I arched a brow, surprised at Pax asking on Leith’s behalf. Normally, the redhead grated on my boy’s nerves. "I'm sure they wouldn't." I glanced around at the club brothers with me and my eyes landed on Axel, who was funnily enough watching Leith.
"Axel, mind having a passenger today?" When Axel glanced at me, I nudged my head toward where Leith was still sitting on the apartment building steps.
A smile tugged up one side of Axel's mouth. "Hey, Leith," he called. When Leith glanced up, he patted the seat behind him. "Get your pretty ass over here."
Leith was up like a shot, heading toward Axel. He shot a smile at Pax as he went.
With that settled, I dug Pax’s helmet out of my saddlebags and helped him get it strapped under his chin. He seemed a little nervous, so I smiled at him and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth while my brothers whistled.
"Just hold on to me, okay? Don't wiggle or put your feet down and it'll be fine."
Pax nodded and climbed on behind me, sliding forward until he was snug against my back with my hips cradled in the V of his thighs. He snaked his arms around my waist and held on tight.
Calix started his bike and we all followed suit, the roar of Harleys filling the street once more. I rested my hand over Pax’s clasped ones, giving him a little squeeze and then pulled away from the curb, taking my place a little behind and to Calix's right.
It was so damn good to have Pax behind me that I felt like we were flying as we found some open road on our way out of the city. The charity ride started at a big local high school and had a long meandering route through several small towns where people could stop and grab a bite to eat or shop at locally-owned businesses which donated a portion of the proceeds to the ride. In my opinion, there was nothing better than spending the day on two wheels with the cloudless sky above and an open road ahead. Being surrounded by hundreds of like-minded individuals had always made the experience better, but having Pax wrapped around me to share it with was damn near the best thing I could imagine.
There'd been a shift in us that night in his apartment a couple days ago, and more than just the evolution of our physical relationship. I had already felt like we were getting closer than I’d ever gotten with anyone, and from the things he'd told me, it was the same for him. Typically, I never would have reached this point with someone. Warning signs and alarm bells would have been going off long before now—long before I craved him more than having my Harley on the open road.
He'd snuck his way under my ribs, setting up shop there without any kind of permission from me. The hell of it was, that while any of those things would've sent me into a tailspin before, now I wasn't even batting an eye because this was Pax. And for whatever reason, I was determined to make him mine in the same way I was already his. I thought he felt the same way. I knew he trusted me, probably more than anyone save Arden, and I was determined to keep being worthy of that trust. I wanted to show him that he could trust me with all of it—all the things that he hid, all the secrets of his heart—I wanted it all.
As we approached the high school, Pax squeezed my middle when the rows upon rows of motorcycles waiting to begin the ride came into view. There had to be at least five or six hundred bikes already in the parking lot, and we were only one group of several more coming down the road and turning in.
Once we got into the lot, we wove around until we found Lex, Jebidiah, Kade, and Stone. Arden was sitting on the back of Lex's parked bike and waved as we approached. Jebidiah and Kade, members of our Sand Lake chapter, were standing beside their bikes with Lex, chatting. Stone was just getting off of his Harley. We pulled into some empty parking spaces beside them, keeping all of our bikes close together so as to not take up too much room. Once we were parked, Cleave went to sign us in and get the tags to attach to our windshields.
I held my bike steady and offered Pax my hand to help him step off. I knew his legs would be a little wobbly as he’d never been on a motorcycle before, and if you didn't ride them regularly, it was a common occurrence. Once he was stable, I stood and pulled my helmet off my head. "What do you think?"
Pax removed his own helmet with a wide smile on his face. "It was awesome. I'm excited for this ride."
Beside us, Axel had helped Leith step off the back of his bike, and then he met his brother Stone halfway, embracing him in a backslapping hug. Dalton Stone was a couple years older than Axel—both of them hulking beasts, only Stone still had hair on his head. He was also a member of our Nomad chapter. Axel introduced Leith to his brother and the three stood talking.
I took Pax over to where Lex, Jebidiah, and Kade were standing and introduced him to everyone. Arden had climbed off Lex's bike and came to greet us, as well.
"It’s pretty great, right?" Arden asked Pax.
"It was badass, but my butt already hurts," Pax said, rubbing a hand over his backside. We all laughed and I stepped in behind him, getting my hands on his ass, giving him a little squeeze. "I'll massage it for you later if it gets too sore," I whispered in his ear. He huffed a laugh and bumped his ass back against me, knocking me back a step.
"Behave," he said with laughter still in his voice.
"Sweetheart, I don't know if you know this but misbehave is my middle name, and honestly, you should have known this about me."
Pax narrowed his eyes at me and turned his back on the group, stepping in close. “I just thought of something and I’m kind of ashamed of myself that I haven’t asked earlier.”
I cocked my head at him, not having any clue what he could be talking about.
Gorgeous brown eyes locked onto mine. “I don’t know your full name. Mason is your last name, right? That’s all I know.”
I chuckled, but it was soft. Seeing as I’d never been particularly fond of my name, I didn’t use it outside of legal documents. As with everything lately, though, Pax was welcome to any part of me. “Randall. Randall Elijah Mason.”
“Randall Elijah,” Pax whispered, sending a shiver through me. He gave me the sweetest smile and the softest kiss. “I like it. Much better than Randall Misbehave.”
Snorting a laugh, I kissed him soundly, then turned him around, molding my chest to his back as we re-joined our group of friends.
Chapter Twelve
Pax
It had been a fucking amazing day so far. I didn't really understand how just riding on the back of a motorcycle could feel terrifying, exhilarating, and freeing all at the same time. Maybe it had been so much fun because of the company, or the scenery, or the fact that it was for such a great cause, but I was leaning toward the company. Being snuggled up against Mace's back, my chin resting on the leather of his Iron Heretics vest could be my new favorite thing. When I wasn't making funny faces at Arden or Leith through the side mirrors, I found myself closing my eyes and letting my brain and body empty of all my worries and stress as if the wind rushing over us was whisking them away.
We stopped mid-morning at a café in the second town we passed through. Mace bought me breakfast, and we sat at a table filled with other Heretics and their partners while we finished our coffee. It'd been good to stretch my legs, but I'd been ready to get back on the bike. I wasn't sure how long ago that had been, but the sun was getting high in the sky now, my stomach was starting to rumble, and I was pretty sure my ass had been numb for the last fifty miles.