Page 5 of Lucifer's Hounds

"That's what a truck smells like in the open air. You'll notice different smells when you're riding that you never would have noticed in a cage."

"A cage?"

His body rumbles with laughter. "A vehicle."

Cass runs his left hand over my leg. As we race in and out of traffic, I sing my heart out. Lost in the moment, I forget about the world around me. For something so new to me, this feels normal. It feels right. I let my brain flitter and entertain the thought of riding with him on weekend rides, surrounded by other bikes, but that isn’t what I’m here for. This isn’t long term. If I’m lucky, it will be for the duration I’m in town. Isn’t this what I wanted? To relax and enjoy the little amount of time away without having to worry about everything back home? Yes. This is exactly what I wanted.

Rounding the corner by Skeeter’s, Cass taps my hand, and I hold on tight. He slams the gas, speeding into the parking lot. He kills the bike, and we glide across the parking lot, smoothly stopping next to my Fastback. He kills the bike and unclasps his helmet, resting it on the mirror, a move that appears to be second nature.

I step off the bike with a smile on my face that I’m unable to wipe off. I follow suit and unclasp my helmet, Cass’s eyes watching my every move. The intensity of his stare stirs something inside me, making me ache. I want him. I want him, bad.

“So, what did you think of that, Miss Summers?" he asks.

"That was amazing. I've never spent much time on a bike, not like that anyway."

Cass looks at me with a puzzled look. "Not like what?"

"Not for an extended period, and most definitely not with arealbiker," I grin.

Cass’s chuckle awakens the butterflies he stirred inside my stomach earlier.

“Hey, I’m here all week, beating up old ladies and everything.”

I’m not sure where we go from here. I want more of him.

"I've had an amazing night with you, but I’m exhausted. I’m ready to get to my room and crash, but I’d like to see you again. Preferably tomorrow?”

"Let me think about it." He closes the distance between us, placing a hand on either side of my face.

My breath hitches. My heart rate quickens. The air around us has all but come to a halt and it’s just the two of us in this moment.

"I'd like that," he whispers, pressing his lips gently to mine.

My hands wrap around his back, pulling him deeper into our kiss. I trace my hands up his back and over his shoulders as I push to part his lips.

He welcomes my tongue into his mouth, his kiss so effortless yet firm that for the first time in my life I find myself breathless. His kiss is air and, in this moment, it is the only thing I need to survive.

Cass pulls away. Hot and breathless, he pants, “Slow down, turbo. We don’t need people seeing a biker with a pretty woman in the parking lot in the middle of the night. They might think I’m a bad guy trying to take advantage of you and if you keep kissing me like that, I might.”

I smile so hard my cheeks hurt. I take a step back in the hopes that putting some distance between us will calm the ache stirring inside me. If I don’t get it under control, the world is going to get a show because I won’t be able to tell him no if he wants to bend me over the hood of this car and fuck me senseless.

"You are an amazing kisser. Just. Wow." My face is burning up, either from the kiss or my confession.

Cass smiles. "I was thinking the same thing about you, Miss Summers."

Cass wraps his arms around the small of my back and I instinctively curl into his chest. I pull back until my face is only inches from him and kiss him again. It’s like his lips have a magnetic pull on mine that I can’t break. I stop myself, ending our embrace much sooner than I’d like.

Cass tilts my head downward slightly and places a kiss in the center of my forehead.

"Goodnight, Miss Summers.” He turns to get on his bike while I fumble recklessly with my keys.

"Goodnight Cass. Same place tomorrow? Say around six?" I ask nervously. I don’t know why initiating meeting him feels so vulnerable.

"Six is perfect. See you then," he answers with a smile.

I return his smile with one of my own then sit down in the driver’s seat of my car. The sound of pipes wracking as Cass cranks the bike is a comforting and welcoming sound.

I crank Betty and look at the clock. Three-thirty. It has only been three and a half hours since I met this perfect stranger and already I know that he will have me wrapped. I’m caught up in my own thoughts for a moment before I realize that Cass is still sitting next to my driver’s window. I roll it down and quirk a brow at him.

---