Page 31 of The Skeikh's Games

To Aimee’s surprise, that hot biker came back. And back. And back again! Over the course of two weeks he must’ve come in just short of every other day. He requested her table every time, and ordered a cup of coffee. Sometimes he had a cake or pie, but it was usually just the coffee.

She was pretty sure that after their little talk when he’d seen her with John would’ve scared him off. She wouldn’t have blamed him. John was a big guy and intimidated just about everyone in their town. It was part of the reason she was with him. Not only did being John’s girl afford her a bit of security, since no one would mess with anyone in John’s circle, but it was also better to willingly be at his side than forcibly so. John wasn’t known for his gentle side.

Yet, Xavier kept coming back. Sure he said it was just for the coffee, but he found a way to chat her up every time he was around. If she was being honest with herself, she was glad for the attention. She knew he wasn’t from around here, so the fact that this guy — whoever he was — came all this way just to talk to her was flattering beyond anything she’d ever experienced. The least she could do was talk to him, right? There wasn’t any harm in that.

Then, one day, he stopped her just as she was leaving his table. “When’s your next night off?”

This was it. Her heart pounded. Would she say yes? Could she? If John found out, he’d kill them both. Yet she couldn’t say no. Just looking into his eyes, she couldn’t even imagine him not coming into the café to talk to her anymore. How could she say no to spending more time with him? Their conversations were always so easy, so funny. He made her feel special, and safe.

“The café closes around 7pm every night, so I’m kind of free every night. I have tomorrow off, though.”

“Can I take you out?”

She smiled coyly. “Yeah? Where would we go? The mechanic over there has a great crème brulee I hear.”

He laughed. “Is that right? Well, we may have to check it out. But no, I was thinking of something even higher class, if you can imagine that.”

“I don’t believe such a place exists.”

He smiled at her, and somehow just that simple expression melted her all the way down to her toes. “Let me prove it.”

“Okay.” The word slipped out before she’d even had a chance to think about it.

“Great,” he said with a grin. “Tomorrow then? I can pick you up here if you want. Say around five o’clock?”

It was too late now. She was doing this. How could she say no after she’d already said okay? “Sounds good,” she said.

He handed her his phone and she put in her number. After a quick goodbye, he took off. It was almost as if he was giddy and wanted to get a head-start or something. How could a grown man be so powerful yet adorable at the same time?

There was something about him. She would never underestimate him. The way he held himself, she knew he could handle himself. Yet, at the same time, he was so sweet with her. No one in this damn town was ever so nice on purpose. If anyone was being nice, they wanted something, pure and simple.

Not Xavier. She didn’t have anything he wanted other than herself. She smiled to herself and went back to start a fresh pot of coffee, thinking about how nice it was to actually be wanted.

Tomorrow both couldn’t come soon enough and came too quickly. It felt like she spent the whole time wishing it was five o’clock already, yet when five actually started rolling around, she couldn’t get ready fast enough. Time was sabotaging her!

She was late, and as she walked down the small dirt road toward the café she didn’t see his motorcycle anywhere. She checked her phone and saw she was a full twenty minutes late. How could this have happened? Was he late too, or did he show up and leave when she wasn’t there?

Her hands were sweating, she was sure her makeup was running, and she felt sick to her stomach with nervousness. As she rounded the side of the building, she saw a black sedan parked along the street. It shined like a black jewel in the light of the low sun. She couldn’t ever recall seeing a car look so fresh and new.

Why was it here? Her question was quickly answered as the back door opened and out stepped her biker. He wore the sharpest suit she’d ever seen. All at once she understood the difference between a tailored suit and something bought in a department store.

“Wow,” he said, “you look great.”

She looked down at herself in the sundress and flats she wore. “You’re a very handsome liar.”

“No, really,” he said as he approached her. He took up her hands in his and looked in her eyes. “You look beautiful.”

Aimee took a deep breath and released it slowly. It was all she could do. She tried to think of something to say back, but her mind was completely blank. All she thought about, all she could see was the way he looked at her.

After a moment, he gave her a wink and led her back to the car. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. A man was there and opened her door for her.

“Oh, thank you,” she said with a faux curtsy and a giggle. The man smiled and closed the door for her, then rounded the back of the car to let Xavier in. “You have a driver?” she asked when he’d settled.

“I do,” Xavier said. Then to the driver he said, “Let’s switch cars, and we’ll go from there.”

“Yes sir.”

“Switch cars?” she asked him.

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