He pointed down. “Keep your feet on those pegs. There’s an exhaust pipe in the back that can get really hot, and you don’t want to burn your calf. Other than that, just wrap your arms around my waist and hold on.”
Jagger’s sculpted abs were hard against my hands. I was dying to run my fingers up and down, feeling the peaks and valleys, but I managed to control myself. It had beenwaytoo long since I’d touched a man. But even if it hadn’t been, I knew I still would’ve had the urge to touch this one all over.
We drove down a few side roads, and when we came to the corner that intersected with the main road, Jagger slowed to a stop. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m great.”
“All right. The ride is mostly on that road, so we’re going to go a little faster now.”
“Okay!”
I clenched my jaw and hung on for dear life for the first minute or two. But as I got used to the ride, I relaxed and started to enjoy the wind blowing in my face and my hair whipping around. It felt amazing—so exhilarating and freeing. I had the impulse to lift my hands into the air like I was on a roller coaster, but there was no way in hell I was giving up a minute of holding on to Jagger’s abs.
Sadly, less than ten minutes after we started, we pulled into a parking lot and parked.
Jagger took off his helmet and shook his hair out. “What did you think?”
“I loved it! Do you still have that motorcycle?”
He chuckled and held a hand out to help me off the scooter. Between the intimacy of having my arms wrapped around him and now taking his hand, I felt closer to him. I could almost pretend we were on a date.
“Do you want to just see the beach from up here or go down?” he asked. “It’s a lot of stairs and a bit of a climb to get to the bottom. The stairs only take you to an overlook. You have to navigate rocks to get to the beach itself. But there’s a rope to hold on to.”
“Can we do both?”
He smiled. “I got the feeling you weren’t exactly in a rush to get back anyway.”
“You can say that again.”
Jagger and I walked to the railing and took in the scenery from the top. “It’s beautiful.”
We were both quiet while we took in the panoramic view of the coastline. The cliffs rose sharply from the blue Atlantic, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore lulled me to relax. At least Ithoughtwe were both looking at the view. But when I turned, I found Jagger watching me and not the breathtaking ocean.
“What?” I smoothed my hair. “Am I a mess from the wind?”
He shook his head.
“Then what were you thinking just now?”
Jagger looked away. “Nothing.”
There was definitelysomethinggoing through his mind, but I wasn’t going to push. Not when he’d salvaged what could’ve been a disaster of a day for me.
“Are you always this protective of people?” I asked.
Two lines formed between his brows. “What do you mean?”
“You only agreed to come today once you heard Brendan and Colette were coming. And then when Brendan chastised me about wanting to rent a scooter, you made sure I could rent one, safely.”
Jagger’s eyes dropped to my lips and lingered before meeting my eyes again. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I think you’re giving me too much credit. My intentions weren’t as pure as you make them out to be.” He put a hand on my back and guided me to start walking. “Come on. It’s going to take a while to climb back up after we see the beach.”
The descent to the bottom was a hundred-and-forty-one steps—I counted. But it was well worth the effort. After a pause, Jagger and I climbed the rest of the way down and walked along the beach to a quiet pile of rocks, where we sat. I looked around at the clay cliffs in awe.
“It’s gorgeous. It reminds me of La Jolla Beach in California.”
“I’ve never been,” Jagger said. “I actually haven’t been here in years, either.” He was quiet for a moment. “I think that scooter might be the first thing I’ve driven in a couple of years, too.”
“Really? You mean the first time you’ve driven something with two wheels?”
