“Nobody’s ever asked me that before.” He frowned, staring ahead. We’d just started down the farm road, our footsteps a lot slower than they’d been on our way there. I wasn’t sure if it was him or me hesitating more.
“Well, consider me a first.”
His eyes narrowed at me then, a dirty little smile lighting up his face. “Oh, trust me. You’d be a first alright. A fun one, actually.”
“Stooooop.” I shoved him, but instead of being disgusted, I laughed. After only spending a day together, I was pretty sure I was starting to know this man a little more.
As far as my life went, I knew what I’d be doing had my mom not run off. I loved being a teacher and had once planned on doing it for the rest of my life. There was something magical about watching kids’ eyes light up when they realized how cool science could be. When they looked under a microscope for the first time, or even dissected a frog…
I’d never really decided whether or not I wanted kids of my own, as babies were a bit of a mystery to me. Sam had wanted them. And I’d just assumed we might try someday. But now, if I had to think about it, I wasn’t 100 percent sure if having babies was for me. In fact, I once thought I’d foster some kids, maybe adopt an older kid who didn’t have much of a chance in life. A troublesome biker even.
A young Archer as my son. All trouble and turmoil. I smiled a little at the thought.
“I’d open a bike repair shop.”
“Yeah?” I grinned, imagining him all serious, standing in front of his store, a smile on his face and a red ribbon being cut with a pair of giant scissors as he opened the doors on that first day of work.
“Yep. Kinda a bucket list thing, I guess.”
I bumped his hip with mine. I was a little dizzy, to the point where I had to put my free hand on his upper arm for balance. His smile turned into a knowing smirk, which had me rolling my eyes. Regardless, I had to say what was running through my mind. If I didn’t, then I’d regret it. Sometimes when it comes to achieving dreams, you do need someone else to acknowledge them for it to feel real.
“You still can, you know. Open a shop.”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I’m a lifer for the RDs. I’m good with doing rebuilds on the side.”
Was he really though? I wanted to ask but realized it wasn’t my place to do so. Just because we’d shared some dinner, some decent conversation, and were currently handcuffed to each other, didn’t mean we could become friends. Archer and I were two different people and my opinion of him, his life, was nothing more than a passing day among the 364 others.
He’d said he was taking me to my mom because he wanted to get to Pops. But he was also saying he was my bodyguard. I wasn’t drunk, not in the least, but the thought of him wanting to help me at all confused me. Made me wonder if he was being truthful, or simply getting his lies mixed up. I didn’t want to not trust him, but the part of me that didn’t want to know any of the Red Dragons was still pulling at my thoughts and urging me to put distance between us.
“What about you?” he asked, bumping my hip back—a little too hard for my currently unsteady mind and margarita-filled body.
“Whoa.” I stumbled and Archer threw his arm around my back, holding me upright, my palm flat on his chest.
I licked my suddenly dry lips as our chests pressed together, meeting his stare beneath my lashes. Under my palm I could feel the beat of his heart, and the more he looked at me, the faster it seemed to go. Archer was all about sex, being with a woman for no more than a month, if that. But right then, he looked not like the man I’d gotten to know, the one who used his lips for things other than kissing. Archer looked, well… a little lost, like my eyes were his sudden compass and he couldn’t keep from staring into them to try and find his way.
Pressed so close like we were, though, even in the middle of this sparse field, I’d never been warmer, hotter. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck and into my tank beneath my cardigan. His hips moved closer too, a bulge in his jeans coming between us. I didn’t comment on it… and surprisingly neither did Archer.
Something between us shifted though. An unnamed emotion that I’d long turned off. And looking at his lips, then his eyes, the way his hair fell over his face, sticking to his temples… I kind of never wanted to lose that feeling.
“You alright?” His voice was low, tainted with whiskey and lust.
I shuddered, loving how his eyes drifted lower, sliding over my breasts that just peered over the top of my camisole.
“Yeah. Just a little tipsy, I think.” My cheeks grew even warmer, and I was thankful for the breeze just then. Slow, just enough to make me shiver for reasons other than his heady look.
Archer shivered too, and as much as I wanted him to be cold, I knew what was really going through his mind. It had been a long time since I’d been with a man, not since Sam. But that look of desire in someone’s eyes could never be contained.
Instinct had me gripping the front of his T-shirt a little tighter, pulling him closer—not that we could get much closer. Chest to chest we stood. And soon, I was shutting my eyes, tipping my head back, opening my mouth, waiting, and waiting, and waiting… for what felt like forever, until the crackle of his low voice echoed in my ear.
“Emily,” Archer murmured. “What’re you…?”
Kiss me.
Make me feel alive, Archer.
Please.
His long sigh blew over my cheek as he dropped his mouth to my ear. But his words… they were nothing like what I was expecting.
“If it’s a kiss and a fairy tale you’re looking for, JP, then I’m sadly not your guy.”
And then he began to laugh.
Ten
Archer
Okay. So, I was kind of an asshole. But what the hell did the woman expect of me? Did she think I’d drop all my rules and give her a ten-at-night-on-a-Thursday farm fantasy in the form of a kiss?
Fuck that shit. Everyone knew I didn’t kiss. Emily included. And just because I’d shared a little bit of myself with her that I hadn’t shared before didn’t mean we were gonna have some whirlwind romance thing.
Either way, I did feel bad that I’d led her on, though that hadn’t been my intention. I probably needed to make it up to her. I just wasn’t sure how yet. With all the squirming she was doing in the bed next to me—for the past hour that we’d been lying there trying to sleep, damn it—I couldn’t think about anything other than how she smelled like fresh flowers, and how her smooth legs kept grazing mine under the covers. It definitely didn’t help that my cock was hard as hell. I needed some action.
“Can’t you just lie still?” I growled, running a hand over my forehead.
“Can’t you just stop being a jerk?” she snapped back at me. “I can’t sleep with these cuffs on. I haven’t showered all day and—”
“Fine, fuck.” I sat up, reached over the bed to grab my jeans on the floor. Slowly, I pulled out the key, intending to take the damn cuffs off. Only when I pulled back to sit up, the thing fell out of my fingers, sliding under the bed.
“What’re you doing? That hurts. Stop pulling,” she hissed at me.
“Move with me then, Christ.”
She huffed but did as I asked, adding a smarter step to the mix when she flicked on the bedside light. “There. Now you’ll be able to see.”
I scowled, pissed I hadn’t thought of that.
Seconds before I ducked down to the floor, my gaze latched onto her bare legs. She wasn’t wearing pants or shorts?
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
I’d like to say it was the pale, shapely curve of her thighs drawing me in, but that wasn’t it. Instead, my stomach twisted as I looked at her. Tears were in her eyes, dripping at the corners. She wiped them away before they could get far, but I’d seen enough to know she was upset.
Shit. Now, more than ever, I needed to get this key.
Frowning, I got down on the floor, our cuffed hands stretched to the max when I reached under the bed and star
ted searching for it. Once I touched the cold metal, I stood, then got back in bed beside her.
“You promise you won’t run?” I asked, studying her profile.
Her eyes narrowed a little. “After tonight, I can’t make any promises.”
In other words, she wasn’t going anywhere.
Slowly, I reached out, undid the cuffs—hers first, mine second. A sigh left her mouth, then seconds later she was up and out of bed, heading toward the bathroom, my guess was to shower.
“Hey,” I called to her back.
In the doorway of the bathroom, she stood like a stone, shoulders stiff, hands in fists at her side. “What?”
There were 100 things I probably could’ve said right then. Starting with, I’m sorry for being a dick, followed up with, Kissing is a curse, and ending with, You’re fucking sexy as hell, but I don’t like attaching myself to people because they always leave me.
The one thing I did say? “Don’t make me regret this, JP.”
With that, she left the room, slamming the door shut with a loud Screw you from the other side.
I woke to an empty bed. A bed I was lying in the middle of, sprawled out on my stomach… no Emily to be seen. If that woman had run…
“Good Christ.”
I jumped up and onto the floor.
Not in bed, not in the bathroom, not in the tiny kitchen…
I ran outside, stopping short at the sight of her there on the little porch, a cup of coffee in hand. I blew out a slow breath, not sure why I’d been panicked. It wasn’t like I cared if she left. Well, I did care in the sense that I needed a more specific location to find Pops in Kentucky. Maybe that’s why I cared. Why my heart was thudding in my temples, my chest, and my throat. Why the sight of her had my knees weakening a little too.
“What’re you doing out here?” I frowned. “The fucking sun’s not even up.”
“I’m enjoying this beautiful morning.”
Her voice was chirpy. Too chirpy for Emily, at least. She wasn’t Summer. Hadn’t ever acted like her perky best friend. Which was why I narrowed my eyes at her. Distrust sat like a knot in my gut as I studied her profile. Was this some sort of act? Maybe she had secret shit planned that wouldn’t fare well for me during the rest of our little trip? I wouldn’t be surprised.
“We should leave soon, though. It’s supposed to rain.”
Riding all day in the rain on a damn bike sucked ass. Especially since I didn’t have a helmet for myself, just her. “Alright,” I said, clearing my throat. “Just gonna shower first.”
“Sure. Coffee’s ready when you are.”
She still wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t like that, nor did I like the nice-y tone coming out of her mouth. It wasn’t like I wanted her snark, but this nice shit didn’t feel right.
Was this about her trying to kiss me? My rejection? She had to know that kissing me was a really bad idea though, right? Not that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind or anything. I mean, she was damn pretty in the moonlight, what with her thick, red lips I wouldn’t mind seeing around my cock, especially.
I cleared my throat, pushing those dangerous thoughts away. “I’ll be ready in ten.”
“Sure.” She waved at me from over her shoulder, fingers wiggling, eyes still ahead on the cornfields.
Thunder roared in the distance, and I winced, wondering if we were gonna make it out of here after all. I needed to hurry. God forbid we spent another night in this place.
In the room, I powered on my phone before I went into the shower. Like I expected, I had a shit ton of voicemails and an even bigger stockpile of texts, all from Hawk.
Call me the second you find my sister, asshole.
Don’t you touch a hair on her head.
Where the fuck are you?
I’m gonna kill you both the second you come home.
Intending to ignore Hawk, I went to hit the button to power my phone back down, stopping short when I saw a message from Chop come through. The hell was he texting me for?
You think you know her? Because you don’t know shit. Her secrets will fuck you up, brother. Be careful.
Her secrets? What the hell did that mean? Before I could question it too much, a phone call came through. Slade. Jesus, all I wanted to do was shower.
“Sup?” I walked into the bathroom and took a quick piss.
“Where are you?”
“Middle of Indiana, three hours outside Rockford. Why?”
“We got problems.”
I stiffened, ready to shed my boxers and jump in the tub. “What kind?”
“The Fallen Order’s coming tonight.”
I froze with my mouth hanging open. Son of a bitch. I’d thought I had more damn time.
“Archer,” Slade barked. “You hear me?”
“I hear you, damn it.” I leaned back against the sink and sighed. “Why the rush? What’s changed in twenty-four hours?”
A door slammed on his end, feet thumping over gravel. “Chop went to Flick.” He lowered his voice. “Said he had reason to believe you were lying and covering up for Emily. That you knew she was running and it’s got everything to do with Pops.” He released a low growl as he said, “Tell me that’s not fucking true, Arch.”
Son of bitch. I’d kill that asshole.
“Tell me, Goddammit,” Slade pressed. “Are you with her, and is she hiding something?”
I looked to the bathroom door, eyes narrowing when I heard Emily on the other side, whistling. It was either I come clean now or risk a shit ton of problems if I managed to make it back alive. “Listen. I can’t say shit for Hawk’s sister. She’s on a rampage trying to get to her ma.” I paused, exaggerating a little. “Only fucking reason I’m going with her is because she’s taking me to Pops.”
“The hell you mean she’s taking you to Pops?”
I cringed. “You heard me. I don’t know a specific location, other than it’s in Kentucky. She won’t tell me till we get there.”
“What the fuck, man? Are you suicidal?”
“Nope. Just done with the runaround. Flick wasn’t moving fast enough for me.”
“So, what?” Slade growled again. “You plan on taking him down yourself? Go against him and all his rogues? How stupid are you, brother?”
I pushed away from the sink and started to pace the floor. “Look, you can either judge me or help me out if I need you. Keep your cell on, don’t give me lip, and if you hear anything else, send word.” And then I did what might just get me in deeper shit. I hung up the phone, then turned it off.
“God fucking damn it all to hell!” I kicked the wall, cussing again. Then I pushed open the door, said screw the shower, and found Emily in the kitchen, pouring another cup of coffee.
“Does Chop know?” I moved in behind her, upper lip curled when she stiffened. Against her ear I growled out, “Answer me, damn it. Does Chop know about your letters? Because if he does, then you can bet my brothers are gonna be on our asses like shit on toilet paper.”
Emily poured sugar into her cup and laughed. “That’s the grossest analogy I’ve ever heard.”
“Hey!” I roared, slamming my palm against the countertop. “Answer me, damn it. This shit ain’t funny.”
Shaking her head, she turned, facing me, chin all high and mighty. “No. I didn’t tell Chop. But he seemed to already know and I don’t have a clue how.”
“He’s not an idiot. Guy probably went snooping around your place and found the letters like I did,” I hissed, moving back into the bathroom, where I grabbed my phone. Emily hadn’t told me everything about her relationship with Chop, what he’d done to her, what she could’ve done to him. Maybe she was lying about the entire thing. Maybe she was just trying to get under my skin and get me to trust her so she could, I don’t know, throw me off. I wasn’t sure if I could trust her before, but now? I knew I couldn’t.
“Archer, I didn’t tell him. I swear.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter. He told Flick whatever he knows, and now the RDs h
ave asked for help from some seriously dangerous people.” I stood and faced her. “People who have done even shittier things than I have, Emily. And now these people are gonna be around my family and your brother, your best friend, and your future niece or nephew.”
Her face grew white. “I… I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry won’t cut it this time, JP. You’ve now not only screwed me and you, but you’ve screwed anyone and everyone you love.”
Eleven
Emily
The rain wouldn’t let us get far, just sixty miles south of where we’d been, still in Indiana. Every inch of me was soaked, as was Archer, and thunder was echoing over the roar of his bike, following us, promising to get worse.
Archer pulled over into a gas station parking lot, undid my bag at the back of his bike, and led us toward the front door. His hand stayed protectively pressed against my lower back, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a subconscious thing. For as angry as he was at me, he was still pretending to actually care about my wellbeing. Not that I deserved it. Not that I deserved much of anything at this point. I still wasn’t sure how Chop had discovered what I was doing. Either way, I hated the fact that I’d ever spent a moment with him, even more than after he’d hurt me.
Inside, Archer went straight to the clerk, leaving me behind to shake out my wet pants and wring out my hair. This place wasn’t as shady as it looked from the outside, but that didn’t mean much.
“We went the wrong way,” he muttered, walking past me toward the door.
My eyes widened. “What? No, I told you—”
“We’re lost, JP. You told me the wrong highway and now we’re sixty miles west instead of south.”
Her Hot Ride: A gripping and sexy biker mc romantic suspense novel Page 10