Rev laughed. “Whatever you say.” We then hurried down the veranda steps and around the side of the house.

“Annabel? Annabel, where are you going?” my bodyguard, Bradley, called out after me. He was breathing a little harder, as if he had broken into a run to catch up with us.

“I’m going home.”

Bradley’s blond brows furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

I smiled at Rev, then glanced back at Bradley. “You are relieved of your duties. Should my parents ask, you can tell them I left willingly with the biker I’m in love with.”

When Bradley started to protest, Rev stepped between us. “Don’t even bother trying to stop us. It won’t end well for you,” he practically growled. A shiver went through me at seeing his protective side again. Even outfitted in a tux, he still harbored the rough, bad-boy-biker side I’d fallen in love with.

I guess Bradley realized Rev wasn’t worth fighting because he held up his hands and backed slowly away. “You know I’ll have to tell your parents immediately,” he said.

“I understand.”

Glancing between me and Rev, he said, “Be careful.”

“Trust me when I say that no one can protect Annabel better than I can,” Rev said.

With a tentative smile, Bradley replied, “I don’t doubt that for a minute.”

Rev took my hand and tugged me forward. When he breezed past the valet, I began to wonder where he had parked. And then I saw a motorcycle down the street. “You rode all the way from Georgia to here?” I asked as my breath hitched and all the excitement I had possessed dissipated.

“I hadn’t been on a long haul in a while. I thought I could use the time to think.” His chewed his bottom lip and he stopped walking. “Fuck. I didn’t even think if you would be okay with it. I mean, I didn’t imagine you wanting to talk to me, least of all wanting to come with me.”

“It’s okay.”

The truth was that I hadn’t been on a motorcycle since that fateful night with Johnny. When I was with Rev in Georgia, I had been around them, but I had never ridden one. I had been too afraid it might trigger some of my old memories.

And I had been right. Although Rev squeezed my hand reassuringly, I fought an inner battle against the heart-racing, chest-heaving anxiety and fear that threatened to overtake me all because of a motorcycle. Searching my mind, I recalled the words my therapist had given me to use when I came in contact with an emotional trigger. You have a choice. You are safe. You are not in danger. You always have a choice.

At what he must have realized was my emotional turmoil, Rev said, “Look. You do not have to get on my bike. I can get us a cab to the hotel.”

I was touched and maybe a little tempted by his offer. But considering that the man I loved was a biker, I knew this was something I had to conquer. “I’ll be fine.”

Always the gentleman, Rev took off his coat jacket and handed it to me. “Are you sure you want to do this? I wish you had at least stopped for a coat. It’s cold now, but it’s going to be hell once we get started.”

“I’m sure I’ll survive.”

Rev handed me his helmet, and I slid it on. I then tried hiking up the hem of my ball gown as best I could. When Rev chuckled, I wagged a finger at him. “I’d love to see you try to maneuver in this thing.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you more beautiful than you are in that dress.”

I momentarily stopped fidgeting to look up at him and smile. “Thank you.” Yet again, Rev showed his caring side with just a small compliment to put me at ease.

Once I had gotten the dress up as best I could, I eased onto the seat of the bike. After I was in place, Rev got on. I brought my hands around his waist and snuggled against his back. It felt so good to get to hold him again. I had missed the feel of him over the last few months.

While it had been unseasonably warm for December, it might as well have been subzero given how cold I was once we got started. When we got to the first red light, Rev turned around to see how I was doing. I guess my shivering and teeth chattering told him all he needed to know. “My hotel isn’t far. Hang in there. Okay?”

“I-I’ll t-try,” I stuttered.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too much farther. I was also grateful that Rev had chosen a hotel with rooms inside, rather than a motel like I had been taken to that night with Johnny. When the bike came to a stop, I didn’t want to pry myself away from the small amount of warmth I was getting from Rev.

I whimpered when he got off. After he took my hand, he frowned. “Jesus, Annabel, you’re like a block of ice. Let’s get you inside and warm you up.”

He wasn’t going to get any protests from me. After tucking me to his side, he hurried us into the lobby and onto an elevator. When the elevator dinged on the fifth floor, he dug his key card out of his pants pocket and led me out into the hallway. He unlocked the third door on the right and ushered me inside.

Instead of letting me go, he continued on through the bathroom. After flipping the toilet seat down, he eased me onto it.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting you into the shower.” At what must’ve been my skeptical expression, he added, “It’s the fastest way to get you warm.”

“I see,” I murmured.

He made quick work of turning on the water and testing it with his fingers. When it seemed to his satisfaction, he turned back to me. I still sat on the toilet, shivering and trembling.

We stared at each other for a moment. Rev jerked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, uh, I guess I better let you get in now.”

When he started to go, I grabbed his arm. “Wait. I need help getting out of this dress.”

His eyes flared at my request. It wasn’t a come-on in disguise. I had needed the help of one of our maids earlier that night to get it zipped.

Instead of asking me to stand up, Rev bent over my back, bringing his hands to the zipper. Slowly, he tugged it down. As the front gaped open, I didn’t bother trying to cover myself.

Rev’s hands momentarily faltered, and when I looked up, I met his gaze, which was fixed on my bare breasts. I hadn’t needed to wear a bra because of the tight-fitting bodice. He cleared his throat several times, then tugged the zipper the rest of the way down.

There was not a doubt in my mind, heart, or body about how much I wanted him. I knew he expected me to want to take things slow in the sex department, but that’s not how I felt. Regardless of the ghosts of the past, I wanted him more than I had ever wanted any man. I wanted him to be the one who proved to me that sex was physically and emotionally safe. That it could be a loving act between two consenting people.

But with the roller coaster of feelings rocketing through me, it was more about an all-consuming lust and desire.

When Rev stepped back from me, I rose to my feet. The dress slid down my body and pooled at my feet, leaving me in only my panties. Both empowerment and vulnerability raced through me.

“Rev, I want you to look at me.” He shook his head and kept his gaze on the floor. “I said I want you to look at me,” I repeated.

“That’s not what this is about. It’s about you getting warm before you catch pneumonia,” he countered.

“I could care less about getting sick. Right now what I care about is seeing the man I love want me sexually. To look at me like he wants to devour me.”

His eyes, which burned with lust and unfilled desire, snapped to mine. “How can you ever doubt even for a second how I feel about you?”

I threw my hands up. “Because I’m standing practically naked before you and you won’t fucking look at me!”

“We’re both teetering at the edge of uncharted territory. After everything you’ve been through, I would rather die than hurt you.”

“You hurt me more when you won’t look at me or touch me,” I protested.

With an agonized sigh, Rev finally allowed his gaze to rake down my body. There was no feeling of embarrassment or inadequacy. Just the look on his face warmed me from head to toe. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.