Misha yells a quick, “Meet up at the top,” and then hangs back with the four-wheeler.
I catch a glimpse of Damien starting the much bigger bike he’s using before pulling his own goggles down. Ev is right beside him, and when Tyoma throws back his head and howls like a fucking maniac, everyone laughs before taking off.
Without looking back, I gun it and shoot down the driveway, already giddy at having the bike beneath me again. I race past Kostya’s green Kawasaki and veer towards the first trail on the left. Standing on the pegs, I save my ass from the roughest dips that litter this particular path before sitting back down and racing around the sharp corner. The thrill never gets old, but my joy is cut short when I hit the wider part of the trail and Misha races past me, effortlessly lifting his front wheel as he goes before lowering it back down and taking the lead.
He knows how badly I want to be able to do that. The most I can manage is a slight lift of the front wheel. It’s been a pain in my ass and a hit to my ego for months, so naturally he takes every opportunity to rub it in my face.
I lean into the next turn and then wince when I hit a dip and can’t lift my butt in enough time. It stings, but there’s nothing I can do about it, so I keep going until we crest the top of the hill. I’m not too surprised to find that Dima has managed to beat us. He often cuts trails and jumps fallen trees to be first. He already has his goggles and helmet off, and he’s not looking nearly as happy as I thought he’d be at getting here first. I slide in next to Misha as the others crest the hill. Damien’s on Yuri’sold red bike, and I take a second to admire the way he handles the thing. There’s something insanely hot about a guy on a bike. It’s getting dark, but with our headlights on, I catch flashes of his tattooed neck and arms. My own bike vibrates pleasantly between my legs, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to the show he’s unknowingly giving me.
It’s also slowly driving me crazy, and when Allie finally catches up with us, it’s a well-timed reminder that now isn’t the place for the thoughts I’m starting to have.
When she cuts the engine, Dima kills his own and walks over to her. I don’t know what he’s doing, but he looks pissed. Allie looks up at him, trying her best to give an innocent look while she shrugs her shoulders in anI don’t know what the fuck to tell youkind of look. She gives it a lot, so it’s pretty easy to recognize. When Dima yells something at her, she laughs, which really pisses him off.
Misha pulls off his helmet and looks over at me. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Beats me,” I say, but curiosity gets the better of me, so I shut my own bike off and pull my goggles and helmet off. I’m not the only nosy one, so when I get there, the others are right behind me. We’ve all left our headlights on, so I can see theplease help melook Yulia is giving me.
“What’s going on?” I ask Dima.
He scrubs a hand over his jaw, taking a moment to get control of himself before he looks at Allie while speaking to me. “She’s riding like she’s hurt, and she won’t tell me why.”
“I’m not hurt,” Allie says.
“Really?” Dima asks.
“Yeah, really,” Allie says, trying like hell to not look like she’s lying. She’s pretty good at it, and I almost believe her.
“Stand up,” Dima says.
“What?” Allie forces out a laugh.
“Just stand up and get down for a sec,” Dima says.
He doesn’t sound as mad as he was a few minutes ago, so Allie starts to stand up so she can get off the four-wheeler, but as soon as she lifts her bottom, Dima smacks it. Hard.
Allie’s scream ricochets through the forest as she braces herself against the handlebars and lets out a pitiful moan. When she turns her head, the look in her eyes is downright murderous as she glares at my cousin.
“What the fuck, Dima? Why did you do that?” she yells at him.
Dima has the nerve to grin and say, “You said you weren’t hurt, Allie cat.” His grin dissolves into a hard line when he adds, “But it sure as fuck looks to me like you are. What happened? Did someone hurt you?”
Allie is still wincing from the sharp smack to her sunburnt ass, but it doesn’t stop her from letting out an abrupt laugh that only makes Dima’s face harden even more.
“You think someone hurt my ass?” she asks. “And how did you imagine that happening, Dima? How do you think I hurt my ass so badly I can barely sit down?”
“Okay, let’s just calm down,” Aleks says, but he’s quickly ignored.
When I look over, I see Yuri signing everything to Bran, who’s looking more concerned for his brother than anything else.
“Tell me what happened,” Dima growls, taking a step closer. When Allie smirks at him, he leans in and says, “I swear to you, I will throw you over my knee and spank the hell out of you until you tell me what the fuck happened.”
Allie is stubborn, and when she juts her chin out and just raises a brow at him, I know she’ll take the spanking and not say a word to stop it. It’s Yulia who quite literally saves her ass by saying, “Dima, it’s nothing. I promise no one hurt her.”
All of his attention shifts to Yulia, who’s looking like she wishes she’d kept quiet.
“Tell me,” is all he says, but those two words are all that’s needed. He’s the oldest, and everyone except Allie defers to him. He’s never given us a reason not to before, but with Allie, things are different. I’ve often wondered if there was something between the two of them, but Allie’s made it clear she’s not getting any action. Maybe that’s the problem.
I inwardly groan when Yulia spills the beans and tells the guys about us burning our asses in the sun. When she’s done and everyone is laughing, she shoots Allie and me an apologetic look.
