Riding Steele: Crossroads Read Online Free PDF Page B

been a long night. We’re all pretty tired. Let’s get some rooms and relax.”
    “I’m all for that,” Shock said. “I’ll go in and get us set up.”
    Laurie still leaned back against him. He handed his helmet to Wild Card, then unfastened her helmet and pulled it off. Wild Card stowed both away.
    Steele stroked her hair from her face. “You doing okay?”
    She tipped her head back and gazed up at him. “I am now that I’m with you.”
    At her words, and the soft glow in her eyes, warmth filled him. He loved this woman. He would do anything to protect her. And to make her happy.
    Shock returned and handed Steele a key, then tossed keys to the others. Steele dismounted and scooped Laurie up, then carried her to room nineteen and opened the door. Carrying her over the threshold like this made him think of white lace and promises of a lifetime together.
    That was something he’d never thought he wanted before, but now he craved it … with her.
    He pushed the door closed behind him and carried her to the bed, then set her down. He turned around to see the curtains fully open and the crew smiling in at him. He strode to the window, a grin on his face, and pulled the curtains closed, blocking out their friendly faces.
    This would actually be his first time alone with Laurie in a bed, since they’d become intimate, and he would take every advantage of it. Not that he expected anything from her. He just wanted to hold her close. Feel her body against his, and know she was safe in his arms.
    He just wanted to cherish her.
    He pulled back the covers. He knelt in front of her and untied her shoes, then pulled them off. He suppressed the urges that threatened to rise in him. She’d been through a horrible ordeal. He was not going to do anything to make her uncomfortable.
    “I’ll go grab my stuff from the bike and get you a nice, clean shirt to sleep in.”
    She nodded as he slipped outside. When he returned, she was in bed, the covers pulled up to her neck. He riffled through his bag and grabbed a T-shirt. He placed it on the bed beside her, then turned back to grab a change of clothes from his bag, giving her privacy.
    When he turned back, she was gazing at him.
    The room had two double bedsand as much as he wanted to climb into bed with her, to hold her tight in his arms, he realized he needed to give her time after her ordeal. He kicked off his shoes, then sat down on the other bed, but she pushed back the covers on her bed.
    “Don’t you want to be with me?” she asked, looking uncertain and a little vulnerable.
    “Of course, I just … I mean, after what you’ve been through I just thought you might need space.”
    “What I need is you. I want to feel you close. I want you to hold me.”
    He shifted to her bed and slid in beside her, then wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. He kissed her temple. “It’s okay, baby. I’m never going to leave you alone again.”
    Soon she was asleep in his arms. He reveled in the feel of her so close to him, her soft hair pressed against his cheek. Finally, his own exhaustion overtook him.
    *
    Laurie’s eyelids popped open and she glanced around. Where was she? The last she remembered she was … oh, God, Donovan had grabbed her and stuck her in that cage. But then Steele showed up and saved her.
    Panic welled up. Where was he now?
    “Steele?” She bolted to a sitting position.
    “What is it, sweetheart?” Steele glanced up from a magazine he was reading. He sat in an armchair in the motel room he’d brought her to. He put the magazine down and walked toward her, his features etched with concern. “Nightmare?”
    “I just … I wasn’t sure where you were.”
    He sat down on the bed beside her and stroked back her hair with a sweet tenderness that touched her heart. “I told you, I’ll never leave you alone again.”
    His words, and his gentle touch, made her want him with a desperation that dug deep into her soul. She grasped his hand and kissed his