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“Of course it was! Do you really think I wouldn’t notice if all four of my tires were going flat?” Giselle accused.
“Probably,” Blaze shrugged.
He was surprised to not see steam pouring out of her ears at his flippant response.
“Somebody obviously did this to fuck with me. Oh god, I have to call a tow, but I don’t have cell service out here,” she lamented. “This is bullshit.”
“I can drive you back to Los Angeles,” said Asher.
“Or I could,” Blaze scoffed.
Giselle instantly noticed the challenge in his voice. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“What, do you think I can’t handle riding a motorcycle?” she said, putting her hands on her hips.
“I’m just saying it’s not the same as riding in a coupe,” he shrugged. “Your hair might get messed up. Or your little arms might get cold.”
“Asher, I very much appreciate your gentlemanly offer, but I think I need to prove a point to Mr. Norton here about how tough I really am,” Giselle said pointedly.
Asher smiled, though Blaze thought he caught a faint hint of melancholy in his expression. Just for a split second. Blaze wondered if there was something more simmering underneath Asher’s calm, unruffled facade, but he said nothing.
“Come on!” Giselle exclaimed at him.
“You’re serious?” Blaze questioned.
“Yeah, I can’t leave my precious car sitting here with flat tires all day,” she demanded. “If we’re going, let’s go.”
“Okay, but you have to wear a helmet,” Blaze insisted.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about me. It’s your brain cells I’m concerned about. You have fewer to work with than I do,” he said, deadpan.
“Oh my god, just shut up and drive,” Giselle groaned as she awkwardly tried to mount the motorcycle. Blaze and Asher had to hold back a laugh for a moment before Blaze intervened to help her.
Without a word, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her as though she were a sack of feathers. For one glorious moment, Blaze knew what it felt like to hold her in his capable, strong hands. Her skin was warm to the touch, and he could feel her muscles tense under his fingers. He plopped the oversized helmet on her head, fastened it under her chin, and climbed atop the motorbike in front of her.
“See you later, Asher,” Blaze said.
“You two be careful,” Asher said with a pointed look at him.
Blaze nodded. He understood the unspoken part of his statement: You are responsible for getting Giselle home safe. Don’t fuck it up.
Blaze revved the engine and hissed over his shoulder at her, “Put your arms around me and hold on.”
She looked scandalized. “I’m just fine without reaching around to—”
The motorcycle peeled out of the parking lot with a deafening roar. Giselle let out a little shriek of terror and immediately wrapped her arms around Blaze’s waist, holding on for dear life. He hoped she couldn’t feel his heart pounding like crazy as they rumbled across the desert. He kept his eyes on the road, but the whole ride back to her home in Silver Lake, all he could think about was the sensation of Giselle’s petite frame pressed against him from behind. As much as he wanted to push her away, he couldn’t ignore the powerful impulse that drew him closer to her. He dropped her off, along with some teasing parting words, and headed back to his own neighborhood.
But something was different. Now, he felt almost empty as he rode alone.
“Come on, Blaze,” he muttered to himself as he parked in his driveway. “You don’t need anyone. You especially don’t need a girl like Giselle Kingston.”
Maybe that was true: he didn’t need her. But he was realizing, with increasing certainty, that he did in fact want her. And that was going to be a problem.
