Luckily, he had sense enough not to make a bigger deal out of it than what happened. But he’d been ready to. In that first incendiary moment, he would have fought off a hundred bikers to ensure she was safe.
Ria leaned back and looked up into his eyes. They stared at each other as unspoken desire filled the small space between them. The silent fog of craving that he harbored for her, and only her, clouded his thoughts with ideas of what he’d be willing to do to ensure they remained together. Run far away, hiding from off-planet Alpha authorities like criminals for the rest of their lives? No, not a good idea.
Her expression said she wanted to kiss him. Cam stared at the spark in her fascinated yet mischievous gaze, unsure of whether he should encourage her or back away.
It was a foolish waste of time not to step closer, because he’d never discourage her. He’d never back away. Their time was limited. In that moment he vowed to make all the seconds they had together count. She moved closer and so did he.
Their lips were a whisper away from the kiss he knew they both wanted.
Ria knew she shouldn’t kiss Cam. But she also knew she might perish if she didn’t at leasttryto get a kiss. Just one little kiss wouldn’t hurt anything, would it? She brushed her lips on his cheek, very close to his mouth. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t look angry. He also didn’t retreat from her affection.
He turned his head slightly toward her and stared deeply into her eyes with an unreadable expression. Did he want to kiss her or push her away or put her on a transport to a distant planet? All of the above. None of the above. Unclear.
The unreadable expression morphed into a very clear one of desire. He stared at her like a starving man in front of a feast he wasn’t allowed to eat, like he might expire if they didn’t take the opportunity to kiss.
How to get him to break his previous edict of no kissing?
“Please kiss me,” she whispered. “Just one little kiss, Cam.” His eyes closed halfway, and a small groan escaped his lips right before he planted his mouth on hers in a lip lock that fairly scorched Ria in her tracks. They kissed and kissed and kissed like they might never stop. Ria was light-headed after only a few seconds, wanting more, wanting the kiss to last forever.
The roar of more motorcycles approaching the biker bar didn’t stop them, but the hoots and hollers of several more biker dudes on their way into the bar did. Cam slowly broke the kiss, but his look remained hungry, like he hadn’t quite satisfied himself.
He watched the new arrivals walking past them, nodding at a couple of biker guys entering the bar.
“We should go,” he said, not looking at her after rocking her world with that kiss. He picked up their helmets, handed hers over and mounted the bike.
“Okay.” Ria climbed on behind him, put her helmet in place, squeezed her arms around his middle and pressed her front against his back. She wanted to stay with him, forever.
If only Dirt Bag FitzOsbern wasn’t on his way back from a routine luxury vacation to make her completely miserable for the rest of her life.
Ria clung to him as they rode away from the Road Rash Pub and Pool Hall.
She thought he might take her back to his house, but instead they left Skeeter Bite on a different road than they’d come into it. After only a few miles, she spotted a sign for a town called Old Coot, Arkansas, Population 4,527, according to the sign on the outskirts of town.
After blazing along at a fairly good speed on all the backroads, Cam slowed considerably when he entered the town limits of Old Coot.
He took her to an ice cream shop where they shared something called a banana split. The dessert was cold, sweet, creamy and scrumptious. The most delicious thing she’d ever eaten.
Next, they went to a place called a Natural History Museum. It was getting late and close to closing time, but they had time to see all manner of interesting things, from dioramas of ancient times from this part of Earth to pottery and old clothing, tools, models of Earth animals and birds—there was a plethora of interesting things to see. The best part was holding hands as they strolled through the museum, stopping to look at the displays.
She felt she walked in a happy daze as they returned to the bike, mounted up and put on their helmets. On the way out of town, they passed a sign that said, “Saying Good-Bye to Old Coot? Come again!”
And then she saw a sign that advertised a traveling carnival. In no time, they approached a field filled with tents and strings of lights and intriguing attractions she could see from the road. She started to poke him in the ribs to get his attention, but he was already guiding the bike onto the dirt road leading to a place that proclaimed, “Carnival Tickets Sold Here!”
Cam parked his bike. Pulling his helmet off, he looked back and grinned. “You were about to poke me so we could stop here, weren’t you?”
Ria took her helmet off and laughed. “How’d you know?”
“Guess I’m getting better at reading your mind.”
“That’s probably dangerous.”
“Maybe, but I’ll take my chances.” He gifted her with a bone-melting half-smile that warmed her from her tippy toes to the top of her head.
Ria slid off the back of his motorcycle and turned to survey the noises and interesting scents wafting by from this carnival place.
“Ever been to a carnival before?” He got off the bike and secured their helmets.
