Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (20 page)

My
feet stalled as my body responded to the desire sparking between his body and
mine. I took another step back as my eyes flitted to his feet.

Rafael’s
muscles bunched as he lunged for me.

I
dropped my purse and books and sprinted out of the garage.

He
tackled me in the grass on the other side of my house. He tickled me, then
growled in my ear. “I love it when you run from me, Kristine. It means I get to
do this…” He fit his lips to mine as he drew me into a sweetly seductive kiss.

I
made a half-hearted attempt to get away, then relaxed into his arms. “I like it
when you do that,” I breathed.

Rafael
stood and pulled me to my feet. He tucked me under his arm as we walked back toward
the garage. “Do you want to drive my car tonight?”

 I
brushed grass from my slacks. “No way. Not with Friday night traffic in
Georgetown.”

Rafael
laughed. “Good. Then we’ll take my bike. You don’t mind wearing jeans to the
concert do you?”

“Your
bike?” I squeaked. “Can you even fit two people on that thing?”

He
laughed. “I had it custom built to hold two riders.”

I
eyed him skeptically. “Is it street legal?”

He
shrugged. “That depends on which street you’re talking about.”

Rafael
scooped up my books as I reached for my purse. I eyed the bike nervously. “Okay.
I just need ten minutes to throw on a pair of jeans.”

He
smiled as he handed me the books. “I’ll meet you back down here.”

I
received a text from Kadyn as I made my way upstairs.
Wear tight shorts, a
fitted shirt, and some athletic shoes tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at ten so you
can sleep in.

I
quickly texted him back.
What???

I
watched for his response as I pulled a pair of jeans from my dresser. Finally,
my phone beeped.
Just do it
.

I
rolled my eyes as I texted him back.
You sound like a Nike commercial.

 
See
you at ten
, was his only response.

I
figured I’d get chilled riding on the back of the motorcycle, so I pulled a
black long sleeved shirt and a pair of chunky black boots on with my jeans. It
was pointless to mess with my hair, since we were going to be riding the bike. I
dusted some powder on my face, then added mascara and lip gloss. I sprayed some
Bvlgari Green on, grabbed a jacket, and tromped downstairs.

Rafael
eyed my jacket. “You won’t need that.”

I
looked at my jacket, then glanced back up at Rafael, thoroughly confused.
“Won’t it be cold?”

“You
won’t be cold, not if you’re wearing this.” He handed me a fitted black leather
jacket.

The
jacket nearly fell to the floor when he placed it in my hand. I studied it
curiously. “Why is this so heavy?”

“It’s
a metal jacket. You have to wear it… and this… if you’re going to get on the
back of my bike.” Rafael handed me a shiny black helmet. “The helmet has
speakers and a microphone so we can talk to each other while we’re on the
bike.”

My
eyes grew wide. “Did you buy this for me?”

He
smiled. “Who else would I buy it for? Try it on. I want to see how it fits.”

I
slipped the jacket on. “This feels amazing,” I murmured as I ran my hands down
the front of the jacket.

Rafael
reached for the zipper. He tugged it up toward my chin before standing back to
admire his purchase. He grinned. “You look like trouble… the really, really
good kind.”

I
laughed as I fisted my hand in his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. “Thanks
for the jacket… and the helmet… and for keeping me safe.”

Rafael
locked his arms around me. “Maybe we should just ride the bike and skip the
concert,” he mused as he began kissing my neck.

Every
inch of my skin tingled. I let my head fall to the side so he could reach more
of my neck. “You decide. I can’t think when you’re kissing me like this.”

He
reached into my coat pockets, pulled out a pair of leather gloves, and handed
them to me. He slid the helmet over my head. “I want to take you to the
concert, but there are no guarantees that we’ll make it through the whole thing
before I drag you back home.”

My
eyes widened as Rafael slipped into his own leather jacket. He tugged a pair of
leather gloves on, then slid a sleek black helmet over his head. “Can you hear
me?” he asked.

I
nodded.

He
flipped his shield up and narrowed his eyes at me. “I want you to speak so I
can make sure the microphones and speakers are working before we leave.”

I
smiled, although I doubted he could see it under the helmet. “You look really
hot,” I breathed.

He
groaned loudly as he swung his leg over the bike. He reached for my arm and
tugged me toward the bike. “I just hope I’m getting brownie points for not
taking you right here in the middle of the garage.”

I
laughed as I swung my leg over the back of the bike. I reached for his hips and
scooted forward until I was sitting snug against his back. “Actually, you’re
getting points docked for that.”

Rafael
shook his head as he started the bike. “You’re going to wish those words had never
left your mouth.”

I
wrapped my arms around his well-muscled chest and settled in to enjoy the ride.
I knew full well he’d be earning those points back later. If I had any say in
the matter, he’d be earning them on this ridiculous racing bike.

*
* * * * *

My
eyes flew open when the alarm sounded on my cell phone. Rafael yanked the phone
from my hand. He scowled at the phone. “Why is your alarm going off at eight o’clock
on a Saturday morning?” He turned the alarm off before tossing my phone over
his shoulder.

I
watched the phone bounce off the bed. “I’m supposed to meet up with Kadyn at
ten.”

He
tucked me back into his chest. “That’s two hours from now. Go back to sleep,”
he growled menacingly.

I
was tempted to sneak out of bed, but Rafael’s death grip made it impossible to
move. His warm body quickly lured me back to sleep.

I
woke again at nine o’clock. This time, I managed to make it out of bed.

He
scowled as I dressed. “Do you really have to leave?”

I
tugged my jeans over my hips. “Kadyn’s picking me up in an hour. I need to
shower and change before he arrives.”

Rafael
propped himself up on his elbow. “How did you sleep?”

I
reached for my shirt. “Good.”

“No
more nightmares about Michael?”

I
shook my head. “Nope. My brain was otherwise engaged.”

 Rafael
grinned. “With what?”

I
rolled my eyes at him as I tugged my socks on. “You… taking me on that bike.”

Rafael
laughed. “I’ll never look at that motorcycle the same way again.”

I
hopped to my feet as Rafael slid out of bed.

He
began sulking as we made our way downstairs. “I hate sharing you like this. I
want to spend an entire weekend with you… a long weekend
.
What if I want
to take you on a trip somewhere?”

I
offered him an apologetic look as I pulled my boots on. “I don’t know. I’m
having a hard time juggling this too. Let me think about it. I’m sure we can
figure something out if you want to travel somewhere for the weekend.”

Rafael
reigned in his frustration as he pulled me back onto my feet. “I’ll be at your
house at exactly one minute after midnight. I want to jump start our date for
Sunday.”

I
had all kinds of visions of what that might entail, especially after what
happened on his motorcycle. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him
thoroughly. “You’re not allowed to ride your motorcycle with any other girls,”
I teased before trotting down his front steps. I glanced over my shoulder as I
waved goodbye. I was relieved to see him smile.

He
stood on his steps and watched me as I unlocked the door to my house. “One
minute after midnight,” he called out.

I
smiled and blew him a kiss. “See you then!”

I
went straight to the kitchen so I could brew an extra strong pot of coffee. I
had no clue what Kadyn had planned, but I had no doubt it would require high
doses of caffeine. I ran upstairs and took a quick shower. Then I spent a good
thirty minutes rummaging through my clothes so I could track down a pair of
tight shorts. The only shorts I could find that qualified as tight were my
black spandex biking shorts. I paired them with a black sports bra and a bright
pink tank top. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and added a black hoodie,
so I could hide how fitted everything was. I slipped some black socks and
running shoes on, still uncertain as to whether this was the type of outfit
Kadyn really had in mind.

Kadyn
showed up at ten, just as I was pouring the remaining coffee into a travel mug.
His eyes raked over me when I opened the door. “Good. That’s perfect.”

I
narrowed my eyes at him. “You could have just told me to wear gym clothes. I
didn’t have a clue what you had in mind when you told me to wear tight shorts.”

He
laughed as he pulled me in for a quick kiss. “Are you ready? Do you have enough
caffeine?”

I
rolled my eyes as I pulled the door closed. “Yes. I have enough caffeine. Are
we going to the gym to practice Karate?”

Kadyn
shook his head. “Nope… and don’t bother trying to pump me for any more information.
You’ll find out what we’re doing when we get there.”

Kadyn
opened the car door for me. I slid into the warm leather seat and sighed
appreciatively. “You had your seat warmers on.”

Kadyn
chuckled as he slid into the driver’s seat. “You need to get rid of that jeep
so you can purchase something with seat warmers.”

I
looked around the car to see if I could find any clues as to where we were
going. There wasn’t a single thing in the back seat, so I turned around and settled
in to enjoy my coffee. “I love my jeep.”

Kadyn
flipped through his XM channels until he found a jazz station. “You do realize the
newer jeeps have seat warmers,” he murmured sarcastically.

I
grew quiet as I reflected on my jeep. That jeep was the vehicle I’d used to escape
from my ex-husband. I had spent countless hours tooling around with my dog,
Cade, in that jeep. I could still picture my Montana friends in the passenger
seats and the bear that climbed on top of the hood in Cooke City. There were
too many memories tied to that jeep. It was a part of me… and one of the few
things that still connected me to Montana. I shook my head. “I don’t want to trade
in my jeep, not until it starts falling apart.”

Kadyn
laughed. “That shouldn’t take long.”

I
swatted at his arm. “Quit picking on my jeep. You act like it’s an antique.
It’s only seven years old!”

He
shot me a sidelong glance. “How many miles do you have on that thing?”

I
resisted the urge to slump dejectedly in my seat. “Just over a hundred thousand
miles.”

A
smug look fell over his face. “Point made.”

I
scowled at him as I leaned over and turned up the radio station. “I’m done
talking about this. I’m not trading in my jeep.”

He
reached over and turned the radio back down. “About the other night…”

I
glanced at him, completely mortified. “Please don’t apologize again, Kadyn. It
wasn’t your fault.”

He
eyed me cautiously. “I don’t want to repeat the same mistake twice. Can you
help me understand what happened?”

I
stared at my coffee mug as I sank into the seat. “I don’t know what happened.
I’m still having nightmares about Michael, and sometimes the memories just come
out of nowhere. I was a little freaked out waking up in my old room. The last
time I slept in that room was the morning Michael kidnapped me. Maybe that was
it.”

Kadyn
shook his head. “You said it was the way I kissed you.”

I
peered out the window as I reflected on the kiss. “That is when the memories
hit.”

He
glanced at me as he changed lanes. “What kind of memories?”

I
turned to face him. “Kadyn, you really don’t want to know the kind of crap that
goes on inside my head.”

He
shot me a determined look. “Yes, I do.”

I
sighed heavily. “I started out thinking about you. I was thinking about our
first kiss and the first time we made love after Senator Rockefeller’s party.
My thoughts turned to Michael when I thought about all I had lost… not just
with you but with him too.”

Kadyn
couldn’t hide his confusion. “But I’ve kissed you before, and you didn’t react
like that.”

I
slowly shook my head. “I don’t think you have poured so much hope into a single
kiss before. You kissed me the same way Michael did when he was trying to
convince me to fall in love with him. His kisses were so pleading...” I paused
as I fought to overcome my discomfort in discussing Michael with Kadyn. “His
kisses were desperate and raw. You’ve never kissed me like that before. Usually,
your kisses are more… I don’t know… cocky.”