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She crosses her arms over her stomach, pushing her rounded breasts up.Fuck.“No, I am absolutely not afraid.”
“In that case, let’s go.” I hold a helmet out to her.
She shifts back and forth on her feet, staring at the helmetlike it may bite her. Her emotions have ranged from nervous, to irritated, to curious, to irritated, and back to nervous in the last ten minutes. Her raw expression is one of my favorite things about her.
“Have you ever been on a motorcycle?” I ask, arm still extended with the helmet.
“No,” she says quietly.
“You’ll probably love it. There’s a reason people ride them.”
She waits a few seconds, and then slowly unfolds her arms, curiosity winning out, and takes the helmet from me.
Chapter 13
Allie
It’s in your nature to make the most out of new situations. Get outside and try something different today.-Allie’s horoscope, March 26th
Dammit. Of course, he’s here when my car breaks down and I need help. I should have gotten it fixed last month when I first noticed it having trouble.
Devon’s advice oftits up, pretend nothing happenedregarding drunk-texting your work rival is harder than it sounds. I may have even taken an extra day off of work in order to postpone facing him.Why isn’t he saying anything?It has to be fresh in his mind. It was yesterday.
And he’s being nice. And helpful. And protective,which I don’t hate for some reason. And standing close to me, smelling like steel and something soapy and citrusy. Between all of that and trying to shut off thelov you, you dog, i love you’re doggcringe-loop in my brain, I’m too distracted to come up with a solid reason why I shouldn’t be getting on the back of amotorcycle.
“I’ll take it easy,” Luke says. “You can trust me.” Ihaveto trust him, whether I like it or not. I committed to this, so there’s no way I’m backing out.
“This is yours,” he says, tapping the padded seat in the back of the bike. Then he reaches over and pulls down two pegs towards the back of it. “These are for your feet.”
The pegs are a couple of feet off the ground, which makes me uneasy. “They’re way up there.”
He looks at them, like he’s never considered their height before, then looks back at me. “Won’t matter. You’ll be holding on to me, anyway.”Oh fuck.He’s right. I’m going to need to press my entire body against his for this to work, which both horrifies and excites me. I’m suddenly very aware of how sweaty I am from my workout.Why didn’t I think of this earlier?
“Ready?” he asks, exuding warmth and kindness. Cocky smirk nowhere in sight.
“Sure,” I say, infusing my voice with all the confidence I don’t feel.
He nods toward the helmet in my hands. “Safety first.”
I pull my hair down out of its ponytail and fluff the roots. Not that it matters, because the helmet’s soft fabric padding smooshes snugly against my head. Luke lifts the visor of my helmet up, then reaches under my chin and tightens the strap. It’s a warm night, but his hands are warmer when they graze against my neck. “Is that snug enough? It should be good and tight,” he asks, his voice slightly muffled by the helmet.
“Yes, I’m tight,” I say, grateful for the helmet hiding my blush when I realize what I’ve said. “I mean, it’s good and tight.”Shit. That’s not much better.“I’m ready for you.”Jesus Christ.Adding this exchange to the cringe-loop immediately. I look up at Luke right as a cocky smirk takes over his mouth.
He grasps the bottom of my helmet and tries to wiggle it, making sure it won’t budge. “You’re all set,” he says and then drops a playful tap onto the top of my helmet.Did this man just bonk me?He slides his leather jacket off, revealing a black t-shirt and those fucking ridiculously muscular forearms, then holds it out for me.
“No, no. I am very wet.” His usually stern brows raise into a surprised arch.Oh. My. Fuck.Can I say anything that isn’t an innuendo right now? Everything was so much easier when I was focused on hating him. “Sweaty. I am very sweaty.”
He shakes the jacket, indicating I should slide my arm in. “Don’t care.”
“I’m not getting my sweat all over the inside of your jacket.”
“You were worried about safety, right?” he asks, being so fucking patient with me. I nod. “You’re safer with the jacket than you are with bare arms.” He steps close to me and brushes his unoccupied hand against my ribs where my cropped tank meets the skin on my back, sending a chill up my spine and a drop in my stomach. I remember my sports bra is soaked underneath, and I cringe. The look on his face suggests he’s not grossed out by it at all, though. He tugs on the hem of my shirt. “Plus, as soon as we get going, this little tank top will fly right up your back.”
Then he walks around behind me and eases me into his jacket before I manage to respond. It’s warm from his body heat, the structured sleeves hang all the way past my fingertips and then some. Even from inside my helmet, it smells like leather andhim.
“Now you look like you’re ready for me to take you for a ride.”Did he have to phrase it like that?He must be fucking with me. Luke puts his helmet on and tightens the chin strap before he settles smoothly onto the motorcycle. He looks over at me. “Well?”
With my bravest face on, I set my left foot on the peg.Nowwhat?I look at Luke and try to figure out a way to do this without grabbing him all over.
