If only he actually meant that, I might tell him that one of the things I want is him.
Hayes stands so close that my back is pressed against the counter. With every inhale, I breathe him in. His gaze falls to my mouth, and on instinct, I wet my lips. But the moment he shifts, the growl of an engine cuts through the moment.
“What was that?” My eyebrows pinch.
I’m used to the sound of motorcycles from my short time here, but the growl of this engine is slightly different.
“A dirt bike.” Hayes grins.
“A dirt bike?”
His smile grows. “Want to see?”
I almost open my mouth to turn him down. Charlie might wake up soon, and even if she doesn’t, I shouldn’t be curious about what’s happening around here. This is Hayes’s world. Not mine.
It’s not safe for my heart to get comfortable or attached.
But looking up into his green eyes, wicked and daring me to accept his offer, I can’t help myself.
His smile grows, like he senses my answer before the words leave my lips.
“Lead the way.”
14
Emery
Hayes snags my handas he leads me through the group crowding the door. His calloused palm fits perfectly against mine as he walks me outside, and I try not to think about how good he feels. How calming it is to have his hands on me.
He keeps me close, pushing us through the guys laughing and drinking. At first, they’re too distracted to move. Until they spot Hayes and part like the Red Sea.
Knowing he’s the club’s vice president and witnessing the respect the members show him are not one and the same. He commands the space without so much as saying a word, and like everyone else, I can’t take my eyes off him.
At least, not until the roar of engines pulls my attention again.
We reach the edge of the patio, and the desert opens up ahead of us. At a distance is a large dirt hill that wasclearly put there on purpose. A ramp winds up one side, and dirt bikes idle beside it.
“For the record, this is a bad fucking idea.” Havoc stops beside Hayes with his arms crossed over his chest. “How did you convince Steel to let you build this shit anyway?”
“You built this?” My eyes widen, darting from the ramp to Hayes.
He shrugs. “I said it might be fun, and the guys rolled with it.”
I eye the setup again. The hill is taller than he is.
“Is this safe?” Worry knots my eyebrows.
“No safer than anything else.” Hayes glances down at me, placing a hand on my lower back and leaning in. “Don’t worry, the only guys who are going to jump that thing know what they’re doing.”
“You said it was your idea,” I point out. “Does that mean you know what you’re doing?”
Havoc chuckles from Hayes’s other side. “There isn’t a damn thing this fool hasn’t done on a motorcycle.”
I’m about to ask what that might entail when cheers thunder through the group. One of the members revs the engine, lining up with the ramp. He waves an arm, and the crowd gets louder, until he barrels forward so fast my heart nearly stops in my chest. His tires reach the ramp, and silence settles as his bike shoots upward, floating. It feels like the bike hangs for minutes before it finally touches down on the other side.
A roar of cheers bursts from the group as someone shoves Hayes’s shoulders.
“Ready, brother?”
