Page 19 of The Biker's Last Rodeo
There’s a loud sizzle in the kitchen and someone laughs loudly in the corner booth as a waft of maple syrup passes through.
“Is he really a criminal?”
“No, I think she hired the ex-Navy Seal, but I saw pictures of the dude. He’s huge… and terrifying.”
The ice in my drink settles with a clink. “Oh, okay… now we’re talking. Big, muscles, lots of cool stories about all the crazy things he’s done. Sounds like fun. Maybe you should pull one on your mom and do a little harmless flirting.”
“Can you imagine? Dude is like twice my age. Though… I guess that hasn’t stopped you, has it?”
I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly, reminding myself that a future with Duke has sailed. Whatever connectionwe had is over now. It left the second I called my friend for a ride out of his place.
That said, the way he kissed me will probably linger forever, tucked deep in some time capsule inside my psyche, quietly threatening to unravel every relationship I try to build from here on out.
“Where’d you go?”
I sigh. “Just thinking about the kiss we had in the horse ring last night.”
“That good, huh?”
I trail off, swallowing down the lump that’s uninvitedly risen. “It wasn’t about technique. It was real. Like… I don’t know. The way he grabbed me, the way he breathed, the way his body fused around mine, I just… it was like nothing I’ve ever felt.”
“Sounds special.”
“Yeah, but that’s over now.” I’m halfway through the breath when I hear the rumble of a motorcycle in the distance. I figure life will be like this for a while. Every motorcycle will sound like his, look like his, and make me wish it were his.
I twist the shades closed and redirect the conversation back toward Kera. “I don’t want to think about bikers ever again.”
The words barely settle in the air before the diner’s door swings open with the sound of rusted hinges.
“Anyway… I think we should get some tea on your new stalker. What’s his na—”
“Bunny,” a deep voice rumbles behind me, “you’re coming with me.”
I look back to see Duke standing tall and wide, leather jacket clinging to him like thunderclouds ready to break, shoulders like iron gates.
His gaze locks onto mine, and suddenly the air in the diner feels charged, as if the jukebox should cue something gritty and unforgiving.
I don’t speak. I don’t have to. He’s not asking any questions. He’s making demands.
He’s come for me like I belong to him.
He reaches for my hand, and I slide from the booth, thinking he’ll meet me where I’m at, thinking we’ll talk about something, we’ll work out some kind of emotional middle ground, but he doesn’t wait. He lifts me up, straight over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as the diners around us hush and stare.
I glance toward Kera whose eyes have gone wide, her hand smacked over her face like she’s hiding a giant grin. “I’m not going to ask if you want saving this time… I know the answer.”
She’s barely finished her sentence when Duke turns and carries me out of the diner, one heavy boot in front of the other. We pass through the door, under the fluorescent buzzing light, and toward his bike parked just outside the windows. I bounce against his shoulder with every step, arms pinned.
“You could’veasked,” I mutter.
He doesn’t flinch, just sets me onto his bike, leans in, lands his hands on either side of my face, and kisses my mouth like it’s been too long since he’s touched me last.
It’s hard and rough, deep and passionate, like the first rain after a drought, like a flood that’s determined to break me open.
When he pulls back, the silence rushes around us. My breath catches, my lips tingle, my thoughts scramble like eggs on a greasy spoon griddle.
“I’m taking you home,” he growls, thumb grazing my cheek with a gentleness that contradicts the fire in his eyes. “That little girl who got left behind all those years ago… shedidn’t have anyone to carry her out of here. She didn’t have anyone to take care of her, but that changes now. You’re mine.”
Heat rushes over me as my chest tightens. “But Nick was right, Duke, I’m broken. I don’t know how to do any of this. That’s why I ran.”
