Saving Della Ray

His reaction was lightning quick. He caught me, one strong hand snaking around my waist and the other on my arm.

I looked up into his smoldering eyes. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, breathing him in as much as I could just before my feet were completely stabled on the ground.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice husky.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I croaked, staring up into his eyes. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was fluttering.

He let go of me.

I needed to know his real name. That mattered. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Your real name.”

He cocked his head. “I have many names. Which one do you want?”

It should have been a funny comment to make, but as we gazed at each other, we both knew that there was nothing amusing in what he just said. He wasn’t joking and I had a feeling that I didn’t want him to already have an answer to that question. “The name your mother gave you.”

I waited with bated breath.

He shook his head. “Not that one.”

“Okay,” I said softly, “we’ll stick to Bone.”

I suddenly realized neither of us had brought the issue of Michael up yet. “Uh, thanks for what you did … with Michael, I mean.”

His eyes hardened suddenly. “It was a pleasure.”

“By the way, those things he said …” I swallowed hard. The way Bone was watching me made me feel lightheaded. “It was all lies. I—uh, we never—we never got that far.”

A flash of something crossed his eyes. It was only for a second, but it was fierce and primal.

“I have to go … round up for the evening,” I said, my voice suddenly breathless.

When I turned around to leave, he caught my hand and pulled me softly back into him.

I wanted to move away, but my body went spineless and weak, unable to fight against the intoxicating draw of him. The strangest thing happened then. He slid his hand around my waist and without thinking, I leaned my head to the side of his body as he cradled my face in the crook of his arm. It wasn’t a sexual thing. It was as if we were the scarred, war torn survivors of a holocaust blindly turning to each other for warmth and comfort. If he hadn’t been holding me up, I was certain I would have collapsed right there. The scrape of the hairs down his arm wreaked shivers down my skin.

“Have you ever flown through the quiet night on the back of a Harley?” he whispered hoarsely.

I couldn’t speak. I could only shake my head in response.

“Let me give you a ride home.”

Both of us knew it wasn’t a ride home that he was offering. I wanted with all my heart to go, but he had been drinking all night, and I was the guardian of a girl who very much needed me. I couldn’t make foolish decisions like blasting off on the back of a very dangerous motorcycle with a very dangerous man, in the middle of the night.

I found the strength to pull away from his scent, from his warmth, from the fire he was igniting throughout my body. I still couldn’t speak, so I cracked a smile and forced myself to walk away, my hand resting on the emptied bar stools along the counter to keep me stable. When I arrived in the staff room, I sank down on a chair. I needed to get my wits back on track.

This man … was far too dangerous for me.

Della Ray

“Hey, aren’t you ready to go?” Henry asked from the door.

I looked up from the sneaker laces I’d been tying. “Oh, no need,” I said to him. “A friend of mine will drop me off.”

“Cool. See you tomorrow, then,” he said and closed the door.

I was left alone in the changing room. In the silence of the room, I began to doubt my sanity. I had just given up my only ride home, almost half an hour away and for what? What the hell was I thinking? I had already even said no to the biker whose name I still didn’t know. Why did I think that he would still be outside and waiting? I was truly losing it!

I grabbed my backpack and without even putting on my jacket, I ran into the bar.

“Bye, Della,” Nick called out from polishing a glass.

“Bye,” I called back and ran out of the bar.

Henry’s car was pulling out of the lot, so I ran after him. “Henry!” I screamed, but the audio system in his car drowned out anything but the sound of his rickety engine as he sped it onto the road.

“Henry!” I shouted once more and watched as his tail lights disappeared into the dark night. “Shit,” I cursed and wondered how I would get home now. I turned to head back to the bar so Nick wouldn’t lock me out when I heard the loud rev of an engine.