Page 63 of Ride Forever

He nodded.

I sat on the bed, suddenly weak at the knees. The air was so heavy with the incoming storm that all I wanted to do was grab onto Chaser and never let go. I wanted to draw him into a little cocoon and stay there forever. Just him and me.

He sat beside me, his arm circling my waist. Just his touch was enough to send a bolt of longing between my legs.

“What do you hope for, Chaser?”

“You want to know about my hopes and dreams?” he asked with a laugh. “Shit.”

“Yeah. So?”

He grunted.

“This has to do with after. We’ve talked about it but not seriously,” I said. “So let’s make a concrete plan. Something to get us through the next couple of days. Something to look forward to.”

Chaser lowered his gaze and picked up my hand. Rubbing his fingers over mine, he nodded. “You go first.”

“I want to go see Yvette,” I said. “I want to see how Sam’s doing. Besides, I made her a promise.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. We were in some town by a McDonald’s. You and me. I can’t even remember where now. I told her if I ever got through to the other side of this, I’d let her know. I want to let her know. In person.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Then we go there first.”

“Then I want to hole up someplace quiet and fuck our brains out. I want to do it all kinds of ways. We haven’t done anal yet.”

His eyes darkened, and his grip tightened around my waist. “Sounds like paradise.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m still thinking about you wanting anal sex.”

“I’m serious, Chaser.”

He thought for a moment, his brow creasing with the effort. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“When you left Fortitude, why did you pick New York?”

“Honestly? It was the farthest place away from here. There wasn’t any deep and powerful meaning. I didn’t want to seek my fortunes on Broadway or anything. I just wanted to run far, far away.” I studied his expression but got nothing. “Are you disappointed?”

“No.”

“Chaser, I… I never belonged anywhere before. Not really. But I belong with you now. The place doesn’t matter.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” he said, cupping my cheek. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as we’re together.”

I grinned. “See? I said you were getting soft. Like a big, squishy teddy bear.”

“Fuck me.” He groaned and rolled his eyes. “What did I say about ruining my reputation?”

Straddling his lap, I fisted my hands in his hair and tugged his head back. “Am I denting your fragile male ego?”

“No. I’m too hard for that.”

“So, when we win, we’ll go to New York,” I murmured.