CHAPTER 10
SNAKE
My sister’s words echo around us, but my eyes are fixed on my woman and she’s all I can see. Hell, she’s all I want to see. The leather jacket I just slipped into place fits her perfectly, like it was made for her.
It looks damn good on her.
I hold up the helmet dangling from my elbow and Graycie grins as she looks at the way it’s painted like the night sky. My woman’s eyes move back and forth between me and the helmet, as if she can’t believe I would take the time to ensure she’s safe while on the back of my bike.
It’s the bare fucking minimum, but she doesn’t see it yet. She will. I’ll just keep showing up and making sure she can’t see it any other way.
“You ready for some wind therapy?” There’s a teasing note in my voice, but I also hold my breath while waiting for her answer.
If she backs out, I’ll respect her decision. I won’t stop pursuing her, but I won’t force her to climb on the back of my bike. Hell no, I want her there willingly.
“I’m nervous,” she admits while fiddling with the hem of the jacket I got her.
“It’s okay to be nervous,” I murmur before leading her toward my bike after giving her a moment to check her door and make sure it’s locked.
Her steps are wooden as we walk past Stan’s house. He’s not peering out the window like an overprotective uncle, which is how he treats Graycie, but I know he’s still at Dolly’s Place. I’m grateful that someone has had her back since she arrived in Dogwood Ridge.
When we’re standing at my bike, I point to the pegs, “You’re going to put your feet here. Just be aware that these pipes do get hot. It’s one of the reasons good coverage is important, it keeps your legs protected from getting burned.”
“Okay,” her voice is small, but it doesn’t waver with fear.
The fact that she’s giving me this much trust makes me feel like I’m a million feet tall. My chest puffs up without me even realizing it. But her eyes are trained on my bike as if she expects it to jump up and bite her.
I have to bite my lip to hide my smile because she’s so damn cute.
“Once I get on, you’ll climb on behind me. Wrap your arms around my waist and hold on tight. When I lean into a curve, you lean with me, but not more than me. It’s all about balance.”
Graycie blinks before slowly turning toward me. “Balance? I’ve been searching for balance for a while now.”
The smile I give her is soft and small. “I think feeling the wind wrapping around you while flying down on the road on the back of my bike is going to change your life. How about we give you some wings, Angel?”
Her hazel eyes light up with excitement as she nods eagerly.
My fingers slide against the soft strands of her hair as I put her helmet in place.
I can imagine a time when she puts her head on my chest, and I can run my fingers through her hair.
My fingers itch for the opportunity, but we have time to make the fantasy into reality.
Graycie watches me intensely as I check to ensure the helmet is secure. There’s no way I’m going to play with my woman’s safety. No fucking way.
When I slide into place on my bike, I take a moment and prepare for the way it’s going to feel when her arms wrap around me. My cock is already hardening with the thought. But he needs to calm the fuck down because we sure as fuck aren’t going to rush her.
It’ll only make her run.
I hold my hand out and watch Graycie’s emotions battle on her face. The moment she decides to be brave, I can’t help but smile at her. Her hand slides into mine and I help support her as she throws her leg over my bike and climbs on behind me.
A sense of rightness I’ve only felt a few other times settles around me. The first time I felt it was the moment my father slid my cut into place after I got through my prospecting period. I had never felt anything like it.
Then when I became VP and I got to add that patch to my cut.
Now with the feeling of Graycie’s arms winding around my waist.
My hand finds hers and I give a squeeze.
“How are you feeling?” I throw the question over my shoulder while I reach for my own helmet and put it on.
“I’m still nervous,” she pitches her voice louder, “but also kind of excited.”
There’s caution in her voice, but I can hear how much she wants to embrace this as well.
“Okay, Angel,” I shout as I start my bike up. “Hold on.”
And she fucking does. My body comes alive under her touch, just like I knew it would. My cock is begging to be buried inside of her tight heat. There is comfort in her touch and the way she’s clinging to me; it’ll have to be enough. For now.
Her grip tightens when I pull out onto the street. We move through Dogwood Ridge, but I hardly see any of it. I’m too lost in how good it feels to have Graycie on the back of my bike.
The feeling of it, the heat of her body, feels right.
I know, without a doubt, that she belongs right where she is.
We drive by the clubhouse, but I don’t slow down because I have a destination in mind.
I’m sure Graycie hasn’t seen the view from the overlook.
It’s definitely a sight that can’t be missed.
Time slows down as we take a few turns on the roads leading to our destination. My woman doesn’t hesitate to lean with me. Our bodies move in synch, which gives me a preview of how our bodies will move together in a more intimate way.
I know she’ll come alive under my hands. Everything in me is begging me to find out now, but she’s not ready.
Graycie’s arms loosen slightly as she gets comfortable riding with me and I find myself grinning. When I slow down, her arms tighten again. Then I’m pulling off on the overlook near the top of the ridge.
I offer my woman a hand again and make sure to keep her steady, even after she’s standing. Her knees go a little weak and she dips slightly, but I don’t let her fall.
I’ll never let her fall.
When she’s stable, I climb off my bike to lead her closer to the edge. We turn as one and take in the view. The sunset is just starting to paint the sky with a range of beautiful colors which cast her face in a warm glow.
I can’t tear my eyes off her while her focus is on the view from the ridge.
Her lips part as she takes everything in.
Even though I’ve seen the view before, many times before because this is where I come when I need to think alone, it’s different looking out and knowing it’s the first time she’s witnessing it.
Her lips part slightly as she takes a deep breath, one that feels like it’s been a long time coming. “It’s beautiful,” she breathes out.
“It is,” I murmur with my eyes still trained on her.
She’s stunning and takes my breath away. There might be people who wouldn’t look twice at Graycie because there’s something quiet about her beauty. Unassuming.
But when you really look, it’s obvious.
It’s the kind of beauty that sneaks up on you but then sustains. Because it’s not just about what she looks like, it’s her, it’s who she is.
“This is what I was looking for,” she says the words more to herself than to me, but I still perk up.
It feels like she gives little crumbs of her past here and there, but none of them are enough to make who she was before she arrived in town come into focus.
I want to know everything, but the last thing I’ll do is give her a reason to pull away from me.
Not when I’ve barely gotten her where I want her.
“Dogs or cats?”
Graycie giggles and her hazel eyes sparkle as she looks away from the view and up at me.
“I like both, honestly.” I groan and roll my eyes, but she just laughs harder.
“I know, it sounds like I’m full of shit, but I do like them both.
There’s something welcoming when a dog greets you at the door, but there’s also something special about a cat seeking you out for pets and cuddles.
Cats might be more aloof, but breaking down their walls and making friends is a victory dogs don’t give you all the time. ”
“I’m definitely team dog. Cats don’t like me,” I tell her honestly.
She starts laughing and the pink and orange light from the sunset makes her look otherworldly. Her tone is filled with amusement, “What do you mean cats don’t like you?”
I shrug my shoulders and reach for her hand to lace our fingers together. She doesn’t pull away and I have to stop myself from punching the air with excitement. Does she even realize how open she’s being with me and what it means to me?
“I mean they don’t like me,” I deadpan. While cringing I admit, “They do like to hiss at me and scratch me. I’ve never met a cat who didn’t want to kill me. I swear they all got together and decided I’m the enemy.”
Graycie’s head tips back as she laughs and I commit the moment to memory. Because the way she looks right now is worth remembering.
She eyes me before asking, “What’s your favorite color?”
“Red,” I tell her and she smiles as if she was expecting the answer.
“I’ve always been partial to turquoise,” she whispers the words and I file the information in my mind for later.
“Do you have any family?”
I ask the question I desperately want the answer to. Graycie stiffens, but she still doesn’t pull away from me.
“I do,” she admits, but doesn’t say anything else.
Her words land between us and I give her hand a squeeze. She looks at where we’re connected like she didn’t even realize we were touching.
“They were never really family to me, anyway,” her words are soft and they almost get lost to the wind.
She feels farther away from me as she turns back to look out across the land in front of us. I stand next to her and look out as well, trying to imagine seeing it for the first time.
This view has been part of my life, this place which has always felt like home, for so long and I’ve forgotten how to appreciate it over the years. Now, I have a new reason to see it again.
If I wasn’t here when Graycie showed up, even if she’s running from someone, I would have missed out on her coming into my life.
I wasn’t exactly prepared for her.
I never expected her.
I was sure I would never find the right woman to stand by my side.
But then she walked through the back door of the clubhouse, and everything shifted.
While keeping my eyes on the view, I coax her, “Do you want to tell me about your past?”
She tries to pull her hand out of mine, but I don’t let go. I can almost feel the panic rising inside of her and it makes my chest ache.
“You don’t have to tell me anything,” I murmur the words, hoping to put her at ease. I much prefer it when she’s relaxed and not getting lost in the past. “I get that you’re running from something, Angel.”
Her shoulders curl forward, her voice defensive, “What makes you think I’m running from something?”
I shoot her a look as if she’s not fooling anyone. “There are times when you act like a caged animal who just found out you’re free after being locked away for too long,” I tell her gently.
Her throat moves when she swallows hard while her lips part as if she’s going to say more. But the words don’t come.
“It’s okay,” I murmur. “You don’t have to tell me now, but I hope one day you trust me enough to let me in on what brought you here to me.
” When I turn toward her, she mirrors the action and I can see the way she’s fighting with herself in her hazel eyes.
“I think you came here to find me, even if you didn’t realize it at the time. ”
Awe fills her words, like she’s afraid to believe she heard me correctly, “You think I came here to find you?”
“How else would you have found me?” I ask while grinning down at her. “And I know I needed you to come into my life, Angel. I wasn’t ready for you,” I admit, “and I wasn’t expecting you, but here you are all the same. We’ll take this slow, at your pace, but this thing between us is happening.”
“You sound so sure of yourself,” her words aren’t accusatory, more curious, and maybe a little jealous.
“I am sure of you.” I rub my chest with my free hand; the action is more absent than purposeful. “And I’m sure I’ll protect you if you give me the chance.”
“I want to believe you,” her words are edged with pain.
My hand comes up and cups her cheek, and I revel in how soft her skin is for a moment. “You don’t have to believe me right now,” I whisper. Our faces drift closer and my mouth hovers over hers. I want to give her the chance to pull away if she wants to. “Let me show you.”
When she nods slightly, I close the distance between us. At first our lips meet with the tentative softness of a first kiss. I realize, with stunning clarity, this is the last first kiss either of us are going to get.
I want to take it slow with her. She deserves to feel the way I worship her in the press of my lips against hers.
Graycie’s fingers curl around the edge of my cut as she feeds me a small moan while her body melts into mine. My arms band around her body, holding her steady and as close to me as I can. I want to deepen the kiss, but I hold back.
Then her tongue slides along my bottom lip and I’m a fucking goner.
My tongue pushes its way into her mouth to explore and play until I have to pull away with the need to breathe. I press my forehead against hers, every breath of mine mixing with one of hers; just how they are meant to be.
I watch her carefully and feel the primal urge to always see her as she is now—flushed with desire, her eyes closed with something like satisfaction, and her lips swollen with the evidence of how good I made her feel.
When her eyes slowly open, I’m already looking at her.
This time when I kiss her, I keep it chaste. But it’s not fucking easy to do.
I want to allow my hands to roam all over her body, but I don’t let them.
As I kiss her a third time, she tenses slightly in my arms. I would have expected the move to sting, but it doesn’t. She’s been hurt, I don’t know by who or the extent, but that much is obvious.
With a deep breath, I kiss her forehead and murmur, “Come on Angel, you ready to soar again?”
“Yeah,” she whispers, “I think I am.”
As we get back on my bike, I wonder if she was talking about more than the feeling of the wind wrapping around her again as we roar down the road. I can only hope. But I’ll make sure I’m right there at her side whenever she’s ready to take another step.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.