Adam tugged her closer and began to unsnap the mother-of-pearl fastenings of her cutesy pink and blue plaid shirt one by one. Her eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over her chest to halt his progress.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Avoiding your question. “Helping you change,” he said.
“Here?”
“You can’t wear this shirt with those pants. It’s bad enough that you’re keeping the boots.” He moved his hands to the hem of her blouse and unsnapped it from the bottom up until the only snap holding it shut was the one under her dainty hand.
“Adam!”
“What?” He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissed her. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Sure you are. I’ll be right back.” Clutching the front of her shirt closed with one hand, she raced back inside the store.
He chuckled and shook his head. She was still a good girl. And maybe that was what he found so appealing about her. No matter how hard he pushed her into his darkness, her core was intrinsically light. He doubted he’d ever truly corrupt her, but the prospect of failure didn’t stop him from trying. Just like she never stopped pushing him to be a better man. He wondered if either of them would ever really change the other for better or for worse.
Madison strutted out of the store a moment later, shoving her plaid shirt into her sack of purchases and wearing a tight black T-shirt that made Adam’s jeans snug in the crotch. Damn, the woman made his blood run hot. He’d just had a taste of her and already he wanted more. His latest addiction, Madison Fairbanks. No one would ever convince him to give this one up.
She shrugged into her new leather jacket—the creamy leather hugging her gorgeous figure—and met his eyes.
“Better?” she asked.
“Better for riding,” he said, “but I prefer you naked.”
“Hey, this ride was your idea.” She planted a fist on one hip. “I thought we’d be naked most of the afternoon.”
“Well, shit, why didn’t you say so? Get on the bike so we can head to the hotel and ditch these clothes.”
“Oh no you don’t, Adam Taylor,” she said. “I didn’t buy this outfit so you could immediately strip it off me. You promised me a ride.”
“I was planning on taking you for a ride in the hotel bed.”
Her sack of clothes smacked him in the chest.
“I’ll take that ride later. The only way you’ll be between my thighs now is with me on the back of that motorcycle.”
Well, if that didn’t conjure up all sorts of erotic images . . .
“Are you sure you’re not too scared to ride?”
He was teasing, but she looked grievously offended.
“Of course I’m not scared. I’m wearing leather.” She tossed her mass of curly hair behind her shoulders and straightened her spine. Which made her tits jut forward in a most distracting way. “You can’t be scared when you’re wearing leather. It’s not possible.”
He laughed and hugged her tightly. She always lightened his mood. Made him smile. Made him laugh. Made him crazy with lust. He never imagined he’d end up as one of those guys who would love a woman more than anything else in his life, one of those guys who’d go down on one knee and ask a woman to spend the rest of her life with him. He released her abruptly—not sure why his heart was thudding so hard—and busied his hands by handing her a helmet. Not the ring. He wasn’t quite ready to do that.
“So are you going to tell me about Phaedra now?” she asked as she pulled the helmet on over her curls and fastened the chin strap.
“I’m not wearing enough leather to be brave enough to tell you that,” he assured her.
“I won’t get upset. I just want to know. You can tell me anything. Remember?”
Defenses instantly high, he stiffened. “We used to get high on coke and fuck for days. Is that what you want me to say?”
“Is it the truth?” She held his gaze and no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t turn away. And for some reason, though he was an expert at hiding secrets, he couldn’t lie to her.
“Yes.”
“Then that’s what I want you to say. When was the last time you fucked her?”
“A couple years ago.”
She smiled. “Right answer.”
She grabbed his arm and used it to lift herself on the bike behind him. When her arms went around him and she pressed securely against his back, the tension drained out of his body. That was it? She wasn’t going to go ballistic about his past with Phaedra? Maybe he really could tell her anything. He’d already told her more than anyone else in his life, but he’d become so accustomed to hiding his reality from those he cared about, that it had become a habit. A bad one that he needed to break.
“You aren’t mad?” he asked.
“Why would I be mad? She was your past; I’m your now. And I will continue to be yours in the future.”
She was his. For now and always. He lifted a hand to squeeze her hand into his chest.
“I gotta say, I do think she’s an incredible bitch.” Madison gave him a squeeze and added, “If I were a violent person, I would have slapped her.”
Grinning, Adam started the bike, and they entered traffic. He had no destination in mind, he just wanted to ride. They headed out of the city, off the interstate and onto a lonelier highway. From the way Madison’s body molded against his and her hands explored his chest and belly and eventually the thickening length of his cock, she was obviously more relaxed on the bike now than when they’d left the airport. Maybe the leather actually had fortified her bravery. She was always hesitant to try new things, but once she let go of her natural reserve, she enjoyed their adventures together. But if she kept teasing him through his pants like that, there was no way they’d make it to the hotel before he had to get her naked and add “fucking on a motorcycle” to their list of adventures.
Adam’s cellphone buzzed in his pocket. Seeing that the only person he cared to talk to at the moment had her hand in a most compromising position, Adam ignored the text. Besides, he was driving. He couldn’t very well check his messages. A minute later the phone buzzed again. And again a few seconds later. He decided it must be an emergency if someone was so insistent. He pulled off the main road onto a side street and eased to a halt beneath an enormous oak tree. The shade might offer a bit of relief from the relentless heat and humidity, since they no longer had the cooling breeze of their ride to make wearing leather in June bearable. Madison unzipped her jacket almost at once and began fanning her throat with one hand. Her other remained in his lap.