I tilted my head to the side. “What’s that?”
“I’ve gotta make a stop on the way but it’ll just be a quic
k one.”
“Sure,” I agreed.
He gave me a tight smile and then walked back to his bike, grabbed his helmet and passed it to me. “Where were you headed?”
“Grocery shopping.”
“I can drop you there and then get one of the prospects to pick you up when you’re finished,” he offered.
God, he was being so much nicer to me than the last time I saw him. “Thanks, that would be great.”
“No problem,” he said as he mounted his bike and waited for me to get on. A moment later, I settled in behind him and put my hands on his hips. Being this close to him was sending my senses into overdrive. When he grabbed my hands and pulled them around him, it affected me to the point where I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand without assistance when I got off his bike.
He started the bike and we took off. The vibrations as we rode only served to thrill me more. My imagination went wild and I pictured how hot it would be to have sex on a bike; I’d never done it but I bet Nash had. I squeezed my legs against him while I thought about it and leaned closer, hugging him tighter. God damn it, I finally admitted it to myself; I wanted to sleep with him again.
We didn’t travel very far, just down Brunswick Street towards the river. He turned into a side street and then pulled into a driveway before switching off his bike. A woman came out of the house we’d pulled up at and smiled broadly at us. She had the same features as Nash, and I decided that she must be his mother. Or at least be related to him somehow.
I followed him off the bike and waited for him to introduce us, but the woman wasn’t as patient. “Hello!” she directed at me, excitement coating her words, “I’m Nash’s mum, Linda.”
I smiled at her. She was so warm; the kind of woman everyone gravitates to, and I couldn’t stop myself if I tried. Her arms were outstretched and I moved towards her and into her embrace. “Hi, I’m Velvet,” I said. Usually, I’d find it strange that someone I just met wanted to hug me, but this didn’t feel weird; it felt like the most natural thing to do.
She continued to hug me. “It’s lovely to meet you, Velvet.”
When she let me go, I stepped backwards and ran into Nash who’d come up behind me. His hand slid around my waist to steady me. “Careful, sweet thing,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling me. A shiver ran through me, and my nipples came to life. Christ, my whole body came to life when Nash was near me.
Linda’s eyes zeroed in on Nash’s arm around my waist, and her smile grew if that was even possible. She looked back up at us, and motioned towards the house. “Come in, I’ll put the kettle on.”
Nash moved his hand around to settle in the small of my back as we followed her. “Mum, we can’t stay long. I just dropped in to change those light bulbs that you and Carla can’t reach. She mentioned them to me last night.”
Linda kept walking down the hall and threw over her shoulder, “It won’t take me long to make a cuppa while you change the lights. Then you can quickly drink it before you leave.”
I heard Nash groan behind me, and had to stifle a laugh. His mother had him around her little finger, that was clear from even this small interaction. We hit the kitchen and she turned around and clapped her hands together. “Okay, you go and do the lights, Nash. Velvet can stay here and help me.”
Unable to hold it in any longer, I grinned at him. His mother was priceless; she was obviously very happy to see him, and I loved that about her. I never warmed to people this quick but she had a special kind of something that had touched me.
Nash narrowed his eyes on me. “Why are you grinning like an idiot?”
“Your mum has you, doesn’t she?”
“She has me where, babe?”
I grinned even harder and leant into him before saying, “I’ve never seen a woman have any say in your life, Nash, but your mum does, doesn’t she?”
A lazy smile formed on his lips. “A man owes a lot to his mother, sweet thing, so yeah, as you say, she has me.”
We were caught up in each other until his mother cut in. “Nash, off you go. I want some time with Velvet.”
He shook his head in amusement. Before he left he whispered in my ear, “Don’t let her talk you into anything, okay?”
“I’m thinking that your mum could talk anyone into anything,” I murmured.
“She fuckin’ could,” he muttered as he left us alone.
Linda watched him go and then she smiled at me again. “Are you a coffee or a tea girl?”