“Great choice,” he breathed out as he continued to slowly push into me, easing my orgasm. He leaned forward and sucked on my nipple then dragged his tongue up my neck till he found my mouth.
I savoured him while I regained my composure, then broke away and let my body surrender completely against the motorcycle. “We need to do that again. This motorcycle is far too hot to be sitting idly in this garage. Maybe we can go for a ride down the coast on it.”
His body tensed slightly, then he pulled out and bent his legs, lowering himself onto the seat. “Yeah, maybe.”
“There’s a reason you don’t ride anymore isn’t there?’ I asked, as I sat up and faced him.
His eye twitched mildly. “Yes.”
Reaching forward, he grabbed my hips and lifted me on top of him. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist.
“Are you going to tell me why?”
He nuzzled my nose. “If I have to.”
I tilted my head up to kiss his nose. “Yes, you do.”
“I used to go riding with my dad. It was just something he and I did. When he died, I stopped riding. It just didn’t feel right.”
“Do you think you’ll ever ride again?”
“With you in my life, I’m pretty sure I can do anything.”
***
We redressed ourselves after the ride of a lifetime and walked hand in hand the long way around to the lobby of City Towers.
“Alexis, you look fabulous. It’s nice to see you getting around freely again,” Abigail said as she stepped out of the Concierge Attendant’s office.
“Thanks, Abigail. It’s so nice to be able to get around freely. You really do take the ability to just walk around for granted.”
Samantha stepped out of the office and gave me a shy smile before ducking away quickly.
“Please excuse me for a second, Abigail. Hey, Sam,” I called after her. “Wait a second.” She stopped hesitantly and spun around, putting on a fake smile.
“How are you doing?” I asked, cautiously.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you suck at lying?”
She bit the inside of her lip. “Yeah, my dad.”
I scoffed. “Have you spoken to Gareth since you told him you needed space?”
“No. I just need more time.”
“Okay, I’m not pressuring you in any way. I just want to let you know that if you have any questions, ask. Again, no pressure, but Gareth really likes you, and he understands your need for distance.” I can’t believe I am sticking up for Gareth.
She let out a long-winded breath and nodded her head. “Thanks. Look, I gotta go. We are being briefed on the hotel’s Christmas festivities.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon.” I watched her walk away, knowing that she was torn about her feelings for Gareth. Unfortunately, there was really nothing I could do about it. Sam had a decision to make, and she had to make it on her own.
I sighed dejectedly and turned back around to find Bryce chatting away to a blonde that I recognised as none other than Chelsea. I took in her close stance next to him and her blatant flirting; the girl just didn’t let up. I still hadn’t confirmed with Bryce whether or not he had ever put her in her place about their friendship being just that—a friendship. Regardless, it seemed quite obvious that she needed a reminder—I’d had just about enough of her disregard of our relationship.
I confidently walked up to Bryce and threaded my arm through his. “Sorry, I just needed to tell Sam something,” I smiled apologetically at him, then turned on Artificial-Alexis for the bitch in front of me. “Hello, Chelsea. How are you?”
“Wonderful,” she answered, batting her eyes at Bryce. Are you for fucking real? “I see your ankle has healed?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m back to my old self.”
“How nice,” she answered dryly. “Bryce, I’ve been meaning to tell you about the new Bell that Dad’s looking at acquiring. You really should come down to the heliport and have a chat with him.”
“I’m sure he knows what he is looking at,” Bryce answered politely. This bitch needs the opposite of politeness. She needs a face full of rudeness; unashamed, deliberate impertinency. “Excuse us, Chelsea. We need to see Dale about the elevator.” He went to lead me away.
I let go of his arm. “You go. I need to have word to Chelsea. I won’t be a second.”
He gave me an unsure glance but turned and headed for Dale’s office.
When he was out of earshot I turned to face Chelsea. “This stops now,” I hissed. “Whatever you think you and Bryce have is over, so enough of the disrespectful flirting. Back the fuck off.”