"Not by the bayou, Sunshine. I live in the bayou."
Was he serious? Who in their right mind lived in the bayou with the snakes and gators and other things she didn't want to even think about? Things that carried guns and did lots of illegal activities like feeding murdered bodies to gators.
"You live in the bayou?"
He nodded. "It's really peaceful out there. No modern sounds to intrude on you. No neighbors. No traffic. You can almost feel like you're living centuries ago."
There was a wistful look to him as he said that. "That means a lot to you, doesn't it?"
"Yes. It does."
She smiled. Yeah, she could see Talon out in the bayou all alone. He reminded her a lot of her father, who loved to spend hours outside just soaking up nature. They both shared that quiet kind of peace-with-the-universe attitude.
"How long have you lived there?"
He avoided looking at her. "A really long time."
Sunshine nodded.
As they started for the door, she dropped her wicker tote and retrieved her Studiopack French Easel Backpack from the corner. She always kept it well stocked in case she decided on a whim to go some place else and paint.
"What is that?" he asked.
She winked at him. "An artist on the go, that's me. I never go anywhere without supplies."
He smiled as he took the backpack from her. "So, you're still feeling adventurous, huh?"
"Always. Just bring the gator-be-gone spray and I'm all yours."
Talon stared at her as he felt another stupid urge to grin. His face was starting to ache from the effort it took to not expose his fangs to her. She was extremely funny and amusing.
If not, to an extent, insulting.
He was still chafing over her assumptions about his clothes. The things this woman got into her head...
But he liked that about her. She didn't play games with him, but spoke whatever thought, no matter how outrageous, was on her mind.
Sunshine locked the door, got halfway down the stairs, then stopped. "Oh man, I forgot my overnight bag." She made a disgusted sound before sprinting up the stairs and rushing back inside her loft.
She came out a few minutes later with her wicker bag, reached the top of the stairs, then remembered she had no coat.
One more time, she went back inside before she rejoined him. "I swear I'd be wearing a pumpkin on my shoulders."
It took a second for her words to sink in-she'd lose her head if it ever came off her body.
Laughing, he paused on the stairs as she walked past him. "By the way, I don't look gay in leather."
Sunshine turned to look up at him. She passed a hot, lustful glance over his body that made him harden instantly. "No, baby, you don't. I honestly have to say you wear that outfit like nobody's business."
A slow smile spread across his face as he followed her the rest of the way out of the club.
Oh yeah, the two of them had some unfinished business to take care of once he got her home.
Business he shouldn't even be contemplating, but he had his reputation to uphold. Besides which, he owed her a payback. When she left his cabin, she'd never again doubt his sexual orientation or his attraction to her.
As they reached the outside doors, Sunshine led Talon away from the club.
"Are you going to tell your brother where you're going?"
She shook her head. "I'll call him in a little bit and tell him. Believe me, it's not something I want to do face to face."
"Stern, is he?"
"You've no idea."
Talon led her to his bike and pulled out a spare helmet from the saddlebags. "You want to put your backpack in here?"
She shook her head as she took the backpack from him and shrugged it on. "It's designed for motorcycles and hiking. I'm fine wearing it. It's really not that heavy."
"Ride many bikes, do you?"
"Yup, I do."
Talon watched her pull her helmet on and fasten it. Man, the woman was beautiful to him. Her long, graceful fingers tucked her braids in easily and her dark brown eyes glowed.
He removed the small sunglasses that he wore at night and pulled his own helmet on, then got on the bike and kick-started it. Sunshine joined him on the bike. Her arms came around his waist as she slid her body closer to his.
Talon almost moaned. He could feel every inch of her pressed intimately, erotically against him. Her breasts on his back, her inner thighs against his hips.
And the way her arms held him...
He could just imagine her sliding her hand down from his waist to the hard bulge in his pants where she could cup and stroke him through the leather. Of her unzipping his pants and kneading him gently with her hand as he hardened and strained to possess her.
Better yet, he could see her down on her knees in front of him, taking him into her mouth...
Unknown feelings swirled inside him, turning him inside out. All he wanted was to keep her here like this for eternity. To stop the bike and sample every inch of her lush, full figure with his mouth and fangs.
He wanted to devour her.
To taste and tease her until she called out his name while her body shook from ultimate pleasure.
Unbidden, he mentally felt her body arch against his as she clutched at his back in the midst of an orgasm.
He'd learned today that she always tensed her body until the last orgasmic shudder had subsided, and then she relaxed and rained kisses on his skin.
It was a sweet sensation that had no equal.
Talon clenched his teeth in an effort to control himself from yielding to the craving he felt for her body. He drove them through town, out toward the bayou where he lived.
As they rode, Sunshine leaned her head to rest between his shoulder blades and tightened her hold around Talon's lean, muscular abs. She remembered how he'd looked standing naked in her loft. The way he'd looked leaning over her as they made love. Slow. Easy. Then fast and furious.
This man had an indefinable way with his body. He knew every way and then some to give a woman pleasure.
Sunshine could feel his chest rise and fall under her arms as they rode through the dark night. What she was doing with him was insane and yet she couldn't seem to stop herself.
Talon was compelling. Dangerous. Dark and mysterious. Something about him made her just want to crawl inside him and stay there forever.
Crazy, huh?
Yet there was no denying what he did to her. What she felt every time she thought about him. The way she wanted to yell at him to stop the bike so that she could tear off his jacket and lick every inch of his tattoo.
Every inch of his powerful, masculine body.
Oh, how she wanted this man.
"Are you okay?"
She tensed at the sound of Talon's deeply accented voice in her ears. "Hey, your helmets are microphoned."
"Yeah, I know. But are you okay?"
She smiled at his concern. "I'm fine."
"You sure? You kind of jumped a second ago like something startled you."
"No, really. I'm fine."