Page 18 of Synnr's Ride

The avalanche of disaster that would bring would almost be worth it.

Today Hanna was trying to give her body a tiny taste of what it wanted and hoping it would sate the gnawing need within her, as if a single bite could ever cure starvation.

Jori just shrugged, put his helmet on, and climbed on the bike.

She couldn't get a read on him. That day in the training center, she'd been so sure he was as close to desire and immolation as she was. Since then, he'd been a brick wall. Either he was an expert at hiding his emotions, or everything she felt was one sided.

One of those was better for the job. But she really didn't want to be in this alone.

She put her helmet on and climbed on behind him, pressing her body tight to his and savoring the contact. They were both covered in multiple layers, from their helmets all the way down to their riding boots. He couldn't touch anywhere sensitive, not with so much fabric between them.

And still she wanted to shiver.

Jori started the bike and Hanna realized just how terrible of an idea this truly was. The vibration of the bike under them was stimulating enough to heat her blood. Jori's body was hot and hard beneath her hands. She was tempted to wrap her arms tight around him and squeeze until there wasn't a molecule of space between them.

Instead, she kept her grip loose. There was an etiquette to being a passenger on a fusion bike, and even a tidal wave of lust couldn't stop a lifetime of training.

Jori picked up speed once they were away from residential streets and climbing an empty road to the canyon outside the city. The world whipped by in a blur of colors, the wind carrying the scents of the city and sunlight and hope. And then there was Jori, of course—this close she couldn't escape his scent, something dark and masculine. Was it cologne? Or him? It melded with the leather of his jacket, something woodsy that reminded her of a campfire.

Hanna relished it as she leaned into the curves of the road, thrilling at the feel of Jori against her as they moved together in a sensual dance of power and speed.

He might not have had much experience with the bike, but he handled it like a natural. He didn't hesitate to take sharp curves or speed up a hill. And he weaved around obstacles like they weren't there at all. He could pull this job off, alright. But she refused to think any more of that right now, not when she could live in this moment.

This was the joy of biking. Wind whipping around. The world melting away. And a partner in the dance.

"Take us on the canyon road," she told Jori through the mic in their helmets. Her face was pressed against his back, her lips nearly moving against his jacket as she spoke. "Show me what you can really do."

Jori answered her by speeding up to the edge, and then they were hurtling along the canyon road. The curves came one after another, and the unmoving sun was their only companion.

For a moment, Hanna felt free. Unencumbered. Jori's heat was pressed tight against her, a reminder of all her responsibilities and risk—if she let that reminder in.

But he was also a temptation, the one thing she couldn't resist. The one man who lit her up inside without even trying.

Her spark danced in her veins and she let her wings flash out, spreading them wide and quickly pulling them in before she affected their ride. Zulir wings didn't have true mass. They were made of electricity and controlled by the mind. But they could still catch the wind, and Zulir could glide from high to low in controlled falls.

Spreading her wings on a high speed ride might be just enough to make them crash.

She didn't care. Jori had control of the bike, and she trusted him to keep her safe.

That was the most reckless thing she'd ever done. It was impossible to do anything else when she was on the back of his bike.

He pulled the bike off the road once they reached the canyon's edge. They were on an outcropping. Any further and they'd fall off the cliff and into the canyon and the river that ran through it. Hanna was a little tempted to take two sprinting steps and leap. She was almost sure Jori would follow after her.

But the canyon was deep, and she wasn't sure her wings would keep her safe.

She swung her leg off the bike and grinned at Jori, energy thrumming through her. He grinned right back and stood.

Close.

Oh so close.

Their eyes met. Gazes locked. The grin slowly slid off her face as she watched Jori's spark dance in his eyes. She needed to say something now, anything that would break the moment and allow sanity to return.

Jori pulled his helmet off and placed it on the bike without looking away.

Hanna did the same, even as her survival instincts screamed at her to look away. But she couldn't. He might as well have chained her to him. Except this chain was made of desire.

Her body was alight with it, shivery and wet and oh so tempting to give into. Especially when Jori reached out and ran his fingers over her cheek.

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