Bike Curious (Black Phoenix MC) (2 page)

“You like it?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, it is amazing. Was this always here?”

He chuckled. “You don’t get out much do you?”

“Well, nature never held much allure for me,” I admitted.

“You just haven’t experienced it enough.” He sped up and turned off the road and into one of the fields or meadows or whatever it was called. Regardless, it was a large open space of grass or something.
Wow. I really don’t know much.
Suddenly, he stopped the bike.

“What? Where are we going? Why are we stopping?”

He almost seemed to glow under the strange brightness of the full moon. “Just trust me.”

I started to protest, but he would just argue that he had saved my life; so, why would he wish to jeopardize that now? I would not have a reasonable answer to that question, so I just let it go.

He took my hand naturally, almost like this was something that happened every day, without a thought. The small, innocent contact sent a thrill through me.

“Do you bring all your girls out here?” I asked, trying to sound playful and not demanding or jealous.

“Only the rich ones who apparently have never seen a tree before,” he teased. At least, I hoped he was teasing.

He was leading me somewhere; but, of course, I had absolutely no idea where. The complete lack of knowing was starting to get a little old to be perfectly honest; but, at the same time, it was endlessly exciting.

How could I be feeling so many emotions all at once?
I pressed all those thoughts out of my head, as I followed him to the top of a hill. There, I could see the entire city and the surrounding countryside spread out below me.

“Wow,” I breathed, lowering myself carefully to the ground. “Just wow.” 

The lights of the city and of the sky seemed to almost blend together, bathed in an almost eerie glow. I looked up at the moon. I never knew it could be so bright. In the city, I couldn’t see the stars, and the lights of the streetlamps obscured the brightness of the moon. I turned to him and asked, “Why did you bring me up here?”

“Because it is one of my favorite places. The lights just turn the whole city into something else. Kind of hides the evil lurking in it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you part of that?”

He laughed. “There is so much you don’t know, little princess.” He reached out a hand to me, and I ducked to the side. “What?” he asked.

“Well, let’s look at the facts real fast.” I ticked off things on my fingers as I listed them. “First, you were participating in a robbery, which I realize you saved me from, but still, you were there. You are most likely part of that motorcycle gang or something. Second, you left me in this suspended state of anxiety and fear for what my
payment
to you was going to be. Third, you snuck up to my window in the middle of the night and swept me out to the middle of nowhere. Why exactly should I trust you?”

“You shouldn’t. But, you do. We both know that’s true, so don’t try to deny it.”

I glared at him, but I knew it was all far too true. I cursed my father for not letting me get more experience in this particular aspect of life. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so horrifically transparent.

“You aren’t completely innocent in this. You brought me out here,” I said.

He looked down, avoiding my gaze. My shot in the dark appeared to be quite accurate. I pressed my advantage, stepping closer to him. “So, why did you really save me that day? Why are we really here?”

He turned toward me. “Because you’re the princess in the tower. I’m here to rescue you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

I took a step back, putting a hand to my mouth in shock. “What?”

“Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“I guess so. It isn’t something I’m really directly familiar with.”

Words and feelings bubbled up inside of me. All of it was terrifying and weird and confusing. I want to fling myself headlong into the sensation, but also run away from it as fast as I could. It was all dreadfully bewildering and sudden and unexpected.

What was I supposed to do now?
My frame of reference for these sorts of things was stories, mainly rom coms. Quickly the choice was taken from me, as he grabbed me around the waist and kissed me. Surprised, I didn’t react at first, and he pulled away.

“I’m sorry, really so-“

I cut him off, kissing him back. I never kissed anyone before and the sensation was…indescribable. My heart started racing, and my mind exploded with emotions and feelings. I felt like I was drowning in the feel of his lips, breath, and tongue.

I pulled away, breathless and smiled up at him. He grinned and kissed me on the forehead. “Have I woken the princess? Broken the spell?”

I grinned. “Maybe.”

***

The days pressed on. I snuck out almost every night to go see Danny. He would drive me all over the city and outside of it, showing me all these things I never even imagined existed outside of movies, TV, and books. I told him everything about me, amazed at how he listened and cared and heard. I lived in a cloud of happiness and joy.

For once I was grateful for my father’s distance. As long as I showed up for our scheduled times together – an hour a day – he didn’t know a single thing was different in my life. If he did, he didn’t comment. Part of me wanted him to see what was going on and do something, say something; but, then it would all be dramatic and ruined. I was living my own little fairy tale, and I didn’t need the villain disrupting all of it. I didn’t tell anyone about my secret knight, letting me experience a freedom I didn’t even know was possible.

I heard the familiar tap on my door, unlocked it, and stepped out. I had gotten skilled at riding on the back of his motorcycle and felt comfortable enough to wear one of my summer dresses. This particular one was made of mint green satin with tiny chevron checks across it. The fabric barely felt like a breath on my skin, so smooth and luxurious. I wore his leather jacket over it and black flats. I had gotten used to our treks outside and wasn’t going to risk anymore of fancy shoes in the dirt.

The moon was full again. As soon as we were outside town, I again felt the beautiful glow of a clear, full moon night. The magical feeling swept across me, as I tightened my grip around his waist. His hand went to my exposed knee and drew his fingers across my skin. I pushed his hand away, his fingers tickling me.

He chuckled and swerved off the road, heading back toward the hill where he kissed me the first time. I let my hands fall down toward his thighs. I had hinted to him that tonight might be a new step in our relationship. I was still a virgin, but I didn’t want to stay that way much longer. I could feel him tense, and I moved my hands away, a little scared of what could happen.

He stopped at the bottom of the hill and helped me off his bike. Then, he took my hand in his, squeezing it quickly as we set off up the hill.

“How has your day been?” he asked.

“Oh, you know. The same old, same old. Doing rich princess things, like shopping, riding in expensive cars in overprices clothes, and having hair deemed unacceptable by society removed.”

Although I had always been slightly skeptical of my own wealth and lack of useful skills or talents, my time with Danny made me even more credulous of how I lived my life. He had a job and worked forty-some hours a week detailing cars. I wasn’t entirely clear what that was, but he seemed to enjoy it. I had never worked an hour in my life. That just made him laugh at me. 

We reached the top of the hill, and, yet again, my breath was taken away by the beauty of the lights spread out before me, surrounding me on all sides. Beauty was above, all around, and below. Tonight, the lights in his eyes were more compelling than anything else.

I lay down on the grass and pointed to a cluster of stars, as I said, “There’s Sagittarius.”

He lay down next to me. “Where?”

I drew the lines connecting the stars in the sky. “There. Do you see?”

“I think so.”

“And there’s Cygnus, the Swan. And Hercules. And Scorpius.”

“So wait, there are more constellations than the Zodiac?”

I laughed. “Yeah, of course. There are dozens. And that doesn’t even include all the other stars that aren’t part of constellations. Or stars that are part of other galaxies.”

“How do you know so much about stars?”

“Before my mom died, she showed me a lot of them. I was just a little kid, but it stuck with me I guess. Dunno why. I guess it just reminds me of her.”

“How old were you?”

“Eleven. After that, Dad just kinda got distant. I mean he was always a little distant, but after she died it was almost like nothing else mattered, except his work and politics and everything.”

I closed my eyes, pushing those thoughts away. His hand sought mine, and he squeezed it. I squeezed back, trying to express everything I felt for him in that simple gesture. I knew there was more I could do to show him I loved him, but I wasn’t sure how to go about with that. The whole idea scared me more than I wanted to admit. 

He shifted closer to me, his shoulder touching mine, our fingers interlaced. “Do you remember when I first took you out here?”

“Of course I do. It was a month ago, the last full moon, and you kissed me. It was the most magical night of my life.”

He smiled. “For me, as well. I was so nervous and unsure of what was going to happen. Of how you would react. I don’t even know what came over me in those few minutes in the shop, but all of the sudden I knew you were important. I had to do everything I could to make sure no harm came to you. I still feel that way. I would never let anyone hurt you, if it was within my power to stop it.”

I turned to look at him, my hair getting caught in the stiff grass. “Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do! You are special, beyond special. I don’t even know what it is about you, but when I’m around you…I feel different. I feel better. I…I don’t know.” He trailed off.

Danny had a hard time expressing his feelings, especially when they came to me. It was cute. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Then, I kissed him on the lips, delicately at first, and then with more passion. He pulled me closer to him, my upper body resting on his chest, as we fell deeper into the kiss. My hands were pinned underneath me, but his started wandering across my back, leaving goosebump trails of excitement behind him.

He paused on my lower back, just before the threshold of something new, waiting. I pressed deeper into the kiss, giving him permission. Then, his hands were on my ass, touching, caressing, squeezing. I lifted away from him, releasing my hands and straddling him, his hands still cupping my cheeks.

“I…I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Don’t worry. You’re safe.”

“I know.”

His hands trailed along my thighs, mostly bare because my dress was riding up, gently caressing them. I could feel strange sensations coursing through me: warmth, excitement, anticipation, fear, joy… and I wanted to feel more. I didn’t even know why, but my hips started to move, not much, just a little, rocking back and forth over his belt buckle.

He grinned at me, while his hands traced up my sides and under the leather jacket. He slid it off my shoulder, causing it to fall to the ground. The sudden change in temperature made me shiver, or maybe that was just the growing excitement in my body. He raised himself up, shifting me to his lap. His knees provided a sort of back rest, as my legs straddled either side of his torso.

He kissed me again, then started moving his lips down my cheek, toward my ear, then down to my neck. I shivered deliciously, wanting more, more, more. I wasn’t sure what to say or do though, so I just let my body feel these new sensations.