Page 14 of Why Not Us?

I snort, handing her the jacket to put on. “Of course I will. But do you know how fast kids grow? I buy her something today and she’s grown out of it next week. Plus, Katie forbid her from riding on the bike until this year. I wasn’t certain she was ever going to allow it, to be honest.”

Adalie zips up the jacket. “Why do I need all this, anyway? Don’t people just climb on the back and go?”

I eye the outfit critically. It’s a little baggier than I’d like, but it’ll do. “Sure, in books and movies. But in real life, if you’re riding with me, you dress for the slide, not the ride.”

“Dress for the…”

I pause my inspection, and notice she’s gone pale, eyes round.

I take the two steps toward her, bending to catch her eye. “We’re not going to fall,” I tell her when she meets my gaze. “It’s like wearing a seatbelt. Do you get in your car expecting to be in an accident?”

“No.”

“But you still put your seatbelt on, right?”

She nods.

“Same logic.”

She blinks a few times, her shoulders relaxing, then says, “Okay.”

Her faith in me is an aphrodisiac that goes straight to my head. I am suddenly desperate for the taste of her lips beneath mine, the feeling of her body pressed against me.

I take a step back.

“We’re good to go,” I say and lead her downstairs again and out to my bike, where Taylor is waiting next to his. He has a BMW R 1250 R. It looks a lot sportier than my Harley, parked just beyond.

Taylor takes a second to check over Adalie’s outfit as I had upstairs. “Try to tuck the skirt into the jacket or something. I’d be afraid it might get caught.”

Adalie immediately does what he says. As soon as it’s gone, she doesn’t look like herself. She’s soft and colourful and vibrant. Right now, she’s dressed in all black and I’m about to put a black helmet on her head, covering up all that glorious red hair. I’m surprised at how much I want her back the way she’s supposed to be.

I walk past Taylor to my Harley. After Dani, and sometimes my brother, it’s the thing I love most in this world. A Fat Boy 114, it’s bigger than Taylor’s bike and I climb on, turning to where Adalie has paused, looking at it with trepidation.

“Change your mind about that ride, princess?”

Her eyes shoot to me, fire flashing in them, as I suspected would happen. This woman is up to a dare.

She shoves the helmet onto her head, and I fire up my bike, revving the engine a couple times, just for the sheer pleasure of hearing it. Taylor helps Adalie onto the back, pointing out where to keep her feet and legs so she doesn’t get burned by the exhaust pipes.

“You’re going to want to hold on to him and try to keep your weight as still as possible,” Taylor says over the sound of the bike. “Nate knows what he’s doing with a passenger, but you’ll make it easier if you shift your weight with his. When he’s turning, it might feel like you’re going to tip over if you lean into it, but it won’t. Trust Nate. He won’t let you fall.”

Then he taps her helmet and steps back. “Have fun, you two. See you at home.”

He puts his own helmet on, and I ride out of the parking lot ahead of him. As I accelerate, I hear a panicked sound from Adalie behind me before her arms tighten around my waist. I can tell when she gets used to the ride, because her arms loosen, and she relaxes against my back. She feels as good as I thought she would. I’m tempted to take a longer route to her apartment, or just ride aimlessly for a bit before I bring her home. But I follow the route I’d looked up before we left and in less than fifteen minutes, I’m slowing, pulling off to the side of the road, stopping by the sidewalk in front of her building. I cut the engine, and she hops off, removing the helmet while I do the same. I can’t help but smile at her when I see her grin.

“That was amazing!” she says. She’s bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her dress has fallen out of the jacket and floats around her hips, twisting with her movement. “I can’t believe I did that. It was so much fun. It felt like we were flying.”

Her eyes are alight with excitement, and she bounces toward me, throwing her arms around my neck and pressing her lips to mine. Before I can kiss her back, which I absolutely want to do, she backs up, her eyes wide now.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I shouldn’t—I got a little carried away.”

But I want more. I need her to getmorecarried away. I climb off the bike as well, my gaze focused on her and those lips. She doesn’t back up, staring at me as I reach for her, her eyes drifting closed when my fingers brush her cheek before sinking into those fiery curls. I dip my head to hers, claiming her mouth, invading it.

And she opens to me. Her hands slide up my chest, linking behind my neck. Her tongue dances with mine, inviting me to stay, to make her mine. When I bite her lip and she sighs, melting against me, my cock hardens instantly. I want to take her upstairs to her bed. I want to wrap those legs around my hips.

I catch myself before I slide a hand down her body to her ass. As much as I want to, I need to put an end to this. She’s a bright little flower. I’m a gruff asshole with a horrible track record with women. Someone like Adalie doesn’t belong with someone like me.

I bring the kiss to a close, scanning her face, the way her eyes remain shut, her lips remain parted, like she’s not quite returned to herself. It makes me want to kiss her again.

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