Page 12 of The Bachelor

“I’m a manager,” he said.

That told her precisely nothing.

The night air was still surprisingly warm. She closed her eyes for one second, wishing she could hear silence. But cars and a distant train and voices shattered that desire. She needed to clear her head and she wasn’t sure where to do that in Nashville. At home, she would have gone riding. She missed her horse. Well, it wasn’t her horse. Just the horse at the stable she always rode. Maisy. She missed her chestnut mane and her soulful brown eyes. Maisy always soothed her.

“Is your motorcycle nearby?” she asked. “I’d love a ride.”

Shane tilted his head and looked down at her, studying her. “Right now?”

“Yes,” she said, even though she knew it was reckless. “I need some fresh air. I feel like I can’t breathe here.”

“I don’t think the air is any fresher in East Nashville if that’s why you’re asking where I live.” He gestured to the left. “But I’m happy to take you for a ride right now. My motorcycle is down this way.”

“I don’t want to go to that hotel alone,” she blurted, before she even knew she was going to say it. “I don’t want to go to bed knowing I won’t be able to sleep.”

He would think she was insane. He would drive her to the hotel and wash his hands of her needy ass. She wouldn’t blame him for that. It was the smartest thing to do and he’d already done far more than any man should reasonably be expected to do.

Yet Shane stopped on the sidewalk and turned to her. He reached out, ran his long fingers through her unruly hair, brushing it gently back off of her face. His thumb ran down over her cheek, then dragged across her lip. She felt a stirring deep inside her, and she stared up at his eyes. They were brown. Not amber or mocha or hazel. But a warm brown, the rich depth of a chocolate sauce on her ice cream. They had an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint and she didn’t try to. She just stood there and let herself be right there in the moment, vulnerable. There was no strength left in her to walk away, to break that gaze. He may have teased her that she was hypnotizing, but he was the one who held her in his grip.

“Well, Avery, I guess there is only one thing to do then.”

Her heart rate was increasing and she felt a little breathless. She sounded like it too when she asked, “What’s that?”

“We just won’t go to bed. We’ll make the night last until day.”

Lord, the man was so sexy. She felt her nipples tightening, her breasts growing. And there was no pretending that she wasn’t damp down south either. “I don’t want to be a bother,” she told him, even as she rocked towards him, her palm splaying across his chest. “I’m sure you have plans tomorrow that require sleep tonight.”

“You’re not a bother, Red. You’re the most interesting thing to happen to me all week.”

She usually hated being called Red. But she didn’t ask him to stop. Instead she fished just a little harder. “Just all week? How many crying girls do you pick up off the street in a month?”

He laughed softly. “You’re the first and most likely the last. Now come on, let’s grab my bike and I’ll give you the ride of your life.”

Common sense told her she was being stupid. Potentially putting herself in harm’s way.

But the Avery who didn’t feel like a woman, who had never had an adventure, who felt the weight of the good-girl label pressing down on her shoulders from birth, didn’t give a flying fig. She just wanted to forget all about Ben and his wandering penis, and feel…free. Free of Rock Creek, free of the people who lived in judgment of her mother and of her. Free of Ben and his rules, his control over her. Free of an expectation of mediocrity.

Free to enjoy the attention of a smoking hot man.

“Just tell me when to hop on and what to hold on to,” she said.

His eyes widened. “Damn.”

He stepped back and held out his hand for her.

She took it.

FIVE

What made Avery so appealing was that she had no clue how sensual she was, or how damn dirty her words sounded. She seemed apologetic. As though she felt guilty forcing him to spend time with her. As if hanging out with a beautiful woman was some kind of hardship for him. He was honest enough with himself to know that he wasn’t doing this for purely altruistic reasons. It had started out that way. And he did want to make sure Avery was safe and sound.

But now there was a selfish side to it all. He wanted to spend more time with her. She had him more intrigued and curious than he had been in a dog’s year. Maybe that was part of why he had grown restless to the point of not seeing the same woman more than once or twice. None of them held his attention. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with any of the women he had been with. But they all felt the same. A parade of attractive women working in the industry, or sexy hairstylists, or busty waitresses. Financiers, real estate agents, teachers. He had met and made out with them all and none of them stood out because Shane hadn’t really been looking.

He supposed he still wasn’t. But there was just something about Avery. Maybe it was the late hour, maybe it was his mixed emotions about his sister’s upcoming wedding. Maybe it was pure nostalgia and homesickness for a place he had gladly left but that still defined him. Or it was Avery herself, with her big light eyes and her lashes wet with unshed tears.

He didn’t know. He just knew that he was wide awake and having a good time. It was only a block to his bike and Avery was keeping up with his stride. When they reached his bike a few minutes later, he stopped. “Sure you don’t just want me to drive you to your hotel? Or do you really want a ride?”

She paused, looking at first the bike, then him. “Is that what you want? To drop me off?”

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