I’m not too worried about anyone stealing my helmet here, so I clip it around my handlebars. She follows suit.
I grin down at her, enjoying the pretty blush that paints her pale cheeks as I do so. “No problem. So, whatcha wanna see first?”
She looks around with wide eyes before turning back to me. “I… really don’t know. I’m not sure what all is going on here. Maybe you should pick?”
“How ’bout this?” I offer. “I’ll show you around, and you just let me know if there’s something else you wanna check out. Deal?”
Her lips tip up into a half smile that melts my heart. “Deal.”
Grabbing her hand and linking our fingers together, I lead her toward the action. I figure she’d rather see riders doing cool stunts than people showing off their expensive bikes. If she wants to look at overpriced machines, all Lark needs to do is look at our collection.
Hell, any one of us would let her ride any of our bikes. All she has to do is ask.
Lark gapes at the first stunter we see. “Is that guy drifting his bike?”
Glancing over at the dude on the bright blue bike drifting to the cheers and applause from onlookers, I look back at her and nod. “Yep.”
Her eyes are comically wide as she watches him, completely enthralled. “That’s crazy. I didn’t even know you could do that on two wheels.”
A little part of me is jealous that her attention is fixed so intently on another male. But I shove that part down. Lark’s free to look at anyone she wants, even if it drives me crazy.
When I get my jealousy under control, I say, “There’s a lot of cool stuff you can do on bikes. It just takes practice.”
Before she can respond, Axel catches sight of us and comes bounding over. He’s a cheetah shifter and lives up to his animal counterpart with his love of anything that goes fast. “Remy! What’s up, man?” His amber gaze swings to Lark and heats with interest. “And who is this?”
With shaggy blond hair, unique amber eyes, and standing only a few inches shorter than me, Axel has no problem picking up women. And I have no problem with that, as long as he stays the fuck away from the one tucked into my side.
Lark offers him a small wave and uncertain smile. “Hi. I’m Lark.”
“I’m Axel, and it is very nice to meet you,” he practically purrs, causing Lark to flush. A low growl rumbles out of mythroat at his obvious interest in her. His blond brows jump up in surprise. “Is she your girl, Remy? I never thought you’d be a one-woman type of man.”
I could strangle Axel for insinuating that I sleep around. He’s not wrong, but Lark doesn’t need to hear about any of that. Besides, I haven’t slept with anyone since I met her, and I don’t plan to change that anytime soon.
I don’t say anything because there’s no right answer.
Saying no would mean I don’t want her more than I want my next breath. It would deny everything she means to me, even though she has no fucking clue. Saying yes would be a lie and put her in an awkward position.
Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.
His grin widens when I stay silent. “I see. She’s not, but you’d like her to be. I get it, man. I’ll back off, but don’t take too long. A pretty girl like that isn’t gonna wait around forever. Not even for your sick stunt work. Speaking of, you participating tonight?”
I clench my free hand into a fist to avoid tearing his throat out. My creature growls in my mind and tries to force a shift so we can show Lark just who the better male is. That would be a colossally stupid idea for many reasons, the least of which is how dangerous it is for anyone to find out what I am.
My voice comes out deep and rumbly because my creature is so close to the surface when I say, “Nah. I was just gonna show Lark around.”
“Understood. Well, I’ll fuck off and let you two be. You get bored of this joker, I’d be more than happy to show you a good time, Lark.” He winks at her, and she rolls her eyes.
With that parting shot, Axel turns around and saunters off.
When I glance over at Lark, I find her frowning at the ground and scuffing the toe of her boot on the pavement. “You can stunt, Remy. I don’t need a babysitter, I promise. I’m also not trying to come between you and any of your friends.”
“I know you don’t. But there’s nothing I’d rather do than spend time with you,alouette. Getting to share one of my favorite things with my favorite person sounds like a pretty fucking spectacular way to spend the night.”
She’s silent for a long moment before hesitantly meeting my gaze. “Was Axel right? Do you want me to be your girl?”
I clench my jaw so hard I’m surprised none of my teeth crack.
“Yeah, love, I want you to be mine. But more than that, I wanna be your friend. I wanna be someone you enjoy hanging out with. Someone you trust. Someone you could see a future with one day. I’m not trying to rush any of this, and I’m not spending time with you in hopes of getting with you. I’m spending time with you because I genuinely enjoy it and am thankful to have you in my life any way I can.”
