His nod of approval sent warm tingles all over her.
Damon held his helmet before him, his long limbs already draped over his bike. “That settles it. Let’s take them out and see what they can do.” He plopped his helmet over his blond hair and put his hands to the controls.
Before she was in position, Damon was gone, tires spinning on the pavement as he took off in a squeal of smoke and noise.
She tightened the strap under her chin. “I’m not slowing you down, am I?”
Jim shook his head, lifting her into position behind him. He pulled her close, her thighs nestled against his, warm and intimate and completely safe as she wrapped her arms around his torso and held on tight. He took off slower than Damon, but the wind whistled past and Lillie found she was wearing a wide, goofy grin.
Her last hurrah was turning out to be one of the best experiences of her life.
8
They headed north on the highway, then off on a secondary road into the mountains. It hadn’t taken long for Jim to catch up with Damon, and they rode side by side, easing around corners as the landscape changed, trees beginning to thicken as they gained elevation.
A sign flashed past informing them they were headed toward Mount Charleston. This area was familiar territory as well. Jim and Damon had played in the park before, but it was nice to be able to look forward to showing Lillie something different.
And he appreciated Damon hadn’t taken them out for hours. Jim had worked Lillie over pretty hard last night, and the fifty minutes it would take to get to the parking lot at the trailhead was more than enough.
She leaned against his back, hands locked around his waist. Every time there was the slightest bump in the road, her grip rubbed him and set his body on fire.
The parking lot was empty when they got there. Lillie pulled off her helmet, her expression one of wonder as she looked around. “Okay, I confess. This is much more my speed than the casino floors.”
Damon hung his helmet on the handlebars, pulling off his jacket. “Why did you decide to come to Vegas if you’re not comfortable around crowds?”
For a second it seemed as if she was actually going to answer the question, and then that barrier went up. She hesitated long enough Jim was sure she was debating how much truth to include in her story.
“I only had a few choices, and I always wanted to see Vegas.” She turned her back on them, pacing toward the wide map erected at the trailhead.
Damon gave Jim a pointed look, as in See? She’s keeping secrets. And yet, as long as they weren’t terrible secrets, who was he to judge?
He changed the subject before Damon could say anything out loud. “We have time for a bit of a stroll.”
His friend removed his shirt, gesturing toward the box at the side of the trail. “Best invention ever.”
Lillie poked her head around the side of the map. “A food cache?”
“We put our clothes in them so no one steals our stuff while we go for a walk in our fur.” Jim held out his hand to her. “I donated this one so we’d have a safe place to put things.”
“What he’s not telling you is before we had this here, someone once absconded with everything but our shoes. It made for an interesting trip back to town.” Damon winked, and she laughed.
Jim inclined his head toward the trail. “Did you want to shift for a while? I promise it’s safe. No one’s going to get upset even if we are spotted.”
Her smile was full of mischief. “You’re sure no one will think twice about seeing a grizzly, a black bear and a wolf hanging out together for the day?”
Damon was already down to skin, stuffing his boots into the square metal box. “That’s nothing. I came here once with a few friends—a cougar, a lion, a couple more—and we were playing tag. Someone caught a satellite shot of the moment when the mink was chasing us all.”
Her lips curled happily. “I’d love to walk for a while.”
Jim knew it wasn’t necessary, not for Lillie’s sake, but for his own peace of mind he kept himself between her and his best friend as they stripped. He accepted her pile of clothing, letting his gaze drift over her creamy skin, the sunlight bouncing off her curves.
She shook a finger at him. “I recognize that expression. I thought you said you wanted to go for a ramble, not a tumble.”
“One, and then the other,” he compromised.
She still wore her smile as she shifted, her petite human body transforming into the daintiest black bear he’d ever seen. Jim paced forward, squatting down to gaze into her eyes as he stroked her head. “Look at you. I could eat you up in one bite,” he teased.
Lillie snapped at him before sitting back on her haunches, tilting her head to the side in the most adorable way.