NINETEEN
Splice
“Is this what you do when you chase a woman?” Lisa uttered, pulling away from Ryan’s seeking mouth.
Her pulse was beating like crazy as he cradled her fingers in his strong palm.
Last weekend, he’d picked her up almost at the crack of dawn, driving a tired Lisa to a farmer’s market three towns over.
Today, he’d surprised her by taking her to a local Food of the World market in a nearby town. She’d eaten her weight in almost every country and was now comfortably stuffed, sitting on a wall, Ryan at her side.
He’d tried to steal a kiss while she was unaware; now the biker had her heart going through rigorous thumps at his nearness.
“I’m only chasing you. Gonna let me catch you?” he smirked, giving a handsomeness to his boyish face.
She hadn’t seen Ryan one night this week because of club business. She didn't pry and was fine as long as Ryan was safe. Nina and the girls advised her about dating Ryan, considering the MC’s dynamic.
“You’re pretty fast for a biker. And I haven’t even started running yet.
” She answered, licking strawberry sauce off the pad of her thumb.
Her ice cream cone was quickly melting, and as greedy as Lisa was for anything sweet, she was full to the brim and couldn’t do the cone justice.
“Here,” she offered, “lick this before it drips everywhere.”
“Sweetheart,” Ryan grunted, his eyes darkening before her. He slipped the cone out of her hand and rimmed the ice cream with his tongue, tidying it up. “I could have given you the filthiest reply; see how well I’m behaved?”
She pinched his beard between finger and thumb, tugging lightly. “Just eat the ice cream, slut-puppy.”
He did it in three big bites. Lisa stifled a moan as she watched his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“Sweet,” he remarked, licking the last remnant of ice cream from the corner of his lip while eyeing her, “not as sweet as you, though.”
Ryan wasn’t always flirting with her. Sometimes he was asleep.
Gah, he was such a natural flirt, and she could admit it was going right to her head.
A day didn’t go by that he didn’t compliment how pretty she was or how much he enjoyed smelling the perfumes she rotated wearing.
He came to the house the other night after work, and the way his eyes ate her up at the front door, you’d think Lisa was draped in silk and lace and not her oatmeal-colored loungewear.
His free hand was still latched to hers, and Lisa unconsciously stroked his skin with her thumb, enjoying the atmosphere of the market, but mostly the man at her side.
Just then, his phone rang, and he answered it with his other hand. Lisa could only hear Ryan’s side of the conversation, but he sounded terse as he told whoever he’d be there shortly.
It was time to go anyway; she needed to do some admin work at home.
“Duty calls?” she enquired.
“Sorry, yeah.”
“No need for that; we’ve had a good time, and we’re going home with full tummies. It’s my treat next time.” He hadn’t let her pay for a thing, even when she tried to.
“It’s cute you think that will happen.” He said lightly. “All you have to do is point to what you want, and I’ll do the rest.”
“Careful,” Lisa warned as they got to their feet and headed toward the parking lot across the street.
Ryan put her on the inside of the sidewalk, walking close enough that she felt the brush of his hand on her arm, and she had the overwhelming urge to hold his hand, just to slide her fingers into his bigger palm. “I might get spoiled.” She finished.
“That’s the point.” He said it simply, once more, making Lisa’s heart flutter in her chest.
She couldn’t believe Ryan was by her side and serious about pursuing a relationship with her; after all this time, he hadn’t moved on.
Neither had Lisa, and she was so freaking serious about him, too.
She boldly initiated physical contact, feeling a jolt of excitement as she grasped two of his middle fingers.
Ryan’s grunt made her pussy clench, yet she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze, fearing public combustion; she simply held on until he’d completely grasped her hand, their palms pressed together.
Halfway home, Lisa tapped Ryan’s thigh and pointed to a local pharmacy in Laketon.
“Can you drop me there, please? It’s only a few blocks to the house; I can walk it.”
“I’ll wait.”
“No, really. You need to get to the clubhouse.” He reluctantly agreed.
“Not sure what time I’ll be done working,” he told her, as if they were already a couple and he was sharing his day.
It was one of his best personality traits that Lisa had appreciated over the past few weeks.
He never put pressure on her to give more than she was willing, but he was open and happy to share every detail of his life.
“I’ll call you as soon as I can, sweetheart. ”
“Okay,” Lisa smiled. “Have a safe day.”
He’d climbed out of the truck with her, coming around to her side before she could object. Ryan cupped her face and bent down, planting a kiss on her lips. Just a quick touch and she was dizzy with craving. She could eat this man alive, one hungry bite at a time, leaving no crumbs behind.
“See you soon.” He rasped, and words failed Lisa, so she nodded back, watching until his truck drove down the street.
After a swift pharmacy purchase of necessities, she grabbed a to-go latte from the adjacent cafe before walking toward the crosswalk to begin her few-block journey home.
What would have been a four-minute walk to her house turned into a nightmare before Lisa even realized what was happening.
Because she was a rule follower and never jaywalked, she waited for the proper time to cross the street.
People would expect to be safe if they obeyed traffic laws – cars were supposed to yield to pedestrians in that situation.
So, as Lisa was sipping her latte, a white delivery truck just barreled towards her, not slowing down one bit.
It seemed to happen in slow motion, yet fast. Had it not been for the good Samaritan who yanked Lisa’s forearm so she spun around, the brunt of the hit from the front of the truck against her hip would have been so much worse.
As it was, she was still half-launched across the road; the last thing she knew was the feel of her head hitting the curb. Her purchases and purse were scattered around her like confetti, and the pain of having her first road accident was radiating through her skull like a tambourine.
And then she knew no more, dragged into blackness.
* * *
Lisa came to on a hospital gurney. Her nurse friend, Lottie, was standing close by, checking her vitals.
“Good, you’re awake. You gave me a fright when I saw it was you. Nothing is broken, just a few scrapes,” she let Lisa know right away. “But you had a nasty knock on the head. The gentleman who stayed with you until the ambulance came said your head took the brunt when you got knocked down.”
“Was anyone else hurt?” she asked groggily. Thankfully, she could sit up, but her head hurt as if she’d been battered with every pan in her kitchen cabinet.
“Only you, babe. It was a hit and run.”
“I didn’t see it until it was too late.” She said, massaging her temples. “How long was I out for?”
“Not long. You need to have a C.T. We’re waiting for you to be taken up to that department.”
“When can I go home?”
“As soon as we know your brain is still in the right place.” Smiled Lottie. Then her nurse friend went through some cognitive tests, which Lisa passed. She was actually pissed off that her afternoon had been derailed.
“The guy brought your purse; it’s there,” Lottie told her.
“Is he still here? I’d like to thank him.”
“He didn’t wait around; he said he was collecting his grandchildren.”
When Lottie slipped through the E.R. room’s closed curtain, Lisa pulled out her phone and saw that Ryan had called her thirty minutes ago.
She cleared her throat, sitting up straighter.
Even as the pain shot through her skull, she typed him a message that she’d call him later.
Not wanting to bother him, knowing he was busy, she’d tell him about this tonight, hopefully when she was at home.
But on the brink of that thought, just as she put her head back to rest her eyes for a moment, the curtain dramatically swished open with one pull, and the man she’d been thinking about stood there. A soaring dynamo of a scowling man with his pinched eyebrows and burning stare.
He was holding his phone in one hand. Lisa visibly swallowed as she sat up straighter on the gurney, her fingers inching down to her knees, where the skirt she’d chosen that day had ridden up slightly. She tried to cover her scraped knees with the white dressings.
“Ryan...” she sighed, mesmerized by his whole vibe.
“You’ll call me later...” he gruffed. “Not hey, Ryan, I’m in the E.R. You’ll call me later, Lisa?” His voice grated slowly over every word, and she got the distinct impression he was angry.
“It’s just a little graze; I would have told you later. I’m fine,” she insisted, and nearly shrank under his scrutiny as he advanced, not stopping until he was bent over her body. He cupped the side of her face.
“You should have called me. If not for Lottie, I wouldn’t know you were here.”
“I only just woke up!” she defended, leaning her cheek into his palm.
“Don’t be angry,” Lisa said softly, holding Ryan’s wrist. She felt every pulse of his life through his skin, and that’s when she heard him exhale like a giant gust of wind.
He folded his massive body onto the edge of the bed, then he completely engulfed Lisa with his arms, cushioning her.
“Are you okay, baby? Where are you hurt?”
She quickly relayed the answers.
Lisa hadn’t realized how much she’d crave human contact until Ryan came back into her life; now she hungered for his casual touches like she craved chocolate when her period came.
She latched her arms around his middle and held on, her face pressed into his so-good-smelling chest. Ryan softly cupped the back of her head in his full palm; though the touch hurt her scalp, she didn’t pull away. Not when she was content right there.
It was in that moment, when she felt Ryan’s vast frame practically bristling yet holding her like she was a broken kitten, that she knew she was going to give in to everything he was asking her for.
The accident wasn’t life or death, but she realized how close a person came every day to taking their last breath just because they crossed the street at the wrong time.
And if that had happened, if Lisa were standing at the pearly gates, none of her other life decisions would have mattered except regretting not being with Ryan when she had the chance.
If he wanted to date her, be in a relationship with her, or commit to her for life, she would open her heart to this man again.
Unsure if it had ever closed to him. Because right now, the door to her heart was swinging wide open, beckoning him inside.
Life was not about the moments you missed; it was about the ones you lived to the fullest, however long you had. She knew in that moment that she wanted every second with Ryan.
It appeared her heart belonged to Ryan then and still does.
“I was so fucking worried,” he gruffed, his fingers stroking gently. “I never want to get another call like that again, sweetheart.”
In his place, she would feel the same way.
Lottie walked back in with Lisa still wrapped in Ryan’s arms, who didn’t appear to be in any rush to let her go. Lottie grinned. “Let’s get you up to the diagnostic department, Lisa. If all is clear, you’ll be able to go home.”
“I’m staying.” Ryan all but growled in warning, but Lisa hadn’t even thought about sending him home first. She clung to his hand, wanting him to stay with her.
And after Lottie got done telling him what care Lisa would need for a head injury, he spoke again. “I’ll be with her.”
Lisa’s head might ache, and she could be experiencing concussion symptoms, but her heart felt lighter, almost as if being clipped by a speeding truck had lowered all of her principles and relationship fears.
Because for the first time in a long while, she wasn’t listening to her head.
Her heart had taken the wheel, and she was racing ahead toward the man with the worried gray eyes who refused to let go of her hand.