“We…” she swallows. “What else do you want to know?” she whispers heatedly.
“Right now?” I growl lowly, feeling my pulse roaring as I pull her closer to me. “Right now, I just want to know if you taste the same mad as you did earlier.”
Her eyes go wide as she moans, but before it can even tumble out of those lips, I crush mine to hers, swallowing it. She shivers against me, and when I pull her tight, she melts against me.
I know she’s off limits. I know this is a right shit idea. But I also know that kissing this girl makes me feel more alive than any race I’ve ever ridden. Touching her and tasting her is a bigger rush than any adrenaline or drug hit I’ve ever felt. I kiss her hard, and fierce, like she’s mine. Because right now, at least in this moment?
She bloody well is.
I slam her against the wall, swallowing more of her moans as she grips me tight. Our tongue dance, and she moans eagerly into my mouth until we both pull away panting and red-faced.
“I—” she gasps, her hand coming to touch her swollen lips. “If Barnes…”
“You’re not with him,” I grunt.
“It’s still complicated,” she whispers.
“No, it’s not.” I take her hand and pull her with me as I stride back to my Harley. I pass her the helmet, and she blinks as she looks up at me sharply.
“Get on.”
“What?”
“We’re getting the fuck out of here.”
She sucks on her lip. “We?”
“Yes, you and me. Get on.”
“Oliver—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you and Barnes are,” I hiss, startling her. “But I do know there’s no fucking way you’re staying here right now after that cunt smacked you around.” I hold her gaze, my hands coming up to cup her face.
“Delphine, we’re leaving. Get on.”
She hesitates for one more second before she swallows and nods.
“Okay,” she whispers.
She pulls the helmet on as I swing a leg over the bike. I reach over and help her on, and I growl when I feel her arms slide around my waist to hold me tight.
“Where…” she shakes her head. “Never mind.”
“What?”
“I was going to ask where you’re taking me,” she says softly against my ear. “But I don’t want to know.”
I frown. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t care,” she whispers. “I just want you to take me anywhere that isn’t here.”
I turn my head, and our lips meet. I groan into the kiss, cupping her face and kissing her fiercely before I slowly pull away. Her eyes flash with heat, and her hands tighten on me. I start up the bike, and it rumbles to life beneath us. And then, with a spit of gravel and a throb of the engine, we’re off.
Come what fucking may.
Chapter Six
Delphine
What the fuck am I doing?
My entire body buzzes, my skin tingling and shivering. I cling to him, feeling the wind in my hair and the whole damn world rushing past me in a blur. I can feel his muscled body clenching and flexing under my hands, and heat blazes through me. With my arms and legs wrapped around him like this, all I can think of is the last time we were pressed so closely together.
All I can think of is when I let go of any possible shred of my sanity and let him take all of me on that diner counter, loving every second of it.
Between the memory of the best sex of my life that happened to have occurred merely hours ago with this very man, and the throb of the motorcycle between my thighs, I’m wet, instantly. More like soaked, actually. I bite my lip and press my face into his back, gasping quietly as the engine thunders and sends vibrations through my core.
I open my eyes, and I gasp slightly at the skull grinning back at me—the logo design on the back of his leather jacket. I pull away a little, and my eyes truly take in what I’m looking at—the skull and roses, the words “Lost Devils MC” stenciled beneath it.
My gut clenches for a second.
The leather, the boots, the bike, the dangerous glint in his eyes—it suddenly hits me that Oliver might not just be a bike and racing enthusiast. He might be a lot more than that. And suddenly, I can feel the panic—about all of this—start to rise. Oliver, Barnes, my situation, the fact that I just climbed onto the back of a biker gang member’s motorcycle. It hits a crescendo as we roar down the empty dark road, until I realize I’m hammering on his shoulder to get him to stop.
Oliver swerves the bike to the side of the road as my anxiety starts to overtake me. By the time he turns off the engine, I’m panting and half jumping from the bike. My pulse races, and the world spins around me as I try and calm myself. I get these attacks sometimes—they’re like sort of panic attacks, but partly just overwhelming anxiety. And this one is about to explode.
I stagger away from the bike, then back to it, then back away, everything spinning and spiraling until suddenly, he’s there. His big arms circle me, pulling me tight against his chest as I suck in gasps of air.
“Hey, easy, easy,” he growls quietly. His huge arms hold me tight, and his hand strokes my hair. I cling to his shirt, squeezing my eyes shut and forcing myself to breathe until I can feel the throbbing pressure begin to ease up.
With a final breath, I nod and slowly pull back from his chest. I glance up at him, but then quickly look away with embarrassment at my insane little outburst just now.
“Sorry, I…”
“Anxiety attacks,” he growls. “Yeah, I know. I get them too.”
I frown. “Yeah?”
He nods. “Usually getting on something fast and pushing it to its bloody limit does the trick. Other times, nothing does.”
“Guess we’re both fucked up, huh?”
He grins that roguish smile from the diner. “Guess so.”
“It’s just…” I shake my head and step back from him. “This is fucking insane. I can’t just run off with you. If Barnes—”
“Are you with him, or not?” Oliver growls fiercely, making me gasp.
I blink and look up into his eyes, and I take a deep breath.
“Not.”
“Why do I keep smelling bullshit?”
“Take a fucking bath then,” I snap.
He chuckles, and I half smile as I look down.
“My dad…” I shake my head before I close my eyes. “Before Barnes ran Dark Water Falls, my dad did. Just petty bullshit small town thug crap, you know? He slung drugs, ran a few rackets, kept a few thugs halfway employed. Barnes was just this guy I’d gone to high school with—just another wannabe gangster in just another crumbling small town where there’s nothing else to do. But then he grew up and decided Dark Water Falls was his and his alone.”
I shrug and look up at Oliver.
“And now it is.”
“That why you’re with him?”
“I am not ‘with him,’” I spit fiercely. “I’m not. My dad started working for Barnes but resented him for it. He stole from him, got roughed up, and then begged me to come home to help him with his bum leg. Turns out, he owed Barnes more than he could pay or more than they could beat out of him, so he struck a deal.”