Chapter 5
Jay had never felt as out of sorts as he did with this woman. He was thirty years old. He’d been living with The Wanderers for his entire adult life, having joined them twelve years ago when he left home.
The world had been sliding into a far more dire situation twelve years ago, and he’d spent several of his formative years knowing he was at odds with his father. His mother had died when he was young, and his two older brothers had joined a local militant group as soon as they turned eighteen.
Jay had essentially been groomed to join them, but he’d kept his secret contempt to himself, and he’d taken off in the middle of the night a few weeks before his eighteenth birthday.
He’d never looked back, and he’d never seen either of his brothers or his father again. In order to ensure they didn’t find him and haul his ass back, he’d traveled thousands of miles west where he’d heard there was a society of people living under a far more democratic rule. The Wanderers.
Gatlin and Ledger had been fifteen and sixteen at the time. They’d been best friends and had lived with The Wanderers for a few years already. Lucky for them, their parents had brought them into the fold, going underground with the society to protect their sisters.
Gatlin’s parents had taken Jay into their family unit and helped him assimilate. From that day forward Gatlin had treated Jay like a brother, and Ledger had been just as kind. The three of them had become inseparable.
Nile had joined The Wanderers eight years ago. He’d arrived with two younger sisters. Their parents had mysteriously disappeared and never returned home one day, so he’d sought the underground society out.
Nile had been seventeen when he arrived, and Ledger’s family had taken him and his sisters under their wing. That was how their society worked. When young people arrived, someone helped nurture and guide them.
At first, Nile had been quiet and shy, barely speaking, probably freaked out from the loss of his parents, but Ledger was three years older than him, and he’d helped bring him out of his shell—turning the three-man friendship into a four-man group.
The four of them were tight. Inseparable. They were grown now and no longer lived with their parental units. They’d moved into their own household years ago. From time to time, they’d shared a woman among them, but never permanently, and they’d never had one move in with them.
Jay swallowed his tongue as he stared down at Layla, hating that he’d made her pull away with his knee-jerk reaction.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she murmured. “Forget I said anything. It was stupid. Words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.”
He smiled, glancing at her lips. She kept licking them, and God he wanted to do that too. Lick them. They were full and pink and sexy, and it had been so damn long since he’d last felt a woman’s lips on his.
Jesus, though. He needed to be careful. No one had kissed this woman. No one had fucking touched her before today. That made him tremble. The responsibility of it. He was thirty years old, and he felt like a teenager.
“It wasn’t stupid, Layla.” He loved the sound of her name as it rolled off his tongue. Damn, she was pretty. Long dark-brown hair hung in waves down her back. It had been in a messy braid when she’d arrived, but she’d washed it and left it down to dry.
So far he’d inhaled her scent a thousand times, trying not to scare the hell out of her every time he breathed her in. And her skin… Lordy. Tanned, unlike her sister’s, but still far lighter than his. Closer to Gatlin’s. Or maybe Ledger’s. Nile was a redhead, so his skin was pale.
Gatlin’s mother was Indian, so he had darker skin. Ledger was the average all-American boy with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and surfer-boy tanned skin. He wasn’t as dark as Gatlin, but close in the summer.
“You caught me off-guard is all,” he told Layla. “And I would never do anything to make you feel pressured. It’s the primary premise of our society. As a woman, you have the right to make your own choices. Always. I left my own family twelve years ago because my father and brothers were drinking the militant Kool-Aid, and I didn’t want anything to do with that.”
She pursed her lips, but she didn’t pull away. Thank God.
“I was eighteen when I joined The Wanderers, but Gatlin’s parents took me in. Gatlin’s mom would slap the back of my head if she thought I took advantage of a woman, especially one like you who is vulnerable.”
Layla winced, sitting up straighter. “I know I’m young and ignorant about many things, but I know my mind, and my parents didn’t coddle us.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb, giving her a gentle smile. “And your mind tells you to kiss me?”
Her cheeks heated, turning a sexy shade of red. “You’re making fun of me.”
He shook his head. “No. Never. I’m just clarifying. I’d be honored to kiss you, Layla. Humbled. And yes, the rest of my family unit will be jealous when they arrive, but Fate put me in your path first, and I’ll be happy to be the first man to taste your sweet lips.”
He slid his thumb down to her full bottom lip and stroked it, loving the way her lips parted on a soft gasp. She drew in a deep breath that made her pert breasts rise against his chest. The woman wasn’t wearing a bra. She’d chosen a pair of black leggings, an oversized T-shirt, and flip-flops after she’d showered.
Jay had noticed her hardened nipples brushing against the cotton shirt several times. He’d let his hands roam over her enough to know she was fit and muscular, but still petite, especially compared to him.
Granted, he was formidable. His size anyway. Most people—women and men—tended to give him a wide berth. But Layla hadn’t flinched when she’d first met him. She’d been curious, surprised even, but not scared.
That fact alone bothered him. She was too trusting. Hell, he was over a foot taller than her with huge broad shoulders. His biceps were bigger than her waist. And he was black. None of that mattered to her.
She was staring at him with huge, wide, brown eyes. “Forget it,” she repeated. “You’re absolutely making fun of me.” She wiggled free of him.