Page 97

The light turns green and I set off, heading back toward his apartment building. This way around, we have to pass his building to get to the parking garage.

We’re one block away when I feel Lucas’s hands slide under my sweatshirt to grip the bare skin of my hips. “What do you think I should do to you first?” he growls when we stop at another red light. “Any requests?”

My breathing speeds up. I already can’t form words.

“Maybe I’ll torture you for a little while,” he muses, one hand sliding around to my bare stomach. “Like you tortured me with this ride.” His hand moves the tiniest bit lower, just enough that he’s under my jeans now. “I could edge you while I⁠—”

Suddenly, his words cut off, and his hands go back to my hips. I straighten with a frown and look for what caught his attention.

“Pull over in front of my building,” he says.

I’m still confused, but when the light turns green, instead of passing by his building, I pull off to the right and stop in front of it.

Which is when I realize Nico is standing on the sidewalk. Along with a giant hulk of a man.

My body starts to shake with silent laughter. Oh my God, he’s going to kill me for this.

“What are you doing here?” Lucas barks at Nico. I quickly pull my helmet off.

The men’s eyes go wide. And then wider still. It once again occurs to me how ridiculous Lucas must look on the back of my bike, twice my size and sitting bitch.

He’s definitely going to kill me for this.

Nico is the first to speak, though his mouth opens, shuts, then opens again before any words come out. The man beside him has shifted from shock to a confused frown.

Nico glances at me, then back to Lucas. “What, uh… What is happening right now?”

I would pay a million dollars to see Lucas’s face.

“Charli wanted to show me her motorcycle,” he says stiffly. After a moment, he gestures at me, then the giant next to Nico. “Alexander, this is Charli. Charli, this is my brother, Alexander.”

I roll my lips together, trying desperately to stop the laughter from bursting out of me. “Nice to meet you,” I manage to squeak out.

He nods his greeting. Man of few words, I guess. But now that Nico introduced us, I can see the family resemblance in the eyes.

“What are you guys doing here?” Lucas asks again. When he pats my hips, I realize he needs me to get off before he can get off. So after dropping the kickstand and making sure Lucas is bracing with his feet on the ground, I quickly slide off the bike. He hurries off after me.

Nico seems to have overcome his shock, because a grin slowly stretches across his face. “We wanted to make sure you took a night off,” he says. He lifts the six-pack of beer he’s holding. “We thought we’d drop by to watch the fights and get you away from your electronics for a few hours.” His gaze darts to me, his grin growing. “But I guess someone’s already done that.”

I quirk an eyebrow at Lucas. “Your family holds interventions for you because of work? That’s sad, Lucas.”

He glares at me. “You shush. You work just as much as I do.”

I open my mouth to argue that my work is a little different than his, but he wraps an arm around my head and slaps his hand over my mouth as he turns back to his brothers.

“And anyway, interventions are how we bond in this family. We had a similar one for Nico last year because he was physically working too hard.”

When Nico glares at his brother, I take that to mean Lucas is telling the truth. My gaze slides to Alexander, wondering why he might need an intervention.

“So…do you?” Nico asks Lucas.

“Do I what?”

Nico lifts the beer again. “Want to watch the fights? Or are we stopping you from your…plans.”

I feel Lucas’s lips press to my ear right before he says in a heated whisper, “You have no idea the spanking you’re about to get for this.”

I can’t help it anymore. I sag in his embrace in a fit of giggles.