Chapter 19
NINETEEN
REED
I could feel the monster in me attempt to take over as Jasper called Storm a useless cunt. The urge to wrap my hand around the fucker’s throat had burned through my fingers, turning my blood to liquid fire.
“Reed, please put me down, or I’m going to hurl,” my girl moaned as she bumped up and down on my shoulder.
The only reason I did as she asked was to deliver the package to reception.
The envelope containing the images of Jasper Dean Remmington the Third being railed from behind by two other men.
It turned out the not-so vanilla dude liked cock.
I had no problem with that; I wasn’t homophobic, but the fact that he kept that shit quiet told me that he did. Or at least his Daddy did.
At that point, I had no guarantee that the photos would be enough to stop him from aborting his alcohol spiking witch-hunt; I could only hope. And if that didn’t work out, at least I had plenty of witnesses to vouch that I’d been framed.
I wanted to push the fucker to the point where he had nothing left to lose.
After the drink incident and paying some goons to kick my ass, I needed to know exactly how he had threatened Storm over the last few years.
I had a sneaking suspicion that I may have been a major part of that, and the thought sickened me to my stomach.
If that was the case, Jasper the prick had shaved four years off a possible life together. And that shit was unforgivable.
It was also my intention to grill Storm about the night I left. I was done with evasions of the truth. It was time to say shit that should have been said years ago. Set the record straight.
After lowering her to the floor of the lobby, I watched as Teacup started to straighten her dress. “Do you think it’s calmed down in there?” she questioned, raising her head to peer across at the ballroom where a stream of hotel security was headed.
“I couldn’t give a rat's ass, baby,” I replied as I wrote Jasper’s name on the envelope Lisa had given me and handed it to the receptionist.
“I just hope my father’s OK,” Storm muttered, looking like a lost little girl. I thanked the member of staff who assured me that Mr. Remmington junior would get my package and stepped towards my girl.
“Dominic can handle himself. But you're forgetting the most reassuring factor of that scenario.”
“And what’s that?” she muttered miserably.
“Phoenix is with him.” The guy wasn’t wired right, and everyone knew that, including Jasper, from the way his face dropped moments before he got his face smashed in.
Before Storm could construe a reply, I swooped down and slung her over my shoulder again.
A part of me wanted to carry her up to the bridal suite and fuck her hard in the bed she would have shared with Jasper.
Just because I could. But I knew I needed to get us out of there and to somewhere more neutral.
The Harbor Lighthouse. The place she should have been four years ago, the night I left town.
Over the years, I had seen Storm at both her best and her worst, and I now recognized both versions.
And that’s what I wanted from her, no holds barred!
I wanted to take a shovel and dig up all the ugly parts and place them alongside the good.
There would be no more secrets. Fuck, I’d bore my soul to Storm when I told her about the Palmers; it was time for her to do the same.
That much-needed talk had been brewing for long enough.
Ignoring the puzzled looks of some of the guests who were loitering around the entrance into the hotel, smoking, I set off down the steps, towards where I’d parked my bike.
It was dark now, but at least it wasn’t cold.
I wore a tux and Storm a silk little number that curled around her body like a lover.
When I’d first seen her enter the ballroom with Molly and Harper, my dick had almost forced itself through my pants.
She’d looked amazing in that dress, but the urge to rip it from her body had given me the horn in seconds.
I had also loved how she’d gotten jealous of Lisa.
That just reinforced how much she cared about me.
And I had told her father exactly how much I cared about Storm when I’d met him in his hotel suite an hour earlier.
Nix had also joined us briefly. At first, Dominic hadn’t believed me, but when I’d shown him the papers, he’d politely asked me to leave and made a few calls.
I left him with the evidence and then went downstairs to meet Lisa.
As I stopped by my motorcycle, I lowered Storm to the sidewalk and looked her up and down, realizing our trip was not going to be straightforward.
“Where are we going? We can’t just leave?” she rasped, smoothing her hair back.
“Yes, we can. That mess is for your father to resolve, and Nix is there to help him. You’ve been through enough,” I explained, shrugging out of my jacket and placing it over her shoulders.
Narrowing my eyes, I glanced down at the length of her dress. There was no way she could straddle the bike in that.
Noticing where I was looking, Storm raised her chin with an arched brow. “Yes, didn’t think this one through, did you?”
“Shit,” I tutted. I so didn’t want to go back inside and deal with anymore of Jasper’s crap. “Any ideas?” I added with a hopeful look.
And then her face transformed. “I don’t suppose you have a pair of scissors?”
Pursing my lips, I lifted the seat of my bike and foraged around. “I have a knife?” I replied, removing it from the storage bay.
With a glint in her eye, Storm took the knife and made an indent in the silk of her dress, just above the knee.
I then watched in earnest as she handed the knife back, gave me a sexy wink, and then started to tear at the material. She whipped a whole section off, giving me a glimpse of her toned, tanned legs as she did so. My dick twitched. Fuck me.
“Better?” she questioned, whipping the excess material behind her shoulder.
Emotion swamped me as I took a step forward and smiled down into her beautiful face. She was watching me with an intensity that almost unmanned me.
Stroking my fingers down one flushed cheek, I couldn’t help but admit. “I fucking love you.”
Storm’s expression softened as she gazed into my eyes tenderly. But I knew it wasn’t the right time for bearing our souls. I needed to get her away from the wedding venue. Even the air surrounding the place infected my thoughts like a poison.
“You OK in those?” I asked, motioning towards her heels. Fuck she looked good in my jacket.
After a nod of reassurance, I climbed onto my bike and held out a hand to assist her onto the back.
Storm moved with such grace, and she swung herself behind me, just as a van with the name of a newspaper pulled up. Great, someone had clearly called the press.
Powering the engine, I revved my baby a few times before handing Storm the helmet from the handlebars. I didn’t have my spare; it was back at the hotel. A place I was desperate to take Storm. My dick kept telling me we had to make up for lost time. But first, we needed to talk.
Once I knew Storm had safely clipped the helmet on, I nudged the kickstand, and we were off.
Fuck, it felt good having Storm’s arms around me again, her tits mushed against my back. She was so soft and warm.
The wind rushing past my ears did not deter me. I maintained a good speed, conscious that we may have been followed. I needed to get my girl alone.
As the streets turned to the freeway and the freeway changed to the coastline, I could feel Storm behind me shift in her seat. In one of my mirrors, I saw her making a flying motion with one hand: a signal of freedom.
When I took the exit towards Newport, I knew that Storm sensed where we were going when her body tensed up, and her hands clutched my torso again.
I hadn’t rehearsed what I was going to say to her; I intended to go with my gut.
As I pulled the bike up onto the sidewalk, I steered towards the front of the pier, which was situated just next to the lighthouse.
Cutting the engine, I helped Storm climb off and then followed, unclipping her helmet myself.
“I could have done that,” she admitted brightly, her cheeks flushed as I set the helmet on the handles of the bike.
“I know that. You’re capable of pretty much anything, Teacup, but that doesn’t stop me wanting to do stuff for you. I’d treat you like a queen, if you’d let me.”
With a shy smile, Storm glanced down the pier. It was well-lit but completely dead. We had the whole place to ourselves, and that suited me just fine.
“Won’t you be cold?” she questioned, drawing my dinner jacket further around her body.
“Not any more,” I replied. We gazed into each other's eyes for a beat longer before I stretched my palm out, encouraging her to take my hand.
As her fingers threaded through mine, a jet of heat shot up my arm.
“Shall we?” I suggested, jerking my head towards our special place.
I then walked hand in hand with the woman I loved down the pier by Harbor Lighthouse: the slatted wood of the flooring was old and worn.
Even four years ago, it had needed attention, but there was something so raw and real about that place, like it had been forgotten about, just like our feelings for each other.
As we got to the end of the pier, I tugged her underneath the shelter.
It was a place where the kids would come and smoke after school.
Storm and I hadn’t smoked there; we had done things that were so much more fun on those late afternoons we’d been alone.
It still held the ghosts of who we used to be: two kids playing with fire.
This place had always been our sanctuary, away from the prying eyes of our friends and family. Our edge of the world
Releasing her hand, Storm lowered herself onto the bench tucked under the shelter. The waves crashed beneath us, and you could see the water between the slats of the pier.