Even though I made more of an effort this morning than I normally do to get ready for work, you know, just in case, I wish I would’ve tried a little harder.

Surgery was just a garden-variety severed finger, we see a lot of that around here with the factory industry being so big, but as I change into my skinny jeans and black t-shirt, I notice I could use a little bit of spackle on the old barn. The circles under my eyes are darker than ever.

Who am I kidding? I haven’t even been out on a date with this guy, and he’s already seen me all sorts of ugly. Now that I think about it, he’s never seen me on a pretty day. Maybe nailing a surgeon is some sort of bucket list thing for him.

I don’t care. I will gladly sacrifice myself to that greater good if it means getting a chance to run my hands over those abs while I let him play doctor with me.

It’s almost dark, and the September air is chilly, even with a sweater. This is my favorite time of year. Time for the colorful bittersweet purge about to hit.

He’s waiting in the parking lot, leaned up against his blacked-out bike, and I have to peel my jaw off the ground. His dark hair, dark eyes, dark beard, the way he smirks the second I catch his eye, everything about him, from his motorcycle to his leather jacket, screams “I’m good at fucking,” and then there’s me, strolling along in my granny cardigan looking like I’m here to bake some cookies for the big bad wolf.

“You been waiting long?” I try to act casual as I approach him, but I know I probably sound like a stuttering fool.

“Here,” he says, as he unzips his jacket and hands it to me, exposing his perfectly tight t-shirt stretched just right across his hard pecs. “You’ll freeze.”

“What about you?” I ask. He just shrugs, passing it over to me.

“Take this,” he says, offering me a helmet.

I just stand there staring. I’ve never rode on a motorcycle before, and the reality sinks in that I have no idea where this man is going to take me. Maybe I let him put his tongue in my mouth, but he’s still a stranger. A super sexy stranger.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I assure him.

“Are you scared?”

“No.” I put the helmet on my head. I’m not scared. I’m just overwhelmed. I know that nothing about this is a good idea, and yet, I’m like a moth to a flame. “Can we get out of here?”

I have no clue who might be watching, who might walk out and see, but I’ve already done enough in terms of overstepping my boundaries between doctor and patient and I am sure seeing me get on a bike with his brother will make for some great gossip amongst the nurses. He fires up the motorcycle, and the low rumble of the engine makes me jump.

“You’ve never ridden before, have you?” He smiles, as if I was offering him my virginity on a silver platter. It’s way too late for that, but maybe in his world, this is just as good.

I shake my head.

“You just hold on, Sloan. I promise I won’t hurt you.” He plants a kiss square on my lips before pulling down the visor cover on my helmet and straddles the bike.

I slide on behind him, the rumbling between my thighs setting off fireworks in my head. Now I get it. He grabs my hands and wraps them around his waist, and I’m pressed up against his body tight. We fit together like two puzzle pieces.

Any concerns I had begin to melt away as he pulls out of the parking lot. It feels so right, so utterly satisfying, like there’s no one else in the world but the two of us. He catches my gaze in the side mirror and shoots me a wink. I’m done. I want to say it’s better than sex, but I’ve yet to do that with Gavin, and I have a feeling that if this is foreplay, I’m probably going to die from orgasm overdose tonight.

I turn down the long dirt road that leads to the camp. I could stay like this forever with her, her body wrapped around me, out in the open air. It just feels so right. For the first time in my life, I found a perfect fit for the back of my bike.

We pull into the garage, and as she hops off the motorcycle and pulls off her helmet, her smile stretches from ear to ear.

“You were so chicken,” I laugh. “Look at you now.”

She’s so sexy standing there in my jacket, her face bright red. It takes everything in me not to rip that jacket right off of her, along with the rest of her clothes.

“Well, I did just basically sew your brother’s leg back on.” She giggles. “I don’t know if you guys learned to ride from the same person or what.”

I take the helmet from her and give her a little peck on the lips.

“Let’s go inside. Did you have dinner yet?”

I want nothing more than to sink my teeth into her right now, but I’m going to work the long game. She’s looking at me like she’s confused or something.

“What? Do you not believe in food or something?” I tease. I know exactly what buttons I’m pushing, and by the time I get her naked, she’s going to be begging for it like a fish out of water, flopping around at my feet. I run my hand up the back of her shirt and she jumps two feet in the air. “Or is there something else on your mind?”

It’s the oldest trick in the book. Throw a chick on your bike and watch the magic happen. I’m watching her squirm in front of me, watching her try to be polite, professional, or whatever the fuck show she feels like she needs to put on, but her body language isn’t letting her hide. I know her pussy is probably on fire right now, and as badly as I want to bury my face in her sweet folds, I’m gonna let her marinate for a little bit.

“No.” She smiles. “I haven’t had dinner yet.”

I know exactly what she expected to happen. She thought I was going to drag her to bed by her ponytail like some sort of caveman and screw her brains out all night long. It’s probably what she wanted, too.

That’s too easy for me, though. It’s too easy for us. It’s not the story I want her to remember—that I’m distracting her with my dick while my dad breaks my brother out of the hospital.

It’s definitely going to happen, but I’m going to make her work for it. My cock is about to blow a hole in my pants, thanks to spending the last half hour with her arms wrapped around me, but she doesn’t need to know that yet.

We walk inside the one-room log cabin. There’s an efficiency kitchen, a fireplace, and a closed-off bathroom, but the majority of the room is taken up with a king-size bed. My grandpa built this place so he could be close to town in case of emergency situations. It still serves its purpose to this day.

“Wow, this is beautiful.” She sighs, running her hand over the woodwork on the walls. “I would happily trade in my apartment for a place like this.”

If she thinks this camp is great, she’s going to love the farmhouse. It’s something as little as that that makes me even more into her. The fact that I can see her living there too.

“I’m sorry,” I say, opening the fridge. “We keep it pretty sparse, but Eunice baked us a lasagna before she left. You want beer, whiskey, or wine?”

“Eunice?” she asks curiously. “You have quite the harem going, Gavin.”

“Hey, she’s old enough to be my grandmother and the woman knows how to cook. The least I can do is slip her the d every once in a while.”

“Well, I couldn’t tell you the last time I sat down and ate a home-cooked meal, so thank you for taking one for the team.”

I pull the pan out of the stove and slip it into the oven.

“You know I’m just kidding, right? She’s a family friend and our cleaning lady.” It’s obvious I’m not a saint. I definitely have a track record, but ever since the day I met Sloan, I’ve been doing whatever it takes to lock that part of me far far away.

I’m trying my best, but I can’t keep my hands off her. I let my fingers trace down the small of her back, resting right above her perfect perky ass. An ass I can’t wait to see in all its glory.

“You got anywhere else to be tonight?” I ask, pulling a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet. I grab two glasses and drop in some ice cubes.

“It depends,” she says, taking a long swig directly from the bottle in my hand. “Did you bring me out here for pasta and drinks with your gal pal, or are we going to finish what we started?” The pouty look on her face is cute as hell, and her frustration is coming to a boil.

“Can’t a guy just be nice anymore?” I breathe into her ear, the smell of her shampoo driving me wild.

“You’re not being nice,” she hisses. “You’re being a tease.”

Well, that took a lot less effort than I had initially expected. Apparently Eunice and Heat were wrong. Sloan’s not trying to get wined and dined. She’s trying to get on my dick.

This girl is full of surprises, and I don’t exactly hate it.“I just assumed you were the mountain man charm kind of woman, Sloan,” I laugh, cupping her ass, squeezing it firmly in my hand as I pull her closer to me.

“Yeah, well, you overestimate me,” she says in a low deep voice. “I just assumed you were the rip-my-clothes-off-and-fuck-me-stupid kind of man.” She’s running her hands up my chest, biting her lip.

“Well, you underestimate me, girl,” I say, tugging on her ponytail until she’s staring me right in the eyes, a mixture of intrigue and apprehension behind those beautiful brown orbs. “I like to play with my prey a little bit before I go in for the kill.”