I whipped my head back around. Ben was leaning back on the seat of the bike, arms crossed, looking at me with an amused expression on his face. I hadn’t even noticed that I’d started chewing my nails again. In fact, I’d been doing everything in my power not to succumb to the awful habit in Ben’s presence. But apparently, this awkward purgatory wasn’t yet over, so he’d caught me in the act yet again.
I dropped my hand from my mouth and blushed. “It’s the worst habit,” I said.
“It’s cute.” He laughed. “C’mere, I’ll help you on. It’s a big seat for a little girl like you.” The way he said little girl sent a flash of heat between my legs. Maybe I was imagining things, but he’d said it almost hungrily, the way someone might look at a steak and call it juicy. But why on earth was that a turn on?
I crossed the distance to him and took the hand he held outstretched. “Put one foot here,” he said, pointing at the peg on the lower part of the bike. I balanced on it as best as I could in my mile-high stilettos and carefully swung my other leg around. My butt found the leather seat.
Ben climbed on gracefully in front of me. “You ready?” he asked over his shoulder.
I nodded, then realized he wouldn’t be able to see me. “Yes,” I called through a raspy throat. “Ready.”
He turned the bike on. It came roaring to life between my legs. The engine growled like a massive monster, snarling, spitting heat and vibrations out in every direction. Compared to it, I felt small and fragile. But, somehow, Ben seemed even more comfortable in its presence. Instead of shrinking him, it made him seem bigger, more powerful. It fit him.
I shivered. The thoughts running through my head made no sense and yet I couldn’t do anything to stop them. Wild, unbidden thoughts came one after another without pause. Ben touching me. Ben kissing me. Ben slowly peeling my pants down my hips as I lay on my back in front of him.
The sudden jolt of motion brought me back to reality. Ben had pressed the clutch and rolled quickly onto the throttle. The bike shot out from the sidewalk onto the asphalt. It took me by surprise. My hands flailed in the air. I felt myself tipping backwards, my center of gravity sending me over the rear of the bike. Just before I completely lost balance, I found a grip on Ben’s leather jacket. I pulled myself upright.
What was that bouncing in his back? Oh, he was laughing at me. “Hold onto me,” he said over the low growl of the motor. “Put your hands on my sides.”
I couldn’t believe I’d almost been tossed off the bike just seconds after we started moving. I put my hands on either side of his torso. Through the slick leather jacket and the t-shirt he wore underneath, I could feel his muscles flexing as we took every little bump in the road. The smooth hills of his abs were hard beneath my fingertips. He must be absolutely ripped. Of course, I thought to myself sarcastically, just what he needed: another element to add to his perfection.
We picked up speed and I found myself clinging tighter to him. The wind whipped by. It blew my hair out behind me and tugged at my clothes with sneaky little fingers. As scared as I was, though, there was a little part of me that loved the sensation of the vibrating motorcycle between my legs and the solid, unyielding muscles of the man in front of me. It settled into my bones in a way that just felt right.
We snaked down a quiet side street and then emerged onto a long avenue free of any traffic in either direction. Ben brought the bike to a smooth stop in the middle of the blacktop. He twisted around to look back at me.
“How was that?” he asked.
“Okay,” I said with a hint of uncertainty in my voice.
“Well, that was just the warm-up. Now we can really have some fun. Are you up for it?”
I wanted to bite my nails, but I forced myself to keep my hands on his sides. Touching his abs wasn’t such a bad alternative. “I guess,” I said.
He could tell I was fearful. I expected him to make fun of me, to tease at how clearly afraid I was of this powerful machine and its mysterious, cocky rider. But he surprised me. His face looked somber and deadly serious. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll never let you fall.”
He gazed at me after he stopped talking. His words hung between us in the quiet night. His face was a foot away from mine, maybe less. For one crazy second, I thought he might kiss me. I wasn’t sure yet what I’d do if he tried.