Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

She thought he would kiss her. In her mind, she could see him kissing her. Not a simple chaste kiss either.

No, it was passionate, hungry, and desire-ridden. One of those kisses seen in movies where the hero grabs the heroine’s face in both of his hands and kisses her with so much fervor that they are both left breathless and gasping for air.

What was even crazier was that she could see herself kissing him back with just as much fervency. She wanted him to kiss her.

Instead, he released her chin and drew back.

Aubree’s breaths came in short quick gasps as she tried to collect herself after that. Head spinning, she stared at him in puzzlement as he turned his back to her.

What just happened?

“Don’t make me ask again,” he growled. “Get on the bike so I can take you home.”

The finality in his voice forced her to comply. She did as she was told and climbed on the backseat, sitting sidesaddle like a horseback riding Victorian Englishwoman because of her pencil skirt. Securing the helmet he handed her on her head, she didn’t feel at all safe on the motor-contraption.

Putting on his sunglasses that were tucked in the breast pocket of his leather jacket, he climbed on in front of her.

It was then that she noticed that he’d given her his helmet, as he didn’t put one on himself. Chewing on her bottom lip, she realized the risk he was taking by ensuring her safety. He wouldn’t have done so if she meant nothing to him.

Not only that, but if he had wanted to kidnap her, wouldn’t he have done that at the grocery store? He had the chance, and instead, he let her walk away. Didn’t even chase after her.

“Hey,” he called over his shoulder to her, making her cringe a little. “Unless you plan on falling off and killing yourself, you might want to hold on.”

She swallowed. What was there to hold onto if not him? Her face grew hot at the prospect of wrapping her arms around his waist.

A faint sigh escaped his lips as he turned around and pulled her arms around him. “Haven’t you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?”

She tried to find her voice as she leaned against his back, hesitantly tightening her hold around his waist as he turned forward in his seat again. “No.”

“Then you better hold on tight.”

As soon as he hit the throttle, she gave a little yelp as she squeezed his waist. Once he got moving though, she was fine. Traffic made him drive slowly and every time he eased on the brakes or moved forward from a standing position, she tightened her hold around him.

“Relax,” he said over the rumbling of the engine. “I won’t speed or drive recklessly with you.”

She nodded her head against his leather-clad back as the light changed green and he rolled forward.

Despite the fact that she barely knew him, she felt she could trust him with her life. He was Gwen’s brother and Gwen said he was a decent guy; why shouldn’t she feel at least somewhat safe with him? She bet Gwen would chew him out if he didn’t do everything in his power to look out for her.

As they left the downtown core, traffic got a little bit lighter, if only slightly since it was rush hour. Stone was incapable of speeding, and it wasn’t until he turned down a foreign street did she get nervous.

“Where are we going?” she shouted over the engine as he picked up speed.

The street had less traffic and seemed to be more of a residential area than one of the major roads she was familiar with. He slowed as he came to a stop sign.

“You don’t have to shout,” he said over the engine. “I have excellent hearing.” He came to a stop, the engine rumbling softly. “Even if you whisper, I’ll hear you.”

“Okay,” she said in her normal speaking voice, not sure if she believed him to hear her whisper. “So, where are we going now?”

“Short-cut,” he said as he hit the throttle again. “Trust me.”

Tightening her grip on him as they rounded a curve in the road at thirty-five miles an hour, she had to trust him since he was the one driving. Peering around her, she watched as they passed a series of small single-detached homes with little front lawns and big trees in front. These homes were older, but she had to hand it to him, it was quieter without all the traffic found on the main roads.

Relaxing a little as she got used to the speed, a smile crept on her face when she realized that riding with him wasn’t so bad. He drove rather carefully, if only for her sake.

The residential street had many stop signs, but the lack of traffic was what made the ride almost enjoyable. In fact, the longer she sat behind him, the more she got used to it, and the more she liked it. Before she knew it, they were cruising down a familiar neighborhood and pulling up to her apartment building.

She glanced at her watch, and while the short-cut wasn’t at all shorter, it wasn’t any longer either. It had been calmer with less traffic and that was the main thing that they both seemed to appreciate.

Before she could hop off, Stone turned in his seat and gripped her arm in his large hand. She looked up into his face in confusion.

“Careful of the exhaust pipe,” he said. “It’s hot and can burn you.”

As he instructed, she hopped off, her heels clacking as her feet met the pavement. She pirouetted and beamed at Stone.

The look on his face was priceless. It was as if he wasn’t sure he should be surprised, pleased, or serious.

True, she had been nervous to get on the motorcycle with him, but she’d never been on one before, and not with a guy she got weird vibes from. However, once she got over her initial fear of the machine, she quite enjoyed herself.

Pulling the helmet from her head, she threw her hair back from her face and grinned at him. Holding the helmet out to him, she said, “That was actually pretty cool. Thanks for the ride.”

As she turned away to walk the fifty yards to the entrance to her building, Stone called out, “Aubree.”

She turned and peaked an eyebrow at him, enjoying the sight of his bafflement. Was he really confused right now? “Yeah?”

He hesitated as if something important was on his mind. Aubree couldn’t help the little tug on her heart as she leaned forward, curious about what he wanted to say, but found difficulty in uttering. He didn’t seem to be the type who struggled with words, and yet, he avoided her gaze, pressing his lips together, trying to speak like a tongue-tied teenager.

It was adorable, and so unlike him that she found it hard to believe that he was once the pushy asshole from the grocery store a week ago.

She hummed as she waited.

Clearing his throat, he finally uttered in a grumble, “Remember what I told you. Don’t go out after dark.”

With that, he revved the engine and took off, leaving her staring dumbfounded in the parking lot.

On second thought, he was still an ass.