Page 33 of Trick or Trouble
Her smile turned into a wolfish, gloating grin.“Not thirsty.I’m ready when you are, ragazzo mio.”
Logan swung onto the bike, settling in with an easy confidence.Maxine snapped her helmet on and slid on behind him, circling her arms around his waist.“Hang on,” he warned.The powerful engine roared to life beneath them, and he eased into traffic with the moves of a pro.
“I think you are not a novice, ragazzo mio,” her voice sliding under his helmet to his ear.
He chuckled silently to himself.Instead of heading back towards Marlow Street, he cut toward an abandoned stretch of land behind an old landfill, a place he and his buddies had once trained for dirt bike competitions.A Harley was just a bigger, shinier toy, and he knew these particular toys well.He lined the bike up, then opened the throttle, hit the first rise, and launched them into the air.
Maxine whooped like a wild woman, her grip tightening, her wild laughter ringing in his ears as he took her through the entire course.She was still chortling when he finally pulled into the driveway on Marlow Street, where Darcy was waiting on the porch.
Maxine slid off the bike, helmet in one hand, the delirious grin of a woman drunk on her newest form of entertainment, and nearly fell.Logan caught her arm as Darcy bolted down the concrete steps.“Hey...easy there,” he cautioned, hiding a grin.
The punch-drunk smile seemed to be permanent as she laughed at him.“You passed, ragazzo mio.I believe you can handle both of my babies.”
“What did you do to my mother?”Darcy squeaked in horror, grabbing for her mother’s other arm when she arrived.
Maxine waved them both off, her grin firmly in place as she staggered toward the porch steps.“This one’s a keeper, Cara Mia.”She plopped down with a sigh of pure satisfaction.“Che corsa!What a ride.”
Logan watched her with a satisfied expression.“We’ll have to do it again sometime, Maxine.”
She shot him a double thumbs up like a giddy teenager.“Contaci, ragazzo mio.Count on it.”
Darcy stared at him with a dubious glare—part curiosity, part censure.“I didn’t know you could ride a motorcycle.”
He patted the seat behind him, his eye glinting wickedly.“Care to go for a ride, sweetheart?”
She waved her hand towards her mother, her lips curling despite herself.“Not if I’m going to come back looking like I just got drunk.”
He swung his long legs over the seat with a low chuckle.“I used to compete in dirt bike competitions at one time,” he explained.“I just took your mother over one of my old practice courses.She loved it.”He reached for her.
Darcy rolled her eyes and let him draw her into his body.“Of course she did.My mother is crazy and loves the adrenaline rush.My dad used to keep her somewhat under control, but now that he’s gone, she does what she wants.My brother keeps threatening to move back in with her, but I don’t think it would make any difference.”
“I like your mother, but I can see where you get your penchant for doing dangerous things,” he replied with a rueful shake of his head.“You are going to keep me on my toes, Darcy DeAnglo.”
“Think you’re up to it?”
His voice dropped low, alpha and dangerous.“You think I’m not?”
***
DARCY FLICKED A GLANCEbehind her to see where her mother was—she was gone—perfect.She tiptoed her fingers up Logan’s broad chest.“Let’s just say I don’t intend to be taken for granted by any man ever again,” she purred delicately.
His gaze dropped to hers, his eyes narrowing.“There’s only going to be one man in your life, little witch.“You might as well get used to the idea because I’m not going anywhere.”
A bubble of pure happiness burst in her heart, encompassing Darcy’s whole being in the fallout.The last two weeks, she and Logan had been practically inseparable, and her desire to be with him all the time was insatiable.She was learning to trust him, but she still didn’t trust herself.Introducing him to her mother had been a turning point.
Despite herself, Darcy had fallen for Logan like a cheerleader crushing on the quarterback, but it was also different.Deeper.Stronger.She loved the strength of his arms, his protective ways, the steadiness that grounded her when she was on the verge of sabotaging herself.He filled empty places she never knew she had.
She didn’t need her mother’s approval, but her insecurities whispered that if Maxine liked Logan, then he might be everything she thought he was.After all, her parents' marriage had lasted over 40 years—a lifetime.So, when her mother had invited Logan to come to dinner, she’d been nervous clear to her bones.But this time...this time her mother actually liked the man she’d wanted so desperately to believe in.That hadneverhappened before.
It was a good omen—if you believed in such things.And Darcy wanted to believe.
She was trembling as her gaze captured his.“I want to go back to your place,” she stated breathlessly.“I need...I need...”She faltered, and let her eyes say the rest.Her palm cupped the roughness of the shadow on his chin, grounding herself in his touch.
Logan’s gaze softened, tender and searching.“You need what, sweetheart?”
“I...I need you.”
His neck convulsed as he swallowed, his voice roughening.“For...how long, little witch?”
