Page 26 of Cole (Dirty Misfits MC 4)
I peeked up at him. “Is that bad? Does that ruin things?”
He winked. “Not at all. Here, I’ll help you. It’s really very simple.”
“Says the man with legs at least half as long as mine are.”
He smiled. “It’s got nothing to do with long legs or any of that other shit. You just need to get used to the feeling. Here, I’ll walk around and give you my hand, and you can steady yourself against me while you swing your leg over.”
My cheeks puffed out with a sigh. “Okay, but if I fall over onto the other side, you better catch me.”
He walked around to the opposite side of his bike. “I’d never let you fall, Molly, you can rest easy knowing that.”
My heart came alive in my chest. “Okay, but I’m trusting you with that.”
“It’ll be the best decision you make all day.”
With a giggle and a pep in my step, I took Cole’s hand in mine once more. I felt more out of place than I had in a long time, and the smallest part of me wondered if Cole was used to being with women that knew their way around bikes. That wore skinny jeans, clad themselves in leather, and were tattooed from head to toe. Girls who knew about the world. Girls who didn’t close themselves away from it.
Girls who could hold their own in this kind of a world.
“Now, throw your leg over and I’ll catch it, okay?” he asked.
I blinked. “You’ll catch my leg.”
He nodded. “Yep. I’ll ease it down so you can slide on, then both of my hands will be free to steady you upright on the seat.”
I cleared my throat. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”
I stepped up to the bike and tossed my leg over, but my heel got caught on something. I tried and stumbled, my stomach falling to the seat as I tried to slide my leg over. Cole released my hand, telling me to cling to his leather seat as he helped me stretch my leg over the back so I wouldn’t get my heel caught up again. And after almost five minutes of struggling to get onto the back seat of his bike, he wrapped his arms around me.
Lifting me to an upright position before our faces came so close that I felt his breath pulsating against my lips.
“There,” he said breathlessly, “not so hard, right?”
I swallowed hard as I gazed into his eyes. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
He chuckled as he slid me back a bit. “How’s that? Feeling a bit more secure?”
I sank down softly, and for some reason I almost felt locked-in. “Actually, that does feel better, yes. Thank you.”
He grinned. “You’re very welcome.”
For a moment, his arms didn’t release me. And for a moment, I wished that they wouldn’t. The thought shocked even myself, and I wondered if this was it. I wondered if this was the moment where I finally shook the chains of my past off my wrists and ankles and moved forward in the way I deserved.
But my thoughts fell to the wayside as he released me and effortlessly mounted his bike in front of me.
“All right, wrap your arms around my waist,” Cole said.
I swallowed and did as he asked. “Now, what?”
He cranked up the engine of his bike. “Now, cling to me and hold on. I’ll go slow at first until you feel comfortable. Then, we can kick it up a notch. All right?”
I drew in a deep breath and pressed my cheek to his back. “Okay. Sounds good. I can do this.”
“Yes, Molly, you can. Just hold on tight and don’t let go.”
He backed us out of the parking space and took it slowly through the complex, and I clung to him for dear life. I gripped his worn, brown leather jacket tightly as he slowly picked up speed. We cruised through town, sticking to the roads that were no more than thirty-five miles per hour. And with every block we put behind us, I grew more comfortable
More confident.
Bolder and more brazen.
There’s something he isn’t telling me.
And yet, I didn’t care.
Sure, we were different. We obviously came from different worlds and were raised in different ways and in different places. But that wasn’t a bad thing, right?
Unless what he’s hiding isn’t very nice.
I cursed my mind and what it tried to do to me. Every time I found something good for myself, my brain always tried to interject and spoil it for me. And sure, maybe it was a coping mechanism to try and head off pain at the cross-section before it did much damage, but Cole hadn’t shown me anything but respect.
So, why did my mind have to try and ruin it for me?
As we continued cruising, we slowly got faster. I clung to him tighter and squeezed my thighs around him, trying my best to suck a bit of his strength through his clothes so I could steal it for myself. But once I smelled the salted air of the ocean, I lifted my head from his back and looked around.
