Eli might if he finds out I permitted Emily to ride without one, but it’d take longer to head to my house for Mom’s helmet than it would to go straight to the pond. “Let’s roll.”

I’m down the stairs and pulling my keys to my bike out of my pocket. Emily’s behind me. I straddle the bike then gesture for her to hop on. She sweeps her long bangs away from her face and massages her neck. “Seriously, are you and Olivia okay?”

Seriously, we are not. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough.” Emily nudges at the gravel with her toe. “She wants you to help me find the monsters haunting my past.”

Yeah, she does. “I can’t help you.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“That is a fucked-up question because it means the same thing.”

“No, it doesn’t. One means you can help but you’re refusing to. The other means you would love to help, but you don’t have the ability to.”

I insert my key into the ignition. “Emily, when it comes to you, can’t and won’t share the same definition. Now get on the bike.”

Emily tangles her fingers near the end of her hair and hesitates.

“Are you scared?” I ask.

Furious dark eyes stab right through me. “No.”

“Have you ridden before?”

She shrugs a maybe then her shoulders roll forward. “No, but how hard can it be?”

Driving one? Harder than she thinks. “Direct blood of Eli McKinley has never been on a bike. It feels sacrilegious.”

“I’m a Jennings,” she corrects.

“So you’ve mentioned and you just told me you’re a virgin so let’s go over the basics.”

Her mouth slacks. “I never said I was a virgin.”

“Never been on a bike before, right?”

She nods.

“As I said, virgin. I’m in a hurry, otherwise I’d be willing to swap sex stories, but you can dominate that conversation because I’m more interested in yours. When you do tell me, talk slow since I’m a details type of guy.”

Emily morphs a shade of red that’s too damn gorgeous and I force my eyes away. She’s too easy to get lost in...lost in conversation, lost in those damn eyes, lost in her beauty and gentle sexiness, but getting lost in Emily is not an option.

“When it comes to the bike, I’ll take it slow. You’ll only be on it for a few minutes. Hop on and I’ll walk you through this.”

With another tuck of her hair behind her ear, Emily exhales and climbs on behind me. My bike rides double, but it doesn’t have a bitch strap or a back rest so if she’s holding on, it’ll be me she’s clutching.

Emily sits as far back as possible and even with that distance her inner thighs still rub against my body. An image flashes in my mind of Emily lying next to me with her legs wrapped around mine and her warm breath tickling my neck. I inhale to gain some control.

“Okay, jackass.” Emily chases the vision away. “What now?”

“You can hike through the woods and I’ll meet you there.”

“Could,” she says. “But I don’t know where it is and I thought an escort was required. Take back what you said about the sex stories and I’ll take back the jackass.”

“You’re the one that brought up sex,” I respond.

“No, I didn’t. You did. So I’m standing by what I said, you’re a jackass.”

“I like how you do foreplay.” I twist to face her. “Hold on to my belt loops.”

She blinks, twice. “Your what?”

“Belt loops. The ones on the sides. Hold tight and if you’re feeling frisky I’ll let you wrap your arms around my waist. Cop a feel if you’d like—and so you know, I’d prefer if you head south instead of north.”

“Belt loops will be fine,” she says.

Her choice. “This is serious, so listen up. When I lean to the side, you go with me, never against me. Don’t go throwing yourself over, move naturally with the bike. If I stop and you have to readjust, get my attention before moving, you got it?”

Because riding is a balancing act and with her doubling up with me, I have to manage both of our weight. Last thing I need is to go down and for Emily to become embedded with gravel. “All joking aside, if you get scared, rest your head on my back, close your eyes and wrap your arms around me. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Emily twines her fingers around the loops in my jeans while still trying to keep space between us. I turn the key and soon my bike’s purring underneath us—a gentle vibration that immediately smooths out every frayed nerve in my body.

A quick look down shows Emily still has her feet on the ground. I point to the notches closest to her. “Place your feet on the floorboard.”

Emily’s hold on me tightens as she lifts her feet and balances on the bike. I peek at her over my shoulder. “You ready?”

She gives me a weak grin. “Yes?”

I chuckle then twist the throttle. “Hold on.”

Emily

THE MOTORCYCLE ACCELERATES and the few inches I had established between me and Oz: gone. My body slides forward, colliding into his, and we click together like two puzzle pieces. Heat rushes up my neck and onto my cheeks. My thighs are too close to his, too tight against his body and this is way more intimate than I have been before with a guy.