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I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled in an effort to calm myself. Sometimes people made mistakes. God knew, I’d made many. If I was really honest with myself, I knew the feelings of confusion and hesitation that went along with the early days of a new relationship. Maybe King felt that way. Maybe that was why he did what he did. I just had to answer one question now that he was back and making it clear what he wanted—could I understand and give him another chance?
I could hold onto my hurt and keep my heart closed to something I wanted, or I could choose to let that hurt go and embrace the possibility of a relationship that may grow into something I cherished. That’s what life ultimately came down to—the choices we made. I’d always believed clinging to hurt and suffering wasn’t productive. And had always chosen forgiveness over holding onto stuff.
That I was being stubborn about this only told me just how much King meant to me already. It told me I’d found someone who had the power to hurt me, and that spoke to how much I wanted this relationship.
I opened my eyes and looked down at my phone.
I took a deep breath and called King.
He answered almost immediately. “Lily.” His voice rumbled through the phone, gravel and grit. It was the trace of concern it held, though, that affected me the most.
My heart raced. “What are you doing right now?”
He didn’t hesitate for even a split second. “What do you need?”
“You.”
“You’re at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way.”
He didn’t give or wait for a goodbye; he simply disconnected the call. And got on with business. He did exactly what I needed him to do. And for the first time in days, a hush fell over the chaos of thoughts in my head.
King arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later. That told me he’d hustled to get here. He found me sitting alone in the intensive care waiting room. His eyes held the same concern I’d heard in his voice on the phone. Taking the seat next to me, he said, “Talk to me.”
I gave him a small smile as I placed my hand on his leg. “For a man who doesn’t talk much, you seem to want to do a lot of talking lately.”
His serious expression didn’t change. “Your mum called the priest.”
With those five words, my heart opened.
I nodded and gripped his leg. “I need you to take me away from here. I can’t be here when he comes.”
He searched my eyes before nodding. When he stood and held his hand out for me, I knew I’d made the right choice calling him.
I’d already told Mum I was leaving, so I followed King out to his bike. He handed me a helmet and waited for me to put it on before settling himself on the bike. Motioning for me to get on behind him, I extended my leg over the seat and slid onto it. King grabbed hold of my legs and showed me where to place my feet. He then took my hands and placed them on his hips.
He turned his head to the side, half facing me. “Grip me with your knees, soles on the foot pegs rather than your heels. Keep your weight centred and watch for turns. If I’m turning right, look over my right shoulder and keep your body in line with mine. Do not lean out of a turn. Keep your front pressed to my back and do not wiggle around at a stop.”
I heard every word he said and took it all in. This was my first time on a bike, so I was a little nervous. If I hadn’t been in a state over Brynn and the priest, I would have been a whole lot more nervous. And a whole lot more turned on. Because, holy fuck, sitting on the back of King’s bike with my body pressed against his and my hands on his hips was hot.
He fastened his helmet in place and took off. I clung to him, my hands
sliding around from his hips to circle his waist. I wasn’t sure if that was okay, but he didn’t respond in any way to let me know it wasn’t, so I kept them there. I wasn’t scared of the ride or lack trust in King, but I did feel a little unsure of what to expect. Holding onto him for dear life eased some of my jitters.
We rode for a long time. Well, it felt like hours, but when we finally stopped, I discovered it had only been just over an hour. It didn’t take me long to settle into the rhythm of the ride. The steady vibration of the engine calmed me. It was almost hypnotic.
King took us out on the highway, along the Old Road to Cowan where he pulled into the Pie In The Sky café. The scenery along the way soothed me just as much as the bike did. By the time I hopped off, I felt a thousand times better than I had before the ride.
I removed my helmet and passed it to King with a smile. “Thank you,” I said softly. Being so close to him on the bike, legs and arms around his body, combined with the way he watched me now, had my tummy in a flutter. I wasn’t nervous with him, but my feelings were definitely heightened.
He jerked his chin towards the café. “You want a drink?”
I nodded and followed him inside. My eyes were firmly on his ass, because no one filled out jeans quite the way King did. They fit snugly against the hard muscle he’d packed onto his body, and I found it difficult to drag my gaze away. I was so engrossed that when he came to a stop at the café counter and turned to face me, I ran into him.
My hands went straight to him as we collided, grasping his leather jacket. His arm came up and around me, and he pulled me close to steady me. His scent hit me, stirring the butterflies in my belly. King smelt like leather and sandalwood and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It wasn’t overpowering, but it was completely him, and it aroused my memories of the times he’d made me come.
