Jagged Hearts by Lacey Thorn Read Free Book Online

outside of his. Still, she kept her eyes opened, knowing what he had planned. Her heartbeat kicked up, not from fear as she might have expected, but from excitement. Bare wasn’t running from the reporters. He planned to barrel right through them.
    He revved the motor once. She saw the doors come open, and someone yelled a warning. Then they were off. The back tire swung wide as they peeled out, leaving a smear of black on the road. He raced toward the paparazzi, jumped the curb and didn’t stop as people jumped out of the way. The bike went through the doors, and he spun the bike to a complete stop in the middle of the lobby.
    She was shaking, and he must have felt it. He kicked the stand down and shut off the motor. Gripping her hands, he loosened her hold then stepped off and turned to her. They were safely inside the building, though she still saw the flash of cameras as the scattered reporters regrouped and surged forward to crowd the now-shut glass doors and surrounding windows.
    Her father and Tuck came closer, and her dad looked anything but happy. Jagger, Seth, Sterling, Darren, Marco, Rusty, and Pauly all stood there as well. Shit, surely her dad hadn’t called them all away from other jobs simply because her mother had leaked Paisley’s whereabouts to the press?
    “What the hell are you thinking, pulling a stunt like that with my daughter?” Jamison demanded when he reached them.
    Bare ignored him and turned to help Paisley off the bike.
    “You okay?” he asked, running his hands from her wrists up to her shoulders before reaching to unfasten the helmet.
    She helped him, their fingers meshing as they pulled it off.
    “Paisley?” her dad questioned.
    She knew she was throwing them with the ear-to-ear grin she wore, but she couldn’t help it. When Bare straightened from putting off the helmet, she launched herself at his chest with a laugh.
    “That was the best ride ever!” she whooped. “Did you see them dive out of the way? Oh my God! Let’s do it again!”
    Bare’s hands caught her ass and lifted her into him. Without a thought for her audience, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him. Her palms cupped his whiskered cheeks while their lips meshed and tongues played. She hadn’t meant for it to go this far, but neither of them seemed capable of breaking apart until the need for oxygen overcame the need for each other. Nothing like making a choice and diving right in. Deep inside, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was right, that she was exactly where she should be. With Bare.
    They were both panting when she became aware of the stunned silence that filled the lobby. Peeking around, she saw surprise and shock on the faces around them—all except Tuck. There was something else in his eyes, something that said he wasn’t surprised at all.
    Her dad cleared his throat. “Maybe, we should take this conversation somewhere a bit more private?” he asked. “I think the reporters have enough for right now.”
    Shit! She’d forgotten about them once she locked onto Bare. She glanced toward the doors and knew immediately one of them had captured what was sure to be a money shot. The elusive Paisley Ames wrapped around an unknown man, looking more than over the past. She couldn’t help the tremor that went through her.
    “Stop,” Bare whispered in her ear.
    She pulled her glance back to him, meeting his intense blue gaze, and knew what he was thinking. She saw it in his eyes. He was preparing for her to shut down, but he was wrong.
    “Put me down,” she whispered back.
    He shook his head, fingers flexing against her ass. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t regret today. Tell me you don’t regret this.”
    She smiled softly. “I may not be able to handle you, Barrett Locke, but I won’t regret trying. And I don’t regret today or this.”
    “Trust me,” Bare muttered as he let her slide down his frame onto her feet. “You can handle me in every way that