JAX: MC Biker Romance (New Adult Contemporary Bad Boy Romance) (49 page)

I stopped a couple blocks down from her parents' house.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, her voice muffled by the helmet. She pulled it off. "I live, like two blocks that way."

I pulled off my helmet too and craned my neck to catch her eye. "I know, but I didn't want to wake your parents up."

She laughed. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not sure that they'd approve of me taking you away for the next couple of days."

Hayley got off the bike and stood in front of me. "What do you mean?"

I smirked. "Exactly what I said, gorgeous," I replied. "You and I are going on a trip. We're going to go see some of those places you want to see. I figured you’d want to pack a bag."

She crossed her arms over her chest. Oh, I thought I was about to get it for something.

"I'm twenty-three, Gage," she said flatly. "I don't need my parents' approval to go away for a couple nights."

I shrugged. "I know," I said, "but all the same, I doubt they'd appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night by some guy's bike right before he dragged you off to god knows where."

She pursed her lips. They looked delicious. "Good point," she admitted.

She placed her helmet down on the ground beside the bike and began a hurried walk toward her house. She returned a few minutes later with a small bag of essentials. I handed her helmet back to her, and pulled mine on too.

Then, with a mighty roar, we careened off into the night.

The End

Bonus - Slade

I managed to resist punching a hole through the door of my commanding officer's office, but not by much. I knew that would only prove to him what he already suspected—that I was unhinged. Not that I was, but Christ, I didn't need to give him any reason to think so.

I stalked out of the building and across the yard with a pissed off air that caused people to look away when they saw me. I would have laughed at the sight of the uniformed officers deliberately walking out of my way if I weren't so irate.

A vacation, he said. You need to take a vacation.

What the hell did he call sending me off to the desert, if not a vacation? I couldn't imagine a better time than fighting for my country and raising hell with my friends. Being idle wasn't going to solve anything.

I struggled to remember that it was only two weeks, though even that felt like a lifetime.

I hopped on my bike when I reached the parking lot, feeling the engine come to life beneath me. At least, I had my Harley. I could probably find somewhere to go for the next couple of weeks; somewhere that didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I rumbled off of the base, keeping my speed within the limit while I was in military cop jurisdiction. As soon as I was out of there though, I raced down the freeway to my place at the other end of town. Most of my buddies liked to stay on the base, but most of them hadn't inherited their mom's house in the suburbs. They teased me about being domesticated, but never complained when I through raging house parties after a return from tour.

There wouldn't be a party this time.

Lexa

The morning light drifted through the slats in my bedroom window, landing warmly on the pillow by my head. I scrunched my eyes and groaned, turning to the side to try and escape the glare.

My mom knocked on the door, calling out, "Lexa, honey. Don't you think it's time to wake up?"

I scowled against the blanket, hoping that she would go away.

She didn't. "You can't just lie in bed all day," she said sweetly.

Actually, I could just lie in bed all day. And, I would. There was no reason for me to do anything but lie in bed all day. No school, no job, no purpose. I was living back at home with my parents because I'd had to give up my apartment in the city. And now, here I was at twenty two, being woken up by my mother.

She knocked again.

"I'm up!" I cried, before she could say another word. "I'll be out in a minute."

I heard her footsteps retreating, and I pulled the blanket over my head. God damnit.

When I was out of bed, I staggered out to the kitchen. My mom and stepdad were just about to eat breakfast. I guessed that was why she had been so adamant about waking me.

"Sit down, honey," Mom said. "It'll get cold."

I looked down at the unappetizing brown mush in my bowl; God how I hated oatmeal. I felt like I was in a Martha Stewart nightmare.

I sat and ate anyway, exchanging small-talk with my mom and Frank, so they knew that I wasn't suicidal. I tried not to glare at my mom when she talked about her book club or when she asked Frank if he would take her to Costco after he got home from work. When Frank headed out, I took the opportunity to head back to my bedroom and crawl back under the covers to get away from my mom and her forced normalcy.

I chanced a look out my window, mostly to see what the weather looked like (I was hoping for rain. No dice.) I saw that Slade Ronan was loading up his bike in his driveway. Our moms had been friends before Slade's mom kicked it. They'd gotten to know each other in that neighborly way that parents do when they have kids around the same age and live close to one another.

My heart sank as I remembered all the smiling photos of my brother and Slade that had been taken over the years. They'd met as awkward teenagers, but they'd turned into roguish hellians in no time at all.

Where the hell was Slade going?

I tore out of my room and down the stairs, surprising my mother who'd been dusting something or other. "Where are you going?" she called out after me.

"I'll be right back!"

"Lexa," she said, mollified. "Put some clothes on!"

Only my mother, the desperate Stepford wife that she was, wouldn't have considered my pajama shorts and tank top clothes. I didn't care.

I flung open the front door and ran across the road, my heels slapping against the pavement. Slade's eyes jolted up toward me as soon as he heard me moving in his direction; soldier instincts.

"What the hell are you doing out here, Ginger?" he asked. "You'll fry to a crisp on a day like this."

I frowned at his reference to my red hair and pale skin, but otherwise, ignored it. "Where are you going?"

He shrugged. "Don't know… been told to take a vacation."

I looked at his bike, then back at him and made a snap decision. "I’m coming with you," I said.

His green eyes filled with amusement, and he fixed me with a wide grin. "Oh, are you now?" he asked.

I nodded.

He laughed gruffly, and then his expression turned hard. "No."

I crossed my arms over my chest, conscious of the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra. That might not have been an issue if his laugh hadn't sent a shiver through me. My nipples felt dangerously close to hardening.

"Please," I said.

He cocked his head and the light played with the facets of brown in his tousled hair. "Well, now that you've said please," he teased. "It's still a no."

I didn't want to beg, but God, getting out of town seemed like the only thing that was going to keep me sane.

I didn't think Slade had ever been particularly fond of me. It wasn't that he disliked me, just that he and my brother were seven years older and I'd always been a kid to him. But, we had both loved my brother and that was the one thing I knew he'd respect.

"Slade," I said. "I'm going crazy here. My mom's on me all the time with her cheery go-getter attitude and I feel like I'm suffocating in my own house."

For a brief moment, his eyes softened. It softened the hard, rugged lines of his face; made him look human for a minute. Then, he hardened once more. "What exactly do you think we're going to do?" he said. What he meant was, there's nothing that we have in common.

But, we had one thing.

"I want to scatter my brother's ashes," I said. "We just got them yesterday. Mom barely looks at the urn. I think Joel would have wanted us to take them together."

Mentioning my brother's name nearly visibly hit him. He took a moment to study me. "And, do you know where you want to do that?" he asked.

I nodded. "It'll only take a few days, and then you can drop me off and get back on with your solo adventure, as much fun as that sounds."

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Go get your shit. We leave in an hour."

I smiled and nodded, turning around before he had a chance to change his mind.

"And, for God's sake, Ginger," he called after me. "Put some pants on. I'm not taking you on my bike like that."

*****

My mom was none too happy about me absconding with our roguish neighbor. She wasn't terribly pleased about me taking Joel's ashes either, but I could tell she understood. The two of them had never been close; not like me and Joel had been. She missed her son as much as any mother would, I was sure, but we were each dealing with it in our own ways.

Also, it seemed she was just happy that I was staying out of bed.

I gave her a brief hug before I left, swinging my backpack over my shoulders and crossing the road. Joel's urn felt heavy on my back. It seemed fitting.

I knocked on Slade's door, stifling a gasp when he opened it. God, I would never get used to how hot he was. In slim-fitting jeans, biker boots, a tight white tee, and a black leather jacket, he could probably stop the hearts of an entire girl's school all at once.

But, this wasn't the time; it wasn't the place. And, it certainly wasn't the right person. I'd be damned before I messed around with a guy like Slade. I'd heard all about the way he was with women.

And anyway, he wasn't interested. Though, when he saw me in my tight jeans and leather jacket with my hair freshly washed and hanging in long, loose waves around my shoulders, I thought for a second that he looked at me a little too appreciatively.

"I'm ready," I said. "With two minutes to spare."

He wordlessly came out and locked the door behind him. He'd already packed up his bike.

He thrust a helmet into my hands, and I followed him to his bike. I'd never ridden on one, and I had to admit I was excited. I also didn't hate the idea that I'd be pressed up against Slade's body for the next couple hours or so—though that was purely because his body looked like it had been sculpted from marble. Who wouldn't want to have a feel of that?

He swung his leg over the bike and gestured for me to hop on. I did, and as I anchored myself to his back and felt the vibrations of the seat as the bike roared to life, for a moment, I forgot what we were going to do.

Slade

Life is full of unexpected surprises. Sometimes when you open your fridge, the stench of food that seemed to have rotted overnight hits you like a truck. Sometimes when you go to put your shoe on, there was a scorpion inside, and sometimes, the girl who had never been anything other than your best friend's little sister turned into a gorgeous woman while you were off doing other things.

The feel of Lexa's tits pressed against my back, her arms circling me tightly and gripping harder as I made turns was nearly too much to take. I hadn't expected to have a companion on my little journey nor had I particularly wanted one. But, what was I supposed to do when she turned those big, blue eyes on me and talked about how hard it was without her brother around?

I felt guilty, and the only way to alleviate my guilt seemed to be to let her tag along for the ride. Besides, having the opportunity to put Joel to rest in his favorite place seemed too good to pass up. The guy could've used a little rest.

I soared south on the highway, keeping our destination in mind. I went to a little suburb on the outskirts of Harthill, the town that Joel and Lexa had grown up in. I'd heard him talk about it before. He'd always said once he was out and settled down a bit, maybe with a wife and a couple kids, he wanted to live there. He'd talked about the house they lived in before his dad cut out, and I ate it up because it sounded like an awesome way to grow up, and there was nothing else to do in the cold, desert nights.

It took us a few hours to get there. We stopped for some food halfway and ate mostly in silence. I didn’t have anything to say to this girl. The last time I’d talked to her was when she was graduating high school, and Joel had dragged me along because her mom had had to bail at the last minute because their water tank blew up and she couldn’t leave the plumber alone in the house. We’d just finished basic training together, and he promised me a few beers after if I came, so I did.

Lexa had been a tall, skinny redhead with a set of braces and some sort of academic achievement award. She saw me watching as she walked across the stage and tripped. I’d had to suppress a laugh, watching the gawky teenager right herself and continue on to collect her diploma.

I congratulated her afterward, and we took her for ice cream. She had seemed so young then. The girl who sat across from me in the diner that June afternoon was a completely different person to the woman sitting across from me now, dipping french-fries in ketchup and scrolling through her phone. We hit the road again, stopping for dinner once we’d hit Harthill.