Page 68 of Love Lies Bleeding

I follow him into my kitchen where he sets a bag on my counter and pulls out a pair of black leather trousers and a leather jacket. “I got you these. I don’t want you getting road rash on that gorgeous body if we come off for any reason.”

“You plan on wrecking your bike, Jake?”

“No, but I’m not taking risks with your safety.”

“It never bothered you before.”

A frown mars his face. “Yes, well, we’ve established I was a jerk back then who took things for granted, most especially you and that isn’t happening again.”

His words make a crack form in the shell of anger I wear around my heart. I point to a package on the side. “Fine. What’s that?”

“This is the new Lungo smartwatch.” Jake removes the pale pink watch with a rose gold face from the package and reaches for my wrist.

“Why are you giving me this?”

Jake bends closer and his woodsy, sexy scent makes me feel weak with lust.

“Because it can monitor your heartbeats, and this way I know how much I owe you for your time.”

“Oh.”

It had been a joke, a way to express how much I didn’t want to spend time with him, but now that it’s happening, the fact he’s followed up on what I said is touching.

“Put these on and we’ll head out.”

“You gonna give me any hint about where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

“It had better not be cliff diving or some other dumb, meathead activity.”

“Cliff diving isn’t a meathead activity, it’s fun, but you can relax because this doesn’t involve water.” He rubs his chin. “Although the thought of you in a bikini does give me an idea for our next date.”

“This isn’t a date.”

“It’s a date.”

“Urgh, you are so annoying.”

“Blossom, that’s not how you pronounce irresistible.”

I shake my head and begin to drag on the leather trousers over my shorts. They fit perfectly and even have two pink lines running up the side of the legs. The jacket matches perfectly and fits like a glove.

Outside, Jake takes my bag and secures it in the back storage under the seat, then slides the helmet over my head. His hands are gentle as he secures the strap and then lifts me onto the bike before sliding his leg over the front.

The rumble of the engine between my legs is an instant turn-on, but when Jake leans back and strokes my thigh, I almost jump him right there and then.

“You ready, Blossom?”

I nod and he pulls my hands around his waist, flattening my breasts against his back. With one hand on the handlebars, the other covering my linked hands on his abdomen, we speed off.

God, I’d forgotten what a rush it is being on a bike, the freedom, the air on my skin. A smile spreads across my face despite the fact I’m trying to control every emotion possible when it comes to Jake.

We’re about twenty minutes from my shop heading into the countryside, with sidewalks becoming fields and buildings giving way to trees and cattle. We pass several beautiful properties, including a few farmhouses and a barn conversion.

I know this area well. I’ve always wanted to renovate one of the properties here because that is as close as I’ll ever get to living in one. I do well. I’m more than comfortable but I’ll never have money like Jake.

We stop at the end of a long driveway with a dirt track, and Jake turns the bike. Navigating the gravel slowly, I take in the trees on either side of the drive. It’s picturesque and from another era, when life must have been slower, and the problems faced by those living them now came with rose-tinted glasses.

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