by Kylie Walker
Trying still to stop the chuckles he said, “It’s not your situation babe. It’s you. Now come on. We’re going to get up slowly and you’re going to get on the bike so we can head up to the cabin before it gets any later. You got everything you need in that bag?” She nodded. He let go of her slowly but as soon as he did she shot to her feet. He struggled to his, getting stuck in the sand and then he had to run after her. When he got close enough he shot his arm out, wrapped it around her waist and lifted her up off the ground. She shrieked and tried to kick him. He carried her over to the bike and flipped her over and sat her down on the seat…then he slid on behind her.
“Oh no! I’m not riding on the front of this thing.”
“Then be a good girl and get on the back. If you don’t behave I’m going to spank you.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me. Front or back?”
“Back,” she said with her teeth gritted together tightly. He briefly thought about the gun tucked in the back of his jeans. He shook that thought off. It was underneath his vest. By the time she got it out he’d have a hold on her. Besides, she might not like him much right now, but he doubted…at least he wanted to doubt, that she would go so far as to shoot him.
Without getting off the bike he picked her up and flipped her over his shoulder. She shrieked again. He kind of liked it. It was a ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ kind of move. He gunned the engine and got them back onto the dirt road. He could feel her pounding her tiny fists into his back and he laughed.
“You’re going to fall off.” Kyle thought he heard her cuss before the taps that she thought were pounding stopped. She grabbed the sides of his vest with her hands and gripped on tightly. He realized he was probably going too fast, especially since he hadn’t taken the time to put the helmet on her. He pulled the bike over to the side of the road and stopped. He handed the helmet that was still hanging off the handlebars over his shoulder and said, “We have about an hour drive, you’re going to want to wear that and hold on around my waist. Lean into my back…”
“This isn’t my first Harley ride.”
“Then stop acting like it is,” He told her. “Hold the fuck on.”
**
The cabin had always reminded Kyle of something straight out of a fairytale, the kind with a happy ending. It looked a lot older now than he remembered it but ten years of weather had beaten away at it without the loving care that Levi’s father used to bestow upon it in the off-season. It was made out of wood and dark red bricks. The inside was small with one common room with a tiny stove, a circular table with two wooden chairs, a small chair and loveseat that sat close to the fireplace that Kyle could never remember being used during any of the long, hot summers that he’d spent there with the family. He did remember where the emergency lanterns and candles were kept and thankfully they were still where they used to be. He set about lighting one in each of the four rooms of the small cabin. There were two small bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with two sets of bunk beds and as he set up a lantern in that room, Kyle thought about the days of sleeping ten feet away from Levi and smiled. She’d hung a curtain on a rope in the center of the room so the boys couldn’t see her and he remembered laughing at her with Will. It never crossed his mind in those days that she would grow into such an incredibly sexy woman. She was never ugly or even plain, but her pretty face was round with baby fat in those days and her body was battling its awkward stages.
He placed the fourth lantern in the bathroom and lit it and then as he stepped back into the common room he glanced at her still standing in the center of it looking around as if she’d seen a ghost. Even with the pall of gloom that hung over them both, his body reacted to the sight. She was gorgeous, especially with her silhouette backlit by the flickering lantern on the table, but there was something else about her that called to him as well. She had this incredible spirit that was almost palpable when he was anywhere near her. His palms itched to touch her, his heartrate accelerated and his breathing even changed its rhythm. It was a much stronger reaction than he’d ever felt for another woman and he was having a hard time understanding it. Maybe it was the familiarity. Maybe it was about Will. Whatever the reason, it scared him and made him feel drained and amped up at the same time.
For the first time since they’d walked in he spoke, “Strike is going to bring up some food and other supplies in a bit. I think I’ll go out to the shed for a while.” Levi still hadn’t spoken. He didn’t know if she was still angry or if she was sad, or maybe like him, just a little bit overwhelmed. She nodded and he added, “You’re not going to take off into the woods are you?” They were miles from any kind of civilization. The draw of the cabin for Levi’s parents back when they bought it had been its location. They both wanted a refuge where they could take their children away from the neon lights and dirty sidewalks of the city of sin they were raising them in.
“I’m not an idiot,” she said in a flat tone. Kyle’s lips quirked. She definitely wasn’t an idiot, but she might well be the spunkiest little thing he’d ever met and for a dominant, alpha male that was a surprisingly huge turn-on. He hadn’t realized just how tired he was of women that threw themselves at his feet and promised to do whatever he wanted or needed as long as he gave them even a few minutes of his time.
“Okay then. I’ll be back in a while.” Levi didn’t turn her head or move at all as he went out the front door of the cabin. As he closed it behind him and stepped out onto the crooked little porch he breathed in a lungful of the fresh air. It was nice to take a breath that didn’t burn your lungs. The desert air was so hot and thick sometimes it almost felt like drowning. You could suck it in over and over but it only seemed to fill your chest with more weight.
Kyle stepped off the porch and walked toward the shed at the back of the property. His muscles felt stringy and restless and besides the days and weeks after Will died, he didn’t remember ever feeling so unsettled in his life. He didn’t have any idea where any of this was going to lead and he didn’t like that. Kyle had managed to get through his not so easy life by becoming a planner. Even in the club there was always a plan and a desired outcome. The alternative to the desired outcome was usually his own death and he’d come to simply accept that as fact. What he wasn’t willing to accept was that in this case the alternative might mean Levi’s death and that would be worse than if someone simply put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
Opening the shed turned out to be a workout. He sat the big flashlight he’d brought out with him a few feet away and pointed it at the door. The lock was simply two metal poles that stuck down into the ground. They had to be twisted and pulled up to release their hold on the doors. The years of not being opened and having dirt and brush packed in around them by nature meant they were good and stuck. It took all of Kyle’s strength to move them and get the doors opened and by that point his shirt already stuck to him with sweat and he almost no longer needed the workout that he’d gone out there hoping to get.
He took the big flashlight inside with him and let the beam follow the lines of the walls and floor. The first thing he wanted to do was to make sure no unwelcome desert critters had made their home in the little makeshift gym that he and Will had helped Mike make for them years ago. He spent some time clearing out spider webs and he used his t-shirt to wipe off the equipment before he was finally satisfied enough to begin. He loaded the barbell resting on the bench press station with weight and lay down on the bench underneath it. He felt the need to punish his body. He wanted to slam it with strain until his brain quit trying to have any other thoughts except for the ones his muscles were sending it. He channeled all the anger, hurt and pent up frustration he was feeling into his efforts as he began to press the bar up and down. He kept pressing and pressing until his arms began to shake and his muscle fibers were screaming for a rest. He finally racked the bar and sat up. He turned the t-shirt inside out and used the clean side to wipe the sweat out of his eyes.
&n
bsp; That should have worked, but it didn’t. His head was still just as alive with images as it had been before. Will was there of course and now so was his sister. He closed his eyes for a second and remembered the way her lips tasted and the way they felt against his…and the way the rest of her body felt and tasted. Fuck…
He got up and went over to the leg station. Again he loaded the bar with weights and then he took off his jeans. Standing only in his boxer shorts he began doing squats as the bar rested across his aching shoulders. Squat, stand, repeat, over and over until his legs trembled and began to feel like a pair of wet noodles. When he finally quit the images were still there and no matter how exhausted his body was, his mind wouldn’t give up on what it wanted…Levi.
He was grateful when he heard the sound of a bike approaching. Strike was here with their supplies. One more distraction would be a good thing. He pulled his jeans back on and closed up the doors of the shed before heading back up to the cabin just as Strike pulled his bike up in front. His saddle bags were bulging.
“Hey,” Strike frowned as he turned off the noisy bike. “You okay?”
Out of breath and with sweat still rolling slowly down the side of his face he said, “Yeah. I was just working out. Any problems on the way up?”
“Nope. I haven’t passed another living soul since I entered the park.”
“Good.”
Strike climbed off the bike and pulled off the heavy bags. Kyle took one out of his hand and they made their way into the cabin. Levi wasn’t in the great room any longer and for a brief second Kyle’s heart stopped beating.
“Levi!”
He heard her move in the bedroom before he saw her. She only came as far as the doorway. She’d changed into a pair of baggy sweat pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. He watched as her eyes took in his naked chest and shoulders and even in his exhausted state, his cock began to swell up at the sight of her. There was nothing sexy at all about the outfit she had on, but damn did she wear it well.
“I’m going to bed,” she said, glancing from him to Strike and back again.
“You want something to eat first? Strike brought groceries.”
“No, I had a snack in my backpack and some water. I’m good. But speaking of water, we don’t have any.” The little cabin had a small well if Kyle remembered correctly. It must be dry.
“I brought y’all up a water filter and a few bottles of water,” Strike said.
“I’ll head down to that creek we passed on the way up in the morning and get us water to wash up with,” Kyle told her. She nodded slowly and then in the same flat tone she’d used since they got there she said, “Good night.”
Kyle and Strike both said goodnight and she stepped back into the room and closed the door. Kyle stared after it for a few seconds before he realized Strike was staring at him.
“What?”
Strike looked like he was trying hard not to smile. “Nothing boss. Nothing at all.”
Chapter 10
Levi woke up with the sun in her face, confused about where she was for a few seconds. She looked around the room and it came back to her slowly. They were at the cabin. She was in her parent’s old room. She lay there for a bit, shaking off the residual images of a dream she was having. Kyle was in the dream and so was Will. She couldn’t recall the details but she knew it wasn’t about the day Will died. She had those dreams often and when she woke up from them she was almost always drenched in sweat and shaking all over. This particular morning, she was filled with a sense of peace that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Maybe it was being at the cabin and feeling close to her parents and her brother again.
She finally threw the covers back and got out of bed. After using the bathroom and the last of the water in her bottle to wash her face and brush her teeth she ran her fingers through her hair and went over to her backpack and started pulling out clothes. She had packed haphazardly and she wasn’t even sure what she’d brought with her. She pulled out a pair of black panties and a black strapless bra and then scrounged down in the bag for a t-shirt and jeans. Once she was dressed she pulled open the bedroom door and her nostrils were assaulted with an aroma that made her stomach growl. She’d lied to Kyle the night before about eating. Now the smell of him cooking sausage and eggs reminded her of how hungry she was and the sight of his naked back and jean clad butt standing in front of the little stove was almost even more appealing. She wished that he wasn’t so damned panty-melting hot. It made it harder for her to be angry with him, even though he deserved it for being such an arrogant prick.
He must have sensed her standing there. He glanced over his broad shoulder and for a second when her eyes locked onto his blue ones she once again forgot…she was mad at him. He was an asshole. No different than Frankie or any of the other asshole bikers who had made her life miserable. That was what she told herself anyway. But unfortunately her heart still remembered the boy that he’d been and it still wanted to believe that boy was in this man’s hot body somewhere, dying to get out.
“Good morning,” he said with the semblance of a smile. She tore her eyes from his and they landed on the fresh pot of coffee boiling on the stove next to him. That was what she needed more than anything else.
“Morning,” she said. She headed into the small space that he seemed to be filling almost every corner of and took a coffee mug down out of the cabinet. There was a bottle of water on the counter. She used a small amount of water to rinse out the cup before stepping wide around him and reaching for the coffee pot.
“Wait!” he said sharply, startling her. “It’s hot.” He handed her the towel that he’d had slung over his shoulder. She took it, wishing he’d put on a shirt. Didn’t he have a damned t-shirt he could cover up all those rippling muscles and tattoos with?
She used the towel to protect her hand as she picked up the pot and poured herself a mug full of the dark brew. Her eyes searched the stack of things Strike had left the night before. As if reading her mind Kyle reached across her and picked up a little box of sugar cubes and handed them to her. His arm was only inches from her chest and she willed herself to stand still and not shake. His very presence thrilled her body and pissed her off at the same time. She took a small step back before taking the box out of his hand. “Thank you.” He nodded and she turned her back to him and fixed her coffee.
“Hungry?” he asked.
She turned and propped her hip into the counter as she took a sip of the hot coffee. “Yeah, it smells good.” She watched as he used the spatula to load the plate in his hand with sausage and eggs. When he had it piled as high as what they called the ‘Trucker Special’ at the diner where she used to work, he handed it to her. She smiled in spite of herself. She had been working hard not to show him any emotion since the night before. “This is all for me?”
He grinned at her and her stomach did this crazy roll and bounce thing. “I remembered that the woods make you hungry.”
Still smiling and helpless to stop it because she remembered exactly what he was talking about, she turned her back to him and took her plate and mug to the little table and sat down. “I was a teenager…a growing teenager,” she said.
Kyle chuckled softly and she watched the muscles in his back ripple as he did. He turned toward her then with his own plate in his hands and said, “Okay, but I’m going to eat with you just to make sure.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but she was still smiling and she was sure, blushing slightly. That last time they were at the cabin Levi had been in what she called her ‘fat stage.’ In truth she was never really fat, but at fourteen her body was growing and changing rapidly and she could never seem to get enough to eat. She was hungry all the time. The first morning they were there that last weekend she had woken up starving and smelling breakfast. She slipped on her robe and went out to find her dad just finishing up his breakfast.
“Where’s everyone else?” she asked as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“The boys took off early, going out t
o the cliffs I think. Your mother went for a walk. I’m about to head out to the shed to do a little work on the gym. What are your plans this morning Princess?”
She shrugged and got down a plate. There were pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs and biscuits. Her mother had outdone herself that morning. “I have a new book I think I’ll start,” she said.
She filled her plate and sat down at the table with her dad. “Don’t you want to do something besides read, baby? I mean, you are on vacation.”
She smothered her pancakes with butter and syrup. Licking the syrup off her fingers she said, “I like to read. Aren’t you supposed to do what you like while you’re on vacation?” The truth was that she’d started her period the day before and she felt crampy and bloated but she wasn’t about to tell her father that.
“Sure baby,” he said as he got up and went over to put his plate in the sink. “Just don’t forget to have some fun.” He’d kissed the top of her head before he left to go outside and once he was gone Levi had proceeded to eat until she couldn’t possibly swallow another bite. She’d just assumed everyone else had eaten before they left. She found out quickly that she was mistaken. She put the last two pieces of bacon and one biscuit on a plate on the stove and began washing up the rest of the dishes. She was almost finished when the boys came back in.
“Hey midget,” Will said. Levi rolled her eyes at the nickname.
“Hey.” Kyle smiled at her and went over to the little refrigerator. He pulled it open and took out a carton of orange juice.
“Grab our plates out of there,” Will had told him.
Kyle looked down into the small refrigerator and said, “I don’t see any plates.”
“Oh, did Mom leave our breakfast in the stove?” Will asked Levi.
That was when her entire body flushed with embarrassment. She ended up having to admit to the boys that she’d eaten everything except for the paltry leftovers on the stove. At her count that had been about six pancakes, two biscuits, four pieces of sausage and bacon each and probably a total of four scrambled eggs. She didn’t list that all out for them but both boys knew that Mrs. McGarden was not one to skimp when she cooked. There were always leftovers for days. The boys had teased her relentlessly for the rest of the weekend, taking to calling her ‘garbage disposal’ and making a big production of covering their plates with their arms as they ate to tease her.
