Page 1 of Betting Blind

Prologue

Silas

Six months ago

“I don’t backpack.” His eyes are hard and glinting underneath his helmet and his arms are folded across his chest. The rips in his jacket show off the road rash peppering his chest and arm.

“The fuck you don’t! This is my bike, and I am NOT backpacking on my own bike!” I have the urge to jab my finger into his chest to prove my point, but I refrain.

“I’m not backpacking, Silas,” he says again, his voice even.

“I’m not the one who crashed my bike and needs a ride. Am I, Hayden?”

He closes his eyes and flips the visor down, hiding his face from me. “For the last time, I had to ditch the bike. I was being chased!” Hayden takes a step closer, effectively trapping me against my bike.

I square my shoulders and tilt my chin up. “So naturally jumping off a bike doing, what, 90mph was the best option you had? You could have died!” I fight to keep my voice steady as I shout at him. Hayden shifts closer to me, and I know he’s smirking even though I can’t see his face. “Don’t you smirk atme, you asshole! Get out of here!” I place both my palms on his chest and shove hard.

Hayden stumbles back a step, clearly surprised by the force. “Si, you can’t control the bike with me on the back. I add too much weight.”

Fucking logical prick. Of course, he is right.

“Just get on so we can go home. I want to peel what’s left of this jacket off before everything scabs over.” He adjusts the sleeves of his tattered jacket before flicking my own visor down. Then he places both of his hands on my shoulders and turns me so he can swing his leg over my bike.

“I fucking hate you,” I mutter and climb on the bike behind him. Usually, I try to avoid situations like this because being too close to people makes me nervous. I get this anxious jitter and I can’t breathe very well. Okay. So it’s not everyone. Just a few people and Hayden is one of them.

I shift uncomfortably and lean my body back as far as possible, trying to avoid any form of contact, because I know that I won’t be able to stop what happens if I touch him. The engine roars to life and Hayden walks the bike backward slowly. My fingers grip the edges of the seat behind me like a vice.

“I know you don’t normally ride like this, but you do have to hold on or we won’t make it very far.” Hayden’s voice fills my helmet from the built-in Bluetooth.

“I got it,” I mutter and shift my weight again. “We’re not that far from the hotel. Just go.”

“If you say so,” Hayden says sarcastically, and I can hear the smirk on his lips. Fucking Hell, I want to punch him in the jaw. My fingers flex and I grip the seat tighter as he turns toward the main road.

Before I even realize what he’s doing, Hayden hits the gas sharply, followed by the brake, sending me careening forward into his back. My arms wrap around his midsection instinctively. I can feel his body shaking with silent laughter. “I fucking hate you,” I repeat through clenched teeth and lock my arms loosely around his abdomen.

The bike jets forward again, and before I can stop myself, I tighten my arms around him. I can feel the taut muscles tense and ripple underneath my forearms. A small shudder snakes down my spine as a thought flits through my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to shake off the images of Hayden’s muscles clenching under my hands, but it’s no use at this point. I can’t fight the wave of heat washing across my body as he leans to the side and takes a curve sharply.

My fingers open slowly, and I feel the ridges of his abs under my palm. Holy fuck, his muscles are so taut. If he notices my fists clenching and unclenching, he doesn’t comment. Instead he takes another curve sharply, and I feel his muscles coil under my overheated arms. My teeth sink into my lower lip as another wave of heat comes crashing down on me like a crescendo.

I need to get off this bike.

Right fucking now.

I can feel the inferno churning in my lower abdomen, but I’m powerless to stop it. My teeth sink deeper until I can taste the coppery tang of blood, but even the pain doesn’t draw me out of the hypnotic trance that his rippling muscles have me in. Just as I’m about to ignite in a blaze that is Hayden fucking Sullivan, he shifts his weight to accommodate the bike. This movement brings his back all the way against my chest andeffectively pushes the rest of my control off the cliff’s edge that it has been teetering on for the past several minutes.

The friction goes straight to my cock, which is already semi-erect from the vibrations of the bike and the thoughts of his muscles under my hands. I bite back a moan and push my hips forward, seeking more. My cock throbs to life and I can’t stop myself. With my eyes still closed, I push forward again and grip his tattered shirt in my fists. I imagine what his muscles would look like under my bare hands. What my cock would look like deep in his –

The roar of the engine dies suddenly, and Hayden jumps off the bike so suddenly that it almost topples to the ground. He all but rips the helmet from his head and looks down at me. His chest is heaving with each deep breath he draws in.

I lean back in the seat, completely at a loss for words. I can’t believe I let myself get so lost that I would grind myself against Hayden midride. I look around, trying to regain my bearings. I hadn’t even realized that we were in the parking deck of the hotel. With the helmet still firmly on my head, I look back up at Hayden. I can’t take it off. I can’t let him see my face after that.

“Hayden, I –”

“Let’s just –”

We both start to speak at the same time. Hayden sucks in a breath and rubs the back of his neck with both hands. He opens his mouth again but turns away. Giving me a full view of his back, which does nothing because his black riding pants hug his thighs so tightly it leaves little to the imagination.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly and stand, pulling to adjust my crotch. My dick is still throbbing, and I am trying extremely hard not to stare at his ass. Fucking shit, I need to pull myself together.

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