Chapter Fifteen
Aila
The jumble of emotions in my head really shakes me up.
Theron stuck his fist through the kitchen cabinet. Mom is leaving me behind. Luna probably scorns me for being a ditsy asshole.
Am I free, or is this just an illusion?
I have never left home or lived alone, because my domestic arrangements always followed me wherever I went.
College in the city? No problem. Mom would just find us a new apartment close to where my classes were held.
Need a job? No problem. Mom would tell her new boyfriend to give me work in one of his businesses.
My mom was always there to tap on the car window before my date could think about getting handsy with me during the last kiss goodnight. She would always stay up waiting for me to come back from a social gathering.
If I told her I was going to a club, I would look across the darkly lit dance floor and see her waving at me, smiling her reassuring smile. Most of the other times I went out, she would come with me.
Mom used to tell me that she gave birth to her best friend when she had me.
Now all that is gone.
I don’t know how to feel, because this time I know it’s for real. Mom is marrying Ben and settling down. And at the age of twenty-eight, I am set free to go my own way.
I’m okay with that, I guess. It’s time for me to find out if there is more to life than hopping from one boyfriend to the next, from one lame ass job to the next, while being constantly worried about money and stability.
Let’s not forget the gnawing guilt and resentment that I felt whenever I realized it was my fault we had to live like gypsies.
This is why I’m not that upset when I hear the ferry is three days away. If I’m going to pass the time without slumping into a fog of depression and worry, I’m going to need Theron to help me do it.
The man might be a grumpy hunk of possessiveness and power, but he has a way of taking my mind off my troubles.
Landslide is the nicest place to think and plan.
Sliding my phone into the back pocket of my pants, I decide to walk to the banks of the creek.
It’s still early. Celia waves to me as she turns the sign on the door of the general store from “Closed” to “Open.” Carson Regan nods when he sees me strolling past.
I avoid the marina because there is something kind of creepy about the way old motorboats sway and creak on the opaque, black water.
Picking up a stone, I throw it as far as I can.
It lands in the water with a wet, sloppy sound. A man sticks his head out of one of the cabins.
“Morning. Help you?”
Shit. We were introduced at the bar, but I can’t remember his name.
“Morning, Mister—”
He smiles. He’s friendly, even though he looks a bit like a skinny weasel. “Vince Pruitt, Miz Aila. We’re mighty happy to know your ma’s decided to stay on.”
“Vince Pruitt.” I pretend to memorize his name even though I’m leaving Landslide. I think of something friendly to say. “How many skyquakes have you seen?”
I’m fascinated by skyquakes. Icebergs calving, volcanoes erupting, Northern lights: all of those things can be scientifically explained, but not skyquakes.
“Heard, you mean? Ain’t nothing to see but the empty sky when a skyquake decides to come along.” He thinks for a moment. “I’ve heard about a dozen or so. Monty told me you caught one on the ferry coming over. Consider that your ‘once in a blue moon.’”
Once in a blue moon. How apt to describe my entire Landslide experience.
“Have you always lived on the boat?” Pointing to his cabin, I don’t want to even imagine how cold it must get in winter.
“I do maintenance on the boat in winter.” Vince points to the corrugated metal sheet shed next to the mechanic’s shop. “But in my business, it’s wise to keep no fixed address.” He chuckles. “If the Mounties get wind of me, I can sail Stateside. And vice versa.”
He knows it would be rude of me to ask him his business.
“You know what? I might just do that. Go Stateside, I mean. Have a good day, Vince.”
I have my passport. I could go if I wanted.
By the time I get back to my room at the inn, Mom has packed her stuff and moved out.
What I’m seeing has serious “end of an era” vibes. But that is not what’s on my mind. Kicking off my sandals, I push the two narrow beds together to make one double bed with my head by the window.
There is one particular bridge I have no desire to burn.
I spent the day with my mom at Ben’s house, helping her unpack and being shown around the farm. It’s nice, but I can’t imagine Mom being happy here. It’s so, I dunno… basic. I suppose I might like living in a rural area after sowing all my wild oats, but I won’t bet on it.
Before leaving, I get to the point I wanted to make. “You coming to the inn tonight? To hang around the pub with the rest of us bar flies?”
Fortunately, my mom doesn’t guess the real reason for me asking the question.
“No, thanks. I’m going to cook us something nice for supper and get an early night.”
“Us?” There I go, sticking my foot in it. I should’ve just left. “I’m still full from the big lunch you made me. And we ate it mid-afternoon.”
Mom makes a shooing gesture towards me. “Exactly. Us as in me and Ben. We’re safe here, Aila. Go and enjoy your evening.”
No need to ask me two times. I have big plans for tonight in my brand new private bedroom and Theron-sized bed.
He told me his work schedule is from sunrise to sunset. At ten o’ clock on the dot, I’m sitting in the bar playing on my gaming apps and waiting for the hot biker to come in.
To be fair, they are all hella hot; the bikers, I mean. They are all lined up at the end of the bar counter nursing those home-brewed beers of theirs and talking in soft voices.
There’s Luna and Shadow, her stunning husband, and another one whose name I don’t know, a burly unit of a man with russet hair falling over his face.
The other three should be coming along any minute now. The one who looks like the Witcher character because of his long, straight, silvery-blond hair. And the one with short, spiky black hair.
And Theron.
I’m ready for him. My hair is brushed out and falling around my face like a dark halo. Surprise: I’m wearing my cutest strappy summer dress, form-fitting and pale yellow, which is the best color for showing off my tan.
No makeup, just a slick of rose-scented face cream, because I’m hoping he is going to lick me all over. The thought of his rough tongue lapping my cheek is extremely lovely. My freshly painted pink toenails curl as I try to rein in my excitement.
When I glance at the time on my phone, I am forced to look around the room.
Could I be any more obvious? Where is he?
Of course, Luna sees what I am doing. After lifting up her hand and waving at me casually, she comes over.
“Hi, Aila. I thought you should know that we can still swing a discount on your accommodation costs if you help me with cleaning over the next two days.” Pointing at the bench opposite me, she wants to know if she can sit.
No! Don’t sit. I’m waiting for someone.
I’m too much of a coward to say it out loud, so all I do is nod politely. Luna sits. I can’t help but admire the way the dim pub lights reflect on her skin like topaz.
“I didn’t think you were happy here. In fact, I didn’t think you would come by tonight.”
Great. If that’s what Theron thinks, then he’s probably fucked off straight to bed.
“I was—I am happy. And I’d be happy to help you get the rest of the rooms ready for the guests. I’m not in a position to turn down a discount.”
I laugh, but it always hurts my pride to admit how strapped for cash I am.
Tapping the table, Luna wants to know. “Are you waiting for your mother and Ben?”
Shit! Shit! This is so embarrassing.
“Um…” What the heck, I don’t care if she thinks I’m a thirsty kitty-cat. “Theron told me he quits work at dusk. He didn’t give me an exact time.”
No reply. No expression on Luna’s beautiful face, either.
Does she want me to grovel?
Looking up, I give Luna my best one-yard stare. Bold. “I know you think Theron and me were arguing—because of the whole smash-shout fest we were having in the kitchen—but I come with baggage…”
“Sure. I get it.”
Finally! A glimpse of understanding from her.
So I continue. “I have a couple of days to kill before the ferry comes. A couple of nights…”
Luna stares right back at me, her expression unreadable. “Don’t break off more than you can chew, Aila. Theron is not exactly user-friendly.”
What does she mean by that? “How so?”
“Even the other Riders call him ‘Hunter.’ And you, Aila, you give me the impression that you are tired of being hunted.”
Before I can answer, Theron is here.
“Want a drink?”
Glancing up at him and then back at Luna, it feels as if Theron saved me from the worst shrink session of my life! “Yes, thanks. Beer.”
Theron doesn’t move. “You heard the lady, Luna. One beer please.”
He says the words politely, but the territorial threat that goes with it is tangible. Pushing herself up from the table, Luna smirks. “Sure thing, Hunter. One beer coming right up.”
He takes her place across the table from me. “Where are you going with this, Aila?”
He’s going to make me spell it out for him. But I won’t. He must see it in my eyes or not at all.
A chilled bottle of craft beer is plonked down in front of me. I don’t take my eyes off Theron as I run my hand down the beaded frostiness of the bottle. After taking a small lick of the foam spilling out of the top of the neck, I wrap my mouth around the rim and take my first sip.
Lifting my eyebrow, I shrug. “You coming?”
That’s all the invite he needs. We get up and walk out together. When I feel his firm hand pressing the small of my back, I know I made the right decision.
And I don’t feel at all hunted, because Theron let me do all the hunting this time around.
I take him by the hand and lead him over to the bed.
“If you lie at a diagonal, you will fit. And I got the two extra pillows out of the trunk.”
Theron isn’t the kind of man to bear a grudge. He’s accepted that I have made up my mind to move on. I like that.
“You’ve thought of everything, you li’l sweetheart.” Shrugging out of his leather jacket, Theron throws it on the chair by the dresser. “I suppose this is as good a way of saying goodbye as any other.”
He sounds nonchalant when he says it, but the small frown line between his amber eyes tells me something different. But he has no idea why I’m doing this.
“Full disclosure, Theron. I loved that thing we did outdoors in the forest. It might be the best sex I ever had. Who am I kidding? It was the best sex ever. But the only reason I was okay with it was because I thought you wouldn’t mind if I—we—were temporary.”
Hooking up the back of his t-shirt, he pulls it over his head and then stands there, checking me out with his thumbs hooked into the top of his jeans. He must have been riding all day because he’s wearing leather chaps over them.
The way he looks is like a fantasy. But even without the Stetson pulled down low over his eyes, Theron is immensely fuckable.
For one golden moment, I lose sight of what it is I wanted to say, I am so transfixed by the way he leans on one leg, checking me out like a hungry wolf gazing at a bunny rabbit.
His perfect proportions—the thick trapezius muscles sloping down to join his wide shoulders, and the way his iliac tendons slant down in a rigid V-shape before disappearing under the top of his denims—make my mind go blank.
Theron interrupts my daydream.
“I would have to be blind not to see that you don’t wanna be pinned down after what happened to you during your first year in college, Aila.”
Using his feet, Theron kicks off his boots. Sitting on the end of the bed, he then pulls off his socks. I wait for some kind of body odor to hit my nostrils, but all I can smell is the clean fabric and dusty road.
Should I tell Theron that I’m doing this for him? And for my mom, too. How can I explain that my moving on is best for everyone?
Pushing the straps of my dress down, I kneel behind him, pressing my bare breasts against his back. He is stony cold, the same temperature as the beer I was drinking at the bar. Such a wonderful sensation on this warm summer night. My nipples pucker with the mix of the chill with the thrill.
Kissing his shoulder, I inhale the faint scent from his skin before licking him.
“I know it was you who saved me outside Harry’s, Theron. That alone makes it hard for me to say goodbye. But believe me, it’s for the best.”
He’s hard and strong and very, very fast. I know the new friend I made in La Pas that night was the one to make Belt Buckle disappear. And then he left me money to cover the bill. I know it was Theron. Call it female intuition.
Sliding my arm around his neck, I pull him back. Upside down, we look at each other.
“You leaving could never be for the best, Aila. I don’t care what you believe.”
Moments later we are naked, our bodies slotted together like a stairway to heaven. He lets me imprint his face and body onto my memory, because that is all I will take with me after I get on the ferry.
Cupping his hands on each side of my face, Theron kisses me deeply. “I would do it all over again, sweetheart, if I had the chance.”
“I can be quite the handful.”
That makes him smile. “And more than a handful is a waste.”
The breath catches in my throat as his mouth moves down.