The wind whipped her hair around as the bike wove through the country roads outside of town.

Kaylie knew something was up. Devlin had shown up tonight as if nothing had happened between them. He seemed tense, and offered no explanation for staying away the night before.

She decided not to ask. She told herself that he was here now. It was most likely that whatever was bothering him had nothing to do with her, or he'd resolved it on his own.

Kaylie felt silly for having cried herself to sleep the night before. It wasn’t like they were married and he hadn’t come home. They’d barely started dating, though he had told her he considered her his ‘old lady.’

From what she understood, that was more than going steady. It was more like being married, not just to him either.

It was almost like being married to the club. To the lifestyle. It meant she was one of them.

It might have only been a week that they'd spent together, but Kaylie had been observing Devlin covertly for the past few years. At least when he came into the diner anyway. So she knew when he was preoccupied, or relaxed.

For the most part, Devlin was always pretty relaxed.

Apparently, he'd been observing her too. Everywhere she went. He knew things about her that surprised her, like who her friends were and what her favorite subject was at school. He had eyes everywhere and he’d been using them to watch her.

Well, she thought it was only fair she got to know him too.

She knew he was fiercely independent and tended to do things on his own, though always with the club at his back. She was already attuned to his mood shifts.

He wasn't a talker and he wasn’t quick to laugh. That didn’t mean he was morose, even after what had happened to his family. His emotions ran deep, particularly where his brother and family were concerned.

They ran deep when it came to her too. This wasn’t a game to him. Kaylie realized that he wouldn’t let her go easily, even if she’d wanted him to.

Thankfully, that was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to get closer. As quickly as possible. And with as little clothing as possible too.

He was definitely still worried about something, she could tell. It was obvious from the moment he arrived to pick her up. She had hurried out to the bike and slid her arms around his neck. He smiled and kissed her before pulling her onto the bike. He was in a hurry to leave.

They were off and running the moment she had her arms around his waist. As usual he didn't tell her where they were going. And as usual, she didn't mind.

Judging from this week, she'd been taken to scenic spots and a few bar-b-q's, even one home cooked meal at his Aunt Edna's house. His folks were gone so she knew it was the equivalent of meeting the parents.

Edna and the club were the only family he had. Jack and Donnie were like brothers to him. She squeezed him a little tighter.

Now, he had her too.

Things were moving fast. Really fast. Kaylie was surprised that she didn't mind. In fact, she wanted to go faster.

Dating a biker was bringing out all sorts of surprising personality traits in her.

No, that wasn’t right. They weren't dating. It was more than that. They'd skipped all the courtship, although she supposed he'd been courting in his own way by looking out for her and coming into Mae's.

They weren't dating. They were together.

The thought sent a warm feeling shooting through her insides. She knew she was in danger of falling in love, for real. It was scary.

It wasn't that she didn't trust him. She did, she trusted him implicitly in fact. But it was too soon. She was afraid that she'd make a fool of herself or say something she couldn't take back. He stole all thought from her when he was touching her. And he'd been touching her a lot more lately…

She sighed and looked out at the woods as they raced past. They'd never gone this way before. He was taking the road toward Heller Mountain. She snuggled into his back and promised herself to keep her mouth shut, no matter how dizzy his kisses made her.

At all costs, she had to keep from saying something stupid. Like the ‘l’ word. She knew it was right there, right on the tip of her tongue.

She just couldn’t say it.

Bikers didn't care about love anyway. He might want her close at hand but she couldn't imagine him professing his love for her. That could ruin everything.

Neither one of them were much for words. It was one of the reasons they were so well suited. Telling him that she loved him would only change things, and that was the last thing she wanted.

As of right now, everything was perfect. Maybe he'd tell her what was bothering him tonight. But if he didn't, she wouldn't ask. She couldn't risk it.

She was just going to go along, and see where the night took her.