Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
A loud honking and the sound of someone screaming “Wooohooo!” from a passing car jolted me out of the moment. I pushed against his shoulders. Rome let me step back, although he kept his arm around my body. His eyes were smoky with lust, and I thought I saw the hint of a flush showing underneath the tan of his cheeks.
Yup, the feeling was definitely mutual.
Then he shot a glance toward the apartment and smiled. “Let’s get out of here. Your family is enjoying this show a little more than I’d like.”
My head jerked around to find Kayden and Lexi watching from the window. Kayden started waving frantically. Rome raised a hand, returning my brother’s wave. I turned back to her, sheepish.
“I’m used to living on my own,” I said. “I’d forgotten what it’s like to be around the kids.”
“I get it,” he said. “My people can be a little overwhelming, too. No worries. Now let’s get a helmet on you and get out of here. You know, before they decide they want to follow us.”
Chapter Two
If kissing Rome had sent my pulse racing, wrapping my arms and legs around his strong body to ride across Loup Loup Pass was enough to elevate it to near aerobic levels.
Aside from the fact that I was currently snuggled up with a sexy, hunky guy, just being on the bike kicked ass. I’d forgotten how much I loved the wind rushing by, and the way the road opened up in front of us. It felt like freedom—the chance to experience something new and undiscovered.
Something exciting.
I’d only ridden on a motorcycle twice in my life. The first time, my brother Aiden’s dad had taken me out when I was five years old. I’d never liked the guy—he seemed to think my mom was his personal servant—but I’d loved that ride. It’d felt like flying, and I’d found myself laughing and singing with the thrill of it.
The second time had been eight years ago, with Rome. That’d felt like flying, too, but with an added thrill because he’d been the first real man I’d ever dated. Everything else had been high school stuff. You know, fooling around with boys who might one day be men, but certainly weren’t in that category yet. I remembered holding Rome tight, excited by the ride, by the man, and by the whole idea of us together.
In that moment, it’d felt like anything was possible.
Then the fires came, and my whole family—me, Mom, the kids, and my grandparents—had been forced to evacuate. Grandma and Grandpa’s place had burned, and they decided they were too old to rebuild. We landed in Missoula, and I still lived there.
Except now I was back in Hallies Falls for at least a few days—maybe longer—and my arms were wrapped tight around Rome again. That first date hadn’t ended with us naked and sweaty in his sheets, but after the kiss we’d just shared, I was seriously considering the possibility of it happening tonight.
On the surface, sleeping with him was a bad idea.
For one thing, I usually wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of girl, and I had the feeling he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy. At least, that’d been his reputation the first time we met. And that was before he’d joined a motorcycle club, which wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement when evaluating his potential manwhore status. To be fair, my old boss, Tinker, had managed to settle down with a biker. But for the most part, the Reapers seemed to prefer living wild and free.
So, that was the first issue.
The second was that Rome lived in the same town as my family, which meant I’d probably see him again sooner or later. A fun hookup tonight could make future grocery runs awkward. Especially if the interview I’d had yesterday at the dental clinic turned into a real job. A friend from high school had forwarded the listing to me, and I’d sent in my resume almost as a joke. I mean, once I’d finally gotten out of Hallies Falls, I’d sworn that I’d never look back. Applying for a job here made no sense at all, right?
But three years ago, Mom blew out three discs in her back. She had to go on disability. The cost of living was lower in Hallies Falls and she had ties to the community, so moving back here made sense. I’d been worried about Lexi and Kayden ever since, and this visit hadn’t exactly been reassuring. Lexi might act like she had it all together, but she was right about one thing—the situation wasn’t fair. She shouldn’t have to be the adult in the house at sixteen. I knew firsthand what that felt like, and I wanted better for her.
Maybe this date had been a mistake…
Fuck’s sake, it’s only a dinner, I reminded myself. Going out and having some fun for once isn’t going to kill you. Stop overthinking it.