Chapter 6

6

LAYLA

A fter my date with Roman, the last thing I wanted to do this morning was clean out my classroom. But it had to be done before the end of the day, so I’d dragged myself out of bed and headed over to the school bright and early. What I’d really wanted to do was stay cuddled under my blanket, dreaming about how the night would’ve gone if Roman had come inside with me instead of just dropping me off at my doorstep. I’d been a little cranky as I got to work…until my sexy biker showed up.

My eyes widened when there was a brief knock on my door before Roman strode into my classroom. Then my gaze dropped to the box of donuts he carried, and I licked my lips. “You brought breakfast?”

“And caffeine.” He lifted his other hand to show me a drink carrier with two to-go cups from my favorite coffee place.

I beamed a smile at him as he strode toward me. “You know how you mentioned that you wanted to impress me with our first date last night?”

“Yeah, but you ruined that plan 'cause you wanted pizza,” he teased, winking at me to soften the words. “So I figured I’d up my game by bringing you coffee and donuts.”

“Well, you didn’t have to make up for it because last night was awesome, but this is so sweet of you.”

Setting the donuts down on the desk, he handed me one of the to-go cups. “Not sure anyone has ever called me sweet before.”

“Oops.” I felt a blush fill my cheeks as I stared up at him. “I guess that’s not a term used for bikers very often?”

“Nah, but I like the sound of it on your perfect lips.”

The heat in my cheeks intensified, but from passion instead of embarrassment. The compliments he gave me were such a turn-on. “Good, because it’s the perfect word to describe your thoughtfulness.”

“How about I add to it by giving you a hand with all the shit you gotta do around here?” he suggested with a grin.

I blinked up at him with wide eyes. “Do you have time to help?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely, gorgeous.” He flipped open the box of donuts and pushed them closer to me so that I had the first pick. “But I have purely selfish motives.”

“You do?” I mumbled around my donut.

“Yup,” he confirmed. “The sooner you’re done, the sooner we can head out. And this time, I’m gonna do a fuck of a lot better than pizza for dinner.”

I loved that he wanted to help me so we could go out on a second date. “Sounds like a great plan to me.”

After eating donuts—two for me and six for him—we packed up my classroom in a little over an hour, much faster than any of the other teachers. Then Roman carried all the boxes coming home with me to my car. Once they were loaded into the trunk, he murmured, “Gonna follow you back to your place so we can head out from there.”

“Works for me,” I agreed, looking forward to whatever he had planned for the rest of the day. And hoping that I wasn’t assuming too much since he’d mentioned dinner even though it was early in the day.

My panties practically melted when I heard the rumble of his engine as he started his bike and pulled out of the parking lot behind me. He stuck close all the way to my apartment, and I was doubly glad for his help because he insisted on carrying everything inside while I changed for our second date.

“You’re sure this is okay for wherever we’re going?” I asked, glancing down at my jeans, long-sleeved purple T-shirt, and black suede ankle boots with adorable lace ruffles at the top.

“It’s perfect,” he reassured me, his eyes heating as they raked down the length of my body. “You look so damn beautiful, I’m probably gonna have to growl at every guy in the place so they don’t stare too long.”

I rolled my eyes with a snort. “Yeah, right. Stuff like that literally never happens to me.”

Roman moved close and trailed his fingers along my collarbone, sending a shiver down my spine. “It does, gorgeous. I caught sight of you in that parking lot, and I hauled ass to get to you before some other guy beat me to the punch.”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and croaked, “But you’re the only one who sees me like that.”

“Wouldn’t trade my bike for anything before I met you, but I’d put it up in a bet that you’re wrong without thinking twice.” His hand moved higher, and he traced my bottom lip with his thumb. “But I’m grateful as fuck that I’m the only man you ever noticed checking you out. It means I don’t have to put some other guy down to steal you away from him.”

I sucked in a quick breath at the sincerity shining from his amber orbs. “How about I just take your word for it instead? Your bike is too awesome to risk losing.”

“Glad you think so, baby.” He laced his fingers through mine to tug me toward the door. “Because I’m putting you on the back of it.”

My eyes widened at that information. “You’re going to have to show me what to do. I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before.”

“I have a hunch I’m gonna enjoy the fuck out of teaching my little teacher.” He waited until I locked the door behind us to add, “But I have to warn you…I’m not used to riding with someone behind me. You’re going to be the first woman on my bike.”

I loved that he hadn’t taken anyone else for a ride before. Maybe it didn’t mean anything, but I hoped it was because putting a woman on the back of their motorcycle meant something to bikers. That I was someone special to Roman.

“Then I guess we’ll figure it out together.”

“We will.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “And you don’t have to worry about being safe with me. I’ve been riding for years and would never do anything to put you at risk.”

“I trust you.”

Although we’d first met a week ago, we’d really only known each other for a day, but I was surprised to find that it didn’t make the words any less true. Roman was a big, muscular biker, but he’d been nothing but gentle and kind with me. Which was the only reason I didn’t completely freak out when so much time passed without us stopping. I was too busy enjoying being wrapped around Roman to notice where he’d taken me when he finally pulled into a parking lot behind a bar.

My legs were shaky as he helped me climb off the back of the bike. When he tugged the helmet off my head, I beamed a smile at him. “Thanks! That was so much fun.”

“Glad you enjoyed the ride, gorgeous.”

Turning my head, I blinked up at the sign above the back entrance to the bar. “Liquid Silver. I’ve never heard of this place, but it’s a cool name.”

“Didn’t expect you to be familiar with it when it’s in a different state and we mostly get locals who are connected to the Silver Saints as customers.”

My eyes widened in shock. I had kind of assumed we rode for so long because he knew I didn’t want it to end too quickly. It was hard to believe I’d been so wrapped up in him that I hadn’t even noticed when we crossed the state line. Then again, we’d mostly taken backroads, so it wasn’t as though we’d passed a giant sign like they had on the highway.

So many questions circled my brain, but the first one that popped out was, “You live two hours away from me?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed with a nod. “I was at your brother’s ceremony because the wives of two of my club brothers were graduating.”

I’d already figured that out for myself since it had been impossible to miss the bunch of bikers who had cheered for two of Luther’s classmates when they’d walked across the stage. But there had been so many of them that it had never crossed my mind that Roman and his friends weren’t from the same area as me.

“Will you be okay driving all the way to my place and back again after dinner? It’ll be dark, and you’ll probably be tired if you’ve made the trip so many times in only a couple of days.”

“I feel so at home on my motorcycle that I could ride it for much longer than that, day or night, without any trouble at all,” he assured me with a grin as he put both helmets into his saddlebag. “But I’ve only done the ride twice in as many days since I stayed at a hotel near your place last night. And I wasn’t planning on making the drive tonight. I want you to stay with me.”

My eyes widened as I echoed, “Stay with you?”

“Yeah, but I’ll take you back after dinner if that’s what you want.”

Oddly enough, it wasn’t. But that didn’t mean I was prepared to spend the night with him. “I don’t have any of my stuff with me.”

“I can get anything you need.” He jerked his chin toward a set of stairs that led to a door on the second story of the building. “And you’re more than welcome to wear whatever of mine you’d like. My place is upstairs since I manage the bar. All you have to do is say yes, gorgeous. I’ll take care of everything else.”