Maddie typed.

  Ha… He’s a creepster, I joked, adding some playful emojis.

  Closing the app, I washed my hands, and grabbed a napkin to open the door handle. Two tall, beer-bellied men were waiting right outside the bathroom area, in line for the men’s room. I could hear loud, nasty splats and grunts from the other side of the door, and my stomach turned. Yeeeeeek. That’s exactly why I hated public restrooms.

  “What the fuck did that bastard eat?” One of the men said, laughing. Both men greedily eyed me as I passed.

  “Beautiful…” One of them whispered. “I’d make her scream all night.”

  Ugh… as if.

  “Stop being a perv. You’re loud as hell. She can hear you. And you’re fifty. They don’t want old men like us,” the other guy said.

  “I bet for $50 she would give it up. Watch.”

  Dread came over me as the old man attempted to talk to me. Thankfully, the restroom door opened, and the stench caused him to cuss from its pungency.

  “Fuck Arnold! What the hell did ya eat?!”

  “Aye…” Arnold replied. “I told you I was lactose intolerant.”

  “Man shut up and shit,” the man who saved me said. “You wanna stare at young gals and we have a load due in the morning.”

  With a sigh of relief, I smiled to myself and focused on finding something quick to grab. My stomach rumbled slightly, insistent on food and drink, and while I had plenty of good eats in the car, I was holding out until I got to Vegas. My plan was to eat some of it every night for the first week to remind me of home.

  “You ready?” Luke’s body heat covered me from the back when he walked up.

  “I’m getting something to drink,” I said, reaching for the Sprite.

  “I got it. Head to the car.” The warm, friendly Luke was definitely gone. I sighed, and went to the car.

  Moments later, he emerged, two Sprites in hand, plus a package of Twinkies.

  “Here.” He handed me a bottle.

  “Thanks.”

  “No prob.”

  The dark night was starless and uninviting. Empty and abysmal, the void forced me to focus on the road ahead.

  It seemed quite metaphorical, driving down a dark road in the middle of nowhere, unsure of my destination and what was ahead of me, without being in the driver’s seat. Most of my life had felt like it was steered in similar fashion, just enough to see what’s right ahead of me, without any power to control the wheel.

  “So,” I asked. “How many hours do we have left?”

  “Flagstaff’s about an hour away. We’ve got another four or five hours after that.”

  “It’s after eleven,” I said. “We’re not going to make it until 5 AM.”

  “Your point?” He was so direct and to the point.

  “You don’t have to be such a dick, you know.” I turned to him. “Look, I get it. You need to be professional. But you don’t have to be so clipped and cold. I’m just trying to understand where we are, how lon
g it’s going to take -“

  “Do you have any idea what you’re getting into?”

  His question was abrupt - again, direct.

  Silence filled the cabin as I registered his words.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said” - his voice was cold, steely - “do you have any idea what you’re getting into? What you’ve done and what this means? Do you have any idea who Antonio is?”

  I didn’t reply. The answer was obvious. Of course I didn’t know what I was getting into. I had no clue what was waiting for me on the other side of this trip to Vegas.

  “Answer me.” He commanded.

  “Antonio is a businessman. He’s the man who covered my mother’s expenses - and mine - while I focused on school. All I know is you’re here, and we’re going to Vegas, and I’m supposed to work at a casino.”

  Cruel laughter escaped Luke’s lips, sending a chill down my spine.

  “What’s so funny?” My voice was small, dejected, and completely reflective of my naiveté. I cringed when I realized how little I knew. Or rather, thought I knew.

  “Yes, my uncle is a businessman. He’s a restaurant owner, investor, and man of many means,” Luke replied. “But he is also a loan shark. The greater his investment, the higher the risks will be, and even higher, his return on investment.”

  I swallowed, and my heart pounded as the truth came out.

  “You signed paperwork for a total of almost $900,000. Like a million dollars. You realize that, right?”

  I gasped. I hadn’t realized I’d spent that much.

  “How many years are you working?”

  “Five,” I squeaked, fearfully.

  “Yeah, you’re going to want to settle in, sweetheart. Enjoy these moments while you have them, because five years is the minimum amount of time you’ll need to work this off.”

  “Well if I can save some money and get a loan -“

  “Antonio won’t take your money, love.”

  The way he said love made me think of the kiss we shared, but that quickly turned into chilling fear as I realized there was nothing affectionate about his use of the pet name.