Page 36 of Falcon

A rumbling groan rose from his chest. “I like the way that sounds. And Lacy’ll be at the shop today. You can see her there.”

My jaw clenched, but probably not for the reason he thought. I threw in an eyeroll to make it seem like I was just irritated, but if he didn’t stop those little growls and being so swoony, I was going to climb him like a tree soon.

We made our way through the compound, once again hand in hand like it was perfectly normal, then he led me back to the bike I’d spent a whole day on, holding on for dear life.

Pulling the helmet out for me, he helped me put it on, making sure it was tight enough, but not too tight. He was making sure I was safe, but all I could focus on were his handsome features. His lips looked soft, which was funny since, if you took him in as a whole, he looked a little scary at first. He definitely had an air about him that he was not the one to fuck around and find out with. But if you looked closely, his eyes were serious. Not mean, just intense. And he had one hell of a beard which gave him this tough guy look, but up close, he just seemed like a man who cared. He had a purpose and was serious about it.

Once he was satisfied with my helmet, we locked eyes for a moment. If he hadn’t looked away, I may have leaned in closer. But instead, he climbed on the motorcycle, helping me get on behind him. I tucked my body close to his and it wasn’t lost on me that I was straddling him, just not the way I thought of all those times before he became a real person. Before all the shit happened. When he was just the fantasy of my biker.

When the engine rumbled on, I snapped out of my haze, realizing he had put his helmet on, and looked over to see Sugar standing in the doorway. I smiled and waved before wrapping my arms around his thick body. It gave me a small glimmer of satisfaction to watch as she stomped off.

So much for not getting on the bike again. And so much for my willpower. At least right now I had a good excuse for touching him. Much more of this, and I wasn’t sure I could keep my hands off when we weren’t on the bike. Especially after seeing what’s underneath.

Chapter 24

Falcon

It was killing me having her legs spread wide around me, I just wished I wasn’t facing the other direction. I did know one thing: having her wrapped around me on the bike made me wish I could take her everywhere with me. The long run up North wasn’t going to be easy now, having to leave her behind. But we planned to be back up there in a couple of weeks, and we had to keep it tight. I wouldn’t be able to take her. She certainly couldn’t go out for our middle-of-the-night shakedowns, but that was only a few hours at a time and easily explained. Hopefully she’d feel settled enough by then to hang back. And it was only a couple of days.

We stopped at a diner and grabbed some food to go. Soon, I’d take her somewhere nice for dinner, but for now, we just needed to eat, and I had to get to the shop. When we got there, Eagle had already opened up and Lacy met us at the door.

“Hey, I made some coffee,” Lacy said as she held the door open.

I jammed my foot in it and nodded for her to let go. “We got a few biscuits and shit in there. The pancakes are mine.”

Daisy turned around and snatched the bag out of my hand. “What if I want the pancakes? You didn’t ask me what I wanted, you just ordered.”

“Do you want the pancakes?” I needed a shot of sugar, but if she wanted them, she could have them.

Her face softened and she playfully rolled her eyes. “I guess you can have them. But next time, ask me what I want before you order, okay?”

I wasn’t used to having someone else around, but I was keeping her, so if letting her order her food was going to make her happy, I would try to remember to ask. “Fine. Keep going straight back. There’s a fridge and a table back there.”

She took the food and followed Lacy. Eagle was at the desk logging in. Keys had set us up with a fancy new system a while ago to track everything: appointments, payments, bills, all of it.

“Hey, man. You got a big piece coming soon,” he said as he tapped away.

“Yeah, it’s a long sitting. But a nice piece. Got you food.”

He nodded and looked up, tucking his brown hair behind his ears. “So, uh,” he looked around to see if anyone was in earshot then said, “you really think it was an inside job?”

I shrugged, noticing his brand new Vice President patch. “Makes sense. I hope I’m wrong. Let’s just keep our eyes peeled and our ears open.”

I tapped the counter twice with my knuckle, then walked to the back of the shop. The ladies were eating as I grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee. I was adding my sugar when Daisy started laughing. “Do you like a little coffee with your sugar?”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking sweet things.” Under her hard shell, I knew she was sweet underneath.

Their chuckles turned to giggles so I went on with adding my normal amount of sugar and glanced over. “You drink coffee?”

She wiped at her mouth with a napkin after swallowing a bite. “Yeah, I’ll get it in a minute.”

I grabbed another mug and poured some coffee. “Cream and sugar?”

“I can make it–”

“So can I, you stubborn mule. How much cream and sugar?”

“You sure know how to woo the ladies,” Daisy deadpanned.