Exhilaration rushed through me and I held on tight, throwing my head back to feel the rush. It felt beyond amazing. We reached the end of my drive, surrounded by trees, and he slowed. I settled my chin on his T-shirt.
He spoke over his shoulder, his mouth close to mine. “Hold on tight, go loose against me, and just enjoy the ride. Trust me to take care of you.” Then he turned the powerful beast, opened the throttle, and let loose.
I tightened my hold and relaxed against him at the same time, letting his body steer the bike around the twisty turns of Tamarack Lake road. Trust him? I did. It was probably a mistake, but with the roar of the bike and rush of the wind, I really didn’t care right now. I was free and safe and wild and all me. There were no cases, no anniversary cards, no stress.
Just the wind and the incredibly hard body I was holding.
I turned my head to rest my cheek against his muscled back, closing my eyes just to feel. I’d be lying if I said the danger inherent in both the man and the ride didn’t call to me on some level. My shrink could worry about that tomorrow.
It took about half an hour to reach the opposite side of the lake, and Aiden pulled off into an empty camping area. I looked around, spotting the tire swing hanging from an old pine tree that had been there forever. He cut the engine. I slowly released him and sat back.
In a move that was as fast as it was smooth, he twisted, hooked an arm around my waist, and pulled me around to face him on the bike with the handlebars cradling my back. His thighs bracketed mine, and his hands on the bar bracketed, well, me.
I gave a surprised yip. Then I grinned. “You have used that move before.”
His eyes twinkled the darker shades of the blue spectrum as the sun went down. Birds came back to life around us, but other than that, we were alone. “Not with you.”
Charming. Definitely charming. With his hair mussed and his face more relaxed than I’d seen it so far, he drew me in a way I couldn’t explain. Wouldn’t want to. Yet, I had questions. “Did you kill Randy Taylor?”
He drew back slightly, his brows rising. “No. Did you sleep with Nick Basanelli?”
Surprise caught me, but I hid it. “No. Did you kill Cheryl Smythers?”
His face softened a fraction, and he looked me right in the eye. “Absolutely not. Even if I had killed her numbnuts of a boyfriend—which I did not—I could never kill an eighteen-year-old girl. Not in a million years.”
I believed him. Right or wrong, smart or beyond stupid, I did believe him. “All right.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Why does the detective think you slept with Basanelli?”
Why did Aiden care? I shrugged. “Seeing Cheryl’s body hit Nick hard last night, and he got drunk and called me. I kept him company and bandaged his head.”
Aiden’s chin lifted in that way tough guys’ did. “Basanelli got drunk and then called you.”
I blinked. “Well, yeah.” It didn’t sound great the way Aiden said it.
“Right, and I suppose he didn’t make a move.” Aiden’s faint Irish brogue lifted his consonants.
Well, kind of but not really but maybe a little? I wasn’t sure how to answer that.
“Exactly,” Aiden said. He shook his head. “Basanelli was a jerk in high school and isn’t better now. He’s all ambition, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in his climb to the top. Watch your back, Angel.”
“I think you’ve pegged him wrong,” I said, not sure why I was sticking up for Nick. Sure, he was ambitious, but he seemed like a good guy. “You’re the one out on bond. Speaking of which. Do you run drugs?” Would he be as honest about this?
He leaned in, making my breath catch all funny. “You know I can’t talk about an ongoing case with you.”
“You don’t have a lawyer,” I reminded him. “You can talk all you want.”
“Yeah. I’m not going to.”
That was legally fair, and I couldn’t let go of this opportunity. “When you were talking to Detective Pierce, what did you mean that he left his old job for a reason?”
Aiden’s gaze landed on my mouth. He was definitely losing interest in the conversation. “Pierce had an affair with a coworker and was pretty much forced out of the LAPD. Came up here for a fresh start, although there were rumors of other misconduct that couldn’t be proven.” Aiden threaded his hand through my hair and pulled me away from the handlebars and toward his mouth.
Oh man, I wanted that kiss. What was up with me kissing people I shouldn’t lately? However, this was an opportunity, and I was going to take advantage and hopefully catch him off guard. I was almost to his mouth. “What do you know about baking and drugs, Aiden?”
He paused, his mouth just a breath from mine. “Excuse me?”
Oh, shoot. I couldn’t help myself. I bit his bottom lip just hard enough to leave an indent. “You heard me.”
