12. 12
Olivia lay back on the bed and stretched. She couldn’t help but grin at the memory of teasing Caden back to bed, where she had to admit, he’d outdone himself. After bringing her to a boneless, exhausted satisfaction, he’d stayed a little longer then gotten up, dressed and left.
She’d hated seeing him go, but understood he had things to get done. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t see him soon anyway.
Thinking of which, she needed to get up and hit the shower. If she didn’t get a move on, she wouldn’t be ready when he came to get her. She’d enjoyed a formal event with him yesterday, a relaxed one sounded even better for today.
With a sigh, she forced herself to get out of bed. As she made her way into the bathroom, she winced at the ache of beard burn on her thighs. Not that she could regret it. And secretly hoped for more after the barbeque this afternoon.
A hot shower later, she felt like an entirely new person as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror in her underwear working on her hair and make-up. Satisfied it was as good as she was going to get it today, she went for her clothes. A nicer pair of jeans, a cute blouse that stopped just below the waistband of her jeans and boots.
She was checking her hair after dressing when she heard the knock on her door. Excitement bubbled through her as she went to answer it.
Olivia opened the door to reveal not Caden as she’d expected, but Elizabeth. She glanced at the clock before stepping back to let her sister in.
“What’s up? I don’t have a lot of time before my date will be here.”
“The same guy from last night?”
“I have been seeing him for a while now, why would seeing him twice in two days surprise you?” She had to keep up the story she’d been telling her family, so she lied to Elizabeth about how long they’d been seeing each other.
“Do you know who he is?” Elizabeth lowered her voice, as if he was in the house and she didn’t want to be overheard.
“Caden?” Olivia asked. “He’s my boyfriend. He’s a good guy. You met him yesterday.”
“He’s part of the Kings of Destruction.”
Olivia frowned, not seeing why that should matter. She’d heard of the local motorcycle club before, who hadn’t? Especially after the trouble last year where their president and a couple other members had been arrested. But Olivia was sure Caden hadn’t been part of that. Or had he?
No, he couldn’t have. He’d told her he worked out at KMM. She knew they ran background checks to get on so he couldn’t have a criminal record.
“I know, but I fail to see why that makes a difference.” The last thing she would do was let Elizabeth know she hadn’t already known that.
Her sister made a frustrated noise and threw her hands in the air. “Mom is going to lose her shit when she realizes he’s part of that group. She’s been trying to run them out of town for years. And that you brought one of them to Lainey’s wedding. Her head might actually explode.”
“Good for her.” Olivia shrugged.
Elizabeth stared at her for a moment, eyes wide and disbelieving.
“I’m tired of Mom telling us who we can and can’t date. Who is up to her expectations and who isn’t. I like Caden. He’s a good guy. I’m going to keep seeing him. And if her head explodes then she can pick up the pieces or not. I haven’t lived in her house in a long time and it’s time she realized it.” Olivia clenched her teeth to keep from saying something she would regret later. She liked Caden and wasn’t about to let what her mother might think keep her from seeing him.
“What are you doing this afternoon?”
“Going out with Caden.” Olivia checked the clock on the wall across the room. “He’ll be here to pick me up soon.” She watched Elizabeth hoping she would take the hint and leave.
“Have you heard anything from Lainey today?” her sister asked instead.
“I haven’t talked to her, but I didn’t expect to. I did have a text from her today letting me know they were getting ready to board their plane. I wished her a good trip, but haven’t heard anything else. I don’t expect to. She’s on her honeymoon. Let them enjoy each other.”
Elizabeth snorted. “As if they haven’t been living together for the last two years. I’m not sure why they’re making such a big deal about finally getting married.”
“They wanted to, and since they paid for it, I don’t begrudge them any of it. It made them happy. Let them have what they want.” Olivia shook her head.
Elizabeth let out a sound of exasperation, as if she’d expected Olivia to feel the same way she did.
“If there’s nothing else, I need to finish getting ready before Caden gets here. He’ll be here any time.” She glanced toward the door, hoping her sister would take the hint.
She did. Elizabeth said goodbye and left. Olivia watched as her car pulled away from the curb, replaced only a couple moments later by a motorcycle. Olivia found herself rooted to the spot, watching as the rider stepped off the bike and pulled off his helmet, setting it on top of the gas tank before heading for her door.
As Caden took the steps up to the door, she found herself grinning up at him.
“I didn’t know you were bringing the bike.”
“I hope that’s okay. Have you ever ridden one?”
Olivia shook her head.
“That’s okay. I’ll do all the work, you just need to follow my lead.”
She stepped back and let him inside. He stepped in, let the door close behind him then moved close. One arm hooked around her waist, and she found herself staring up at him as his head lowered to hers.
One brief, searing kiss later he stepped back and looked her up and down.
“That will do,” he motioned to what she wore, “but do you have a jacket? Denim will do, but leather would be better.”
Olivia blinked at him a moment before the meaning of his words registered. Her brain was still fogged from the heat of the one all too swift kiss.
“I don’t have leather, but I do have a denim jacket.” She turned for the bedroom to retrieve it from her closet. He didn’t follow but waited there in the front room for her to return. By the time she made it back to the living room, she’d put the jacket on and grabbed her wallet and dropped it into the interior pocket of the jacket. “There, that way I won’t have to mess with a purse.”
He glanced at the bag with two short u-shaped handles sitting on the table in the hall.
“It’s probably better that way. Cross body bags or backpacks work better on a bike, just so you know and can be better prepared another time.”
“Good to know. I’m ready when you are.” She liked that he assumed there would be another time. She’d enjoyed the time she’d spent with him and wanted there to be more.
She locked up and followed him out to the curb where he’d parked. Butterflies seemed to be doing acrobatics in her stomach. He unstrapped a helmet from the rear seat and handed it to her.
“Do you need help with this?” He watched her a moment.
“Probably, but let me try.” Olivia fumbled a moment as she slid on the helmet, she managed to fasten the clip, but fumbled as she tried to adjust it to fit better. “I give up,” she said after a bit.
“You did good. A lot of people can’t get them fastened.” His fingers made quick work of adjusting the strap.
She felt his thumb slide in alongside her jaw for a moment and press against something inside the helmet then it was gone.
“All right, let me get on, then I’ll show you where to put your feet. Mind these pipes here.” He pointed to thick shiny silver tubing near the tire. “That’s the exhaust. It gets really hot and will burn you in heartbeat.”
She nodded and waited while he threw one leg over the seat and settled on to the bike then with first one foot then the other, he used the heel of his boot to kick down a fold out peg.
“Put your foot here and throw the other over, just like you were getting on a horse or bicycle. Put your feet on the pegs and make sure you’re not touching the exhaust.”
She did as he instructed, bracing her hands on his shoulders as she settled on to the bike then dropped her hands to rest on her upraised knees.
“You’ll want to hold onto me until you get a hang of it. Let your body follow mine. If I lean, lean with me, not against, it might seem counterintuitive, but trust me, okay?”
She nodded then realized he couldn’t see her. “Okay.”
He turned the key and started the motorcycle. The roar of the engine was muffled by the helmet, and she couldn’t help but be glad she had it on, even if it was heavy and meant she couldn’t hear Caden well. She probably wouldn’t be able to hear him with the bike running anyway.
“Ready?” His voice was oddly disembodied, but clear.
It only took her a moment to realize there was some kind of radio system built into the helmet.
“Ready.” She wrapped her arms around his middle and held on. Excitement bubbled through her as they started moving, then went a little faster.
“Remember to lean with me, not against,” he said as he leaned into a turn.
She did as he said, but couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if they would tip over and end up rolling along the road like bowling pins. But as they pulled out of the turn, the bike leaned upright once more, sending relief washing through her.
The ride didn’t take long. Not more than ten minutes had passed before Caden pulled into a fenced yard around a large warehouse where several bikes lined up in front of the building and even more cars and trucks of various ages and states of repair lined the fence across from the building. They pulled in and he turned the bike to face the cars then walked it backwards. She started to move, sure it would be easier for him if she wasn’t sitting on the bike, but he spoke.
“Don’t move, this won’t take long, and I don’t want you accidently hurt.” He finished backing the bike into line with the others then killed the engine. “All right, step off, careful of the pipes though.” He waited until she had dismounted then swung his leg back and over the seat. Once he stood beside her, he lifted his helmet off, hung it on the handlebars and turned to her. “Got it?”
“Yep!” she said as she found the clasp and released the chin strap, then lifted the helmet off her head and handed it back to him while she shook out her hair.
“Good. Come on. Let’s go inside. You can meet my friends and their families.”