The roar of the engine drowned out her voice. Her pulse skyrocketed, and she clung to him for dear life as he drove out of the lot and onto the main drag. She’d never been on a motorcycle before, and she hadn’t believed her girlfriends when they talked about the vibrations being better than foreplay. Not that she had a lot of foreplay experience. After the first year or two, Dennis hadn’t bothered with that. She pushed thoughts of that ugly relationship away as they cruised through Peaceful Harbor, taking in the lights illuminating the marina and the scents of the sea whipping around them. The town looked different than it did from within a car. It was even more beautiful. The trees seemed brighter, the air crisper. She felt freer, too. With her chest pressed to Diesel’s back, the heat of his body mixing with the warm air caressing her skin, and the delicious rumble and roar of the engine working its way up her core, she could see how it might feel romantic with the right person. The ultimate turn-on, even.

If she hadn’t been forced onto the bike.

When Diesel pulled up in front of the house she and Izzy shared, he cut the engine, but her body continued vibrating as he climbed off and reached for her helmet, stopping short, those dark eyes softening the slightest bit as they moved slowly over the length of his bike, lingering on her. His Adam’s apple jumped, and those muscles in his jaw bunched again as he removed her helmet and lifted her off the bike. He must have known her legs were wobbly, because he didn’t let go. His large hands remained wrapped around her ribs, his thumbs pressed just below her breasts, his fingers on either side of her spine.

Her eyes flicked up, the raw desire staring back at her, turning those confusing feelings into turbulent gusts, whipping and mounting like a violent storm. A flash of something cold and hard to read registered in his eyes, and he released her like he’d been burned.

He scanned the yard before his attention returned to her. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow evening for work.”

She blinked several times, trying to get her brain to function. “What? No. I can get an Uber.”

“Be ready by five.” He pushed a hand into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out several bills, pushing them into her hand. “For tonight’s Uber.”

What the…? “You don’t have to—”

“Get inside so I know you’re safe.” He climbed onto his bike, his heavy boots rooting him to the pavement.