Page 12 of Dirty

“I need another ride on this motorcycle,” she said. “It’s hard to explain, but it makes me feel--”

“No need to explain,” I said. “I know exactly what you’re trying to say.”

Her eyes lit up. “So, you’ll take me for a ride?”

I nodded. “As long of one as it takes.”

“Be careful what you promise,” she said.

I wasn’t worried. She’d get sick of riding long before I did, that much I was sure of.

FOUR

Lex

Seeing the girls walk away wasn’t easy for either of us. For him, there were too many questions he simply couldn’t answer, and I could see that it frustrated him. For me, watching the them leave was difficult and emotionally exhausting. In the end, having them reunited with their families was very rewarding, yet I found it to be a slightly troubling experience.

I felt like I was losing members of my family.

Sisters I’d never see again.

We dropped off Marbella, and I could see the end of our time together approaching. I produced all the excuses I could summon in support of why I didn’t want to go home, but none of them seemed to work. After a little pleading – begging was more like it – he offered to let me take a shower at his house. Appreciative of not only what he’d done, but of the character he seemed to possess, I sat at his kitchen table and studied him.

He was big, muscular, rough-looking, and covered in tattoos. Most women would simply thank him and leave, but for whatever reason, I needed him to remain close to me for a little bit longer.

I was normally attracted to men like him, but it wasn’t his physical characteristics that lured me. After a few moments, I decided it was his compassionate nature that I found attractive.

After spending a lifetime convinced heroes only existed in books and movies, having real-life one sit in front of me left me a little star struck.

I rested my cheek against my hand and cocked my head to the side. “How old are you?”

The words came out before I could stop them. Obviously, I was more than just a little star struck. I decided it was fine. I wanted to know his age anyway.

Halfway through a sip of his coffee, he lowered the cup and looked at me. “Thirty-one.”

I nodded.

The corner of his mouth curled up. “Why?”

Despite his rough exterior, he was actually kind of cute. I grinned. “Just wondering.”

He returned a nervous look and lifted his cup. “You ready to go when we’re done with these?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“You need to get home,” he said. “Hell, you didn’t even let me call your mom and say you’re alright.”

I shrugged. “I’m not ready yet.”

He leaned forward and rested his tattooed forearms on the edge of the table. “Listen. You’re probably in shock. You need to go home, go to the hospital and get checked out, and then get some rest. We need to finish this coffee and go.”

“You said you’d let me ride for as long as it took to clear my head.” I arched an eyebrow. “It took forever to get everyone dropped off, and we basically rode from your clubhouse to here. I just wanted to get cleaned up. Now I’m ready.”

His brow wrinkled. “Listen. I’m not even going to act like I can imagine what you’ve been through, but I know you can’t just act like it didn’t happen. The club’s President? The guy you said was a dick? His mom works at a place that--”

“I’ll be fine. Really,” I said.

He leaned back and let out a sigh. “When you get home, you’re really going to need--”