I want to see him.

I’m pacing across my room, sick of being held up in this space, not being able to go anywhere or do anything. I’m tired of spending all my time on the bus or in a hotel. Surely, I can slip out for a few hours? Susan has gone to do some shopping, and I’m frustrated. I can’t go with her; the second I walk down the street people bombard me. And sure, I can cover up enough, and most of the time they will allow me out when I’m wearing the right kind of disguise, and it usually always works, but right now they don’t want me out at all.

Because of Trey.

Damn him.

I pick up my phone and text Maverick.

S – Are you busy?

He responds a minute later.

M – Just having a beer. Why?

S – Want to sneak me out for a ride? I’m restless!

It takes him a bit to respond, but he finally does.

M – Where are you staying?

I give him the address, and he tells me he’ll be past in ten. Happiness floods my chest. I swore I wouldn’t have too much one on one time with him, but dammit, he’s the only person I know that can get me out of this damned space for a little while and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t really really want to see him. Ever since I told him about Trey, we haven’t had a good deal of time together. In fact, I’d almost say he has been avoiding me, so I’m thrilled to see he’s willing to take me out.

I dress in a pair of jeans and a tank, then I grab a coat to pull over my shoulders, and a big floppy hat and sunglasses. That usually does the trick. Most people don’t tend to even look that closely. It’s only if I stop for some food, or try to eat out or go into a really crowded place like a mall that people tend to recognize me. I grab my phone, and then I rush out of my hotel room and down into the lobby. Security is standing in the front lobby, watching anyone that comes in or out.

Dammit.

I forgot about them.

I peer around and notice an emergency exit at the back of the hall. You’re not really supposed to use those, and I’m fairly certain they get an alert when you push the door open. Will it set off an alarm? The elevator dings open, and a family comes out. There are six of them, two parents, four kids ranging from maybe six to about fourteen. I could blend with them.

It’s worth the risk.

I take off my hat and sunglasses and approach them.

The oldest girl, a teenager, turns a funny shade of white and her hands press to her mouth.

“Please don’t scream!” I smile. “Hi, how are you?”

“Oh, my god.” The girl laughs. “Am I dreaming?”

“You’re absolutely not.”

“Can I get your autograph, please?”

I smile at the girl’s parents, and they nod, encouragingly. The other three kids kind of just stare at me, mouths agape. The teenaged girl hands me her pool bag and a pen, and I sign it. “Listen, I can do you one better and have concert tickets delivered to your room for my concert in Seattle tomorrow night if you can make it?”

“Oh, my god!” the girl squeals. “Mom? Dad?”

“We’re headed up that way tomorrow on our vacation! That would be amazing,” the mother says. “Thank you so much.”

“What room are you in? I’ll have them sent right over this afternoon?”

They give me their room number, and then I go in, praying they’ll play along with me.

“I kind of need a little favor from you, too, if you don’t mind?” I ask, giving them my best smile.

The mother laughs, thrilled. “Anything.”

“Any chance I can kind of blend in with you guys and walk out of the hotel with you? I have security out there, and I’m tired of sitting in this room and want to explode a little. Would you mind?”

“Of course not!” The teenage girl giggles.

“Happy to oblige.” The dad grins.

“Thank you so much!”

I put my hat and sunglasses back on, but the girl stops me and swaps out my hat for hers. “They’re probably going to suspect you in this. Wear mine, oh, and here, hold my bag!”

I take her pool bag, put her hat on, and then stand next to her dad and her, with the two kids walking in front of me, and we all make our way out toward the lobby. The dad mostly shields me, so when security looks over, they only do it briefly and then carry on. My heart swells with happiness as we step out the front doors. When we are down the street just a bit and out of sight, I turn and swap hats with the girl, handing her the pool bag back.

“Thank ya’ll so much! Those tickets will be with you this afternoon!”

I hug them all and leave them beaming and chattering like the happiest people in the world. I stand by a tall building and wait for Maverick. He arrives a little over five minutes later, and pulls up, staring right at me. I guess my disguise isn’t all that good when you’re looking out for it.

“Nice disguise,” he says with a chuckle, getting off his bike.

“Yeah?” I grin. “You think anyone will noticed me?”

“No, but I think you’ll blow off the back of my bike with that fuckin’ hat. Here.”

He takes a helmet from this big compartment he has hanging off either side of the back seat and brings it over to me. “Hat off,” he orders.

I take the hat off and he holds it, handing me the helmet. I pull it on and grin up at him. “Does it look as nice as that big hat or ...?”

He snorts. “Not by a long shot. C’mon, darlin’. Let’s ride.”

He stuffs my hat into the compartment, and then we climb on the bike. Excited anticipation rips through me as we get ready to hit the open road, nothing to hold us back. I can’t wait to feel the wind hitting me and how incredibly awesome it is to press my body against his as we ride.

“Ready?” he yells when the bike rumbles to life.

“Ready!”

He pulls out onto the road and hits the gas. I scream in happy delight as we take off, merging into the traffic. I have no idea where we’re going, hell, I don’t even care. I’m just happy to be here, with him. He rolls down the highway for a while and then pulls off onto a long, narrow road where we go past some old buildings. I’ve never been to Salem, but the city does have an eerie feel when you roll through it. We stop at a massive lake that seems to go for miles. He finds a quiet area and stops his bike.

“This is beautiful,” I breathe. “What’s this place called?”

“No idea darlin’, just googled nearby lakes.”

“Didn’t think bikers new how to use Google,” I tease.

He grins at me, and it’s feral and incredibly sexy.

I giggle. “Thanks for getting me and taking me out, I appreciate it.”

He shrugs. “My pleasure. How is everythin’ goin’? You heard anythin’ more from your ex?”

I shake my head. “No, just that once. I’m not sure what it was about. It’s making me anxious, like I’m just waiting for him to pop up and for something to happen.”

“Yeah,” Maverick mutters. “Well, we will have eyes on you from tomorrow, so if he shows up, we’ll see him.”

“Thank you, honestly, I know you and your club probably have more important things to worry about then watching me.”

He doesn’t say much, but I could swear his jaw jumps just a little. Is he hiding something from me?

Don’t be ridiculous.

I’m reading too much into it, again.

“Was that girl on the bus with you the piano player?” he asks, changing the subject.

“Yeah, that was Amalie.”

“Very beautiful girl.”

Jealousy thumps into my chest, unexpected and rather confusing. Gosh, I never used to get jealous when I was with Trey. It’s an almost unfamiliar feeling for me. I bite my lip, because honestly, what the hell? He just said she was beautiful, which she absolutely is, so where did that come from?

“Yeah, she is,” I say.

He must notice something in my voice, because he responds, without looking, “Nothin’ on the beauty you’re carryin’ around, darlin’. Take my breath clean out of my lungs.”

God.

Damn.

“Thank you,” I whisper, because fuck, what else can I say?

That’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

“Want to go for a swim?” he asks, standing and shrugging his jacket off.

My mouth gets dry, and my eyes swing up to him as he takes the hem of his shirt and pulls it up and over his head. The sight before me just about blinds me, it’s that fucking incredible. A tanned, ripped body with biceps and chest muscles bigger than I’ve ever seen on any man. They taper off to a trim, but a well-muscled waist and a six pack to die for. He’s got a mixture of tattoos on his body, running across his chest and down his abs. When he turns around to kick his boots off, I see a tattoo across his back—his club name and an intricate skull and flame design below it, the same one that’s on his jacket.

I can’t force my eyes away, even though I know I should. He is utterly incredible, and terrifying, and dammit, my heart is getting carried away again. I stand without thought and shakily unbutton my jeans, shimmying out of them until I’m in my undies and tank. When I look up, he’s staring down at me, at my legs, and then my panties, and then to my eyes.

The look he’s giving me has everything in my body coming to a permanent stop. It’s hunger, and lust, and god damn this is a bad idea. Before I can do anything more, he leans down, scoops me up, and throws me over his shoulder, then we’re moving at a rapid pace toward the lake. I squeal with laughter and then just squeal when he launches into the air and we hit the cool, crisp water.

It washes over me, and for a moment, I squirm and kick, freezing. When I surface, I’m laughing. He comes up behind me, a huge grin on his face. “That was cruel!” I giggle.

“Only way to do it, babe.”

Babe.

God.

Shit.

Fuck.

I can’t wipe the silly grin off my face and he winks at me before he goes under again. My heart is racing in my chest, and when he comes up, I try not to admire how the water droplets roll over his upper body, or how that hair sticks to his face in the sexiest way. He’s perfection. All around perfection. I clench my legs together and try to will myself to take my eyes off him, but I can’t. I don’t even want to.

“Stop lookin’ at me like that, Scarlett. I’ll kiss you, and we both fuckin’ know I shouldn’t do that.”

I swallow.

Then I lick my lips.

“Fuck,” he mutters, swimming closer.

Instinctually, I swim backward and as he keeps coming, I keep moving backward, because damn, this is dangerous in so many ways. If he gets ahold of me, I won’t be able to stop and that won’t help anyone. I swallow again, my eyes locked on his, and he lunges before I can do anything, catching me around the waist and slamming my tiny body against his. I can feel every hard curve as I’m squashed up against him, including the hard ridge of his cock pressing against my belly.

Fire explodes inside me.

“Maverick,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t ... we shouldn’t ...”

“Fuck what we should and shouldn’t do.”

Then he brings his lips down over mine. For a moment, I’m still in his arms, unable to move or respond. And then, when his scent rolls into my senses and my body takes in the incredible feeling of his lips on mine, I can’t stop myself. I part my lips on a gasp, and his tongue invades. And then I’m kissing him. Deep and long, tongues dancing, lips crushed together. He tastes incredible, a little like beer, a whole lot like man. His hand goes down and cups my ass, and he rocks my body against his, fingers digging into my flesh.

I reach up, curling my fingers into his hair and pulling him closer, even though there is no way he can get any closer to me. I moan at the sensations that rip through my body as he rocks me against him, using my ass to guide his movements. A whimper escapes my lips as the kiss becomes more intense, and for a moment, in my lust filled haze, all I want to do is lift my legs, slide my panties aside, and let him fuck me right here in the lake, deep and hard.

But I can’t do that.

I pull back on a pant and hold his eyes, which are so filled with lust he looks as though he was just having the same thought I was.

I release my hold on his hair and touch my swollen bottom lip. That was, hands down, the best kiss I’ve ever received in my entire life. My body trembles just recalling it. He releases my ass and I swim back just a little, reality slowly setting in. I wasn’t supposed to spend alone time with him, let alone kiss him with that kind of ferocity. I need to be careful. Our worlds will never be able to mesh together. I know this.

I’m setting myself up for a world of hurt.

“I’m really cold,” I say, smiling at him. “Want to get out?”

His eyes are holding mine so intensely and I know he wants to say something, but he doesn’t. Instead, he nods and we swim to the edge of the lake, climbing out. I’m freezing, so I find a spot in the sun and sit down. He joins me, big body dripping and glistening beneath the suns strong rays.

“It’s peaceful out here,” I say softly, deciding talking about the kiss is best avoided.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, voice low and thick, still husky from the kiss.

“Are you looking forward to seeing your club friends?”

He snorts. “Friends. Yeah, darlin’, lookin’ forward to it. My president is comin’.”

“Your brother?” I ask, eyes wide. “Really!”

“Yeah.”

“Can I meet him?” I chirp, and then slam my mouth closed. “I mean, no, sorry ...”

“You’ll see him, no doubt. He’ll be helpin’ watch out for you. Can meet him, if you want. I’m sure he’d like that. He’s a fan.”

I flush. “He’s a fan?”

“Think most of America is, babe.”

Right.

He has a point.

“Well, I’m glad you’ll have your brother with you. That must be good after so long on the road, by yourself.”

“Don’t mind bein’ by myself, to be honest. But it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and after your shows I have to go home, so I guess now is as good a time as any to get back into the swing of things.”

I nod.

He reaches over, cupping my jaw. “Time to go, sweetheart. The sniffer dogs will get let out soon.”

I smile.

But my heart is already sinking.

Because I don’t want to go.

I just want to stay here forever. With him.

And that scares the hell out of me.