8

      I clung onto Eddie’s waist, the wind blowing my hair back off my face, the roar of the Harley’s engine the only sound I could hear as we sped along the deserted road. On either side of us there was nothing but an expanse of deep, rust-coloured land, the dust and dirt interspersed with patches of green cacti and desert plants. It seemed to go on forever, the colour changing only when it seemed to merge with the pale-blue sky, making it feel as though we were riding on the same stretch of road, over and over. The view didn’t seem to change, bar the fleeting glimpse of a bigger cacti patch, or the odd cloud that had dared to show itself in that crystal-clear sky. It felt as though we were the only two people there. Nobody else could touch us, because nobody else existed.That’s how it felt.

      Leaning forward, I rested my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes for the briefest of seconds, letting the sound of the bike wash over me. I’d ridden pillion on Finn’s Ducati a number of times back home, but it had never felt like this. This was something else completely. I felt as though, somewhere between me leaving the tattoo convention yesterday afternoon and meeting Eddie again in the elevator – I felt as though I’d somehow walked into a different world, crossed some kind of parallel timeline into another existence. And I was clinging onto that feeling like my life depended on it.

      As Eddie pulled the bike up at the side of the road, I opened my eyes to see a small building a little way off in the distance.

      ‘The diner I was telling you about,’ Eddie said, killing the engine, pulling off his helmet and laying it down in front of him as he climbed off the bike.

      I pulled off my own helmet, laying it down beside Eddie’s, but I stayed where I was for a few more seconds, looking out ahead of me. That building was like an oasis, stuck in the middle of nowhere, even though I knew we were really only a few miles out of Vegas.

      ‘This is so different to everything I’ve ever been used to,’ I whispered, my eyes still fixed straight ahead.

      ‘Different can be good sometimes.’

      I turned to look at him, standing there all biker-hot and handsome. What I felt for this man was something I really couldn’t explain. I’d known him all of one day – not even that – yet the thought of leaving him behind was the most terrifying feeling. Which was why I’d made the decision to stay here in Vegas. With him. A stupid, crazy decision, but I knew I wasn’t going to change my mind now. I was living a fantasy, and I wasn’t going to walk away from that; from something not many people ever got the chance to do.

      I climbed off the bike, leaning back against it, my eyes locked with Eddie’s as he came closer. ‘I have no idea how I’m gonna tell my brother I’m not coming home.’

      ‘Well, he’s probably gonna try and make you change your mind.’ He rested his hand against my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin in slow, gentle movements as his eyes sought to reassure me.

      ‘Probably,’ I whispered, my mouth almost touching his now, my lips physically aching to feel his against them. ‘But I’m a big girl now, Eddie. I can make my own decisions.’

      I felt my whole body relax into him as he finally kissed me, every part of me falling against him, giving into him. He was that dream I’d never even realised I had. That person I’d been looking for, the one who could open up all those locked doors that were still firmly closed inside of me. I believed that. I truly believed that. With every touch of his lips on mine, his fingers on my skin.When he was inside me everything just felt right. How could I walk away from that?

      ‘You haven’t really said that much about your life in the UK,’ he said quietly, pulling back just a touch, his hand still resting against my cheek.

      ‘You haven’t said all that much about yours.’ I laid my hand gently over his. ‘Have you never felt like going home? Back to Scotland? Don’t you miss it?’

      He shook his head, his eyes burning into mine with a strange kind of intensity. ‘America’s my home now. My life’s here, in Las Vegas. I don’t have any reason to go back to Scotland.’

      ‘There’s nobody waiting for you back there? No family?’

      He smiled slightly, just a small smile, which I wasn’t entirely sure reached his eyes. ‘My family aren’t all that accepting of my lifestyle. We’ve never really been that close.’

      ‘And what is your lifestyle, exactly?’

      His smile grew a little wider, his eyes suddenly lighting up, which only served to make my heart beat that little bit faster. ‘I’m a free spirit, Lana. The bike shop, and my stake in the garage my MC owns earns me enough to get by on. I live pretty simply. My home’s quite basic, you’ve seen that… When I’m not working I ride, because when I’m out here, on the open road, it’s the only time I think clearly. It really is the best kind of therapy.’ His eyes were staring into mine with that strange, yet beautiful, intensity again, something that caused a ripple of excitement to bubble up inside of me. ‘I’m an old-school biker, darlin’. I wear my colours with pride and loyalty is everything. But freedom – that’s the most important thing in the world for me.’

      I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his. This tall, handsome man with the tattoos and the beard and a voice so low and sexy – he really was everything I’d ever dreamt of. I just hadn’t realised it, until now. And everything he’d just said there, it was everything I’d wanted to hear.

      ‘What about you?’ he asked, his thumb still stroking my cheek, his hand warm yet rough against my skin. I didn’t want him to take it away. I liked it, I liked him touching me.

      ‘What about me?’ But even after all of that I was still reluctant to open up to him. Maybe because opening up, talking about the past brought it all back to the forefront. And I didn’t want to look back. I wanted to move forward.

      ‘Last night, in the elevator – you told me you were divorced.’

      I looked down, finally breaking that stare, because looking him in the eye and talking about Adam – that didn’t feel right. ‘I am. It’s just not something I really want to get into.’

      ‘Things didn’t work out, huh?’

      I raised my gaze, my eyes meeting his again. ‘Yeah. Something like that. We were together a long time and… We grew apart, that’s all. It happens.’

      ‘Yeah,’ he sighed, finally pulling his hand away from my face. ‘A lot of shit happens.’

      I frowned slightly as I watched his expression change, the look in his eyes something I couldn’t read. Sadness? I didn’t have time to really let it register as his face broke back into a slow smile. But what he’d said there…

      ‘You still think about him?’ Eddie asked, a question that surprised me, because it wasn’t something I’d