“How so?” There’s sadness in her voice. Fuck it. I remove her helmet.
Needing skin on skin, I remove my glove, cradle her face, and skate my thumb over the arch of her cheek. Her cheeks are flushed, her skin is smooth, and there’s a constellation of freckles on the bridge of her nose that trail off to the corners of her eyes. It’s a piece of her I can stare at until her beautiful face turns a shade of pink. Freckles on a woman are my weakness.
“My best friend’s the only one who’s ever adjusted his life for me.”
That doesn’t sit well with me. “Your brother? Your shadow? Friends from school?”
“My friends don’t count. They have busy lives, and we promised not to make one another feel bad when we can’t be there.”
“And your brother? This shadow of yours?”
A brother should be there for his little sister. The shadow . . . He’s there because Ty can’t be there. Then why isn’t the bastard dropping everything when Ever needs him?
“That’s different. I don’t like asking them. My bodyguard is moody, and my brother is . . .” She shrugs. “We’re close, but not that close that we adjust our lives around one another.”
Her answer makes me question whether the car guy was more than a best friend. Not that I would take back my word. Ever can talk about her mom and her best friend until her voice is hoarse. I’d never stop her from living out her memories of them by speaking about them.
I pat the seat that sits higher above mine. “Ever ridden on a motorcycle?”
“Yes. My best friend had a Harley.”
“Your car guy best friend?”
“The same one.”
I take her hands in mine and slip on riding gloves. “Share your memories of him and your mom whenever you like. I’m here for you, sweetness.” I smooth my mouth over her gloved knuckles before helping her with her helmet. She trembles beneath my caress.
“Hang on to my shoulder when you get on.”
Grasping my shoulder, she uses the foot peg and swings her leg over the motorcycle. Her small arms wrap around my chest, and she leans her whole weight on me.
Liking too much the feel of her soft curves full on my shoulders and back, I cup and caress her knee. The small gesture earns me a soft sigh of contentment that fills my helmet. Warmth spreads across my chest.
Happy. I am fucking happy.
I start the engine. I won’t ever tire of how her body reacts to mine, to my touch and my mouth on hers. Ever’s body is so responsive. Will she be just as responsive when she submits to my dominance? Or will I scare her with how intense I am in the bedroom?
Ever is young, and in the bedroom, our age could be the deal-breaker.
15
BOBBY
“Did you time the drive so we’d be here right as the sun set?”
We’re parked along the guardrail at a scenic point in Delridge, a small farm town forty-five minutes from where Ever works. She’s on the raised back seat with her arms around my chest, and with our helmets off, we’re staring at the last of the sunset as it slips beneath the horizon.
“Nah, I’m not that smart. I searched it up on my phone before I made up my mind to drive over and see you.”
It’s been a long time since I wanted a woman to like me so badly that it hurts thinking about when Ever will reject me. It’ll happen.
A bastard like me, who wasn’t wanted by his mother, who his half-brothers ostracize, and who is a continual disappointment to his father, doesn’t deserve love and what comes with it—faithfulness and happiness. That’s why I end it first before things get too serious.
With Ever, it’s getting too serious too fast. Money’s changed hands. I should have Ever fulfill her end of our bargain, but there’s this need to prolong the inevitable.
I’m after more than one day and one night with Ever Moretti. Spending time with her is the only way to win over her heart, and that truth scares the fuck out of me.
Jules was it for a serious relationship. That’s what I told myself. I wouldn’t fall for a woman’s looks and her words of fidelity again. Something tells me Ever is different. Ever isn’t Jules.
