Ride Free (4 page)

“He remembers you.”

Alejandro stroked Tip’s dark forelock and rubbed his fingers down the white blaze on the horse’s nose. “It seems like it, yeah. I didn’t know if he would, but I brought him a treat just in case.” He turned his velvet gaze on her then, still stroking Tip. “How are you, Ali?”

His deep, measured voice was the same, but everything else was different. Studying him up close she realized how much he’d changed. Ali watched him stroke Tip, his powerful forearms flexing. The wiry body of his youth had been engulfed by the broad, muscular frame and he’d grown a few inches since their senior year. They once embraced cheek to cheek, but she realized that this Alejandro could easily tuck her under his chin. He was harder somehow, too. The formerly sweet, boyish face was angular now, almost fierce in its masculine beauty. A dark beard coated his jaw and wound around sensual lips, and the long eyelashes that had once seemed too beautiful to waste on a boy fringed smoldering velvet eyes. Her gaze met his, but it was a moment before she could speak.

Finally she gathered her wits. “I’m good, thanks.” 

“Did you enjoy your wine?”

She was momentarily puzzled.
The Valero
. “It hit the spot that afternoon, let me tell you.”

“We were both pretty taken by surprise, I guess.”

“Yeah, I’ll say.”

“I planned to come and see you.”

She was silent.

“Listen, you don’t owe me anything, but I’d like to talk to you. It’s your call. If you don’t want to hear what I have to say, then I’ll leave right now and never bother you again.”

You’re pretty good at that
, said the bitter voice in her head, but she shoved it down and took a deep breath. She shrugged. “Go ahead. Talk. Better yet, walk and talk. I’m going in for some lunch. You want some?”

He rubbed his stomach and shook his head. “No, thanks. I just came from Cristina’s. She feeds me well enough.”

“Some tea, then?”

“That'd be nice.”

***

On the back porch, Ali filled two glasses and tried to calm her nerves. It didn’t help that she was soaked with sweat and smelled like the barn. She’d wanted to be primped and perfect for their next encounter, really show him what he’d missed out on. It was stupid, but she wanted him to want her, even just a little bit. Especially after last night’s dream.

But he wasn’t even flirting. So far they’d discussed the weather, his parents, and his cousin’s new baby, all while taking very polite sips of tea. Maybe she’d misread the look in his eyes when he’d seen at her at the gas station, all blazing heat and animal need.

“Cristina tells me the riding program is doing really well.”

“Yeah, it’s been pretty successful. The big thing was getting the right people to back it, because transportation is a pretty expensive issue. And insurance. But it’s coming along. I’m still teaching a few private students here, but I’m not sure for how much longer.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’m going to sell the ranch.”

“But you love this place.” He seemed genuinely surprised, his eyebrows knitting together with concern. “You told me you’d never leave it.”

Her throat tightened. “Yeah, well, things change. People say things they mean at the time, and then…”
Shit!
She hadn’t meant to say that. The last thing she wanted was his pity.

“Ali.”

She looked away and willed herself to silence.

“Ali, I never meant to hurt you.”

“Well, you did hurt me. I waited… and then I came home to find you gone…” Her breath caught as the memory of that pain swept through her.

“Cristina told me. And she gave me hell for it, too. She’s still giving me hell for it.”

“Good,” she flared.

“But you’re happy now, right? I saw the announcement. Cristina says he’s a good guy.”

She paused for a minute.
Do I tell him?
She decided against it. “He is a good guy.”

“And you’re happy?” he pressed. “You must be excited, planning your wedding and all that. Your mom must be thrilled.”

She detected the trace of bitterness in his last words. Her mother’s opinion of Alejandro had been no secret, especially not to him. She’d barely acknowledged his presence, preferring to pretend that Alejandro didn’t really exist in Ali’s life. Ali had fought tooth and nail with her mama that summer. They’d damn near killed each other.

“Mama’s is over the moon, of course.” 

“You still haven’t told me if you’re happy, Ali.”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters.”

“Why?” She couldn’t help challenging him.

“I want you to be happy.”

She took a deep breath. “Bobby’s great, but his job is going to be the death of him. I’m supposed to get married in two and a half months and I feel like a steer going to the slaughter since half of Texas will be there. I’m supposed to sell this ranch… Take Tip away from everything he’s ever known… Maybe abandon the program…” She shook her head. “Am I happy? Not really, not at the moment. But, you know…” She waved her hand and ignored the clench in her gut that she got every time she contemplated her future. “It’s all going to be fine, really.”

“You don’t sound very convinced.”

“What about you?” she countered quickly. “Are you happy? Is the outlaw life all you though it would be?”

“It’s exactly like I thought it would be. The club is great and the work is what it is…” He shrugged. “I do well for myself. Better than I would have with a useless literature degree.”

Her throat tightened. “You could have been anything you wanted to be. You could still do anything. Don’t sell yourself short, Alejandro.”

A forced smile wiped the shadow of pain from his face. “Things worked out just as they were supposed to. I’m good.”

“And is there someone… you know… special?” She hated how sour the word tasted in her mouth. She should be happy for him if he did have a girlfriend. He was going to be an amazing husband and father. But jealousy gnawed at her from the inside like a trapped animal.

He smiled wryly and shook his head. “Nope, no one special.”

“But there must've been plenty of women…” She blushed and cursed herself.
Of course there have been plenty of women. Did you really need to ask him that?
Do you really want to know?

He shrugged. “I guess. I was with my last girlfriend for a while, thought it might turn into something more, but…” He shrugged. “It didn’t.”

“Oh.” A vision of Alejandro passionately kissing some leggy Latina beauty flashed through her mind and she pushed it back out as quickly as it had entered her head. “That’s a shame.”

“She wasn't the one I wanted.” His eyes fixed on hers again and her insides somersaulted. She found him looking at her like he had in last night’s dream. His eyes had gone from sympathetic to hungry in an instant.

And who is the one you wanted?
She wanted to ask but his eyes told her the answer before the words could ever come. Dark serious eyes that she could never—would never—forget. “Take me for a ride?” Her brain screamed at her to turn back, that it'd be just another mistake she'll regret ten years later, that he'll leave her again. But somehow, she was walking towards him. Her fingers found his. "I'll need to wash up first."

Those dark serious eyes stared back at her and a slow fire was slowly smoldering in her stomach. He nodded. “Take your time. I can wait.” 

CHAPTER NINE

“You didn’t have to shower,” Alejandro said with a grin when Ali returned to the porch, dressed in jeans and a tank top, braiding her wet hair. She was satisfied when he looked her over and his eyes lingered on every curve. What had been hidden behind the loose clothes she’d worn for mucking out the stalls was now on full display. She didn’t feel even a hint of regret as his gaze traveled over her. It was as if he was peeling back every inch of fabric, touching her skin, and covering her back up. Her breath caught as his cocky smile faded to something a bit darker. Alejandro’s tongue snaked out to lick his bottom lip and she nearly swooned.

After so many months of Bobby worrying only about her outfits, it was nice to be appreciated solely for her feminine charms. “I was filthy,” she replied, loving the way his dark eyes devoured her. “You wouldn’t have wanted me on your bike smelling like Tip.”

“He doesn’t smell so bad,” he teased. “But I’d have been tempted to feed you an apple.”

She laughed and smacked his arm as they headed down the long driveway to his bike. They walked much closer together than was necessary and Ali caught the slightest whiff of Alejandro’s scent, both spicy and musky with an undertone of something else. Burning wood? Charcoal? Something that brought fire to mind.  

He gestured to her boots. “Those your old ones?”

“Yes. I never got rid of them. I loved them so much. Plus, for a while there I thought I might get my own bike.”

“Oh yeah?” His eyes lit up. “You’re gonna be a biker babe?”

“Well, not now. But a few years ago, yeah, that was my plan.”

“You’d look hot on your own bike.”

“Thank you.”
Hot, huh?

“You’re gonna look damn good on the back of mine.” He grinned as he handed her his helmet. “Put the brain bucket on.”

“Where’s yours?”

“That’s all I got. I wasn’t expecting company. But your noggin is more important than mine.” He checked the strap under her chin as if she were a child, just like he used to and she quivered at his casual touch. “We’re not going far, anyway. In this sun we’d burn up in no time. This one will be quick.”

The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop herself. If there was any doubt in her mind that she had nothing but sex on the brain, it was dashed instantly. “Let’s go to the Ridge. It’s been so long since I’ve been. Do you remember how to get there?”

He studied her face, his gaze curious and somehow more heated. “That’s where you want to go?”

She nodded, chest tight, and brushed a stray curl back under the helmet. The look in his eyes threatened to dissolve her from the inside, but she couldn’t look away.
Please, God, let him touch me when we get there.

“Get on,” he ordered, and she swung a shaky leg over the seat behind him and pressed against his back, enjoying the sweet agony of proximity to the body that haunted her dreams.

***

Alejandro couldn’t believe Ali was on his bike, snug behind him, her breasts pressed against his back. Her hands circled his waist and his breath caught at her touch. He could smell the fresh, clean scent of her shampoo and he longed to pull the helmet off her and bury his nose in her fragrant locks. He tried his damnedest to focus on the road as her thighs locked around his hips. Thank God they didn’t have far to go. Her nearness was sweet torture.

The Ridge was what passed for a mountain just outside Arroyo Flats. Mostly it was a local teenage make-out spot, though there weren’t likely to be any teenagers there on a Wednesday morning. Already the sun blazed in the sky and the heat shimmered on the roadway in front of them as they headed for the secluded, grassy flat at the top of the peak.

Alejandro drove gently, enjoying the feeling of Ali on the bike behind him. It felt natural to do this again, and though he knew she belonged to someone else he couldn’t help the fantasy that crept into his mind. Him and Ali, riding across the Southwest on one run after another. Ali, his old lady, wearing “Property of Shakespeare” patches on her jacket. The thought made him not only proud but hard.

Just as quickly he shut down the fantasy. It was a fucking bike ride, not a walk down the aisle. Ali knew what was best for her, just like her mother did, and she’d gone for it. She was with the senator’s son, and she was going to marry that rich boy. She’d be safe and taken care of her whole life. The last thing she needed was his lifestyle.

But as her hand flattened across the top of his thigh, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her again, to touch her again. No strings, no expectations, just a little something for old times’ sake. He’d seen it in her eyes in the barn. She’d sleep with him, no doubt about that. He could count on his sexual prowess even if he couldn’t count on his pedigree.

The Ali he’d seen in the publicity photo was a plastic princess, and he’d assumed Ali had become a woman just like her mother—too good to mingle with plebes like him now that she was marrying into Texas royalty. He’d have fucked a plastic princess purely for the satisfaction of sending her back ruined to her boyfriend. It was tremendously gratifying, the thought of taking a woman places she’d never been and then dumping her back in the lap of a man who could never live up to what he’d given her. He’d done it a few times, and it stroked his ego to think there were women out there who saw his face every time they had unsatisfying sex with their boyfriends or husbands. But Ali wasn’t a plastic princess. She was as real as the wind on his face and as breathtaking as the view from the top of the Ridge.

So knowing that, could he have a one-night stand with her? All this time trying to get her out of his head and he had been so sure he was over her. But he hadn’t expected to see her in the gas station looking like a pinup version of the girl he used to know, wearing tiny cutoffs, her hair tousled like she’d just been well fucked. And he hadn’t expected to find her in the barn like the sweet, wholesome country girl he’d always loved, smiling that amazing smile just for him.