Free After the Ride (Night Riders Motorcycle Club Book 2) by Kathryn Thomas Page B

take this long. Grace was spent before she even left, and Paul would see that and want to hold her, just hold her, as he eased her into sleep. As the seconds ticked by, Lauren had to wonder if Blake was playing with her. What if he was never coming back, and was this a test to see if she would simply curl up on Callie’s piled of pillows and slip into a restless sleep? Could he be so cruel, so cold?
     
    He most definitely could. But would he really do that to me after everything that had happened?
     
    She pulled open the flap to Callie’s tent and stepped into the desert.
     
    “Hey!” Callie cried. “What do you think you’re doing?”
     
    Wresting Lauren way from the flap, Callie grabbed her chin and stared at her hard. “You want to know so much? Then just wait. He said that he was coming back.”
     
    “Will he?” Lauren asked. “How do I know that? I know nothing about him and I’m supposed to just accept…”
     
    Accept the way he feels inside me. Maybe I could just live off of that and never ask another question.
     
    “Accept what?”
     
    Blake appeared, and Lauren fought the urge to rush into his arms. Holding back, she glanced at Callie out of the corner of her and silently begged her to provide some kind of cover story.
     
    “Took your sweet time!” Callie chirped. “You know this little girl’s been through her own brand of hell tonight.”
     
    Blake’s jaw tensed as he folded his fingers into a fist.
     
    “I know,” he said in a thick voice. “Saw it with my own eyes.”
     
    Lauren could almost sense a crack in his heart, but he stayed like stone as Callie pressed her palms together.
     
    “Okay then,” she said. “So how about you take her home and show her that everything’s going to be alright?”
     
    Their eyes locked for a second, and the sudden softness in his stare almost seemed to make Callie’s words real. Pressing her body closer to his side, she longed for the feel of his arms draped across her back.
     
    But Blake didn’t make that move.
     
    “Everything is going to be alright,” he said. “As soon as we make tracks at dawn.”
     
    Blake started to lead her out of the tent, and when Lauren looked back to Callie, the redhead mouthed for her to just take it slow .
     
    But Blake’s space was beyond rapid as he brought her back to his bed.

 
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    As soon as they were hidden behind real walls, Blake stripped off his jacket and moved to a bowl positioned on a table in the corner of the room. As he splashed water across his face, Lauren sat on the edge of the bed and watched his back muscles ripple as he grabbed a towel and wiped the droplets away from his skin. Once his face was dry, he turned to face hers, his face blank as his eyes moved down her legs.
     
    “So you waited this time,” he said. “Guess that’s gotta count for something.”
     
    Lauren waned to spit in his face and charge back to Callie’s tent. But she didn’t move. Looking into his eyes, she hung her head and spoke softly.
     
    “I told you I wouldn’t run,” she muttered. “I’m sorry I did the first time.”
     
    Slinging the towel over his shoulder, Blake inched closer to the bed and peered down at her. He was close enough to touch. Should she just wrap her arms around his thighs, fall to her knees, and beg for mercy? The thought was tempting. She wanted to feel his flesh, to sigh around his cock as it penetrated her again. But she held back and lifted her eyes. Blake’s face was like slate, and she slowly parted her lips.
     
    “I was wrong,” she continued. “You’ve never hurt me. And I should have listened.”
     
    “You should’ve listened,” he echoed.
     
    Blake fell to his knees, and Lauren whimpered when he started to touch her bruised cheek but still held back.
     
    “Don’t you like me?” he asked.
     
    Lauren turned her eyes to his with a sad smile. “I do. Maybe I shouldn’t. But I didn’t lie when I said I wanted more.”
     
    Growing