Easy question. Easy to tell the truth. She stroked the soft curls at the back of his neck. Two years ago she would never have been able to imagine James with long hair. Now she couldn’t imagine him without it.
“Rex caught me. He said he wants me in his bed.” She shrugged off her jacket, thrusting her breasts out as it slid over her arms. Leather hit grass with a soft thud.
“He must have said something else,” James grumbled. “You were shaking when you came back to me.” Tension suddenly gripped him. His arm around her waist tightened. “Did he touch you? Hurt you?”
“That’s two more questions, five and six. You’re going to run out soon. But the answer to both questions is no. If you don’t believe me, you can check out the situation for yourself.” She unlaced the corset and shrugged it over her head, dropping it on the grass beside her jacket. The cool air on her bare skin made her shiver, but the heat in his gaze warmed her to her toes.
“James?”
“God, you’re beautiful.” He bent down and drew her nipple between his lips.
Success! Crisis averted.
Lana sucked in a sharp breath as the firm pull of his mouth sent waves of heat through her body. “Are we done with the questions? Please say we’re done.”
He switched to the other nipple, teasing her with his teeth until her brain fuzzed with lust. A moan escaped her lips and his arm locked around her, pulling her into his chest. She could feel his erection through his leathers, hard as steel and pressed tight against her pussy.
“Question seven…” he murmured against her ear, “…what else did Rex say?”
Noooooo. Her head fell back and she groaned as he sucked and laved her nipples into tight peaks. Unable to think, much less come up with a lie, she blurted out the truth. “He said he was giving me a choice and you weren’t one of the options.”
James froze and, quietly, he asked, “What did he mean by that?”
“I honestly don’t know. And that was question eight.”
He smoothed her hair from her face. “I’ll deal with him, babe. You won’t have to worry about him again.”
Lana shuddered at the undertone of menace in his voice. “You’re not going to…you know…hurt him, are you?”
His jaw tightened. “I’ll do what I have to do to keep you safe.”
“And how will you keep me safe if I do this?” She lay back over the gas tank and reached over her head for the handlebars. Her back arched up over the cold metal surface and her hair tumbled down the sides of the motorcycle like a waterfall.
A sound erupted from James’s throat—a cross between a choke and a groan. He smoothed his hands down her body, in and out of her curves and around her breasts. “Do you know what it does to me seeing you like this?”
Lana gave him a half smile. “After spending years surrounded by pictures of women and motorcycles, I have some idea what turns a biker on. And I have made a very careful study of you.” A cool breeze brushed over her bare skin, making her shiver. “Bikers especially like to see a woman lying naked across a motorcycle.”
James’s eyes darkened and he feathered his fingers over her exposed belly. “My woman. My motorcycle.” He gave her a look that was nothing short of carnal. “You want to play, babe?”
Her insides turned liquid. The first and only time they had played together had been the most intense sexual experience of her life. Although she hadn’t been able to handle his gentle restraint of her hands after Oktoberfest, tonight she was feeling brave. “Yes, James. I want to play. And that was your last damn question.”
Still, he didn’t move. His lips twisted to the side and he studied her, considering. “I thought you didn’t want this,” he said cautiously. “Last time you said it was a mistake. I don’t want you to feel that way again. If this isn’t right for you, if I’m not right for you, we should wrap it up and go home.”
Her stomach clenched. “I was scared, James. I was scared you would hurt me again, so I ran away. And I think I was right, because when you came to my apartment tonight you weren’t planning to stay. But something changed your mind, and when I saw you lying on those hay bales I changed my mind too. Tonight I’ve gone from thinking my life was over to spending another night with a motorcycle club. I’ve suffered through your near-death experience, an Alice in Wonderland kangaroo court and an altercation with Rex. It all makes me think I’d rather have a little piece of you and risk getting hurt again, than not have you at all.”