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I simply held onto him tighter, huddled against his back.
Eventually, the anxiety wore off and I got used to the blur of the road flying by our feet. There was something incredibly liberating about the open sky above us, the wind on my face, and the feeling of complete and utter freedom at our fingertips as we rode.
It didn’t take long before I was practically dozing against Tank’s back. I’d never felt so relaxed and comfortable in a man’s presence like this before. Something about him made me feel like nothing would touch me without going through him first. And there was no chance of anything getting past that brick wall of a man.
Tank reached back and tapped my thigh. He tilted his head toward a sign up ahead for a rest stop. He took the exit, slowing to a more sedate pace before pulling into a parking space. Reluctantly, I released him, stretching out the kinks in my back after not moving for nearly forty-five minutes straight.
“I’ll be back in a second,” Tank said, removing his helmet and leaving it on his seat. “Keep an eye on my baby, would you?”
I patted the motorcycle. “We’ll have all the fun while you’re gone.”
He chuckled. I couldn’t help watching him walk away, his jacket stretched tight across his broad shoulders. He moved with the ease of a man comfortable in his body and knew how to use it well.
My mind rapidly slipped into territory that got me hot under the collar. It didn’t take any stretch of the imagination to think of what Tank could do with his big hands all over my body, his arms slotted underneath me as he buried his face between my…
I had to calm down. I didn’t even know Tank yet and already, I was fantasizing about him.
“So you didn’t start the party without me after all.”
I startled and glanced up, blinking in surprise to see Tank. Even though he couldn’t read my mind, I still shoved down a flush of guilt at getting caught daydreaming about him. I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
“How did you come by this beauty?” I asked, smoothing my hand over the side of the motorcycle.
“Rescued her from a junkyard,” Tank replied. “I’d just left the Marines. Needed something to do to keep myself busy. So I fixed her up and she purrs like a kitten for me now.”
I smiled to myself. The obvious affection in his voice showed just how much time and effort he’d poured into this bike to make it look showroom quality again.
“Would you teach me how to drive her?” I asked.
Tank’s eyebrows quirked up slightly, just above his sunglasses. My stomach tightened. Maybe that was a little too far…
Instead of turning me down like I expected him to, Tank wrapped his large hands around my waist and slid me forward into the front seat.Hisseat.
“Parking lot only,” he said. “No highway yet. I can always put my bike back together. Can’t do the same for you.”
I grinned and wiggled deeper into the seat, wrapping my fingers around the handle bars. I didn’t realize just howbigthe bike was until now. Tank hitched his leg over the seat behind me. With the bulk of his body wrapped around me, that woodsmoke and lemons and leather smell in my lungs, it was hard to think, let alone focus on the directions he was giving.
Clutch. Gas. Brake.
When his mouth brushed my ear as he spoke, a shiver rippled down my back and my brain went blank for a moment. Tank pressed his hands to either side of my waist and I swore I could feel him smile against my shoulder.
“Breathe,” he said, his voice low. I felt the rumble deep in his chest, pressed against my back. “You’re flustered.”
I squeezed the handlebars tighter.
“You’re not helping.”
He chuckled. “Hate to disappoint you, sweetheart, but when I kiss you for the first time, it won’t be in the parking lot of a rest stop. I like to think I have a little more credit in the romance department than that.”
My mouth went dry. It sounded like Tank already had a plan for when he intended to kiss me. Sooner rather than later, I hoped. And that thought made me flustered all over again.
Refocusing on the bike, Tank covered my hands with his and guided me through starting the bike, giving it a little gas until we coasted forward. Then pulling at the clutch until we shifted gears.
The bike wobbled and I gave a strangled squeak before Tank and I righted it. I hit the gas a little too hard and the bike jumped.
“Whoa, easy, tiger,” Tank said, his fingers teasing the brake to slow us down.
“Sorry! Sorry.”
