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Chapter Eleven
Paige
Will arrived on his bike, sporting his usual swagger and grin. He raked his gaze once over my body, and I suddenly felt aware of every inch of my body.
“You have two jackets,” I remarked.
“Borrowed it,” he explained as he held them for me. A female friend, I thought as I shrugged into the jacket. It was a little too large for me, and I wrinkled my nose at the smell of begonia. I’d much rather have worn Will’s. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask more about the friend, but I couldn’t think of a way to pass it off as sass and not as me poking my nose where it didn’t belong.
Was she an ex? A friend with benefits? Someone who looked like Will probably had a lot of both. I imagined that all that kissing ability came from a lot of experience. As we climbed on the bike, I was feeling oddly deflated, which was ridiculous.
Being so close to Will after last night’s kiss was going to be torture. I was thankful that he was wearing a jacket, because I couldn’t feel him up again. That didn’t keep me from trying, though. I drummed my fingers over his abs, thinking I could pass it off as simply searching for the best place to rest my hands... for support, of course. When Will cleared his throat, I froze, then wrapped my arms around his waist. I kept my crotch and thighs a few inches from him, trying to minimize the body contact, but I slid forward in my seat when he used the brakes, or at a turn, and every time my groin collided with his ass, I... simmered, for a lack of a better word.
We took the freeway to Pasadena, exiting at Lake Avenue. By the time we reached the mountains, I was
all hot and bothered, and kind of wished we’d gone to the ocean. I needed to jump in the water and cool off.
“There are some lockers here. We can leave the helmets, but let’s take the jackets with us. Might get chilly.”
“Good thinking.”
I took in my surroundings, breathing in the cool mountain air. I’d often wondered why everyone associated LA with beaches when the mountains were equally impressive. Today, the area was full. Clearly Will hadn’t been the only one who wanted to escape the heat. After placing the helmets in a locker, Will pulled up a map of trails on his phone.
“How far are you comfortable hiking ?” he asked.
“I can’t do more than four or five miles.”
He pointed to a track. “This one’s got great views.”
“Then we’ve got our trail.”
Before starting our hike, Will bought two bottles of water, which fit into the pockets of the jackets. He surveyed the various groups as we walked the trail, and the hair at my nape stood on end. He was doing that silent vigilante thing again, and I really didn’t like it. It made me want to look over my shoulder at every turn. I didn’t say anything at first, but after about twenty minutes, I brought it up.
“Will, I have one rule for today,” I announced in a cheerful tone, hoping to ease him into it.
He tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips. “And I strike you as a man who plays by rules?”
I had no idea why that sounded hot, but there I was, searching for my wits again.
“You’re the police. Rules are your job.”
“Exactly. I enforce them. But I, myself, like to color outside the lines.”
He’d moved closer, and it wasn’t helping me keep my wits.
“Well, well, what do your superiors say about that?”
“I break the rules in my free time. So what rule did you have in mind?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t like it when you do that thing where you look around for danger.”
Will’s smile faded. “Right. I forgot about that. Sorry, it’s force of habit.”
I nodded, regretting that I’d brought this up because the playfulness between us was gone.
“Dad does the same thing. It always puts me on edge.”
Will rubbed his jaw, then threw the jacket over one shoulder. “I promise I’ll try.”
