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“Get a move on, Cinderella,” he said to my best friend.
Cinderella? I’d never heard Eve called that as a nickname, and I’d had no idea that she and Beckett, the richest boy in school, were on nickname terms.
Eve huffed and rolled her eyes. “See you there.” She headed toward Beckett, leaving me alone with Cayden.
I walked toward him slowly, considering my options.
“I know what you’re thinking, Freckles, but it’s too far to walk and I won’t let you. Get on, or I’ll put you on.”
I scoffed. “Right, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?”
Cayden grinned. “Yeah, actually, I would. Let’s do that anyway.”
He made to get off the bike, and I rushed forward. The thought of being manhandled by him right now was more than I could deal with.
“Fine, whatever. Has anyone ever told you you’re a bully?”
I reached his side and lifted a leg to straddle the bike. Nearly falling, I had to grab on to his arm to steady myself.
“Never in such a sweet way,” Cayden murmured, twisting around to hand me the helmet. “Safety first, Lily.”
I took it and pulled it over my head. Ugh, it was horribly tight and claustrophobic.
“Where did the bike come from?” I wondered.
“Midnight Falls. I’ve had it a while. Now, sit closer,” Cayden commanded as I loosely put my hands on his waist.
He grabbed my arms and yanked them around his middle, sending me flush against his back, my legs spread wide to grip his hips.
“Hey, too close,” I hissed.
“No such thing. Hold on,” he told me over his shoulder before starting the bike.
It purred to life, and the vibration traveled through my legs. It was startlingly intimate. Damn,thiswas how it felt to sit on a motorcycle? No wonder people liked them. Cayden pulled away, his tires squealing on the pavement. Gradually, the annoyance of the helmet dropped away, and I was able to concentrate on the journey. Cayden drove well. He was confident, handling turns like a pro. I felt safe with him. It was an odd thing to realize. Just like when he’d showed up when I’d run right into trouble on our jog, I felt instinctively at ease.
We headed into the dark, leaving the bright town streets behind and riding along the winding coastal road that led to Beckett’s cliff-top mansion. Cayden accelerated, and a strangled cry left me as we surged forward. We were going much faster now, but the road was quiet. A sudden laugh bubbled up in my chest. It felt freeing, somehow, shooting through the darkness, a dangerous bike between my legs with an even more dangerous guy driving it.
I laughed, and Cayden glanced back at me. I couldn’t see his face through the visor. I didn’t have to, to feel his satisfaction. It radiated off him. He liked that I liked it. Somehow, in our short but dramatic acquaintance, I’d learned to read him just by being next to him.
I straightened up, and he slowed a little, seeming to read my mind. I took one hand off Cayden’s waist when we found a straight stretch of road and raised it over my head. It should have felt silly, but it didn’t. Squeezing Cayden’s hips and the bike harder between my thighs, I let go completely and brought both hands up. I felt like I was flying. He’d slowed down, letting me have my moment. I couldn’t figure this guy out. On one hand he was invading my privacy and threatening me, on the other he was protecting me and forcing me to live in a way I’d given up hoping for in Hade Harbor. The dangerous hockey player from the wrong side of the tracks, and the uptight, straight-A student, Coach’s daughter. There was no way we fit together, and yet right now, sitting on the back of his bike while he drove us through the forgiving dark, I felt understood in a way I rarely did.
“Okay, hold on, there’s some bends coming up,” Cayden yelled back over his shoulder.
I reached back around him, gripping handfuls of his jacket to hold on as he tilted us to turn a corner. My heart still pounded when we reached the driveway to Beckett’s place and roared past other partygoers and cars. People scattered, some even clapping when they saw the hero of tonight’s game arriving at the party.
He pulled to a stop, and the loud rumble of the engine died, quickly replaced by the music spilling out of the mansion.
I yanked my helmet off and got off the bike. Before I could take a proper step away, Cayden grabbed my wrist.
“Not so fast. Where do you think you’re going?”
“To the party. Reluctantly, I might add. I don’t know what kind of weird kick you get out of making me go somewhere I didn’t want to go, but it’s not going to work. I’m going home as early as I can, and you can’t stop me.” I crossed my arms over my chest and watched Cayden clipping both helmets onto his bike.
“Is that right?” He didn’t sound daunted in the least.
“That’s right,” I snapped.
“Lil!”
