How could she have let that happen?
It had to stop. It had to stop now. She had a right to live, to be happy and wild and adventurous like she used to be. The rape hadn’t changed her—she had changed herself. She refused to do it. Not anymore. Five years was damn long enough.
The old Teresa was coming back.
Starting now.
TWELVE
SOMETHING HAD GOTTEN INTO TERESA, AND AJ COULDN’T FIGURE out what the hell it was.
But there was a difference. Something raw and angry, a telltale edge about her that hadn’t been there before.
The weather had shifted from cool to hot, and maybe that made her cranky, though he didn’t think it had been just the weather. After they got back from the ride in the hills, she announced she wanted to go to the Harley dealership and buy a new bike.
She’d bought a Harley. Just. Like. That.
He knew she loved to ride, had loved having her own bike before she’d been attacked. He didn’t presume to understand all the psychological shit she’d gone through after, other than that she’d told him she’d gotten rid of her bike and hadn’t ridden since.
Then, suddenly, she wanted her own bike again.
As a rider, AJ understood that riding on the back of someone else’s bike was nothing like being at the controls of your own. And once you had your own bike, typically you never wanted to ride behind someone else again.
But he understood why Teresa associated riding with what had happened to her.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded, her jaw set in a determined line. “This is definitely what I want, what I need.”
AJ looked to Pax, who shrugged as Teresa finished signing the papers on her new Harley, a sweet Softail Rocker C in a hot red color she’d chosen for herself. Not too small, not too big, just perfect for her height and leg length. She’d just whipped out her checkbook and paid for it, said she had plenty of money and it was damn time she started riding again.
Once everything was signed, sealed and delivered, she climbed aboard her bike. AJ had to admit she looked damn sexy.
“Honey, that bike fits you like it slid out of the factory with your name on it,” Pax said, walking around Teresa’s new bike.
She slid her palm over the handlebars and grinned. “She purrs. Damn, it feels good to straddle a bike again. It’s been too long.” She lifted her gaze to Pax and AJ. “Let’s ride.”
They did, taking a tour of the Black Hills again, this time on another route that would give Teresa a chance to test her bike along the steep curves of a winding mountain road. AJ was out in front at first, but then he drifted back and let Teresa take the lead. He figured after all this time not riding, she’d want a full face of mountain air and the chance to run along the switchbacks.
Besides, he liked watching her braid flipping behind her back as the wind blew it, and the way her body seemed at one with the bike on the curves. She hadn’t forgotten how to ride. No real rider ever did, no matter how long they’d been without a bike.
She led them up the hills, from one peak across another. It grew colder up here, and as AJ pulled up alongside Teresa, her cheeks were red. Her gaze drifted to his and she had a wide grin on her face. She goosed the throttle and tore off ahead of him.
Yeah, it was in her blood again. He knew the feeling.
She finally brought them back down, ending up on Main Street.
It was dark now, and the party was going full swing on the street and in the bars. They parked and Teresa’s face was flush from the cold, her cheeks bright cherries as she sported a wide grin.
“Feel good?” Pax asked.
She stretched, putting her hands on her back, then grinned. “It was amazing. I can’t believe I waited so long to get a bike again.”
“It’s about time, then, isn’t it?” AJ slung his arm around her shoulders. Pax took up position on her other side.
“Yeah. It’s about time I started doing a lot of things,” she said, her gaze skirting over both of them. “Let’s go back to that saloon we were in earlier today.”
She already knew where to go and led the way, Pax and AJ behind her.
“Something jazzed her up,” Pax said.
“Yeah. Don’t know what it is, but she’s happy about something.”
“I like the change in her.”
AJ nodded. “Me, too.”
The bar was even more crowded at night than it was during the day. Pax moved in front of Teresa so he could be the lead when they wedged their way in. They found a corner, which was going to be the best they could do until a table or spot at the bar opened up.
“I’ll go get us some beers,” AJ said.
“I want to dance.” Teresa turned to Pax. “Come on.”
AJ laughed. “Lucky you. I’m fetching the beers.”
“Shit.” Pax followed Teresa out on what was definitely not a roomy dance floor. A group of sweaty bodies crammed together like cattle in a pen wasn’t his idea of a good time. But Teresa wanted to dance—so they were going to dance.
She somehow found an inch or two of open space and raised her arms over her head, moving her hips to the beat of the music. Pax did his best to get his feet moving, but all he was really interested in doing was watching Teresa. He’d seen her dance in her bar that first night. Watching the way she moved her body, the way she got lost in the music—man, that really got to him. He could sit back and watch that all night. She did the same thing now, only she was dancing with him—for him. Her hips locked with his and she wound her arms around his neck, sliding her body from side to side. He gripped her hips and held on, his gaze roaming every square inch of her exposed flesh as she undulated against him. Denim against denim, her br**sts brushed his chest as she hung on to his shoulders and dipped her head back.
Yeah, he had to admit that even though he hated dancing, having Teresa’s body rocking against his wasn’t a hardship at all. He slid his arm around her waist and brought her flush against him, took her hand in his and decided it was his turn to lead. He gave a gentle push and twirled her around, then drew her back in, capturing her waist and sliding his hand along her hip. She grinned, then laughed as she caught on to his movements. Then they were moving in unison, her body one with his. She turned in his arms, presenting her back to him, her ass sliding and shimmying across his crotch.
It was just like sex—without the f**king.