Biker by Ashley Harma Page A

don’t regret it. I will never regret it!”
    Liz nodded thoughtfully. “You did use protection, right?”
    “Of course! I’m not that crazy!” Though Noelle knew in the back of her mind that protection had been the last thing that she had been concerned about. If Blaze hadn’t brought out the condom, what would she have done?
    She shuddered at the thought. Maybe her illness was factoring into things more than she had realized.
    Noelle enjoyed the rest of her night with Liz, and true to her word, Liz helped keep Noelle’s mind off Todd. The following day Quinn showed up, and patiently went through each room with Noelle, helping her purge anything that had been left behind by Todd, or reminded her of him. When Quinn left that night, she took with her three huge trash bags destined for Goodwill.
    Noelle began to accept her new life without Todd. She kept herself busy during her last few days off, and then returned to work at the start of the next week. At work, she went through the motions, and made a deliberate effort to focus on the sick children in her care. On her lunch break, she found herself mindlessly doodling the Widowmakers logo on her napkin.
    Her co-workers wanted to hear all about her trip to Aruba, and they were shocked to hear about Todd. After Noelle broke the news about Todd, they were kind enough to give her space and not ask any more questions. However, as Noelle moved through the week, she felt as if something was missing... and it wasn’t Todd.
    There was an excitement within her, a need for adventure that she suddenly craved. She knew that Blaze had awakened something deep within her and now that she had a taste of it, she was desperate for more.
    She wanted more Blaze.
    All week she wrestled with her thoughts of Blaze. More than once she had been tempted to dial the number on the cigarette pack, but she always stopped herself. Part of her hated the fact that he had given her that number, had dangled the opportunity of more in front of her.
    More cash.
    More hot sex with Blaze.
    Noelle broke down on Thursday night.
    After getting off her twelve-hour shift, just past seven in the evening, Noelle pulled up outside a gas station on her way home. She dug in her wallet for a handful of change, and walked toward the forgotten payphone in the corner of the parking lot. She could barely believe that payphones still existed.
    Taking a shaky breath, she dialed the number from memory.
    “Hello?” Blaze’s voice came across the line, and Noelle’s insides melted as a burning desire ignited deep within her belly. Every feeling and sensation came rushing back, and she had to steady herself.
    “Blaze... it’s me, Noelle. I – I want to come back to Vegas.” She couldn’t bring herself to say that she wanted more cash, or that she wanted to have more hot, dirty sex.
    “Take the first flight to Vegas tomorrow evening. I will pick you up at McCarran International Airport. Call this number when you arrive.” He rattled off another number, and Noelle fumbled in her purse for a pen to write it down.
    Blaze’s clipped, cold voice and the whole impersonal feel of the call astonished her.
    “Okay,” she said slowly, “Should I pack anything –’’
    Blaze cut her off. “Follow the instructions and I will see you tomorrow.”
    The line went dead.
    Noelle stood there, staring at the receiver in her hand.
    What the hell had just happened?
    Dazed, she hung the phone up and walked back to her car, clutching the scrap of paper with the new phone number on it.
    She feared that she had just made a huge mistake.
    It wasn’t that she had been expecting a warm and loving reception from Blaze, but she had thought that he would have felt some measure of happiness to hear from her. Instead, it had seemed like a business call.
    Then an awful thought struck Noelle.
    Maybe it really had only been a business call. Maybe Blaze regretted sleeping with Noelle, and now his only interest was to use her in another