in with the fear. She lifted her head from his back. Thanks to the intercom, he could hear her soft and weirdly sexy gasps in his ear.
“You okay?” he said after about five minutes.
“Yes.” The excitement was palpable in her voice. “Yes, this is… lovely! Can you go faster?”
He grinned. “Yes, Sunshine, I can.”
* * *
The ride to her house was over far too quickly. Addison’s terror had turned first to excitement and then to pure delight in the time it took Preacher to get her home. As he slowed to a stop and put the kickstand down before shutting off the bike, she tried to ignore her disappointment at the ending of the ride.
She was ashamed to admit that it wasn’t only the ride she was enjoying. Pushed up against Preacher’s back, feeling the hard muscles of his abdomen under her hands and the vibration of the bike between her thighs had made her horny as hell. She was half-fantasizing that Preacher was driving her to some secluded part of town so he could make love to her when he turned onto her street.
She realized she was still sitting on the bike, still clinging to Preacher’s back like a monkey, and with a flush of embarrassment she climbed off the bike. Preacher stood and unbuckled her helmet, removing it and letting it dangle from two fingers as she self-consciously fluffed her hair.
She knew she had a huge grin on her face as she stared up at him. “That was so much fun! Thank you, Preacher.”
“You’re welcome, Sunshine.”
She cleared her throat and patted her hair again. “Do I look funny with helmet hair?”
He shook his head. “You look good. Real good.”
She flushed. “I look wind-blown, I’m sure.”
“I like it,” he said. “The only time a woman looks better than after her first motorcycle ride is after her first orga -”
He abruptly cut the sentence short as his tanned skin went a little red. She hid her smile as he turned and strapped the helmet to the back of his bike.
She studied the friendship bracelet she’d given him that was tied around one wrist as he studied her apartment building.
“This is a nice area,” he said.
“It is,” she said. “I like that it’s kind of close to downtown. Sometimes I’ll walk from my place to downtown just for, um, exercise. You know.”
Lord, she sounded like such an idiot.
Her nerves were getting the best of her. She couldn’t stop talking. “I really like the building. It’s quiet and my neighbours are friendly. I live in apartment 427.”
He stared at her and oh my God, why did she say that?
“Anyway, thank you again,” she said. “I really appreciate your help.”
He nodded and she hesitated a moment longer before saying, “Well, I’ll see you around, okay?”
“Bye.”
“Okay, bye,” she said.
“Bye.”
Cursing herself for being an idiot, she turned and walked up the pathway to her apartment building, pulling her keys out of her purse. Before opening the door, she looked behind her. Preacher was back on his bike, but he hadn’t started it yet.
She waved, he nodded, and she shoved the key in the lock and opened the door. She peeked again at Preacher. He was still sitting on his bike and staring at her. Ignoring her urge to return to him, she shut the door and headed for the stairs.
Chapter Six
“You look terrible, pinky-pie, what’s wrong?” Harper’s face stared out at Addison from the screen of her iPad.
Addison grimaced. “I talked to the mechanic today about my car and it’s toast. Totally toast. Preacher was right, I need a new engine, which will cost more than the car is worth. So, now I have to buy a new car, and I seriously do not have the money for that right now.”
“Wait, wait, back up… what do you mean Preacher was right?” Harper raised one perfectly manicured brow.
“Oh, um, Preacher happened to drive by on his motorcycle yesterday while I was stranded on the side of the road and he, um, he gave me a ride to my place because Wade was going to be a few hours.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Harper gave her the hairy eyeball. “Bitch, you did not text that part of the ‘my car broke down’ story to me last night. What the hell?”
Addison couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t… I mean…it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“Fucking hell it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Harper said. “You rode Preacher’s Harley. What else aren’t you telling me? Was