The Four Stages of Loving Dutch Owen - Debra Kayn Page 0,28

of the house, so we could see each other?"

Grounded or not, she wanted to see Dutch. He was an adult. It shouldn't matter if she was forbidden from going out the last month.

He held her face, peering into her eyes. "What else have you taken?"

"What have I...?" She laughed, used to hiding all the fun.

But Dutch was different. He wasn't someone who set rules and grounded her. She could tell him everything.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" she asked.

He dug in the front pockets of her shorts, pulling out her lipstick and throwing the lighter off into the dark.

"Hey." She wiggled as his arms went around her, and he dipped into her back pockets. "What are you doing?"

He straightened, studying her. Before she could grasp what he wanted with her, he slid his warm fingers in the V of her shirt and reached inside her bra. She slapped her hand to her chest, but he retrieved the joint she'd stuffed in there for safekeeping.

Dropping her hand, she glared. "That's mine."

"Who gave it to you?"

"No one."

Behind him, Tony slunk off into the darkness. She wouldn't snitch. Not even to Dutch.

"Marla Marie." He growled, putting the joint in his pocket.

The way he said her name, adding her middle name, made her chest feel funny. When he was around, he made her feel beautiful and wanted. She couldn't remember why he called her Marla Marie the way it rolled off his tongue, but he was the only one in her life who used both her names as if it was one, long, feminine endearment.

She stepped back into his arms. "How long are you staying? Are you going to stay at the house?"

"I think you should go home."

She groaned. "Rachel and Skull are here. I haven't been able to go do anything fun in forever."

"You're on the way to getting drunk."

Until he mentioned the drinks she'd consumed, she hadn't realized how good she felt. She swayed side to side, trying to move him but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground.

She leaned close to him and caught herself on his chest. "Don't tell Rachel and Skull. They'll ground me again. I have to get my license."

"You should be grounded until you're eighteen or thirty," he said.

"Don't be an old grouch." She ran her hand down his beard. "You drank and smoked at my age."

"I'm twenty years older than you."

She patted his chest. "Rachel told me some stories. You were always in trouble, like me."

"She needs to keep her mouth shut."

She grabbed his hand, linking their fingers. Used to him not answering her questions, she ignored his crankiness.

"Will you go inside with me?" She tugged his arm, surprised when he came with her.

Proud to have him beside her, she leaned against him. They made their way inside. She'd lost Alyssa to the crowd but knew she would be okay. Everyone here was basically family, and they both had mutual friends who had come to the rally.

"How long are you staying?" she yelled over the music.

He held up two fingers. She frowned. His visits were never long enough.

"Can we do something tomorrow? Just you and me. I don't have to work."

He looked around the room, leaned closer, and put his lips to her ear. "We'll see, but no promises."

His warm breath tickled her skin. She shivered and slumped in the chair in disappointment. He probably planned something with one of the women here.

She hated when he spent time with them.

A scuffle broke out in the middle of the room. She straightened, peering into the crowd. Skull was known for fighting. Not at home, but at the clubhouse.

Dutch reached over and planted his palm against her stomach, pressing her back into the chair as his gaze narrowed. A flutter traveled from her lower stomach to between her legs, and she gazed at the tattoos running up his arm before disappearing underneath his leather vest.

Her muscles tensed as her breathing shallowed. The fight forgotten, she squeezed her thighs together, trying to capture the excitement and keep it to herself.

Dutch turned to her, pulling her head toward him. Near her ear, he said, "I'm taking you out of here. Stick by my side."

She nodded, standing. He looped his arm around her shoulders, cocooning her against his side. She swayed, knowing the drinks were making her unsteady. An insatiable desire to glue herself to Dutch and never let go overcame her.

Once outside, Klew and Oughtsix approached Dutch. He kept her at his side while filling them in on what