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“What happened to the other kind of thanks?” he asked, his voice low.

His arms went around me, pulling me closer as he lowered his mouth lightly to mine.

I liked gentle a lot but my body remembered the kiss from Friday night. Without thought, I used my tongue to trace the seam of Jake’s lips.

He groaned before deepening the kiss.

Too soon he pulled back, ending the moment. “We gotta go.”

“Okay,” I murmured from my haze.

“Fuck, really wanna kiss those lips again, but then we won’t be leavin’ at all.”

“Okay,” I repeated.

I’m sure there’s some appeal to leaving, but I can’t for the life of me remember what. Maybe we should stay here until I figure it out.

My face must have shown my thoughts, making Jake kiss me again, hard but much too fast.

“Let’s go, sweets.”

I locked up and followed him down the walkway, running my hand over the back of my neck. My nerves were on edge about tonight and I couldn’t shake my anxiety lately. I was worried about doing something embarrassing and having to avoid Jake and the guys.

As in, I’d be changing my name and moving to a remote town where the moose outnumbered the people.

I caught sight of Jake’s Fat Boy Lo Harley, pulling me from my heavy thoughts. I’d seen it briefly last night, but the close-up view was infinitely better. Black with chrome detailing, it was sleek and powerful without looking like a crotch rocket. Not that I minded crotch rockets on occasion, but my love was for cruisers.

As much as I wanted a bike, I figured delivering cakes on one might get a little messy, so I went with the van.

“Awesome,” I whispered reverently.

Jake’s lip twitched. He grabbed a helmet and put it on me, his fingers lightly brushing my jaw and neck. Straddling the bike, he took care of his own helmet before helping me on.

Under normal circumstances, even in heels, I’d have had no issue getting on the bike. After seeing him on it, however, I was finding myself a little weak in the knees.

As the engine roared to life, I wrapped my arms around Jake’s waist. He pulled them tighter, moving me closer in the process.

With my front flush to his back, I could feel each muscle ripple, each tendon tighten, as he moved. I rested my head between his shoulders as we took off.

I was disappointed when we pulled into a driveway. I loved the feel of the ride, the sights flying by as the wind whipped around us. It was invigorating. It was beautiful.

It was freedom.

Experiencing it pressed tight to Jake didn’t hurt, either.

Jake pulled up to the side of the house and cut the engine. Hopping off the back, I set the helmet with his and shook out my hair.

“Damn,” someone said from the porch.

I turned and barely contained my fangirl squeal when I saw Jet.

“Hey, baby, I’m Jet. Before anyone else sees you, how about you and I—”

“Too late,” Jake said. Curling his arm around my shoulders, we walked towards the steps.

“‘Be a drummer,’ everyone said. ‘You’ll get all the girls,’ everyone said. Everyone was wrong. Shoulda taken a fuckin’ shop class,” Jet sighed dramatically.

“You did, you just didn’t go. Pretty sure you spent a big chunk of your time in the nurse’s office.”