“I appreciate you saying that.” With a grin, I added, “Although I can’t help being a little surprised that you know a hunk of junk from a sweet ride.”

She laughed. “You can blame Marley for that one. He bores me to tears sometimes talking about bikes.” Glancing over her shoulder at him, she sighed. “I’m sure he wishes he could be out on his bike now. It sucks seeing all the beauty of the road from inside the van.”

“You’ve never been this way on a bike?”

“No. I haven’t really gotten to take a good ride before. We’re always cooped up in town.”

“You mean, you’ve never really been out on the open road before.”

“Nope. I’m an open-road virgin,” she replied, then winked.

I chuckled. “That’s a pity.” As she continued to stare longingly at my bike, an idea popped into my head, and I acted on it before I really thought it through. “What do you say about riding along with me the rest of the way?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Sure. Why not?” Once again I remembered that she had a boyfriend. The last thing I wanted to do was piss Marley off, so I quickly added, “As long as it’s okay with Marley.”

“I don’t think he would mind, but let me ask.” She waved Marley over and then asked him.

He glanced from her to me before grinning. “Of course it’s all right with me. Then I won’t have to hear her bitching about how much longer it is till we get there. I swear, she turns into such a whiny kid when we go on a road trip.” He slapped me on the back. “She can be your problem, buddy.”

“Asshole,” Samantha muttered before leaning up to kiss Marley’s cheek.

“Yo, Marley, let’s go!” Joe called from over by the van.

“Well, I’m being paged. See ya next stop.”

“See ya, man,” I said.

As we started loading up, I handed Samantha my helmet. After she slipped it on, she smiled. “Thanks again for letting me ride with you.”

“You’re welcome. Of course, you might be cursing me when we start around the winding mountain roads going ninety.”

Her face paled. “Seriously?”

Cocking my head at her, I asked, “Having second thoughts?”

She swallowed hard. “No. I’ll be fine.”

I laughed as I got on my bike. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take good care of you.”

“You better. If I end up roadkill, I’ll find a way to haunt you as punishment,” she said as she slid on behind me.

“That’s a real threat.” Glancing behind me, I gave her a reassuring smile. “Believe me when I say that nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Okay. I believe you.”

“Good. Hold on tight.”

As I gunned the engine, Samantha’s arms came around my waist. When I squealed out of my space and onto the road, her arms squeezed me with a deathlike grip. We rode like that for several minutes before she finally got used to the speed and eased up a bit. I knew she had finally gotten comfortable when she leaned in closer and propped her chin on my shoulder. It was the first time I’d ever had a girl on my bike who was as tall as me.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” I called.

“Yeah. It is,” she shouted back.

After another two hours, we stopped to gas up. I guessed Samantha was still unsure around us, because she stuck like glue to me at the station. The only time she left my side was when I went to the bathroom. When I came out, she was waiting on me. “You up for the rest of the trip?”

“I am if you are.”

I sure as hell am, I thought. I grinned. “Sure.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

The rest of the trip to Virginia was uneventful. Well, as long as you considered having the legs of a smoking-hot chick clamped against your thighs uneventful. I tried hard not to think about that fact. Of course, it didn’t help to get a whiff of her perfume or to feel her tits pressed against my back. I sure as hell hoped there were some fresh sweet butts at the party tonight. While I hadn’t had a hard time hooking up at the meetings before, I hadn’t needed them as badly as I did now.

Between all the stops, we pulled into Remington at a little before five. It was outside Richmond, and just like where we lived, it was a small town. Because the Virginia chapter was the original one in the Southeast, they had chosen the location for the meetings. They had set up their headquarters in a somewhat run-down motel. It was owned by one of the Virginia brothers, so there was no worry of its being bugged by the FBI or ATF. Even though there wasn’t that fear, we were still expected to be patted down at any time. Whenever officers went into the meeting room, their cell phones were taken and checked for wires. The Raiders took security very seriously.

Officers and their families were afforded the small number of rooms, while the other members camped out in the field down below the motel. All meals were provided and served in the dining hall.

When I turned off the engine, Samantha hopped off. “I guess I better go see what Marley is up to.”

“Most likely he’s already been made someone’s errand bitch.”

Samantha laughed. “I figured as much.” As she handed me her helmet, she said, “Thanks again for the ride.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“You’re not roughing it?” Sam asked.

I chuckled. “If you consider sleeping on the floor of Rev and Deacon’s room roughing it, then yes, I am.”