dropped Billy Ray off with Gibson this morning and headed out for a ten-mile ride before Jonah’s birthday party tonight.
And after the party?
I was going to seduce the birthday boy. I would be showered, made up, hair styled, and sexed up. He would be putty in my hands. Wait, no. He would be achingly hard—
“How you feeling?” Jonah called over his shoulder.
I dragged my thoughts away from Naked Jonah. Eight miles into the ride and I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I had a shot at finishing next month.
“Good,” I puffed.
Sweat trickled down my back to the waistband of my shorts. It was a sensation I was learning to get used to and maybe even enjoy. I still preferred the swim. I liked sinking into the water, letting it muffle all my senses. But the bike was fun, too. Unless you took into consideration how much it hurt getting hit with a bumblebee as you flew down a hill.
I had welts.
I took the downhill, intending to be cautious—bumblebees and all, of course—but the speed, the wind that cooled my skin, made me brave.
I let out a whoop of joy and hinged over the handlebars.
Jonah shot a look over his shoulder and grinned at me. Together we raced down the winding hill.
Enjoying the view that unfurled in front of me. Forest, thick and green, rolled out on both sides of the ribbon of asphalt. I caught a glimpse of lake off to the left, saw Bootleg’s church steeple in the valley below. Dark clouds crowded in on the blue sky in front of us.
And between me and the clouds was Jonah. He rode in perfect form. His calves bunched, biceps flexed. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew he was smiling.
A doer, an adventurer in search of fun. And that’s what he wanted to share with his clients, I realized. I wasn’t hunched over a pile of research pecking away at the keyboard on a beautiful summer day. No, I was flying with the sun on my face and wind lifting my ponytail.
The road curved gently away from the lake, taking us deeper into the forest. We slowed as valley turned back to hill.
“Having fun?” he asked, slowing down so I could ease up alongside him.
“I was just thinking this was a more enjoyable way to spend a day than sitting in front of my laptop,” I confessed.
“Not too shabby.” He grinned. “Water break?”
I nodded. I was not comfortable enough on these roads to reach down and make a grab for my water bottle. That maneuver was above my current skill level. I wondered if I could get one of those beer helmets they sold at Build A Shine for the triathlon and fill it with water.
We pulled off the road at a trailhead that led up, up, up the mountain we’d skirted.
“Rain’s coming in,” he observed before taking a deep drink.
Lord, he was glorious. Sweaty was a good look on Jonah Bodine. His athletic frame warmed by exercise was a sight to be appreciated, swooned over. He wore a short-sleeved training jersey that fit him like skin and bike shorts that highlighted a particular piece of anatomy that I was trying not to stare at.
“Think we’ll make it home before that?” I asked, again tearing my gaze away from his crotch.
“Still two miles out. How fast can you peddle?” he teased.
A fat raindrop fell from the sky and landed on my chest. “Uh-oh.”
And with that, the West Virginia skies opened up on us.
“Let’s go further in,” he yelled over the slow roll of thunder. He gestured up the trail.
We pushed our bikes into the trees and away from the road. He found a copse of hemlock trees that formed a low leaky canopy. I crawled in behind him.
“Homey,” I said, sitting down on a cushion of lost needles and other forest floor debris.
I unclipped my helmet and pulled my hair free from its low tail. I shook it out, fluffed my bangs. Just because I was stuck in a rainstorm in the middle of a forest didn’t mean I shouldn’t make a small effort with my appearance.
I was, after all, on schedule to seduce the man tonight.
Shower, leg shaving, unscented lotion so I’d be super soft to the touch. Makeup light enough to look like I wasn’t wearing any. And a cute outfit. Not lingerie. Lingerie brought with it expectations. Fun shorts and a daringly low-cut tank would be friendlier, sneakier, Scarlett had assured me.