Chapter 11
“You’re mine, Joci. No one else’s.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
“I don’t want any other man, Jeremiah. I need you to want only me. Promise me.”
Jeremiah lifted his head to look at her.
“I only want you, Joci. I’m a one-woman man.”
They tucked themselves into bed, and both of them fell blissfully asleep in each other’s arms.
Jeremiah woke Joci around six a.m. He brought her a cup of coffee and set it on the bedside table. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth, surprised that she responded so quickly to his kiss. She rolled to her back, pulling him over with her, causing him to groan.
“God, you’re an insatiable little woman. How in the hell am I going to keep you satisfied?”
Joci laughed, “I was just thinking the same thing about you. You’re the one who started kissing me.”
Jeremiah chuckled, “I just brought you some coffee. It’s six o’clock. We need to get to the shop in about an hour and a half.”
Joci sat up, took the coffee cup in her hand, and breathed in the scent. She took a sip. “Mmm, very good. Thank you.”
Jeremiah lay on his side, still nude, watching her.
She raked her eyes over his body. “How is it you look great all the time? Geez, you’re going to give me a complex,” Joci smiled.
He returned her smile. “How is it you look great all the time?”
She shook her head. “I exercise because I have to. I still have a squishy belly from having a very big boy, and if I don’t work at it, it doesn’t take long to look flabby.”
Jeremiah pushed the covers down and looked at her belly.
“I don’t think it looks squishy.”
He leaned over and kissed her stomach. She had a few stretch marks he hadn’t noticed last night. He traced his finger along one of them, and she moved to push his hand away and grab the covers. He stopped her and kissed where he had just traced.
“These don’t make you look bad, Joci. They came from having your amazing son. It’s part of life.”
Joci looked at him. “Men don’t get these marks from having kids. They look for women who don’t have them.”
Jeremiah looked at Joci. “I don’t. I don’t give a shit about a few little marks on your belly. I care about you, the whole package.”
Joci sighed loudly. Jeremiah kept touching her belly and kissing her imperfections. “Did you ever think about having another baby, Joci?”
She looked at Jeremiah. “There was a time I longed for a little girl. My whole adult life was all about boy things. Boy games. Boy clothes. Boy everything. I wanted a pretty little girl to spoil. Now I’m too old.”
Jeremiah looked at her with furrowed brows. “No, you’re not. Under the right circumstances, it would be great.”
“Yes, well, the right circumstances haven’t materialized.” She smiled.
Joci watched Jeremiah look at her belly.
“Did you ever want another baby?” she whispered.
“I guess I never thought about it. I didn’t have anyone in my life I wanted to have a baby with. It would be so different with the right person.”
Uh oh, Joci wasn’t going there. She had already raised a boy by herself. She wasn’t willing to risk having another child she would have to raise by herself. She started sitting up and pulling away when Jeremiah caught her leg.
“Don’t get scared. I was just thinking out loud.”
Joci didn’t want to have this conversation.
The women in her family had all gone through early menopause.
She hadn’t had a regular period in two years.
She was on birth control to regulate her periods.
Her doctor didn’t like putting her on birth control at her age, but it worked for her.
However, if it was the beginning of menopause, she was grateful she didn’t have the other horrible symptoms yet—hot flashes, mood swings, any of that.
Joci cleared her throat, “We should probably get going.”
Jeremiah sat up. “Will you ride with me today, Joci? I know you ride yourself, and I don’t want to take anything from you, but I would love it if you would ride with me and be with me today. I want to feel your legs wrapped around me and talk to you while we ride. Will you do that?”
She cocked her head to the side and studied him. She would be able to look around and see all the bikes and signs that people had told her she would see.
She smiled. “I would like that.”
Jeremiah winked. “I’m anxious for everyone to know we’re finally together.”
Joci slid off the side of the bed. “I think quite a few people already know after we left last night. I’m sure word was traveling like crazy once we were gone.”
She walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
She peeked out at Jeremiah, who was watching her walk away. “We’ll need to go to my place to get some clean clothes, though.”
“No problem. But I want you to pack some things and bring them here. I’ll clear out some space in the closet and dresser for you. We can begin that way.”
She hesitated a moment before turning and stepping into the shower and under the spray of water to wash her hair.
Jeremiah joined her, quickly washed up, and then stepped out, giving her the massive shower for herself.
She took her time letting the water slide over her body, and the fresh scent of his shower soap tickled her nostrils.
She giggled, thinking that now she would even smell like Jeremiah. Little doubt they were together.
* * *
When she stepped out, Jeremiah walked into the bathroom.
“I warmed up your coffee. Do you need anything else?” He set the cup on the counter, and the scent of fresh coffee wafted up to her nose.
She smiled, marveling at her good fortune in finding him.
He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, which, of course, were incredibly sexy on him.
Slung low on his hips, with little frays on the belt loops.
As her eyes traveled down the length of him, she noticed his fly move a little and the muscles bunched in his thighs.
Now that she knew what was underneath, she thought he was even sexier.
Her eyes traveled back up to his, and her breath caught at the intensity of his gaze.
“You keep looking at me like that, and you’ll be bent over the counter in no time. ”
Joci’s cheeks tinted pink, but she smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders.
“You’re not the only one who can’t get enough.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I have to get out of here, or we’ll be late.”
He turned to leave, wearing a t-shirt that was the men’s version of the shirt that matched hers for the ride today, tucked in his jeans, which showed off his fantastic ass. He had his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. So sexy. “Do you need anything?”
Jeremiah looked at her, surprise on his face. “Not anymore. I have everything I need right here in front of me.”
Joci smiled and cocked her head. He chuckled, tapped the tip of her nose, and left.
A while later, Joci found Jeremiah in the garage getting the bike ready. When she stepped out of the house, he looked her over, and a loud breath escaped.
“You look beautiful, Joci. I’m a lucky man.”
She smirked and shook her head. “Quick stop at my house and then we can be on our way.”
She walked over to the bike and looked at what he was doing. “What’s up?”
Jeremiah stood. “I put this air pad on the passenger seat for you. Right here is a pump; you can add air by pumping it. You remove air by pushing this button here. I thought it would be more comfortable.”
Joci cocked her head to the side. “Thank you. That’s thoughtful. I’m sorry to make you go to any trouble.”
“No trouble.”
He opened the tour pack on the back of the bike, and she put her purse inside.
He leaned down and kissed her, then swatted her on the ass. “Are you hungry? I thought we could go eat somewhere after we leave your place.”
“Breakfast sounds great.”
* * *
Jeremiah got on the bike and brought up the kickstand; Joci climbed on behind him.
He had removed the backrest behind him so he could lean into her.
He always rode alone, detesting the women who milled about looking for a ride.
He was so excited for Joci to ride with him today; he couldn’t wait to get on the road.
They rolled slowly out of the garage. Jeremiah hit the garage door button and off they went.
It was beautiful riding in the morning. The sun was up, and the weather was mild.
The temperature today was supposed to be eighty-two degrees; great for May in Wisconsin.
Jeremiah took some back roads, loving the curvy, quiet pace.
Joci leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his left shoulder.
At breakfast, they talked about the day and how many bikes they thought would join them. Already one hundred and twenty-six bikes had preregistered. That was a new record, and that was because Joci developed the website attached to Rolling Thunder’s website for bikers to preregister.
“Next year, we’ll have more,” Joci said.
He smiled. “I love that you acknowledge you’ll be with me next year.”
A soft smile touched her lips, the soft, smooth skin glistening from the coffee she sipped, and her little pink tongue peeking out to wet it.
He continued. “You’ll be meeting my whole family today.
They always participate in this ride. We’re all veterans, so it’s been a family affair since the beginning.
My dad and mom will be driving one of the chaser trucks.
Dad is in his early seventies and doesn’t feel comfortable on a bike in large crowds anymore, though he still rides by himself once in a while. ”
Jeremiah told her a little about each of his brothers—he had three.
Jeremiah was the second son. Dayton, the oldest, was two years older than Jeremiah.
Thomas was two years younger than Jeremiah, and then Bryce, who was five years Jeremiah’s junior.
They were close, but Jeremiah was the only one in the bike business.
His siblings all rode motorcycles but worked elsewhere.