“You won’t go too fast, will you?”
“Nope.” I didn’t ask for clarification on what too fast meant to her.
Ready to feel the hum between my legs again, I slid my leg over.
Ari took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“It’ll be fun. Just get on.”
She threw her leg over the bike, and her hands came tentatively to my waist. I grabbed them both in my hands and pulled her arms around me until her chest was flush against my back. I could feel the uptick in her heart rate. I knew mine was going to match it but not out of fear.
“Just follow my lead, Princess. Move with me.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
I started out slowly, but as soon as we hit the interstate, I kicked it into high gear. Soon, we were zipping past the other cars. At first, Ari would lean against me when I turned or switched lanes as if she could counterbalance the momentum of the bike, but once her fears had lessened, she did as I’d instructed. I thought I’d start her off easy the first time, so it wasn’t a long ride.
When we reached our destination, she stood on shaky legs, handed me the helmet, and shook out her blonde hair. “That was…not so bad.”
“I knew you’d like it.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“But I like to,” I said, pulling her close and kissing her on the lips.
“I can’t believe you convinced me to do that.”
“And now, we’re going to work on your aim.”
Her eyes lifted to the sign. I expected her to groan, shoot me an angry look, or tell me off for the very thought of bringing her to a shooting range.
“You know…I’ve always wanted to fire a gun.”
“What?” I asked incredulously. “You didn’t want to get on a motorcycle, but you want to fire a gun?”
“A motorcycle could kill me! A gun in my hands would only kill someone else.”
Excruciating pain cracked through my skull, and I squeezed my eyes shut to ward off the blinding torture. My hand dropped down onto my bike to hold myself steady. I couldn’t keep the memories back.
“Are you okay?” Ari asked, resting her hand on mine and bringing me back to reality.
“Yeah. Sorry. Headache.”
“Did you have one when you were driving? Do you need anything?”
“Nah. Just came on suddenly.”
“I can get you some Tylenol.”
“Ari, no. Let’s just get you out of the cold.”
I ushered her inside and paid for a rental gun and extra ammo for Ari, and then we entered our booth.
After I explained the mechanics to her, we took turns firing at the target across the room. She actually wasn’t bad. I was pretty surprised since she had never held a gun before. She hadn’t even seemed that freaked-out. It was hot.
I finished my last round of ammo and then set the gun down.
“You’re kind of amazing at this,” Ari said.
“Practice. You’re damn good for a beginner.”
She brightened and leaned forward for a kiss. I f**king loved when she initiated. It took all my control not to push her against the wall. She was so different from the girl I’d met who had dosed my drink, yet she was the same exact person who had intrigued me. She still intrigued me all the time.
Like she had grown accustomed to doing over the past couple of weeks, her fingers toyed with the dog tags around my neck. She softly kissed me once more. “Why do you always wear these?”
“Always have.”
“I don’t think I could picture you without them.”
“I’ve had them since I was a kid.” I wasn’t sure why I’d told her that. I never talked about it with anyone, not even the guys. They thought, like Ari, that the dog tags were just a part of me.
“Is someone in your family military?” she asked curiously.
I tensed. “Yeah, my dad.”
“It’s so honorable to spend your life fighting for your country.”
“Yeah,” I said tightly. “The tags remind me of the man that I want to be.”
Chapter 22: Aribel
Date Fifteen
A few days later, I awoke to the sound of someone banging loudly on the front door. I blearily opened my eyes and took a look at the clock. Four forty-five in the morning. Why is someone knocking on the door this early?
Everyone else in my place slept like a rock. I doubted they’d even heard the knocking. Ugh! I hoped the person would go away already.
But I was out of luck. The knocking started again.
After hopping out of bed, I threw on a pair of sweats and trudged into the living room. The knocking started again just as I reached the door. I peered through the hole and sighed. This feels familiar.
“Grant, what are you doing here?” I asked with a yawn.
“I tried to call you.”
“Not sure you checked the time right. It’s almost five a.m., not five p.m.”
“I know. Get dressed. We have places to be,” he said, stepping through the door, uninvited.
“I’m not going anywhere this early. Are you out of your mind?”
He shook his head and started dragging me to my bedroom. “Bundle up. It’s cold outside.”
When he turned his back, I crawled into bed and closed my eyes. Grant noticed me and chuckled. He lay down beside me, and I rested my head on his arm.
“You’re going to be difficult, aren’t you?” he asked.
“I like having you here,” I said softly.
“So, early mornings are when I can get you to tell me these kinds of things?”
I yawned again. “You’re comfortable. Don’t leave.”
“Ari, we have places to be.”
“Yep. Asleep. In your arms.”
Grant sighed and wrapped an arm around me. I snuggled closer into him and felt myself drifting off so easily.
His hand slipped under my T-shirt and ran along my skin. “God, Ari, I love your body,” he whispered against my ear.
His thumb ran against my nipple, and then he pinched it between his fingertips. I groaned faintly, and he took my entire breast in his hand. As he massaged me, I let my lips find the sensitive spot on his neck, and I trailed light kisses up to his ear. Taking that as encouragement, his hand tucked into the waistband of my sweats, and he started circling around my clit.
I was now fully awake. “Grant,” I whimpered, clutching his T-shirt. It wasn’t fair that he could get me this riled up.