A few more tortuous minutes and they finally arrived in front of the resort. Haley swung a shaky leg over and climbed off his bike, surprised that she didn’t crumple to the ground right then and beg him to have his naughty way with her.
“Thanks for the ride.”
Kyle tugged off his helmet, put down the kickstand, and leaned back on the bike. “Any time.”
“Well, I guess I should be going,” Haley dithered, not sure if he was expecting something from her or not.
Kyle just smiled, nodded, and said, “Probably a good idea.”
Haley kicked at the paved driveway of the resort. “Guess I’ll go then.”
“Uh-huh.”
A little miffed, though Haley couldn’t exactly give a reason why considering Kyle had been a total gentleman, she turned around, prepared to storm off.
“Haley, you forgot something.”
Immediately, she turned, checking her front and back pockets. “I don’t think—”
Hard lips captured hers in a searing kiss. Haley gasped, shocked that he was kissing her. A silky, skillful tongue invaded her mouth and took away her hesitancy. In less than a minute, she was kissing him back, licking his lips and devouring him, just as he was devouring her. She felt his hands in her hair, nails running lightly against her scalp.
Haley was so horny that she didn’t care that they were in public—even if there was no one there. She just wanted him to bend her over his bike and fuck her like he was trying to crawl into her, like he would die if he didn’t claim her. Heat blistered against her skin, and she wondered if her inner cavewoman was reacting to his dominant caveman.
But just as quickly as he started the kiss, he drew back. He pressed one more fierce kiss to her lips, before settling back on his bike. He winked at her, tugged on his helmet, and was gone before she could even get a word out.
Another second passed before a sardonic smile curved her lips and she chuckled. Walking on shaky legs into the resort, she whispered, “Arrogant prick.”
***
She’d never really understood the expression “days passed on winged feet” until two weeks were suddenly up. Two weeks of fun and excitement with Kyle had come to an end. Two weeks of explosive sex would come to a grinding halt.
Haley sighed as she leaned her head against Kyle’s back and tightened her arms around his waist. The forest blurred around her, as she thought back to the two weeks she’d spent with him. It had been fun, hanging out with his mish-mash group of friends. They’d baked in his restaurant, and he showed her how to fix a carburetor. They’d made love until dawn and watched scary movies in the dead of night. She’d still had practice with Reser, but she’d stopped going to the gym. Kyle had provided her with more than enough exercise.
The bike purring underneath her no longer felt foreign, but felt comforting. She knew the bike, knew its rider. In the last couple of weeks, Haley had become closer to Kyle than any other man in her life, her father included. Yeah, he was a little demanding and a bit of a control freak, but there was also another part of him, a soft and funny side that affected her, too.
The trip up the mountain sped by too quickly, and in no time they were coming to a stop in front of her building. The moonlight bathed the resort complex in a comforting glow. Haley swung her leg over and climbed off Kyle’s bike. In less than twelve hours, she’d be on a plane, heading back home.
“Thanks for the ride,” Haley muttered, as she kicked at the cemented floor with her ballet flats. For the first time in a long time she felt insecure and worried. They’d been having sex—no, making love - for the better part of a week; but, if he came up to her hotel room this time it would mean the end.
He cut the engine, tugged off his helmet, and leaned forward on his handlebars. A smile played across his lips. “You know you could have just stayed over.”
Laughing nervously, Haley shook her head. If she had stayed over, she knew there would have been no way she’d get on that plane the next day. Dark brown eyes that saw way too much met hers eyes; but, Haley couldn’t keep his gaze, as her eyes roamed his features greedily. A slightly darker five o’clock shadow was making itself known on his face. Not a surprise, considering it was nearing midnight.
“I, uh, have to be up early tomorrow. Got to pack.”
Kyle nodded and ran a hand through his thick, wavy black hair. He’d let it down, something he’d been doing a lot more because Haley had mentioned she liked it that way. Over his shoulder, she could see his tattoo peeking up from the collar of his shirt. Haley’s hands began to itch, as she remembered tracing the intricate bear paws and finding the animals in the smoke design. She could practically feel the heat of his skin against her palms and smell the woodsy scent of his skin, as it heated further.
“Do you want me to come up, Haley?” His voice was serious and his eyes seemed to stare into the darkest part of her. A shiver raked over her body—it happened every time he looked at her like that, like he really saw her.
“I shouldn’t.”
“I didn’t ask want you should or shouldn’t do. I asked what you wanted to do.”
Her head snapped up at his tone, a touch of anger behind the deep notes. His brows were furrowed, and a tick was in his jaw.
Haley felt her nails dig into her palm. She was about to be an idiot, about to travel on a road that could screw up everything she’d worked for. The last few days she’d barely thought about the Olympics, barely thought of the goal she’d had for four years. It seemed that she wasn’t going to remember anytime soon either. “I want you.”
“That’s all I need to hear.”
Kyle yanked out the keys, grabbed her hand, and then practically dragged her through the lobby of the resort and up to her hotel room.
As soon as she opened the door, he pushed her in, turned sharply, and had her pinned up against a wall before the door even shut. Haley moaned, as she felt Kyle’s hand stroke up her body, bucking, fingers hooked in her belt loops.
Demanding lips claimed hers, as he unzipped her pants and forced them down her hips and thighs. Cool air rushed over her naked skin, as she kicked them away. Then, she leaned up and wrapped her legs around Kyle’s hips. Strong arms moved from her hips to her ass, squeezing hard enough to leave bruises. Haley didn't care, she wanted to remember this night for as long as she could.
Kyle wrenched his mouth away from hers and leaned his forehead against hers. “Bed.”
One word was all it took to get her so wet that she was pretty sure she had soaked through her panties. Moaning, she nodded, and he set her down. Quickly, with hard jerky movements, both of them tugged their clothes off and made their ways to the bed.
Haley had her bra half off her arm, but Kyle pushed her back on the bed and crawled between her legs. She bit back a scream, as she felt his tongue stroke her. Instinctively, she tried to close her legs, but his hands were locked tight around her thighs, opening her as wide as she could go.
Fingers curled in the sheets, she tossed her head and cried out loudly. Before she could reach orgasm, he lifted his head, removed his tongue, and crawled up her body. Haley opened her arms wide and closed them around him, nails gripping his shoulders. She wasn't sure when he’d done it, but somehow Kyle had slipped on a condom.
“Are you read—”
“Just fuck me, Kyle!”
No more encouragement was needed, as he reached down and opened her canal wide with his fingers, then penetrated her one inch at a time. That was his special brand of love making. No matter the rush, he always took his time when he first entered her. It was intoxicating, the special blend of protectiveness and dominance. It drove her crazy and made her crave the quick, deep penetration even more. There was something about this moment, something unlike the other times.
“Can you… take more?” Kyle asked, voice hoarse, arms shaking from strain next to her head. She knew he was holding himself back, waiting for her.
Something throbbed in her, so heavy that it was almost impossible to breat
h. Her heart sped up, thumping against her ribcage ecstatically. It was the same feeling she got racing down the mountain side. Adrenaline moved through her body, faster and more poignant than ever before. She didn’t just want more, she wanted it all.
“More.” Haley lifted her hips up, pulled him deeper into her slick, heated depths. “Everything.”
Kyle groaned above her. The sound drawn out and tortured, as he leaned down, pushed further into her, and forced her body up the bed. Toes curled, back arched, she grabbed handfuls on white cotton and rode with him. His sigh became her breath, his sweat her cooling water.
“Haley. Fuck. You’re so tight.” He nipped at her collarbone and thrust hard into her.
Shaking her hand from side to side, she begged him to just give her everything. She didn’t care, she just needed him, fast and hard. In that moment, she gave herself completely to Kyle, allowing him to do everything and anything he wanted with her body.
Not even with the last bad boy she’d met had she done that. She’d never given a man a part of herself, never showed any man as much as she’d shown Kyle. It was wonderful and terrifying, a sort of free-falling feeling.
Strong arms reached under her and lifted her up. Haley felt his muscles bulge. She felt the thick, male heat of him slip deeper into her body, farther than any man had ever been. “You’re mine, Haley. You know that right?” He lifted her body up, repositioned her legs before pulling her hips down and thrusting up into her, hard. “I don’t give a fuck where you go. You will always be mine.”
A wail escaped her lips. She raked her nails down his back, feeling slick sweat coat her fingertips. Haley pressed her nose into his skin, as Kyle took her body the way he wanted. His unique woodsy fragrance was stronger there, as if dirt and trees and flowers lived right beneath his flesh. The scent surrounded her, clung to her skin, made her dizzy.
No more words were spoken, there was too much in the room anyway. His desires pierced the air, clashing with her insecurities and assumed duties. But there was nothing next to their skin, no secrets between their bodies. Between the sheets, each knew exactly what they were doing.
Kyle, with every thrust of his hips, every dig of his nails into her hips, and every graze of his teeth against her shoulder and neck was trying to carve a place into her body. He wanted her to always remember him, never forget the man between her legs, and hopefully find a way to brand himself into her heart and soul.
Haley wanted to lose herself, forget for a few minutes and hours her heavy obligations. For a brief moment in time, she wanted to pretend that Kyle was the man of her dreams, that this was only the beginning of something more wonderful, something that shined with promise and hope just beyond her vision. It was in the heated kisses she forced on his lips, the way she completely gave her body to him without any reservations.
The hotel room closed around them, the cream colored walls blurring with the blue-brown carpet. Everything shrunk, twisted, and moved closer to them. The white cotton sheets fell away, and only the sounds of their love making, the heat of their bodies, and the thud of their heart existed.
A split second before it happened, clarity suddenly hit her. There was no way she was getting on that plane. It was strange; but, even with her path to fame and stardom right in front of her, she refused it. She rejected it for something she wasn't even sure of, but somehow it also felt right.
And then it came— they came. It wasn’t an explosion that rocked the world and shattered their minds. It was beyond that. It was so complex Haley could barely find the words to describe it. It felt like a sort of ending, a closing of one chapter, so that another could open.
***
Six years later
“You got this, doll,” Reser thumped her on the back and gave her a thumbs up. “Remember who's waiting for you at the end.”
Haley smiled, gave a brief thumbs up, and pulled her goggles down. Taking a deep calming breath, she waited for the call to start. It didn’t matter that she had finally made it to the Olympics or that all her hard work hadn’t been in vain. None of it mattered at that moment. No, it was just her and a slope. It was just skis and packed snow.
The call sounded and she took off, letting all other sounds disappear into a white noise that buzzed just beyond her consciousness. She tucked her body in, but kept herself loose enough to catch the curves. Cold whipped at her body, trying to penetrate her suit, but nothing stopped her. Soon she was flying across the snow, jumping in the air and feeling absolutely nothing beneath her.
It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, a few blinks of the eye before she hit the finish line, but it felt longer. Every second stretched into a minute. Haley's hearing returned, as she began to lose momentum. Suddenly, she wasn't just seeing white anymore. Faces appeared in her vision, as she slowed and moved towards the crowd positioned just behind the border.
An announcer's voice invaded her ears, as she spotted the only two faces in the world that mattered. “...and that gets
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TAMARA KNOWLES
Sons of Trouble
Tamara Knowles
It was a sunny Friday morning, the kind of day when most people liked to sit outside in the summer weather and enjoy a late breakfast in the town's diner. As the owner of the diner, Bianca dreaded Fridays and Saturdays. The Merrick boys would be around soon, as they were every week. If she was lucky, they'd merely scare away her other customers so they could have the place to themselves. Some inconsiderate behavior and rude remarks would have to be endured for a couple of hours, but afterwards they'd leave. If they were feeling particularly rowdy or if another customer made the mistake of looking at them the wrong way, that person – or people – would get an ugly beating from the entire gang and her precious diner would get smashed…again.
A faint roar could be heard, as a 4x4 engine approached. The sound was joined by the whooping of its passengers, as the vehicle pulled up to the diner. Bianca knew they'd show up eventually, but her heart sank all the same. The Merrick boys disembarked from the 4x4 and swaggered into the diner. They liked to think of themselves as a club and often identified themselves as such; but, the Merrick boys were just a glorified gang of hooligans. Chad Merrick was the leader and the namesake of the informal group. His pack of boisterous friends, who were really just hanger-ons, identifying themselves as the Merrick boys or the Merrick crew.
The young thugs swaggered in, as if they owned the place. They rudely pushed aside a few hapless patrons and appropriated a table by the window. They talked and laughed amongst themselves without bothering to look at the menus or to keep their voices down. The infrequent customers looked as if they wanted to ask the Merrick boys to be quiet, whereas the regulars did the smart thing and kept their heads down. They knew that they should devour their breakfasts and escape before the Merrick boys got bored and decided to break something.
Plucking up her courage, Bianca went over to their table with a tray clutched tightly in both hands. Without a word, she put the tray down and poured them each a cup of coffee. She hoped they’d just ignore her this time.
“Got any booze, sweetheart?” demanded one of the Merrick boys with a grin.
“This is a diner, not a bar,” Bianca replied. Explaining the difference was pointless to these knuckleheads. They came by to show that they were in charge, never for food or drink.
“Even so, all you ever have to drink is tea or watery coffee,” said another Merrick, rudely. “It’s not even an Irish coffee.”
Most people would point out that if you didn’t like the food or drink, you didn’t have to eat there. The last time a customer made this observation to the Merrick boys, they’d beaten the person and smashed a window. Bianca knew better than to kick them out. For one thing, they’d probably break something out of spite on their way out. For another, in spite of their obnoxious behavior, they never failed to pay off th
eir tab. Even if she could kick them out and get them to stay away, Bianca couldn’t afford to turn away paying customers.
“Would you boys like anything to eat with your coffee?” she asked them.
“No fucking way, the food in this place made me puke last time,” said the leader, Chad Merrick. He laughed and downed his cup of coffee.
“That’s cos’ you drank too much whisky, Chad,” replied one of his friends.
“Who gives a fuck what it was I drank that night?” Chad shot back. “We don’t want any of your crappy food, you skank, get outta here.”
Swallowing her pride, as she was forced to do every time, Bianca gathered up the tray and hurried behind the counter. She tried not to wonder which would be worse: a drunken Merrick or an over-caffeinated Merrick. Neither of those possibilities sounded very endearing.
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