As the wind blew through my hair and kissed my cheeks, goosebumps crawling up my arms from the chill of the night air, I tried to piece together how it was that I was riding on the back of Jed’s motorcycle. I remembered our short exchange regarding Rocco, and I was sure I hadn’t told him the details of Alejo’s dealings with the man. Yet, somehow, he found out. Not only did he find out, hepaidmy brother’s ten-thousand-dollar debtfor me.
‘ As far as you’re concerned, Alexia Torres doesn’t exist. Am I understood?’
The last four hours were too much to process all at once. It was hard to even conceptualize it had only been four hours. It felt like an eternity. That was, until Jed showed up.
In spite of my attraction to him, I spent the last week and a half doing my best to keep things between us professional. I had a job to do, after all. Moreover, the same motorcycle club who just banded together to rescue me had a possible job opening I was incredibly interested in. Now, even more so.
Yet, all of that paled in comparison to the longing I now felt for Jed.
It was un-ignorable. There was no place for me to shove it to contain it. All I could do was feel it.
We stayed with the others until we reached town, and then everyone went their own way. Before I was ready to let Jed go, we were pulling into the parking lot behind the office building where I worked. Mine was the only car left in the parking lot, and he stopped right next to it, killing the engine of his bike.
Before I could even think to move, one of his large, warm hands covered one of mine as he turned to look at me from over his shoulder. “You good to drive, gorgeous?”
My goosebumps got goosebumps, and it wasn’t from a chill.
“Yeah. I’ll be okay. I—well, actually, my keys are—”
“Grabbed your purse and your phone earlier. Got ‘em in my saddlebag.”
Of course, he did. He thought of everything.
“I’ll follow you home. Get you to your door,” he said before I could respond.
I nodded, wanting that very, very much.
“Alright, then,” he replied.
Once I maneuvered myself onto the ground and he extracted my purse with all my belongings, we both took our respective seats behind the wheel. Jed followed me the five minutes it took to reach my apartment, then parked directly behind me, as if he didn’t want any significant distance between us before he got me to my unit.
He was making his way toward me as I got out of my car. No sooner had I closed the door than his hand was swallowing mine.
I looked up at him, and he jerked his chin as he insisted, “Lead the way.”
We walked the short distance to the stairs ascending to the entrance of my building, and he held the door open for me as we passed through it. As I guided him to the first unit to the right on the second floor, I tried to figure out how I was going to say goodnight. I had questions, but I didn’t think now was the time to ask them. I wasn’t sure how my predicament may have altered the course of his night, and I didn’t want to keep him. Plus, we had his custody mediation in the morning, and my questions would keep.
But even more than my questions, I wanted to saythank you. Except, the words felt too little—too insignificant in the face of what he’d done.
I stopped in front of my door, and he squeezed my hand before letting me go. “Borrero shouldn’t have any reason to come at you again. After tonight, he knows if he does, he’ll be startin’ a fight with the Stallions. That said, you get spooked or start to feel suspicious, you call me.”
I nodded, still searching for the right words to express my profound gratitude.
“If we need to reschedule tomorrow—”
“What? No. No, absolutely not,” I interrupted resolutely. “You’ve done—I mean—I can’t believe what you’ve done for me. I will be there in the morning completely prepared. It’s the least I can do by a longshot.”
“Alright, darlin’. If you say we’re on, we’re on.”
I stared up at him, wishing to say so much more, but too distracted by the sight of all that was him and all I was feeling. His wind-tousled hair. His biker ‘stache. His itty-bitty freckles. I thought he was beautiful before, but now—he was so much more.
With still no words to encompass the depth of thethank youon the tip of my tongue, I did the only other thing I could think to do.
He mentioned my lips the moment we met, and I was going to give them to him. Boldly, I reached up, grabbed the back of his neck and pulled. I knew I was no match against his strength, but he didn’t resist. As soon as he was close enough, I lifted up onto my tiptoes and sealed my mouth with his.
His mustache tickled my upper lip.
That was the only thought I had time to think before he hooked an arm around my waist and hauled me tight against his chest. I gasped in uncontainable excitement, and that was all the opening he needed to seek entrance into my mouth. When the tip of his tongue grazed mine, nothing else existed in the whole entire world except him and me and this kiss.
