Free Aching to Exhale by Debra Kayn Page A

relaxed her grip on his shirt, and slid her hands underneath the soft worn material and touched bare skin. Hard, sculpted muscles under her palms heated her already warm body. Raul let go of the left handle and rubbed the outside of her thigh. Unable to speak while he traveled, he connected with her by touch often to reassure her everything would be okay.
    The wind blew her hair off her neck. She closed her eyes, letting the vibrations of the motorcycle and the speed at which they travel calm her. One moment at a time, she'd face what each day brought her.
    Her mother's soft voice whispered in her imagination. "Tomorrow will be different. It'll be easier if you follow the rules."
    A shiver rolled down her back and she opened her eyes. Raul held up one finger. She nodded, and remembered what she was supposed to do if something was wrong. She patted his stomach twice. Once meant he needed to pull over, two times and she was fine.
    She'd have to be more careful. Around him, she let herself slip into her past, her dreams, her life, and he saw past her defenses and stayed attuned to her in a way others were not. Not her parents or any of the people she'd friended since leaving home at seventeen years old.

Chapter Ten
    The further Raul rode away from Lagsturns' territory, the more mixed his feelings grew. He glanced around the gas station where he and Crystal stopped to rest. On short notice, he could think of one place where she'd be safe.
    Taking her there would test him, but going nomad for real…wasn't happening.
    Crystal walked out of the restroom of the gas station. Raul whistled, and then gave her a grin. He enjoyed the way her long legs took longer strides to reach him and her breasts, barely contained in one of the skimpy white T-shirts hugged her body like a second skin, bounced in her eagerness. He didn't have to look to know every guy pumping gas into their rigs had stopped to watch her walk to him.
    Everywhere they went, he saw the envious raised brows of appreciation from other men. His woman was hot, and she knew it. She flung her hair over her shoulders and smiled back at him. The impish expression almost had him laughing. She loved the attention, and he was a lucky man.
    "Ready?" He tossed her the helmet.
    She bent over at the waist, gathered her hair, and put the helmet on her head before straightening. "How much longer are we riding?"
    They'd rode late into the night, stopped at a motel and grabbed a few hours of sleep, and left before the sun came up. It was almost dusk on their second day now, and they'd put in a solid hard day of riding. He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, checking the strap of her helmet. "An hour."
    She frowned and studied the area. "Aren't we near—?"
    "Yeah." He walked over to the Harley. "Hop on, we need to go."
    "Wait." She hurried over to him and grasped the handlebar. "You can't take me to Pitnam."
    "I can and I will." He glanced down at her holding his bike. "Get on the back."
    She shook her head, stepping away. "No. I'm not going back there."
    He was off the motorcycle faster than she could turn around and run. He hooked her waist and dragged her body against his. She grunted as her next words turned to expelled air under the impact.
    He put his lips to her ear. "Do not cause a scene, mi vida . Any one of those upstanding citizens watching you right now gets an urge to play white knight and save the blonde isn't going to like what I do to him."
    Trapped within his arms, she couldn't budge her way free. She squirmed. "The Bantorus members will crucify me, Raul. Please, let's go somewhere else."
    "I'll be with you," he said. "I won't let them touch you."
    She exhaled harshly. "They'll kill you too, you know. Rain's riding hot after the last time you dared roll into his territory. You know that for a fact. He knows you set me after him, and I played his bitch. His woman got hurt because of me. If I would've told him sooner—"
    "Trust me." He moved his hand up into her