“I can’t wait to start my life with you,” I confess.
I’m not sure when I became this daring woman. This person who throws caution to the wind, but then again, maybe I am that. I walked away from the only home I had known, with zero way to take care of myself.
Granted, Briana helped me, and this time, Bishop is helping me, along with my father from beyond. I have a place to live,money, and a whole group of people who seem to love my father enough to accept me into their world.
“We’re not doing shit on the up and up,” he murmurs. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you, and I can’t ever promise that it won’t happen again. I should let you walk away from me. But I can’t.”
“Then don’t,” I breathe.
His fingers flex against my thigh, gripping me tighter. My eyes don’t leave his. I’m not sure I would even want to look anywhere else but into his gaze. Does any other view compare? Does it even exist?
“Now, let’s go get my things from the motel.”
“Yeah,” he grunts, releasing his grasp on me.
I take a step backward and smile as he throws his leg over the bike and straightens. Then he brushes past me and walks straight toward the front door. I start to ask him what he’s doing but then remember that my rental car keys are probably inside, along with the key to the motel room.
Once he’s inside the house, I follow behind him. I expect to feel some sort of anxiety about being here again. But I don’t. When he turns to face me, his gaze silently searches mine. Then he clears his throat.
“You good?”
“I’m good,” I state.
Honestly, I don’t want to stay here longer than I need to. While I’m not anxious or scared about being here, I’m also not ready to do more than just grab my things. Bishop must sense how I’m feeling because just a few moments later, I’m following behind his motorcycle on our way to the motel.
Bishop is loading my things into the trunk of the car. The room has been emptied, and it’s kind of ridiculous that I paid for so many nights and only slept a few of them in it.
When I head toward the front desk to tell the clerk that I’ll be checking out, I notice that it’s the same girl sitting there from the day I checked in. Tugging on the door handle, I slip inside and walk up to the counter.
She’s sitting behind it. She doesn’t even look up before she lets out a heavy sigh. Again, nothing has changed. My existence as a person annoys her, but maybe everyone annoys her, and I’m not special.
“I would like to check out,” I say.
She lifts her eyes to meet mine, then rolls them to the ceiling. “Just leave your key,” she announces.
“Okay,” I murmur, placing the key on the counter.
I open my mouth to tell herthank you, but her spine straightens, her chest pops out, and she plasters on a smile, the likes of which I have never seen before. I stare at her, my mouth hanging open as she bats her eyelashes.
Then I feel a warm hand at the small of my back and snap my lips shut because I know exactly what she’s being all friendly about. “Hey there, Bullet,” she purrs.
Turning my head, I look up at Bishop, who isn’t even looking at her. His eyes are on me and only me. “You ready, baby?” he murmurs.
“I’m ready.” I keep my voice soft.
The girl makes a noise that sounds much like a harrumph, but if Bishop hears her, he doesn’t even glance in her direction. Instead, he turns around, holding his hand out for me. I slip my fingers in his, and he curls his around mine, tugging me behind him, and together, we walk toward his bike and my car.
“When we get to Oregon, we’re dropping the rental off and you’ll come home on the back of my bike,” he announces.
Flicking my attention between the car and the bike, I wonder if that’s even going to be possible for me. The thought of ridingacross the entire United States on the back of that bike doesn’t only seem impossible but also uncomfortable.
My nose wrinkles at the thought, and Bishop throws his head back in laughter. “Okay, baby. Maybe not, then.”
Lowering his head, he brushes his lips across mine. “We’ll figure something out.”
“You keep saying that about, well… everything,” I inform him.
His lips twitch against my mouth, and he lifts his head, his eyes dancing as they look into mine. “Together, we’ll always figure it out. No matter what it looks like. Or how impossible it feels.”
