Page 10 of Kodiak

With a smile on my face, I accept and reach out my palm, placing it in his.

“Take me where no man has ever taken me before, Marcum.”

“I could interpret that in so many different ways, Luna. You should watch what you say.”

“Not if I mean every word, Marcum.”

“Touche.” He chuckles as he leads me outside. As we near his bike, my nerves begin to flutter in my stomach. But I’m not backing down.

No way, no how.

I want this and seeing as I don’t do a lot that my parents wouldn’t approve of, it’s a thrilling sensation that’s strumming through me. Suddenly, I don’t care if they’d scold me for doing something so dangerous. After all, that’s what makes this wicked behavior of mine feel electrifying. I’m tired of being a goody-goody, it’s time to let my wild child out and explore all life has to offer.

CHAPTER SIX

KODIAK

I’ve never hada woman on the back of my bike before. Not even when we were living nomadic and had sweetbutts around to service us.

If they wanted to be part of our wandering lifestyle, they had to get themselves from point A to point B on their own. We paid for their gas as well as their other roadworthy essentials and amenities. I have to admit to myself, even if it’s begrudgingly so, that their cars came in handy for things we couldn’t carry on our bikes.

But the part of my saddle that Luna’s on, it’s always been reserved for a title I never thought I’d consider getting for myself—an old lady.

Didn’t want the complication of one.

Wasn’t in the right frame of mind in those days, but Luna, she’s making me reconsider my assessment on that aspect. I’m not convinced she’s the one for me, but she feels right where she is.Like that part of my seat was made with her in mind. Maybe this settling down in a one horse town shit has changed my perspective. I’ve felt more lonely than I ever have in the past, the open road never left room for loneliness—there was always a new background and people to meet that kept things fresh and entertaining.

As I pick up speed, my odometer reaching sixty five as I glide in and out of evening traffic, heading out of the metroplex, an excited squeal blasts into my eardrum. I thought ahead and brought an extra helmet we had in storage, which has Bluetooth capabilities.

I reach back with my hand and squeeze her thigh as I navigate the bike around two slow moving vehicles. “Having fun, Luna?”

“This is amazing, Marcum,” she gushes out. Her voice is lighter than I’ve heard it since crossing her path. “Now I know what the thrill is that my readers get when they read scenes exactly like this.”

“Better in real life?” I ask her, my lips tilted upward.

I remember the first time I experienced this freedom, the way your body comes alive and I’m overjoyed that she’s experiencing this firsthand instead of vicariously through one of her books.

“It isn’t comparable,” she says around a sigh before asking, “is it sad that I want to take a class and learn to drive one for myself?”

“Why would that be sad? Women ride, they own motorcycles and shit,” I remind her.

“It’s sad because that would be the most exciting thing to happen in my life, Marcum.”

“Then we need to find ways to liven your life, Luna Moon. What else have you wanted to do that you haven’t tried?”

“So much,” she dreamily says. “Snorkeling with the dolphins, going to England and walking on Abbey Road. The list is endless, but those are the two things on my bucket list I’d like to do.”

“Beatles fan, huh?” I ask, teasing her. “Always thought Lennon was a dipshit, but his music was good.”

She gasps, and asks, “Why was Lennon a dipshit, Marcum? John was a musical genius.”

“Because the fucker left his family for some tight ass. I have no respect for a man who would toss what’s his aside for new tail. Not to mention, she became a dictator for his life. Where did the man’s balls go?”

“Don’t judge him,” she berates, constricting her arms that are wrapped around my torso, coiling herself around me letting me know she’s about to go off on a tangent. “We don’t know what things were like behind the scenes, we only know what the media showed the public. Unless we’ve walked a mile in someone’s shoes, we shouldn’t have opinions on their lives.”

“True enough,” I agree. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna suddenly find any admiration for the man, because no matter what was going on in his personal life that we weren’t privy to, he still tossed them to the side like yesterday’s shiny toy that dulled. Any man worth his salt will end things with his current woman if another one sparks his fancy. Maybe that’s a bit odd coming from a biker who’s lived the way I have, but it’s one of the few things I stand by.

“You still don’t like him though, huh, Marcum?”

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