B008IJW70G EBOK (11 page)

      “Oh, Riley?”

      She was pleased to hear the lightness back in Sophia’s voice after what they’d spoken about. After hearing of her private heartache. 

      “Yeah?”

      Hunter stopped and turned too. Eyes on Sophia. 

      “Don’t be telling your parents that I let your boyfriend stay over. They’d have you back home in no time.”

      Riley could have crawled into the earth and disappeared. Her entire body was on fire, embarrassment itching across her skin. She turned away from Sophia before she had to answer. 

      “Told you she didn’t mind,” said Hunter, grinning as he bumped into her lightly with his shoulder. 

      If Hunter was right, then at least Sophia would know they hadn’t been up to anything. So long as Hunter’s delicious style of kissing classified as
not up to much
.

      “I have to go, but I’ll see you tonight, okay?” he said.

      She tried to mask her disappointment. The rest of the day without Hunter sounded like hell. 

      “What’s tonight?”

      They walked out side by side, bodies almost touching.

      “Nothing, I thought we could hang out, that’s all.”

      “Can’t we just go be normal? You know, get a burger or something?”

      Hunter grinned at her, elbowing her in the ribs. “You want me to take you on a date?”

      She rolled her eyes, ignoring his touch. “Do I have to spell it out?”

      Riley was starting to think Hunter had rocks in his head. Did he just expect her to agree to pledge the rest of her life to him, without even…

      “How about I pick you up tonight. Take you out for dinner then.” He was smiling now, but the naughty grin was gone, replaced by a more serious Hunter. She almost thought he was less intimidating when he was cheeky. 

      She had a feeling he was trying though. Making an effort for her. And she liked it. 

      “Do you even have a car?”

      That made him laugh. He reached out and touched her arm. She shivered as his fingers skimmed her skin. 

      “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

      He turned to leave her on the porch, but she didn’t take her eyes off him. She couldn’t. It was like some sort of magnetic pull kept dragging her to him, drawing her eyes and her body toward him. 

      “Riley?” Hunter stopped, swivelling so that he started walking away backwards, eyes trained on hers. 

      She waited, eyebrows raised in question. 

      “Don’t wear a skirt.”

      What? “So you’re telling me what to wear now?”

      He shrugged. “Just wear pants.”

      Then he disappeared. Sprinting so fast she thought he was about to burst into leopard form before he had a chance to shed his clothing. 

      Riley jumped as the door banged behind her. Sophia had come back out, hair in its usual thick plait down her back. It was tainted with wisps of grey, but she still looked beautiful. Strong. Far too youthful for a gran, but then she didn’t exactly sit idle. She was strong, in mind and body. It made Riley proud. 

      “You two sure seem to be getting along okay.”

      Riley sighed. “I guess.”

      “I can tell you like him.” That devilish smile was back. “Mind you, he’s not exactly hard to like, is he?”

      Riley flopped down into the swinging chair. She loved the feeling of moving back and forward, as if it might help her see things more clearly. 

      “I just don’t like the idea that my destiny has already been decided. What if I don’t want to be with him, forever? What if I like him just for now?”

      Sophia sat beside her. She nodded, before clasping one of Riley’s hands and tracing circles on it with one finger. 

      “You have the right to refuse him, Riley. No one is going to force you to take him as your partner.”

      “But you know that I will.” She groaned. “That’s what scares me.”

      “I know that he’s right for you, that you’re meant to be together. I knew it the first day I saw him fight. When I first saw the strength and determination within him, but that doesn’t mean you have to be bound to him. Not if you choose not to.”

      Riley thought on that. She understood, but it was just so flawed. How could she say no to him? He was gorgeous, fun, strong, exciting. But was she ready to make a decision now that would be with her until the end of her life? For now and until death do her part or whatever it was she’d have to say?

      “Did your grandparents let saying no be an option?”

      Sophia shook her head. “No, but I’m telling you because I understand. I remember what it was like, and I’m not going to impose anything on you.”

      “We’re going on a date,” Riley admitted. 

      “Ah.” Sophia chuckled. 

      Riley tucked her legs up beneath her and waited for the rest of the answer. She could tell there was more to be said. 

      “You have fun tonight.”

      “I never said it was tonight,” she said.

      “But it is, isn’t it?”

      Riley wished she could keep some thoughts to herself. “How do you know it’s not tomorrow, or the day after?”

      The sound of Sophia’s laughter irritated her. 

      “I’ve seen the way you look at one another. You wouldn’t be able to wait ‘till tomorrow. Just because you’re not sure about lifelong commitment doesn’t mean you’re not sweet on him.”

      Riley scowled, pulled away from Sophia’s grasp and sat on her hands instead. She hadn’t thought her feelings for Hunter would be quite so easy to read.  

      “Promise me that you won’t fight it. If you want to be with him, just,” she paused, “let it happen.”

      They sat there, silent, both swinging on the chair. Riley was confused. She did like Hunter, and she believed Sophia’s words, but she wasn’t used to being told what to do. To have someone else try to work out her destiny. 

      And it was so hard to not have Claudia with her. To talk to, to help her. 

      But she only had to wait until tomorrow. Then she could see her sister, be with her again. She pushed the thought away, not ready to believe it until she saw her with her own eyes. There was weird, but Claudia actually somehow being alive still? That was way weirder than the whole leopard thing.  

      “You might want to wear trousers tonight.”

      Riley’s eyes popped open. “What’s the big deal about me wearing pants?” 

      “You’ll see.”

      This was getting stranger by the minute. 

      
And incredibly annoying. 

CHAPTER TEN

Riley was tempted to wear a miniskirt, just to defy orders. 

      She fidgeted, pacing around the living room, eyes flicking back and forward to the window. He wasn’t even late yet and her nerves were working overtime. If he stood her up, she would die. 

      “He’s coming up the drive,” Sophia called out. 

      Riley hadn’t heard him, but she didn’t doubt Sophia’s senses. She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it, then grabbed her purse. 

      “You want to take a jacket?”

      She shook her head. 

      “Have a good night then.”

      Riley walked back into the kitchen and kissed Sophia on the cheek. “No curfew?”

      Sophia laughed. “No curfew. Hunter will keep you safe. Have fun.”

      That was one benefit to being here. Her parents started worrying every moment she was out after eleven, and Sophia just wanted her to have a good time. With Hunter. No limits. 

      Riley stepped out the door, looking down at her jeans and boots. They were skinny, hugging her legs tight, knee-high boots over the denim maybe a bit too high for an evening out with a boy who only ever wore bare feet. She heard the rumble of an engine and straightened her top. It was warm out, but goose pimples lined her bare arms. 

      The revving become louder, then she saw a light. She wasn’t impressed that he had one headlight out. 

      Then her annoyance caught in her throat like a butterfly captured in a jar. He didn’t have a light out. He had a motorcycle. 

      Hunter skidded to a halt, spraying a fine mist of gravel through the air. He pulled his helmet off and shook his head, running a hand over his barely-there hair. 

      She wasn’t getting on it. Not a chance.
No way
. They were death traps!

      “Hey.”

      His casual hello caught her off guard. She couldn’t say anything, not a word. Her eyes were fixed on their transport. 

      “I see you wore jeans. Good girl.”

      If she wasn’t so stressed out about the contraption he was sitting astride, she would have snarled at him for the good girl comment. She wasn’t his girl yet, and her inner-leopard screamed at being told what to do. 

      “Maybe we should stay in tonight,” she suggested.

      He laughed, before punching down the stand and walking over to her. He gestured grandly at the black and chrome contraption behind him. 

      “Scared of a little motorcycle?”

      It was hardly little. And she wasn’t going to pretend she wasn’t terrified. 

      “My parents would kill me if they knew I was going on a date, on a motorcycle.”

      “So it
is
a date, then?” he asked.

      She avoided his eyes. It was like gold flecks danced through them in the half-light. He looked… wicked. 

      “Here.”

      Hunter took the jacket off his back and threw it to her. She caught it, hand shooting out to clasp it. The worn leather was soft against her palm. 

      “It’ll keep you warm.”

      “I haven’t even said yes to getting on it yet,” she told him. 

      He chuckled. “Would it help if you had a formal introduction?”

      She gave him what she hoped was a glare that showed how pathetic and unimpressed she was with his ride. 

      “This beauty is a Harley Davidson Softail Rocker C.” 

      She tried not to laugh at the serious expression on his face as he ran his hand lovingly over a long piece of chrome. “Best motorcycle on the road as far as I’m concerned. A chromed out, hard core chopper.”

      She had no idea what a chopper was, but as far as death traps went it
was
kind of attractive. In a bad boy kind of way. All tall chrome handlebars and long exhaust pipes from what she could see, but she guessed that’s what appealed to him. 

      “A rocker, huh?”

      His smile told her it was clearly his pride and joy. “Yep, she’s a beauty.”

      Riley giggled. She still didn’t want to get on it, but he clearly adored it. And she guessed that if he loved the thing that much he probably had no intention of getting so much as a scratch on it.

      “Do I at least get a helmet?”

      He walked toward her until he stood less than a foot away. Riley was pleased now that she’d put high heels on. He only had half a head on her height wise now, making him far less intimidating. 

      Hunter smoothed her hair from her face with one hand, then placed his helmet on her head, clipping it beneath her chin. 

      Then he leaned forward and placed a quick, hesitant kiss on her lips, like he wasn’t sure if she was too angry with him to want it. She did, but she was pleased he was unsure. 

      “Perfect.”

      Riley stood, immobile. Hunter took her hand and led her down the steps. Then he jumped on the motorcycle, tanned hands wrapped around the handlebars, his big body looking at home on the gleaming black contraption. 

      Like a leopard with wheels. Only meaner. Fiercer. More menacing. But her feet still wouldn’t move. 

      “Hop on, honey,” he drawled. 

      Riley gulped. Maybe she should just go back inside. Call it a night. Forget they ever had a date planned. 

      She looked back at the house, saw Sophia standing at the window, the blinds pulled as she looked out. 

      Hunter gave her a wave. Riley was sure she could hear the old lady laughing. 

      “Riley?”

      She took the biggest lungful of air she could, slipped into the jacket and then hopped on behind Hunter. 

      “Hold on tight.”

      Oh, she bet he was loving this! Sophia would be laughing all night about her hopping from foot to foot, and Hunter would be roaring inside beneath that smiling face. But she did hold tight, and she had no intention of letting go. Of releasing her grip even an inch. 

      Hunter gunned the machine into life. It felt like an animal beneath them. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and pressed her face against his back. The soft cotton of his T-shirt comforted her, even with the helmet in the way. So did the worn, masculine scent of this jacket as it wafted up to her. 

      Riley wriggled even closer when they slowed at the end of the drive, her hands indented against his firm stomach. She was terrified. But it felt good to be so close to Hunter. To have an excuse to hold on tight and not be allowed to let go. 

      “You okay?” He called back to her. 

      Riley nodded into his jacket and held tighter still. 

      The wind whipped past them as he accelerated and she was thankful for his warm jacket. She tried to relax but couldn’t, not when she was terrified of the way they were travelling. 

      But she did feel safe. 

      It was nice to be able to hold Hunter, to be close to him. She’d ached to touch him, to just
be
with him. And now, without having to explain why, she was able to feel him against her. 

      What she wanted to know was, did he feel the same? Or did he feel duty bound, keen to please Sophia? If there was anything worse than having your destiny planned for you, it was wondering if the man you were supposed to be with didn’t feel the same way you were starting to feel. 

      The motorcycle slowed and then came to a stop. 

      “You can let go now.”

      Oh. She slowly relinquished her grasp on him, feet unsteadily reaching toward the ground. He kept the motorcycle steady while she climbed off, then he put the stand out and jumped off himself.