Nick
By the time he pulled his jeans and T-shirt back on, he could already smell her perfume in the air.
She wore something light and sweet, smelling like vanilla and sunshine.
It didn’t belong in his dark world of steel, blood, and roaring engines, but damn if he didn’t like the way her scent had taken over Mace’s little office.
It lingered, and he hated that he noticed it at all.
“You ready to go, Ms. Cove?” he asked, mocking her formal tone from earlier.
“Call me Sandy,” she said quickly. “And yes, I am.”
“I’ll survive,” she assured. “I’m not a fan of fancy.
In fact, a burger, fries, and a beer sound like heaven about now.
” Her smile hid her truth—she was nervous about him taking her anywhere, and he kind of liked the fact that he could make her feel that way.
Her hands gave her away, though—they were shaking.
It wasn’t noticeable at right, but he could see the tremor when she reached for the door to walk out into the parking lot.
Nick smirked. “Yeah? You don’t look like the dive bar type.” He looked her over, noting that she didn’t look as though she had ever eaten a burger and fries in her life.
“I’m full of surprises,” she sassed, raising her chin defiantly at him.
She fumbled with the door, and he couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’ve got it,” he grunted. “It’s a push, not a pull,” he said, opening the door for her as they stepped into the chilly night air.
The sound of engines and distant laughter echoed from the lot behind the bar.
His Harley was parked in the shadows, black and gleaming under the streetlights.
He already knew the answer to his question before he even said the words. “You ride?” he asked. Her wide-eyed expression told him everything he needed to know—she didn’t.
“Um, no,” she breathed. “I can just follow you to the restaurant,” she insisted, starting for her car.
He reached for her hand before she was able to walk away and practically pulled her back into his body.
“Now, where would the fun in that be?” he asked.
“I’ll make you a deal. You want me to answer your questions, then you ride on the back of my bike to the restaurant.
” He wasn’t playing fairly, but he couldn’t seem to help himself with pretty little Sandy Cove.
He felt the need to push her limits, and for some odd reason, he thought for sure that it was going to be fun.
“You’ve already been told to answer my questions,” she reminded.
She was right, but he played off Mace’s order with a shrug.
The confusion on her pretty face was almost comical.
Mace hadn’t given him much of a choice about answering the reporter’s questions.
He’d want Nick to give her all the details about their little Christmas party and really talk up the club.
His Prez was right—doing so would bring in more patrons to the bar and more money for the club.
It still chapped his ass that he was being told what to do, even if it was by Mace.
He held out his helmet to her, waiting for her to decide if she wanted to take him up on his offer or hope that Mace’s orders were enough to get her the story that she wanted.
Nick chuckled as he watched her indecision.
He liked her honesty, he really did. It wasn’t something he got much of these days.
She sighed and snatched the helmet out of his hand and put it on her head.
He stood there, watching her struggle to figure out the straps, finally giving up.
He reached over and fastened the helmet for her, his fingers brushing her jaw as he did.
Her breath caught, and for a moment, he thought about closing the distance between the two of them, to kiss her.
But that wouldn’t have been smart. Not with a woman like her.
Nick needed to remember that she wasn’t for him.
Sandy was only going to dinner with him to get the story that she needed for her job.
To her, he was work, and that kind of burned his ass a bit.
“Hang on tight,” he said instead, swinging a leg over the bike.
She hesitated and then slid onto the motorcycle behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. When she pressed against him, he swore under his breath.
This was supposed to be a fake date. A favor he was doing for Mace, but suddenly, it didn’t feel so fake anymore.
With her body pressed up against him, her arms wrapped around his body, everything with Sandy Cove was starting to feel very, very real.