Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ELENNA
"Take care of her or you'll be talking through a mouthful of your own balls," Aidan growled.
"In case you're wondering, yes, he is always this charming." Finley smirked at him.
"I figured that." Orion didn't glance at Aidan while he handed me a helmet. He pushed one down onto his own head and helped me settle onto the back of his motorbike.
A shiver of nerves went through me, mixed with an equal dose of excitement.
"I'll have her back before she turns into…whatever vegetable it is." Orion threw his leg over and settled in in front of me.
"Pumpkin, and technically it's a fruit," Finley said.
Orion shot him a 'who gives a fuck' look and started the bike.
Finley shrugged. "Just trying to be accurate. Kids these days."
Aidan barked a laugh.
"Whatever you say, old man." Orion returned the smirk, gunned the engine and pulled the bike away from the curb.
I wrapped my arms tight around him, holding on for dear life, and because it felt good to touch him, even through his leather jacket. His body was warm, relief from the icy wind that whipped past.
"Where are we going?" I had to shout to be heard over the engine and wind.
"You'll see," he said. "Don't worry, you'll love it."
I didn't think he'd tell me, but it was worth a try. I got the impression he told Aidan and Finley while I'd finished getting ready for our date. Aidan would have insisted. If anything went wrong, he'd want to know exactly where to find us.
Or he wanted to know what to picture when he imagined us together. Assuming anything happened between Orion and me, that was. Electricity crackled between us like sparks of lightning, but whatever happened, happened. I wasn't going to force it, and neither was he.
This wasn't about Aidan, it was about Orion and me.
"Is it far?"
He stopped at a red light and glanced back at me. "You can keep trying, but I'm not telling you anything until we get there. Do you trust me?"
"I wouldn't be on the back of a motorbike on the way to I-don't-know-where if I didn't," I said.
"Good to know," he said. "Sit back and enjoy the ride. I know I will." The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
That was the closest thing to a smile I'd seen on his face yet. He kept his emotions so carefully guarded that when he smiled, even slightly, he meant it. No one could claim he was disingenuous.
What would it take to make him grin? Whatever it was, it would have to be pretty epic.
The light turned green. I held on tighter as we roared down the road and out of the city.
We passed a handful of opulent homes perched on the side of the cliff.
Brantley, Bell, Thomas, D'Antonio, Cassani, the wealthiest of Dusk Bay had homes here.
Some of them were even occupied for part of the year.
We flew past iron gates designed to keep out people like us, and headed out into the country. Homes and carefully maintained lawns were replaced by farms and kilometre after kilometre of bush. The road became steeper and winding tighter as we rode into the mountains.
"Are we going hiking?" I asked.
The wind tore away his responding laugh. "Only if you want to. But I have something better in mind."
"Skiing?" I asked. We were close to the Victorian ski fields. This was the perfect time of year for hard packed snow and snow bunnies.
"You're getting warmer," he said.
"I'm pretty sure I'm getting colder." I nestled down against his back. How was he so warm? I tucked my hands into his jacket pocket to thaw my fingers.
"I'll keep you warm.” He slowed as the road became icy. The side of the highway was covered in banks of snow, thicker and higher, white so bright I was glad for my sunglasses.
"You always do," I shouted back. Between the firmness of his body and the thrum of the motorbike between my thighs, I was aroused as hell. If I let myself go, I could have an orgasm right here on the back of his bike.
"I try." He wound around a red hatchback that was travelling well under the speed limit, and accelerated again. He muttered something about slow drivers.
"You don't need to try," I told him.
"Neither do you. You're gorgeous and you don't even know it." He turned the bike down a long driveway.
I wanted to argue, but I didn't. Gorgeous was in the eye of the beholder.
If he saw that in me, then he certainly saw something I didn't. I was pretty, I supposed, but not like Wren and Sinclair.
They were the small, cute, outgoing redhead and the tall, stunning blonde. They stood out wherever they went.
Orion pulled the bike up outside a series of three mountain cabins. Two sat with the curtains drawn over the window. The third looked more welcoming. Smoke curled out of the chimney and up into the sky.
He killed the engine and pulled off his helmet.
I followed suit and let him help me off the back of the bike. "This is cute." It was like something out of a fairytale. "I hope there isn't a witch in there that wants to eat us."
He looked amused. "If there is, she'll have to get in line." He took my helmet and wheeled the bike into a shed beside the cottage. He grabbed our bags off the back and led me inside.
The cottage was toasty warm. A fire danced in a wood stove in the middle of the living area. Orange flames were visible through the thick glass door.
Everywhere I looked was rustic charm. Timber tables and chairs, hand stitched cushions and rugs, handmade tapestries on the walls.
The kitchen was all butcher block and shaker style cabinet doors.
Pops of colour were everywhere, but nothing was overdone.
It was pure, sweet comfort. Nothing I would have expected Orion to choose.
"Whose place is this?" I knew better than to think it was a rental. A place he found online wouldn't have the security he or the other guys would have insisted on. Or me, if I was honest with myself.
"It's mine," he said. "It used to belong to my aunt.
She left it to me and my sister, but she doesn't get down here very often.
Apparently Victoria is too cold for a Queenslander like her.
We have a neighbour we trust to maintain it and get the fire started whenever we come here. The fridge should be fully stocked."
"You're full of surprises," I told him.
"I'm often told I'm full of something, but not usually surprises." He carried our bags over to one of the bedrooms and lowered them to the floor.
I laughed. "You don't need to paint me a picture. For the record, I don't think you're full of shit."
"Give me a day or two and you might change your mind.
Are you ready to see what we're doing for the next couple of hours?
" He walked over to a cupboard and pulled the doors open.
Inside was full of snow clothes. Thick coats, pants and boots.
"There should be something that will fit you.
" He grabbed out a coat and a pair of pants and handed them to me.
His fingers brushed against mine as I took them. A bolt of lightning passed right through me, both from his touch and the amused expression on his face.
"You thought I brought you here just for one thing?
" Before I could respond, he said, "As far as I'm concerned, this is a real date.
That includes doing something fun, then having a nice dinner.
Getting to know each other. I'm not Coast Riggs or one of the other guys.
I don't want to stick my cock into anything that stays still for long enough. I've fucked my share of women."
He pulled a jacket out of the wardrobe for himself and started to shrug into it. "The moment I saw you, I wasn't interested in anyone else. I want to see where this'll go, but I won't rush into it. I don't want you to rush into it. I want you to know who and what I am before things go any further."
I nodded. "I respect that. My relationships with Aidan and Fin complicate things. It's definitely not something to leap into without looking to see exactly where you'll land." I laid the pants across a chair and pulled on the coat.
"Everyone comes with baggage," Orion said wryly. "You just happen to come with two old dudes who will chop my cock off if I use it wrong."
I laughed and reached for the pants to pull them on over my jeans. What would they think about being called old dudes? Neither of them were old, just older than Orion. So was I, by a year or so; what did that make me?
"So if we're not skiing, and we're definitely not lying on a beach drinking cocktails, then what are we doing?" I sat down and pulled on a pair of boots he handed me.
"Are you always so impatient?" he asked.
"I'm not impatient, I'm just curious," I retorted, pretending to be offended.
"Good, because you'll find out soon enough." He pulled on his own boots and led me back outside. Back to the shed where he'd put the motorbike. "Stay outside."
He disappeared into the shadows, returning a minute or two later with a huge, round toboggan. Made of red plastic, it looked like it had a lot of use, but was still strong and solid.
"I was going to take us snowboarding, but I thought this might be a more gentle introduction to snow sports."
I cocked my head at him. "You don't know how to snowboard, do you?"
"Of course I fucking do," he protested. "I can ice skate, can't I?"
"One doesn't necessarily mean you can do the other," I pointed out.
He grunted and carried the toboggan over to a nearby slope which was clear of all but a couple of trees. "I can snowboard, but it's been a long time. If you really want to know, I always preferred this. It makes me feel like a kid again."
His late aunt's cabin, a childhood favourite activity. I never expected him to be so sentimental, but I liked it. It was sweet.
"Have you ever brought anyone else here to do this?" I asked.
"Never. It felt too personal before." He held onto the toboggan and helped me to step inside and sit down.
I heard the catch in his voice and looked back to see his eyes slightly glazed.
He must have a lot of amazing memories of spending time here as a child.
The fact he wanted to share that with me touched me in a way I never expected.
This was the man underneath the badass hockey god. He was as vulnerable as the rest of us.
Showing himself to me like this made my heart flip a couple of times. I could very easily fall hard for this guy. As hard as I had for Aidan. As hard as I was falling for Finley. Orion felt like the missing puzzle piece that was slowly working its way into place.
He climbed on behind me and wrapped one arm around me while grabbing the rope to control the toboggan with the other.
"Ready?"
I glanced back over my shoulder to see him actually smiling. There was something endearingly boyish and playful in his expression.
"Ready!"
I squealed as we started the slide down the slope.