Jaci Burton (4 page)

strap so it was tight, but not too tight. Then he opened up the

saddlebags and pul ed out an extra pair of gloves and some

goggles. “Here, you’l need these, too.”

“Thanks.” She put on the goggles and the gloves.

He grabbed the zipper of her leather jacket and started to

pul it up, pausing when his knuckles brushed against her

breasts. She inhaled with a sharp gasp.

“A little tight here.”

“Um. Yes.”

She seemed to try to make herself smal er, as if pushing her

shoulders forward could make her breasts smal er.

“Honey, you can’t downsize them. They are what they are.”

He pul ed the jacket edges closer, then finished zipping her

up. “They’re real y nice, by the way.”

She seemed to relax, then, because she laughed. “Thanks.

They get in the way a lot.”

“Yeah, but I’l bet they’re a lot of fun to play with.”

She seemed to consider saying something, but instead she

closed her mouth and her lips curled upward in a knowing

smile.

It made his dick twitch.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

He got on the bike and she climbed on behind him.

“Lean the same way I lean. Press your thighs against mine.

It’l help with your balance. And hold on to me if you feel

unsteady.” He had a back pad for the rider, but a new rider

sometimes felt a little wobbly until they got their bearings. He

started up the bike and let it warm up while he waited for

everyone else, giving the throttle a boost. Ava leaned closer

and slid her hands in the pockets of his jacket.

Okay, he had to admit he liked that, enjoyed the feel of her

body pressed against his back. He very rarely had someone

on the back of his bike. He’d grown so used to his solitary

lifestyle that it was unusual to have a rider behind him. And

hel , who wouldn’t like those great tits of hers pil owed against

his back?

Sometimes he had shitty assignments. He’d thought this

was one of them.

Then again, riding with a hot woman against you could be a

definite perk, so maybe it wouldn’t be al bad.

A
va had done a real y bad job trying to portray herself as a

seasoned bike rider. At least to Rick, who hadn’t fal en for it.

She thought she could just slip right in and act like she

belonged there, like she fit in.

Apparently not.

Then again, what was she trying to prove? She supposed

she wanted to look like she belonged. No point in that. She

was total y out of her element here and everyone knew it. She

might as wel just hang on and enjoy the newness of the

experience and let a seasoned veteran like Rick teach her the

ropes.

Like riding in darkness into the desert, where the roads

curved and the biting wind stung her cheeks and made her

wish she’d applied some lip balm to keep her lips from drying

out.

There was a lot she didn’t know.

The riding part? She loved it. Hanging on to Rick while the

bike hugged the corners of the road was a thril she hadn’t

expected. She felt like she was part of the motorcycle itself. It

was exhilarating. And the closer she got to Rick, the warmer

she felt, which was a nice side benefit. He didn’t seem to

mind her pressed up against him, either. His body was solid

and as she laid her chin on his shoulder, it gave her a great

view. He had a good command of the bike, knew what he was

doing, which helped her relax. He never once even seemed to

notice her weight or the fact he had an extra body on the back.

He just focused on the road ahead. The ride was smooth and

she wished it was daylight so she could see the desert.

After riding for a while—she’d lost track of time and had no

idea how long they’d ridden—they pul ed down a stretch of

road that led to a large, sprawling homestead. In the darkness

she could make out fences and heard the rustle of horses, so

maybe a farm or a ranch or something? Dogs barked in the

distance, and loose dirt shifted under her feet after they

climbed off the bike.

And, oh, she was sore, her muscles tight from being in one

position for so long. She resisted the urge to rub her butt.

“How do you feel?”

“Fine.” She took off the helmet and handed it to Rick.

“Stiff?”

“A little.”

He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’l get

used to it. It’s like riding a horse. Your muscles have to adjust.”

She hoped they adjusted fast. “Where are we?”

“Joey’s house. He’s one of the Hel raisers, owns a ranch out

here in the desert. The Hel raisers party a lot out here

because it’s away from the watchful eye of the law.”

“Real y.”

“Yeah. Come on.”

Ava wondered what kind of partying went on that the

Hel raisers didn’t want the police or county sheriff to know

about. She caught up with Lacey, who was just ahead of her.

“Have you been here before?”

“At Joey’s? Sure. Lots of times.”

“What goes on here?”

Lacey squeezed her hand and laughed. “Relax, Ava. We’re

just here to kick back and have some fun. You’l see.”

Lacey moved off with Bo, leaving her—once again—until

Rick moved up and swept his arm around her. “I won’t leave

you alone. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried at al .” And she wasn’t. Not about herself,

anyway. She was more concerned about what Lacey had

gotten herself involved in. That’s why she was here. Though

she had to admit, having Rick’s arm around her wasn’t bad at

al . He was tal , gorgeous, strong, and he smel ed damn good.

Like leather and soap and the outdoors. And he was fine to

look at. Lacey could have stuck her with some ugly guy with a

gross shaggy beard and butt crack hanging out of his pants.

She counted her lucky stars that she’d managed a riding

partner that looked like he could be a male model instead of

some grizzled, greasy biker type.

They went up to the house. By the time they made it in there,

loud music was playing, the lights were blaring, there was a

fire in the fireplace, and there was plenty of beer lined up in

large metal buckets on the floor in the living room.

The place was very rustic, al wood floors and paneling.

Very little décor and Ava could tel immediately that this was a

guy’s place. It had no feminine touches anywhere. No pictures

on the wal and only a mounted deer’s head over the fireplace.

And it was kind of a mess, though people just shoved things

out of the way and no one seemed to care.

Ava shuddered at the clutter, clenched her hands into fists,

and forced herself to refrain from jumping in to straighten

things up.

She’d grown up in a spotless environment, her mother a

politician’s wife almost from day one. Ava had never been

allowed to leave her toys lying around, and had always been

required to pick them up every night before bed. Of course al

her toys had been relegated to the playroom, never in any of

the common areas of the house.

As she got older, she remembered coming home from

col ege and not being al owed to study at the kitchen table.

She’d been sent to her room. After her first semester she’d

stopped coming home. It was more comfortable—more

homey—at school. Though even then, she kept her room at

col ege immaculate. Habit, she supposed.

The chaos at this house was truly something to behold.

Loud and raucous, a hundred bikers crammed into this guy’s

house, talking over the music, laughing, sitting anywhere and

everywhere, from the fireplace to the stairs to the kitchen and

even spil ing into the front and backyards. And discarded beer

cans everywhere.

“Want a beer?” Rick asked.

“Sure. Thanks.”

He reached into a round metal bucket and grabbed two

cans, popped them open, and handed her one. She took a

couple gulps, looked around for a napkin, and of course didn’t

find one. Not in a guy’s house anyway, so she did the next

best thing—she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand,

glancing around to see if anyone had noticed.

“Manners don’t count here. Quit worrying about it.”

“Sorry. Old habits die hard.”

“You can drool al over yourself in this group and no one wil

say a word.”

She laughed. “I’l keep that in mind.”

Instead of staying put in one place—something she’d

probably have done—Rick began to wander around. He knew

a lot of these people, stopped to say hel o, and was nice

enough to introduce her to those he talked with. Most of the

guys seemed surprised to see him, asked where he’d been,

indicated it had been a long time since he’d been around.

They al welcomed him back.

Ava wondered where he’d been, too.

“You son of a bitch.”

Ava froze at the angry tone of someone behind her. Rick

pul ed his attention from the person he’d been talking to

toward the sound of the voice, then smiled.

“Hey, asshole, what’s up?”

She stepped out of the way as the two men shook hands

and laughed.

“Goddamn. What did you do, fal into a black hole or

somethin’?” the guy asked.

He was big—al over—a giant of a man. Even his hair had

as wild a look as his face, tumbling in wild curls halfway down

his back.

“Something like that. Great to see you, Joey.”

Ah. So this must be the guy who owned the house.

“Joey, this is my friend Ava.”

Joey turned to her, eyed her from head to foot, then picked

her up and planted a big kiss on her cheek. “How ya doin’,

sweetheart?”

When he set her down, she exhaled. “Fine. Thank you. It’s

nice to meet you. Thank you for having us over.”

Joey paused, then laughed and turned to Rick. “Polite little

thing, ain’t she?”

Rick’s lips lifted. “Yeah.”

“So, you stil in the life?”

Rick shrugged. “More or less. What about you?”

“Hel raiser ’til I die. Bo’s done a fine job growing the gang.

He keeps us busy runnin’—”

Joey seemed to notice Ava standing there. “He keeps us

busy running around.”

“I can see that. I remember when there were just ten or

fifteen of us.”

“Now there are over a hundred in this area. He’s done

good. And I know he’l be happy to have you back.”

“Yeah, I figured it was time to come home.”

Joey smacked Rick on the back. “About damn time, too.”

Joey moved off to see some other people and Rick and

Ava finished their beers. Rick reached into the nearest tub for

another, opened it, and handed it to her while they wandered

around.

“You seem to know a lot of people,” she said.

“A few. Some I don’t recognize. A lot of these people are

new.”

“Joey said you’d been gone awhile?”

“Yeah. Traveling.”

“That must have been exciting.”

He laughed. “It can be.”

She suddenly wanted to know more about him. He must

lead such an interesting life. “Who do you ride with when you

travel? Groups like this one, or smal er?”

“No one. I ride alone.”

She couldn’t even imagine that. “Real y. Don’t you get

lonely?”

He slanted a glance toward her. “No.”

“So you like being alone.”

“I guess so. I never real y thought about it. I just do what I do.

”

“I wouldn’t enjoy that.”

“What? Riding or being alone?”

“The alone part.”

“It’s not bad. Gives me a lot of time to think.”

Now it was her turn to laugh. “I have too much time to think. I

wouldn’t want al that time alone. I’d drive myself crazy.”

He leaned in, slid his finger on the tip of her nose. “It’s good

to get to know yourself, learn to be comfortable in your own

skin.”

Rick had a point, and he definitely looked at ease with

himself. Stil , she wondered how much time he’d actual y spent

riding alone. What made a person crave that kind of solitude?

Most people liked being with other people, not isolating

themselves.

He was certainly an interesting person. And she’d always

liked to be around interesting people.

Speaking of people . . . where the hel had Lacey gone off

to? Ava hadn’t seen her since they’d arrived here. Ava

searched her out, but the crowd had thickened and she

couldn’t find her.

“Looking for your friend?” Rick asked.

“Yes.”

“I saw Bo take her upstairs. Let’s go find them.”

Once again, he took her hand and led her up the stairs,

though they had to wind their way through a crowd of people

using the stairs as a seating area. They didn’t seem to mind