Bounty:Fury Riders MC(63)

"Is that okay? I don't want to keep imposing on you. You've done much more than enough."

"Please, go ahead. You have your own life." He watches as I get to my  feet, stretching after spending so long on the floor. "Where are you  going, anyway? To your parents'?"

Crap. I hadn't thought about that. It seems like a waste now. I was just  going to drive home in two days anyway. By the time I got there  tonight, it would be bedtime.

"I don't think so. It's sort of a long drive. I should go back to my  house. Maybe I'll stop by the shop, make sure it's been shoveled out. I  probably have to shovel my sidewalk."

"I hope one of your neighbors had a heart and did it for you."

"Uh, between you and me, I hope the same thing." I laugh. It sounds hollow even to me.

"If you need any help, you know you can call me, right?" He moves closer  to me, making my heart beat faster as he always does. Where does that  power come from?

"I appreciate it. I might take you up on it, too, if I have two feet of  snow and no parking spot. I might even end up coming back here."

"I wouldn't mind if you did."

Oh. My heart is pounding like an express train. My mouth is dry. He  couldn't be clearer if he said the actual words, Christina, I like you  and want to be with you. So why won't he say the actual words already?  Maybe he could end my agony by giving me an answer to my questions.

But I don't have the guts to make the first move, that's for sure.         

     



 

"So, um, do you wanna give me your number? And I'll give you mine, in case you need to call me?"

"Yes, for sure." I put my number in his phone and he does the same in  mine. This is so awkward I can hardly stand it. We're suddenly like two  teenagers after their first date.

"Okay. So, I guess I'll go now." I look up at him, unsure what to do now. Should we hug? Shake hands? Wave?

I'm so relieved when he holds his arms out. I walk into them, close my  eyes when they circle around me. It feels so good. It shouldn't feel  this good, but it does. I wish I knew how he feels.

"Thank you for staying here with me."

I have to laugh. "You're thanking me? Thank you for letting me stay.  It's been a real experience." I smile, hoping he can somehow see through  my words to what's in my heart.

Instead of replying with words, he kisses me gently.





Chapter 17

"Chris! What are you doing here?" Amy's standing behind the counter,  hands on hips. I look around, pleased to see a few tables filled with  customers. Afternoons are always a slow time, so the business is  welcome.

"Surprise! This was all part of a plan to lull you into slacking off so I can catch you in the act," I tease.

She laughs. "Darn it, I knew I should have brought the strippers in  earlier today. Now what will I tell the ladies who expect a show  tonight?"

I'm a little disturbed by how quickly she came up with that comeback,  but I know she's kidding. At least, I hope she is. I take off my coat,  then start an espresso for myself at one of the machines. Losing sleep  for the sake of sex never seems like a bad idea at the time. It's a  different story when a person has to function later on.

Amy is watching me closely, sees me trying to stifle a yawn. To her  credit, she holds back from peppering me with questions, though I'm sure  it's all she wants to do. I'm deliberately withholding, wanting to have  a little fun with her.

"How's it been here?"

"Thank God for kind neighbors, that's all I have to say. The guys from  the hardware store dug us out yesterday. I wasn't able to get in here  until today though."

"Understandable. No worries." I sip my latte, leaving it at that.

"Okay, you are way too calm right now. No more questions? Nothing?"

I shrug. "When did I give you the idea I'm some ogre? I always thought I was a pretty fair boss."

"It's just, I know you. You would have found a way to make it in."

"Amy, I wasn't far away from here during the storm. I know how bad it  was. Believe me. There's no reason to risk your life on untreated roads  when, let's face it, there's little chance anybody in town would have  made it out here. You'd have broken your neck to open the shop for  nobody."

"Wait, you weren't far away? You didn't go to your parents' house?"

I shake my head, glancing in the direction of the few customers still  left in the shop. She takes the hint and lets it drop for now. While I'm  here, I review inventory and place orders for deliveries to be made  later in the week, all in the hopes of getting a head start on the week  ahead.

Finally, the shop empties out. It's nearly closing time for a Sunday.  Amy runs to the door, flipping the sign to Closed before pulling down  the shade and locking up. "Jeez, I thought they'd never leave! Now you'd  better spill, or I'll burst!"

"What makes you think there's anything to be spilled?" I'm playing it cool, coy.

"Um, maybe because you wouldn't say anything while the Morgans were  drinking their tea. If it were innocent, you would have explained  already."

"Okay, okay, fine." I take a seat at one of the tables, Amy diving into  the chair across from mine. She's like a kid waiting to open presents on  Christmas morning. I guess this speaks to the fact I never have  anything interesting to talk about besides work.

"I was on my way to my parents' house when the storm hit. I'm such an  idiot. I had no idea it was supposed to snow the way it did. I was  completely unprepared."

"Oh, no! I was hoping you beat it, too. What happened?"

"I'm telling you! So I didn't get very far away from town before I had  to pull over. I couldn't see a thing, the road was a mess, and I was  running low on gas."

"Oh, my God. That is, like, one of my worst fears. Being stranded like that."

"I didn't even have a blanket. No water, no signal on my phone. I was fucked."

"Holy shit! How did you get out of it? Don't tell me you spent two whole days in your car with no water!"

I shake my head, pressing my lips together to keep from smiling like a lunatic.

"Well? What did you do? Drink melted snow?"

"No! I was … rescued."

"Rescued? By the police?" I shake my head. "Firemen?" Still shaking. "Then who?"

I hesitate, wanting to draw the suspense out a little further. "By a man."

"A man … a man? Like … a man?" Her eyes are wide and round, her mouth hanging open.         

     



 

"Yup. A man. A really amazing man."

"Wait, what? Amazing? How? Where did you go?"

"He took me back to his house. He lived not far from the road. Thank God  he saw me. I'm not exaggerating; I could have frozen to death out  there. As it was, I fell asleep not long after I pulled over. Without  him, I'd be dead right now."

"Oh, Chris." Amy's eyes fill with tears as she takes my hand. "That's horrible. I don't even wanna think about it."

"It didn't happen, though. He found me. And he took me home."

"Wow," she breathes. "What a miracle. So you were at this guy's house the past two days?"

"Yeah, I just left a little while ago and came straight here to find out how things were going."

"Okay." She looks at me, hard. "What did you do with this guy for the  last two days? Don't tell me you played board games this whole time."

I shrug.

She slaps my arm. "Oh, come on! Tell me! I tell you things like that!"

Yeah, and I don't need to hear about it. "Let's just say, I'm a lot more relaxed than I've been in a long time."

"What? You slept with him?"

"So what?"

"Oh, I'm not trying to make you feel bad!" She laughs merrily. "It just  doesn't seem like something you would do! Little Goody Two-Shoes.  Believe me, I'm happy for you!" Then her voice drops to a whisper. "How  was he?"

I feel my skin burning, and I know I'm as red as a tomato. "He was  ridiculously good. I mean, like, whoa … " I trail off, lost in my  memories. "It was more than that. He's hard, brusque, blunt. He drove me  insane. We kept bickering for the first day or so."

"Ooh, that's always the best. All that passion builds up and finally explodes."

"I guess you could say that's what happened. We definitely exploded."

Amy claps her hands wildly. "I'm so excited for you!"

I can't help giggling, all pretense of playing it cool over. "It wasn't  just the sex either. I really like him. He's got a good heart. He just  tries to hide it. Like he's some hard ass, you know?"

"Ooh, like a bad boy?" She giggles, and I nod. That's the closest description I can think of.

"Do you see this going anywhere? Will you see him again?"

"I hope so. I want to. I was wondering earlier, before I left him, whether … whether I was starting to have feelings for him."

"Ohhh … " Amy sighs, hands over her heart. "This is probably the most  romantic thing I've ever heard! Like something out of a movie. A dashing  bad boy saves your life, then steals your heart!" She closes her eyes,  sighing again.