Jaci Burton (8 page)

al . He knew what was going to happen between them. It was

just a matter of time, and hopeful y some finesse on his part.

She came out of the room just as he approached her door,

looking fresh and pink-cheeked and wel rested, though as

late as they’d finished up last night and as early as it was now,

she couldn’t have gotten much more sleep than he had.

“Tired?” he asked.

Her cheeks darkened. “A little.”

“You could have slept in.”

“You would have woke me up with your phone cal anyway.”

“Good point.”

They walked down the hal toward the elevator, awkward

silence echoing around them. Rick felt it rise up between them

like a thick, invisible cloud, shattering the ease they’d started

with.

And he knew why.

So when they got to the elevator, he pul ed Ava into his arms

and slammed his mouth down on hers, giving her a kiss that

told her exactly how it was going to be between them.

And damn did she taste good in the morning, al soft and

pliant and breathless against him. She tasted fresh—like

toothpaste, her mouth cool and inviting. She made his dick

hard in record time. He broke the kiss—reluctantly—as the

elevator doors opened.

Her eyes were wide pools of stormy gray, her lips parted in

surprise.

“I had a real y good time talking to you on the phone last

night.”

She swal owed. “So did I.”

He wrapped an arm around her and led her onto the

elevator, and pushed the button. “So don’t go al quiet and

embarrassed on me now. I think we’re past that.”

She tilted her head to look at him, and he couldn’t resist

taking another taste of her lips. She didn’t balk at being

kissed in the elevator, and she didn’t push away when the

doors opened in the lobby. She kissed him back, her hand on

his chest, her body resting against his.

When she stepped back, she smiled.

“Al right?” he asked.

She nodded. “Al right.”

He took her hand and they headed into the coffee shop and

found a table. The waitress came right over and they both

ordered coffee and breakfast. As soon as coffee arrived, Ava

wrapped her hands around the cup and lifted it to her lips,

closed her eyes, and took a drink.

“Oh, God, that’s good.”

Rick watched her, admiring her sensual appreciation of

even the smal est things. He wondered if she realized what

she was doing. “I think you said that last night.”

Her eyes shot open and she blushed. “It was good.”

“I thought so. Not as good as the real thing, though.”

“Maybe we’l get to experience that . . . soon.”

Rick took a long swal ow of coffee. “Definitely soon.”

By the time the waitress brought their breakfast, Bo and

Lacey had come into the restaurant. Ava waved and Lacey

dragged Bo over.

“Girl, you look as tired as me,” Lacey said as she pul ed up

a chair and turned over her coffee cup for the waitress. Lacey

slid her glance from Rick back to Ava. “So, you and Rick hit it

off wel enough to stay up late last night?”

“We . . . talked for a while before we went to sleep.”

“Talked? That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Rick added.

Bo shook his head. “Man, you’re gettin’ rusty.”

Ava hid her smile behind her coffee cup, then quieted while

Lacey whispered to her.

Rick was going to do a little listening in on their

conversation, but Bo yanked on his jacket.

“Hey, while the ladies are gossiping on the other side of the

table, I wanted to let you know that your background checked

out.”

Rick leaned back in his chair and put on a knowing grin.

“Was there any doubt?”

“Not real y, but I have to be careful about who I trust with

Hel raiser secrets, ya know.”

“I understand. So now that you know I’m legit, what kind of

secrets are you going to let me in on?”

“Wel , none yet,” Bo said with a sly smile. “But trust me,

there’s plenty going on.”

Dammit. Rick wanted to know what and he wanted to know

it al now. But he had to play it cool or his cousin would be

suspicious. “Anything up my al ey?”

“Maybe. I saw you did a little time for possession.”

“Yeah.”

“Joy drugs or business?”

“I don’t do drugs, man. I like to keep a clear head. There’s

more money in sel ing them. Costs money to take them.”

Bo nodded. “Good for you to fol ow the money. Better to

earn it than to spend it.”

“You got that right.”

“Then maybe I’l have some work for you.”

“Good. I don’t like to lay low for too long. Makes me itchy.”

“I always knew you’d be good for my business, Rick.” Bo

slapped him on the back. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks.” Now Rick was even more curious about what kind

of
business
his cousin was involved in. But he couldn’t push

Bo or he’d get suspicious. He’d just have to ride, relax, and

wait for Bo to come to him.

Which hopeful y wouldn’t be long. If his cousin real y was

heavily involved in the drug trade, there was always something

going down. Especial y at an event like bike week, where

deals could be made by the hour.

Yeah, Rick expected to be useful before the end of the day

today.

And that meant he might have to juggle undercover drug

work with Bo, and handling Ava.

The assignment had just gotten a lot more interesting.

Riding on the back of a motorcycle gave Ava a lot of time to

think. It was sweet mindlessness, the kind that required no

concentration.

She enjoyed it, because she had a lot to think about, mainly

having to do with Lacey. Okay, not so much about Lacey. More

about the tal , leather-clad biker who rode the bike she was

sitting on.

She sighed and felt just a little foolish and lovesick.

The kiss Rick had given her in the elevator this morning had

shaken Ava to the core. But it had also relaxed her. While Rick

hadn’t exactly said how things were between them, the kiss

was an unspoken bond, his way of saying there was definitely

more between them than one-time phone sex.

Not that she’d been at al worried about it. After al , if that’s

al they’d shared, she would have just chalked it up to a new

and unique experience and moved on.

Moved on to what, exactly, she didn’t know, but she was

here to spend time with Lacey. Though doing that was proving

difficult since Lacey seemed to spend most of her time with

Bo, either plastered right next to his side or on the back of his

bike. Which gave Ava more free time than she’d expected.

Fortunately, Rick seemed to want to spend his free time

with her. And she couldn’t complain about that. The more time

she spent with Rick, the more she could find out about the

Hel raisers—and about his cousin, Bo. So being with Rick

served a useful purpose.

Like making her breathless, hot, turned on, and quivery. She

wondered if al bikers had this kind of effect on their women,

or if it was just Rick and the fact she wasn’t exactly the most

experienced in the men department?

Surely it wasn’t just her. After al , Lacey certainly seemed

entranced by everything Bo. So maybe it was the whole biker

mystique. She supposed at the end of this week she’d have it

figured out.

Maybe.

Rick didn’t seem to be the kind of guy any girl could figure

out. He was chivalrous and kind and at the same time

mysterious and aloof. And oh so sexy. Like the kind of guy

every girl had a crush on in high school. The bad boy kind of

guy, the one you wanted to redeem with your love.

But was he real y bad? She didn’t know the answer to that.

There were a lot of things she didn’t know the answer to.

Maybe she should start thinking with her head instead of the

other parts of her anatomy that had seemed to take

prevalence since she’d met Rick.

Or maybe she should have sex with Rick, get that out of the

way, and then she could start thinking with her head.

She liked the latter idea a lot better.

They’d taken a long ride in the desert after breakfast, and

the view in the daylight had been breathtaking, nothing at al

like the blind ride in the dark last night.

She’d lived in Las Vegas her entire life, had ridden through

the desert hundreds of times, but there was something about

being exposed to it from a motorcycle point of view, where the

air whipped in your face and you could see everything more

clearly because you weren’t bound by glass and metal on al

four sides. This way made her
see
it for the very first time.

The desert was burnished copper and sage and golden

sunlight, a cascade of color that painted the landscape of this

place she cal ed home—a place she’d taken for granted and

had never appreciated for its awesome beauty until now.

Maybe it was because on the bike she wasn’t just seeing—al

her other senses were in play, too—the smel of the earth rose

up to meet her, the sound of a hundred motorcycles seeming

to wake the desert’s primal beauty and put on a spectacular

show. Whenever they slowed down, Ava would spot lizards or

other creatures hiding among the tal rocks. Soaring birds

overhead seemingly kept pace with the Hel raisers.

They rode for over two hours, and it was exhilarating. She’d

never enjoyed seeing the desert more.

They stopped at Joey’s house again. This time Ava could

see it in the light. It was a huge place, two stories with a

wraparound porch on both the top and bottom floors. Behind

the house was a barn and several sheds. And he had horses.

Ava climbed off the bike and immediately headed over to

the fence to watch the horses that had gathered around the

shaded areas. At least there were plenty of trees to shield the

horses from the blistering desert heat.

“You like horses?”

She nodded at Rick. “I rode when I was younger. My dad

used to take me to this place that would give rides. I even took

lessons. I wanted to own a horse ranch.”

“You did?”

She laid her arms on the top post and rested her chin on

top of them. “Yes. A child’s dream, of course.”

“Why did it have to be a child’s dream?”

“I don’t know. Just not feasible, I suppose.”

“Anything’s doable, Ava. You just have to want it, then work

for it.”

She turned her head to the side. “Other dreams replaced

that one.”

“Like becoming a social worker.”

“Yes.”

“When was the last time you saddled up and rode?”

“Oh, I haven’t ridden in years.”

“Let’s fix that.” He walked away and Ava turned around, not

sure what he meant by that.

Until he flagged down Joey. The two of them talked and

Rick motioned to the horses, then to her. Joey nodded.

Oh, no. He hadn’t.

But when he came toward her with a grin on his face, she

was afraid he had.

“Let’s saddle up.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure. You want to ride, don’t you?”

“Uh, I guess so. But real y, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Sure I did. Come on.”

She fol owed him toward the barn. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Joey said the horses need to be ridden. He said we’d be

doing him a favor by taking a couple out.”

There were already a couple horses near the barn, and they

were very tame, came over wil ingly when Rick cal ed them.

Ava couldn’t resist drawing closer to one, a chestnut mare

with a white star-shaped mark above her eyes. She was

simply gorgeous. Ava lifted her hand to the mare’s muzzle and

let her get a whiff of her scent so she’d get used to her.

“She likes you,” Rick said as he came over with a saddle.

“You want to ride that one?”

“Yes.” She went to take the saddle from Rick. “Here, let me