When I did see it, I paused. I knew that bike. I also knew the guy straddling it. He turned his head and looked at me. Even though I hated it. Even though I would do anything for it not to affect me to see him there, my heart picked up just a little.
I took a deep breath then resumed walking toward the front door and Cruz Kerrington.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped when I was close enough for him to hear me.
He gave me his cocky grin. “I heard you were taking a road trip.”
“So?”
“Why?”
I didn’t want to answer him. But he was here. He had never come here. “Why are you here?” I demanded.
“Why did you take off?” Cruz countered.
I was the new Lila. I wasn’t the same girl that I had left behind in Rosemary. “Because I don’t want to be that girl anymore. The one you described.”
“So you thought leaving town alone would change that?” He sounded amused.
I hated that. I hated his smug grin and self-confidence. “Yes. This is my . . . adventure. Now leave. Let me enjoy it.”
Cruz didn’t move. He studied me a moment. I started to walk past him toward the front door. “Get on, Lila,” he said and I glanced back at him. He was holding out a helmet.
“Excuse me?” I asked thinking I’d heard him incorrectly.
“Get on the back of my bike,” Cruz repeated.
“Are you crazy?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. But you know that already. Now get on the bike.”
“I’m not getting on that bike.”
He cocked one eyebrow at me. It was a sexy talent. “You said you wanted an adventure. What is more adventurous than climbing on my bike and just leaving?”
“Where would we go?” I heard myself ask.
“Anywhere, everywhere.”
I shook my head again. “My bag is upstairs. My car is here.”
“Yeah . . . but you want change. That’s the old you. Climb on, and we’ll find the new Lila Kate Carter.”
I stood there. My head was telling me how ridiculous this was and that I needed to march inside and slam the door in his face, but my feet began moving toward him. I had nothing but the clothes I was wearing and the purse on my shoulder. I stopped beside his bike and he put the helmet on my head. Then his hand closed around mine. “Get on.”
And I did.
Cruz Kerrington
SOMETIMES YOU DO shit and you don’t think it through. That’s what got me here. I had just reacted. Now I had Lila Kate on my bike headed west to New Orleans. Once her daddy found out, I was damn sure I’d need to be put in protective custody. Grant Carter was going to kill me. But until then, I was going to be there while Lila Kate liberated her sweet little uptight ass.
At least she’d loosen up. I didn’t want her to start dancing on bars topless or anything, but this was a step in the right direction. Just leaving all her shit. No explanation. Just driving out of there. I didn’t think she’d do it. I hadn’t been able to sleep. I’d gotten up at three and went outside with a backpack that held a change of clothes and a toothbrush then climbed on and drove off.
But dammit they’d just let her take off on her own. I didn’t give one fuck that she was a grown woman. She was so sheltered that it didn’t matter how old she was. I loved the fact she wanted to spread her wings some. She just needed a little guidance. That’s why I was here. Grant should be thanking me. He wouldn’t. He’d likely try to kill me.
We’d be in New Orleans by the time everyone woke up and realized she was gone. I’d have her call her momma, and I’d call Nate and tell him. I wasn’t going to let everyone worry.
I pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot and drove her up to the door before cutting the engine. “This is the best we’ll find this early. Get some jeans and closed toed shoes. Change and come on back out.”
She didn’t move. “You want me to go in there and buy jeans and shoes?”
I turned around and pulled her helmet off. “You want to ride all the way to New Orleans dressed in those shorts and a pair of sandals?”
She looked down at her bare legs then lifted her eyes back to me. “I guess that’s a bad idea?” It sounded like a question.
I nodded.
With a sigh, she got off the bike. “I should have at least got some of my things.”
“Did you have jeans and boots packed?” I asked her, and she shook her head. “Didn’t think so.”
She walked inside, and I tried not to admire her ass. That was not what this was about. I’d been drunk when I kissed her. I wasn’t going to play with her emotions. I cared too much about her to just make her one of the girls I’d fucked. Lila deserved romance. I didn’t do romance.
I did ropes, and handcuffs, and strippers. That was my speed. Girls who knew I liked some rough play, and they wanted it too. Lila was breakable. Definitely, not my speed.
I thought about calling Nate now and decided not to. They were asleep. No need to let them all know I’d run off with Lila just yet. They’d know soon enough. She’d get her fucking adventure. Then she’d come back home safely.
Holy fuck.
I hadn’t told her to find the tightest pair of jeans available and put them on. Lila Kate walked back to the bike. She was wearing black fake leather boots, but that didn’t matter because the tight ass jeans she had on was all anyone could see. That and the equally tight tank top she was now wearing. It said “Speed” on the front and looked ripped at the neckline to show off her cleavage.
“What the hell?” I asked.
She grinned. “I think I look like a biker now.”
She looked like she was going to get me in a damn fight. “Jesus,” I muttered then handed her the helmet. She slid it on and then climbed on the back. “It’s the best they had,” she explained.
“What, they didn’t have your size clothing?” I shot back.
“This is my size!”
“It looks a few sizes too small,” I argued.
“It’s supposed to be tight.”
“Where are your other clothes?” I asked.
“I left them in the dressing room. Those where the old Lila Kate.”
I didn’t say any more. This adventure was what Lila Kate wanted to do. She was right, she was nothing like the old Lila. Nothing like her at all.
I pulled back onto the road and headed toward I-10. We needed to get some road behind us. Lila’s arms were wrapped around me and her body wasn’t pressed to my back exactly, but it was close. Close enough for me to feel it. Damn, I had to think about something else. This was about me getting the hell away from the club and all the responsibilities my dad wanted to throw at me. It was also about making sure Lila Kate came back alive.
The one thing I abso-fuckin-lutely knew it wasn’t about was me touching Lila Kate. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and cursed. Someone had already woken up and realized I was gone. More than likely it was my dad. He’d probably had another day of early morning golf torture planned for me.
He’d be pissed at first, but when I explained why I came to protect Lila Kate he was either going to understand or be even more pissed. That was a toss-up. I couldn’t be sure yet. I didn’t fucking care either. I was even gladder I’d woken up and left knowing if I’d stayed I would have had to play golf again today.
We entered Mississippi, and Lila Kate pointed at the sign as if that was exciting. I understood. She traveled via a plane most of the time. She hadn’t been to places like Mississippi before. When we got to Biloxi, I headed toward Beauvoir—the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. It wasn’t something I’d seen before or ever cared to see. But I knew Lila Kate liked history stuff. Museums and shit.
We pulled up in front of the large white house that had been restored to what it looked like in 1889 when he had lived in this house. I parked beside the only other car in the parking lot. It was a little after eight in the morning, and the sign said it opened at eight. No one was here yet.
Lila Kate pulled off her helmet and looked up at the place. “What are we doing?”
“You ever been to Biloxi?” I asked.