Dex ARe by Jayne Blue Page A

and set it on the seat of the bike. I didn’t take his hand but smiled and walked around him to the back door. He put a hand at the small of my back and it made me shiver.
    He led me up the back stairs to the apartments above the club. They were a temporary place to crash for club members passing through or those who’d been kicked out of wherever else they lived. I was glad to go in this way. I didn’t think I could handle walking through the Den and seeing any of the rest of the guys. I didn’t know what any of this meant yet. I didn’t want to face them.
    We went into Dex’s room. It held no trace of him. No pictures on the walls, nothing personal at all. And it wouldn’t. They’d taken everything that belonged to him thirteen years ago. It tore at my heart to think about what he’d been through. What I’d been through. Most of which he didn’t know. I didn’t know if I had the strength to tell him. If I started, it could drag me down to a place I might never come back from. A place I’d fought too hard to keep at bay. It occurred to me the same might be true for him. And anyway, what could we say?
    We said nothing. Dex closed the door behind him and turned to face me. I could see his pulse beating furiously above his temple. He hesitated, frozen for a moment as he stood before me. I exhaled. He took a step toward me. Then another. I tilted my head up. Heated blood coursed through me. He whispered “Baby” and closed the distance between us.
    His hands hovered near my face just like they did the other night, like he was afraid if he touched me he’d wake up from the dream. I brought my hands up and closed them around his, feeling bone and flesh as I chased our dreams away. He leaned down and kissed me and the world fell away too. I had a million reasons to tell him no. To run. There had been so much pain between us. But in that moment, I needed Dex as much as I needed air in my lungs. I would have died if I found the strength to pull away.
    He was slow and tender at first, letting me get used to the feel of him again, as if I needed it. This was Dex. He’d trained my body well all those years ago. I didn’t forget. I sighed as he leaned against me, trailing soft kisses from my lips, along my jaw, down my neck. His hands slid under the hem of my t-shirt and I tilted my head back; my body swayed as I lifted my arms to let him pull it off.
    He stood back to look at me. Then he peeled off his vest and threw his own t-shirt over his head. God . My Dex. This is what my mind’s eye saw when I let myself dream of him. Him standing there with one shoulder dropped, his thumb threaded through the belt loop of his jeans, staring at me, his eyes twinkling with sin, a thick lock of hair hanging past his brow. He’d been strong before, well built. Now though, he was even broader; he had a fine patch of black hair mixed with just a touch of gray across his chest and a trail of black curls over his washboard abs.
    He came to me again, pressing his lips against mine as he snaked his arms around me and lifted me. My legs opened and I wrapped them around his hips. A fuse lit when Dex set me back down on the bed. I needed to feel him. The barrier of our clothes seemed to burn my skin. I craved him. Starved for him. I fumbled with the snap on my jeans while he did the same. I cast them aside and lay under him in only my bra and panties. Then Dex was naked. His cock sprang free from the boxers he wore and I froze again. He was huge and hard and the sight of him put my own lust into overdrive. He hooked a thumb into the waistband of my underwear and started to drag them down.
    Moisture pooled between my thighs. If I’d had any thought to hide how badly I wanted him, my body betrayed me. I was so wet, dripping for him. I gasped for air. And then Dex had my bra unhooked and I slid out of that too. He hovered above me, his eyes filled with both pain and tenderness and it tore me in two.
    “Ava.” His words were choked. He