CHAPTER 2

C aroline’s mind raced. She couldn’t believe she was letting this biker pick her up. She stole a sideways glance at his handsome face and hard body. Caroline’s practical side told her to go for it. No man ever looked at her like this guy did.

“I don’t even know your name,” she whispered, appalled as she stopped in her tracks.

“Wraith.”

“Oh.” They walked through the parking lot.

“Do you remember where you left your car?”

“There was a huge boulder at the end of the row,” Caroline shared.

“Got it. Come on.”

They walked past a row of cars and bikes until Caroline stopped in her tracks. A shadowy figure sat on her back bumper a short distance away. “That’s Adam. He found my car.”

“Shall we go on my bike, or should I take care of him?” Wraith asked.

Take care of him? What did that mean? Caroline pushed the question of how the burly biker would deal with her ex out of her mind. Then she squashed the flare of interest that ignited inside her at the thought of someone intimidating Adam. She’d love to see the tables turned on her ex for once.

“Your bike. I don’t want him to hurt my car.”

“On it.” Wraith directed their path to the side of the building. Caroline had noticed a lot of bikes sporting the Devil Daddies logo there when she’d walked in. What was he going to say when he found out she’d never ridden a bike?

Wraith pulled out his phone and placed a call. “Hey, Wraith here. I’m out for the night. There’s an asshole hanging next to a woman’s car in the parking lot. Row eight, east side.” He hung up without saying anything else.

“What will they do to him?”

“He’ll get tossed out.”

“Adam won’t like that,” Caroline warned.

“I can live with that. Can you?” he asked, never stopping.

She didn’t bother to answer. The moment Adam asked her for a divorce after four and a half years of marriage was the end of her concern for him. She bumped into Wraith’s powerful body on purpose, enjoying the contact with his hard form.

Caroline cocked her head to the side to look up at his handsome face surreptitiously. She’d never done anything like this before. If she had to break every rule she’d followed in her sparse dating activities before Adam, having a one-night fling with Wraith would be worth it.

Besides, she could use the experience of hot sex with a stranger in her book. Her love life hadn’t inspired a lot of sexy scenes. Or, it hadn’t until now.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good girl.”

A thrill filled her. She couldn’t believe how those two words could resonate inside her. Of course, he didn’t mean that phrase the way she took it. Caroline’s eyes landed on the club patch on his cut. Devil Daddies.

“Are you a Daddy?” she blurted before she could stop herself.

“Yes.”

Wraith didn’t stop walking toward the bikes. He did squeeze her hand. There was no way he meant that in the same way she did. Or did he? Hope flared inside her.

Caroline tried to figure out what to say. Maybe he had children, and they were talking about different things.

“How many kids do you have?” she asked, testing the waters.

“No offspring. No adult Little girl either. Here’s my bike.”

“Oh,” she said, unsure of how to respond to that. She’d asked, and he’d answered. Her pulse quickened. He was a Daddy Dom.

He stopped at an old-school chopper with ape-hanger handlebars. Caroline had learned those terms from her internet searches about bikes and riders. A zing of pride flowed through her. She’d put a lot of dedication into this new series. It appeared everything was soaking in.

All those thoughts dissolved when Wraith leaned over to unfasten the buckles on his leather saddlebags. He had obviously not skipped leg and butt day. Caroline had never been with anyone so built.

When he turned around, she found herself staring at his fly. Holy crap! He cleared his throat, and her gaze flew up to meet his.

‘Sorry. I….” What did she say to excuse staring at his erection?

“I like the package you come in too, Little girl. Let’s get this helmet on you so we can go explore.”

While she squeezed her thighs together in reaction to the arousal that flooded her at being called that, he stepped forward to brush her hair over her shoulders and gathered it into a thick ponytail. Before she realized what he was doing, Wraith tucked her tresses into the back of her shirt. “You’ll get less tangled this way.”

With that accomplished, he grabbed the helmet he’d pulled out of his saddlebag from the seat and fit it over her head. In a few quick moves, he fastened the chinstrap.

As he put on his own, Wraith told her, “I’ll get on first and start the bike. When I have it stabilized, you’ll step over and sit up here.” He patted a slightly higher section of the seat that had a metal loop as a backrest.

“Okay.” She was relieved she didn’t have to admit she was clueless.

Stepping back as he swung a leg over the wide bike, Caroline watched him start the engine and then brace the machine between his thick thighs.

“Come on, Temptress.”

Awkwardly, she tried to straddle the bike with as much ease as he had. Her heel caught on the metal bar, and she wobbled on one foot. Without saying a word, Wraith wrapped an arm around her, stabilizing her and helping her settle on the seat.

“Put your feet up on the pegs and hold on to me,” he instructed when she’d settled into place with a sigh of relief.

It took a few seconds for her to find the footrests. As she squirmed around, panicking that she was so uncool, Wraith’s large hand wrapped around her thigh. He guided her leg to the right place, easily controlling her jerky movements without any apparent judgement.

“You’ve got this,” he assured her calmly.

“Thanks,” she whispered and relaxed.

His hands pulled hers in front of him, tugging her arms around his powerful torso. “Hold on, Caroline. Lean the way I do, even if it seems scary. I’ve got you. I’ll keep you safe.”

Adam shouted from across the parking lot where Caroline’s car sat. “You can’t kick me out for waiting for my wife. Call the police. I’m not leaving.”

Wraith kicked the stand up into place and eased the bike out of his spot. Dismissing her concern about her ex, she decided she’d missed too much already while married to him. Caroline hugged herself to him, burying her nose in his back. She inhaled Wraith’s masculine scent as they crept through the parking lot. Stiffening her resolve, Caroline didn’t glance toward the growing commotion on the other side of the lot. Adam was on his own.

Riding with Wraith was both terrifying and exhilarating. Corners were the scariest. If she’d been able to unlock her hands from where they were frozen around Wraith’s waist, Caroline was sure she could have touched the pavement whizzing by a scant foot away. She definitely couldn’t concentrate on anything else as they sped through town.

On a long, straight stretch, Caroline relaxed a bit. The roar of the motor between her legs built heat inside her—both sexy arousal and actual warmth. She understood what all the MC romance books meant by the throbbing engine against her most private space. Caroline didn’t know what was more arousing, holding on to Wraith’s hard body or feeling the vibrations.

She shifted her hands slightly and froze. Caroline couldn’t mistake what she’d touched. Without thinking, she stroked her fingers over the thick shaft. A powerful hand clamped over hers.

“You’re going to make me drop the bike, Temptress,” he yelled back to her.

She’d never be able to look at him again. Caroline tried to draw her hands back to hold on to his waist, and Wraith tugged her into position again.

“You don’t want me to pull this bike over.”

The implied threat in there didn’t scare her. His stern tone sent an extra thrill through her. Caroline tried to relax, but the new sensations, scents, and views excited her. She could love riding on a bike if she got to hang on to Wraith.

“One-night stand, remember,” she told herself firmly.

A thought popped into her head. Why hadn’t she said something earlier? “Do you need directions?”

“What?” he shouted back to her over the motor.

“Directions?”

“I’ve got it,” he assured her and turned off the main road.

How much had he memorized from her driver’s license? Oh, my God! He knew her weight. That panicked thought reverberated in her head for a few more turns. He doesn’t care. He’d had her private information from the beginning.

She relaxed against him once again. He lifted one hand from the handlebars to wrap it around her leg, squeezing it slightly. Wraith caressed the length of her thigh. She noted that his were larger than hers. That shouldn’t make a difference, she told herself, but it did. Caroline liked big, burly guys. Unfortunately, they all seemed to go for the petite cheerleader type.

She crossed her fingers, hoping to have one magical night with the drop-dead gorgeous man. It was her turn to get the guy. Even if it was for a short time. Caroline had realized looking back she should have listened to that voice in the back of her mind. She was definitely going to heed its encouragement now.

He turned into the condos where she now rented. Getting away from her previous house was the best thing that could have happened. It didn’t hold good memories for her.

“I’m in the third one on the left. You can park in the garage if you’d like,” she told him.

He turned into the driveway and steadied the bike so she could dismount and enter the garage door code. Wraith also caught her when she got off-kilter. He didn’t make a big deal of it but wrapped his arms around her until she had her vibrating legs back under control.

“Thanks,” she whispered, staring into his dark eyes.

“Go open the door. I don’t want an audience when I make you come,” he told her, patting her full bottom.

“Oh!” What could she say to that? The combination of his blunt words and intimate touch did funny things to her inside. Caroline dashed to the controls and keyed in her code. The garage door didn’t move. Panicking, she tried it one more time. Still nothing. Crap! Wanting to whack herself on the forehead, she remembered to push the star that activated the connection. Slowly, the door inched upward.

Following him inside, she waited for him to make a big deal about her screwup. To her surprise, he simply drew her close to unfasten and remove her helmet. He stripped off his as well and set both on the seat of his motorcycle.

“Invite me in, Caroline.”

She stepped forward to press a quick kiss on his lips before shifting back to take his hand. Tugging him to the door, she said, “Follow me.” Thank goodness Wraith remembered to press the button lowering the door.

Once inside, he asked, “Bedroom? Living room? Kitchen table?”