Jaci Burton (9 page)

do it.”

“Do you know how?”

She rol ed her eyes. “Some things you never forget. Do
you

know how?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

“And how is that? I thought you grew up in Las Vegas. And

then spent time in Chicago. Sounds citified to me.”

“You grew up here. How do you know how to saddle and

ride?”

“Good point.” And yet again he’d avoided revealing

anything about himself. He sure liked being a man of mystery.

After they’d saddled their horses, Ava mounted hers,

realizing it had been a very long time since she’d ridden. But

oh, it felt great to be seated again, to feel the strength of a

horse underneath her. She was so ready to ride.

They took a slow walk out of the barn and down the road,

taking it easy while the horses got used to them. Ava slanted

an occasional glance over to Rick, who seated his horse like

he’d been born on one.

“Where did you ride before?” she asked.

“I had a friend with horses when I was a kid,” he said. “I

helped him out as much as I could, mucking out stal s,

brushing the horses. His folks liked me so they taught me to

ride.”

“That’s nice. But you didn’t have any of your own.”

He snorted. “Uh, no. Barely had a roof over my head.”

“No wonder you enjoyed spending time with your friend who

had horses.”

“Anything was better than being at home.”

“That bad, huh?”

“That bad.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He looked at her. “What do you think?”

“I think sometimes it’s good to exorcise the pain of the past

by getting it out in the open. Do you ever talk about it?”

“Nope.”

“Then it stil festers inside you.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you can tel I hold a ton of anger.”

Okay, so he did look relaxed, and he was almost always

calm and in control. She’d never seen him angry, but then

again she hadn’t known him al that long. But he didn’t project

that kind of chip on his shoulder like some men did. The man

was a mix of complexities and incongruity. She couldn’t figure

him out.

“I’m not a textbook case, Ava. Don’t look for problems that

don’t exist.”

“Everyone has problems, Rick. Some just bury them better

than others.”

He pul ed up on the reins and slowed. She did, too.

“And some of us might be playing at being a social worker.”

She lifted her chin. “I am not.”

“Good.” He clicked the reins and started his horse on a trot.

Ava kept up with him, giving her horse some leg, which she

seemed to enjoy. It was exhilarating to bounce in the saddle,

reminding her of what it was like when she was a kid. When

Rick passed her, she urged her horse on, and soon they were

gal oping into the pasture. The horses seemed to love going

at ful tilt. Ava certainly did.

They final y pul ed up under a group of trees near one of the

smal ponds. They climbed off and tied the horses up to give

them some time to breathe and get a drink. Rick sat under

one of the trees and Ava joined him.

“I’m not making you an experiment, you know.”

He uncapped a bottle of water and handed it to her, but

didn’t say anything. She took a long drink and handed it back

to him. “I don’t like talking about my past.”

“It’s easier to put it behind you if you do.”

“I’ve already talked plenty about it. I don’t want to do it

again.”

She turned to face him, crossing her legs over each other.

“So you had counseling?”

His lips curled. “You could say that.”

“Did it help?”

He shrugged. “It forced me to face some things I didn’t

real y want to examine again.”

“Like?”

“There you go again . . . probing. Maybe you should have

been a psychologist.”

Funny he should mention that. “That was Lacey’s major.”

“Was?”

“Yes. She dropped out midway through her master’s.”

“Why?”

“Because she met Bo and joined the Hel raisers.”

“You don’t approve.”

Her head shot up. “What makes you say that?” His smirk

irritated her. He seemed to be able to read her so wel . Was

she that transparent?

“The tone of your voice.”

“Oh. Wel , it’s not that I don’t approve.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to be a psychologist after al .”

“I guess not.”

He tilted his head and studied her. “But you don’t believe

that.”

She leaned against the trunk of the tree, wondering how the

topic had drifted to Lacey, when what she real y wanted was to

talk about him. But she supposed having someone to talk to

about her best friend wasn’t a bad idea. “Honestly? I don’t

know what to believe. She had a complete personality

transformation in the past year.”

“Since she met Bo.”

“Yes.”

“Fal ing in love can change someone. Maybe meeting Bo

switched her priorities.”

“It shouldn’t.”

“Bo’s lifestyle is a lot different than Lacey’s. Maybe he

introduced her to things she’d never known before, forced her

to examine the life she had and she found it lacking. Maybe

she prefers the life of the Hel raisers to one of academia.”

Huh. She’d never thought of those things. Now it was her

turn to study him. “You’re very smart for—”

He laughed. “For what? For a biker?”

“I’m sorry. That didn’t come out like I meant it to.”

“If you think bikers are so dumb, what are you doing here,

Ava?”

“It isn’t what I meant at al . I guess I just have my own

preconceived notions of who bikers are. I didn’t expect . . .”

She couldn’t go on. There was nothing she could say to get

her foot out of her mouth.

“Go ahead,” he said, laughter stil tingeing his voice. “It

takes a lot to insult me. I real y want to know what you think.”

“I guess I don’t expect you al to be col ege educated.”

“We’re not. I’m not. But some are. Bikers come from al

walks of life, Ava. Open your eyes and take a look around.

Talk to some of the people in biker groups. They’re anything

from day laborers to doctors, from fast-food employees to

scientists, and everything in between. Al you need is a love of

motorcycles and riding.”

“To be in a regular motorcycle club, you mean. Not

necessarily the Hel raisers.”

Rick grabbed a hunk of grass and pul ed it, then let it sift

through his fingers, piece by piece, to the ground. “The

Hel raisers are different. They’re more like a lifestyle.”

“So there is a difference in the type of people who become

Hel raisers?”

“Maybe.”

She sighed. “You confuse me.”

“Good. I’d hate to think I was predictable.”

“You’re definitely not predictable.”

He leaned in, and once again she inhaled the scent of

leather, of horses, and the outdoors. Of him. She mainly liked

his scent and moved a little closer.

“Predictable is boring. It’s safe. Knowing everything about

someone is the kiss of death to a relationship.”

He was coming closer, and she knew he was going to kiss

her. “Knowing everything about someone means you can trust

them.”

He paused, his lips lifting. “I don’t think you can ever trust

someone completely. Or know everything there is about them.

That’s part of the fun. Peeling the layers back a bit at a time

instead of al at once.”

“Like what we’re doing now?”

“Yes.”

So close she felt his breath brush her cheek. He combed

his fingers through her ponytail, letting the tendrils fal back

onto her shoulder like a soft rain. Her lips parted on a sigh and

he pressed his mouth to hers.

God, it was sweet. The day was warm but there was a cool

breeze. She needed it to cool down her raging libido, which

had come to life in an instant as soon as Rick’s lips touched

hers. She melted into him and he pul ed her onto his lap. She

went wil ingly, his arms wrapping around her in a cocoon. Oh,

she liked the feel of him surrounding her. She laid her hand on

his chest where his jacket was open, felt his heart beating

—strong, steady, gradual y increasing in rhythm as his lips

plundered hers. She imagined her heart doing the same,

pumping a mad rhythm as his tongue slid between her parted

lips. He dipped her head down in the crook of his arm,

cradling her as he kissed her with more depth, more passion,

until she was swimming in sensation and whol y unable to

catch a breath.

This was madness, this loss of control out here in the

wilderness. Already her mind was pummeled by images of

what Rick could do to her out here, and al of them were

naughty, forbidden, and everything she wanted. Undressing

her completely, until she was naked to the elements, then

licking every part of her body until he devoured her pussy,

making her come over and over until her screams echoed off

the canyon wal s.

She shuddered in his arms and he pul ed away, looking

down on her with eyes dark with passion.

“Do you want to peel some layers, Ava?”

Physical or psychological? She didn’t know what he meant.

Should she ask? Did it matter?

Why did she find it so hard to breathe whenever he got

close to her? She wasn’t a teenager anymore. She was an

adult. A woman experienced in sex and relationships. Yet her

pulse raced and al her intimate body parts swel ed and

throbbed in anticipation, as if this was the first time, the first

man.

Getting involved in an intimate relationship with Rick wasn’t

why she had come to the Hel raisers. She was supposed to

be spending time with Lacey.

But finding out more about bikers might give her insight into

what the attraction was to Lacey. And that might help.

You’re making excuses. You want him.
So he wasn’t part

of her overal plan for being here this week. So what? Why

couldn’t she just jump into something without thinking about it,

plotting it, charting it, or examining it a hundred different

ways?

Rick smiled and gently lifted her off his lap, then stood, held

his hand out. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Back to Joey’s. I think the horses have rested long enough.

”

What? Why? She took a quick glance at him before he

turned away and headed toward the horses, saw the outline of

his erection, knew what would have happened if she hadn’t

hesitated.

Dammit. She’d ruined another moment by having to think

out every possibility. What the hel was wrong with her

anyway?

She hurried to catch up with him. “We don’t have to leave

yet. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

He dragged her into his arms and ravaged her mouth with a

demanding, hard kiss, the kind that curled her toes, made her

stop breathing—stop thinking—the kind of kiss that melted

her right there and made her as hot as the desert sun. When

he pul ed away, she had no idea what to think, other than her

legs were shaking. And she wanted more of his mouth on her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. We need to get out of here. I

don’t want to make love to you in the middle of the desert. It’s

getting late and the others wil be leaving Joey’s house soon. I

need to get with Bo about something before everyone takes

off.”

“Oh.”

“But I
am
going to make love to you, Ava. Count on it.”

He untethered her horse and handed her the reins. She

mounted up, the tenderness of her pussy making contact with

the saddle reminding her of what was going to happen

between them.

But when? And where?

T
iming was everything. Or in Rick and Ava’s case, never a

good thing. Why was it that every time things got hot and

heavy between them, the timing wasn’t right?

He supposed that meant that once the timing was final y

right, it was going to be damn good.

He hoped it was going to be soon, because his bal s were

aching. Getting off with her by phone last night had just been a

teaser, had left his mind fil ed with images of her naked and

touching herself, her fingers buried in her pussy. He got hard

just thinking about it. And this afternoon in the desert he’d

edged toward stripping her and fucking her right there on the

ground.

But something just wasn’t right about that. When they got

naked together he wanted some goddamned privacy—with

nothing to interrupt them. So again he’d put the brakes on.

He wondered when he had developed scruples. Typical y he

didn’t care where he pul ed out his dick, as long as he and the

lady got off. And he knew damn wel he could get Ava off.