Page 146 of Insatiable

He smirks. “You better get on the bike then.”

Idiot.

I know for a fact he means it too. If I tell him to bend me over, he will. Why is there a daring part of me that wants him to? We’d get caught and arrested for indecent exposure and public sexual acts, no doubt.

Not that we haven’t fucked in public.

When he sees I’ve given up the argument, he looks amused with himself and goes over to the bike, checking all the buttons or whatever it is that has his attention.

“Where are we going?”

He shrugs. “A drive. Somewhere to pass time.”

“Because you’re hiding from the she-devil?”

Kade glances up at me as he turns on the bike, the roar of the engine making me jump. My insides flip, and I’m not sure if I’m turned on or terrified. Maybe both.

“Exactly. Who areyouhiding from?”

“Why do you do what you do?” I ask instead of replying as Kade hands me my helmet. “Like, the bad stuff and the… escorting.”

He rubs the back of his neck before pulling on his helmet, visor up. “The money?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

The stupid helmet won’t sit right, and when I try for the fourth time, he steps towards me, taking it from my hands. “It’s good money. There’s nothing wrong with being a sex worker.”

“I never said there was. I’m a pole dancer, and we’re always sexualised. I’d never shame someone for their profession.”

He doesn’t respond, loosening the straps. His dark lashes are so long and thick. I stare at them, at his brows and the small bruise on his cheek.

Let me fucking kiss you.

I wanted him to kiss me. But it would be too complicated if I let him. My feelings are still there – he’s just passing time.

I gulp. I was his first, and at one point, he told me he couldn’t imagine ever fucking anyone else. We were in love. We had a future, and we were going to make Luciella understand what we meant to each other. No one could come between us. Ever.

Then someone did.

“How did you get involved in that line of work?”Please, just tell me. I need to understand. Iwantto understand. “Is that why you were trained to use a gun?”

“I was trained to use a lot of weapons.” He reaches up behind me and pulls at my ponytail until it’s loose, wrapping the band around his wrist. Kade runs his fingers through my hair, messy in my face. His tone is soft. “Stop asking questions.”

“When did it start?”

“Why did you fuck him?”

I stare at him, wide-eyed. “I… I…”Say it, Stacey. Say it!

Kade shakes his head at my silence. “Exactly. Stop asking me questions and I won’t ask you.”

I lower my gaze. “I just want to understand.”

The helmet fits over my head perfectly now, and he fastens the clip at my chin. His closeness is making butterflies go wild, and I want to hug him. I have the sudden, annoying urge to crush my body into his in an embrace.

I want to cry – to sob in his arms.

Kade steps back, his eyes tracing my body, from my dress to my shoes and then up to the large helmet. “You don’t need to understand. It’s my life now.”

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