Page 14 of Never Wed an Outlaw

Perfect timing, really. Gave me a few hours to figure out how the fuck I'd keep a lid on my raging need to screw this girl 'til we both went blind.

Several hours later,just after ten, I saw her standing on the curb. Uptight, punctual, and sexy as the last time we'd kissed.

Hannah squeezed the handle on her suitcase when she saw me getting off my bike and coming toward her. White knuckles meant nervous, increasing the odds that her pretty blue eyes liked everything they drank in when they looked at me.

“Been awhile, darlin'. Let's get this loaded up and hit the road,” I said, pulling the suitcase from her hands.Surprisingly, it didn't weigh much.

“You're lucky I traveled light,” she said, trailing after me. “Going home on a bike wouldn't even be an option if I'd brought more of my wardrobe.”

“You'd be surprised what fits on this bike when it needs to. I'm more than happy to have you tag along with your thongs and handcuffs tucked in this bag. You and your kinky shit are always welcome on this ride, darlin'.”

Her eyes flew open, looking like they were about to leave her head. “Dusty! I've only been here for two minutes, and we're already joking about sex?”

“Who said I was joking?” I narrowed my eyes. Extending a hand to her, I wrapped her little fingers in mine, and passed her a spare helmet with my free hand. “Don't worry, babe. All screwing around aside, I'm not getting between your legs 'til you show me you're ready. We both do business. Let's treat this like any other professional deal, something you're entitled to because you're part of this MC. I've got too damned much respect for your brother to do anything else.”

That seemed to calm her. Relaxing her grip on my hand, she straddled the bike, climbing on behind me and fixing her helmet.

“Okay, damn it. Deal. But I swear, Dust, if you go back onanything...I'll get off first chance I've got and hitchhike the rest of the way.”

“I actually believe it,” I told her. “Everybody with the last name Davis is stubborn as a mule. Firefly's shown me that a hundred times over, and I know you've got the samespark, seeing where you're at with life.”

I watched her in the mirrors. That perfectly beautiful chestnut hair disappeared into the black shell protecting her skull.

Didn't know if the helmet made my temptation better or worse. It had a way of bringing out her other features, outlining her big blue eyes, her rosy lips, those white cheeks I wanted to paint red with fuckin' lust.

My compliments brought a smile to her face, but it seemed like there was something else, too. A quiet, halfway hidden sadness, some secret shit chewing at her, gnawing deep. Any girl who looked like that had secrets beyond her rocking body. I'd pull them out of her, sooner or later, one honest kiss at a time.

“Let's just make some miles,” she said, curling her hands around my waist.

We rolled out of the city without another word. Left me wondering why the hell having her hands on my abs felt more electric than anything else.

We were aboutto cross the border into Tennessee just south of Chattanooga, a little after midnight, when all hell broke loose.

Rain. Fog. Lightning. Thunder so loud it shook the countryside.

Hannah had been damned quiet up 'til then. Her hands did all the talking I needed to hear, tensing up against my skin, making her cling to me like a scared cat.

Who the hell could blame her? We were having a good old fashioned mountain storm, crashing straight through the summer sky and rolling toward the Smokies, breaking up the humid summer sweetness.

Too bad we got our asses caught right in the middle.

Another lightning bolt hit the ground off to the side of us, taking out a tree. My old navy senses stabbed my brain, slowing everything down, making me duck and weave like I was back on a speedboat, chasing the sea.

“Dusty!” Hannah screamed my name while we missed a few more hulking fallen branches.

“Hold on with everything you've got,” I growled back at her, gripping my bike's handlebars. “We're in for some chop heading down this exit.”

At least, I thought there was an exit in front of us.

I took the chance, knowing any side road was safer than staying on this highway. My bike roared down it, away from the poor bastards on the road just as blinded by the rain and chaos as us. Every car passing was a human error waiting to happen.

I couldn't let it. Not with this woman behind me, shaking like a leaf, gone so quiet she must've been praying for her life.

Didn't have a clue if we'd hit the border or not, passing into Tennessee. Just then, I didn't much care. My eyes scanned for neon signs, seeking a truck stop, a motel, anything that'd keep us safe while we waited out the storm.

Several more long, rainy miles passed before I saw it.

ROOMS AVAILABLE! The sign blinked through theblurry waterfall pouring down on us like a dream. Just a crooked old sign lit neon pink.

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