“So when you start school are you still going to work for the security company?” she asks casually, as if the answer doesn’t matter to her, but it does. Working for the security company puts me in harm’s way and it means I still carry a gun. I understand why Emily’s gun-shy.
“College costs money,” I respond. The gun’s not currently on me as I only carry it when I’m on a run. Since Emily arrived, I’ve kept it in the safe in the clubhouse, but I’ve caught her searching for it when my back’s to her.
“Humph.”
I snag her hand and angle her to face me. “Even if I had the money for school, I’d still work for them. Not full-time, but when they needed me. This isn’t just a job. It’s a family business and even though I’m not blood-related, I’m family.”
Emily sags. “I know. It worries me.”
“Don’t be. I can ride circles around most of those guys.”
Emily rolls her eyes and the path widens enough that I can walk beside her and hold her hand. She’s worried about the Riot. Things have been quiet with them. Maybe it will stay that way. Maybe it won’t. Either way it won’t change how we live our lives.
The forest gives way and we stumble upon the tiny campsite. It’s not much of anything. A shack with four walls and a roof. Emily opens the door and recoils. “There’re spiders in there.”
I’d bet there’s a few snakes, too. “It’s used mainly for hunting. It’s also where a member can lay low if he should need it. I can’t say it’s been used like that since Eli got in trouble.”
Emily kicks at a board hanging off the outside of the shack. “I don’t get it. Honeysuckle Ridge. Honeysuckle Ridge. That’s all Olivia talked about. What was so amazing about this place that Olivia was dead set on me finding it?”
The bag on my shoulder grows heavier. I take her fingers again and lead her away from the shack. “Come on.”
It’s a short trip, but this time there is no path. I have to help Emily over a fallen tree and I walk in front so I can push down the overgrowth, but it springs up as soon as I lift my foot.
We step into a clearing and beams from the sun highlight the open stretch of grass. “This is Honeysuckle Ridge.”
Emily sucks in a breath as her eyes drink in the world around her. “Wow.”
Wow is right. Below us is the world. Thick trees. A view of the river. Far off in the distance I could point out my high school, the steeple to the church on Main Street. Even farther on the left I could show her the general area of Olivia’s cabin and the long stretch that led us to Olivia’s, then my place and that eventually brought us here: Thunder Road.
I don’t do any of those things. Instead, I lay out a blanket, sit and motion for Emily to settle beside me. She does and my heart squeezes. The sunlight hits her hair just right and pieces of it shine. She’s too good, too beautiful to be my girl. “What are you doing with me?”
She tilts her head. “Why would you ask that?”
“Daughter of a doctor, straight As, to be honest, completely out of my league. Special-education teachers don’t make bank.”
Emily rises to her knees and slowly inches toward me. The twinkle in her soft eyes pulls me in and the hypnotic sway of her hips engulfs me further into her spell. Her fingers whisper against my face. “I’m with you because you’re strong and brave and you love people with a ferociousness that I have never encountered before.”
Her hands drift to my shoulders and on impulse, my hands cup her waist. She’s exactly like I remember—warm, sensual.
“Besides that, I love the way you look at me and I love the way you make me feel beautiful inside and out. Plus, you’re missing a very important fact.”
My eyebrows furrow together. “What’s that?”
“Technically, by blood, I’m more gangster than you.” The utter tease in her voice causes me to sweep an arm around her and roll her onto the blanket.
“More gangster than me?”
“Your parents are probably concerned I’m going to taint your pure soul.”
We both laugh and the motion causes a vibration between our bodies. The day’s warm, not hot, but my blood definitely increases in temperature.
“I mean,” she continues, “it was me that kissed you first and then I blackmailed you into helping me and I’m pretty sure I seduced you that night we spent together.”
“You’re right,” I whisper. “I’m completely unable to resist your evil charms.”
“Well, if that’s the case, why aren’t you kissing me now?”
Not willing to miss this invitation, I lower my head to hers and lightly brush my lips over her mouth. Everything inside me tightens, heightens and becomes aware. She tastes so sweet. Her kiss like heaven.
We’re alone on the ridge. Very alone except for the birds in flight and the trees surrounding us. It’s a slow exploration. Hands recalling areas so glorious that every touch deserves the moment. There’s no rush. Neither of us are hurried.