The truck moved off. I gunned the throttle hard and then backed right off, letting the bike roll across the street as quietly as a big Harley can. The cement truck hid us completely to my right. I checked to the left and caught my breath. One Blood Spider was heading away from us but another was just turning to come back towards us.
Sweat broke out along my neck. I could speed up and get off the intersection in time but make more noise, or I could keep cruising and hope he was too far away to make us out against the dark wheels of the truck. I felt Annabelle suddenly grip me hard: she must have seen the guy too.
I decided to keep going. We were nearly through the intersection. Another few seconds….
A shout went up. Shit! I gunned the throttle hard and we sped into the next street, but I could already hear bike engines behind us. I turned into an alley and then into a narrower one, only a few feet wider than the bike. We blasted through cardboard cartons and other trash, Annabelle pressing herself in tight behind me so she could use me as a shield. I turned another corner and then quickly killed the engine, rolling to a stop behind a pile of discarded cartons. I listened. Had they seen where we went? Would they follow us in?
The thump of bike engines came closer and closer. I heard at least two of them turn into the first alley. It was like listening to a couple of huge beasts approaching, the low throb of their engines like heartbeats that shook the alley walls. There was nothing we could do: if we moved, they’d hear us. Our best chance was to sit tight in the darkness and hoped they missed us, then escape when they’d gone.#p#分页标题#e#
I twisted around in the saddle to explain that to Annabelle but, as soon as I saw her, fuck me if I didn’t forget how to speak.
It was dark in the alley but there was enough moonlight to make her pale skin glow, her black underwear adding to the effect. She was looking up at me with those big, moss-green eyes, willing me to get her out of there, willing me to know what I was doing.
It hit me like a sledgehammer. Fuck: she believed in me.
Her hands had slid from around my waist when I twisted around and now they were on my hips, cool fingers in the creases of my thighs. If she slid them forward even a few inches, she’d be caressing my cock and just the thought of it had me rock hard. If it had been one of the girls who hung around the club, I would have grabbed her wrists and damn well pulled her hands to my crotch myself. But just thinking about Annabelle grabbing me there made me feel guilty.
Since when did I feel guilty?
One of the bikes was getting closer. I tensed, ready to start the bike and tear off if the guy found our hiding place. Annabelle’s eyes went wide and she grabbed hold of my upper arms, squeezing my biceps tight. “Please don’t let them take me!” she said in a hoarse little whisper.
Jesus. She thought I was her hero.
Part of me gave a bitter little laugh inside. Another part grew harder and colder, like coal crushed into diamonds by the weight of everything I’d done. She has no fuckin’ idea.
But there was one tiny, rogue part of me that flared bright, in all that darkness. One stupid, childish part of me that wanted to be her hero. Her words made that part of me swell with pride, like I was some medieval knight being given a quest by a princess.
Princess. A good word for Annabelle. A sweet innocent princess captured by the enemy, relying on her white knight to save her. She didn’t realize I was dark as they come.
She was so goddamn beautiful, sitting there in the moonlight. That hair! I’d never seen anything like it: a gleaming, silken curtain of warm copper that hung right down to her mid back. I wanted to sink my fingers into it and wrap it around my fists. I wanted to stroke my hands down it and feel her naked skin beneath. And then I wanted to kiss her.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d fantasized about kissing a girl instead of just fucking her. What’s going on?!
She was looking right into my eyes, waiting to see what I’d do next. Her breathing had sped up: I knew because, out of the corner of my eye, I could see those soft breasts rising and falling. She’s scared of me. Yeah. That had to be it.
I didn’t let myself consider the alternative.
At that moment, the sudden snarl of an engine split the air. One of the Blood Spiders was coming down the alley. Thanks to the shadows, he hadn’t seen us yet, but he sure as hell would as he got closer. The pile of boxes we were behind only came up to our shoulders. They wouldn’t hide us completely unless—
I swung my legs over the bike and twisted fully around so that I was straddling it backward, facing Annabelle. Then I clapped my palm over her mouth and pushed her down.