“Give me a damn minute.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. It’s not like she had a choice with him blocking her.
“Have lunch with me tomorrow?”
“No,” she refused instantly.
“Dinner?”
“No.”
Ice removed his hand from the car door, tracing a finger down her cheek. “All I could think about when I was in the hospital was how bad I wanted to see you again.”
“You were in the hospital? When?” Dax had told her Ice had been released, but he hadn’t mentioned Ice had been hospitalized.
“Doesn’t matter. Will you have lunch with me?”
Grace bit her lip in indecision.
“You can pick the place and time.”
She knew it would be a mistake, a terrible mistake.
“The pain was awful. I had three broken ribs and a fractured sternum.”
Grace took a closer look at Ice, seeing the paleness of his skin and that he had lost weight. She had been so surprised to see him she hadn’t noticed the obvious changes.
“All right,” she gave in, instantly regretting it. “I’ll meet you at the Jiffy Grill at eleven.”
Ice grinned, moving away from the car to let her enter. She was about to tell him she had changed her mind, but he was already walking away toward Max and Jackal, who were waiting for him at the front entrance of the nightclub.
“Dammit.” She opened her car door and slid inside, angrily slamming the door closed.
CeCe was sitting there, staring at her. “Girl, he’s hot.”
“Shut up.”
Ice walked away, glad Grace couldn’t see the triumphant smile on his face.
“You look happy as shit with yourself,” Jackal commented.
“She agreed to go to lunch with me tomorrow,” Ice said, not slowing down as he walked across the parking lot to his bike.
Swinging a leg over the huge motorcycle, he started the engine.
“How did you get her to agree to that?” Max asked, getting on his own bike.
“I told her I had been in the hospital.”
“You played the pity card.”
“I’ll play any hand I have to, but that woman is going to be mine.”
Chapter 15
Grace pulled into the parking lot of the Jiffy Grill, getting out of her car as she continued to argue with herself about going in. She was almost to the front door when she convinced herself to turn around. She managed to take two steps back to her car when the sound of a motorcycle filled the air. Coming to a stop, she watched as Ice pulled into the parking lot.
She would never admit it to him, but he looked good, as if he belonged on the huge monster he brought to a stop in front of her, turning off the motor.#p#分页标题#e#
“Going somewhere?”
“Um... I was going inside the restaurant. I just got here.”
“The restaurant is that way.” Ice nodded toward the building.
Not wanting to lie again, she stayed quiet, unable to take her eyes off him.
“You hungry?”
“Not really.” She was so nervous she felt as if she might vomit. She needed to get back into her car and leave as fast as she could.
People going to the small grill were looking at them curiously as they entered.
“Then let’s go for a ride.”
Immediately, Grace shook her head, taking a step back. “I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before. I’m afraid I’ll fall off.”
“You won’t fall off. Come on, we’ll just go around the block a couple of times. If you don’t like it, I’ll bring you right back here, and we’ll go inside and eat a lunch neither of us wants.”
Knowing she was making the biggest mistake of her life didn’t prevent her from taking a step forward and timidly climbing on the back of Ice’s bike.
“Hold on tight to my waist.”
Hesitantly, her arms circled his waist as she scooted forward on the bike. Thank God she had dressed casually, wearing jeans, boots, and a chunky sweater with a thick jacket.
Ice started the motor and her breath caught as he pulled out of the parking lot. He drove down the street before turning down a side road where he slowly rode through several neighborhoods.
Grace loved it. She had never expected to enjoy the experience, but the sound of the motor thrummed through her blood as the air rushed passed her face, tugging at her hair.
Ice came to a stop at a red light next to the diner.
“More?” he yelled over the loud motor.
“Yes!”
As the light turned green, she expected Ice to go faster, but he didn’t, driving slowly through town and leaving the city limits for longer country roads. Her arms tightened as his speed gradually increased.
A part of herself she had known when she was young and wild came back to life, enjoying the ride as she had never dreamed possible. She could almost understand why men gave up normal lives to be able to answer the call of the road. To be free was everyone’s dream, and the motorcycle gave you that as the miles soared past and homes became fewer and fewer.