They’d both been right, of course.
Fiona was the love of my life. I’d made a huge mistake. I needed to correct it. Immediately.
The next day, which was yesterday, I’d told Charlie it wasn’t working out, and since I was one day shy of the end of my trial period, he didn’t need my two weeks’ notice. There were dozens of mechanics vying for this job anyway.
Now I was on my bike, heading to my apartment. It had taken me only an hour to pack up, and I’d already sent a flurry of resumes out to shops in New York. Pop was letting me crash at our old place until I landed an apartment. A home. One I hoped I’d be enjoying with Fiona if she’d take me back.
The list I made for her, that had taken a bit of planning. And a fair amount of office supplies. But the planning was the part I hoped Fiona would appreciate.
I’d done a couple cross-country hauls, so knew I could get home in five days if I played it a little fast-and-loose with the speed limit on some of the back roads. It would give me time to practice my speech and get some of the nerves out. I wanted everything to go perfectly.
I was only going to have this one chance.
I pulled up to my apartment, turned off the bike and yanked off my helmet. Another motorcycle—black with hot pink detailing—came idling up alongside me. The person parked their bike right in front of mine, turned it off. They slid one leg over and tugged their helmet off. The woman shook out her golden blond hair. I got a glimpse of pearls and diamonds and red lips twisted in a mischievous smile.
In slow fucking motion, Fiona Quinn turned towards me, glowing beneath the California sun. She propped her helmet under her arm and cocked her head.
“This spot taken?” she asked.
My jaw dropped to my chest. “Fiona?”
She walked right up to me. I couldn’t breathe. My heart totally stopped. My jaw was still hanging open.
“Did you… is that… did you ride a motorcycle all the way to California?”
She blew her hair from her forehead. “I sure did. Took me ten days. I took my time. Saw a bit of this big, beautiful country you were always talking about. I’ve got tons of road trip stories to share now, by the way.”
I was stunned. “How? Why?”
“I bought this bike two weeks ago. I crushed the written test to get my license, naturally.”
“Naturally,” I said. Still shocked.
“And then I enrolled in an intensive weekend-long training and safety course. After that, I spent a couple more days practicing, but this road trip has really improved my skill and comfort.”
“Uh huh,” I said. Was I fucking dreaming?
“Then I took a month-long vacation from work. They couldn’t decline it since I hadn’t taken a vacation in three years.”
My heart started beating again. Too fast this time.
“And the why?” Fiona stepped right into my space. “The why is because I came to get you.”
A smile slid up my face. “Came to… get me?”
Her green eyes sparkled. “Unless you’re loving your job here. In which case, I came to see if I wanted to stay. Here with you.”
I exhaled—long, rough. My fingers flexed at my side.
“Princess.”
Her lips quirked up. “Is that okay with you?”
I rubbed my hand against my mouth. “I just quit my job, which I did not love, and was planning on heading back to New York. To stay. With you.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You’re serious?”
“I was leaving in an hour.”
“And why…” Her voice was shaking now. “Why would you be doing that?”
I spoke the most important truth of my entire life. “Because I’m hopelessly in love with you, Fiona Lennox Quinn. And I’d do literally anything to get you back.”
“Like… like drive across the country?”
I laughed, surprised. “Yeah. You could say that was my big play.”
“Glad we’re on the same page as usual,” she said. Took another step. “Because I’m hopelessly in love with you too. And I’d do literally anything to—”
I pulled Fiona hard into my body and kissed her. She jumped, wrapping her legs around my waist, and kissed me back so hard I couldn’t breathe. But I didn’t need to breathe. Not with Fiona in my arms after the longest, most miserable thirty days of my damn life.
I tore our mouths apart to walk us to my door, still holding Fiona. I kicked it open, getting her inside, shoving her up against the first wall I came to. Our motorcycle helmets clattered to the floor as the door slammed shut behind us.
“I know we have a lot to talk about,” she panted. I ran my tongue up the column of her throat and growled like an animal.
“I have so much…” I bit her neck. “So fucking much to say…”
Fiona yanked my shirt off. Yanked her shirt off. I dropped her as she tore off her belt and mine too. “I missed you so much, Max, I was out of my mind.”
She tossed her boots. I tossed my boots. Tore off my jeans, then scooped an almost-naked Fiona back into my arms. “I kept listening to love songs and crying.”
“You too?”
I grunted in response because I was kissing her again and couldn’t talk. I dropped her on the kitchen counter and literally ripped her bra in two. “Let’s never spend more than a day apart ever again. I won’t make it.”
“I love this plan,” she panted. “I’ll put it in a contract.”
Breasts bared, I cupped her skin, licked her nipples with a wild intensity. Her hands flew back, knocked dishes and plates to the ground. She arched beneath my touch as I palmed her breasts, stroked my thumbs across her nipples. I buried my face against her warm, soft skin. Skin I’d dreamt about. Skin I feared I’d never, ever taste again.
I tasted it now. Yanked her to the very edge of the counter and knocked a few more plates to the ground. I kissed down her smooth stomach and closed my teeth around her hipbone as she hissed in a sharp breath. Pressed kiss after kiss along her inner thighs as she trembled and gasped.
I tore her underwear right in half.
Against all odds, Fiona was now naked on my kitchen counter, begging me for more.
I growled, buried my face between her legs. She cried out, fingers in my hair. Then I ate her pussy right on my kitchen countertop, licking her with the passion of a man who’d been drowning and finally tasted air. She called my name, knocked over a few more glasses, heels kicking against my back. My tongue dove between her folds as I drank her in, dipping into her center with every bit of desire these past thirty days had given me. This woman was it for me. And now that I had my head back between her thighs, I could die happy.
Her orgasm was fast and hot and sloppy in the dirtiest way. She tore my hair clean out, and I left bite marks on her inner thighs. She screamed my name, and I groaned hers.
Dragging my mouth back up her sweat-slicked body, I wrapped my arms around her waist and carried her back into my bedroom. She was boneless but still grinding herself against me. We fell onto the bed, mostly naked, and I searched desperately for a condom.
“Please, Max,” she begged. “Bare, please. I’m clean and protected, I promise. I need all of you.”
I prowled up her body, pressing her hands into the mattress. I notched my cock right against her wet, slick heat. “Are you sure?”