Nikita
“Wait, this is yours?”
I turn around at Savanna’s pretty voice and try not to think about how beautiful she is. It’s hard not to when it’s literally staring me right in the face, but nothing good is going to come of me becoming more aroused than I already am, so instead I focus on how worried she sounds.
“It’s perfectly safe,” I tell her, looking back at my motorcycle. “I promise.”
“I don’t have a helmet,” she says, and I try not to smile at theI’m desperately looking for an excuse to not get on this thingtone of her voice.
“Sasha has extras,” I tell her, already going to one of the shelves in his garage and reaching for a black helmet before holding it out to her. When she still hesitates, I say, “Van, look at me.” I wait for her blue eyes to meet mine. “I promise I’ll get you home safely.”
I watch her eyes widen ever so slightly, and I swear I can almost convince myself that it’s arousal I see in them. The truth is that she’s so far out of my league, it’s not even funny, and if she knew how little experience I have with women, she’d probably laugh her ass off. I’ve always felt much more comfortable withcomputers than women, and with our family being what it is, it’s much easier and safer for me to stay under the radar. I don’t go clubbing. I hole up in my room and dig for dirt. She’s a fucking sorority princess, and I’m little more than a goddamn mole.
I may not be in her league, but I was telling the truth. I can get her home safely, and I can look at her laptop. I’m guessing George might be unfixable at this point, but I can get her a new one and set it up properly for her.
This time when I wiggle the helmet in front of her, she takes it. I don’t miss the smile she tries to hide, or the quick flash of her dimple. My eyes linger on her right cheek before she pulls the helmet over her head, hiding it from my view.
I really love that dimple.
Pulling my own helmet on, I hike a leg over my bike and then adjust my messenger bag so it’s resting against the front of my body and not my back. This may be the only time I ever have her on the back of my bike, and I don’t want anything between us. I motion for her to climb on, and when she does, I point out the foot pegs and help her get situated.
“Hold on tight,” I say loud enough for her to hear.
After a few seconds, she puts her hands on my shoulders, and I grin behind my dark visor and shake my head so she knows that’s not where I want her. When she hesitates, I mime wrapping my arms around someone and then lift mine so she can wrap hers around me. The position makes her have to scoot closer, and then her arms are wrapping around me in a tight hug while I’m left trying to not think about how right it feels to have her pressed against me.
She briefly puts her hands over my messenger bag, but then thinks better of it and slides them behind it so she’s resting against my stomach instead. When I start the bike, the garage door starts to lift because Sasha is watching me from his phone. I know he is, because I installed his security system myself. I haveno doubt he and Cindy are huddled up together watching this play out in real time.
Before I back out and drive off, I raise my hand in a quick wave at the hidden security camera, not at all surprised when the door starts to shut as soon as I’ve pulled out onto the driveway. I make a quick stop to press my thumb against the sensor that will open the gate around his property, and as soon as we’re past it, I pick up speed. Savanna tightens her grip on me, forcing our bodies even closer together. I know it’s out of pure, raw terror and not because she can’t get enough of me, but it still turns me on, and it still feels amazing. I reach down and pat her hand, letting her know she’s okay, and she surprises me by grabbing onto one of my fingers and squeezing it. She keeps holding my finger, only letting go when I need to work the clutch. As soon as I bring my hand back down, she’s wrapping her small fingers around mine again. It’s a soft touch, but I feel the strength in it, and I swear she’s using me as a sort of security blanket right now, and it’s so goddamn cute I wish my bag wasn’t in the way so I could see it.
When I pull onto the road that her sorority is on, she uses her other hand to point at the street up ahead. I’m assuming that’s where she wants me to park, so I pull up near the curb and shut the engine off. With one last soft squeeze she lets go of my finger and then slowly disentangles her body from mine. It’s crazy to miss the feel of her so quickly, but I do.
As soon as she pulls her helmet off, I can see how flushed her face is. Her blue eyes are lit up, making it clear she loved her first ride. She lets out a cute, breathless laugh before saying, “That was so much fun. It was a little scary,” she admits with another laugh, “but you were right about me being safe.”
I hold up my hand and wiggle my fingers. “I could tell you were a little nervous.”
She blushes even more as I stand and adjust my bag.
“Sorry. I was trying to not cling too tightly,” she says, and I immediately regret teasing her.
“You weren’t clinging too tightly,” I tell her, and then I push past my usual shyness and add, “I liked it.”
I’m rewarded with a quick flash of her dimple before she glances over her shoulder at the large mansion the Kappas live in. I’ve stared at this place through my screen for so many hours that I kind of feel like I live here too.
“Remember how I said Miss Francis is kind of old school about things?”
I look over at the sorority house and nod. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, she really doesn’t like it when we bring guys over after nine, so do you mind sneaking around the back?”
“It’s that easy to sneak in the back door?” I ask, not liking the idea of that at all.
“No, she’ll hear you if you do that. We have a security camera in the back, but there’s a few blindspots,” she says, not knowing that I’m all too aware of every single one of them. “All you have to do is stick to the side of the house. There’s a ladder hidden behind the shrubs. Grab it and use it to climb up to the balcony.”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter. I hadn’t realized the Kappas had a stashed ladder and a plan to sneak guys in.
Savanna mistakes my horror for a reluctance to break in, so she quickly says, “It’s okay. We don’t have to do this. I can just meet up with you some other time.”
“I don’t mind climbing a ladder, Van. I’m just stunned at how easy it is to break in.” I give a half-hearted smile. “You’ve even provided the ladder for it.”
