Cocky Secrets (Cocker Brothers #29)

12. Sage

TWELVE

Sage

I step into Viola’s gift shop, the sweet scent of lavender and sandalwood flooding my senses. The cozy space is filled with all of my beloved paint supplies — this is my favorite place — but my heart races for a different reason today. I’m here for Bear.

I glance around, my fingers brushing against a delicate porcelain angel perched on a shelf. I’m not here to shop. I’m here for the thrill of the ride, the roar of the engine, and the man who sold me the burgundy Harley Davidson. I can’t help but smile at the thought. Bear’s reputation of being safe precedes him, and I’m curious to see if he lives up to it. I’d like him to be a little dangerous. A little on the wild side. I can’t wait to find out.

“Hey, Sage!” Viola greets me from behind the counter, her warm smile making the shop feel even cozier. “You’re here for the ride, right?”

“Yep, just waiting for Bear,” I reply, my heart fluttering at the mention of his name. “And this doesn’t leave these walls. My family is a little overprotective. He’s a cop, and they…don’t love that.”

Viola nods knowingly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I wish I were younger. Oh, to still be doing things like you two are,” she sighs. “He’s just in the back, helping me fix a cupboard with loose hinges. I’m so excited for you two! He’s been waiting.”

My cheeks flush as I move deeper into the shop, anticipation curling in my stomach. I spot Bear kneeling beside the cupboard, checking his work, rugged silhouette framed by the light filtering through her windows. His dark hair looks like he put some effort into it, and as he looks up, amber eyes lock onto me, darker without the light penetrating them, sending a jolt of excitement throughout my body.

“Hey, Sage,” he says, voice deep and smooth, like honey poured over the hills surrounding South Vacherie, the ones we’re about to escape into. “Ready for a ride?”

“I’m ready,” I reply, trying to sound casual, even though my pulse races at the thought of being so close to him…soon.

He straightens to standing, tall, lean, with his strong muscles flexing under a black T-shirt and worn blue jeans. So handsome he is, a mix of rugged charm and raw energy that draws me closer.

“Let’s go then,” he says, setting down the screwdriver to pick up his helmet from where he left it by a stack of small unpacked boxes whose contents will soon adorn the shelves. He leads me out. “Bye Viola.”

“Goodbye Vi,” I smile.

She winks at us. “You two have fun.”

The sun shines down onto the vibrant burgundy Harley parked by the curb, its clean chrome glistening like a promise. My heart skips a beat, knowing that the beast is mine. That he sold it to me for this purpose. I want to say something, thank him again, but my tongue isn’t cooperating, nor is my mind. All I can think about is how I’ll be holding onto him soon.

And about my family.

I dart a quick look around to make sure we’re alone. The street is just as quiet as when I rode up. No sign of The Ciphers.

As Bear hands me my helmet from where I left it on the seat, our fingers brush, and I feel a spark that makes my breath hitch. “You ready?” he asks, his gaze piercing into mine, pure bronze.

“I’m ready,” I whisper, thrilled.

With ease I put on the helmet, feeling the weight of it settle over my head, the rush of adrenaline coursing through me as he climbs onto the bike. I take hold of his shoulder to steady myself as I swing a leg over and climb on, straddling him from behind. The feel of his body is everything I thought it would be, warm and solid.

“Hold on tight,” he murmurs, and turns on the ignition. The engine rumbles to life, soft at first, vibrating our bodies, the place between my legs feeling it the most.

He grips the handlebars and I can feel heat radiating from his body. My skin tingles where we touch. The engine warms up, roars to life beneath us, vibrating even more, invigorating my entire being, but it’s Bear’s closeness that sends my senses into chaos.

With a twist of the throttle, we take off, intent on leaving the city for the mountains, the town blurring around us. If we can just get off the main roads, I’ll be able to relax. I keep looking past corners, expecting to see a recognizable bike and its rider, or more.

“Where are you going, Sage?” Atlas asked.

“To Viola’s shop.”

“Why?”

Mom answered for me. “To get paint supplies, why else?”

“Just checking,” he said.

“It’s around lunchtime so I’ll probably stay a while and have lunch with her,” I lied, giving my absence a viable reason for extension. “She’s there by herself with the kids at school. And business has been slow.”

Atlas picked up on this. “We should all go and buy something.”

“No!” I squawked, before adjusting my cracking voice. “Go another time. I want to ride my new Harley on my own.”

He cocked a suspicious eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I’m a grown woman and I’m tired of you treating me like a damn child!” I barked, making The Ciphers laugh. We were in the main living room, with almost everyone present.

Dad grunted, “Leave her be.”

Mom expanded on it. “Your father got her the bike so she’d have some freedom, since you two said her bicycle was off limits for being too slow!”

Luke glanced over, included in the scolding. Mom was still mad I got the bike, enough to let me ride alone to prove it’s their fault I have one in the first place.

A win for me.

“Bye. Don’t follow me.”

“Now I want to!” Atlas called after me.

Dad growled, “I said, leave her be!”

It was because of that anger I knew Mom had been privately chiding him pretty hard for his generous decision, and he was sick of it.

The landscape shifts from quaint shops to lush greenery, the beauty of nature becoming a peaceful backdrop to the electric tension brewing between us. Now that we’re out of the town’s watchful eyes, I lay my head on Bear’s back, wishing this helmet wasn’t between us. I can almost feel his heartbeat against my chest, imagine it steady and strong. “I still want to paint you,” I say over the luxurious wind.

“I still want you to.”

“I’m not sure how we can!”

“We’ll find a way, my beautiful woman.”

My eyes widen at the compliment, and a grin of happiness spreads from within as we race up a fairly steep incline, slowing only for curves which he deftly masters. At the top, wind whips against my face and I open my arms like I’m flying, letting out a laugh, exhilarated by being with him, my newfound freedom and the thrill of the ride.

We pull over at a scenic overlook, the view sprawling out before us—a sea of emerald and jade under the vast, cloudless, azure sky. I rise on the foot rests, use the steadiness of Bear’s shoulders to dismount, throw a leg over and plant myself where asphalt meets a dirt and gravel shoulder. Bear dismounts next, removes his helmet, eyes piercing. I remove mine, send my red hair flying. We set them on the seat. Safe up here. Such a small town. No one would take them if anyone drives by. And even if they did, we’d ride back without them. I’d kind of prefer it.

“I didn’t think you’d actually buy the bike,” he says, a playful gold glint in his eyes.

“Liar,” I reply, my voice teasing. “I didn’t think I’d want to ride it with you.”

He smirks, “Who’s the liar now?” stepping closer, and I can feel heat radiating off of our chemistry. “You’re not just in it for the bike, are you?”

I shake my head. “Not at all.”

The air between us thickens, charged with unspoken need to bridge the gap, to feel the warmth of his lips against mine for the first time.

“Good,” he murmurs, closing the distance with zero hesitancy, his gaze intense. “Because I want more than just a business transaction, Sage.”

My breath catches, and I nod, my heart pounding in my chest. “I think the business part is behind us.”

“Is it?” he asks, licking his lips. “Okay, it’s not business then, but there is planning and strategy ahead of us. We’re partners in this.”

“Because of my family.”

He’s so close to me now. “Because of what they are. What they don’t want me to be.”

“We’ll be careful,” I whisper, a pool of warmth in my core, opening my flower, calling to him.

The hills are alive with the sounds of nature, a tranquil contrast to the roaring engine we just left behind. I glance away and back to Bear, and he gives me this wonderful crooked smile that sends shivers down my spine. There’s something primal about our connection, something I cannot understand and I’m not sure I need to.

“These freckles of yours.” He steps even closer, and the air thickens with unspoken desire. “Freckles with your naturally tan skin and red hair. It’s just…” Bear pauses. “You’re striking .”

“No one’s ever told me that before.”

“Have you been with a man?”

“I’m thirty!”

“Almost thirty,” he smirks.

“You know what I mean.”

“Answer the question.”

I blink, drop my gaze to his jeans, blush, and go lower until I’m staring at his work boots. “It’s really none of your business.”

“I think it is.”

My gaze lifts and I reach out, tracing my fingers along the stubble on his jaw. He catches my hand and pulls me to him, our lips crashing together in a heated kiss that’s brief. We break free, panting. Bear’s eyes slice down my face, then stay on my parted lips. “You’re a bad girl who’s been forced to be good, aren’t you?”

My breath catches, but I say nothing.

“Let’s find a place,” he grunts.

We hike down a path until we come upon a lovely patch of soft grass in a forest of trees. The sun filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor as I follow Bear in. The air is thick with the scent of pine and earth. Each step feels charged with anticipation, and I can sense power radiating off him.

We pass the first option to go deeper in, and find a secluded clearing, hidden away from prying eyes. The sounds of the forest envelop us. This is our escape, a world where we can be ourselves, free from judgment.

Bear turns to me, his gorgeous eyes searching me for something, and I hold his gaze, my heart racing.

“Take off your clothes,” he rasps, voice filled with certainty, desire, authority, as we stand beneath a canopy of oak and pine trees. I nod, my pulse quickened.

My leather jacket is easy to remove, nothing exposed underneath but my braless tank top. It’s that which is hard for me, and I pause as my fingers touch its worn hem. Slowly I pull it over my head, breasts falling free, full and round. I meet his eyes, looking for his reaction and smile as he gazes at me openly, with admiration. With lust. With abandon I toss the cotton onto my jacket’s crumpled leather, and reach next for my jeans’ button, carefully unfastening it and tugging down the zipper one half-inch at a time. He watches me intently, keeping his distance. I push down my jeans past my white, lacy g-string, down my thighs, my calves, and pause at my boots. “Oh,” I giggle, “Just a second,” bending over to pull them off, socks next, breasts swaying under gravity’s hold, nipples peaked. “There,” I whisper, and step out of everything until I’m standing before Bear in just my g-string. “Now you.”

“You’re not naked,” he says.

“Neither are you.”

“I was ready to be naked, then you didn’t show up,” he reminds me. “Now it’s your turn.”

“You’re making me pay by going first?”

“That’s right.”

Heat rages between my legs as I reach for the flimsy white lace and tug it down ever so slowly, exposing my red curly hair to him bit by bit. His lips part, and his breathing comes heavy as I step out of my last bit of armor, nothing left between me and his desire.

Bear steps closer, closing the distance between us. The intensity of his gaze sending shivers down my spine. He reaches out, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, and I lean into his touch, craving more, standing naked before him.

Willing.

Open.

Here.

With a swift motion, he pulls me against him, our bodies colliding in a passionate kiss. The world around us fades away, and it’s just the two of us, lost in each other. I taste the sweetness of his breath, the commands of his tongue, his lips, and it ignites a fire within me I’ve never known. Bear’s hands roam my body, exploring every curve, every inch of skin. I arch into him, encouraging his touch, feeling a rush of exhilaration as he guides me down onto the soft grass.

We lose ourselves in the moment, the forest our sanctuary, and Bear's hands slide between my legs, his fingers warm against my skin. I softly gasp at the sensation, breathing hard. With his other hand, he reaches underneath me, pulls me closer, our bodies fitting together perfectly as if we were made for this.

“I want you to be mine,” he murmurs, voice thick. I can’t help but blush at his claim. I’ve never felt more happy. My hands find their way to his shoulders, pulling his weight down onto me, urging him wordlessly to take what we both want.

He kisses me, our mouths moving together in a dance until he breaks free and travels his lips down to take one of my breasts into his mouth. I moan and arch my back into him. He moves to the other one, caressing my nipple with his lips, his tongue. Down my ribcage his lips carve their way. He kisses my belly button, spreads my legs with his hands, kneeling before me, and dives in for a taste. I can feel that my flower is wide open for him, craving his mouth, his tongue, and he gives them to me. As I feel him kiss me there for the first time, I freeze. No one has ever kissed me here before. Tears of surprise, of joy, rush to my eyes as he licks me, caresses me, fingers my folds and inserts his hungry tongue inside me for my very first time. I gasp at the pleasure that overtakes my body, and moan as he drinks me in. The world around us disappears, leaving only the two of us, entwined in a primal rhythm. I can feel the heat radiating from his body, his mouth, his lips, his tongue, the way he responds to my every movement, and it drives me wild. I feel a strong pulsing pulling at my core, burning tingles spreading throughout my flower. I cry out as I begin to throb, tears streaming down my grateful face.

He pulls back slightly, his eyes searching mine for permission, and I nod, breathless.

He frowns, “Why are you crying?”

I breathe, “I’ve never been so happy!”

That’s all he needed to know. In an instant, he’s undressing while I watch, kicking off his boots first with a sexy smile. Then his T-shirt. His chest is superb and for the first time I see wings tattooed across it, a spread of power just under his collarbone. I moan at the V displayed as his jeans start to drop. No boxers. No anything. Just him, and as his hard shaft breaks free of its confines, surrounded by dark curly hair, I moan again, wanting him desperately.

Bear drops to all fours, caging me in. He lowers his weight onto me, spreads my legs with his knee. I gasp as the tip of his cock touches my slick folds. It shifts slightly to the right and finds its purpose. I feel the warmth of him pressing into me, a delicious pressure that sends waves of pleasure coursing through everything I am. I ignore the sharp pain that comes with it, and kiss his bare shoulder, biting down to ease my first time.

“Now…in this moment and forever…you’re mine,” he groans as we move together, the grass beneath us a soft bed as we surrender to each other.

“Forever?” I breathe.

“Forever mine!” Bear rasps.

The sounds of the forest become a symphony, blending with our gasps, our moans, our whispered words of lust. Each thrust, each caress brings us closer to the edge, and I can feel the tension building, the world around us finally disappearing into passion’s blur.

“Yours,” I whisper in his ear, kissing it. “I’m yours.”

As we fall over the edge together, tears streaming down my happy cheeks, I know that he is right. In this moment, and every moment after this, forever, I’ll feel that nothing else matters.

It’s just Bear and me, against the world.