Page 105 of High Stakes

I go to my trunk and pull out a gift bag. “You might find this useful.”

She peeks in the bag, squeals again, and hurls herself at me. “So, all that stuff about me picking out a dress for tonight, was just a red herring?”

I catch her, laughing as I haul her to my chest and kiss her hard. “You’re so fun to make happy. Get changed and we’ll go. I can ride on the back with you or follow you in the car.”

Her mouth drops open. “You’ll let me ride it by myself?”

The question surprises me, and I gently peel her off of me. “My trust in you hasn’t changed because Tobias is a worry wart. You’re a skilled rider. Tobias will figure that out soon enough.”

“He’s not going to be mad at me?”

“Do you want to ride the bike to the club or not, love?”

She snatches the bag from my hand and rushes into the house to change, and I follow behind her. “Am I riding with you or am I following?”

She pauses at the top of the stairs for a minute, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Hey,” I say, closing the distance between us. “You’re not going to hurt my feelings if you say you want to ride on your own.”

“God, I love you,” she whispers. “I love both of you so fucking much. Yes. I want to ride on my own.”

Her admission of love for Tobias takes me by surprise. I haven’t heard her say it yet. I wonder if he knows. Putting it out of my mind, I kiss her forehead and nudge her toward my bedroom, where we’ve spent countless hours. Not having her in my home these past few weeks has been hard. Bringing her here is setting some things right again.

I lean back against the dresser and watch as Bellamy changes into the new leather pants I bought her. Then she goes to my dresser and helps herself to a black t-shirt of mine, tying it at the waist before slipping into the matching leather jacket.

It’s nice that she isn’t hesitating in my space anymore.

“You should wear leather tonight,” she says as she’s pulling her hair out of the jacket.

I’m all too happy to oblige her, so I strip out of my suit and go into my closet to put on matching clothes.

“Your boots and helmet are still in the garage,” I tell her as I come out of the walk-in closet, pulling a black Henley over my head.

“I can’t believe you guys did this all for me. Thank you,” she murmurs.

“It’s not a big deal, love. You hated selling that bike. I’m glad Matteo is the one who bought it off of you. Though Tobias was talking about buying you a new one. So, if you want an upgrade, he seems eager to spend his money on you.”

She giggles and helps me into my leather jacket. “You’re both ridiculous.”

***

Bellamy

My heart is racing when I climb onto the back of my bike. It’s only been six weeks since my last ride, but it seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened. I’m tempted to rethink my decision to ride alone, but I don’t. Owen is right, I’m a skilled rider. A solo ride will do me good.

The weather is optimal for an evening ride. The wind isn’t too strong, and the temperature is perfect. I put on my helmet before I start the engine and wait for Owen to back out of the driveway before I pull out of the driveway.

The helmet is still connected to the radio, and I flip it on and switch to my favorite station before I follow Owen down the drive.

There’s nothing better than the sensation of flying down the interstate towards the club. Owen stays behind me for most of the ride. When we reach a red light near the club, he pulls up beside me instead and rolls down his window. He lets out a loud whistle, and grins, making me laugh.

He can’t see me through my helmet, so I stick my tongue out at him and rev my engine. When the light turns green, I speed ahead of him, not stopping until I reach the parking lot for the club. Owen parks next to me as I’m taking my helmet off.

“Just because I trust your skills as a rider doesn’t mean you get to break traffic laws, love.”

I can’t help but laugh at his scowl. “I was barely going over the speed limit.”

“We’ll see how Tobias feels about that when he gets back tonight.”

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