Throttled (Wild Riders #1)(43)
“Uncomfortable is not the word I’d use,” she said, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip so that she didn’t full on grin. I wished she’d tell me exactly how it did make her feel, but her expression was saying that maybe she liked it more than she was letting on. “Want to hang out today?” she blurted out, when my eyes lingered just a bit too long on her mouth.
“Um, yeah,” I answered, trying not to look overly excited by her invitation. “What’d you have in mind?”
“I was hoping you’d take me for a ride?” It took every ounce of self-control I had to not make a sarcastic comment. “On your bike.” She chuckled.
“Get out of my head, woman.”
“Get out of mine first,” she said, playfully. The moment that passed between us, empty of tension and stress, was welcomed. She hadn’t mentioned a thing about Beau or staying away from her or needing more time, and I wasn’t about to bring it up. Not when she was asking to spend the day with me. I’d keep my mouth shut and enjoy her company for as long as I had it. “Lead the way.” She pointed toward the trailer where the bikes were kept and I took advantage of her hand being so close to me, and grabbed it with mine. When she didn’t pull it free, I felt a sense of security I hadn’t felt with her in a while.
“Yes, ma’am.”
*
Feeling the squeeze of her thighs around my body as she sat on the back of my bike ranked right up there with winning a race and busting a nut. Two of my favorite things. Riding and Nora. Together they had me feeling invincible as we raced across the open field and toward the pond.
She shrieked in my ear and her arms tightened around my body when we took the crest of the hill fast enough to cause her stomach to bottom out. The laughter that followed when she knew that I had complete control of the situation was refreshing. My wild, carefree girl was back, even if only for a moment.
I pulled to a quick stop at the edge of the pond. The momentum caused the bike to move forward balancing up on the front tire momentarily before bouncing to a still. Her body tensed, her arms wrapping around me so tightly that I could hardly take a breath as she pressed up against me.
“You think we were going in?” I laughed, resting my hand on hers as we looked out across the water.
“There might have been a moment of panic,” she confessed, laying her head against my back. It felt so natural and comfortable to not only be around her but to have her on my bike. I know it wasn’t just happy memories surfacing. That was part of it, yes. But more so it was her. I’ve never felt more myself than when I was in her presence and had her a part of my life.
“Eileen can stop on a dime,” I informed her, patting the tank of my bike. “She’s a well-oiled machine.”
“You named your bike Eileen?” she teased.
“I name all my bikes,” I said, turning just enough on my seat to lift the right side of my shirt. “Eileen, Caroline, Valerie. All the girls are here.” I pointed at the tattoos on my ribcage. The same ones that Nora had assumed were past conquests.
“I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t.” I said. “If you had a bunch of guys’ names tattooed on your body, I’d be a little jealous, too.” I smirked.
“I wasn’t jealous,” she defended. “Well… maybe a little,” she said coyly, without me having to say a word. Hearing her say that she’d been a little envious of the other “women” in my life and the way she’d reacted when she’d seen me with Tally at the bar made it pretty clear that she still wanted me for herself. Now to just get her to admit it.
“Did it hurt?” she asked, trailing her fingertips down the ink. The sensation of her hands on me took my breath. I wanted more. I wanted both hands. And, no clothes. And complete surrender to what we’d been denying ourselves. I wanted all of her. Heart and soul.
“It didn’t feel good,” I laughed. “But once I started, I couldn’t stop. It’d look pretty silly with half a name.”
“True.” She agreed. “Roxanne. Of course.” She smiled and shook her head. “I remember. The bike you had,” she paused, not adding in the before you left part.
“See? You’re a smart cookie, Bennett.” I grinned, tugging my shirt back down before I did something stupid, like pull it completely off and beg her to continue touching me and scare her off.
“Sometimes, I wonder just how smart.” Her smile fell and she pulled her eyes from mine.
“Smartest girl I know,” I promised. “Speaking of... you know I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you, right?” I looked ahead at the pond waiting for her to voice her opinion the subject. “On the bike or otherwise.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know.” A fast dirt bike might have been involved in that moment, but I knew we were having a deep conversation beneath the surface of our words. If ever there was a time to confess my undying love for her, it was probably then, but she’d made it perfectly clear that she wouldn’t be putting up with any pressure from me, so I bit my tongue. I looked back over my shoulder at her and when she didn’t look away, I knew that she knew. I wanted to kiss her when she moved to look at me, I wanted to pull her around my body and sit her on my lap the way I used to and kiss her until our lips were numb. But I didn’t. Instead, I revved the bike and gripped the handle bars.