Page 40 of Thanks for Coming Along
He took a few steps from her and began stowing their belongings into the travel cases fastened to his motorcycle. She remained rooted to the spot, her mind a whirlwind of emotions, watching him with a sense of motionlessness.
What the hell had just happened?She felt like a tightly wound spring, ready to unravel any moment. The fire of their almost-kiss still seared her skin, and her nipples grazed the lace of her bra uncomfortably.
Ronan mounted the motorcycle gracefully, his long leg swinging over the body of the bike. She watched the movement dumbly, her lips parting slightly as she stared at his powerful thigh, gripping the body of the bike. It was rude to look that good, especially when straddling a motorcycle.
Stiffly, she put the hot pink helmet on her head and walked toward the bike. As she approached, she couldn't help but gape at Ronan's broad shoulders and trim waist, swallowing thickly at the sight.
It suddenly dawned on her that she'd have to hold onto his waist for hours on end. It felt like a particular type of punishment. A purgatory for her horniness to marinate for the eight-hour journey to their destination, but it was her cross to bear.
"I don't bite," he assured her, glancing over his shoulder with a rakish smile. His lips curled at the corner, revealing a dimple that popped from his cheek. She swore she heard him rumble "hard" before pulling his all-black helmet over his head. He looked menacing in that helmet.Hotlymenacing, it definitely didn't help her current overstimulated situation.
She was in trouble.Big colossal-sizedtrouble. She lifted her leg and dropped on the furthest part of the leather seat of the motorcycle, trying to get some distance from Ronan. She attempted to adjust her body and placed her feet on the bike pegs to take some pressure off her throbbing center, but then... he started the bike. The rumbling of the engine, in combination with her overstimulated clit had her eyes rolling into the back of her head. This would be alooongride, for that she was for sure.
With a deft twist of his wrist, he assertively revved the motorcycle's engine. The sudden burst of power sent the bike shuddering in place, her body lurching forward with a quick thrust that flung her against his back. In an instant, she found herself pressed snugly against the solid, muscular expanse of his back, feeling the vibrations of the powerful machine rumbling beneath her.Cheeky bastard.
The friction of her rough denim shorts against her sensitive core sent waves of both delicious and slightly painful sensations coursing through her. She made an embarrassingly breathy moan that was thankfully swallowed by the noise from the engine.
"Are you good to go?" he asked with a sinful laugh that sent shivers down her spine.Oh yes, in more ways than one. She was one wrong movement away from humping his back like a chihuahua.
She tightly wound her arms around his lean waist and tapped his chiseled thigh, marveling at its hardness. As he tucked his legs onto the pegs, she could feel the muscles beneath her hand contracting, responding to his movements. The bike shot down her driveway with astonishing speed, causing his back to bump against her sensitive clit again. Holy shit. She was a goner.
The rush of riding the motorcycle hit her instantly. The wind was cool against her skin, a contrast to the heat building in her as they sped along. It felt like free-falling, that weightless sensation.
Desperate to distract herself from the relentless throbbing between her thighs, she tried to focus her thoughts on anything other than the man in front of her. Flowers, puppies with floppy ears, rainbows, sunshine… but sunshine reminded her of warmth that now enveloped her entirely. Ronan's broad back emanated a powerful heat, seeping through her clothes and encircling her body, and it was impossible to ignore.
As she inched forward, the friction from the seam of her shorts made contact with her sensitive clit. Her inner muscles clenched involuntarily in response, and her heart pounded as if she had just sprinted a half marathon. Desperately, she pressed her thighs together, trying to alleviate the pressure between her legs.
The motorcycle, gliding over a small bump, jostled her body, creating another electrifying rub of her jeans against her center. A surge of pleasure coursed through her, and she gasped in response. Over the next mile, with each bump, the sensation heightened, every turn becoming a form of sweet torture.
The bike's vibrations intensified the sensations until her legs shook, and her breaths came out in panting gasps. Ronan, adjusting the bike for a tight turn, firmly gripped her bare thigh as the road evened out, accelerating the bike's speed. The combination of the denim shorts' seam grating against her center and the feeling of his calloused hand on her thigh triggered an unexpected jerk of her hips.
An orgasm ran through her, and a small, shocked moan escaped her lips. Panting slightly, she hid her face between his shoulder blades, feeling the soft leather of his jacket, and tightened her arms around his firm middle.
She drew in a shaky breath, her face hot with embarrassment that radiated through her entire body. Mortification coursed through her. She had experienced an orgasm while straddling behind him on the motorcycle, and he remained blissfully unaware. What kind of perv does that? Oh lord, she hoped all that was holy he didn't realize.
The humiliation would be overwhelming enough to make her consider going into witness protection to escape the shame. Or maybe she could legally change her nameagainand take up bank robbery or become a party clown. She heard Antarctica was a lovely place to settle down.
She was already mentally booking a one-way ticket to Antarctica, plotting her escape the second the motorcycle stopped. She just needed to untangle herself from the magnetic pull of the guy in front of her. It was the only way, she was sure of it—get as far away as possible and break free from whatever this was.
25
Eden
Eden plopped a straw cowgirl hat, a couple of beef jerky sticks, some bottled water, a pouch of pickles, and a mix of sour candies on the gas station counter. And for some weird reason, she threw a box of condoms in there too. She couldn’t even explain why—did she actually think something might happen with Ronan? She had to admit, the selection was deranged, and by the look on the cashier's face, raising his bushy eyebrows at her haul, he definitely thought so too.
"Don't look at me like that! The pickle and the condoms are unrelated,” she muttered, swiping her credit card into the card reader. She watched as the cashier took his sweet time bagging each item with a smile on his face, highly entertained at her embarrassment.
She saw Ronan approaching the store door through the glass windows of the convenience store. She grabbed the box of condoms and shoved them quickly into her bag, her cheeks burning with humiliation. The cashier let out a raspy chuckle. Her eyes honed in on a name tag with the name Beau.
"Beau, don't say a word. This is privileged information,” she whispered hurriedly.
"Hey," Ronan said with a grin as he leaned on the counter, reaching for the straw cowgirl hat and placing it on Eden's head.
"Yeehaw," Eden spoke half-heartedly, her cheeks burning and eyes downcast. She was still having difficulty making eye contact after the motorcycle incident. She felt like one of America's most wanted criminals. And now that she just boughtcondoms, she felt one hundred times more guilty. She was feeling squirrelly about her brazenness, on the verge of nervous twitching if Ronan so much as glanced at her in the wrong way. She didn't know what got her into her.
Okay, that was a lie. It was the smoking hot journalist who had played a role in igniting this boldness, planting a metaphorical bee in her hypothetical bonnet.
"Watch out for this gal. She's a hoot and a half,” the cashier quipped, his thick southern accent drawing out the words as he wiggled his overgrown eyebrows at Ronan. Eden rolled her eyes at him and grabbed the bag of snacks.
