Her Billionaire Best Friend (The Black Tie Billionaires #4) - Jo Grafford Page 0,1

bike. Assuming she owned a car, that is. Truthfully, he had no idea what she normally drove to work or if she took public transportation, for that matter.

Jolene wordlessly accepted his helmet. Instead of immediately putting it on, however, she first reached up to unpin the high and tidy bun she always wore.

To his delight, her thick, dark hair came tumbling down like a waterfall. It was even longer than he imagined it would be, hanging well past her shoulder blades.

Tipping her head to shake it back, she finally put on Titus’s helmet. Then she slung one long, white-clad leg over his bike and hopped aboard.

He sucked in a breath when her arms slid around his middle, warm and without hesitation. Man! He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be held by a woman. It had been over two years since his last date — a movie date with a fellow agent. Their whirlwind relationship hadn’t lasted long and had ended badly, making him swear to be a no-strings kind of guy from then on. He was married to his job. Period.

But just knowing it was Jolene back there on his motorcycle was giving him second thoughts about his dating diet.

He turned his head and raised his voice to be heard above the rev of his engine. “Hang on tight.”

She leaned into him as he gunned it and took off, melting a good ten degrees when she rested her head against his back. It was a short drive to the cafe he’d picked out, less than four miles. And the route went straight through the middle of Anchorage, which meant there were way too many stoplights. He would have preferred to throttle up his engine and let ‘er rip. Then again, it would’ve made the trip go faster, and he was in no hurry for it to end.

As he idled at the last stoplight before reaching their destination, he was alarmed to feel Jolene’s arms around him loosen and her weight sink more fully against him. So much for his attempt to impress her with his tricked-out Harley and his favorite Yup’ik cuisine. Nice going, slick. Their short ride across town had put her to sleep.

Reaching down to place a firm grip on her clasped hands, he debated what to do. Probably best to take her home, which is what he should have done in the first place. There was only one problem with his belated return to his senses; he had no idea where she lived.

The red light flashed to a green left turn arrow. Holding back a groan of immense disappointment, he accelerated just enough to do a U-turn and nose into a curb-side parking spot. Then he killed his motor and kicked down his stand. Time to wake sleeping beauty and ask for directions.

To his surprise, she jerked upright the moment he twisted off the ignition. “Here already?” she mumbled sleepily, sliding her arms from beneath his hand. “Shortest ride in the universe.” She slid sluggishly off his bike, removed his helmet, and shook her glorious, wind-tousled hair back.

Titus was trying to be a gentleman, but he couldn’t help staring. “You sure you feel up to this?”

Shoving his helmet back at him, she shot him an are-you-crazy look. “Are you seriously asking a hungry girl if she feels up to eating?”

“Well, yeah.” He dismounted and secured the helmet. “Not to be insulting, but you sorta did fall asleep on our way here.” Hitching one hip on his bike, he folded his arms and faced her. “Listen, there’s no shame in being tired. If you’d rather me take you home—”

“It was nothing more than a little power nap,” she scoffed, waving a hand in irritation. “All medical professionals learn to snatch them wherever they can, especially when we’re pulling all-nighters. Shoot! I can sleep standing up with my eyes open.”

Duly noted. Now that Titus would like to see, although it didn’t make him feel any better about how tired his date was. “Kinda dangerous, don’t you think? Snoozing on a bike in the middle of traffic?”

“Whatevs.” She shrugged. “I’m betting the risks were minimal, since I was with you.”

Though he was pleased by the trust she was placing in him, he was still concerned for her safety. “That’s a lot of faith to put in a guy you barely know.”

“Okay. Well, let me put it to you a different way. I’m starved, mister. If you insist on saddling back up before feeding me, you better not blame