“Babe, I can promise you the answer to that would be a resounding yes,” he finally rasped out when he could quit sputtering.
“Oh my God,” I groaned and covered my face.
Faith giggled. “Yeah, I’d say that would work.”
“You guys are impossible,” I muttered, trying to hold back my smile.
Sabre came back inside, and our gazes collided. His eyes were a beautiful molten silver, and I found myself again mesmerized by them as he took his seat but never broke eye contact. The sexual tension was so thick, I practically suffocated from it.
“Oh, yeah, girl. He wants you something fierce,” she whispered as she pretended to be showing me something in the computer.
I shushed her as my cheeks burned.
A bit later, Venom stopped by with Voodoo, and they went into the break room with Chains and Sabre, then closed the door. They appeared grim when they left.
The rest of the day went by in a blur of steady clients, but I couldn’t get my conversation with Faith out of my head.
Finally, it was time to leave for the day. The high schooler who worked part-time arrived to take over the front, and Faith got him caught up on which clients were still back with their artist. We left him a plate of leftovers for his dinner, then exited out the back door.
Chains was already out there, but Sabre followed quietly behind us.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Faith waved as she awkwardly maneuvered herself into her low-slung car after loading her food haul into her trunk. I lifted my hand in a wave with a smile that I wasn’t really feeling. I was so nervous, and I didn’t know if I dared to be bold like Faith had told me to do.
“Here you go,” Sabre said, pulling me out of my head as he held out the helmet for me. It was plain matte black and fit me perfect. I was pretty sure he had gone out and bought it specifically for me. He’d handed it to me the first day he brought me to the shop, and it had seemed brand-new. The thought of him buying anything for me made me feel all gooey inside.
“Thanks,” I murmured. Taking the helmet, I hooked my arm through the face opening as I reached back to braid my hair.
“You know you could set it down while you do that,” he mused with a crooked grin. Broody Sabre was sexy, but damn, playful Sabre was panty-melting.
“I didn’t want it to be on the ground before it went on my head,” I replied with a curl of my lip. “Who knows what’s down there? That’s gross.”
“Then let me do that before you drop it,” he muttered with a playful roll of his eyes before he turned me around and began to separate the long red locks. I’d expected him to hold the helmet for me, not braid my hair. The sensation of his fingers tugging gently with each twist had my heart fluttering madly. It lurched when our fingers touched as I handed him my hair tie.
It might’ve been my imagination, but when he laid the plait over my shoulder, I could’ve sworn he skimmed his knuckles down my neck. His heated breath fanned over my shoulder and a shiver shook me from head to toe.
When he did little things like that, it sent me mixed signals and confused the hell out of me. At times, he seemed like he couldn’t stand being near me, then at others, I would almost swear he wanted to eat me alive.
Without another word, he straddled his bike, started the rumbly beast, and motioned for me to get on. I did, and the minute I had myself situated and was holding on, he rolled out of the parking lot next to Chains and we headed up South Ankeny Boulevard which went north out of town and back toward the place I was calling home for the moment.
Riding on his motorcycle with him was the sweetest torture. Feeling each and every hill and valley of his perfectly sculpted abs under his leather cut was enough to have me drowning in my own saliva. Yeah, I knew I probably should be hanging onto the leather itself—except after the first time he pulled my arms tighter around his middle, causing my boobs to smash against his back, I figured I would push my luck a little. He never told me not to, nor did he remove my hands from under his cut, so I’d been driving myself crazy in the time it took to travel to and from RB, Ink.each day.
When we left the city behind, Sabre and Chains opened their bikes up and took off. I immediately tightened my arms around Sabre’s waist. It was an exhilarating feeling, and I couldn’t stop the smile that stretched from ear to ear if I wanted to. I found myself being brave—kind of. I allowed my hands to slide lower until my pinky brushed the waistband of his jeans.
He reached his arm down and stroked my calf in a reassuring way that send my pulse skittering, and a tingle rippled through my lower abdomen and down between my legs. I moaned in protest because I wanted to scoot closer. I needed friction, but I was already sandwiched as tight as I could get behind him. Damn denim always getting in the way.
Unfortunately, the clubhouse wasn’t too far up Highway 69. Too soon, we were pulling off the road and up to the massive metal building. He parked at the end of the line of bikes and killed the engine.
“Thanks for the ride,” I told him as I reluctantly got off the back. Each day, I wanted to ask him to take a scenic route home to extend both the ride as well as the amount of time I had my arms around him and my body pressed close to his. Except I probably wouldn’t.
“Hey,” he softly called out as I turned to go inside. I paused and faced him as he remained on his bike. It should be illegal for him to sit there all rugged and sexy the way he was. Hair windblown and cheeks pink from a combination of the sun and wind, he was the handsomest man I’d ever seen.
He reached for me, and the heat of his large hand enveloping mine sent my pulse racing. It was hard to breathe. His proximity was dangerous because not only couldn’t I think straight, but I also wanted to jump into his lap and wrap my limbs around him. At least while on the bike, I could rationalize that I had to hang on.
He stirred up insane thoughts and emotions within me. Jesus, how could a man I’d just met make me feel like I was home?
“I didn’t mean anything when I made the comment about you not being able to drive. I was in a bad mood, so it came out wrong. I don’t mind giving you a ride. I wasn’t trying to be an ass,” he apologized as he continued to hold my hand. The way he absently ran his thumb across the back of it had me practically in knots. Sabre’s touch did something crazy to me. Crazy because I didn’t know the man, yet my body and soul yearned for him in a way that was getting harder to deny.
“O-okay,” I stammered and wanted to cringe because I hated that I couldn’t seem to be a fucking grown-up around him. His proximity turned my brain to mush.