“Even more so than getting Mallory home?” She knows how much everyone loves Mallory and wants her home.
I look at her and take her hand. “Yes, right now your safety is my first and foremost thought.” I look away, there is one thing I want more but I’m not sure I should tell her after everything she’s been thorough. “Well not my foremost thought.” Fuck it, I’ve started now I might as well finish.
“What is then? What is more important than my safety and Mallory’s homecoming.”
I turn her to face me and bring her hands up to my mouth where I kiss them. “I really want to kiss you right now. Actually, since you fell at my feet, I’ve just wanted to kiss you, protect you and make sure you are loved.”
Her eyes open wide, but she doesn’t try and take her hands back, she just stares at me.
“I know it’s not something that you might want to do and that’s fine. I just wanted to put it out there and to tell you that I’m here for you and if, and when, you want to kiss me then I’ll be ready.”
Her eyes are searching my face for something, but I don’t know what. She reaches out her hand and touches my cheek.
“Brax, I’ve been through hell these last few months and I know that my life has changed forever. I was beaten and sexually assaulted by men who didn’t care if they were hurting me or not.”
“Baby, you don’t have to relive it. I’m here whenever you want, if you want it at all.”
“I’ve not finished.” She gives me sass and I love it. “What I was going to say was that even through all of that I’ve not felt any bad vibes off you. You only make me feel safe. But you also set my heart racing and I get excited when you walk in the room. I’m not ready for anything right now, but my heart is telling me to give you a chance.” She leans forward and I kiss her lips, gently, carefully and lovingly.
When we break apart, she looks at me and her eyes brighten. She smiles. “That was gentle, and I could definitely do more of that.” She leans against me, and I wrap my arm around her.
“Piper, if I push you too much, please let me know. I don’t want to trigger you and I don’t want to hurt you. We will take it slow, your pace, you are in control.”
I feel her nod her head against me and we both sit in silence, taking in the smells and sounds around us. I’ve never felt at peace like this with someone, especially a woman. I feel like she gets me, and she sees me.
“I’m hungry, did you bring any food with you?” she asks as she sits upright and looks at me.
“Where do you think I would have stashed it, sweetheart, we came on the bike not the truck.”
“You have those things on the side, maybe you put something in there.”
“Good idea, but no. It was a last-minute decision to go for a ride, but I can take you to my favorite diner if you want. They serve pancakes and I love pancakes.”
“Me too, let's go.” She stands and we walk back to the bike. When I place the helmet on her head, I do up the strap and then I gently kiss her. She kisses me back and I pull away before I do something stupid, I want nothing more than to plunge my tongue in her mouth and take her the way I want, but I know that is selfish and I need to protect her.
We ride for another ten minutes then pull up at the diner. We get off and I take her hands as we walk inside. There are only a couple of people there, and I see a booth at the back where I lead her over to. In my line of business, it’s always best to be at the back and be able to see everyone else and know the quickest exit route of the place. It’s not my first rodeo so I know where I want to sit.
The server comes over, “Braxton, good to see you. Who’s this beautiful woman?” She looks over at Piper and smiles.
“Hey, Katie, this is Piper, my woman.” Piper’s head snaps up and she stares at me, a beautiful pink blush is covering her face.
“Well, aren’t you the lucky guy to have such a beautiful woman on your bike.” She looks at Piper. “You’ve got a good one here, Piper. He’s a keeper and it’s good to see someone on the back of his bike.” She takes our order and walks away.
“Have you ever brought another woman here?”
“Never. This is a sacred spot for me and my brothers. And before you ask, I’ve never had another woman on the back of my bike either. That’s saved for my old lady.” I look at her.
Her mouth opens and shuts a few times as she thinks about what to say. “Never?”
I shake my head and take her hand and pull it to my mouth, kissing the top of it. “Never. It means something to us to have a woman on the back of our bikes. It’s special.”
“So why did you let me sit there,” she asks as she watches my thumb caressing the back of her hand.
“Because you’re special and I feel something for you. I don’t know what it is, but I know you’re special to me.”
She leans into my side. “You’re special to me too. I just don’t want to let you down if I stumble over being close to you.”
“Hey,” I say as I pull her up so that I can see her. “If you stumble, I’m going to be there to pick you up. I’ll always be there, Piper. You can trust me and rely on me. I’m not going anywhere, and I will help you every step of the way with your recovery.” I kiss her cheek and she smiles at me, before shocking me and kissing me on the lips. Then she pushes her tongue inside my mouth, and I really wish we weren’t sat at a booth in a diner. But maybe it’s a good thing, because I want her so badly that I need to calm down and take a mental step back.