Page 44 of The Girlfriend's Guide to Dating a Biker
Eden was just as affected, and when she removed her hand from my leg this time, I let her.
“Okay, back to safe territory,” I said, pulling air into my lungs and locking my filthy imagination into a cage it didn’t wanna stay in. “Your turn to tell me something no one knows about you.”
“Bold of you to assume I have the ability to think right now.” She gave me a look that was equal parts dazed and turned on. It said she didn’t know if she wanted to sass me or climb into my lap. And fuck, I loved that she wasn’t hiding a damn bit of it.
“Then don’t think. Just tell me the first thing that comes to mind.”
She reached for a chip and ate it before saying, “I own four houseplants. They’re all fake because I kill the real ones in less than a week.”
“That sounds like something other people would already know. Give me something better.”
She made wide eyes at me. “I just told you my brain can’t brain right now.”
I grinned around a mouthful of chips. “That’s bullshit. Your brain never switches off.”
“Trust me, it does.”
“Tell me something else.”
“I don’t remember consenting to this bossy mode of yours.”
“You’re stalling.”
She rolled her eyes, but it was half-assed at best. “Fine.” She ate another chip while thinking. “I’m basically a hoarder of hoodies. If I steal one of yours, you’re never seeing it again.”
“If you take my hoodie, you’re taking the man that comes with it too.” I said it easy and watched her eyes flick up at me. The soft smile she gave me settled deep in my gut.
Reaching for her drink, she said, “Deal.”
We sat in silence for a beat. No pressure, no push. I couldn’t remember any date ever feeling this effortless. With Eden, everything clicked.
“You gonna finish that burger, Miss Humanitarian, or should I do you a solid and take over?”
She swatted my hand away. “Don’t even think about it. Just because you bought me food doesn’t mean you get to eat it too. That’s not how dates work.”
I chuckled and leaned back against my stool while watching her eat. We settled into an easy conversation after that. I let Eden take the lead when she started it by asking me what kind of music I liked. We traded our favourites. Songs, bands, movies, takeout, ice-cream flavours.
Then she hit me with a question about the weirdest food combo I’ve ever tried. When I came up with nothing, she looked at me like I’d failed a test before launching into her own personal freak-show menu. Peanut butter and pickles, pizza with honey drizzle, and hot chips dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkles among other things. She listed them like proud achievements while I sat there wondering what the fuck went wrong in her childhood kitchen.
“You realise none of that shit belongs together, right?” I said once she was finished.
“Please. You wish you had taste buds as advanced as mine.”
I laughed, and before I could respond, she continued. “I’ll convert you. One bite and you’ll be begging for sprinkles.”
After she dragged a promise out of me that I’d try one of her weird combos, we lost ourselves in a couple more hours learning stuff about each other. At some point, we moved to a couch in the dark corner where I could pull her onto my lap and get her hands all over me while keeping mine planted firmly on her ass.
When she yawned just before midnight, I said, “I should take you home, let you get some sleep.”
She snuggled tighter against me, curling a hand around my neck. “Or . . . you could stay over again.”
I’d barely processed her words when she had her mouth on mine. The kiss was a slide into heat we’d been avoiding all night, and within seconds she was straddling my thighs. Her hands had found my jaw, and she was holding me like she was staking a claim. A claim I happily let her have.
Her breath hitched when I took her bottom lip between my teeth, gentle. I slid my hands under her tee and found skin. Waist, ribs, the soft place under her bra band. She arched like she was offering me hours. I could have spent a lifetime on an inch.
“Jake,” she whispered against my mouth, half-plea, half-warning.
“Yeah, darlin’.” I pressed my forehead to hers and breathed. If I opened my eyes, I’d forget not to rush. “I’ve got you.”
