Page 20 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

One of the scariest things on earth.

“But I don’t think it’s something bad,” she added. “I’m sure I’ll find out, eventually.”

I did warn Max that the truth couldn’t stay buried forever. I could only hope that when it came out, everything would be fine. The last thing I wanted was for either of them to get hurt.

“How about you?” Lauren turned to me. “Any secrets I should know of?”

I nearly choked on my coffee, but I cleared my throat. “Nope. I’m not that interesting.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

For a moment, my heart stopped.Is she saying she’s interested in me?

She tucked some hair behind her ear. “Anyway, I’ll leave you alone. I’m sure you can get more done without me around.”

And she was probably right. It was probably for the best, too, but as she started to walk away, every fiber of my being screamed for me not to let her go.

“Lauren?” I called after her before I could think.

She turned around. “Yes?”

I drew a deep breath. “If you like, I can teach you how to ride a motorcycle.”

Her green eyes grew wide, shimmering like the forest after a shower of rain. “Really?”

“Really.”

The bow of Lauren’s lips curved into a smile. “I would like that very much.”

For the first time in a long time, I felt like a kid with a present, pure joy and excitement replacing all my anxiety.

I tried not to burst with happiness as I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Chapter Seven

Lauren

Jake was just full of surprises, wasn’t he?

I stole glances at him as I strapped on the helmet he gave me. He was wearing his leather jacket again with the Black Storm logo, which looked as cool on him now as it did when I first saw him, but this time, half his ash-brown hair was tied up in a bun, and somehow, that did things to my chest. Unless that was the coffee.

Just like earlier in the garage, he looked so serious as he checked some things on his bike. I wondered if he would ever take me that seriously.

Then again, he had already surprised me by offering to teach me how to ride a motorcycle. I thought he wasn’t interested in me at all since he wasn’t making an effort to spend time with me even though he was the one who offered me a home, but now, I had a glimmer of hope that he was. A part of me felt a tinge of guilt that I was spending the day with another man after just having had sex with Max last night. That was the voice of my conscience giving me another lecture. Another part, though, the part that kept telling me to just relish the present, was simply excited to know Jake more.

Right. That was all I was doing. Getting to know the man who had taken me into his home.

“How do I look?” I asked him when I was done putting on my helmet.

He checked the strap, stepped back to take a good look at me with his hands on his hips, and nodded. “Great.”

A more detailed description would have been better, but the one-word compliment was enough to make me smile, nevertheless.

“Here.” He held out a leather jacket identical to the one he wore. “Put this on, too.”

I turned my back to him and stretched my arms, letting him slip the jacket on me. As I zipped it, I caught the scent of something musky and slightly spicy. Whether it was Jake’s smell or just the leather, I didn’t know, but I liked it.

“One last thing.” He handed me a pair of gloves.

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