Nik secured a helmet on my head. I cringed. It was probably the same one his girlfriend wore. Sick. I hoped she didn’t have lice. Or any other diseases. Shit. Anything she had, Nik might have.
He opened the garage door and straddled the bike.
“Get on. Keep your feet on those bars.” I looked to where he was pointing. “Try to avoid touching the pipe. It gets hot.”
“Okay.” It never occurred to me to wear pants on the off chance we took his bike to the store. I mean, it was still hot outside. I internally groaned, climbing on behind Nik, and kept several inches between us. I wasn’t sure what to do with my hands, so I placed them on the tops of my thighs.
“Scoot closer and put your arms around my waist. You’ll need to hold on. When I lean to the right or left, you follow. Okay?”
“Got it.” Suddenly I was nervous but did as Nik said. I tingled all over as my inner thighs pressed against his hips. My chest was to his back as I held onto him. I could melt into him. My heart fluttered as I inhaled his natural scent mixed with that freaking intoxicating cologne.
This was a bad idea. Really bad. And I desperately needed to find out the name of his cologne so I could buy it.
“You ready?”
“As ready as I will ever be.”
We were off, breezing down the street. The wind was warm but pleasant. I never felt so free in all my life. I held onto Nik, not too tightly, appreciating how his solid body felt against my chest. I could ride like this forever. Wherever Nik wanted to take me, I’d go just to have my hands on his taut stomach.
He didn’t take the main road, which I found odd. We weaved in and out of neighborhoods, around a couple of parks. It took twenty minutes longer to get to Trader Joe’s, but I didn’t mind. I had nowhere else to be.
At a stop sign, his large hand covered mine on his stomach. He kept it there and brushed his thumb over my skin. Neurons sparked inside me. As if I needed more stimulation beyond what the bike’s vibration was doing to my lady parts. I inhaled a deep calming breath, but it didn’t help.
The second he let go, I missed his touch and pouted the remainder of the way to the store. Pathetic for sure. I blamed Nik for my reaction. We could’ve taken my car, then I wouldn’t know the feel of his body against mine. Or his thumb, stroking my hypersensitive skin.
Nik turned off his bike. “How’d you like it?”
“I liked it more than I thought I would.” I hopped off first and removed the helmet.
“Yeah?” He grinned, showing his perfect white teeth. It turned me molten inside. Well, more molten. “I’m glad.” He attached our helmets to the bars.
We entered the store, and within seconds, several women ogled Nik. I couldn’t blame them. This masterpiece dressed in well-loved jeans, a black T-shirt, and boots was like a Jackson Pollock abstract painting—loud, chaotic, edgy. This tall, muscular, handsome man also gave off a sinful vibe. He was a woman’s wet dream—my wet dream.
Although other than his dirty, sarcastic mouth and loads of attitude, I hadn’t found anything genuinely immoral about him. I mean, here we were shopping for items to make his nana a lasagna. Talk about sweet.
Nik grabbed a cart and I took the lead, figuring I knew where everything was in the store. He didn’t talk from behind me as I got what I needed. But I also had the distinct feeling he was watching me. The heat on my neck went straight down to my nether region.
How could such a mundane experience have me so turned on? It was ridiculous.
“Did you want me to make enough for you to have leftovers for you and your girlfriend?” I had two jars of organic marinara sauce in my hand. I looked over my shoulder when he didn’t reply. “Nik?”
His lips were pressed thin, jaw ticking. “Make what you want.”
“Okay. That doesn’t help at all. If your girl—”
“Goddammit! Stop mentioning her.” He ran his fingers through his hair in an aggravated manner. “You know what, just get what you need.” He pulled out a fifty from his wallet and slapped it in my hand. “I’ll be out on my bike.”
Shit. This boy had a short fuse.
“Fine.” I took the cart and made my way to the meat section. This guy confused the living snot out of me.
By the time I got everything on my list, I’d been in the store for fifteen minutes. It hadn’t taken me that long to gather the items I needed, but I wanted to give Nik time to cool down.
Maybe he’d had a fight or something with his girlfriend. If so, I’d be lying if I said I felt terrible for mentioning her. I wasn’t one to get in between a man and his woman, not usually anyway. But I prayed he would dump her ass and ask me out.
I could tell he was watching me as I took my time going out to where he parked. I liked having his eyes on me.
“What took you so long?” He grabbed the canvas shopping bag and looked inside it. “This isn’t a lot. What were you doing in the store?”