“How about we go home now? Or over there in the trees?” she said, her voice thick with desire. “Actually, I’m almost at the point where I don’t care if anyone sees us. How about here, now, over your bike?”
He pressed harder, his palm tracing a slow, agonizing circle around her clit. Her body tightened. Her sex squeezed. She gripped his shoulders and teetered on the edge of climax.
Then he walked away.
A thin whine escaped her and James grinned over his shoulder as he headed across the field to the dimly lit racetrack.
“Bastard,” she shouted, dipping her head so he couldn’t see her smile.
James spun around to face her and winked. “You have no idea.”
Half an hour later four motorcycles lined up on the tarmac behind a chalky white starting line. Cars dotted the runway, their lights illuminating the worn pavement of the rough oval the bikers had created for the race. Hay bales were stacked in the corners and stolen traffic cones marked the edges of the track.
The summer air was fresh and warm, and the bonfires from the kindling-filled barrels in the spectator’s area scented the air with the faint fragrance of cedar. Save for the orange glow of the city far in the distance, there were no lights visible from the field. No highways. No cars. No houses. No towers. They were in their own dark, dangerous world lit by fire and moonlight and the warm yellow glow of headlights.
The Hades crew had come prepared to party. Pickup trucks filled with beer kegs and snacks dotted the field. Bikers and their old ladies greeted Lana with warm welcomes and plastic cups filled with warm beer. While James prepped his motorcycle, Lana chatted with the people she knew and made a few new friends. Although a part of her was still wary about being around the bikers, she didn’t feel like she was acting a part. Here, tonight, she was Ice’s old lady and the knowledge warmed her from head to toe.
Of course he had put a watch on her. She was acutely aware of Ryder shadowing her every move. Kickstand had intervened when a drunken Diesel had fingered her curls. Spook and Slider flitted in and out of the crowd, appearing instantly at her side if anyone so much as brushed against her shoulder. She felt perversely safe.
Except from Rex.
Although she had only caught a glimpse or two of his blond ponytail and broad shoulders over the course of the evening, she felt his eyes on her everywhere she went. Had he recognized the tattoo? Jackie had put enough doubt in her mind to keep her from running, but she couldn’t afford to totally drop her guard.
She patted her pocket, checking to make sure her new minicam hadn’t fallen out during the ride. Jackie, a self-taught electronics expert, was still trying to retrieve the pictures of Rex and Portia from her lipstick camera. If Jackie hadn’t pointed out the race was yet another opportunity to get the pictures she needed for Angel, Lana would never have come. Not even for the chance to dress up in leather. But now that she was here, she was glad she had listened.
Lana joined a group thronged around Bones’s pickup truck. Always the life of the party, Jackie was at the center of the crowd, laughing it up with Diesel and Tally. Ryder leaned against the tailgate, arms crossed, watching her, his eyes glittering with amusement. Every so often Jackie would glance in his direction and give him a shy smile.
Lana’s heart gave a hopeful squeeze. Maybe it wasn’t a one-night stand after all. Maybe Jackie had finally found the one she had always talked about finding.
Bones called the next heat, and Lana and Jackie ran over to the track to watch James race against Rex, Dawg and Punch. As they eased their motorcycles to the starting line, Jackie sighed.
“I’m not so keen on this lineup. I mean, Ice looks hot. But the others…meh. Maybe you should just tell me who wins and I’ll go get another beer.”
Lana laughed. “The race will be between Rex and Ice. Dawg and Punch are riding stock crotch rockets with a lot of fairing but no real staying power. Dawg’s Honda VFR is good for speed but not against James’s modded V-Rod or Rex’s brand-new Kawasaki Ninja. Punch’s weight will slow him down on that Ducati.”
Jackie shook her head. “You sure can talk the talk. All these years you’ve been holding out on me. Don’t tell me you can ride too, because I used to have a motorcycle, and the idea of the two of us blazing through the mountains in our leathers makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.”
She gave Jackie a half smile. “I can ride.”
“Damn girl,” Jackie shrieked and threw her arms around Lana. “We better get in some new cases. We’ve got some motorcycles to buy.”
“Maybe you’ll have a guy to ride with.” Lana grinned and nodded toward Ryder standing not more than twenty feet away and engaged in a heated conversation with Bones.