Page 2 of Trip (Riders of Retribution #3)

Trip

Normally, when I sit down for a meal, I eat fast. It’s an old habit from childhood that I never grew out of. I’ve never seen the point of savoring food. It’s there to provide fuel, nothing more, nothing less. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

Today, though… Today I’m taking my time. Sure, I’m tempted to scarf this burger and fries down and get out of here with Julia, but that would mean I don’t get to look at her.

And god damn, do I like looking at her.

Her shiny, black hair is pulled into a low ponytail and probably hangs right at her shoulders when she wears it down.

And those eyes… They’re bluer than the damn sky on a clear day.

For the most part, she keeps them on her tasks at hand, but every once in a while they land on me, and I have the urge to stand up and march over to where she’s standing to kiss her silly.

I’m not sure what about her inspires this kind of reaction in me. Maybe it’s the quiet confidence she exudes. Maybe it’s the way it seems to falter whenever I speak to her.

Taking another bite of my nearly-finished burger, I watch her bend over to pick up a fallen menu from the floor. Her ass is fantastic, too. Fuck. Everything about her is.

If we’re being honest, I prefer my own company. over other people’s. I’m easily annoyed, have a short temper, and typically limit my social interactions to the essential MC meetings. For some reason though, I find myself wanting to spend time with Julia.

She stops by my table a few minutes later, a smile on her face and a jacket slung over her shoulders, saying, “I just wanted to let you know your meal’s on the house tonight.”

“Rock put you up to this?” I ask, knowing damn well my fellow MC member practically refuses to let anyone from the Riders of Retribution pay for their meals. It feels like charity, and it rubs me the wrong way.

“He might have,” she replies with a shrug. Her gaze lingers on my features for a moment. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so grumpy about getting a free meal.”

“Who says I’m grumpy?” I reply, knowing I’m just proving her point. I take the remaining two fries on my plate, biting into them in an attempt to hide my scowl.

“You’re right,” she says, rolling her eyes playfully. “You seem absolutely ecstatic. My bad.”

“I am,” I say as I stand, pushing in my chair and offering her my hand. She hesitates for half a second before taking it and allowing me to start leading her out of the diner. “I’ve never been happier.”

Now that I’m taking this beautiful woman on a ride, that’s the truth. Even though I’ve never been a fan of having a backpack on rides, I won’t deny my excitement at taking Julia out for her first ride. I’ll take her out on as many rides as she wants, actually.

“Wait,” she says suddenly. “Do you have a helmet I could use?”

“Shit,” I say, though I wouldn’t be opposed to taking her without one, but it’s clear she wants one, so I say, “Stay here,” and sprint back inside to grab one of the spares that I know Rock keeps in the back room.

“Where did you get that?” Julia asks when I hand her the helmet.

“This is an MC diner,” I say with a shrug, grabbing my own helmet from my bike and slipping it on. “Rock keeps spares around.”

“This is an MC diner?” she repeats with a tilt of her head.

“You didn’t know?” I ask as I get onto the bike. “The Riders of Retribution own this place.”

“Oh,” she murmurs. “No, I didn’t.”

I realize at that moment that she has to be new here. Just about everyone in Rio Lunas knows that this diner is run by the MC. I tuck that away in the back of my mind as I gesture for her to get on behind me.

“Hold on tight,” I instruct, loving the way her body feels pressed against mine. She’s still not holding on tight enough, though. “Come on, Julia. Don’t be shy. We can’t have you falling off the back now, can we?”

She giggles as she complies. When her arms are practically strangling my waist and her front is firmly against my back, I kick the bike to life. From behind me, she makes a delighted noise. So, I rev the engine, drawing another sound of excitement from her.

“Keep holding on,” I yell over the engine.

Then, I take off, going slowly at first to let her get accustomed to the way the road feels beneath us. I stop before getting onto the main road, letting her readjust her grip before turning onto the street. The speed limit is low, and I’m already raring to get going faster.

I drive toward the outskirts of town, leaving behind the residential neighborhoods. As soon as I get to the open road, I start to speed up. Behind me, Julia presses herself in closer. She makes a delighted sound from under her helmet, and I can’t fight the grin that plasters itself on my face.

The sun begins to dip below the horizon as we get further away from town. I take a turn, deciding I’m going to show her one of my favorite places to visit. I’ve never brought anyone else out here, but I think that Julia will enjoy it.

She holds onto me tightly even after I stop. It isn’t until I kill the engine and tap her thigh that her grip on me loosens. And, even then, she keeps one hand on me as she dismounts.

“Where are we?” she asks as she removes her helmet and holds it awkwardly in front of her.

“Somewhere I like to come to think,” I say, putting my own helmet on my bike and plucking hers from her hands. “There’s a bench over there behind that grove of trees.”

“Oh,” she says, squinting in the direction. “I would never have known.”

“I don’t think most people know about it,” I say, grabbing her hand and leading her through the small wooded area. “I found it on one of my solo rides.”

“So, I take it you ride a lot, considering you're in an MC,” she says as she joins me on the bench. Her gaze drifts upward at the stars that begin to freckle the sky. “I’m guessing you didn’t join to spend time with your pals.”

“You seem to know a lot about me already,” I tease, loving the way the corner of her mouth tugs upward.

“Only that you ride a motorcycle and hate getting free food,” she quips.

Seems like Julia’s a bit of a jokester. I could get used to that. I already want more.

“That’s about all there is to me,” I say, resting my arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close.

I know the stars are probably breathtaking right now, but she looks even better.

“But I don’t know a damn thing about you.

So, tell me Julia, when did you move to Rio Lunas?

I don’t really get out much, but I’ve never seen you around. ”

“We moved pretty recently,” she says after a long pause, her eyes still focused on the sky above her.

“We?” I ask, suddenly worried there’s a romantic partner she hasn’t mentioned. She doesn’t seem the type who would fool around behind someone’s back, but you can never tell.

“Yeah, I had to get my sisters out of our hometown. After some…things that happened… we just couldn’t stay there.”

Her expression is pained, and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that this is a sore spot for her.

So, even though I don’t ever open up, I decide I’m going to try for her.

I’m desperate in a way I can’t explain to form a connection with Julia, and it seems like my walls just don’t exist when I’m around her.

There’s something just beneath the surface that’s haunting her. Maybe if I tear down the fortress I’ve constructed around myself, she’ll tear down hers. Even if she doesn’t, I want to tell her everything about myself in a way I’ve never been compelled to before.

“I take it your sisters are younger than you,” I murmur, waiting for her to nod before I continue. “I was actually raised by my sister. My parents… they weren’t really around. It was just me and her.”

“She sounds kind,” Julia says, and I reach out to take her hand, needing to be closer to her. “I’d love to meet her someday.”

My blood runs a little cold. How do I tell this woman that I’ve just met that my sister, the person who stepped up when my parents didn’t, is dead. Opening up to her is one thing, unloading the most traumatic thing that’s ever happened to me is another.

I decide to play it safe by saying, “She’s not really around anymore.”

“Oh,” she murmurs, fixing me with a gaze that bulldozes right through the reservations I had.

Before Julia can ask any further questions, the words are spilling from my mouth before I can stop them, and I find I don’t care. “I’d love for you to meet her. She was just… she passed away. It happened a long time ago, but I still don’t really talk about it.”

Her gaze softens and there’s a kind of recognition there that I think only comes from deeper understanding.

We hold the eye contact, an intense connection starting to form between the two of us.

I decide right then and there that I have to have her.

I have to make this girl mine. I want to know everything about her, and god dammit, for the first time in my life, I want someone to know everything about me.

“I’m so sorry,” she says, the weight of her words only confirming to me that she gets it more than she’s letting on.

There’s no point in holding back my desires anymore. Still holding onto her hand, I reach across her to grab onto her waist. Then, I pull her toward me, looking out for any signs of hesitation. When I find none, I connect our lips, reveling in the pleased sound she makes in response to the contact.

As I deepen the kiss slightly and she responds with fervor, her movements are a little unpracticed. I either took her completely by surprise or she’s never done this before. Either way, just one taste and I’m already addicted to Julia.