Free Dirty Shame (Bluefield Bad Boys #1) by Tess Oliver

sparkled in her eyes. “I feel like a teenager again, and frankly, it’s awesome.” She lifted her hand up. I took hold of it and pulled her up onto the branch. She sat down hard and the branch wobbled. I grabbed hold of her arm before she pitched herself backward off the limb.
    Rylan put her hand to her chest to catch her breath. “Guess I was a little more nimble in my teens.”
    “I think it’s because I’m bigger and heavier, and this tree is older and crankier.” The top of the wall was one good hoist away. “Are you sure you’re up for this, Lanie?”
    “I want to ride on the back of that Harley. I’m willing to risk life and limb to do it.”
    “Then let’s get that cute ass of yours over this wall.” I hopped up on top and lowered my hand for her. “You’re still light and airy like a piece of lace.”
    She landed hard on her bottom with a small grunt. “Yes, that’s me, weightless like a butterfly.”
    I spun my legs around and jumped to the ground below. A thick root had broken through the ground near the base of the tree. It was a great stepstool and gave me just enough height. I reached up toward her.
    She bit her lip in hesitation. “Was the ground always this far away?”
    “Come on, Lanie. I’ll catch you.”
    “We probably should have just used the key in my pocket. It opens the pedestrian gate near the entrance.”
    I laughed. “Why didn’t you say so?”
    “I thought this way would be more fun.” She pushed off the wall. My hands went around her waist. Her hands landed on my shoulders. I lowered her slowly to the ground, making sure to slide her body along mine on her descent.
    She stayed pressed against me for a second.
    My mouth was just a whisper away from her lips, lips that I’d never stopped thinking about. “I think you’re right. This way was much more fun.”
    She stepped back. I felt the disappointment of no kiss through my entire body. Some things never changed.
    “Show me to your steel horse, cowboy, before I lose my nerve.”

Chapter 10
    Rylan
    I wrapped my arms tighter around Kellan’s waist. My hands dug beneath his coat for warmth and to revel in the feel of his hard stomach muscles as they tightened and relaxed with the movement of the bike.
    I ducked my face behind his shoulder to avoid the icy wind. He felt warm and secure. I’d always felt that way with Kellan. Until that horrible night when he left me alone on the roof of the gym, he had been the one solid thing in my life, the one thing that I could count on.
    I rubbed my cheek against the soft leather of his jacket wishing we could be transported back to the time when we were the only thing that mattered to each other. I was sure our connection would be forever. It had been a raw slap in the face when I’d come to realize that the attachment was one-sided.
    I was back in town to restart and reorganize my life, to get past the horrid thing Chase had done to me. The last thing I needed was to be around Kellan. But when he’d asked me to come down and see him, I’d barely given it a second thought. And, it had had nothing to do with the motorcycle. I just wanted to feel that same carefree bliss I’d felt seven years ago.
    The scenery blurred as the bike rumbled along the curved mountain highway. Little about Bluefield had changed, and everything looked completely familiar, as if I’d been gone for only a week instead of seven years. Sitting with my arms around Kellan felt completely familiar too. As if we’d never parted. As if he had never crushed my heart. 
    “You cold?” Kellan yelled back over his shoulder.
    “I don’t know. I’m too numb to feel anything,” I called back.
    His stomach muscles rippled with a laugh.
    We rode around the next curve. He pulled off onto a wide turnout and stopped the motorcycle. Reluctantly, I pulled my hands out from under his coat, giving up the warmth provided by the jacket and Kellan’s body. I held his shoulders and swung my leg off the bike. I shoved my