Straddling the Line - By Sarah M. Anderson Page 0,29

getting deeper. “You don’t need to worry. I rarely go more than ten miles over the speed limit, and I haven’t had an accident in years.”

“That’s not exactly comforting.” Her voice got muffled at the end by the shield on her helmet. She pulled it right back off, undid her braid and shook out all of that hair.

It was the most wonderful color of not-quite red, long and silky and begging to be touched. She looked a lot like the various people he’d met on his two trips to the rez, but her coloring was lighter. Not quite as light as her mother’s—that woman was so fair as to be a strawberry blonde—but still exotic. Different. Special.

Not another woman like Josey White Plume on the planet.

She redid her hair, the braid starting lower against the curve of the back of her neck. He stared at her with wide eyes as her fingers wove all that hair into a thick rope. She let the finished braid drape over her front, the tip swinging below the swell of her breast. This time, the helmet stayed on. Despite the leather and the helmet, she was still decidedly, unmistakably feminine.

Jesus. Would he make it to tonight?

Josey took a hesitant step toward the bike. The sooner they got this part over with, the sooner tonight could happen. “Just like riding a horse,” he said as he snapped on his own helmet and motioned for her to get on behind him.

“Mmhmum hmmh mmumm.”

Laughing, he turned around and lifted her visor. “What?”

“Not too fast,” she said again, forcing a smile.

She was nervous. Was that because of the bike or because of him? “Not too fast. And you won’t fall off if you hold on to me.” Assuming, of course, that the weight of her body pressed against his didn’t crash them both.

She bit her lip. “Okay.” A woman shouldn’t be as beautiful as she was. That was really all there was to it. “I’ll, uh, point you where you need to go?”

He touched a gloved finger to her lips. “Anywhere you want to go, as long as I’m with you.”

“Oh,” she breathed, the pupils in her eyes widening considerably. “Okay.”

They needed to get going. Kissing came after. Against his will, he flipped down her visor and fired up the engine.

As his machine rumbled to life, Josey threw her arms around his waist. Even though he’d known that was coming, his body stiffened at the sudden full-body contact. How long had it been since he’d had a woman on his bike? Since he’d made time to take a beautiful woman out for a ride on a sunny summer evening? Since he’d wanted to be with a woman bad enough that he’d suffer through meeting her family, much less a whole tribe of people?

Ben was in trouble, and he knew it. But as he accelerated toward the open road, with Josey clutching him to her chest and her helmeted chin resting on his shoulder, he couldn’t figure out if it was good trouble or bad.

By the time they were on the highway, the sun setting over their shoulders, Josey had loosened up a little, which meant that she was only holding him tightly instead of crushing him. He’d take it, though. He made sure to stick near the speed limit.

A surprising thought hit him. He was having fun. Wind all around, his bike eating up the miles—sure, he loved all that stuff. But everything about it seemed better knowing that he was showing it to Josey for the first time.

Soon enough, she was pointing to an upcoming exit. Before long, they were on pea-gravel roads, and then onto things that were roads in name only. Just when he was sure they were lost in the middle of nowhere, the road opened up and ended around a huge site. Tents were pitched next to cars and lean-tos made of branches were next to horses. In the center was a wide circle ringed with lawn chairs and blankets. People were everywhere—kids running all over the place. Some people were in regular clothes, but some were wearing wild outfits, with feathers and colors sticking out in every direction.

He’d thought the school was a different world? This was a different galaxy.

Josey tapped his shoulder, pointing him toward a white van with the words Pine Ridge School painted on the side. Ben parked next to it.

He removed his helmet before he realized Josey was still holding on to him. After he pulled off his