Page 28 of Her Avenging Angel

“Thanks,” she smiled at him then turned to Raven. “Is that all or can we go?” she bounced on her toes with excitement.

“That’s all, we can go. Why don’t you see how well that fits?” He tapped the helmet in her hands.

She didn’t say anything but pulled the helmet on with the ease of someone who had done so many times before. She barely fumbled with it as she adjusted the chin strap to fit.

“Good?” Raven asked once she got it situated and dropped her hands.

“Good.”

He glanced around and found that the others were just waiting on them, so he stepped onto his bike and started it, then motioned for her to get on. Taylynn mounted the back of his bike with a practiced ease. That, as much as how she’d handled the helmet, told him she’d done more than a bit of riding before. He wondered for a moment if it had been when she’d been with the Demons or before. Not that he would ask. He didn’t want to bring those memories up, not right now. She’d tell him when she was ready.

When everyone was ready, he nodded to Deisel, who pulled out first as was the habit for the road captain to do, then he followed, taking his place second in the formation, letting the others fall into place behind them. They all had their places in the formation and knew where they should be, he didn’t bother to check on them.

As they hit the road, the rumble of the bike along with the wind in his face felt good. It was almost as if just being on his bike, just riding down the road, made all his troubles go away. He knew it wasn’t true. That they would all be right there waiting for him when they got back, but for now, with the bike beneath him and Taylynn at his back, her arms wrapped around his middle, this seemed like the perfect moment.

Chapter Twenty

Taylynn couldn’t helpthe grin that covered her face. Because of her helmet, she was the only one who knew about it, but the sun on her skin, the vibrations of the bike beneath her and the sense of freedom that came from being on the back of Raven’s bike made her heart sing in a way she hadn’t felt in longer than she cared to think about.

She pushed all thoughts of anything unpleasant out of her mind and vowed to herself that all that mattered was here and now. The wind in her face, the sun on her skin, the man in her arms. That’s where her mind got stuck, kind of. The man. Raven.

What was it about him? He’d been nothing but kind and patient to her. Which as much as she hated to think about it, she knew she needed. She never thought the men of a club, any club, would be as nice, as kind, as respectful as they’d been to her. She thought she’d be going from one bad situation to another but the Fallen Angels had surprised her.

She looked around, taking in the town as they rode through it. She didn’t know if she’d ever been to Craven’s Creek before. If she had, it hadn’t been since she was a kid. Nothing looked familiar, but if she’d been a kid she wouldn’t have paid much attention to the town. She’d have had her nose in a book as Mama drove, or her dad, though most of the time it was Mama, even if Dad had been along.

She blinked, pushing the useless thoughts aside. The only one of the Angels she could see was Diesel, as he was the only one who rode in front of Raven, so his was the only colors she could see. Listening to what went on around her over the last few weeks had taught her that the Angels called their vests with the patches colors. She liked that term. It was so much better than the rag that the Demons had called them. In her mind it showed more respect for the club, for the brotherhood, and that was far more what the Angels seemed than the Demons had. The Demons had felt like a gang of ruffians, bad guys who got together and did bad things. Each one egging on the other to do worse than the one before.

While she hadn’t been around them long, she didn’t see that with the Angels. Sure, they jumped when Raven gave an order but since he was the president, that was to be expected. It was other things that told her more about their character than just how they treated each other.

As they left town, Raven cranked up the speed. Taylynn tilted her head back and let the feel of the wind tugging at her, the sensation of the bike rumbling beneath her and the warmth of the man riding in front of her carry away all her cares. This had been what she needed.

****

Nearly two hours afterthey’d left, Raven pulled the bike back into the yard at the clubhouse. He backed it into line then killed the engine. They sat for a few seconds then he pulled off his helmet and set it on the tank in front of him before laying one hand on her knee where it still rested beside his hip.

“You okay, little one?” He turned his head until she could see one eye aimed at her from the corner of his eye.

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