Page 7 of More than Enough
“I bet you are. Car conked out on you, huh?” She nodded. “Want a lift home?” She sighed and wiggled around until she could eye his bike.That’s not a yes. “Ever ridden a bike?”
“No.” She wilted against him. “First time for everything.”
“That’s the spirit. I’ll keep you safe. Take you home. Get you settled.” It was quiet, the only sounds a faraway rumble of a river battling against the constant drone of insects. “Come on. Let’s get going. Sooner we get you out of the heat, the better.”
She didn’t argue when he retrieved the bottle, and her eyes stayed fixed on him, watching everything he did. “Okay.”
Staring at the bike for a moment, his stomach clenched when he realized he just had the one helmet. Since the accident, he hadn’t ridden a single mile without one, knowing that another TBI could be bad news for him. It had been only pure luck he’d been wearing one the day he got hit, coming back from a memorial ride. He knew what he needed to do, because as nauseating as the idea of riding without a helmet was, the image of Jenn without one was crippling. It took him three attempts to get his mouth to cooperate, but he finally choked out the words. “I want you to wear this.” He picked the helmet up off the seat and turned it around in his hands, staring into the shadows inside. With a deep breath, he turned and held it out to her. “It’ll be a little big, but better than nothing.”
“What about you?” She took it and looked down as she fumbled with the clip, shoulders slumped as she fought to adjust the chinstrap. Finally, as she had with the bottle, she held it out to him. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He evaluated her as he changed the setup for her smaller head. “You’re dehydrated and overheated. And exhausted on top of that. I just want to get you home.”
Chin up, she closed her eyes as she gave him access to secure the helmet. The backs of his fingers grazed the smooth skin of her throat, and Blade wanted to create a reason to touch her again.
She wiggled her jaw, testing the tightness of the strap before opening her eyes and smiling at him. “I live just past the old granary. There’s a little cottage off on the right. That’s me.”
He nodded, picturing it in his mind as he mounted the bike. With exaggerated movements, she climbed on behind him, feet to the pegs and her hands on his shoulders. Blade leaned back as he started the bike, speaking over the rumble of the pipes, “I’ll go slow, but hold on to my waist. Tight.”
Her grip shifted, and he looked down to see her hands overlapping on his stomach. She’d curled the fingers of one hand around her other wrist, taking him at his word. Blade took off gently, letting her feel the slight jerk of the bike as he shifted gears. Sooner than he liked, they were through town and he saw what had to be her driveway in the distance, darkened silos and buildings of the granary flashing past. The lane was long and winding, dirt and rocks for the most part, but Jenn was game and held tight the whole way.
He pulled up in front of the cottage and killed the bike, waiting for her to step off the pegs. She didn’t move, leaning heavily against his back. Blade glanced over his shoulder to see her eyes closed.
“Jenn?”
“Home, yay.” Her voice was roughened again, dry and rasping. “Gimme a minute.” He chuckled, and she tipped her head up, one eye opening slightly. “You’re warm.”
“And you got too hot. Come on. Let’s get inside.” He separated her hands, pulling her grip free from where she held his shirt.
She sounded slightly drunk, and he was alarmed to realize her words were slurring the least bit. “Okay, okay.”
“Come on.” Off the bike, he turned and removed the helmet, shocked to find her hair soaked but her skin hot and dry. Hanging the helmet from the handlebars by the strap, he scooped her up in his arms and stalked to the front door, ignoring her protests. It was locked, and he looked down at her. “Where’s the key?”
“In my boobs.” She lifted her head from where it rested against his chest. “Back door’s not locked, though. You’d be safe from boob keys.”
“Jesus,” he muttered, whirling and jumping the short distance from the porch to the ground. Around the back of the house, he found her words true. The door opened easily, letting them into the kitchen. He knew what he needed, and fortunately the house appeared to follow a standard layout, so he turned right, angled into a narrow hallway, and proceeded until he found her bedroom. Two doors off the room told him she had an attached bath, which was a blessing right about now.
Blade set her on the edge of the bed, kneeling at her feet to unlace and remove her shoes. “Got anything in your pockets you don’t want getting wet?” He gave a silent prayer of thanks for the way his mouth was cooperating right now.
She stared at him. He rose and opened the first door, revealing the bathroom. Stepping in, he started the shower on a lukewarm setting, then plugged the tub to collect the running water. Once again standing over her, he frowned at the puzzled look on her face as he toed out of his boots and took off his vest.
“Jenn, anything you don’t want getting wet?”
“No pockets,” she said, lifting a hand to fish in her bra for an instant, revealing smooth mounds of creamy flesh that made his mouth water. “See?” Palm up, she showed him what she’d retrieved, and he laughed. Keys and a small wad of cash.
“No phone?” Belt and wallet followed the vest to rest on top of her dresser, key fob and phone next. He patted his pockets to verify he hadn’t forgotten anything important.
“In my purse, in the diner. That’s why I couldn’t call for a ride.” In the chill of the air-conditioned house, she was beginning to sound slightly more lucid, and that was a good sign.
“Alrighty.” He scooped her up again, paying no more attention to her demands to be put down than he had before. Once in the bathroom, he deposited her under the spray from the shower, climbing in behind her and holding her in place.
“Blade.” Her yell was shrill while still managing to be rough. “Stop it.”
“Nope. Gotta cool you down. I’m pretty sure you’re riding the edge of heatstroke, Jenn. Stay with me.” She lashed out, catching him in the side with her fist. “Ow. Stop it.” He captured her wrists in one hand, holding firm as she twisted, trying to get away. “Jenn.” She wasn’t paying attention to him—and also wasn’t staying under the shower like he wanted—so he whirled them and trapped her arms between their bodies as he held her tight to his front. “Shhhh, honey.”
Shuffling them around until she was positioned under the stream of water, he held her until the rising level in the tub had climbed halfway to their knees. By then she’d stopped struggling, relaxing against him without another complaint as the water began to do its work. He bent to the side and turned off the shower portion, then made it to his ass without too much splashing, Jenn between his legs, cradled to his chest. Turning off the warm water, he let the stream of cold run for a few minutes, chilling the nearly full tub. The silence when he cut the cold was profound, weighty. Even on this side of town, there wasn’t much traffic, most folks traveling through doing so on the north-south route instead of east-west. Her house was far enough off the little highway Blade wasn’t sure he’d hear any cars passing by anyway. It felt like he’d entered a soothing cocoon of peace and quiet.
“How you feelin’ now?” He tried to gauge the time they’d been in the bathroom, but that was a sense that’d abandoned him after the accident, full days passing sometimes before he realized.
