âShouldnât you know my address before we set off?â
âSo, tell me.â
She found herself doing so even as she wondered how his strong white teeth would feel if he used them to lightly nip her skin.
âItâs time to get on the bike,â he prompted. âIâve no intention of running out of fuel while I wait for you to make up your mind.â
âCould you take my briefcase and stow it for me, please?â
âMy pleasure, maâam.â He held out his hand.
âI suppose I should thank you,â she added belatedly.
âI suppose you should,â he agreed.
âIf youâre sure itâs not out of your way?â
âIâm sure.â
This man would be equally certain about every decision he made. Heâd be just as decisive when he left her standing here freezing her butt off, as heâd so elegantly put it, on the basis of her extreme cowardice.
âWould you like some help?â he said, looking on in bemusement as she started hopping into position.
All she had to do was throw one leg across his seat. How hard could that be? âIâm fine, thank you.â
After one final heave and a lot of unladylike wriggling, she was finally in positionâwhich meant close up to the biker. She tried to shuffle back a bit to maintain the proprieties, butthe moment he kicked the stand away, released the brake and gunned the engine she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms as tightly as she could around his waist.
A waist without an ounce of fat on it, Magenta registered, but an awful lot of muscle, and if there was a way to ride pillion behind the biker without allowing her body to mould with hisâthankfully, it had escaped her.
By the time they joined the heavy London traffic, she was pretty familiar with the bikerâs back and the way his thick hair escaped the helmet to caress the collar on his jacket. She was so familiar she had even started shiveringâ¦with cold, Magenta told herself firmly. Having consigned her safety to the hands of a man she hardly knew, that was more than enough risk to take in one day.
He really knew how to handle a bike and wove in and out of the congested streets of London like a man who really knew what he was doing, while Magenta was increasingly conscious of the insistent vibrations beneath her. It was almost a disappointment when they rolled up outside her neatly manicured town house. Dismounting the bike shakily, she removed her helmet and shook out her long, black hair.
âThatâs quite a transformation, lady,â the biker commented as he lifted off his helmet to stare at her.
âYou think so?â Magenta laughed as she retrieved her clip as it fell to the ground. She couldnât remember feeling so carefree in a long time. Her hair had been blown to blazes, like the rest of herâand it felt great. She felt great. âThanks.â
âMy pleasure.â His face creased in the now-familiar grin.
Did she imagine the curtains in nearby houses were twitching? For once she didnât care what anyone thought. So she had ridden home on the bike of a tough-looking guy, ditching the power suit and the high-heeled shoes along the way. Short of stripping naked and leaping on top of him in the middle of the street, she was committing no crime.
âCoffee?â she said, still in the throws of enthusiasm. Itseemed only polite. And when would an opportunity like this come round again?
The manâs laser gaze was every bit as astonishing as she remembered; she was sure he was going to say, âwhy not?â But what he actually said was, âI should get back.â
âOf courseâ¦â What was she thinking?
Where overtures towards good-looking guys were concerned, she was somewhat out of practice, Magenta conceded. But, as this wasnât an overtureânot even closeâbut merely a polite invitation to enjoy a hot drink before making a return journey