Desolation Road (Torpedo Ink 4)

“I prefer to escort you, just to be safe.” He wrapped his hand around hers.

Her heart clenched hard. He was such a big man, towering over her, and his hand was much larger. Instead of feeling threatened as she normally would have, she felt ridiculously safe. She could easily take care of herself. The bathrooms were only a few feet away, thirty at the most, and in plain sight. There were a few motorcycles parked close and two picnic tables with occupants between them, but she’d already sized them up. She could take them if she had to.

To Aleksei she was a librarian, and she hated to deceive him. She wanted him to know the real woman, not the one she pretended to be, not the façade she showed to the rest of the world. On the other hand, for the first time in a very long while someone wanted to look after her and it felt nice. She smiled up at him. “I think I’m safe.”

“I think you are too, but two things, Scarlet. One, I wanted to hold your hand. I like everyone knowing you’re with me.”

She liked that so much she didn’t pull away from him. “And two?”

“I’ve always believed it’s safer with two people looking out for one another than one.”

She wouldn’t know about that. She tilted her head to look up at him and frowned. “Maybe. But if you rely on the wrong person, you’ll be expecting help and it won’t come. You might hesitate that second too long. Then, where are you?”

His fingers tightened for just one second around hers. “My brothers and sisters have never let me down, so I’ve never had that experience. I’m sorry if you have. That would suck.”

“It’s never actually happened.” That much was true. She’d never allowed herself to rely on anyone else. “I was just debating the other side. It’s a bad habit of mine.”

He flashed a small grin. “I like it.”

She loved talking with him. She could do it all day. About nothing. About everything. It might be a minefield and she might eventually step on a bomb, but it was exhilarating just being with him.

They were at the little building and he let go of her. She didn’t want him to, but she had no choice but to go inside. In any case, she really needed to go. He waited for her to close the door. She knew he moved around to the other side of the building to the men’s side, although she didn’t hear him walking. That was another thing about Aleksei. He wore motorcycle boots as if they were natural footwear and he never made a sound when he walked. She loved that he could do that. It freaked her out a little bit, but she still loved that ability.

There were so many things about Aleksei she admired. Mostly, it was his intelligence. She realized, the moment she knew he was capable of understanding everything he read in those enormous reference books he was always reading so fast, that she was pretty much gone on him. It helped that his muscles had muscles. Beneath his tight tees, the ones that stretched across his chest, he had those washboard abs. Muscles rippled when he moved. She felt his strength. She saw it. But another thing about Aleksei she loved was he was never obvious about his strength. He was quiet, he didn’t need to be loud. He could take someone apart with his eyes. Those beautiful, crystal-blue eyes that could look right through someone.

She sighed. When, in the last six weeks, had she allowed herself to fall so hard for the man? Because she had. She wanted him and it had nothing to do with his motorcycle or sex, and she was desperate for sex with him—and she totally was in love with his Harley. Aleksei Solokov felt as if he’d been created to be her other half. She might have missed out on the best thing in her life through her own choices.

Scarlet washed her hands, dried them on one of the few remaining paper towels and tried to see herself in the strange little warped piece of metal that passed for a mirror. She looked happy. She couldn’t remember being happy, not in a very long while.

“I’m taking the day for myself,” she whispered, wishing she’d agreed to meet him very early in the morning. She was going to be Cinderella or whatever princess it was—she still got them confused, but she knew there were multiple princesses because she’d read all the stories to her sister. “Be happy for me,” she whispered, hoping Priscilla could hear her. “Please be happy for me.”

Aleksei was waiting for her outside. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him there. She had expected him, yet still, just seeing him waiting, looking so casual, lounging against the corner of the building, not in the least bit impatient, that slow smile climbing to his eyes, turning the crystal to a wild blue flame, made her melt inside.