going to say that? And lemme guess . . . you want a yellow one with a yellow helmet?”
Nodding vigorously, her eyes light up as if she hadn’t yet thought about the colors she could get. “Ooh, yes. Maybe with some orange and red pinstripes. And cool pants and boots too!”
“You’re incorrigible, you know that?” I ask, tenderly kissing the side of her mouth. “But I’ll see what I can do. For now, why don’t you spin around here, so I can show you other fun things we can do with dirt bikes?”
With a naughty gleam in her eyes, Sunshine doesn’t disappoint. Jacking her leg up high over my head, she swings around on the seat so that she’s straddling the bike and me. And God fucking help me, she’s definitely not wearing any panties.
“Lean back, gorgeous girl. Rest your back and hands on the handlebars,” I command, my tone light.
Perfect. I stand and steady the bike between my legs, which isn’t easy with my injuries, but with her help, I push my jeans and boxers down as far as they’ll go. As I stroke myself a few times, she stares, mesmerized, as her tongue wets her barely parted lips. I glance down to see her sliding her fingers into the sweetest spot I’ve ever encountered. As we sit on the bike pleasing ourselves, never once looking away from each other’s eyes, I know I’ve found the other half of my soul.
“I need to be inside you. Now,” I growl. “Put your arms back on the handlebars and show me how you like to ride, Sunshine.”
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16
“DO YOU THINK IT WOULD’VE made a difference if I’d been in Germany with you?” I ask hesitantly while feeding Levi a bite of a chocolate-dipped strawberry.
We’re lounging on the roof of the bus, drinking champagne and enjoying dessert after we annihilated dinner. Apparently, lots of sex and riding dirt bikes can really build up an appetite. With my back propped up against a mountain of pillows, my bare legs are stretched in front of me, my upper thighs providing a head rest for Levi as he lies flat on his back, looking straight up into the sea of stars splattered across the inky sky. Neither of us has a stitch of clothing on.
Sinking his teeth into the fruit, playfully nipping my finger as well, he shakes his head confidently. “No,” he grunts after he swallows. “Foss knew I was gonna take that title from him, and the only way he could keep that from happening was to fuck with me or my bike. You being there wouldn’t have changed that. I just wish I could prove he’s the fucker who turned my gas line off.”
His words don’t lessen the sense of blame I feel. Frowning, I stare down into his relaxed face and scrunch my nose up. “Why didn’t you call me and ask about the envelope?” I whine, knowing damn well it’s my own damn fault I didn’t know about the round-trip airfare and ticket to the World Championships. “It could’ve changed things. You never know.”
“And neither do you.” He raises his uninjured hand and taps the end of my nose. “Stop worrying about shit you can’t do anything about. The past is the past. It’s done. You wish you would’ve opened the letter; I wish I never would’ve let you get on that plane in New Orleans. Neither of us can do a damn thing about it now.” The corners of his eyes crinkle up with a tenderness I’ve never seen. “And maybe this is how it had to happen. Maybe we had to know how shitty it was to be apart to appreciate how great it is when we’re together. Maybe this is exactly how our story is supposed to play out.”
The dichotomy of his rough and tough outer appearance and his overwhelmingly gentle and affectionate demeanor when he’s with me is almost too much to handle when he says shit like that. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like being wrapped in a blanket made with soft crushed velvet. One of those with the satiny hem around the edges.
“I would’ve preferred if our story left out the chapter where you face-plant into the ground and nearly scare me half to death with worry, Mr. Know-It-All.” I stick my tongue out at him as I grab another berry, this time popping it into my own mouth.
“But then you wouldn’t have ever thought you lost me, and