Page 49 of Ride the Wind (Devil's Knights 2nd Generation 8)

Zig leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Don’t worry, darlin’, you answered it.” He threw his leg over the bike and motioned for me to get on behind him.

A crack of lightning struck the air above us.

“Holy crap!” I sputtered. “Are you sure we should be riding on your bike?”

“You got another way we can get home?” he asked. “I check the weather before we left. If we get going now, we’ll outrun the rain for the most part. It might catch up to us when we hit Brayton.”

“You’re sure?” I asked.

“How much do you trust me?” he asked.

More than I probably should for the short amount of time I had known him. “With my life.” The words were out of my mouth before I could take them back.

“Then get on.”

I hopped on behind him, and without hesitation, wrapped my arms around his waist, and plastered my front to his back.

Man, two drinks really did loosen me up.

This was the first time in a long time I felt like I didn’t have a weight bearing down on me. We still had no idea where Kerry was or what happened to her, but I knew everything that could be done, was being done. Ransom, Bear, and the Devil’s Knights were making sure of that.

We made it to the edge of Brayton before the rain caught up to us. We had been chased by lightning and thunder the whole way, but we didn’t get wet until I saw the Brayton water tower.

By the time we made it to my house the rain was coming down in sheets, and it was amazing that Zig could even see where we were going. He pulled into my driveway and drew close to the service door of my garage.

“I’ll open the door!” I shouted. I fished my keys out of my purse and opened the door. I pressed the button for the garage door, and it opened slowly. Zig killed the engine, and I pressed the button to lower the door.

“Wow,” I laughed. “You were right when you said it wouldn’t get to us until we got to Brayton.” I took off my helmet and shook out my hair.

Zig got off the bike and took of his cut. He hung it on his handlebars, and there was a steady drip of water coming off of it.

I stepped toward him to hand him the helmet, and my foot slipped out from under me. My arms flailed, and the floor crashed towards me.

“Whoa there,” Zig called. He caught me around the waist and pulled me against his body. “You okay, darlin’?” His eyes connected with mine, and droplet of water ran down his cheek.

Was I okay?

Physically, yes.

Any other way, no.

I was feeling things for Zig he had told me not to. Something he said that he wouldn’t feel for me. He hadn’t wanted me or any of the problems I had, but he was here.

He was here standing in my garage, soaked to the bone after we had spent most of the night with his family.

What man did that when he wanted nothing to do with you?

Zig had given me a glimpse into why he felt the way he did, why he guarded his heart and didn’t want to risk the chance of falling hard.

But he was still here.

It wasn’t that Zig didn’t want to be with someone, he was just afraid of loving someone so much that you would give and do anything to keep them safe.

His cousins, aunts, and uncles all seemed to have a love like that.

The kind of love that only came once, and when you found it, you knew to hold onto it with everything you had.

“Do you want to stay the night?” I asked.

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