impatience in his voice was probably attributable to the residual adrenaline in his bloodstream from the confrontation, except he displayed no indication that he was harried. Raven, it turned out was true to his word. He’d said he was going to protect her and he’d just saved her from a situation she’d never have been able to get out of on her own. Nothing bad had ever happened to her when Raven was around and he’d proved he was capable of keeping her safe.
Gratitude made her snatch his hand, even though he was no longer offering it, and Zara scrambled up in preparation to run away with him. But when her weight landed on her feet, her legs gave way causing her to fall into his unyielding form.
His arm came around her ribs, beneath her arms, to hold her up. “What’s the problem?” he asked, keeping an eye on the men who were beginning to show signs of getting up.
“My ankle,” she said, keeping the weight off her injured leg. “I think I sprained it or—”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he said, displaying no concern for her pain or interest in her explanation. Dipping to hook his arm under her legs, her feet didn’t touch the ground when he swept her out of the parking garage and into the dark lane outside.
This was a pedestrian access, so there weren’t meant to be vehicles parked here, there never had been before. But he dropped her onto the back of a monstrous black motorcycle that was standing up in the narrow space.
“Hold on to me,” he said, taking his seat up front and kicking the bike into gear.
Placing her hands on his sides, there was no time to tell him that she hadn’t done this before. He grabbed her wrists and forced them all the way around his torso, merging their bodies. Her instinct to withdraw was quashed when he revved the engine and roared forward. The momentum made her clamp her elbows and her knees into him and all thoughts of polite decorum went out the window.
The vibrations of the vehicle, and the heat that began to permeate, stimulated her. With the tumultuous emotions caused by this eventful night, she struggled to pinpoint the source of her blood pressure increase. It could come from fear, arousal, or maybe something else. The rush of wind as they wound through the streets loosened her hair but she didn’t let go of him, she didn’t decrease her grip for a second.
After becoming accustomed to the motion and the noise, she let her rigid muscles relax. Still holding on to him, she let herself breathe and rested her cheek on the leather at his back while trying to recall a time when she had felt so free. She came up blank. Given what she’d just been through, her exhilarated mood was quite a pronounced turnaround and it was all down to Raven and the security he provided her.
The streets whizzed by and although she recognized that their route would take them back to her apartment, she was almost sorry about the brevity of their trip. She’d never been on a motorcycle or had a man so solid and formidable between her thighs. For the first time in her life, she wondered what it would be to live a life free of all responsibility and throw caution to the wind, as Raven did.
He drove straight into the service alley at the rear of the building and pulled into a space between the dumpsters, then switched off the engine. In his same move of getting off the bike, he swept her up off her feet.
He didn’t blink, just carried her in his arms to the back door, and keyed in the private code to the security pad. She didn’t know how he knew it, but he didn’t hide his knowledge. Now that she thought about it, he hadn’t used a security code to get out of CI, divulging he had expertise beyond the physical.
Carrying her up the stairs to her apartment, she unlocked the door while still in his embrace. He took her inside, kicked the door shut, and carried her across the room, past the first column, to lie her on the couch.
Elevating her right leg, he seated himself
Gratitude made her snatch his hand, even though he was no longer offering it, and Zara scrambled up in preparation to run away with him. But when her weight landed on her feet, her legs gave way causing her to fall into his unyielding form.
His arm came around her ribs, beneath her arms, to hold her up. “What’s the problem?” he asked, keeping an eye on the men who were beginning to show signs of getting up.
“My ankle,” she said, keeping the weight off her injured leg. “I think I sprained it or—”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he said, displaying no concern for her pain or interest in her explanation. Dipping to hook his arm under her legs, her feet didn’t touch the ground when he swept her out of the parking garage and into the dark lane outside.
This was a pedestrian access, so there weren’t meant to be vehicles parked here, there never had been before. But he dropped her onto the back of a monstrous black motorcycle that was standing up in the narrow space.
“Hold on to me,” he said, taking his seat up front and kicking the bike into gear.
Placing her hands on his sides, there was no time to tell him that she hadn’t done this before. He grabbed her wrists and forced them all the way around his torso, merging their bodies. Her instinct to withdraw was quashed when he revved the engine and roared forward. The momentum made her clamp her elbows and her knees into him and all thoughts of polite decorum went out the window.
The vibrations of the vehicle, and the heat that began to permeate, stimulated her. With the tumultuous emotions caused by this eventful night, she struggled to pinpoint the source of her blood pressure increase. It could come from fear, arousal, or maybe something else. The rush of wind as they wound through the streets loosened her hair but she didn’t let go of him, she didn’t decrease her grip for a second.
After becoming accustomed to the motion and the noise, she let her rigid muscles relax. Still holding on to him, she let herself breathe and rested her cheek on the leather at his back while trying to recall a time when she had felt so free. She came up blank. Given what she’d just been through, her exhilarated mood was quite a pronounced turnaround and it was all down to Raven and the security he provided her.
The streets whizzed by and although she recognized that their route would take them back to her apartment, she was almost sorry about the brevity of their trip. She’d never been on a motorcycle or had a man so solid and formidable between her thighs. For the first time in her life, she wondered what it would be to live a life free of all responsibility and throw caution to the wind, as Raven did.
He drove straight into the service alley at the rear of the building and pulled into a space between the dumpsters, then switched off the engine. In his same move of getting off the bike, he swept her up off her feet.
He didn’t blink, just carried her in his arms to the back door, and keyed in the private code to the security pad. She didn’t know how he knew it, but he didn’t hide his knowledge. Now that she thought about it, he hadn’t used a security code to get out of CI, divulging he had expertise beyond the physical.
Carrying her up the stairs to her apartment, she unlocked the door while still in his embrace. He took her inside, kicked the door shut, and carried her across the room, past the first column, to lie her on the couch.
Elevating her right leg, he seated himself
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