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Parents put their children in his care every day.
And she was lying to him. Talk about awful.
“Look,” she conceded. “Nick and I, it’s not what you think.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’m sorry I pried, it’s just.” He swallowed slowly. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and watched her, that line between his brows deep. “I’ve seen how he’s treated women in the past and… I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Her skin pebbled under his gaze, though she couldn’t decide whether his attention made her hotter or colder.
“Well,” she said, thrown off by his concern and the way it turned her on, “anyway. Uh.” Did he have to smell so good? His cologne was spicy. It was scrambling her brain.
He stepped closer.
God. Was he going to kiss her?
“I need to go,” she said, turning. She needed space. Needed to think.
There was something… authoritative about him.
Sturdy, for sure. With a body like that, it was hard not to feel safe in his presence. Dude could probably get natural disasters to back off with a flick of those thick, flat brows. But it was more than that.
He stood tall. Sure but calm. Like a fucking oak. Or the captain of a ship. Master and commander of every room he occupied.
Indy really, really wanted to write him into her book.
“Are you hungry?” Ethan called out.
Surprised, Indy turned, finding Ethan with his cell in his hand. “A friend of mine works at Stalagmites on Main. Says that Nick is there now. Come on, we can surprise him together.”
She should have said no, walked away and tried again tomorrow. Or next week. But what if this was Fate directing her to where Nick was?
It nagged at her, pulling the threads of her natural curiosity. It made her want to follow.
Ethan made her want to follow.
* * *
The sound cracked through the air like thunder and purred like a dragon. The sun glinted off its black and chrome body, a veritable beast of a machine.
“Uh, actually, I think I’ll meet you there.”
She was not getting on that thing.
Ethan straddled his motorcycle, holding a helmet out to her. “It’ll be easier if we go together.”
“No, it’s okay. You go ahead. I’ll… catch up.”
He turned the engine off, giving her his full attention now. “What’s wrong?”
Everything.
“Nothing,” she said, lying through her teeth.
“You’ve never been on a bike before, have you?”
“No, and I don’t feel like breaking my streak, so…”
And okay, yes, she’d taken a few risks lately, but she drew the line at climbing onto a death trap. Fate could find a different way, thank you very much.
