Leah's POV
We were flying.
As Darren revved the engine, I felt the power of the motorbike beneath me. A wave of adrenaline rushed through my body. The wind whipped past me, tugging at my Armani suit as the bike roared and accelerated down the road. The scenery around me became a blur as we flew past.
It was the first time I felt my world literally reduced to a blur of colors and shapes. I mean, I had ridden a horse before, but riding on Torrent was completely different from riding Darren.
No. I mean riding along with Darren on a bike.
I gripped Darren's waist tightly. My body tensed with fear. I could feel my heart pounding against his back, with my breath coming in quick gasps. But despite my fear, I felt that Darren was of great confidence and control of a fast-moving bike.
The road stretched out before us like a ribbon, and he navigated every turn and curve with ease. For a moment, I felt that we had become part of the bike. The roar of the engine filled my ears, drowning out all other sounds and leaving me with nothing but the rush of speed.
When he finally parked his bike next to the main entrance of UniHeal Headquarters, my legs became jelly. My knees were so buckled that I couldn't even get out of the bike.
Darren turned back and removed his helmet, putting it on the handle of his bike.
Then, he tilted his head and stared at me with great interest.
"What?" I mumbled.
"Nothing. I'm just looking at you." Darren said and removed the helmet from my head, stroking his long, slender fingers in my hair. He did it like he was arranging a doll's hair.
Despite the fact that I didn't like being treated like a doll, I couldn't go anywhere, because I couldn't feel my legs. I had to sit there and let him openly display his affection for me through this act of intimacy in front of everyone walking into the HQ.
"Now your mane is all fluffy again." Darren stared at me with a giant smile on his face.
"You're enjoying what you're doing, huh?" I turned crimson and tried to look away.
People, women and men, stared at Darren because he was so damn hot in his leather racing jacket.
"Life is short, that's why I only do things that I enjoy doing."
"How long have you been driving like this?" I asked.
"Ever since I got my first Harley on my 16th birthday." He smirked at me.
I immediately regretted asking the question. Now I had to spend the rest of the morning getting rid of a 16-year-old version of him riding a giant iron beast, cruising across the city with a girl sitting on his backseat, holding him tightly.
"I enjoy riding. I get a sense of liberation that I could not find anywhere else. It's my escape from the diplomatic and military and diplomatic mundane, a chance to feel truly alive. You should try it sometime." Darren winked at me.
"Do I look like I desperately need to be liberated?" I lowered my head and stroked the leather seat on his bike absentmindedly.
"I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure that you're going to be yelled at right now." Darren said, looking behind me.
I turned around and saw Jalin, dressed up in a navy blue suit, walking down the stairs toward us.
"Oops," I mumbled.
Darren cleared his throat awkwardly, getting off the bike with me in his arms.
Jalin stared at Darren as if he was going to bite his head off and said, "You! Sir! The man in leather pants! Take your hands off Miss Lewyn right now or I swear I will..."
Darren immediately raised his hands above his head. But the way he did it... Well, it wasn't like he was surrounding himself. It was more like he was bragging because I was wrapping my arms and legs around him like a little Koala bear holding a tree trunk.
I knew it was a blunt insult to Jalin's face, but I wasn't able to put my feet on the floor, because I really couldn't feel my legs.
Jalin narrowed his eyes and took me over Darren's arms.
He checked on me up and down nervously to see if I got hurt.
"I'm still intact," I stared at him and said.
He lifted me up to get eye level with him and castigated, "I haven't seen you for a few hours and you've got yourself a new pet? Who's this man and why were you on his bike? Where's your brother's Ferrari? Your eyes look red. You must have been crying. Did this man hurt you in any way? You can blink and I'll have him killed."
I stared at Jalin with my eyes wide open and said, "Oh, come on, Jalin. This is Darren Swanson. He's my friend. You met him the other day in the back alley. He saved me on that day and he chivalrously offered to help me when I was stuck in traffic. I exchanged cars with Troy because I didn't want to make a scene on the first day of my work. Now could you please just put me down and let me walk on my own, because when people see you holding me like this, they might have questions."
Jalin reluctantly put me down on the floor, but he was still holding my arms.
My legs were still numb, but I took a few steps without falling down with his support.
I looked back and saw Darren had already gotten on his bike.
When our eyes met, he put on his helmet and waved at me.
"I'm sure you're in good hands, Miss Lewyn. So I guess I'll see you next time when you're in trouble again." He gave me a warm smile and tapped on his helmet at Jalin, ignoring his death stare.
At that time, Gean walked out of the building. He approached me in a hurry and said, "Miss Lewyn, it's good to have you here. There's something I need to brief you on before the start of the meeting. We still have got 5 minutes, which is more than enough..."
Then, Gean stopped talking as he laid his eyes on Darren.
They both looked very surprised to see each other.
Then, Darren flicked down the screen on his helmet, nodded at me, and rode off, leaving me standing between Gean and Jalin.
"Your brother was very upset when he learned about your new pet situation. He decided to have you house-arrested. So, you're not allowed to go anywhere other than the company and his house," Jalin said. "And Troy will be assigned to you as your bodyguard and driver. He will be in charge of picking you up and dropping you off."
"No, that's not fair, because..." I whispered.
"One more word I'll tell him about your new friend in leather pants, and I'm sure Lucian will personally become your bodyguard and driver," Jalin folded his arms and frowned. "Now please tell me, where's the stripper guy?"