Chapter Seven
Kori glanced at the clock on her phone for what had to be the tenth time in the past twenty minutes. Rebel was seriously late, and her rear end was growing numb from sitting on the rough concrete stoop for the past half hour.
Lateness was something she despised. Looked like that character trait wasn’t inherited from her father.
The distant rumble of motorcycle pipes vibrated through the air. “Finally,” she muttered. As the reverberation grew louder, she rose to her feet and rubbed her sore bottom. Rebel didn’t seem the type to take her anywhere fancy, so she’d donned a pair of jeans and a simple red Harley tank top. Shorts weren’t preferable for riding on the back of a bike, which meant she’d have to suffer through the warm evening in fitted denim.
The bike came into view so she rose and strolled down the driveway. No point in making Rebel come up to her when she was just going to hop on behind him anyway. A tiny ripple of unease crawled up her spine. This would be the first time she and her father really had any quality time to bond.
What if they didn’t get along? What if she discovered they didn’t have any common ground? Nothing to connect over? At least she could ask questions about her mother. Find out what she was like twenty-odd years ago. That should fill up a sufficient amount of time. Plus it would quench her thirst for knowledge about her mother’s past. She had so many questions she’d wanted to ask but never did due to her mom’s negative reaction to her past. If she really delved into it, Kori had the feeling her mother regretted her decision to leave Rebel. It would explain why she’d never talked about it. Painful memories were tough to relive.
Sunlight glanced off the chrome in just the right angle, blinding her with the strong reflection. She nudged her sunglasses from her forehead to the bridge of her nose and waited for her father to coast to a stop.
The first thing she noticed when he slowed to a roll was the lack of a President patch on his cut. Whoever the rider was, it wasn’t her father. “What happened to Rebel?” she called out over the roaring bike.
The mystery rider killed the engine and blessed silence graced the neighborhood once again. He dropped the kickstand and leaned back, pulling his helmet off. Lucky’s grinning face filled her field of vision and her mouth dropped open.
Well, that was attractive. Staring at the man with an open mouth, ready to catch any stray bug that happened to be buzzing by.
Not that she cared if she came off attractive to Lucky.
“He can’t make it. Something came up. He sent me instead. Hop on and let’s go get some grub.” His smile was so wide, it looked like he’d just won a million-dollar poker pot.
Not for one second did she believe in this bogus coincidence. “All right, nicely done. What? Did you offer to polish Rebel’s bike every day for the next month to get him to let you come?”
He threw back his head and let out a genuine laugh. The sound ran down her spine and settled between her legs. Great. Just what she needed. A sexy, off limits man who turned her on with just a laugh.
“No, babe, though I gotta admit I thought about it. This really was just dumb luck. Must have something to do with my name.” He winked.
Kori huffed out a sigh. Damn it. She was starving and had been looking forward to a dinner out. “Please, I’ve heard all about how you got your name. Listen, cowboy, you may be used to women falling at your feet, but I’ve told you a number of times. No dates with bikers.”
“Come on. You gotta be hungry.” He gave her a look that was probably as innocent as he could get. On anyone else, it would be positively sinful, but he lived a notch above the rest of the world on the sin-o-meter.
“I’m good.” She spun toward the house just as her traitorous stomach let out an oh-so-appealing growl.
This time Lucky’s laughter grated on her nerves.
“Okay, how about this. I promise to be a perfect gentleman. Nothing beyond some light flirting. No blatant innuendos. No unauthorized touching. No mention of sex.”
Well…she really was famished and had been looking forward to getting out for a few hours. Slowly, she turned back to him. “Completely hands off?”
He nodded and a teasing glint lit his eyes. “Hands one hundred percent to myself. Unless you ask me to put them on you. Ball’s in your court.”
She raised an eyebrow.
A shrug lifted his shoulders. “Hey, I said I’d be a gentleman. Didn’t say I was a martyr.” With another semi-innocent smile, he held out a spare helmet.
Kori’s empty stomach won out and she stepped closer. “Okay, fine.” She grabbed the helmet. “But this is not a date. You did not win anything here. You did not wear me down. I’m just freakin’ hungry.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lucky said, his eyes on her as she secured the helmet. He looked damn good seated astride the powerful machine with the T-shirt under his cut stretched across his wide chest. The idea of sitting with her arms and legs wrapped around him for an unknown period of time was discomfiting. He had an effect on her body and mind that was powerful and went against her sense of self-preservation. It would be impossible to be so close to him and not react.
But she’d damn well try.
“All set,” she said. She placed a hand on his rounded shoulder and forced her fingers to remain stiff instead of prodding the muscles as she so wanted to do. With a quick look to the heavens in search of common sense, she swung her leg over the bike and settled in behind Lucky.
She’d been on a bike a handful of times, but not enough to feel fully secure when the dangerous hunk of metal lurched forward. Without any other options, Kori wrapped her arms around Lucky’s midsection and held on for dear life.
After about ten minutes of trying to hold on while maintaining at least an inch of distance between her front and Lucky’s muscle-corded back, she gave up. Her core strength wasn’t sufficient enough to maintain the position and her trunk sagged against Lucky. That’s what she got for skipping planks in that yoga class at the gym.
It was a poor idea. The press of Lucky’s body against hers was far too warm and solid. Far too comforting, something she’d done without for so long. When was the last time she’d found any comfort in a man’s body? Even more dangerous was the arousal and magnetic pull to him.
It had been too long and that’s what made it so treacherous. Had she been laid recently, had she had a man in her life, she may not have been so tempted. As it was, she had to link her hands together around his waist to keep from trailing them downward and assessing whether he was half as affected by their proximity as she was.
Thankfully the trip only lasted a few minutes more before he pulled into a dirt parking lot and stilled the bike. Even before she got a good look at the small building, the tantalizing smell of spices and cooking meat tickled her senses. Her mouth watered and she could practically taste the food.
“What is this place?” The building was tiny, nondescript, and certainly not on the Vegas strip, which was where she assumed he’d take her to try to impress her with the flash and lights of Vegas nightlife.
“This place—” Lucky let out a groan as he removed his helmet. “This is the best eating in Vegas. It’s a hole in the wall, non-tourist-discovered Tex-Mex joint that makes fajitas so amazing, you could cry. Mmm, I think I may be as hungry as you are.” He winked. “Not to mention, I’ve kept this place my little secret and haven’t shared it with the club, so you won’t have to hang out with bikers tonight. Well, one biker, but I’ve already promised to behave.”
His enthusiasm was infectious and she found herself excited to check the place out. Local eating was her absolute favorite and the fact that he didn’t take her to some showy, flashy establishment on the strip impressed her.
“Okay, let’s do it. It smells fantastic.” She hung the helmet from the handlebar as he did and climbed off the bike, falling in step next to him as they made their way to the entrance. True to his word, Lucky didn’t make any suggestive comments about their ride, didn’t reach for her hand, didn’t sling an arm around her shoulders. He was a perfect gentleman and respected the boundaries she’d demanded.
So why the hell was she so damn disappointed?