Catching the ball, Levi presses it between his palms, warping it. “If I had known you harbored such a profound hatred of flowers, I would have ordered a box of chocolate instead.”

“I don’t have anything against flowers,” I correct him. “Just the kind you send.”

He chuckles under his breath, and I feel a margin of relief. “And chocolate?”

“Three weeks from now, they’re the only thing that will save your life.”

“Guess I’d better stock up then.”

Watching Levi lay there, squeezing the ball in his hands, I feel embarrassed. What kind of woman grinds up flowers? I love flowers! I’ve been denying my feelings for him for so long that when he actually did something nice for me instead of insulting me or trying to embarrass me, I reacted like a crazy person.

“Are we still friends?”

Blowing out a heavy breath, Levi rests the ball on his chest and turns his head, giving me a heart-wrenching look. “I don’t know if I can be your friend, Vista.”

My chest constricts painfully. “Why?”

The pause feels like an eternity, but when he finally speaks, his words cause my heart to crash in my chest. “Because what I’m feeling isn’t very friendly.”

I clear my throat and run my hand over the duvet, unsure of how to feel about what he’s said. “Because you’re mad at me?” I venture, even though I know damn well and good that’s not what he meant.

Releasing the ball, Levi raises up, propping himself on one elbow, the upper half of his body turned toward me. His blue eyes are intense as he looks into mine. “Because I want to fuck you.”

8

Vista’s lips part on a gasp, and it takes every ounce of control I possess to keep from leaning up that last inch and covering her mouth with mine.

“Come on,” I say, rolling over and climbing off the bed. “Let’s go do something fun.”

Grabbing a discarded t-shirt from the back of the desk chair, I pull it over my head. When I turn around, Vista’s still sitting there on my bed, looking a little dazed, and just the sight of her there in her little t-shirt and shorts so short they should be outlawed, makes me want to throw her down on my sheets and touch her ‘til she screams my name.

I never should have told her I want to fuck her. Once words like that are shared, they can’t be taken back and now it’s all I can think about, and I’m betting the same is true for her. Something tells me she’s not even close to ready to go there though. That’s why I have to get out of here. I need a distraction, but the thought of spending any amount of time without her is unthinkable.

“Where are we going?”

Vista’s sweet voice in my ears threatens to send me over the edge. I back out of the room slowly, hoping she’ll follow, and she does. Thank God.

I grin at her. “It’s a surprise.”

At least she’s smiling now, instead of looking like a deer in the headlights. “I guess that means I should get dressed.”

“Or don’t,” I say with a shrug. “In fact, wear nothing. I got all the body heat you need.” God, just stop talking, man.

With a coy look, she runs off to her room to get ready while I head downstairs to put on my boots. I haven’t been riding in...too long. I love my car, but my bike is my first love. It’s the first thing I bought for myself when I got signed to MLS, but touring the country for games hasn’t left me with a lot of time lately to enjoy her.

My phone goes off as I’m slipping my arms into my riding jacket and I take it from my back pocket. It’s Vincent and I don’t even have to answer it to know what he’s calling for.

“Hey, man, what’s up?”

There’s a lot of noise going on in the background, so I guess he’s at a party, or a club. There’s no telling with Vincent. Wherever the fun is, he’s always there, no matter the hour.

“I got two words for you. Booze and pussy.”

“That’s three words, dumbass.”

“I got a couple more for you. Fuck you.” He belts out a laugh. “Anyway, I got this girl here who’s dying to meet you. You want me to bring her to you, or are you coming to us?”

My eyes lift to see Vista coming down the stairs. My dicks stirs as I take in the pair of skintight black jeans and multicolored tank top with ruffles that shows off just a hint of cleavage. Damn, just a hint, and I’m hard as a rock. I must be crazy.

“Naw, man. I’ve already got plans. Rain check, okay?”

“Dude, seriously? These women are fine as fuck. You can’t say no—”

I end the call while he’s still speaking because I honestly don’t give a shit about other women right now. “You look—damn.” I scratch my fingers through my beard, taking her in.

“Damn is good,” Vista says with a soft, flirty smile.

“You ready to go?”

She draws in a deep breath, and nods. “As I’ll ever be. Where are we going again?” She asks, eying my leather jacket and boots.

Scooping up my keys, I push her out the door and into the waiting elevator. “You know I’m not going to tell you.”

“Oh, I’m sure I can draw it out of you somehow,” she says, her eyes traveling down my body. I know that look, but I doubt she even realizes what she’s doing.

“You think you’re the only woman to try to seduce me, princess?” The elevator lets us out on the ground floor, and I lead her toward a back exit that lets out onto the building’s parking lot. The instant she sees what we’re heading for, Vista’s eyes practically shoot out of her skull.

“You own a motorcycle? We’re going to ride on that?”

I grin as I remove two helmets from the saddlebags. “That’s right, princess. Just something to add to the list of things you didn’t know about me. And here’s something else,” I say, passing one of the helmets off to her. “When it comes to keeping secrets, I’m a steel vault.”

She rolls her eyes as she turns the shining black helmet in her hands. I can’t even begin to restrain my smile. I had it specially made for her last week, and when she sees—

“You’re such a bastard,” she laughs, shaking her head.

“You like it?”

With a manufactured look of annoyance, she turns the helmet toward me so I can see the laser work I had done on it. In bright yellow script is the word Dummy.

“I think this one is yours.”

Taking it from her hands, I shake my head as I place it on top of hers. “Nope, mine is the one that says Pussy Magnet.”

“No way!”

Finished clipping her helmet on and making sure it’s snug, I wink at her and then turn away, tossing my leg over the seat. “Climb on, princess.”

Coming up behind me, I hear her whispered “Oh, my God,” when she catches sight of the back of my helmet. What can I say? She was warned.

Grabbing onto my shoulders, she climbs up and adjusts herself so that there’s a little gap between us.

Nope. That’s not going to happen. “You’re gonna have to get a lot closer than that if you don’t want to fall off, princess.”

A moment passes, and then Vista leans forward, wrapping her arms around my middle. Still not close enough for my taste, though. Reaching back with both hands, I grasp the back of her knees and drag her ass forward so she fits right up against me nice and snug.

“Much better, don’t you think?” Like this, I can feel the heat between her legs against my lower back. My jeans are instantly too tight, and I have to reach down to shift myself.

Damn, but this is going to be one hell of a ride.

Firing up the engine, I instruct Vista to hold on tight and relax, then we take off.

I’ve only had a person on my bike one other time when I was already out cruising and Vincent’s truck broke down and he needed an emergency pickup. Otherwise, no one rides with me. Riding is the one time when I can break free from everything and clear my head.

Having Vista with me isn’t a distraction though. With her at my back, leaning into the turns with me, her hands pressed flat against my stomach, I feel more at peace than I ever have riding alone. It’s strange, but there’s something calming about having her here. Almost like by sharing this experience with her I’m letting her see a piece of me that no one else is allowed to see.