Dangerous Lies(22)

Kissing him was amazing, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to handle more. He was fun loving and caring every other day, but I could tell he was an alpha. I could feel it in his hands when he cupped my body and moved me how he wanted in his hold. It wasn’t a bad thing, it just reminded me of Martin, and his alpha male status turned volatile.

Stretching, I opened my eyes, only to find Jake no longer in bed next to me. I shot up, covering my chest with the sheet.

He was reading a newspaper while sitting in a chair by the door, startled from my abrupt movement. I sucked in a breath and released it heavily.

“Good morning,” he greeted, resituating in his chair and diverting his eyes back to his newspaper. “Did you sleep alright?”

I bobbed my head back and forth. “Wasn’t horrible.”

“Probably my fault, I’m a bit of a bed hog. Sorry about that.”

I grinned, holding the sheet tightly to my chest. The embarrassment from the night before was seeping out as I replayed our kissing and touching.

Jake stood from the sofa chair, folding the paper under his arm. He had a pair of mesh, black shorts and a dark gray t-shirt on with his book series name plastered to the front. His dark hair was tamed but by no means styled. “You up for some adventure today?”

I arched a brow. “How adventurous are we talking?”

His smile turned devious. “I’d like to take you off the beaten path. If you’re up for it.”

“A bike ride?”

“A mountain bike ride. I’ve borrowed a bike from a friend for you.”

“Oh,” I said evenly, my eyes finding my lap. “Is it from the girl you were telling me about yesterday?”

His brows knitted with confusion, and he shook his head. “Most definitely not.”

Was he appalled I brought her up? “Alright, the fresh air will be good for me,” I sighed, still holding the sheet to my chest.

Taking the hint, he mumbled, “I’ll give you some privacy,” then headed out of the room and closed the door.

I inhaled a deep breath, running both my hands through my hair. I needed to stop thinking so much. Jake was a good guy, and just because we happened to have a yummy kiss last night that threatened to become more, didn’t mean he would expect for me to be comfortable naked in front of him. One kiss didn’t make a physical relationship.

Hopping out of bed, I was going to do my best to start the day new. I wasn’t allowed to think about Martin, or deadlines, or where my life was headed. I was strictly going to spend the day with my best friend.





Chapter Sixteen





“You ready?” Jake asked after pulling both bikes out of the back of his truck. He brought me to a park that supposedly had friendly trails.

I crossed my arms and rubbed my biceps. The temperature was warm, yet the breeze felt cool against my skin. “We’ll see if all of those spin classes are true to the real thing.”

Jake smirked, handing me a helmet. “Why don’t you lead and set the pace.”

Strapping the helmet on, I gave him a nod. “Sorry if I go too slow.” I hopped on the bike and got situated.

“Slow is fine. I’ve got a good view.” I craned my head over my shoulder. He was smirking, then raised his hands when I gave him a glare. “I was talking about the scenery, what were you implying?”

Facing forward, I rolled my eyes and began to pedal. “Yeah, sure you were.”

He laughed and began to follow. “Again with the dirty mind. You romance writers…”

I held in my giggle, loving his wit.



We rode the trails at a leisurely pace, and to my surprise, I didn’t do half bad. I thought for sure I’d be huffing and puffing, but found I had more trouble with the bumps. They slowed me down at first, but once I got used to them, it became fun, and I found myself picking up speed and plowing over them with ease.

The wind on my face and the sun beating down on my back was refreshing, distracting me from all of my issues. The scenery was breathtaking as well. The mountains were as epic across from the plains we were riding along, a steady river with rocks streamed near the path, the sound of its flow relaxing against the crunch of rocks underneath our bikes. We didn’t talk much at all besides Jake filling me in on which way the trail would turn next.

“Let’s pull off here.” He biked to my side in the grass, leading me to an opening where a large willow tree stood out amongst the rubble and brush.

When I jumped off, my legs felt wobbly. I must have ignored the ache from the foreign muscles I was using.

“You’re a champ. We just rode for two hours,” Jake smiled, taking off his helmet and hopping off his bike.

I gave him a grin back, taking off my own helmet. “I think I’m going to pay for it later. How far from your truck are we?”

He slid his backpack off and undid the zipper. “Not far. Thought we could have lunch?”

I nodded and took a swig from my water bottle. “When did you make lunch?”

“When you were getting ready. Hope you like sandwiches.”

“Sounds great.”

He pulled out a small fabric cooler and a folded up blanket. I was impressed that he fit all of that in the tiny bag.

I helped him spread out the blanket, then plopped down on top of it. My heart was still racing. “Do you do this every day?”