Page 129 of The Forbidden Note

Dutch stalks to his car and climbs in.

Finn sticks a hand in his pocket and walks off without a word. His car is totaled and he drove with Dutch, but I don’t think my brother wants to go home right now.

I pull Grey along, stopping in front of my bike.

There was no way in hell I was taking dad’s car when he drove here. Now, I’m glad I rode separately.

I toss Grey a helmet. She stares at it as if she’s never seen such a thing before.

“Goes on your head,” I grunt.

“I know how it works,” she snaps. “But I’m not… I don’t ride motorcycles.”

“You do tonight.”

Her lips tighten.

I walk over and set the helmet gently on her. Her curls are too voluminous, but I manage to fit it all inside the helmet. Clasping the strap under her chin, I pull her forward. She doesn’t protest again.

I climb on top of my bike, my movements rough and impatient.

There’s too much noise in my head. A pounding drum solo that’s all snare and cymbals.

No cohesion.

No freaking pattern.

Just chaos.

But it quiets a bit when she wraps her arms around me. Her left leg bounces up and down. Incessant. Nervous. She squeezes me tight and squeals before I even turn my bike on.

“Relax, tiger. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

I’m bleeding out from the inside, but she manages to make my lips twist in a wry grin.

I press my hand over her leg to calm it and look back at her. Her soft brown eyes collide with mine and I get this unquestionable feeling of helplessness. It’s the weirdest thing, but I suddenly understand why Romeo drank that poison.

This woman… she’s my poison and I’m drowning in the most lethal dose.

Ripping my gaze away, I start the bike and take off.

Grey pastes her body to mine. It’s impossible to ignore how soft she feels, how fragile. The wind batters my face, but I can still sense the gentle hammer of her breath on the back of my neck and the heat of her hands through my leather jacket.

The streets blur together and the terrain gets much rockier. I take the backroads, pointing my bike away from the flatlands where I usually bring girls and heading toward the ridge.

I stop the bike on top of the cleft jutting out from the mountains. From here, the stars are like shimmering plates on a black velvet table. Close enough I can reach out and touch them.

The night is cold and I notice Grey shivering a bit, so I shrug out of my jacket and wrap it over her shoulders.

“Is this safe?” She glances behind her. “What if whoever attacked us comes back?”

“I can move much faster on my bike than I can in the car.”

She seems to turn that over in her mind and then nods.

I sit on the edge of the cliff. Far below are rocky outcroppings. One wrong step and I’ll break every bone in my body on the rocks below.

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