Chapter 32
Sloane
I glance one last time in the mirror. No lipstick on my teeth? Check. No smudged mascara? Check. Jewelry, hair, shoes? Check. Check. Check. I’m ready.
Excitement buzzes through me as I exit my bedroom. Correction, my former bedroom. I’m now sleeping with Zane every night. But I dressed in here because I wanted to surprise him with a sexy outfit for our first big date.
"Whee-oo," Zane whistles when I reach the living room. He motions for me to twirl around and I do.
He catches my wrist and draws me near. “You’re sexy, sweetness. But you can’t ride my bike with a skirt on.”
I push away from him. “Not a skirt.” I kick one leg out. “It’s a jumpsuit.”
His gaze roves over my outfit.
“Are you studying how to get me out of this?”
He shrugs. “You can’t blame me for being curious about what kind of bra you’re wearing.”
The jumpsuit has a deep v top. It’s impossible to wear a bra with.
I bite my bottom lip and look up at him from beneath the lashes. “Maybe I’m not wearing a bra.”
He groans. “You’re killing me.”
I smirk. “Goal achieved.”
“Come on, sweetness. We need to leave now if we’re going to make our reservation.” He hands me a leather jacket. I don’t complain how the jacket doesn’t go with my outfit. I don’t want to freeze on our way to the restaurant.
Once we’re both dressed in leather jackets, he threads his fingers through mine and leads me outside. His motorcycle is already parked in the driveway.
“This is exciting! I’ve always wanted to ride on the back of a bike.” I jump up and down. My breasts bounce with the movement but I’m too excited to care.
He moans. “Stop jumping. Riding a motorcycle with a hard-on is painful.”
He adjusts himself in his jeans. My core tightens in response. Not wearing a bra was definitely the right choice.
“Maybe we should skip dinner.” My voice comes out all breathy since I’m imagining all the ways we could spend our time if we don’t go out.
“Not a chance. I want to take you out. Show you a good time. We haven’t been out without Adele. I love my baby girl, but you’re important, too.”
Warmth spreads through me. “For someone who doesn’t do relationships, you’re really good at saying the right thing.”
He snags a helmet from the handlebars and places it on my head. “Only for you, sweetness.”
“Stop being perfect. I want my ride on a motorcycle.”
He smirks. “You think I’m perfect.”
Yes, I do. But Zane Raider has a big enough ego as it is. I’m not inflating it.
I try to tie the helmet strap but he bats my hands away. “I’ve got it.”
He secures the strap before kissing my nose. He puts on his helmet and straddles the bike. It’s a good thing I wore panties tonight because they’re wet after that sexy move.
“Put your foot…”
I wave away his directions. I haven’t been on the back of a bike before but I know how to get on one. I’ve watched my mother hop on a bike and ride off into the sunset enough times.
Once I’m settled, Zane takes my hands and wraps them around his waist. “Hold on tight.”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I’m holding onto him as tight as I can. For as long as I can.
He switches on the motor and I can feel the vibrations coursing through my body. I’m enjoying this ride already, and we haven’t even left the driveway.
“Ready?”
I squeeze his waist. “Ready.”
I expect him to shoot out of the driveway and down the road. I’ve seen him do it enough times in the past. But he gently drives to the end of the driveway before slowly driving down the street.
“Faster!”
He nods, but he doesn’t increase our speed.
“Zane, faster.”
He goes a tiny bit faster. We can now pass people walking but not any runners. This is ridiculous.
“I want to go faster.” It’s a good thing these helmets are linked up with microphones. Otherwise, I would have lost my voice already from yelling at him to speed the hell up.
“I don’t want to hit Sammy.”
“Sammy isn’t out and about in January and you know it. It’s entirely too cold for him to be up to his old tricks.”
Sammy is a seal that decided to make Smuggler’s Hideaway his home. He enjoys sunbathing in the middle of the road and planting himself in front of people’s doors so they can’t get out of their houses.
“I’m being careful. I have precious cargo on my bike today.”
I sigh. How can I complain about how slow we’re going now?
“This precious cargo wants to drive faster than a golf cart.”
He waits until we’ve left the town limits of Smuggler’s Rest to speed up. It’s enough to feel the wind whip along my body.
“Whoo-hoo!”
He chuckles. “You enjoy being on the back of my bike.”
I squeeze him. “I enjoy being wrapped around you.”
“This is going to be the longest dinner ever.”
“My offer to skip dinner and spend the evening in bed still stands.”
“You’re going to pay for teasing me later, sweetness.”
My nipples pebble in response to the promise in his voice. “Yes, please.”
We arrive at Hideaway Haven Resort and Zane parks in a spot near the front. He helps me off before pushing down the kickstand and switching off the motor. Sexy. But not as sexy as him mounting the bike.
I remove my helmet and bend over to fluff out my hair. “Is it bad?”
Zane clasps my hand and pulls. I slam into his body. “Is it bad you look like I just fucked you in the backseat of my car?”
“We didn’t drive a car,” I breathe out.
He growls before his lips are on mine. I don’t hesitate to open for him. I know how good his tongue feels exploring my mouth. And how good he tastes. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and hold on for the ride.
“Sloane!”
Zane tears his lips from mine. “To be continued,” he murmurs.
“Nova,” I greet the woman.
Her gaze ping-pongs between me and Zane. “The rumors are true.”
“I thought you didn’t listen to rumors ever since high school.”
She growls. “Those cheerleaders were big fat liars.”
I giggle. Nova had the biggest crush on Hudson, the football quarterback, back in high school. The cheerleaders used to make up stories about how they were dating Hudson, who was clueless about the whole situation.
Nova won in the end, though. Since she’s now married to Hudson – who was an NFL player until he got injured – and they have a little baby girl, Iliana.
“Doesn’t change the message. You shouldn’t listen to rumors.”
“I don’t need to listen to rumors when I caught you and Zane Raider making out next to his motorcycle in front of my husband’s resort.”
I feel my cheeks heat. When Zane touches me, I forget where I am.
Zane throws an arm around my shoulders. “You can’t blame me. She’s irresistible in this outfit.”
Nova’s gaze rakes over me. “I get what you’re saying.”
The warmth on my cheeks is blistering now. I clear my throat. “We should get going. We have a reservation.”
“Have fun.”
As we stroll toward the entrance, I can see Nova out of the corner of my eye digging out her phone. I groan. “The entire island will hear about us kissing within two minutes.”
Zane scowls and stutters to a halt. “Do you care? Are you embarrassed to be with me?”
My jaw drops open and I stare up at his deep blue eyes I want to drown in. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead fucking serious.”
“Have you—”
“Excuse me,” someone says as they scoot around us.
Shit. We’re standing in the doorway to an exclusive resort having this conversation.
“Can we go somewhere private to discuss this?”
“No,” Zane grumbles. “If you’re embarrassed of being with me, I want to know right the fuck now.”
“You have lost your mind.”
He spins on his heel and heads toward his motorcycle.
“I’m not embarrassed of you!” I shout after him and he stops. He doesn’t turn around, but I know he’s listening. “But I’m not my mom. I don’t cause drama by having arguments with my partner in front of the entire world.”
Except everyone in the foyer of the resort is now frozen while listening to me shout at Zane. So much for not becoming my mom.
Zane marches to me and sweeps me into his arms. “Fuck, sweetness. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I was worried you were embarrassed of me because I used to be a player.”
I bury my face in his shoulder and snuggle into his embrace. “You’re not who you used to be, and I’m not who I used to be either.”
He pinches my chin and lifts my face. “I’m fucking proud of you. And proud to be the man with you.”
I love you.
I manage to keep those three precious words inside. I’m not confessing my love while we’re standing in the doorway of an exclusive hotel where no one bothers to hide how they’re eavesdropping on our conversation.
“I’m proud of you and proud to be with you, too.”
He smiles down at me and his dimples make an appearance. I want our children to have those dimples. I bite my tongue before I tell him as much.
“You wanna skip dinner and go for a ride?”
“Yes.”
I barely have a chance to respond before he starts dragging me to his bike.
“But you better feed me at some point.”
“Oh, I’ll feed you. Don’t you worry.”
I have a feeling he’s not referring to food. My body shivers in response.
How did I get this lucky? Zane is not only sexy and can use his body to bring me more joy than I’ve ever experienced before. But he’s also sweet and kind and considerate.
Falling in love with him was inevitable.