Ride (Alpha Male Romance): In Between the Covers (Carolina Bad Boys #3) by Rie Warren Read Free Book Online Page B

laid my cheek against his shoulder. He roared onto the road and moved between traffic like the motorcycle—black and big and loud—was an extension of his body. The way he handled the full throttle beast was sexual and primal and so manly I could almost imagine the way he made love.
    Heat billowed inside of me, warming me as the wind lashed my unbound hair and bit bright spots into my cheeks.
    Jase patted my hands and nodded back at me before we hit the open road of the Brazos Trail. I peered over his shoulder and laughed in his ear. I saw him grin just before he throttled down hard. A louder laugh burst from me. I couldn’t stop the lighthearted, light-headed feeling caused by the racing speed, the strong man in my arms, the rumbling metal between our legs.
    I buried my nose against the skin of his neck where I could smell him best. He shuddered against me. Tears stung my eyes and fell. They weren’t solely because of the whipping wind. The tears came fast, just a few, because Jase was giving me an experience that surpassed all the others of my life. He was sharing one of his loves with me.
    Hours must have passed, but it felt like minutes. I never wanted to stop. The Brazos Trail went on for miles and miles of hillsides and canyons and the burnished glow of autumn hues. It swept by as a mirage of colors, colors—like the feeling burbling inside—I wanted to grab onto.
    Eventually he slowed, pulling off the road. We stopped at an overlook and shared a bottle of water. I hadn’t stopped grinning. Jase watched me with a careful look in his eyes, as if he’d never seen me before.
    With my hand tucked inside his warmer, rougher palm, he helped me down the trail. At the end of a winding woodsy path, we halted. The breath flew from my chest and I pressed my hand to my mouth. Below us, the whole landscape opened up. Acres of untouched craggy hills and valleys. Sparkling dots of lakes. Trees and shrubs in glowing red and ochre. The color blue, tinged with sunset pink, saturated the sky, and that sky was endless.
    This was where wilderness abounded, and it was the exact spot a new unknown wildness began to soar inside my heart.
    “I’ve never seen anything like it,” I whispered.
    “Me either.”
    “It’s so beautiful, Jase.”
    “It is.” His gruff tone held a serious note.
    I glanced at him. He watched me, not bothering to take in the breathtaking scenery. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes intent, eyes that surveyed all of me.
    My breath stuttered.
    “You know, you looked amazing the other night, precious. So pretty. You’re unique. Beautiful. Not that I’m a fan of all those pudwhackers ogling you but . . .”
    “Why, Jase Everly, was that a compliment?”
    He reached for my waist. With his hand firmly around me, he pulled me closer. “I’m not joking around with you, Ave. Yeah, that was a compliment.”
    I felt like I could slip off the ends of the earth any moment with him. My hands spread across his chest. “I . . . I don’t get many compliments.”
    “It’s customary to smile. Or say thank you.”
    “I . . . thank you.”
    “Was that so hard?” His husky tone collided with the thrill of the ride still thrumming inside me.
    “No, but there’s something I need to say, and I haven’t been able to.”
    His fingers moved to the middle of my back. “Whatever it is, you don’t have to.”
    “I do. It’s eating me up inside. Look, Jase, I’m sorry about what I said after the party. I was awful to you that night. It was spiteful and mean, and I didn’t mean it.”
    “Hey, it was pretty much true so don’t sweat it.” He pulled away.
    I grabbed his arm. “It’s not true and you know it. You’re sweet and funny and—” God, sexy as sin . I lowered my hand to take his in mine. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me. And I’m sorry.”
    “I’ve been kind to you?”
    “Well, kind of a jerk-off, too. But I think it’s just because you like it when I get mad.”
    Jase chuckled, but the