Dinner With a Bad Boy (4 page)

He shrugged as he offered her a helmet before exiting the restaurant. "How 'bout we settle for responsible motorcycling?"

Su Ling grinned in response, much too eager to climb back on his bike. When Mitch had arrived for their dinner date, she'd expected a respectable, modest teacher's car. She hadn't expected to don a motorcycle helmet and hang on to Dragon's taut belly while he started up his Harley. Neither had she expected the thrill that coursed through her body when the iron beast roared to life between her thighs.

And now she couldn't wait to do it again! What a wanton she was turning out to be, she thought with a giggle, thinking dirty thoughts while once again wrapping her arms around Mitch. She barely waited until they'd left the parking lot before allowing her hands to slip underneath his clothing so she could caress the heated ripples of his abs. He jerked in reaction, taking a corner fast while she pressed her cheek against his leather jacket.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. She'd never acted so impulsively in her life. But something about Mitch just made her feel free: free to express her thoughts, free to challenge his ideas and learn from his opinions. Even free to touch him in the most inappropriate ways. He didn't judge her or dismiss her, but gave her his undivided attention, listening with a focus that went straight to her head. She felt as if he cut the weights that tied her down, the restrictions that made her double think every word, every gesture. She never wanted this night or these feelings to end.

They couldn't speak, not when he was roaring around corners and zipping toward her condo. But as soon as the bike jerked to a thrilling stop in front of her building, he pulled off his helmet and twisted around to look at her. "You're a naughty girl!" he stated firmly, his voice deliciously thick. Then he frowned. "And why are you laughing?"

She gazed into the dark swirls of his gorgeous eyes and smiled. "Just an if-my-mother-saw-me-now thought."

"Got a thing for rebels?" he challenged as he killed the motor.

"Of course not!" she said, stiffening as she tried to pull away, but he grabbed her wrists where they remained beneath his shirt before slowly raising her hands a few inches more. She watched his eyes, seeing his pupils dilate, his nostrils flare as her palms rubbed through the dusting of his chest hairs and her fingers touched the hard, flat disks of his nipples.

"Oh..." she whispered, still feeling the residual thrum of the motorcycle between her legs.

"I've been thinking about kissing you all night long," he said as he dismounted, turning around to face her directly. "Then, Miss Naughty Fingers, you started playing with fire."

"My hands were cold," she retorted, but he wasn't listening. Instead he grabbed her head and descended into that soul-devouring kiss she'd been longing for. She pressed into him, wrapping her arms around his broad back as he half lifted, half pushed her off his bike. Thank God the wall support stood just behind her or she would have fallen to the ground, taking him with her so she could feel his weight, hard and hungry on top of her. As it was, the rough wood behind her only accentuated the smooth, living caress of his chest in front.

"My turn," he said hoarsely as he plundered her mouth. Then, before she could ask what he meant, she felt his hands, large and hot, as he slid them beneath her cashmere sweater, first spanning her quivering belly before scaling higher.

She broke from his mouth, gasping out a soft warning. "We're in public."

"I don't care." He caught her lips again while she arched into his hands where they covered her breasts. In one swift move he'd gone from tickling her ribs to completely encircling her breasts, molding them with his hands, rolling his finger across her tight peaks before quickly finding her bra's front clasp.

"Oh, God." She moaned, not knowing what she meant as he deftly clicked open her bra, brushing it away before taking hold of her naked flesh and squeezing her—first one side, then the other—in a rhythm that had her nearly mindless with need. Until her cell phone began ringing. "My pants..." she whispered. "They're ringing."

"Forget it." He chuckled as he began trailing kisses along her face and neck.

She nearly did. But, as he said before, she was Mom this week. "It might be Amanda." She straightened, dislodging him only slightly. His hands slid to her waist, rubbing the quivering flesh there while he continued to kiss along her collarbone. Meanwhile she grabbed at her phone, flipping it open with shaking hands.

"Amanda?" she said.

"Su Ling?" came her mother's strident tones. "Are you there?"

"Ma Ma?" she asked, mortified at the breathless quality of her voice.

"Are you with him?" Even her mother's demanding tone couldn't quite cool Su Ling's overheated blood. Certainly they had no effect on Dragon as he began to lift up her sweater, exposing her to both him and everyone else in the parking lot.

"Ma Ma?" she said again weakly as her eyes drifted shut. "Is everything all right?"

Fortunately, that caught Mitch's attention enough that he stopped, gently easing her sweater down, though he continued to stroke her belly in mesmerizing circles.

"You must come home. I brought you egg rolls. Homemade. But you're not here, and Amanda's scared, all alone in a strange place."

"Mandy's scared?" Su Ling straightened against the carport wall while Mitch frowned.

"Is she okay?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

Su Ling nodded as she continued to the receiver. "She knew I had a date."

"You're with that earring-tattoo man!" her mother accused.

Su Ling felt her insides twist. Already overheated from what she'd been doing, she found a ready outlet in attacking her mother. "Yes, Ma Ma, we're at a biker bar right now. He's trying to talk me into doing a wet-T-shirt contest." Then she slapped her hand against her mouth in horror. Had she really just said that?

The explosion of Chinese from her mother told her she had. Meanwhile, even in the shadowy carport, Mitch grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. Obviously he liked her defiant side. She, on the other hand, didn't know what to think, especially since she knew she didn't dare tell her mother exactly what she
had
been doing.

Then, when Su Ling remained silent, her mother switched to English. "Come home immediately," she ordered. "Amanda needs you here."

"In a moment. Mandy can wait just a bit." Su Ling took absurd pleasure in using her niece's nickname.

"Not alone. Very well. Amanda!" she called, clearly talking to Su Ling's niece. "Go pack your things. You will stay with me. Your aunt is busy." Given her tone, she could just have easily said, "Your aunt is a plague carrier."

"No, no, Ma Ma," Su Ling said with alarm. "Don't make her pack. I'm right downstairs in the carport." To add emphasis to her words, she straightened her top, pushing Mitch's hands away. Then, of course, she had to completely reverse his efforts, awkwardly pinning the phone between her ear and shoulder as she clipped her bra closed before readjusting the rest. And all the while Dragon stood there, his arms folded across his chest, a twinkle of unholy amusement in his eyes.

All she could do was stick her tongue out at him while her mother's voice continued to pound through the phone. "Where are you? I don't see you!"

Su Ling sighed, knowing that her mother would never leave her alone unless she stepped into view. Quickly running her hand through her hair, she moved out from beneath the carport, waving without enthusiasm at the round, Asian face peering through her living room window. "I'll be up in a moment."

"Ai-yah, he is there with that motorcycle."

"I'll just be a moment. Let me just say good-bye." She flipped the phone shut as she turned back to Mitch, feeling her mother's eyes boring into her back even as her blood started to simmer. Lord, she felt sixteen, out on a hot date with a great guy in front of her, and her mother glaring out the window behind.

"Everything okay?" he asked from where he stood, barely covered in shadow.

"Ever have a family who won't leave you alone no matter what you do?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I divorced my parents a long, long time ago."

"Great. Teach me how."

He shrugged. "Get on your motorcycle and ride away."

Watching the way his expression flattened out, Su Ling knew that was exactly how he'd done it. For whatever reason—probably that demanding father he'd mentioned earlier—Mitch'd left home and never looked back, and she didn't know whether to envy him or pity him. In either case, her own family was still watching from a fourth-story window. She needed to say her good-byes quickly before Ma Ma came out and hauled her daughter upstairs.

"I had a really nice time tonight—"

"How long until Mandy goes back to her mother's?" His words came out gratifyingly quickly, the low tone sending shivers of awareness down her skin.

"Two and a half weeks," she said, suddenly feeling shy. He left no doubt as to what they'd be doing now if her condo didn't contain her mother and niece.

He released a low growl as he reached out, snagging her around the waist before pulling her into his arms. "I don't want to wait that long."

"Isn't this inappropriate or something? Kissing a student's relative?"

"I've been inappropriate since the second we met."

"I know the feeling," she returned with a grin. She intended to say more, but he never gave her the chance. He swooped down, kissing her breathless again, bending her backward as he took possession of her mouth, his left hand supporting her back, his right sliding down until he cupped her rear end.

Then, when he was finished and she remained dazed in his arms, he looked up and winked. It took a few seconds before she realized he was winking at her mother, who had no doubt seen the entire thing.

"Oh, God!" she exclaimed, shoving him away from her. "You're taunting her!"

He laughed, clearly unfazed. "I believe, princess, that's what you hired me to do. Just be thankful I didn't lift another fifty bucks."

She stared at him, torn between horror and humor as he climbed onto his bike. "Mitch, I'm not torturing my parents any more."

He turned, challenging her with his focused gaze. "Then send Mama away, and we'll finish what we started."

She hesitated, equal parts excited and terrified by the thought. Terror won. "I... I can't. Ma Ma will freak, and Mandy's still here."

He pulled on his helmet. "So you're choosing them over me. Guess I'll just have to visit in your dreams." Then he blew her a kiss before roaring away.

Ma Ma, of course, was waiting at the door when Su Ling finally made it up to her condo. She'd deliberately walked slowly, waiting for the fire in her belly to cool down. Unfortunately the cooling, unfulfilled passion only made her cranky. So when Ma Ma began her attack the moment the elevator doors opened, Su Ling was primed to fight back.

"Su Ling! What were you doing?" Ma Ma demanded.

Su Ling rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what we were doing, Ma Ma. We were making hot banshee noises in the parking lot." Then she bit her own lip, wondering what had gotten into her. She never spoke like that to her parents. Ever.

"With that man!" Ma Ma exploded. "He's not your dragon! He's some busboy at the restaurant!"

Su Ling ground her teeth as she pushed her way into her condo. "He teaches social studies."

"How could you do that? At all hours! And in public! With a child in the house!"

Su Ling slipped past her mother to see Amanda sitting ultra quietly in the kitchen, the crumbs of an egg roll on the plate before her, an open science textbook in her hands. "It's nine-thirty, Ma Ma. And Mandy knows I have dates."

Her mother paused, her eyes narrowing as she stared at her daughter. Meanwhile Su Ling was beginning to feel calmer, more confident. She'd just snapped at her mother, and the roof had not caved in, lightning had not struck her, and the ghosts of her dead ancestors had not reared up to pour shame and guilt upon her.

Then Ma Ma smiled, speaking in a softer, more wheedling voice. "I have found another dragon for you. A better one. A doctor. I will bring him by tomorrow."

"I'm busy tomorrow. Where's Ba Ba?" Su Ling asked, rushing her words as she tried to distract her mother.

"Ah," Ma Ma answered with a dismissive hand gesture. "Some meeting. Very important. You know your father."

Yes, she did. And, more important, she knew her mother. Ma Ma got bored by herself—hence the sudden urge to make egg rolls and interfere in her daughter's life. "Well, he should be home by now," she said as sweetly as she could manage. "Thanks for stopping by. And for the egg rolls."

She dutifully grabbed an egg roll out of the container on the counter and bit into it. God, it was good, and she wasn't even hungry. "These are fabulous." Then she released a sigh, trying to look tired. "You've been very helpful." She pasted on a sincere smile and prayed it would work. Usually Ma Ma just wanted to feel useful and appreciated. The trick was to give her mother warm fuzzies without letting the woman completely take over her life.

Ma Ma hesitated. "I have checked Amanda's homework. She needs help with chemistry. I cannot do those things, but her grandfather—"

"I'm sure Amanda has it under control. Right, Mandy?"