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“Fuck!” Dog clenched his fists. Nate had his target to mess with Dog, and it was Charley.
Dog stalked back to where she waited.
“Was that Nate?” she asked. “It looked like the same SUV as last night. Why didn’t he come over?”
Dog gritted his teeth. “You donotwant to know him.”
“Why? He seemed nice enough last night.”
The memory of Krystal flashed in Dog’s mind—cheek split open, three broken ribs, and other injuries she couldn’t show Dog and Cutter but made it painful for her to walk or sit down. Yeah, Nate put on a good show, just like Dog’s dad, but underneath that pretty exterior lay a sick son of a bitch. But it was not Dog’s story to tell. Krystal was sensitive about it, and Dog wouldn’t break her confidence.
“Please,” Dog growled, the word an unfamiliar taste in his mouth. “Trust me and stay away from him.”
Her brow crinkled, but she nodded.
“Give me your purse. I’ll stow it in my saddlebag.”
Dog removed a helmet and stuck her bag in its place. He handed her the brain bucket, but she didn’t take it. Her gaze was on his bike, and her face looked tense.
“You scared to ride?” he asked. She had turned him down at the Round even though it had been clear she wanted to go.
“Change my lifestyle, he said.” Charley’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Who said?”
“Change it or my body will change it for me….”
“Huh?”
“It was a warning…debilitating stroke….”
Dog touched her arm. “Baby, what—”
Charley shook her head, as if coming out of a daydream. “You offered me a ride last night,” she said, her eyes locking on Dog’s. “Are you still good for it? More than just to my car, I mean. A real ride. Take me some place you love. Some place away from—” She swept her arm toward the hospital with a disgusted look on her face. “This.”
Chapter Ten
Dog’s eyes widened after Charley made her request. “You sure? Doc said to rest.”
“I don’t care what he said. What anybody said.” The need to escape was clawing up her chest and shredding the memory of her father’s admonition against men with motorcycles. “Will you do it? Please, I need this.”
Dog rested his palm on her face and stroked her cheek, his touch coiling desire deep in her groin. “If that’s what you need, it’s what you’ll get. Whatever you want.”
He placed the helmet on her head, brushing her hair back. His fingers caressed her neck as he buckled the strap. Charley smelled him, leather and a musky scent heightened by the warm night, and something pleasurable pulled tight inside her. He slid a pair of clear glasses from inside his cut and handed them to her. “Keeps the wind out of your eyes.”
“But what will you do?”
He laughed. “Squint. And I’d keep your mouth closed as much as possible. Otherwise, you’ll have more protein in your diet than you intend.”
He meant bugs. Charley scrunched her face. “Ewww!”
Dog chuckled as he mounted his bike and donned his own helmet. “Hop on. And remember to watch the pipes while we ride.”
Charley slipped on the glasses and swung her leg over the back of the bike. The seat where she sat behind Dog was just a firm, small rectangle of leather. She looked down for a place to put her feet. She hooked the heels of her stilettos on the footrests then sat up stiffly, not sure where to put her hands. She knew where they were supposed to go, where theyneededto go given there was no back on her seat, but it felt so intimate with someone she barely knew.
Dog turned on the seat and gave her a look. “Charley, wrap your arms around my waist.”
She slid forward, the V of her thighs pressing into his butt, and grasped the waist band of his jeans.
