My hands are still gripping his biceps and his are still wrapped around my body, his naked chest flush against me.
“That was a risky little move.” He lowers his face back to my neck and presses his lips softly to the spot below my ear.
I suck in a deep, ragged, breath.
“I want my photo,” he whispers hoarsely in my ear as he steps away.
He holds a finger up to me, indicating that I should wait exactly where I am.
There’s no mirror around, but I bet I look like I’ve just had a roll in the hay. I can feel the heat in my cheeks, and my hair feels like it’s sticking out all over the show.
He pulls his phone out of his pocket and slides mine in, in its place.
“Andy, I’m a mess.”
“You’re fucking perfect.” He chokes out the words as his eyes drag over my body.
“Andy.”
“Stay still.”
I could jump down and run, but I know he’ll only hunt me down and find me, and if he touches me again the same way he just did, he’s likely to get a photo of me wearing a lot less than what I am now.
So I stay.
“Smile,” he prompts.
I’ve got a stomach full of butterflies, the last thing I feel like doing is smiling. I’m nervous as hell.
This man, who has seen every single part of my body, one million times over, is making me nervous – even fully clothed.
I bite down on my lip and glance at the door as I contemplate running again.
I hear the snap of a photo being taken and my eyes dart over to look at him.
He taps the screen of his phone and lets out a pained groan.
“What? Is it blurry?” I ask hopefully.
“Not even close.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“You look like a wet dream, Dylan, fuck… you are a wet dream.”
I scramble off the counter, cheeks blushing the deepest shade of crimson imaginable.
“Well… ah… thanks… now give me it back.”
I hold out my hand for my phone.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls it out, sliding it open rather than giving it up.
“Hang on.”
“A deal’s a deal, Andy,” I remind him as he taps away for a moment.
“Best fucking deal I ever made.” He smirks as he hands it back to me.
The phone in his hand chimes and I realise he’s just ensured that my number is saved in his phone.
“Touché, Woodman, that was nicely done.”
He leans in close and I’m so still I’m not even sure I’m breathing anymore.
He reaches for my face and runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip, dragging it down.
I know it shouldn’t but it makes me crave his touch again.
He places one, soft, gentle kiss to the tip of my nose before turning around and muttering, “Best fucking deal…” under his breath.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Andy
“Jesus, Dylan, why the fuck is it so cold in here?” I yell as I look for her in the bedroom.
It’s fucking freezing in this place and I’ve got no idea what the hell is going on.
“Dylan!” I yell again as I half run down the hallway in my towel.
“Oh, you’re out.” She smirks at me from her spot on the couch.
She’s wearing a thick woolly jumper and has a blanket draped over her.
“What in the name of God happened to the heat?”
She shrugs. “I thought it might be nice to cool things down.”
“You thought it might be nice?” I retort. “What are you thinking?”
She bites down on her lip to keep from laughing. “That maybe it might be too cold to walk around naked....” She shrugs.
Oh she didn’t…
The sneaky little minx.
“Oh, I get it,” I say. “You can’t handle looking at all of this.” I gesture to my bare torso.
She shrugs nonchalantly.
“I cook you a nice dinner, buy you expensive wine… and this is the thanks I get?”
She giggles gleefully. “Well we can do this the hard way or the easy way, Andy. Which is it gonna be?”
“I know how you like things hard,” I drawl.
“I like things clothed,” she quips. “And until you figure out how to cover up all those muscles, it’s not going to get any warmer in here.”
“All these muscles?” I make a show of flexing my bicep at her, grinning as I do it.
I’ve turned into a total cheesy bastard right now, but I don’t care, I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time – even with this chilly air.
“Mmm hmm.” She nods, doing her best to appear unimpressed and not fooling me in the least.
“If I’m going to have to cover up from now on, I’d better give you a good show first...”
“Don’t you dare, Andy,” she warns me as I reach for my towel.
“What’s that? You dare me? Well if you say so, baby,” I taunt as I whip the towel from my body.
It probably wasn’t my brightest move, it’s that fucking cold in here my cock and balls have probably retreated back inside my body trying to find warmth, but I don’t care.
I throw the towel at her on the couch and she laughs.
“Go and put some fucking clothes on, Andy. Jesus Christ.”
I salute her and jog out of the room.
If she wants to play games, I can play too.
I’ve always been good at games.
***
It doesn’t take her nearly as long as I thought it would to come and find me.
I’m tucked up warm in her bed, all settled in for the night.
It’s like a chiller in this fucking place, and if she thinks I’m going to sleep on the couch then she better think again.
“Are you reading?” she asks in surprise.
I’d been expecting her first words to be ‘fuck off out of my bed’, so these words, snarky as they are, are a welcome surprise.
“Nah. It’s got pictures,” I retort as I shut the book I’ve got in my hands.
She shakes her head at me, but I don’t miss the smile on her lips.
I’m starting to wear her down. I can sense it.
“What is it?” she asks as she pads closer and sits down on the side of the mattress near my covered legs.
“One of yours. I hope you don’t mind?”
She raises a brow at me. “Seriously, of all the shit you’ve done the past two days, that’s the thing you feel the need to ask permission for?”
“Touché.” I chuckle.
She turns the book in my hands over so she can see what it is. “Ah, good choice,” she praises.
I shrug; I don’t know shit about books, but I do know a thing or two about impressing my woman it would seem.
She looks at me then, under her covers and narrows her eyes at me. “You’re not sleeping in here.”
“Oh c’mon. I’m not even naked this time, I promise.”
“Good to know.” She raises her brows at me, like she’s still waiting for me to get up and move.
I reach over and pat the other side of the bed. “You may as well let it go, you know you can’t move me, all these muscles are pretty heavy.”
She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, Andy, get out.”
“Seriously, Dylan, get in.”
She tries to shove my legs as she giggles. “You can’t sleep here.”
“Well I can’t sleep out in that fucking igloo. I need body heat, princess, it’s survival one-oh-one.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who turned the place into a fridge,” I retort, a shit-eating grin on my face.
“You’re not going to move, are you?”
“Not even a little bit.”
She scowls and climbs over my legs to get to the other side of the bed, doing her best to dig her knees in wherever she can.
I groan as one lands a little closer to my balls than I would h
ave liked. “Watch the crown jewels, princess, we might need them to make babies one day.”
I don’t know what I’ve said wrong, but the look on her face sends ice through my veins.
She’s frozen to the spot and looks like she’s going to burst into tears.
“Dylan?”
She scrambles the rest of the way over me and dives under the blanket, pulling it right up to her chin and rolling so her back is facing me.
“Dylan?” I say softly. “What did I say?”
“Nothing,” she chokes out. “Just forget it. And don’t touch me.”
Fuck, I feel like an absolute bastard and I have no idea why.
The last thing I want to be doing is making her cry.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I flick off the light. “Goodnight, princess.”
She doesn’t answer me, but I know she’s not asleep.
I hear her sobbing quietly for a long while afterwards, and as badly as I want to hold her, I don’t.
This isn’t something I can even begin to know how to deal with.
***
“Go get dressed, there’s something I want to show you today,” I tell her as I shovel my last mouthful of cereal into my mouth.
She snorts a laugh. “Sorry there, cupcake, I’ve got work – out here in the real world we have this thing called responsibility.”
I drop my bowl into the sink and grind my teeth together.
I want to go over and shake the snarky comment right out of her.
I know all about fucking responsibility.
I know what it’s like to have it, and I know what it’s like to have it taken from you.
I know what it’s like to have the person you’re responsible for out there in the world doing fuck knows what, and not be able to do a single thing about it.
I take another sip of coffee to calm myself down – I can’t be losing my cool with her – it’s not her fault my responsibilities were taken from me. That’s all on me.
“Not the rest of this week you don’t,” I say.
She sets her cup down on the counter with a little more force than necessary. “What the hell is that meant to mean?”
“You’ve got the week off – it’s all organised.”
She scoffs. “Nice try, Andy. You don’t even know where I work.”
“Don’t I?” I challenge.
“Nope.” She smiles smugly at me.
I shrug. “Oh well then… I guess I didn’t call into the office of ‘The News Daily’ after all… I didn’t organise for you to have time off and I probably didn’t get hit on by someone called Stu then either…”
Her jaw drops but she quickly recovers and snaps it shut.
“You didn’t.”
“Oh I did.” I smirk. “Stu was more than happy to give you the rest of the week off – apparently you don’t know how to relax and he thinks I’m just the man for the job.” I puff my chest out proudly.
“I’ll kill him,” she states calmly. “He might be the best at digging up dirt and tracking people down, but I’ll bury him so god damn deep even he won’t be able to find himself.”
I chuckle at her threat and shrug. “Whatever you say, princess, but it’ll have to wait until next week – you’re on holiday.”
She crosses her arms across her chest – a stubborn-as-hell expression on her face. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh you’ll come alright.”
“That’s what you think,” she grumbles.
I stroll towards the door, fully clothed thanks to the ridiculous temperature she’s still refusing to fix.
“Dylan?” I call when I’m just outside the doorway.
“What?” she snaps.
“I’ve still got my bike.”
I don’t miss the sound of her sharp intake of breath and muttered ‘oh fuck’.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Dylan
“I’m not going because I want to spend time with you; I’m going because I want to see my girl. Just so we’re clear.” I jab a finger into his chest, so he knows I really mean business.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He smirks. “I know you just can’t wait to wrap your legs around my waist again.”
His words send goose bumps over my skin.
“Just open the door,” I demand.
He squats down and undoes the lock on the door of the storage shed.
The door creaks as he lifts it up.
“There she is,” he announces proudly.
There she is indeed. I might not be sure about much anymore, but I do know that I love that bike.
“She looks good,” I murmur as I circle it, my fingers running lovingly over the dark leather and hard body.
“She got a full tune up,” he says, sounding like a proud dad. “Still runs like a dream.”
“You rode her without me?”
“You tried to divorce me. Of course I rode her without you.”
I pout. “I think I missed this bike more than I missed you.”
His lips break out into a smug grin. “So you did miss me.”
“Don’t twist my words.”
“Just calling it as I see it.” He chuckles. “Now put your helmet on, princess, we’re getting the fuck out of here.”
“Finally.” I sigh dramatically. “He says something I actually want to hear.”
He shakes his head in amusement and comes to stand in front of me, the helmet that was always mine in his hands.
He sits it on my head and then reaches under my chin to tighten up the strap.
His fingers brush my skin and make tingles race up and down my spine.
“Done,” he murmurs softly.
“Thank you,” I reply in the same way.
He gives me a smile that makes my stomach flutter and steps away from me.
I’m grateful for the space. We’re about to get very up close and personal, and there will be no avoiding his hard, warm body, or that addictive scent once I’m on the back of his bike.
I’ve got no doubt that’s why he brought me here.
After pulling that ridiculous stunt with my job that I’m sure Stu would have been all too eager to assist with, all bets are off. I know that now.
He’s pulling out all the stops.
“You ready?” he asks, distracting me from my internal realisation.
He’s sitting on the bike now and holy shit, if I wasn’t totally screwed before, then I damn well am now.
He’s every dream from the past three years come to life right in front of my eyes.
He looks like the Drew I fell in love with, and even though looks can be deceiving, I allow myself a moment to pretend that nothing has changed.
I let myself pretend that we’re just Drew and Dylan – crazy in love with life and with each other.
I swing my leg over the back of the bike and snuggle into the leather jacket he’s worn for the occasion, my legs clamping tightly around his hips.
“Hold on tight, princess.”
My heart jackhammers in my chest.
It’s what he’s always said when I got on the back of his bike… ever since the very first time.
He didn’t forget.
I know it’s wrong of me, and that I shouldn’t get either of our hopes up by repeating back my part of the line, but the words are out my mouth before I can convince myself it’s a terrible idea.
“I’ll never let go,” I whisper.
I hear him exhale deeply before turning the key and making the bike roar to life.
I throw my head back and grin.
I’ve missed the purr of the Harley’s engine something chronic.
I’d never even been on the back of a bike before Andy came crashing into my life and into my heart, but now I can barely imagine a time before I felt the freedom of the wind in my hair.
He pulls out of the shed carefully and before I know it, we’re speeding off down an open road I’ve never travelled.
I don’t know where he’s taking me,
but right now, I couldn’t care less.
All that matters is that I’m here, with him of all people and I’m free.
I can pretend for a few hours that the last three years never even happened.
I can be the woman in love with her husband without having to hide it or feel ashamed of the fact.
Andy yells something to me over his shoulder that I don’t catch, but I don’t care. I just grin and press the side of my face into his back as I cling on tight.
I never imagined myself on the back of a bike, but I feel free out here. I trust him on this thing in a way I’m not sure I could trust another person.
After what feels like forever, the bike starts to slow, before leaving the sealed road entirely and driving onto a bumpy, gravel track.
He has to drive a lot slower now, and the noise is lower, low enough that I can talk to him.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“You’ll see in about five minutes,” he calls back over his shoulder.
I take a good look around now that things aren’t passing in such a blur. We’re in a totally secluded, rural-looking part of the countryside. I can’t see a single sign of life out here other than a few odd cattle grazing in a nearby paddock.
There’s a thick cover of bush that we’re approaching, and I should probably be worried that my convict husband is going to murder me and dump my body in the woods, but I’m not.
I know Andy would never hurt me, not physically anyway.
He might have done a lot of questionable things since the day I met him and long before that too, but I know I can trust him to keep me safe from harm. He’d kill anyone or anything that tried to hurt me.
I know he’d die for me if he had to.
We drive into the bush and I’m struck with just how beautiful it is out here. The trees almost cover the sky entirely with green.
It’s like we’ve been transported into some type of wild jungle.
Andy pulls the bike to a stop and flicks down the stand with his foot.
Turning to face me, he announces, “Here we are.”
I pull off my helmet as he climbs off the bike.
He offers me his hand to help me get off and I try my hardest not to think words like ‘sweet’ or ‘charming’ about him.
Mr. January: A Second Chance Romance (Calendar Boys Book 1) Page 6