37.

"There's not a better way to learn to relax than to be a biker babe.

You just ride, take care of your old man, and party," Neal told her.

Alexis was a little wary of the entire plan. The fact was, she wasn't cut out to be a biker babe. She was too uptight. Even if she learned how to relax, she would never be able to completely let go. It was just impossible. For a brief moment, she really wanted to. Then it was gone and she was stuck with the same old stick-in-the-mud Alexis.

"I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a biker babe, Neal."

"Sure you are. It will take a little time and a lot of relaxation, but we'll get you there."

"If you say so." Alexis knew better. She wasn't going to change this late in life. She was twenty-eight years old.

She scrutinized the men and figured they were both in their early thirties. Neither one seemed all that serious, but they had to be to own a nice house like this. It still took intelligence and knowledge to keep a house, and in as nice a shape as it was in. They weren't slouches by any means. Maybe she could pull off being their kind of biker babe after all. I guess it can't hurt to try, anyway.

"You look awful serious over there. That's not allowed when you're relaxing," Mark said as he set his plate on the bar.

"Sorry, just thinking about what all would be involved to be a biker babe. I mean, there has to be a certain mind-set."

"Nope. No planning out your reactions. These aren't acting cla.s.ses. These are life lessons." Neal shook a finger at her.

"I wasn't planning anything." She pouted.

"I could see the little wheels turning in that amazing brain of yours," Neal insisted.

"Well, you can at least advise me on what to wear." Mark chuckled. "That's easy. As little as possible."

"What does that mean?" she asked, her brow furrowed up.

38.

"The jeans will have to do. They could have some ripped places in them, but we can overlook that for right now. The blouse needs some work. Come over here," Mark said.

Alexis slid down off the stool and walked around the bar cautiously. She wasn't at all sure she totally trusted Mark like this.

When she reached his side, he turned and grabbed her, pulling her to him by the waist. When she was standing directly in front of him, he pulled out her blouse that was tucked in her waist and opened the bottom two b.u.t.tons. Then he pulled the corners of the blouse out and tied them up around her waist so that a margin of her belly showed between it and her pants. Then he unb.u.t.toned another b.u.t.ton that left a glaring gap of skin. She immediately pulled it together. He grasped her hand and pulled it away.

"No altering your appearance from how I've set it up. This is a biker-babe-in-training look. You'll be living in biker clothes soon.

We'll go shopping tomorrow. You'll need a new wardrobe while you're here." Mark rested his hands on her hips.

"You've got to be kidding!"

"Not at all," Neal said. "He doesn't kid around with stuff like this.

You're desperate to find out how to become less uptight and more relaxed. Trust us."

"Mark, you call Casey's and order the takeout for our picnic, and I'll show Alexis our bikes and how to ride one." Neal grabbed Alexis's hand and pulled her through the back of the kitchen to the door leading to the garage.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said.

Neal grinned at her. "You'll believe it soon enough. You're going to have a blast. I promise."

Alexis wasn't so sure about that. She still hadn't quite talked herself into the bravery of climbing on the back of a bike with someone she didn't know that well. It was going to take a lot of willpower on her part and some coaxing on their part.

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And new clothes? What would she do with them when she got back home? Well, there was always the company Halloween costume party. She could go as a biker babe and honestly have the experience behind her to pull it off. She smiled. There, she had a plan. Then she frowned. She wasn't supposed to plan while she was with Mark and Neal. Well, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, or her.

"What are you thinking about?" Neal asked with a suspicious expression on his face.

"Nothing." She smiled.

"I sense a plan in that a.n.a.lytical brain of yours. Put it out of your mind. You're ours for the rest of your time here. No planning. We do the planning, and you follow us."

"You can't expect me to just blindly follow you without knowing what you are setting up."

"Oh, but we do. You have to trust us to relax. You did last night and this morning. That's a big start." Neal ran a finger down her cleavage where the unb.u.t.toned shirt allowed him free access.

She felt the heat of a blush creeping up her neck into her cheeks.

"You're so cute when you blush. Now what do you have to blush about? We didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm not blushing. It's just hot out here in the garage."

"Right," Neal said.

"Anyway, what were you going to show me out here, anyway?" she asked.

"Let me introduce you to the bikes. We both ride the same type of Harley. Mine is burgundy, and his is black. You will always know which one of us is on which bike that way."

"Okay. I've got that." She approached the burgundy one and ran her hand along the seat.

"Next are the helmets. We always wear them. They're wired so we can talk to each other, and if we change the frequency and are within the right distance, we can talk to the others in our gang." 40 "Gang? That's right. You have a gang of construction workers that ride together."

"So, first of all, let's get a helmet on you to see about fit. We have two extras, so one of them is bound to fit you." He pulled out the two helmets from a locker in the garage.

She tried on the first one and he p.r.o.nounced it too big for her. The second one fit. She thought it was a bit heavy, but he only laughed.

"You'll get used to it. Just walk around with it on some. Next I want to show you how to get on and off a bike. There are some key areas you don't want to touch because they can burn you." He walked her back over to the burgundy bike.

"Okay, these are the pipes you don't want to get near. These are your footrests here." He pointed out the pedals. She followed his instructions and located everything he showed her until he was satisfied she had it down.

"Okay, next, you climb on. You always climb on after me and off before me. I'm always the last one on the bike since I have to keep it steady." Neal climbed on the bike and took it off the stand.

He nodded for her to climb on. She started to take off her helmet since he wasn't wearing his, but he stopped her.

"You've got to be able to get on and off with the added weight on your head. Try it."

Alexis sighed and followed his directions and made it on the back of the bike without a problem. He praised her and had her dismount, as well. She had a little more trouble there and nearly ended up on her a.s.s.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure one of us is always there to help you on and off, but you need to be able to get on by yourself in case there's a problem."

"Um, what kind of problem?" she asked, a little nervous about the sound in his voice.

41.

"Oh, nothing we should be dealing with, but it's something you should always be able to do. Otherwise, you're stuck." He climbed off the bike after setting it back on the stand.

"Okay, what's next? I'm not feeling very relaxed right now."

"Learning something new is always a sure way to have an anxiety flash. We'll do something about that. Come on in and let's see what time our lunch will be ready to pick up." Alexis followed him back into the house, hoping his method of stress relief involved removing their clothes. She walked into the kitchen with a great big smile on her face.

42.

Chapter Five.

No sooner had Alexis walked into the kitchen than Mark was on her. He closed the door and pushed her against it, demanding a kiss.

She happily gave it to him but ended up letting him lead. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and explored every nook and cranny before sliding his tongue suggestively against hers, in and out of her mouth.

Alexis moaned into his mouth as he withdrew and began to nibble along her lips and jawline. He all but crushed her against the door and moved his hands from the door to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s where he ma.s.saged then pulled at the nipples, which were budding into his expert hands. Oh, she wanted this. She needed this.

"Do we have time for a quickie?" She couldn't believe that was her voice asking for s.e.x.

"Hmmm, I wish we did, but we don't. Just save this feeling for a little later. I have the perfect idea." Neal's f.u.c.k in the background let her know he was all for it, as well.

"I'll get the supplies on my bike. You can carry the food in your satchels," Neal said from behind Mark.

"Gotcha." Mark moved back from Alexis and steadied her when she would have pitched forward. "Easy there, baby."

"So, how long before we leave?" she asked.

"About ten minutes. Run to the bathroom because there won't be one that close by where we are going." Alexis all but ran for the stairs. She needed a minute to compose herself. She felt like a wanton woman having asked for s.e.x and been

43.

turned down. Sure, he promised later, but it stung just a little bit to have been turned down.

After taking care of business, she thought back to the incident and realized he had been hard against her, so it wasn't because of lack of interest. It probably was because of time constraints. Despite them saying there was no real planning while she was there, they were making plans for her. She had to admit she liked not having to be the one to schedule everything for a change. Someone else was doing it for her. She smiled and pranced down the stairs.

The men were in a huddle in the kitchen when she walked in.

They broke apart with a conspiratorial look about them. They were up to something. She hoped it involved s.e.x. Now she was antsy for it.

She'd never been a s.e.xual person as far as she knew, but one night in their bed and she had s.e.x on the brain.

"Are you ready?" Mark asked.

"Ready when you are." She had pulled her hair back in a ponytail to get it out of her face.

Neal walked over and pulled the wrap loose.

"You can't wear a helmet over it. It has to go, sorry." He stuffed her wrap in his front pocket and took her hand. "Let's mount up.

You're riding with me on the way out and Mark on the way back."