Page 9 of Rock On

Even after how rough I’d been, I couldn’t just leave her here in the dark. Alone. It was a nice cemetery, but not the best area of town, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to her.

But that was as far as it would go.

I held her but didn’t say anything because I couldn’t.

If I allowed myself to feel bad—hell, to feel anything—I’d say or do something stupid. I couldn’t afford to because she didn’t love me.

“Can you stand?” I asked gruffly.

“I…” Her voice trailed and she cleared it. “Yes. I think so.”

“There you go.” I slowly released her, making sure her knees wouldn’t buckle again before I let go of her arm. Then I turned and stuffed my cock back in my sweats.

Jesus.

What had we just done?

She’d wanted it, but I’d never been so brutal before.

“You should call an Uber,” I said finally.

“Yeah, because getting into an Uber at four in the morning while topless is a great solution.”

Aw, hell.

I’d done that too.

And she was right.

I couldn’t send her off into the night topless.

I yanked off my denim jacket and handed it to her. “Here. Put this on. I’ll drive you home. I’ve got the bike.”

“Do you have an extra helmet?” she demanded, taking the jacket from me and sliding her arms into it.

“You can use mine. This time of night, no one will notice.”

There I went again, being nice.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

“You ready?” I didn’t wait for her to answer and started walking toward where I’d left my bike.

“Why did you even come here?” She called after me.

“What?” I turned and glared at her.

“Why did you even come?” she repeated. “You didn’t spend any time with Carter!”

I threw up my hands. “Carter is dead. There’s no spending time with him. People come to cemeteries to pay their respects.”

“Which you didn’t even do. So I repeat: Why did you come?”

I stared at her, suddenly confused and annoyed she was pressing me for answers I didn’t have. “Because it’s his fucking birthday. Why did you come?”

“Because I feel closer to him here.”

“I thought I might too. But I was wrong.” I started to walk again.

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