I reach out for her hand, and she holds on to mine. I wish I knew how to comfort her. I want to tell her about my suspicion, but I can't.
First of all, I'm not sure that Brian is the undercover cop that has infiltrated the MC. Since I spoke to Mike, I've read in the papers that there have been some arrests, but I haven't had any opportunity to get more information out of anyone. Captain Williams has erected a Chinese wall between the police station and my home. He never talks business at all.
Second, if it's true that Brian is undercover, telling Nancy would be putting him in danger. She's been carrying so much shame and guilt on her shoulders that nothing would prevent her from going around hinting to anybody who would listen that her boy hasn't really turned bad. Obviously, I can't let that happen.
So I hold her hand until Uncle Tony comes to sit next to her and wrap a protective arm around her shoulders. I'm so glad he's supportive of her.
He's probably just as torn as she is.
The ceremony is short and sweet. The groom gets to kiss the bride, and I have to look away. The very fact that I'm here testifies to the fact that my mother is a sexual being, but that's something I don't like being reminded of. Her passionate kissing of Captain Williams is way too much for me. As everyone stands, applauds, and lines up to offer the new couple congratulations, I make a run for it. I enter the clubhouse and bump into Everest. He does look dashing in his uniform. Did I just think dashing? It's such a Gone with the Wind type of word, but it's fitting.
"You don't enjoy the crowd, or you're unhappy with the entire event?" Everest asks as he catches me.
"Neither," I say. "I'm uncomfortable with public displays of affection."
"Wanna talk?" he says.
"With you? Not really," I snap back.
Actually I would. I would like him to tell me why he didn’t try to see me after he let me go with Brian. I want to know why he didn’t even check to see if I was okay.
I’m conflicted about him. I didn’t want to string him along and yet I feel hurt that he gave up on me so easily.
My bark doesn’t scare him because he says, "Well, I'd like to talk to you—can you give me two minutes?"
Without waiting for my answer, he takes me by the elbow to the corner of the reception room farthest away from the garden doors. I sit at one corner of a table and he takes the chair next to mine.
"I really like you," he says.
He stays silent while I look around and see that he's got me cornered between the wall, the table, and him. I look back at him without saying anything. It's probably what he was waiting for, because he continues.
"I really like you," he repeats, "but I understand you have unfinished business with someone else."
Since I don't owe him an explanation, and he's not even asking a question, I just stare at him, waiting for him to continue.
"I know you're going back to finish your last year of law school, and you won't be back before next June to take the Florida bar." So much for the Chinese wall of Captain Williams—obviously home intel makes its way to the office. "So what I really want to tell you is that I'll still be around when you come back, and if by then you know where you're at, I would be happy to spend more time with you."
He's got the kindest eyes and the sweetest sad smile. It wouldn't be hard to fall for such a nice guy.
Yeah, but he's right; I have unfinished business with Brian, and one way or another, I need to find closure.
I remain silent as I don’t know what to say.
He gets up, pushes his chair back in, and then leans over to press his lips on my forehead.
"Goodbye, little one. I'll see you next spring," he says as he turns toward the bride and groom, who are now entering the room.
I watch him salute my mother and then Captain Williams. As Everest makes a discreet exit, I join the new couple and hug my mother. "I'm so happy for you," I tell her.
I turn to the man who is now my stepfather and add, "And for you, too, Steven."
The smile on his face shows me that he takes my finally calling him by his first name as a victory and he's right. It means I'll be giving him a fair chance. I truly wish for them to be happy.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The newlyweds have fled to Paris. Captain Williams—I need to remember to call him Steven—is making my mother's dearest wish come true.
Tomorrow I'll be closing the house and going back to New York. I'll have a couple of weeks to work full time at the restaurant before classes start again. There's a new dorm room waiting for me, and a final year of study. In the spring, I'll come home to take the Florida bar and finally become a lawyer.
Coming out of the shower, I go to my brother's room. It will be turned into an office for my stepfather by the time I come back. The dirty laundry hamper is empty. David's clothes are neatly folded on the shelves. My mother must have done it by force of habit. She's also changed the sheets. I hug his pillow, but the only thing I smell now is laundry detergent. I put the pillow back and pick up two of David's largest T-shirts. I will keep them and sleep in them. Is that morbid? I'd like to think it's not. I undress and slip into one. I also take his leather jacket from a hanger in his closet, and I bring it to my room and lie down on my bed using it as a cover.
I close my eyes and imagine that I hear him coming home and calling out for me… and it's déjà vu all over again, because I do hear steps on the stairs. I open my eyes, and Brian's at my door.
"I came to say goodbye," he says softly.
"How do you know I'm leaving tomorrow?" I ask.
"I have my sources," he tells me as he takes two steps forward and kneels by my bed. He takes David's jacket away from my shoulder and puts it on my desk behind him. I can see the sadness in his eyes as he does.
"I know you miss him, too," I say. "But I'm no longer mad at you. I think I know what you're doing." He looks at me as if he has no idea what I'm talking about. "You were never kicked out of the academy. You're undercover for the task force. Right?"
He smiles. "You're partially right. I didn't get kicked out; I quit. However, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a member of the task force."
"I understand that there are things you cannot possibly tell me," I say. "But I need you to talk to me."
He gets up, and for a second, I think he's going to walk out the door but he doesn't. He kicks off his boots and removes his jacket. I scoot over against the wall to make room for him.
He lies down next to me and wraps his arms around me. My head rests on his strong shoulder and my hand on his heart. Its steady rhythm soothes me. I'm content just to be with him.
"There's so many things I would like to be able to tell you," he says after a little while, nuzzling my hair.
I send him a silent prayer. Come on, baby, open up a bit and let me in.
"The Iron Tornadoes are my family, too. I hate that Mom and Tony can't get that. I hope you will. When you come back… I'll be able to explain why."
"I can't wait that long," I say and sigh as I pull his T-shirt over his head.
"Yes, you can," he says, rolling on his side to face me and removing David's long T-shirt that I had just put on. "You've waited for me for so long already; a few months won't make that much of a difference."
I can't help but laugh at the self-confidence he's showing.
"What makes you think I waited for you? Did you ever consider the possibility that I just didn't have the time for a relationship and that as soon as I'm done with law school I'll go on a rampage?"
"Nah," he says. He kisses me, and I know it's true. I've never wanted anyone else but him.
The only other man that ever appeared on my radar is sweet Everest.
Brian pulls his lips away from mine and adds, his tone tender and possessive, "You're mine, and that's all there is to it."
I'm not sure how I feel about his arrogance.
"What about you?" I ask.
"Well, it's a bit different…"
"Oh please, don't give me the ol
d 'men have different needs' line, because they don't," I say, cutting him short.
"That's not what I meant to say," he explains. "What I meant is that I knew I was coming back home and back to you, but we hadn't promised each other anything, so…" His first words made my head spin, and he kisses me again, and it's clear—I don't care who he's been with as long as he's with me now.
"I've got to admit I'm kind of glad you experimented," I say, as his hands deftly do away with the rest of his clothes.
"And I'm delighted you didn't," he says. "See, it worked out perfectly, baby. I know who I am now. I know what I am and what I want. There are many things I want to do with you, and the idea that I will be the only one ever to do them just blows my mind. I promise you will never regret it."
"You have a few hours to start your demonstration, professor," I say with a husky voice I barely recognize as mine. "I think you'd better get started now, because this will have to keep both of us sated for many months."
And he does get started and shows me how amazingly reactive my entire body is to his touch. There isn't a part of me that he doesn't explore with his hands. His lips burn my neck and torture my breast. I never want this night to end; I'm in heaven, and I don't want to leave. Just when I think it can't be any more perfect, he whispers in my ear.
"You know you are mine, right?" And my universe bursts with millions of bubbles of happiness because I’m certain what he means is that he loves me.
As I fall asleep in his arms for the first time, I know that I've closed the first book of my life. David's death made its end very sad, but the time for sorrow will soon be over. It's time for the second book. I adore its first chapter; I can't wait to discover the next ones.
Tonight I had my first glimpse of what the rest of the nights of my life could be like when I come back.
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Books by
Olivia RIGAL
- Jaded (2013)
- Ripped (2014)
Learning curves
- Learning Curves 1: French Cooking 101 (2013)
- Learning Curves 2: Advanced French Kissing (2013)
- Learning Curves 3: Detention (2013)
- Learning Curves 4: Graduation (in progress).
Eve Trilogy
- Naughty Christmas Eve (2012)
- Sexy New Year’s Eve (2012)
- Spicy Valentine’s Eve (2013)
IRON TORNADOES MC ROMANCE
- Stone Cold (2014)
- Cold Burn (in progress)
About the Author
Born in Manhattan, Olivia Rigal spent her youth going back and forth between the United States and France.
She lived and studied law in both countries.
While studying she kept herself busy with a variety of jobs.
She worked in the Clignancourt Flea Market as well as in a Parisian recording studio.
In Manhattan, she was a dog groomer and then an administrative assistant in a famous English auction house.
Olivia settled in France to raise her family. She travelled throughout South East Asia and has a special fondness for Laos and Thailand.
When her law practice does not keep her busy in Paris, she runs away to write novels in her Florida home next to MacArthur Beach State Park.
In December 2012 she started publishing short novels in English as an independent. Early 2014, she began translating them into French.
The story she tells stand alone. However her characters often meet so you can run into them again in several stories.
She loves to chat with readers so go hang out with her on Facebook.
Stone Cold (An Iron Tornadoes MC Romance) Page 7
