Sand Angel Page 0,49
him. “What?” He didn’t miss the surprise in her voice. A frown pulled her brows together. He could almost see her bristle.
“I just thought maybe we could go to my apartment.” He tried to pull her back into his embrace, but her resistance made him withdraw.
“I don’t need a keeper,” she snapped. The pretty flush of her orgasm turned to red-hot resentment. This was not the way he wanted to end this morning’s loving.
“Baby, no one said you did.” He smoothed a palm up her arm. “If you want to stay, we’ll stay. I just thought—”
“That you’d keep me safe—off my bike?” she interjected sharply. “Wasn’t that your and Josh’s plan?”
Well, she had him there. A lie would only hurt the progress he had made with her so far. Instead he chose to toss a question back at her. “What’s going on here?” He sat up, coming face-to-face with her. “Why is it that your employer is so concerned? Why do you feel the need to take so many chances?”
“Just because I take risks doesn’t mean I have a death wish.” She swiped her hand across her face, pushing an errant curl out of her eyes. She nibbled on her bottom lip. He took it as a good sign that she fought to keep control of her temper. “You have to trust me that I know what I’m doing.” Drew wished he could, but he had seen firsthand her unsafe behavior. “I’m good,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s not just me boasting, but the truth.”
Her expression went thoughtful. “There’s a rhythm to a bike, almost a camaraderie between us—we’re one. I can’t explain it.” She paused, staring at him, but giving him the feeling she looked through him. “It just is,” she concluded before her eyes brightened and he felt she really saw him. “I know when the moment is right. I feel it in my bones. There’s nothing like the escalation of pushing the limits.” She released a blissful sigh as if for a moment she had been soaring through the air or challenging a mountain.
“Dammit, Zoë.” He grabbed her by the arms and held them out before her. “How do you explain the scars over your beautiful body?” Road rash was sure to blame for the discoloration of spots on her arms and shoulders. Not to mention the obvious scars left by stitches. He couldn’t forget the bruises and raspberry spots left from yesterday’s accident, an accident that had two men in the hospital. A shiver slid up his spine with the thought that the outcome could have been much worse for Zoë. She could have broken her fucking neck.
Zoë broke eye contact, looked away. “Risk doesn’t come without some kind of payment.”
He wasn’t letting her off that easily. He released her arms and caught her chin between his index finger and thumb, guiding her attention back to him. He raised a brow.
“Okay.” She released an exasperated breath. “Yes. Sometimes—maybe—I go beyond the limits. Sometimes I feel as if I can’t help myself, but it’s always ended fine. I’ll be just fine.”
He knew they couldn’t get to the root of the issue now. Getting her angry wasn’t going to help either. “Is it wrong to worry about you, Zoë?”
She reached out and stroked his cheek. “No, but don’t try to suffocate me. I’ve been too long on my own for a man to start riding roughshod over me. I won’t have it. And I won’t give up riding. It’s who I am. I love it,” she said with so much passion that he knew it was true.
What a quandary. Drew speared his fingers through his hair. Zoë was an adult. He had no hold on her. The woman she had become was complex. He’d already seen what playing the overprotective he-man had accomplished—absolutely nothing, but pissed her off. So he said the only thing he could. “Promise me you’ll think before you do anything dangerous.”
“What’s the fun in that?” she asked, making his gut clench until she smiled and leaned in to brush a kiss across his lips. “I’m kidding. Yes. I’ll think before acting. Now what do you say we get dressed and see what Josh is cooking? I think I smell sausage.”
Drew got the message loud and clear—conversation over.
Except for the bruises and scars that marred Zoë’s body, she was gorgeous scooting off the bed. There was such confidence in her stride as she went to her closet and pulled out a riding ensemble like the red