Little Conversations (8 page)

Ronin heard her footsteps lightly tread through the
undergrowth towards the fire.  He listened as Joanie called out her name.  He
looked up into the stars and willed himself to calm down.  To ease the ache
that consumed him, both body and mind.

It was so easy with her, so easy to forget how things were
supposed
to be.  So easy to get lost in the feel of her, the taste of her.  Every faint
moan and whisper and gasp shot straight to his cock.  With a pained chuckle, he
remembered the look on her face right before she asked him to kiss her. 

Was it even his face she saw?  Or, in her mind, was she
pleading with Jake? 

A fierce possessiveness swept through him as he thought of
Jake and the shit he put Dev through, day after day, week after week.  Pulling
her back when he was bored, pushing her away when Melanie came back to town. 
Thank God they hadn’t had the nerve to show up at his place again.  It was all
he could do to keep his anger in check around the guy. 

But what right did he have, really?  He could tell she was
affected by him, but she was very clear about how she felt towards Jake, how much
she still loved him.  A poisonous love, the way he had loved Kim.  To this day,
a twinge of agony still ghosted his soul as he recalled how all that had ended.

After some time, Ronin slowly walked back over to the fire, and
they laughed and joked, just like he had said—like nothing had happened.  The
beer dwindled and the fire died down.  A rumble of thunder echoed across the
mountains, and the group began to break up to head back to town.  Rather than
facing the crowded ride again in Joanie’s mid-size truck, Devin took Ronin up
on his offer of riding back to town with him.  Ronin opened the driver door and
took a step back to allow Devin to slide in before him.  She slid into the
truck, in the center of the seat next to Shane, who looked conflicted. 

“Shit,” he muttered as he watched Matt flirtatiously pick up
Amy to carry her to Joanie’s truck, instantly seeing the need for a more
prudent chaperone than Joanie for his baby sister.  He looked over at Ronin’s
raised eyebrow.  “I, uh, I think I’m gonna ride with them.”  And he was out of
the truck in a flash.  Considering Shane’s heavy build, this would make their
ride home in Joanie’s little truck even more crowded than it had been on the
way up.

Devin looked up at Ronin, their shoulders brushing with the
close proximity.  Ronin only laughed at his friend’s turmoil.  “He’s gonna have
to let that brat grow up someday,” he chuckled as he started up the truck.  His
hand grazed her inner thigh as he shifted the manual transmission into reverse,
and this lightest of touches sent a shiver through Devin.  “Cold?” he asked,
backing the pickup away from the trees to turn around.  “You can turn on the
heat if you’d like.”

Devin shook her head.  “I’m fine,” she said in a quiet,
breathy voice that she couldn’t quite control. 

The tone caught Ronin’s attention, and he gave her a long
look before shifting back into first gear.  Again, his fingertips grazed her
soft skin, and her breath caught again. 

Ronin’s eyes fell shut for a moment.  “Damn, honey,” he whispered. 
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and began to drive down the
narrow path towards the main road. 

Devin considered sliding over to the other side of the bench
seat for a moment.  But she didn’t move, and she really wasn’t sure why.  She
did manage to adjust her legs somewhat to keep the contact to a minimum. 
Unfortunately, this meant opening her thighs wider, which caused Ronin to let
out a gruff, strangled growl.  A overwhelming flare of sexual energy ricocheted
through the cab of the truck, and he was deathly and agonizingly quiet as they
drove down the curving mountain road.  As they came out of the small gorge
between the mountains and began to follow the road down across the bluffs, the
wide valley before them lit with lightening that flashed across the sky.  The
loud clap of thunder following it broke the uncomfortable silence.

“Wow,” Devin breathed.  She focused on the storm, but couldn’t
quite tear her mind away from Ronin’s strong thigh pressed up against hers. 
From his hand as it rested on the gear shift causing his forearm to brush
against her bare leg every so often.   

“Quite a storm,” Ronin said softly.  He pulled to the side
of the road and shut off the engine to watch the thunderheads as they rolled out
of the mountains and followed the range’s curve around the edge of the town.   They
were on the very edge of it, and the thick epicenter streaked with lightning
that was filtered by the heavy curtain of rain.  Devin shivered again, this
time actually feeling a chill emanating from the wind that had picked up speed
around them.   Ronin reached behind her head for a blanket that lay over the
back of the seat, gently tucking it around her bare legs and leaving his hand
resting against the slight curve of her inner thigh.  His fingers mindlessly
stroked the blanket covering her as the smoldering weight of his hand all but seared
the skin underneath it.  A turbulent spatter of rain dashed down on the windows
of the truck, obscuring and warping the striking view.  Lightning flashed
again, and a low, booming thunder resounded across the valley. 

Devin and Ronin sat there, a bit awed by the intensity of
the mountain summer storm.  Without realizing it, Devin’s head leaned over to
rest on Ronin’s shoulder.  He nuzzled against her hair in a mindless motion,
captivated by the dazzling display of nature’s beauty all around them.  They continued
to watch the storm as the front quickly moved across the bench above town,
propelled by a fierce wind current.  A few minutes later, it had been quickly
shooed away.  Devin and Ronin were mesmerized by the show before them, gazing
ahead as it became just a flash in the clouds, moving farther and farther
away. 

“Wow,” Devin murmured.  “That was stunning.”  

Ronin turned his gaze towards her.  As he watched her tongue
dart out to lick her lips, the fire in his eyes demonstrated the inner war he
was waging, desperately resisting the urge to taste her sweet kiss.  Devin’s
breath caught in her throat at the intensity, and her lips trembled slightly. 
The slight movement broke his resolve, and he softly touched his lips to hers.  Sweetly. 
Innocently.

“Ronin,” she drew in a short, stilted breath.  The ache in
her body was reaching a tortuous level.

“I know.  I’m sorry.”  Ronin studied her closely before he
softly said, “Had to.”  He inhaled deeply through his nose, and let the breath
out in a long puff.  “I better get you home, sweetheart.”

“My home?” Devin quietly asked.

Ronin looked down at her.  “Do you want to come with me to
mine?”

Her mind kept pushing her to say she should go back to her
own place.  It was the smart thing to do.  It was really the fair thing to do. 

But she nodded instead. 

“But just to sleep, right?”

A spark of guilt flashed across her face, but she nodded
again, nipping at her lip. 

“Fuck, baby, you’re gonna kill me,” Ronin exhaled, looking
at her tenderly as he brushed his fingertips along the curve of her jaw causing
her heart to flutter.  After a moment, he dropped his hand, faced forward, and
started up the truck. 

The storm faded into the distance as they pulled back onto
the road and began the descent back to town—to his place. 

“Joanie,” Devin groaned as the cashier rang up her
lunch order.  “It’s a date.  You are going on a date.  I don’t want to go, too. 
Three’s a frickin’ crowd!”  

“Devin, we’re going all the way to Bozeman, and that’s like
over an hour away!  I barely know this guy!  I can’t go that far with a guy I
barely know!” Joanie exclaimed.  “But I want to go out with him sooooooooooooo
bad!  And he says he can get us into the Bar IX, even though we are under age! 
A real club, Devin!”

“So you want to drag me along because I’m such a big tough
bitch that I’ll protect you?  You’re, like, three inches taller than me.  You
know that, right?” Devin laughed and sat at a table outside on the patio to
wait for her lunch.  Joanie plopped down across from her. 

“Maybe you could take a date, too.”

“I can’t do that.  You
know
I can’t.  Things are just
too weird for me right now.”

“Well, then… not as a date.  Maybe Ronin.  He’s good at
backing guys off.  He’s protective.  He’d keep us safe.  Plus, he’s a blast to
have around!”  Joanie suddenly grinned as she looked off over Devin’s shoulder.
 “Hey!  Speak of the devil… Ronin!  Over here!”

Devin turned to see Ronin walking their way.  He’d been
working, and had a thick coating of sheetrock dust that created a somewhat
faded look to his T-shirt and jeans.  Somehow, the dust highlighted the thick
musculature that lay beneath his clothing, and made him look… really fuckin’
good actually.  He tipped his ball cap back as he stopped by their table, one
hand on his hip as he pulled off his aviator shades with the other.

“Ladies,” he smiled and nodded in their direction.  “What’s
up?”

“Well,” Joanie said, “I have a guy that wants to take me to
Bar IX in Bozeman.  But I want Devin to come along.  Dev’s being a party
pooper, though.  She doesn’t want to be a third wheel, but doesn’t want to find
a date either.  Although,” Joanie winked at Devin, “you know there will be lots
of majorly hot guys there, right?”

Devin rolled her eyes and looked at Ronin.  “Do you see what
I have to deal with?  What the fuck, Joanie?”

“Joanie, you shouldn’t be going that far with some dude all
by yourself.”  Ronin looked concerned.

“I know!” Joanie hollered.  “That’s what I’m trying to tell
Devin.  But she’s all like ‘I’m just a little girl.  How am I going to help
you?’”

Devin laughed at Joanie’s high-pitched mimicry of her.  “I do
not sound like that!”

Ronin pulled up a chair and turned it to face away from the
table, straddling the back and scooting it closer to Devin in an attempt to
keep the aisle clear.  “Well, she has a point there, Jo.  She’s only like five
feet tall.”

“Hey, I’m five feet and two inches, buddy!” Devin
protested. 

Ronin simply raised an eyebrow at her before he continued as
though she hadn’t even spoken.  “How’s a little thing like her going to keep
this guy from being a dick?  Hell, that will just get both of you in trouble.”

Joanie’s eyes popped open as though a light bulb had just
flickered on in her brain.  “Why don’t
you
come then!?” she smiled
excitedly.

Ronin raised an eyebrow, not totally convinced by her
innocent act.  He glanced sidelong at Devin who chuckled and rolled her eyes. 

The waitress walked over and set a basket of finger steaks
and fries before each of the girls.  “Hey, Ronin, need anything?”

“I’d love a big ol’ iced tea to go please, Millie,” he told
the young, shy girl.  She flushed crimson at the sound of her name, and turned
on her heel to get his drink. 

“Oh, that poor girl, you just made her day, Ronin,” Devin
laughed at the girl’s response.   “She’ll be dreaming of you for weeks.”  

“Um, she’s a little young for me, Dev.  I don’t think she’s
even old enough to drive yet.  I think I’ll have to pass.”

Joanie cleared her throat and bit into a French fry.  “Sooooo,
back to the Bar IX…” she reminded them as she chewed.

“When are you supposed to be going?” Ronin asked. 

“Friday night?”  Joanie looked exceedingly hopeful.

Ronin looked at Devin who just gave an exasperated shrug,
causing him to grin widely.  “If you can wait until about six o’clock to head
out, I’m game,” he said to Joanie, and she bounced in her seat and clapped her
hands like a child.

The waitress returned with a forty-ounce go-cup of iced tea,
which she set on the table before Ronin.  He reached into his pocket and pulled
out a couple bucks. 

“Here you go, Millie.  Keep the change.”

Millie mumbled an almost incoherent “thank you” as she
accepted the payment before turning and all but running away. 

“You better leave before you give that poor kid a heart
attack,” Devin giggled.

Ronin laughed and pulled his hat back down over his forehead,
slipping his shades back on. 

“We can do six o’clock, right Dev?” Joanie smiled.  “And who
knows, you may even have fun.”

“We’ll see about that,” Devin replied with a tart
expression.

“Babe,” Ronin looked down at her as he stood, “when
don’t
you have a good time with me?”  And with a nod and a wink, he left the patio to
climb back in his truck.

“Damn,” Joanie breathed.  “I just can’t figure out why you
aren’t all over that.  He’s fiiiiiiine.”

“Joanie, we’re friends.  He’s kinda become my rock lately when
shit goes bad.  I don’t wanna fuck that up with a bunch of, you know… stuff.”

“You mean, you still aren’t convinced that you and Jake are
really through, right?”

Devin played with her French fry before setting it back in
the tray.  She exhaled deeply.  “Don’t wanna talk about it, Joanie.”

 “This just doesn’t seem like the type of music you would ordinarily
dance to.  You’re a bit more of the barroom band type, aren’t you?”  Devin
shouted over the techno pop beat that pounded a rhythm and vibrated throughout
the room.  “Maybe preppie boy over there will dance with me.”  She sucked down
her tequila sunrise, and glanced at Ronin.

“Jesus, he’s got date rapist written all over him.  You’ve
got more sense than that,” Ronin snorted and took a drink of his Mountain Dew.  “The
guy’s last name is probably ‘Roofie.’”

Devin laughed and sat back down on the barstool.  “Bartender!”
she called, holding up her glass to indicate her desire for another. 

“Not just yet,” Ronin said, waving the bartender away.  He stood
and held out his hand.  “C’mon honey.  If I’ve gotta stay sober to drive your
drunk asses home, at least dance with me a little and let me show you a few
things.”  

Devin narrowed her eyes for a moment before she allowed Ronin
to lead her to the dance floor where Maroon 5 was just beginning to play
Love
Somebody
.  Lights were flashing as the bodies around them began let loose. 
Ronin pulled her up against him, their hips pressed tightly together, and he
began to move.  To Devin’s surprise, he moved very,
very
well.

His hands seductively skimmed down her ribs, caressing her
as the beat echoed throughout her body.  A tremor ran through her as he twirled
her around to press up against her back, his hand down below her waist to pull
her tightly against him.  The entire time, his body pulsed to the rhythm,
pulling hers along with it in one smooth movement.  From time to time, he’d
swing her away, then pull her tightly back up against him, curving her hips
into his and increasing the ache developing deep inside her. 

Devin lost herself in the feel of this music and this man, both
entities seeming to combine into one incredible sensation.  She turned in his
arms to face him.  The intense expression in his hazel eyes seemed to cut into
her psyche, and, combined with the tequila she’d finished off, it gave her
confidence, made her feel sexy and powerful.  The music slowed a bit, and her
lips pressed to the hollow between his collar bones.  She ran her hands under
his shirt along the rigid muscles of his stomach.  With a flutter rippling up
his abs, Ronin’s pulled back and lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger
as the lyrics reverberated through her. 

And then he kissed her, his body had stopped moving, but her
heart beat against his to the rhythm of the song.  Devin felt like the star of
a chick flick for a second, so much that she practically expected a fade-out. 
One long, hard, wet kiss. 

Devin’s eyes remained closed after he lifted his head away,
their mouths were a scant breadth away and the air between them became a
magnetic force that locked them in place.  They didn’t move, only stood in the
middle of the dance floor, in the midst of the undulating bodies, in a little
bubble that was just them as the song ended.  Devin’s eyes fluttered open to
see Ronin studying her face intently.  He flashed her a half-smile that
completely dislodged her filter. 

“You’re pretty good at that,” Devin dazedly breathed in a
rush. 

Ronin’s smile widened.  With a flush, Devin realized she’d
just said that aloud. 
CRAP!
  Flustered, she attempted to blink the
moment away, attempted to head back to the bar.  Ronin pulled her tightly to
him again, and began to move to the next song.  Sensing her discomfort with
their intimate moment on the crowded floor, he leaned down to her so she could
hear his voice above the rising beat of the next song. 

“Honey, don’t overthink this.  Just have fun.  Let yourself
go.”

Devin drew away a bit to look at him skeptically.  “What, friends?”

“It doesn’t have to mean anything at all.  Listen to Gaga, baby. 
Just dance.”

So, lured by the liberty in his eyes, she did.  For hours,
right up until the club closed.  For the first time in weeks, she didn’t want
to pour alcohol down her throat and forget about the lingering dysphoria of the
whole Jake/Melanie thing.  For a little while, she didn’t care.  Instead of
turning to more tequila, she and Ronin drank ice-water to stay hydrated as they
twisted and whirled to the palpable beat.  They became drunk on the sensation
of their movements as they danced throughout the night.  The flashing lights,
the pulsating music.  It all gave everything a surreal feel.  And the longer
they danced, the closer they became.  The more they flirted with the other
side.  The more the lines blurred. 

Joanie and her date, Boring Greg the Accountant, were
giggling like a couple of little girls.   

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” Devin asked Joanie.

“You mean, aside from the entire stockroom of booze they’ve
drank?” Ronin mused.

“We were just thinking,” Joanie slurred, “you two are miiiiiiighty
cute together, ya know!”  

“Joanie, we’re not together.  You know that,” Devin
groaned. 

“I mean, seriously,” she looked back to Greg, “you should
totally meet her ex.  That guy is a D-I-C-K!  And he keeps pulling—”

“Joanie,” Devin interrupted. 

She ignored her warning tone and continued.  “—some of the
shittiest shit on her, and she always goes back to him.  Over and over.  I
mean, really, Devin?  What the fuck?”

“Joanie,” Devin said more firmly, “that’s enough.”

“But Ronin here, he’s a boss, ya know?  And she really kinda
digs him.”  Joanie looked over at Devin and Ronin.  “Outwardly you keep pushing
away from each other.  Like you don’t want each other.  But,” she pointed at
Devin for emphasis, “you’ve
got
to admit there’s a little somethin’-somethin’
going on, right?”

Devin threw a pleading look at Ronin.  “God,” she whispered
desperately, “make her stop.”

“Okay, Joanie, I think it may be time to cut you off,” Ronin
cut in.  “Give me your keys, Greg.  I’m going to go get your car, and I’m
driving.”

“Thank the lord,” Greg muttered.  “I’m not so sure I could.”