Page 6 of Impulsive Saint
“Okay, how about we go back inside?” Tyler started to flip the engine back off but Ashtyn shook her head.
“No. No, I just… yeah. Okay, I can do this. Let’s go.”
She took a deep breath as if she was mustering her courage and then she shimmied the dress up to her thighs. Tyler did the gentlemanly thing and looked away. It felt wrong looking at her thin, pale thighs once he got an eyeful of the lace garter that was supposed to be meant for only her future husband to see. He shook away that strange thought and a moment later a small hand was on his shoulder and then he felt Ashtyn behind him. She straddled the motorcycle and slid her body against his. She gripped his biceps once she’d gotten her dress settled around her. She seemed almost proud of herself when she tapped his arms, as if he could take off now.
He frowned, “Hold on.”
“I-I thought I was.” Her voice was soft and hesitant and he cursed himself yet again for being late, but more so for being a sucker for a pretty girl.
Of course Ashtyn Echols had never been on a motorcycle before. That had to be what she was babbling about earlier. This would be her first time on the back of a bike and she was wearing a gigantic wedding dress that got in the way and flip-flops instead of boots. He almost rethought the entire thing in that moment and told her to get off his bike because he wasn’t taking her anywhere but the way her small hands squeezed his biceps stopped him.
“Like this?” she asked tentatively.
“No.” He sighed as he grabbed her by the wrists and pulled. Her body slammed against his back and he could feel the soft globes of her breasts through their clothes. He swallowed hard as he put her arms around his waist. Her hands were resting dangerously close to his crotch in this position and thinking about her breasts was going to cause a situation neither of them were prepared for. He shook off the insane rush of hormones that reacted to the simple presence of a pretty girl on his bike, wrapped around him, and forced out the words. “Hold on tight like this, okay?”
“Okay.” Ashtyn whispered into his back. “Just don’t kill us. That’s not on my bucket list.”
He had no idea what she was talking about but he snorted and revved the engine, “Ready?”
“Yes.”
He found an opening in traffic and released the brake as he pressed the accelerator. The bike jumped the curb and they swerved onto the road. The truck he’d cut off honked at them but he barely heard it over the sound of Ashtyn’s squeals of delight. At least he hoped they were delight. She wasn’t screaming at him to stop so he took that as a good sign and when she squeezed herself even closer to him, he let instinct take control.
He found an opening and gunned it. They went flying through traffic, weaving in and out until they hit the highway. As soon as he had the open road in front of him, he opened up and let the bike roar. The only sound he could hear over the wind rushing past his ears was Ashtyn screaming something that sounded a hell of a lot likediveeven though that made about as much sense as everything else she’d said so far.
Or maybe, he felt her move with the motorcycle, a complete natural to this new feeling of flying, that wasn’t what she’d said at all.
Maybe what she’d said was,I’m alive!
That made him smile because it was exactly how being on his bike made him feel. Alive. Strong. Invincible. It was a heady feeling driving seventy down an open road with nothing to protect you.
But he wasn’t an idiot. He hadn’t grabbed a helmet because he hadn’t been going far today. If he’d known he was going to have a passenger, he’d have grabbed two. As it was, he didn’t plan on taking her that far and he was a good driver. That was the thing about being on a motorcycle with someone that knew what they were doing. She was as safe as could be, but she probably felt like she was playing with fire, flirting with danger and tempting fate.
He could give that to her. If that was what she needed, to be free for just a few minutes, he could do that for her. And maybe that meant he hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time like he’d thought when he turned around and saw her in that alley. Maybe she was right and he, and his motorcycle, were supposed to be there waiting for her to make her great escape.
He’d take her back to his apartment. He’d call Vaughn and let him know she was safe. The Senator would send someone to come pick her up. Ashtyn would go back to her normal life, whether she ended up getting married or not. And at least Tyler would have a good story to tell tonight when he hit the bars, drinking and swapping stories with his friends.
A good story and a memory that made him smile because for once, he hadn’t been the bad guy. He’d gotten to play the savior. That was a first, and probably a last too.
3
It felt like flying.
Ashtyn wanted to spread her arms out wide and feel the wind pull at her limbs but she didn’t dare let go of the man in front of her. He’d been very clear that she was to hang on tight for this ride and since one of her dreams was finally coming true, she didn’t want him to stop any more than she wanted to die because she hadn’t listened.
She was enjoying herself more than she had in… well, in far too long. She felt lighter like this, as if the rush of air against her skin brushed away all of the doubts and fears and worries.
The motorcycle slowed and Ashtyn frowned.
She glanced around for the first time since they’d left downtown and she swallowed a gasp. They weren’t in the city anymore. She’d been aware when they merged onto the highway but she hadn’t realized just how far they’d driven since. They were outside of Nashville now, on the edges of the suburbs. She had a friend that lived somewhere near here but it wasn’t exactly the best area to be in, especially with the sun starting to set.
For the first time since she hopped on the back of the motorcycle, she felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. She was alone, with a strange man that she didn’t know, and she wasn’t in control. He could drive her anywhere and she didn’t even have her cell phone to call for help.
Seeing a strip mall just off the highway, she tapped on his stomach without releasing her grip and yelled so he could hopefully hear her over the wind, “Can you pull over?”
Ashtyn bit her lip nervously as her getaway driver nodded and pulled to a stop in an empty part of the lot. She could breathe again once they stopped moving and she realized that he hadn’t been taking her somewhere private to kill her. They were in public, even if the parking lot was mostly empty. There were likely cameras. He wouldn’t hurt her here, even if that had been his intention.
He dropped the kickstand as he twisted slightly and she realized she was supposed to let go of him now. She had to force her fists to release their grip on him and as he slid out from his spot in front of her, she felt the cool evening air seep in for the first time. He’d been her anchor while they sped down the highway, the wind whipping against them, and without him she slid down into the curve of the leather motorcycle seat.
