Kolter reaches out, undoing the helmet then hooking it onto one of the handlebars. My smile still hasn’t left my face, and he looks down at me with something that isn’t quite a smile, but isn’t a frown either.
“You have fun?”
I nod. “I can’t believe you never let me ride before. That was… amazing.”
He offers his hand to help me get off the bike, and I swing my leg over it carefully so I’m not flashing my… everything.
A heavy silence falls between us.
I glance at the house then back to him. “Thank you.”
Kolter stares at me quietly, as if he wants me to be more specific. I try to suppress my eyeroll because he can be so freaking obnoxious.
“For taking me home, for sobering me up and… for helping me.”
He nods—and then the lecture begins. “I’m not always going to be around, Peaches. You have to take better care of yourself.”
I shrug. “I never do stuff like this.”
“Then why did you tonight?” he pushes.
I freeze for a moment, looking down at my feet awkwardly before shrugging again.
A finger slips under my chin, forcing my eyes up to meet his. His expression is still hard, but there’s a softness in his gaze. He doesn’t ask again, mainly because I know he expects me to answer him the first time.
I chew on the inside of my lip and let out a soft sigh. “I just wanted to get out there, prove that I could meet people, cut loose. I don’t know.”
“You now see why that wasn’t a smart choice,” he replies.
Embarrassment hits me, and I duck my head. But that finger pulls my chin right back up, his face a few inches closer this time. My gaze flicks back and forth between his eyes and his lips. So full and soft—a pair of lips I’ve dreamed of my entire life.
Slowly, I lean forward, but my mouth barely brushes his before he pulls away. My heart aches at the rejection as Kolter rises to his full height and takes a step back.
“Stay safe, Peaches.”
And with that, he moves back to his bike, slips on his helmet and fires off down the road, leaving me numb and embarrassed.
Chapter Eleven
Kolter
“Wake up, fucker!”
Those are the only words I hear before what feels like a goddamn elephant lands on me. I groan as I shove the person off me, causing them to crash to the floor, and slowly peel my eyes open. I ended up crashing at the clubhouse last night because I spent half the night circling Naomi’s fucking block.
I knew she was safe; I knew that scumbag piece of shit from the club wasn’t a threat, so I didn’t stay close for her safety, like I usually do. No, this time, I stayed nearby because all I could think about was stomping up to her room, spreading her legs and sinking into her.
I circled that goddamn block until my arms were shaking from steering the bike.
I wipe the sleep from my eyes and sigh. I wish I’d never gone to that club. It’s caused nothing but issues. Thoughts, desires, memories… everything I’ve been so desperate to escape. Everything I carefully tucked away in a box and shoved to the far recesses of my mind. They’re all better off without me in their life, especially her. I know that—I get that. So I’m having trouble understanding just what the fuck I’m doing.
Ace hauls himself up off the ground, grimacing as he rubs the back of his head. “Christ, Blade. You’re not very friendly in the morning. No wonder you can’t keep a woman for longer than two minutes.”
“No need for a woman past then,” I scoff as I swing my legs round to the side of the bed and stand up.
Ace chuckles. “One day a good one is gonna come out of nowhere and knock you on your ass, and I’m gonna laugh the entire goddamn time.”
I lift a challenging brow. “Want a bet on that?”