I was just about to tap her number with my thumb, when headlights suddenly washed over me, pulling my eyes up.
Well, headlight, I should say.
The loud rumble of the black and chrome motorcycle roared across the parking lot, and for a second, I felt my heart jump up into my throat before it pulled closer and I saw who it was.
Caleb.
I swallowed, blushing furiously as he grinned at me, pulling up next to my car and turning the bike engine off. He was helmet-less, his light dirty-blond hair tussled in the night air, and those piercing blue eyes of his blazing right into me as he dropped his feet to the ground on either side of the bike.
“I think you hit something.”
I rolled my eyes, biting my lip as the smile teased over them. “Oh, did I?”
“That’s just my professional opinion,” he grinned back.
“You’re supposed to be resting, you know.”
Caleb’s eyes locked with mine, full of heat.
“Yeah, I was trying to but just couldn’t get the hang of it.”
I sighed. “I mean, I think all it takes is lying down the couch and not doing anything. And as your doctor, I—”
“So you are my doctor?”
I rolled my eyes. “As your vet…”
Caleb chuckled.
“As your vet, yes, you should be lying down.”
“Maybe it’s the whole ordeal I went through, you know? Like, shell-shock or something? Maybe that’s why I can’t relax.”
He was being sarcastic, and I knew it. And something told me, this wasn’t exactly the first time he’d been shot at. Or hit, for that matter.
“Or maybe…” he purred, pushing his fingers through his hair, the ink on his bare forearms rippling as I swallowed thickly.
“Maybe it’s just that my doctor visited earlier to check on me and I’m have a real hard time forgetting about that.”
The heat blossomed furiously across my face, and I looked away. All I could think about was my locker room escape after I’d left Caleb before, and the memory sent tingles across my skin.
“You need a lift home or something?”
I turned back, eyeing him. “Were you watching me or something?”
“Huh?”
“I just mean, this happens and poof, you’re just here to come to my rescue?”
Caleb shrugged. “You got me. My big master plan was to fuck up your tire and then hang out waiting for it to happen so I could ask you if I could give you a ride home.”
His brow shot up at my silence.
“Jesus, Doc, I’m kidding,” he chuckled. “I was out for a drive to clear my head is all. Look, you want a ride?”
“I was just about to call Jackie to see about Stone coming down to tow me.”
Caleb folded his arms over his muscled chest and shook his head. “Axe has the tow truck up in Salt River to pick up an old Mustang he and Ryker bought to fix up.”
I swore, frowning.
“Look, their back in Blackthorn tomorrow. How about I drive you home, and tomorrow they can come fix your tire right here.”
I chewed on that, my whole body tingling.
Okay, yes, the idea of jumping on the back of a hot, tattooed, toe-curlingly sexy guy’s motorcycle—a guy who I also happened to know kissed like a demon— sounded great. But I hesitated.
This was dangerous, and I don’t mean riding on the back of a motorcycle. He was dangerous, because it seems around Caleb, I lost control.
…It seems I lost control around Landon too, actually. But it was Caleb right in front of me, temptation waving right in front of my eyes as he sat there looking like sex personified with his legs on either side of that bike.
“You live up off Route 8, right?”
I nodded. “Hickory Street.”
“You’re not going to walk, right? So…” he shrugged, those eyes burning right into me. “C’mon, hop on, Doc.”
I hesitated, swallowing. I took another shaky breath, mulling it over for one more second before finally, I nodded.
“Yeah, sure, why not.”
He grinned. “All aboard.”
I turned to lock my car when suddenly Caleb leaned down to pick up my bag. “Here, I can stick this in—”
“Oh, uh, hang on, I—”
But Caleb had grabbed only one of the handles, and as the bag opened up, the overhead light of the parking lot shone in on what was inside, and he stopped short.
Shit, he’d seen it. Caleb paused, his eyes looking into my purse, and I knew exactly what he was looking at.
“That’s a serious piece of firepower, Kennedy,” he growled quietly.
I snatched the bag out of his hand, closing it quickly and throwing it over my shoulder as I shrugged.
“And?”
He shook his head. “Just an observation. Blackthorn’s a pretty damn safe place, you know.”
“Yeah, well…”
I shrugged, looking away.
I’d started carrying the pistol after the whole Nick thing. An asshole ex with violent tendencies who’d stolen prescription drugs from me multiple times in the past? Yeah, you better believe I started carrying once I finally got away from that asshole. And I was pretty damn good with it too.