Page 116 of Dangerous Attraction

Grabbing his boots in one hand and mine in the other, he walks out of his bedroom, leaving me behind, still watching him with a slack jaw.

The thought of getting on the back of his bike is both exciting and terrifying.

"Come on, Red," he shouts, which kicks me into gear and forces me to move.

I hold on tightly as Reeve weaves in and out of traffic. My fingers dig into the muscles of his stomach beneath his shirt, feeling them ripple with every move he makes.

When we reach Emery's apartment, I rest my head on his back, flattening my palms against his chest.

Although I can't wait to get off this bike because my heart is thumping like crazy and my muscles are aching from being locked up, I also don't want to let go, enjoying the warmth and closeness.

We roll to a stop, and he uses his foot to kick down the stand before tapping my leg.

Swinging myself off the bike, I stumble slightly, grabbing hold of his arm to keep me steady.

He chuckles. "You'll get used to it eventually."

Taking the cap off his head, he runs his fingers through his hair and glances around the parking lot.

Smoothing my hands over my wild hair, I take a deep breath when I see Liam's car a few feet away in one of the visitor spaces.

"I better get this over and done with."

"You sure you don't want me to stay?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No, I'll be fine. You go and help the others when they get back. I'll call you when I'm ready to leave here, and then you can come pick me up."

Pressing a chaste kiss against his lips, I twist around and move toward Emery's building.

Buzzing the intercom, Emery lets me up, her cheerful voice filtering through the static speaker by the door as I pass through it and head for the stairwell.

Climbing up two sets of steps, I meander down the hallway until I reach her apartment. Before I can knock on the door, it swings open, and Liam's standing on the other side with a bright smile.

My stomach twists at the sight.

"Hello, stranger."

He pulls me into a hug. I sigh and wrap my arms around him, basking in the comfort of my best friend, hoping he doesn't hate me when I tell him about me and Reeve.

"Hey," I mutter against his chest, then rub my hand over his short hair.

He pushes away, feigning a frown as he tries to sort out the non-existent mess I made.

Walking into Emery's apartment, I flop down on the sofa beside the blonde who's currently stuffing chips into her mouth.

"If you can't tell, he's in a good mood," she grumbles, shooting daggers at Liam as he prances into the room.

"I have a whole two weeks off from studying," he explains, pushing my legs off the seat beside me so he can squish himself between us. "School has been kicking my ass lately."

"Same," Emery murmurs, dramatically dropping her head onto the back of the sofa.

Liam stretches his arms out, then circles them around our shoulders as he pulls us into his sides.

"Enough about school. This is the first time we've been together in what feels like forever, let's enjoy it and not talk about things stressing us out."

Emery side-eyes me cautiously, raising her brows and silently asking me when I'm going to bring up the elephant in the room.

Thinking it's best to rip the Band-Aid off, I sit up straight and twist my body toward Liam.