6

Chapter 70 Back on a Bike

"

Ava may have been extremely drunk last night, but she woke up hang- over free. She opened her eyes a tiny bit to see what Jax was doing. He was dressed in jeans and a light blue T-shirt. He was in the middle of packing his clothes.

She closed her eyes and thought about last night. He'd been pretty damned good to her from what she remembered. She'd thrown up on both of them. They put on their swim suits and he'd washed her hair to get the puke out of it. If she hadn't been so drunk, it would have been romantic. He had really taken care of her just like a proper romantic hero.

They kissed at some point. She couldn't remember when but it had been nice and not like a dog at all. She wanted him to kiss her again to make sure her memory was right that he didn't kiss like a dog anymore. Maybe she'd helped him improve his kissing thanks to her feedback.

Ava opened her eyes. Jax had actually shaved. That made her feel good. She really liked him without the scruffy beard.

"How do you feel?" he asked looking at her.

"Fine."

"Definitely an improvement over last night," he said chuckling.

She got out of bed and hesitated, unsure of what she should do. She wasn't good at being with guys. She always felt awkward. That was why she didn't like relationships.

"I have a confession to make," Ava said. "That night when we had the drinking competition, I cheated to win. I paid the waitress to not put alcohol in my drinks."

Ava was feeling guilty over how nice Jax had been to her and she'd cheated on the bet. As far as putting the gum in his hair and beard, she was never going to make that confession. He could put gum in her hair or cut her hair one night as she slept. Honesty had its limits.

"I should have figured it out that night, but the next day I knew that you had to have cheated. In my world, if you cheat to win a bet, you won the beat. I should have caught on sooner."

"I remember enough from last night to know that you took really good care of me. Thank you," she said.

She gave him an awkward hug. Jax wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against him, holding her to his chest. He stroked her soft, clean hair.

"We take care of each other now. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Ava looked up at him, stunned by his words. No one had ever said that to her. Other than people paid to look after her like her nannies or Jeeves, no one had ever taken care of her. When he said he wouldn't let anything happen to her, she felt protected and cared for for the first time in her life.

He released her.

"That conditioner definitely makes a difference in your hair."

Ava reminded herself that she wasn't the naïve heroine in a romance novel or a movie. It could very well be that Jax was just saying what he thought she wanted to hear. The guy had been with hundreds of girls. He knew the words to say, but maybe he'd really meant them.

"How did I throw up in my hair? I remember you would hold my hair back when I was throwing up."

"You puked down the front of your dress. I waited in the bathroom while you changed into your nightgown. When I came back, you had vomit in your hair and on your face. You told me you forgot about the puke and pulled the dress over your head. You were so upset. I had to help clean you up."

Ava felt bad for being so mean to him now that he'd treated her with kindness. She was beginning to see him in a new light. His masculinity might not be so toxic after all.

"You kissed me."

"I asked if I could kiss you. You agreed and then you puked all over me and yourself."

"I'm really sorry."

"Drunk Ava is very sweet. You would say "nice Jax" and pat me. I didn't mind taking care of you even if you did throw up on me."

"We kissed, didn't we?"

"Briefly. That's as far as it went. You were too drunk and I don't have sex with women who are too drunk to know what they are doing even if they wouldn't remember."

"An outlaw biker with rules," Ava said.

"I'm a human being and then an outlaw biker. Seriously, very bad things can happen to girls who get too drunk in the wrong clubhouse."

"I better pack."

"Just pack the very basics. A change of clothes and a few toiletries."

"My nightgown and an extra shirt."

"You could skip the nightgown. I don't mind," Jax said giving her a grin.

Before, she would have gotten mad at him and there would have been a fight. She got now that he was teasing her.

"Pack your swimming trunks and I'll pack one of my swim suits. I'll also send our clothes to the hotel laundry so when we get back we'll have vomit free clothes."

"I'm going to go down and get the bike. Look it over and check out the helmets, make sure they are decent. I didn't expect to be riding, so I'm going to need to go by a bike shop and get gloves. It will give me a chance to get used to the bike. I'll call you when I'm ready to leave. Put all your stuff in my bag. It will attach to the bike."

"OK."

"Thank you for doing this with me."

"I think it's going to be fun."

"I did something for you," he said rubbing his jaw with his hand. "I shaved."

"Thank you."

Jax left. He had shaved for Ava. That much was true. Until his beard grew in, the stubble that would rip up Ava's tender skin. He'd grow his beard back when he wasn't trying to seduce his reluctant bride.

After he signed the paperwork for the bike, he followed the people from the biker shop back to the bike shop to get gloves. He also decided to get them each a lightweight white windbreaker to help with not getting cold when they rode. He had been close enough to Ava to guess that she wore a medium. There weren't any windbreakers in his preferred color black. They would just have to make do.

He always rode a Harley, but he would also have to make do with a Honda. The guys would give him all kinds of shit for riding a non-American bike. He would just have to deal with the guys.

Jax called Ava as soon as he returned to the hotel. He pulled the bike up to the front and waited a few minutes until she came down with his bag. She was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and had her hair in a single braid.

"Good hairstyle for a bike," he said.

He already had on his windbreaker. He handed her the bag.

"Present. It can get cold on the bike."

"Thanks," Ava said pulling on her jacket.

He took his bag and attached it to the back of the bike.

"Where's your purse?"

"I put it in the bag. I figured when we stop, I can get it since I can't hold onto it when I'm on the bike."

He put her helmet on her making sure the strap was secure before putting on his own helmet. When he'd been at the bike shop, he exchanged her helmet for one with a visor. He didn't think Ava would like bugs hitting her face her as they rode. One time and that would probably make her quit.

"I thought we'd just follow this road and turn right and see where that takes us," Jax said getting on the bike and starting it. "If you want to stop squeeze me hard."

Ava carefully climbed on the bike and wrapped her arms around Jax's waist. She was excited. She was going on an adventure.