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Dog reached down and grabbed her hands in his. He pulled her arms around him and pressed them firmly against his torso, forcing her chest onto his back. “This is how you hold on to a man on a Harley.”
He turned the key start and wrapped his fingers around the handlebars. After he flicked two buttons, the motorcycle roared to life. The smell of exhaust fumes stung Charley’s nose when he gunned the engine, and they were off.
He cut right out of the hospital parking lot. Within a short time, they had left Ashville behind and rode on a small mountain highway. The only light was from the full moon and the motorcycle headlight.
The warm summer air rushed over Charley’s bare arms and whipped at her hair. The speed of the ride left her breathless—a glance at the instruments said they were pushing seventy—but he maneuvered the bike like it was part of him. Charley tucked in closer, her hands gripping his tight abs, and rested her chin on his shoulder, hair whipping her face, and watched the trees whiz past on each side of the two-lane road. Her heart thudded in her chest, and tears pricked her eyes—this,thiswas what it felt like to be alive.
They rode for a while, and she relaxed in a way she hadn’t in so long. No promises, no deadlines, just the smell of honeysuckle, the rumble of the engine. The vibration kept her aware of where her body touched the seat. She’d forgotten how arousing a motorcycle could be. It didn’t help that she was wrapped around the hottest man she’d touched since high school.
Dog made a few more turns, the bike leaning with graceful, controlled curves, until he slowed down. A gravel road appeared on the right and disappeared into the trees.
Crap. He intends to take this road to nowhere. Charley stiffened and sat back.
He stopped the bike, touching his feet down, and looked over his shoulder. “Amazing view at the top,” he yelled over the engine. “Thought you’d want to see it.”
He waited for her answer. Her dad’s voice screamed in her head—you can’t trust men like this, Charley. They’re dangerous. You need a good, upstanding man, one who can take care of you.
But this dangerous man had changed her flat. Had come into her hospital room disheveled from sleeping all night in a chair. Had stayed all day because she had no one else. Had acquiesced to her need for a ride.
So, she nodded, and he rewarded her with one of his smiles.
Charley snuggled back around him, and he entered the gravel road. He revved the engine, spitting rocks behind them. She gasped and felt a rumble of his laughter beneath her arms. She pinched his belly, and his laughter came harder. The motorcycle crawled a winding path up the mountain, and she let out her own laugh. To hell with the bugs.
At the crest of the road, they rolled into a gravel clearing, stopping near a trailhead sign that stood off to the side. Dog killed the engine. Charley’s ears rang a little in the sudden quiet. He nudged down the kickstand, swung his leg in front of him over the bike and stood, facing her. He took the glasses from her face and tucked them in his cut. She brought her hands up to unstrap the helmet, but he beat her to it. Though the light was low, the moon illuminated his expression enough for her to see it was soft. He didn’t break eye contact as he removed the helmet. He hooked it over the handlebar and held out his hand. She took it and swung her leg over to dismount.
Dog pulled her close to him, their bodies not quite touching. “How was the ride?”
Charley grinned. “Amazing. But you already knew that.”
“Never hurts to get confirmation.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Let’s see if I can make the night better.”
Dog walked toward the edge of the gravel lot where the terrain dropped off, never losing her hand. As the land fell away, her breath hitched. Mountains jutted skyward around a lake, and the moon’s reflection danced on its surface. She stood mesmerized, absorbing the magnificence. She couldn’t believe in all her visits to these hills she’d never found this.
Dog moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He drew her to his chest, his warmth spreading across her back, and his whisper tickled her ear. “Worth the ride.”
They stood like that for a long time. She felt the rise and fall of his breath, listened to the cicadas call rounds in the trees, smelled the moisture in the night air. And then the goatee she’d admired the night before rubbed across her neck, and there was the press of a kiss on sensitive skin. She tilted her head, giving him better access, and he took it—a run of kisses up her neck to a spot just behind her ear where he added a flick of his tongue. A shudder of pleasure washed over her. He released her waist and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him and pulling her close in one smooth gesture. One hand wrapped around her neck and the other pressed her body to his. And then he kissed her.
Soft lips moved over hers—yes, with the tickle of his mustache. He brushed his tongue over her lips, and she knew what he wanted. She let his tongue sweep inside and the pleasure of the kiss erupted in a thousand places all at once—lips, breasts, thighs, toes, and other spots she’d blush to mention. Her muscles went soft, and she clutched his cut to keep herself upright. He dropped his hand to her butt and tightened his hold, pressing her body against his own hard reaction.
Charley threaded her fingers through the silkiest hair, and a soft moan escaped her throat. After what could have been a few moments or a few decades but way too soon, he pulled back just an inch and, with his eyes closed, rested his forehead on hers. She wasn’t sure whose heart was beating faster, but both battered her ribcage.
The hand at her neck moved to her face, and he caressed her cheek with his thumb. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. “Totally worth the ride.”
Charley stroked his goatee with a gentle touch. So soft. He turned his head and pressed his lips into her palm, sending a tingle through her. “I’m supposed to be makin’ sure you rest, and it’s getting late. Let’s get you home to bed.”
As he moved away, Charley tightened her fingers around the back of his neck. “Wait. The ride was wonderful, but the kiss was better. Please….”
He smiled with a rueful shake of his head. “I feel it too, sweetheart, but I gotta take care with you. Only way I know how to be. Now, let’s get you to that cottage of yours.”
Charley’s hands slide from his neck, and she released a deep sigh. The night before he was into her. Now, he saw her as a porcelain doll. Dr. Niles had said she could return to her normal activities. She needed to convince Dog of that.
The memory of her father’s angry expression the day she took her fateful motorcycle ride with her boyfriend slammed into her. She followed a step behind Dog as he approached the bike—the bike she’d loved riding, the beautiful man she was starting to depend on—and something in her cracked.
Daddy, I’ll get back to what I promised. I will. But in this moment, this is my chance. It’s my choice. And it’s my life.
Chapter Eleven
The ride back into town was quick. Dog navigated the quiet streets to Reeves just off Main. Charley’s car sat in the driveway of a house with105in gold numbers beside the front door. It was a small, white bungalow with horizontal siding and an even smaller porch only big enough for the door and an illuminated window with a swing hanging on chains in front of it. A detached, one-car garage stood out back.
