Chapter 12 Hayley
TWELVE
HAYLEY
I kept checking the clock. I kept waiting for my day to be over.
The minutes slowly ticked by as I waited for the clock to strike nine.
I wondered if he was being serious. If he was really going to be there or if this was some trick.
Some sort of stunt he was pulling in retribution for my running into his bike that afternoon.
But when I locked up my office and made my way out front, I saw him sitting there.
His bike running. His lights on. His helmet over his head. Dressed in all black from head to toe.
Sitting next to my car.
“I see you remember what it looks like,” I said, walking up to him.
“How could I forget the rust bucket that ran into me?” Stone asked.
“Hey, now. This car has been with me through a lot.”
“Looks like it too.”
I swatted him playfully, and he chuckled from beneath his helmet. I slipped into my car and rolled down my window, but before I could get him to tell me where we were headed, he sped off.
“Guess I’m following him, then,” I murmured.
I cranked up my car and turned on my lights.
He sped across the empty parking lot and was already sitting at the exit.
How he got over there so fast, I’d never know.
Part of me wondered what the hell I was doing.
Wondered why in the world I was following this random biker through town.
We made our way to the gaslamp district.
I followed behind him every mile we drove, making sure I didn’t lose him.
We pulled into the small parking lot of a bar, and I parked next to him and got out.
“I’m surprised you didn’t slam into me while you were following,” Stone said, chuckling.
“Come on, Mr. Jokester. I’m ready for a drink,” I said.
He got off his bike, and I playfully pushed him through the bar doors.
He threw his head back, laughing. And me?
Well, I got a wonderful feel of the thick, rippling muscles underneath his leather jacket.
I pulled my hand away quickly, flexing my fingers and trying not to let my goosebumps get the best of me.
The touch of him puckered my nipples against my bra.
I got the best glimpse of his ass while he walked in front of me, guiding us to a booth in the corner.
“Enjoying the view?” he asked.
I whipped my head up and saw him staring at me. Our reflections caught in the mirror, and my face flushed with embarrassment. Shit. I’d been caught staring at his ass. How long had I been staring?
“Don’t worry. You just haven’t caught me in my moments,” he said.
I had to swallow back my moans at his words.
We slipped into the booth and Stone raised his fingers. A rail thin waitress came up alongside us. Petite. Cute. With a bubbly personality. She ran her eyes along Stone and pushed her meager tits together to try and get his attention. But I noticed his eyes were on me.
Specifically, on my tits.
Take that, Barbie.
“Enjoying the view?” I asked coyly.
“An eye for an eye,” he said, smiling.
The two of us ordered our drinks. Him with his cold beer and me with my glass of wine.
I would’ve gone for the beer, but the carbonation makes me burp.
And the last thing I wanted to do in my fucking zoo uniform was belch in front of this chiseled god of a man.
Stone licked his lips before our eyes connected, and the weight of his darkening green gaze settled in the pit of my gut.
“So, how was work, honey?” he asked jokingly.
Except, I liked how that sounded coming from him. Maybe a little too much for a first encounter.
The hell’s wrong with you? Are you really that lonely?
“It was good, actually. Got to decorate my office a bit. They’ve given me the lead on making sure the new momma panda and baby panda are healthy and nourished. Plus, they’re paying me much more than the Los Angeles Zoo did when I was under their employ,” I said.
“More money’s always a good thing,” Stone said.
“It is in my world, since it’s just me.”
“Nice to know I don’t have any competition.”
I smiled at him from behind the rim of my wine glass.
Then, I felt something settle against my foot.
My eyes peeked underneath the table and I saw Stone’s massive black boot resting against my white tennis shoes.
I wasn’t sure what it was—something about the sight or the sturdy feel of him—but I scooted forward a bit and leaned my entire leg against his. Let my knee fall against his calf.
“Comfy?” he asked, grinning.
“Very,” I said softly.
“You outshine that uniform, you know.”
“It really is a tacky uniform, isn’t it?”
“Not really tacky. Just… doesn’t so much for your figure. But with a body like yours?”
He whistled low, and a shiver crawled up my spine.
“Someone could put you in a plastic sack and you’d still find a way to be beautiful,” he said.
It was like that all evening. The flirting.
The back and forth. The innuendos. The outright compliments.
Sometimes, I’d catch him staring at my tits.
Sometimes, I’d catch him staring at my arms. At my hair.
At my lips. We tore through one drink. Then two.
And on the third one, I watched him slow down.
I needed to as well. Since we were both driving.
I felt comfortable with Stone despite his rugged and rough demeanor.
Despite the stubble on his jawline and the soft scars on his face.
He had deep jagged scars on his knuckles and a darkness in his eyes my father always warned me about.
And yet, he made me laugh. He made me feel beautiful. He made me feel important.
A dangerous combination.
“So, you got plans for the rest of your night?” he asked.
I checked my watch. “It’s eleven o’clock.”
“And?”
“Shouldn’t the plan be to sleep?”
He shrugged. “I was gonna offer you a ride on my bike. The best bike rides take place at night. But if you’d rather sleep…”
He leaned back and drained his last beer and then set the empty glass bottle down onto the table between us. I polished off my glass of wine, turning over his proposition in my head. At least, I thought it was a proposition.
“Are you offering now?” I asked.
Stone grinned. “I am.”
“Can we go to the beach?”
He stood up from the booth and tossed a wad of cash onto the tabletop. My mouth gawked at it before he took my hand, pulling me from my seat. He guided me out the door and led me to his bike where he gave me his helmet for me to put on.
“Don’t you need one?” I asked.
“Your safety’s more important,” he said plainly.
And again, the care of his words punched me in my gut.
We left my car in the parking lot as we rode out of there on his bike.
I clung to him, my arms wrapped around him and my cheek pressed against the helmet that was against his back.
I wanted to feel the leather of his coat against my skin.
Against my face. I wanted to run my hands up and down the chiseled muscles that sat beyond the clothing he had chosen for the evening.
Tight black jeans. A black t-shirt. His black leather jacket with a logo emblazoned on the back and his black combat boots.
All the black made his green eyes stand out.
We cruised along Highway One, listening as the waves crashed against the shoreline.
I gazed out at the beautiful sight, flipping up the visor to take it all in.
The sky hung heavily over the waters, pregnant with the weight of the stars it harbored.
I felt Stone pull off the road onto a beaten path that took us down the cliffs and led us onto the beach.
Onto the fresh, untouched sand of beaches many people never visited.
We got off his bike and I slid off his helmet.
I handed it to him and began my journey toward the ocean.
It was beautiful. The sounds. The smells.
The twinkling of the stars above. The moon was full, and the glow cast along the sand tugged at my heartstrings.
I’d never seen the beach like this before.
Deserted. Abandoned. I walked until the wet sand christened my shoes, and then I removed them and went to go walk into the water.
“Hold on,” Stone said.
He gripped my arm and whipped me around, causing me to stumble into him.
He caught me in his strong arms. He wrapped his strength around me.
I gazed up into his eyes. His beautiful hunter green stare that reflected the moon from up above.
I clung to him as I got my feet underneath me.
The waves lapped painfully close to our feet.
Just out of reach from the cool water. Just out of reach from the salted ocean.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’ve been waiting all damn day to do this.”
His hand slid around to cup the back of my neck.
Then, he guided my lips to his. I gripped his leather jacket, feeling the wonderful material underneath my fingertips.
His tongue slid across the slit of my lips.
I parted them for him, moaning as his chiseled arms cloaked my back.
I slid my hands up his torso, feeling the rumbling pad of his rippling abs before the swell of his chest blanketed my palms.
My knees went weak, and he caught me as if I weighed nothing.
He shed his coat. He tossed it to the dry sand before he wrapped me up in his arms again.
I slid my hands through his hair, pulling him closer and allowing my tongue to dance next to his.
He fisted my ass, drawing me into him, connecting our hips and giving me a great show of the thick cock he had throbbing against his jeans.
He sank to the sand, and I followed. My back fell onto his leather jacket as the wet sand teased our toes.
Between sloppy kisses and gasps for air, we stripped one another of our clothes, a desperate passion overtaking us and riding the waves of the alcohol trickling through our systems.
I kissed down his cheek. I nuzzled the stubble of his jawline.
I slid my teeth down his pulse point, hearing him growl at my touch.
He fisted my hair and drew my head back.
His lips came down onto mine so hard our teeth clattered together.
And as he kissed down to my chest, my legs parted willingly for him.
The only thing separating us was our underwear. And I had a feeling they wouldn’t be for long.