Chapter 42

AUGUST 14 – SUNDAY 1:00 PM

T heo

Cutting the motorcycle engine, I got off and removed my gloves and helmet. I'd sat up and watched Ren pace all night long. She refused to rest, and nothing that Blake or I said or did was getting her to stop. It was bad enough that she was worried about losing yet another person she loved, but now she was freaked out about what Blake and I would have to do on the same day. She didn't exactly have a great track record with people dying around her, so it was easy to see why she was all up in her head.

Unfortunately, I had left this morning to head into the office to work with my dad for a couple of hours. Nash had arrived as I was pulling out. Training was either going to go really well or really bad. You never knew with those two.

Ren stepped outside with Blake, and I smiled when I got closer. "Hi, how are you feeling now?" I put my hands on her shoulders. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep, and she was still fidgety, but she seemed a little calmer.

"I'm okay, I guess. Nash worked me hard this morning, and I was tired enough that I caught a couple hours of sleep. The worry hasn't gone away, but I'm finally able to sit still, so yay for me."

"I want you to come for a ride with me." She looked at the bike and then at me. "Trust me, it's the perfect thing to clear your head and stop worrying for a little while." The moment she started to nibble her bottom lip, I knew I had her. "There's a place I want to show you, and it will be just you, me, and the open road. You know you want to say yes," I said and smirked at her.

"Alright, I'll go. Just let me get changed."

As soon as she was inside, I nodded for Blake to follow me down to the bike, not wanting Ren to overhear me.

"What's up," Blake asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"I want to do something, and I'm hoping you'll back me on it." Crossing my arms, I glanced at the cabin. "She needs to get out of here for a little while and get her mind off Myles. It's drudging up the shit with her aunt, or who she thinks is her aunt, and of course, her mom."

Blake leaned against his car. "Yeah, she was holding it together by a thread all night. I'm fine with you guys going for a ride. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I want to take her away for a few days," I said, expecting an explosion with a hell no, but instead, he nodded.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Seattle. There's lots to see, and I found a gallery there that has her mom's paintings."

"Are you serious?" I nodded.

"She needs a distraction, and let's face it, this place has no distractions other than us. I'm no good at juggling or telling jokes. I'd say we all go, but if I take the back roads with the bike, I can be in Seattle in four hours tops. Besides, if she thinks we're just going for a fun ride around here, she won't have the opportunity to say no."

"You think she'll hole herself up in there," Blake asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"I'm worried that she may. She's strong, but she's had to deal with a lot in a year. The fear of losing Myles or worse if something goes wrong…I just want to see if I can help her feel normal for a bit. But if you really don't want me to go, I'll respect that."

Blake shook his head. "No, go. Ren wants you in her life. I have accepted it, and you won't get an objection from me. I actually think you're right. It could be good for her."

The door opened with a squeak and banged closed as Ren came out and jogged down the stairs in her Kevlar, helmet in hand. Yeah, I'd never get used to seeing her like this. It turned me on like she was prancing around in skimpy underwear.

"I'm ready," Ren said, and there was already a lighter tone to her voice.

"I see that," I said and ran my eyes up and down her body, a soft blush instantly creeping across her cheeks.

Taking her helmet from her, I held it behind my back. Wrapping my hand around her neck, I pulled her closer, and her eyes grew wide, obviously not expecting this. Good, keeping Ren on her toes was exactly where I wanted to keep her.

My lips brushed against hers, and our eyes locked. "On this ride, you need to be a good girl and do as I say until we get back." She licked her lips and flicked her eyes in Blake's direction, but he only smirked. "Blake isn't going to help you. He's my witness. You promise to be a good fucking girl, Ren? Do what I say when I say it?" Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out, and I had to fight the urge not to smile. "Is that a yes?" She nodded. "Not good enough. Say, you're a good girl. Say, you'll behave."

"I…I'll be a good girl and behave," she whispered.

"Good." I pulled back but kept hold of her, and I could see the pulse jumping in the side of her neck. "Tell me, have you ever wanted to be fucked by twins at the same time?"

"Um…I…ah…." Ren's face turned a violent shade of red. She looked at Blake and then me and then the sky and ground, like her eyes couldn't decide what was safe. "I…I…I…." She stammered. It wasn't often that she was at a loss for words, and I was loving every second of this.

"If you're a good girl, maybe we can fulfill that fantasy for you when we get back. What do you say, Blake? Are you in," I asked, but I kept my eyes on Ren. Blake pushed away from the car and stood behind Ren, his lips brushing against her ear.

"Oh, I'm definitely in," he said, nipping at her earlobe. Ren shuddered and licked her lips, her eyes wide. I was momentarily transfixed by the sight as they reflected the white clouds overhead, and I couldn't see her retina at all. "That is if you think you can handle both of us at once."

"Yes."

I could almost see her brain misfire as she tried to figure out how she'd gone from everything in her life hanging in the balance of life and death to picturing having two cocks in her at once. It was a one-eighty that would mess with anyone.

Pulling the helmet out from behind my back, I held it out for her to take and put on. "Then let's get going. The sooner we do, the sooner we get back, and the sooner you get your prize."

She pulled on her helmet, and I did up the buckle and then put mine on before grabbing my backpack and handing it to her. She gave it a peculiar stare but didn't question why we'd need it for a fun ride. I winked at Blake to thank him for playing along. It really wasn't a terrible idea. A good old-fashioned spit roast might do the trick.

Straddling the bike, I hit the starter, and she roared to life. I maneuvered her around until I was facing out the driveway and watched as Blake hugged Ren before she got on behind me.

I tapped the helmet's speakers, turning them on. "Test," I said.

"I can hear you," Ren answered.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of here for a while." Her arms tightened around my waist, and I really wanted a picture of this. She made the cutest fucking backpack. I already had a playlist of her favorite songs from snooping through her phone and turned on the music. We wheeled out of the driveway and onto the dead-end lane that led to the main road. It was always slow going with the bike over the broken pieces of asphalt and pebbles that were like rolling on marbles, but we made it, and instead of heading toward town, I went in the opposite direction. It was only a few miles before I turned onto another back road.

"Why are we going this way," Ren asked.

"Less likelihood anyone will spot us. Don't need to get into another highspeed run for our lives unless that's the kind of adventure you're looking for?"

"No, I'll pass." I smirked at her response.

We wound our way from one road to the next. About an hour outside of Portland, I merged onto the highway and opened the bike up. Ren snuggled tighter to my body. I hadn't been totally honest with Blake. Yes, this trip was for Ren, but it was as much for me as it was for her. Things with Liam were better, but there was still tension between us that I hated. The issue was that if someone gave me the option to go back in time and take back what happened at the gas station with Ren, I wouldn't. The two of them fit with the two different sides of my personality. Each made me feel the same level of connection but in vastly different ways. Liam was always dominant, to the point of being a dick, but I loved it as much as I loved him and accepted that was his way. Ren woke up the part of me that wanted to do the dominating. She responded to it and looked at me with desire. The fact that it totally threw her off her game was just icing on the sexy cake. We could go toe-to-toe intellectually, which I loved, but if I pushed the right buttons, she'd get on her knees.

I shivered at the thought. Fuck.

When I glanced in the rearview mirror, I saw that there was no one on the road for miles. It was like we were the only two people on earth.

"Hang on extra tight, lock your arms."

I bit back the groan as her legs tightened on my hips, and she obeyed my command. Testing her, I pulled the front wheel up about a foot and set it back down.

"Oh my god, what are you doing?"

"You trust me?"

"Okay, here's the thing. I trust you with my life, but if you're going to do what I think you're going to do, that is like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane for fun."

I laughed. "Nothing wrong with skydiving. Come on, Ren, live a little. Life is short. Right?" I could almost feel her heart pounding against my back.

"Sweet Jesus, what am I thinking? Okay, fine, do it."

"Just stay with me."

I did a few small wheelies again, getting used to her weight and how the bike responded. She was like glue and moved with me. With a smile, I brought the front up into as high of a catwalk as I dared and held her there. Other than the guys, no one saw this side of me. My mother would've fainted, and those at school…well, it was better that they thought I was just the class nerd who wanted to beat everyone with my GPA.

"Oh My God!" Ren yelled, her enthusiasm infectious, making me smile. "This is insane! I love it!" Putting the bike down, I laughed hard. She never ceased to amaze me. "Can we do it again? That was incredible!"

"Hang on." As soon as she tightened her grip, I brought the front end up. There was something so exhilarating about feeling the bike balance like this. The math and physics behind it made the nerd in me so fucking happy that it was disgusting.

"We have traffic pulling on. I don't like being near vehicles for tricks," I said, lowering the bike. "I promise we will on another blank stretch."

"Theo?"

"Yeah?"

"You're crazy. I just want you to know that, but I love it," Ren said, and my eyebrows shot up.

"Careful, Ren, you might catch real feelings if you keep talking like that." She grew quiet, and the sound of my own breathing was loud in my helmet as I waited for her to say something.

"Is that what you think? That I don't care about you?"

I was really happy that she couldn't see my face, but it didn't stop me from wanting to fidget. "Honestly, I don't know what to think. I see how you are with Myles and Blake, but I'm not sure how I fit into the equation. What variable do I fit?"

"I have zero experience in dating one person, let alone three, so I don't have a clue how this is supposed to work, but…I want you, and I have very strong feelings for you. But don't let that go to your head." I smirked. Strong feelings were a start, and it was a place to work up from. "I've kinda been holding myself back."

"Because of Liam?"

She was silent again, and I knew the answer even before she spoke. "Yeah. I'm not sure he's going to accept me being in your life, and I'm not comfortable being the reason you two split up."

"Yeah, I know."

She was voicing what worried me, too. Sex with Liam had been out of this world since we made up, but he was still quiet about Ren. I could see the jealousy in him whenever I said I was heading to the cabin. We couldn't last like that. One of us needed to give in. That meant that I let go of Ren, which was nearly impossible at this point, or…Liam became X in the multivariable equation that equaled five.

We lapsed into silence, the words unsaid speaking louder than the roar of my bike. I needed a plan, but what…that was the riddle proving to be tricky to unravel.

"Theo?"

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell are we going?"

I laughed, and just like that, the awkward tension burst.

Fuck, my heart was already in deep.