in your neck.” I grab her jaw, and kiss her, then pull back to mutter, “You want me as much as I want you. Tried to walk away, but can’t fucking get you outta my head, woman.”
She lets me kiss her at first, and I feel her lips softening beneath mine, but then she rears back and shoves me off.
I grab her arm as she spins to leave, catching her off guard. I yank her roughly against me.
In a few seconds, I have her virtually immobilized, and at my mercy. But the heavy impulses driving me have no mercy. My mouth saws across her lips with bruising intensity, forcing them open. I know I’m venting all my pent up frustration on her, using her roughly, and liking the fight she gives me. In a war of strength, I am unquestionably the winner. No matter how she strains, she can’t avoid the hard thrust of my hips. I can feel her weakening, her body reluctantly relaxing against mine. I ease the pressure, discovering the warm softness of her full lips.
I’ve longed for this, for the comfort I found in her long woman’s body, and her surrender. I have a raging hunger, a driving need for it.
In the short lull with no resistance, Lola gathers her strength and will, violently shoving out of my arms. Breathing hard, she backs up, eying me warily.
“Don’t ever put your hands on me again. You have no right.” Her voice is hoarse and angry, rough with the raging hurt I’ve caused. Her words crack across me like a whip. They stop me, stunning me.
Lola backs up against the wall, her hands gliding along toward the doorway.
“You have no claim on me.” She’s trembling. “Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I’m some sweet-butt you can have for the taking.”
“Lola, that’s the last thing I think.”
T-Bone pushes through the door, drawing both our attention. He stops cold, trying to read the situation.
“You better go, Memphis,” Lola says.
T-Bone straightens taller, the line of his mouth turning grim. “You heard her.”
I shove through the door and push through the crowd back to the bar. If she wants to play this game, it’s fine with me. I order a shot, down it and order another.
A few minutes later, I see her walk out the clubhouse door with Utah, her purse over her shoulder. I watch through the window as they move to her car. The headlights flash across the glass as the two of them pull out. Maybe its what I deserve. I rub my hand across my face, agitated and troubled.
The blue smoke of a cigar drifts lazily toward me. Glancing to the end of the bar, I see Darko watching me, and I know he caught the flare of reaction I carelessly revealed when Lola walked out.
“Don’t make a rash decision, Memphis. Things aren’t always what they seem.”
I give him a forbidding look, “Stay out of it.”
He chuckles. “You’ve got it bad, brother.”
“I think I’ll go outside and get some air.” I push away from the bar. Maybe I should have known better than to come back.
On the wide porch, I pause to light a cigarette, then wander to the edge, and lean against a tall pine post. The black sky is alive with stars. To the west, a full moon gleams like a pearl.
A warm breeze carries the scent of the surrounding pines. Lola is like these mountains, full of mystery and elusive beauty. She’s the essence of any man’s dream, feminine and alluring, as seductive as the night, but hellfire when her back’s up.
Taking a last drag on my cigarette, I flip it into the air, and watch the crimson trail it makes arcing into the darkness. The front door opens, but I don’t turn.
Darko comes to stand and stare out into the sky. He lifts the cigar to his mouth and takes a puff, blowing it to the heavens. “Some of us are going up the road to Rita’s place. Want to come along?”
“Rita’s place? What’s that?”
“Roadhouse dive, but the drinks are cheap, and the food is good.”
“Sure. Why not.”
More of my brothers shuffle out, their boots scuffing on the wooden boards. Five of us mount up, engines roaring to life. It’s a short ride down the road and around the bend.
The lot is gravel, and we park in a line by the door.
The first person I see when we enter is Lola, seated at a table with Utah. She looks up, and meets my