Page 88 of Ricochet
At this point, I wouldn’t either. But before I could answer him, a female screech from behind me stopped all the thoughts I had, and an angry looking Ava stood there, just a couple of inches away from me.
“What the fuck, Phee?” I cringed at the fury coming from her. “What in the actual ever-loving fuck, my dude?”
“I’m just making friends.”
“Seriously?”
She placed her hands on her hips, and I almost laughed at her. Unlike the rest of us, she looked more like an angry pixie, than a twenty-year-old woman.
“I told you I wanted to buy a bike eventually, didn’t I?”
“This doesn’t look like a bike shop to me?” She looked at the man standing next to me, but there was no reaction from her. “Hi, how are you? Would you excuse us for a moment, please?”
She came closer to me, took my hand, and pulled me away from them. Hades, or whatever his name was, laughed at us, leaning on the bike.
“Are you psychotic, you idiot?”
“Wait, is that a serious question, or—”
“Of course it’s a serious question. What are you doing? You know who they are, you’ve seen their insignia.”
“Yep,” I answered cheerfully. “I sure did.”
“Then what the fuck, Ophelia? What will Kieran think?”
What will Kieran think? Who gives a fuck what would Kieran think?
“Kieran can suck a dick for all I care.” I pulled my hand back, and started walking backwards. “I’m going for a ride.”
“Phee!”
“I know a place, not far away from here.” I ignored her calls and started talking to him. “Is that tryout still on the table?” He looked at Ava and then back to me.
“Of course, sunshine. But here.” He started removing his jacket. “It gets mighty cold on the back of the bike.”
He stepped closer and enveloped me in the warmth of his leather jacket. Wasn’t he going to freeze in this weather? It was way too big for my frame, but I never felt more comfortable in my entire life. He zipped it all the way to my throat, pulling my hair out and letting it fall down my back.
“T-Thank you,” I stammered.
“Let’s go, my queen.” He took my hand. “Your carriage awaits.”
He walked toward the bike, with me in tow, and only let go of my hand when he sat on it. My heart hammered in my chest as I placed my hand on his shoulder, and straddled the bike.
“Put your hands around me,” he instructed, and I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Beneath my shirt, sunshine.”
“What?”
He threw a glance at me over his shoulder. “My shirt isn’t tight enough, and I need you to be safe. You could slip.”
I groaned, “Fine.” I lifted his shirt and traced the path over his back, toward his stomach. His abs clenched beneath my touch and a sharp intake of breath came from him. Here we were again, where everyone else disappeared around us. I could feel the strong abs on his stomach, the soft skin, and I spread my hands there, holding tight as he told me to.
“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Are you ready?”
I nodded against his back, settling myself there as if this wasn’t the first time I was sitting behind this man. The vibrations of the bike tore through my body as he turned the ignition on, and with one last glance to Ava, we went flying down 7th Street, toward the hills.
* * *
The sun was already settingon the horizon, but I didn’t want to move from here. I didn’t want to go back to the darkness waiting for me back home. The ocean looked so peaceful at this time of day, the red and orange streaks on the sky almost reflecting on the water.
