“Hands around my waist, babe,” he reminded me, just as he started the engine. “Now.”
“You know, all these years, I thanked my lucky stars daddy didn't actually kill you that night we kissed,” I whispered in his ear, tucking my hands across his tight abs. “I wish I'd remembered what a huge bastard you can be.”
“Only when I gotta remind somebody how hard these balls can swing, babe. You put on your sweet old lady act, and they won't have to slap you again. I'll give you the same respect I did years ago, when I didn't mind taking a few bullets for you. Still don't, princess, in case you give a damn. This is all just peacekeeping shit, and we both know it. So let's forget the insults and act real peaceful-like.”
I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth, all I could do to avoid more trouble. His words surprised me, softening the fire in my blood more than I expected.
I shouldn't have mocked him about the shooting when we were kids, something that truly had twisted my stomach in knots in all the years I'd left him, wondering if he'd been permanently disfigured by a bad shoulder.
The bike kicked hard as we headed onto the highway. Soon, it wasn't a struggle to hold onto him, though I wished it were.
Clinging to this crude devil while we pierced the wind shouldn't have felt so horribly natural. Especially when it was just 'peacekeeping shit' like he said, without a prayer of ever becoming anything real.
It was late by the time we finally got into town. We headed straight for daddy's place, after I insisted it was as good an option as any.
The club wouldn't be any happier if they learned we'd snuck into town under their noses. I wanted to give my father a head's up so he could tell the rest of his guys. Hopefully preventing any bloody noses or broken bones if they ran into Asphalt around town.
“Whatever, babe,” he grunted at a stoplight on the edge of town. “You'd better get your shit fast. I'm not staying a second longer in your old man's place than I really need to.”
“Oh?” I suppressed a smile. “Thought you were my old man now?”
Something possessed me to throw my arms around his neck. I breathed his scent deep, letting it flow into me, warm and strong and curiously soothing.
Maybe riding so close with him all damned day had done something to my brain chemistry. I didn't want to admit how badly I craved him, his body at least, but mine wasn't giving me much choice.
He pushed my hands away just as the light turned green. The bike jerked forward, and I heard him clear his throat.
“You know what I mean,” he growled. “I'm trying to do you a favor, bringing you back to your home turf where you can feel like you're solid in your own skin. Let's get this over with.”
I studied his face in the mirror. He'd turned so stone cold, and it caused my heart to sink like an anchor.
I'd played too many games. He didn't want me. He was on a run for his club, and it'd finally sunken into his head that I was just his cargo, nothing more.
The new distance between us was what I'd wanted badly before. But now, it rattled me to my very core.
We pulled up to my old house with a steady Seattle rain falling. Asphalt shook off the drops like they were nothing. I folded my arms tight like a cocoon, trying to stop my teeth from chattering.
He stood quietly while I ripped off my helmet and pushed it into his hands, then watched as he shoved it in storage. He'd been staring at the house, the place where he'd first put those scoundrel lips on mine.
The same place where he'd nearly lost his life. More than four years ago, but for some damnable reason, it seemed like yesterday.
He held a fresh cigarette, filling his lungs with a long pull of smoke. He let it drop when he saw me looking, stomping it out on the cracked sidewalk with his boot.
“What's the deal?” I asked, trying to figure him out.
“Nothing. We've got bigger business ahead. Hope you've still got a key to this place, babe, 'cause I'm not kicking down the door and letting some jumpy prospect blast a hole in my head.”
Smiling, I fished out my keys and followed him up. I undid the lock and pushed my way inside, wondering if daddy had lightened up on the constant guard around his house since I'd moved out.
I stopped for a moment, breathing in the familiar scent of smoke, beer, and long lost memories. The door clicked gently shut behind me, and Asphalt rubbed my shoulder. Time to move.
We headed down the hall, aiming for the staircase leading to my room. Asphalt stayed close behind me.
When I heard a snarl like a cougar getting caught in a trap, I thought I'd gone deaf.
“Holy shit!” The words exploded from my mouth just as three of my father's guys appeared from nowhere, grabbed him, and smashed him against the wall so hard I thought he'd leave a human imprint.