Page 9 of Savage Lust

Cam unbuttoned the black and white flannel shirt he wore, then tossed it over my shoulders like a matador. “It’ll be cooler than you think.”

“And the bugs suck.” Jace gave a somber grin.

Cam buttoned the shirt down my front with quick, precise motions of his long fingers, while I shoved my arms through the sleeves. When he took his vest back, AP pushed Cam’s helmet onto my head and tightened the chin strap. It was heavy, but open faced and not as cumbersome as I’d imagined.

“What about him?” I gestured to Cam.

“He’s hardheaded.” AP patted my helmet.

Cam had already fired the bike back up but stayed standing astride it as I gathered my skirt between my thighs and threw my left leg over behind him.

“Put your feet on the pegs, don’t burn your legs on the tail pipes.”

I did as I was told, tucking my skirt between us. It would fly out some, but at this point I didn’t care.

When he sat and kicked up the kickstand, other bikes fired up all around us. The throbbing cacophony grew so loud it swallowed up every other sound for miles. Cam reached back and pulled both my arms around his waist, so I was forced to press my body closer to him.

He caught my gaze in the rear-view mirror on the handlebars.Hang on.

And I did, Cam idling the bike to the entrance to the funeral home before letting it rip on his way out. The bike roared to life between my legs, and the earth suddenly zipped by so fast I couldn’t do anything but cling to his waist.

Then I turned my face to the sun.

A normal person would be scared. I wasn’t. This was exhilaration, this was a thrill that soared up from the vibration of the motorcycle all the way to the tips of my fingers that trembled against Cam’s abdomen.

At a large curve, I held tighter to him, pressed my body against the warm leather that covered his strong back. The bite of the wind blistered at my cheeks but wasn’t unpleasant. I could feel—everything. For the first time since Mom died, I felt alive.

On the back of that bike, I couldfeel.

four

Cam

Riley pressed against me wasn’t the distraction I needed. My body demanded a reaction, to lay a hand on her bare knee, rub back against her thigh, push that skirt up higher.

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip, using the pain to chase away the image of her creamy thighs, untouched by the sun, stretched across the back of the bike.

Jesus, you need some ass, Savage.

I could almost hear Archer’s deep, scratchy voice, see him rolling his eyes and reminding me that chasing tail would get me in trouble. Would he care that it was his daughter I was fantasizing about? Probably not. He’d be pissed I was riding his bike.

Or maybe he would. I sure as hell wouldn’t tell him. He had his reasons to keep her away. Guys like me were probably at the top of that list.

A different sort of pain clogged my throat. I didn’t realize grief had stolen my breath until Riley squeezed tight around a turnand forced it out of my chest. This grief was heavier than when my mom died. Then I’d been angry at the world, too angry and scared to feel the pain.

This was the first time the loss ripped through me like a bullet, burning everything it touched until I couldn’t breathe.

I hadn’t cried, hadn’t had a chance. Some of the other guys had at the funeral, even AP’s hard as stone ass had spent days red eyed. Preacher hadn’t cried. He’d barely reacted at all and he’d found the body.

Riley had held up pretty well. Considering Preacher had been all over her like grease on an axle.

The exhaust rumbled in protest when I flexed my fist around the throttle. The anger and suspicion chased away some of the pain. I clung to those feelings, clenching my jaw and getting on the engine a little more.

I made the turn off the highway and glanced in the mirror. Riley’s eyes were closed, her angular, pretty face serene as she turned it toward the sun. The anger, the speculation, all faded away and a warmth spread across my chest and down to where it simmered beneath her touch.

She was fucking beautiful. Not in the trashy way of the patch bunnies who flocked to the Kings.

Swearing under my breath, I took the right toward the cemetery. I caught the flash of fabric in the rear-view and reached back, snatched her dress where it’d come loose, and tucked it back under her leg.

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