I liked my name.
“You got Millie written all over you,” he stated.
What a weird thing to say.
And more weird, it was like he knew what I was thinking.
“What?” I asked.
“Darlin’, all that hair that doesn’t know whether it wants to be red or blonde. Those big brown eyes.” His smooth, deep voice dipped in a way that I felt in my belly. “That.” He lifted his beer cup with one finger extended and pointed close to my mouth so I knew he was indicating the little mole that was just in from the right corner of my top lip. “Cute. Sweet. No better name for a girl that’s all that but Millie.”
Okay, that was nice.
“Well, thanks, I think,” I mumbled.
“Trust me, it’s a compliment,” he assured.
I nodded.
“What’re you doin’ tomorrow night?”
I felt my head give a small jerk.
Holy crap, was he asking me out on a date?
“I… nothing,” I answered.
“Good, then we’re goin’ out. You got a number?”
He was!
He was asking me out on a date!
My heartbeat quickened and my legs started to feel all tingly.
“I… yes,” I replied then went on stupidly, “I have a number.”
“Give it to me.”
I stared at him then looked down his wide chest to his trim waist then to his hands. One hand was holding his beer, the other one had the thumb hooked in his cool-as-heck, beaten up, black leather belt.
I looked back to his face. “Do you have something to write it down?”
He gave a slight shake of his head and an even slighter (but definitely hot) lip twitch before he stated, “Millie, you give me your number, do you think I’m gonna forget a single digit?”
Okay, wow. That was really nice.
I gave him my number.
He repeated it instantly and accurately.
“That’s it,” I confirmed.
He didn’t reply.
I started to feel uncomfortable.
And nervous.
I’d just made a date with a guy I didn’t know at all except I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of him and then I gave him my number.
Now what did we do?
“You come with someone?” he asked.
It was weird that he asked that now, after he’d asked me out.
After I thought it was weird, I thought that maybe he thought I was on a date and then made a date with him while I was on a date and then he’d think I was a bitch!
“No, just some girlfriends,” I told him quickly.
He gave me another smile. “That’s comin’ with someone, darlin’.”
Oh.
Right.
I bit my lip.
“Who?” he asked.
“Justine,” I answered, tipping my head toward the kitchen table where there were four guys and two girls sitting. When he turned his head to look, I expanded my answer, “The brunette.”
And right then, Justine, my friend the pretty brunette, drunkenly bounced a quarter on the table toward a shot glass, missed, and grinned. Two of the guys and one of the girls immediately shouted, “Shot!” Thus, she unsteadily grabbed the glass and threw it back, some of the vodka in it dribbling down her chin.
She finished this still grinning.
“You ain’t ridin’ back with her,” Logan growled and my gaze shot back to him. “Fact, she ain’t drivin’ anywhere.”
Oh man, I could love this guy.
Oh man!
That was crazy!
How could I possibly think I could love this guy just from him saying that?
“She isn’t, and I’m not,” I shared. “We’re staying the night here.”
“Good,” he muttered right before he got bumped by someone precariously making his way to the keg.
“You wanna get out of here?” I found myself asking and got his swift attention. “I don’t know. Sit out on the back deck or something?” I finished quickly so he didn’t get any ideas.
“Fuck yeah,” he whispered, his brown eyes locked to mine, and the way he said that, the way he was looking at me, I felt a shiver trail down my spine.
“Okay,” I whispered back.
He leaned in and grabbed my hand. His was big and rough and felt warm and strong wrapped around mine.
Okay.
Oh God.
Seriously.
Seriously.
It was true. It was crazy and totally freaking true.
I could fall in love with this guy.
And I knew that just from him wanting me to be safe and the feel of his hand around mine.
Oh man.
He led me out to the deck, straight to the steps that led to the yard, and we sat on the top one.
I was nervous in a way I’d never known before, but it felt good as I stared out into Kellie’s parents’ dark yard.
“So, Millie, tell me what we’re doin’ tomorrow night,” he ordered.
I turned my head to look at him. “What?”
“Whatever you wanna do, we’re doin’ it,” he stated. “So tell me what you wanna do.”
I tipped my head to the side, intrigued by this offer.
“How about we fly to Paris?” I suggested on an attempt at a joke.
“You got a passport?” he asked immediately, not smiling, sounding serious.
My heart skipped a beat.
Though, he couldn’t be serious.
I mean, Paris?
“Do you?” I returned.
“Nope, but that’s what you wanna do, I’ll get one.”
I grinned at him. “Not sure you can get a passport in a day, Logan.”
“You wanna go to Paris, I’ll find a way.”
I shook my head, looking away.
He was good at this. A master at delivering lines.
I liked it. It showed confidence.
But they were still just lines.
“And he says all the right things,” I told the yard.
“Babe, I’m not jokin’.”
My eyes flew back to him because he still sounded serious.
And when they flew back to him, the lights from the house illuminating his handsome face, he looked serious.
“I don’t wanna go to Paris,” I whispered. “Well, I do,” I hastened to add. “Just not tomorrow night. I don’t think I have the right thing to wear on a date in Paris.”
He grinned at me. “Well, that’s a relief. Coulda swung it by the skin of my teeth but it’d set me up for a fail on our second date. Not sure how I’d top Paris.”
He was already thinking of a second date.
I liked that too.
But I liked his words better because it was cool to know he could be funny.
I couldn’t help it and didn’t know why I would try.
I laughed.
He kept grinning while I did it and scooted closer to me so our knees were touching.
“So tell me, Millie, what d’you wanna do?” he asked when I quit laughing.
“I wanna see what you wanna do,” I told him.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
I looked into his eyes through the dark and felt something strange. Not a bad strange. A happy one.
Comfortable. Safe.
Yes, both of those just looking into his eyes.
“So, do you wanna go to Paris?” I asked. “I mean, one day.”
“Sure,” he told me. “Though, not top on my list.”
“What’s top on your list?”
“Ridin’ ’cross Australia.”
“Riding?” I asked.
“On my bike.”
I felt my eyes get big. “You mean, the motorcycle kind?”
He put pressure on my knee as he gave me another grin. “I’m the kinda guy, Millie, who doesn’t acknowledge there is another kind of bike.”
Absolutely for sure, my parents would not approve of this guy.
And absol
utely for sure, I so totally did.
“So you have a bike?” I pushed.
“Harley,” he told me.
“Do I get to ride on it tomorrow?” I went on, not bothering to filter the excitement out of my question.
He stared into my eyes.
“Absolutely,” he answered.
I smiled at him and I knew it was big.
His gaze dropped to my mouth and when it did, my legs started tingling again. But this time, the tingles emanated from the insides of my thighs, out.
I looked away and took a sip of beer.
“Millie,” he called.
I kept my gaze to the yard and replied with a, “Hmm?”
“Safe with me.”
My attention cut back to him.
“Never won’t be, babe,” he went on softly. “Not ever. Yeah?”
Again, it was like he read my thoughts.
And he knew. He knew he was exactly what he was: that guy parents would freak if their daughter ever said yes to a date with him.
But I knew something else, looking at him.
My parents were wrong.
“Yeah?” he pushed when I just stared at him, not feeling tingly.
Feeling warm.
“Yeah,” I answered.
He pressed his knee into mine again and looked to the yard.
“So, you wanna go to Paris,” he noted. “What else you wanna do?”
I looked to the yard too and told him.
We stayed out there, sitting on the steps of the deck, our knees brushing, for what felt like minutes and yet at the same time seemed like hours, talking about nothing that felt like everything. The guy he came to the party with stuck his head out the back door and called, “Low, ridin’ out.”
To that, he told me he had to go and we both got up.
He didn’t kiss me.
He walked me into the house straight through to the front door.
There, he ordered somewhat severely, “Your girl is totally shitfaced, so you go nowhere with her and you let her go nowhere. Hear?”
I nodded. “Staying here, Logan,” I reminded him.
He nodded.
Then he lifted a finger as his eyes dipped to my mouth and he touched my mole.
More thigh tingles.
He looked back at me. “Tomorrow, babe. Call you.”
“Okay, Logan.”
He grinned and walked away.
I watched him, feeling a crazy-giddy that had nothing to do with beer, strangely not disappointed he didn’t kiss me.
He’d touched me in a way that felt way sweeter than a kiss.
And the next day, he called me.
Also by Kristen Ashley
The Chaos Series
Own the Wind
Fire Inside
The Colorado Mountain Series
The Gamble
Sweet Dreams
Lady Luck
Breathe
Jagged
Kaleidoscope
The Dream Man Series
Mystery Man
Wild Man
Law Man
Motorcycle Man
Acclaim for Kristen Ashley and Her Novels
“A unique, not-to-be-missed voice in romance. Kristen Ashley is a star in the making!”
—Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author
“I adore Kristen Ashley’s books. She writes engaging, romantic stories with intriguing, colorful, and larger-than-life characters. Her stories grab you by the throat from page one and don’t let go until well after the last page. They continue to dwell in your mind days after you finish the story and you’ll find yourself anxiously awaiting the next. Ashley is an addicting read no matter which of her stories you find yourself picking up.”
—Maya Banks, New York Times bestselling author
“There is something about [Ashley’s books] that I find crackalicious.”
—Kati Brown, DearAuthor.com
“Run, don’t walk… to get [the Dream Man] series. I love [Kristen Ashley’s] rough, tough, hard-loving men. And I love the cosmo-girl club!”
—NocturneReads.com
“[Law Man is an] excellent addition to a phenomenal series!”
—ReadingBetweentheWinesBookclub.blogspot.com
“[Law Man] made me laugh out loud. Kristen Ashley is an amazing writer!”
—TotallyBookedblog.com
“I felt all of the rushes, the adrenaline surges, the anger spikes… my heart pumping in fury. My eyes tearing up when my heart (I mean… her heart) would break.”
—Maryse’s Book Blog (Maryse.net) on Motorcycle Man
Fall in Love with Forever Romance
POWER PLAY
by Tiffany Snow
High-powered businessman Parker Andersen wears expensive suits like a second skin and drives a BMW. Detective Dean Ryker’s uniform is leather jackets and jeans… and his ride of choice is a Harley. Sage Reese finds herself caught between two men: the one she’s always wanted—and the one who makes her feel wanted like never before…
RIDE STEADY
by Kristen Ashley
Once upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. But now she’s a struggling single mom and stranded by a flat tire, until a vaguely familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower… Fans of Lori Foster will love the newest novel in Kristen Ashley’s New York Times bestselling Chaos series!
SUMMER AT THE SHORE
by V. K. Sykes
Morgan Merrifield sacrificed her teaching career to try to save her family’s bed-and-breakfast and care for her younger sister. So she can’t let herself get distracted by rugged ex–Special Forces soldier Ryan Butler. But her longtime crush soon flares into real desire—and with one irresistible kiss, she’s swept away.
LAST CHANCE HERO
by Hope Ramsay
Sabina knows a lot about playing it safe. But having Ross Gardiner in town brings back the memory of one carefree summer night when she threw caution to the wind—and almost destroyed her family. Now that they are both older and wiser, will the spark still be there, even though they’ve both been burned?
A PROMISE OF FOREVER
by Marilyn Pappano
In the New York Times bestselling tradition of Robyn Carr comes the next book in Marilyn Pappano’s Tallgrass series. When Sergeant First Class Avi Grant finally returns from Afghanistan, she rushes to comfort the widow of her commanding officer—and ends up in the arms of her handsome son, Ben Noble.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Stay Golden
Chapter One: Shop Window
Chapter Two: All I Wanted
Chapter Three: Down on Her Knees
Chapter Four: Tasted as Good on His Tongue
Chapter Five: I Had This
Chapter Six: Free
Chapter Seven: He Gave Me You
Chapter Eight: Feeling Lucky
Chapter Nine: You Like Mexican?
Chapter Ten: I Drink Beer
Chapter Eleven: What You Need
Chapter Twelve: Chaos Is Pussy
Chapter Thirteen: That Hasn’t Changed
Chapter Fourteen: Let the Healing Begin
Chapter Fifteen: Already Winnin’ the One You’re In
Chapter Sixteen: End of Story
Chapter Seventeen: A Biker Named Joker
Chapter Eighteen: Waver
Chapter Nineteen: Give Good Girlfriend
Chapter Twenty: Start and Finish
Chapter Twenty-One: My Place
Chapter Twenty-Two: Being Right
Chapter Twenty-Three: We Were Free<
br />
Chapter Twenty-Four: Do Better with That
Chapter Twenty-Five: Start
Epilogue: Oh Yeah
A Preview of Walk Through Fire
Also by Kristen Ashley
Acclaim for Kristen Ashley and Her Novels
Fall in Love with Forever Romance
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Kristen Ashley
Preview of Walk Through Fire copyright © 2015 by Kristen Ashley
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at
[email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: June 2015
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ISBN 978-1-4555-3323-7
E3
Kristen Ashley, Ride Steady
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