Page 26 of California Wild

He just waited.

Like he already knew she’d come to him.

Hayley swallowed hard, took a breath, then crossed the street.

Every step was a goddamn heart attack.

Every inch closer, she felt it—his energy, his heat, the raw, untamed pull of him that had always been her undoing.

She stopped a foot away. Close enough to smell the faint scent of leather, soap, and sun-warmed skin.

“You’re here?” she said, dazed.

Jesse pushed his sunglasses up onto his head, revealing those honey-gold eyes. His mouth ticked up in a half-smile.

“Yeah. Got off early.” He studied her, slow and thorough, like he was memorizing every inch.

Her black yoga set clinging to her skin. The way her damp auburn hair stuck to her neck.

Jesse’s gaze dropped down her body, then back up, his voice low. “Knew you’d be here. Thought I’d catch you.”

Heat curled in her spine.

Damn him.

She cleared her throat, shifting her stance. “For?”

Jesse tilted his head. “Got a minute?”

She hesitated.

She should say no.

She should say a million things that weren’t yes.

Instead—

“Maybe.”

Jesse smirked.

Then he swung his leg over the bike, patting the seat behind him.

“Hop on.”

Hayley blinked. “What?”

“Let’s go talk.” He held out his hand. “I’ll take you somewhere.”

Hayley stared at him, her pulse hammering.

She knew this feeling. Muscle memory. The heat of the engine beneath her, the wind in her hair, her arms wrapped around Jesse Navarro as he tore down the coast like the world didn’t exist. It was stupid. It was reckless. It was everything she wasn’t supposed to do.

And yet—

Her fingers curled around his outstretched hand.

And just like that, she climbed on.

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