Cole sighed. "No d.a.m.n it, I thought you'd refuse. But I hoped against hope that you might not."

"Is there some reason why you need to run away?"

"Well, yes, there is." And he told her about the Cheetah's loyalty oath and the penalty for desertion. "If I leave the Cheetahs, they'll kill me. They'll hunt me down and kill me."

"And you thought I might just 'go on the lam' with you?"

"Well, I hoped. The truth is, Brianne, that I've come to realize that I don't want to live without you."

Brianne was too stunned to say anything for a long moment. What he was saying revealed feelings that he'd given her no hint of. She gave an exasperated little laugh. "Don't you think it would've been better to kind of lead up to this gradually so I could think about it, maybe?"

"Of course, but I was afraid of how you might react, so I kept putting it off. But now there isn't much time left. They suspect something."

With the feeling that she was making a big mistake, Brianne didn't just say, ''No Way!" Instead she said, "Listen Cole, give me some time to think about it. My answer is most likely 'no,' but I'll think about it."

Cole was a man who did what he wanted when he wanted, and what he wanted was to grab her across the table and kiss the life out of her. But he didn't. He just took her hand and said, "Thanks, Brianne, you're tops." Then he fled.

Brianne was awake most of the night thinking. It was a preposterous idea. But in a way, it seemed like a golden opportunity. She was lonely. There was no doubt about that. Running a cafe left very little time for socializing, and there was certainly no man she was serious about or was as attracted to as she was to Cole.

The sight of his trim b.u.t.t when he left the cafe always caused a stirring in her loins and made her realize that it had been a very long time since her womanly itches had been scratched. The truth was, she was more than a little bored or even fed up with her life. She didn't like the thought of spending the rest of her life at The Trolley. Like Cole, she had a desire for a life with a mate and children.

But a biker? He might be an unusual biker, but he was still a biker. She'd come to know quite a bit about him, but not nearly enough to prevent her going off with him from being an act of staggeringly blind faith. She knew he was doing things he had never told her about-things she didn't want to think about. She knew as well that the gentle, sensitive side which he showed her was only one side of a complex personality. That he had been a biker for ten years spoke of a darker, more violent side to him. He'd admitted, after all, that he was a murderer. What would that mean for her?

No, it was impossible. And she'd have to tell him so in the morning.

Meanwhile, when Cole got back to the base, Bud called him into the office. When Cole arrived, Bud was sitting at his desk and didn't invite him to sit down, so Cole knew he was in trouble. The look in Bud's eyes held no warmth, but only cold malevolence. "I like you, Cole. We've been getting along well. You've been doing everything right. You're a little peculiar sometimes, but we've learned to accept that. But I sense recent change in your att.i.tude, and you've been doing things you shouldn't ought've done."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I think you do. The Cheetahs is like a big family, and we need to keep it that way. You've been straying, and we can't have that."

"s.h.i.t, no, Bud, I'm loyal; just as loyal as I've always been."

"Maybe, but maybe not. You've developed outside connections. You've got an attractive Oreo who's not one of us stashed away and haven't mentioned her. That's suspicious."

"Oh what the f.u.c.k, Bud. I just like her coffee and we chat. It doesn't mean anything. There's nothing suspicious in that."

"Maybe so, or maybe not. But I hope it's true, because that will make it easier for you to give her up."

"Oh, s.h.i.t. You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Bud. It's harmless, completely harmless."

Nevertheless, you'll give her up or there will be consequences. And maybe not only for you. She's a pretty little thing, I'm told. It would be a shame if she stopped being pretty."

"Okay, Bud, whatever you say. "

Cole stumbled out of the office in a storm of rage and fear. The threat had been clear enough. He was already in danger and so was Brianne. He'd brought her into danger. And there was no way out. They had to go away together whether she liked it or not. If he left her behind, they'd use her to try to find out where he'd gone. It wouldn't help if he didn't tell her; in fact, it would be worse for her. They wouldn't believe her and would use methods he didn't want to think about to try to make her tell. No, she had to come with him whether he had to knock her out and carry her or not.

He could buy some time by pretending to give her up, but he had to find some way of talking to her and persuading her. And he had to have a car. He couldn't just throw her over the back of his Harley. There were lots of things to do, and it had to be done in secret. But he'd find a way.

The next morning a couple of Cheetahs went to The Trolley. They were nothing like Cole. Brianne could see that, and was afraid. They were like Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, grossly fat with long, stringy hair hanging in greasy cl.u.s.ters to their shoulders. In full leathers in Cheetah colors-red and blue-they looked like Spiderman on steroids, encased from top to bottom in cycle gear. When they opened their visors, the look on their faces was sheer malevolence. She stepped behind the counter to be within reach of her gun.

"What can I do for you guys?" she asked with a fair imitation of her usual smile.

"We don't want nothing but a little chat," said Tweedle Dum.

"Just a friendly little chat," echoed Tweedle Dee.

"Oh, okay. What about?"

"We just want to warn you as friends should," said Dum.

"We want you to think of us as your friends," said Dee, "being helpful."

"All right. But what's it about?"

"You're living dangerously,"

"And have got a dangerous friend."

"He's not good for you."

"In fact, he'll hurt you. That's his nature."

"He's one of us, so we know."

"We know all about him."

"Which you don't."

"So take our advice and don't have anything to do with him."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll tell him to f.u.c.k off."

"As soon as possible."

"Like right away."

And without another word, they left, leaving Brianne trembling. She hadn't failed to understand them. They may have said that Cole was dangerous, but she was sure, at least she thought she was sure, that the real danger came from them instead. But as she had already decided not to go away with him, she really wasn't in danger. The fear, however, didn't leave.

Later in the day, Cole decided that he had to risk seeing her openly once more. Trying to throw off his pursuers, he parked in the underground lot of a nearby shopping mall and stripped off his helmet and motorcycle jacket before making his way on foot to The Trolley. He got to The Trolley before it was open, but Brianne was there and greeted him with a great cry of relief: "I thought maybe you'd never come back!"

"I probably shouldn't have, but we have to talk. Somewhere where people can't see us."

There wasn't anywhere in The Trolley where they wouldn't be in full view, so Brianne relocked the front door and pulled Cole out the back door to where was a spot where a pair of dumpsters blocked the view from the road. It wasn't safe; somebody could come down the alley at any moment, but it would have to do.

Having Brianne's hand in his set Cole's blood racing, and knowing it was probably a mistake, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely. Brianne wanted to push him off, but couldn't bring herself to do it. Her blood was racing as fast as his. After a moment of rigid resistance, she melted into his arms. Her lips parted to admit his tongue. For a very long moment, nothing existed but each other; their bodies pressed together, hardness meeting and being welcomed by softness. Even breathing seemed superfluous, but eventually they had to come up for air, and Cole seized the opportunity without relaxing his hold on Brianne to gasp. "Listen, Bri, you've got to come with me. It isn't safe for you to stay here."

Brianne told him of the bikers' visit, but said, "If you leave me alone, they'll leave me alone, surely."

"No they won't. If I disappear, and I have to get away if I want to stay alive, they'll try to find out from you where I've gone."

"But I won't know."

"But they'll think you're lying and take measures to make you spit it out. I tell you, Brianne, they're ruthless. They'll use torture, and Bud, the leader, will enjoy watching. "

Brianne pulled away. "How do I know you're not exaggerating to force me to go away with you? It can't be as bad as you say."

"Believe me, please, Brianne. They'll do anything they have to do to find me. Bri, I know I've ruined your life. I didn't want to or intend to, and I'm more sorry than I know how to say, but the only way I can make it up to you is to take care of you and help you to build a new and better life with me. Dammit, Bri, I love you. Please believe me. We have to leave here now, or we'll both end up in a body bag."

Bri looked at him for a long moment, her head in a whirl. She couldn't see in his face any hint that he was lying, and decided that he wasn't. She figured she should hate him, but she couldn't. The longer she said nothing, the greater was the desperation in his eyes. "Please, Bri. I beg you."

"All right." Either she had just made the biggest mistake of her life or she had opened the door to a wonderful new one. She wasn't sure which, but the die was cast, and her task now was to make it work.

"Thank G.o.d!" Cole crushed her to him and put his lips over hers, and for them both the urgency of the danger receded under the urgency of their mutual need. If they hadn't been standing in an open alley in the icy cold of a Jo'Burg winter, it would have been a long interlude. But as it was, Brianne came to her senses before anybody started fumbling with clothes and said, "What do we do?"

Cole had thought it through, and when he had caught his breath, said, "Go about the rest of the day as normal and go home. Pack a couple of suitcases with whatever you can't do without. Then, about midnight, I'll come by and pick you up."

"On your bike?"

"G.o.d, no! I'll buy a car."

"What'll I do if those two goons come back?"

"I'll be visibly around, and with luck, they won't realize I've seen you, so won't go into recovery mode. Do you have a pa.s.sport?"

"No, just an I.D. "

"Well, we'll have to stay in the country. My idea is that we should stay close anyway. They'll expect us to have run as far as we could. We'll drive to Pretoria and find a pad near the University in Hatfield where mixed couples are not uncommon so we won't attract notice. Don't contact your family."

"Maybe we could hole up at home in the Transkei where n.o.body's going to give white bikers the time of day."

"Maybe. I might be able to get in touch with S'bu. We'll talk about it, but first we have to go to ground close to home." Pulling her close again, he kissed her cheek and whispered, "I'll make this up to you, Bri. I give you my word." Then without a backward glance, he strode down the alley, and with a quick reconnaissance around the corner, he disappeared.

Brianne went back inside and opened as normal. Her mind wasn't on what she was doing, and she made a couple of mistakes and wasn't as chatty as normal, but only one customer, an elderly woman who was there almost every day, seemed to notice." "Something wrong today?"

"Oh, no. Just that time of month."

"Ugh! That's a problem I don't have, thank G.o.d."

"The blessing of old age."

"Yup. And there aren't many."

Brianne made a list of the things she needed to take, and in a quiet moment went to an ATM and withdrew her daily limit. She supposed it might be some time before she could get any more. She rang her landlords to tell them she'd be away for a while so n.o.body would worry or start asking questions. Fortunately it was early in the month so she had several weeks before she had to decide whether to give both the flat and the cafe up, though she supposed they would have to. She wondered if the Cheetahs had a way of tracing cell phone calls, as she knew the police did. If they did, it would make things much more difficult. But they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. When she had a moment to reflect, she realized was rather enjoying the challenge of the chase, even though the stakes were high. After all, if she'd not enjoyed taking risks, she never would have ventured to Jo'Burg on her own to run a cafe. And when she thought about what she would be leaving behind, there wasn't a lot that she'd really regret. When, at the end of the day, she shut up and locked the cafe, she walked away without lingering or looking back.

When Cole turned up at her flat at midnight, she hardly recognised him. He was dressed in chinos and a football jersey and had cut his hair and shaved his beard, which made him look much younger and more vulnerable. No stranger would identify him as a biker, and even the other Cheetahs might not identify him at first glance. He rushed her into the car. "I'm not sure I've got away clean and I'm pretty sure I was noticed buying a car, which would have put the wind up. Anyway, there's no turning back now."

They got onto the M1 as quickly as possible, and then on to the N1, the freeway to Pretoria. About halfway there, at Centurion, Cole noticed a bike closing in and when it got close realized it was a Cheetah. So they had twigged and probably had scouts on every major route out of town. He knew what he had to do, though he hated to do it, especially with Brianne in the car, but he had no choice. If the Cheetahs knew he'd gone to Pretoria, they'd find him. Telling Brianne to hold on, he slowed down until he was adjacent to the biker and edged over until he nudged his handlebars, sending him careening into the car in the next lane. What Cole saw in the rear view mirror was rea.s.suring. The biker came off the bike and tumbled into the traffic. He sped up and took the next exit to Centurion. He knew that the trouble he'd caused for the innocent motorists in the road would be on his conscience for a long time, and he regretted dispatching a fellow Cheetah. But needs must. He figured it was self-defense.

Brianne, he saw, was aghast. She looked at him wonderingly. "How could you do that?"

"Bri, it was a matter of killing or being killed and having you killed as well. He would have done the same to me without thinking twice."

"I suppose so." But, not for the first time, she wondered how she could be so attracted to a killer. It would take some time to get used to.

When they got to Hatfield, they found a hotel on Burnett, across from the Pick n' Pay. After checking in, Cole drove into the mall's parking lot where the car would be out of sight.

When they got to their room things became a little awkward. They both knew they would have s.e.x, and both wanted to, despite their fatigue, but the situation was new and the fact that they hardly knew each other loomed large. Cole didn't want a quick roll in the hay as was normal with the Cheetah women. This had to be special, an act that expressed grat.i.tude and love, not just l.u.s.t. It had been years since he'd that sort of s.e.x and wasn't sure he remembered how. All he could think of was the necessity for taking his time.

Brianne, though eager, was more than a little afraid. She was far from being a virgin, but the memory of Cole's brutal behavior on the freeway was still in the forefront of her mind. Would he be as brutal with her? She tried to blot that picture out of her mind and replace it with her memory of the gentleness and sensitivity that had been apparent when they were sitting in the cafe chatting.

They stood for what seemed like an age in silence, looking at each other. Then Cole said, "I've got to have a shower. I smell like a goat." He went into the bathroom and closed the door.

By the time he emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist, Brianne was under the covers wearing the flannel babydoll she'd packed. She walked over and slipped under the covers, dropping the towel at the last minute.

He was no stranger to being naked with a woman and, with a Cheetah woman, wouldn't have bothered with the towel at all. But this was different. He wasn't sure how Brianne would have reacted to rampant nakedness. As soon as he was next to her, he gently took her in his arms. The feel of her warmth was exciting, and her scent was intoxicating. He'd never had s.e.x with a black woman before, so her rather spicy odor was new to him, and practically destroyed his control.

He began to gently minister to her with his lips, first just behind her ear, and then in the hollow where her shoulder met her neck, and then the corner of her mouth, but he waited to take over her lips until he felt her relax.

When she showed that she was ready by turning towards him, he devoured her and was devoured in return. The feel of her tongue on his once again brought him near to the point of no return, so he disengaged enough to reach inside the low neckline of the babydoll to cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands, lifting them so he could suck her already swelling nipples.

When she began to whimper, he lifted the short skirt of her babydoll and began to caress her belly and thighs with long, smooth strokes, dredging up from his memory his experience with the ma.s.seuse the Cheetahs brought in to bring them down off the tension of an operation. Slowly, inch by inch, he came closer and closer to the centre, where he could feel the dampness that told him he was doing okay. Very tentatively he touched her l.a.b.i.a with one finger, and with a cry, she pulled her legs up and apart and lifted her hips to give him easy access.

Rea.s.sured, he cupped his hand over her and stroked her with his fingers, paying particular attention to the hardening bud he found in the centre. She began to moan just at the moment he felt he was losing control, and, rea.s.sured, he lifted himself over on her and entered her, catching her legs with his shoulders so that she was supporting him, and so that he was free to take her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands.

With his last vestige of control he moved very slowly at first, but soon felt her urging him on with her hips and he quickened the pace, soon exploding into her with a wave of sensation that he couldn't remember ever experiencing before. As soon as she felt his seed inside her, she followed him over the crest with a cry, and then again and again, as he continued to move, even has his manhood was losing its stiffness.

When it slipped out of her, he moved back to her side and held her so that every inch of their bodies was together. He kissed her deeply and lovingly until he was completely calm, though his nerve endings would continue to be alive and aware for some minutes.

Brianne pulled away just far enough so she could look him in the eyes and said, "I have never ever experienced anything as beautiful as that. It would be a rare Xhosa man who would bother, believe me. You're a rare man, Cole. I just hope I can be a rare woman for you." Then she nestled her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Cole, however, wasn't ready for sleep. He knew he would want more before long, and in fact began to feel a stirring in the groin that signaled a reawakening already. But he waited, not wanting to disturb Brianne, and just enjoyed the sensation of being with her, feeling her skin against his, inhaling their scents and the fragrance of their s.e.x in the cozy warmth under the covers. He was thankful it had gone well, and though he was not a praying man, and hadn't been since he was a boy, he thanked G.o.d for that gift and for the gift of this woman to him.

But when the signals from his groin became more insistent, he began to fondle Brianne's b.r.e.a.s.t.s until she stirred into consciousness, continuing to worship her body with his hands until she was fully awake. When she smiled and said, "Yes, definitely!" he began to kiss her, but to his surprise, she pushed him away and sat up.

Taken aback, he froze. But it was immediately apparent that all she wanted was to remove the babydoll. She pulled it over her head and in the same movement moved over on top of him. "I promised to try to be a special woman for you, Cole. Let me start on that."

She began by nipping his ear lobes and blowing onto his ears. "This is the way my grannies told me to give a man pleasure. Let's see if it works with a whitey." She moved to his nipples. His groan encouraged her to move down along the line of hair in the middle of his torso. She took her time and gave b.u.t.terfly kisses and little licks as she went, ma.s.saging his back and his b.u.t.tocks with her hands. He smelled like the soap he'd used in the shower and it excited her.

"My G.o.d, Brianne, I must meet these grannies of yours and thank them."

"They'd love that! Gossiping about it would make then famous for miles around." She took some time enjoying the sight of him. Except for his hands and neck, he was amazingly white, skin without blemish except for a scar on one shoulder which must surely be a bullet wound. His muscles, from pecs to six-pack, were in sharp bas relief. He looked like the marble statues she'd seen in her history textbooks. His belly was not quite flat-after all, he was 40-but still trim.

Then she applied her tongue to his navel, and when he began to groan and she felt an urgency rising underneath her, she took his shaft in her hands and began to flick her tongue over his cap, and especially the s.p.a.ce between the wings of it, until he cried out, "Enough, Bri, enough! I'm losing it!"

Without delay, she lowered herself on him and froze, hoping she hadn't been too slow. Happily she could sense that she'd been able to draw him back from the cliff for a moment, at least, and began to move very, very slowly in a circular motion and was rewarded by the pounding of his heels and fists on the bed. "My G.o.d," he said, "My G.o.d!" And he emptied himself into her-it seemed to him a gallon at least, as it went on and on. She continued to move, more quickly now, bringing herself to her own climax even as she prolonged his.