by Mika Lane
“It is amazing. I mean, the city is right there, and yet we have this wide-open playground in our backyard. How lucky are we?” she said with glee, looking over at Hale. The Sonoma Motorsports cap he wore, along with a few days of scruff on his face, gave him a rugged look that made Aurora’s pulse throb.
Hale steered into a parking spot, and in less than a minute they’d pulled on their thick hiking socks and laced up their boots. Entering the trailhead, Hale let Aurora set the pace on the narrow path until it opened to a fire road where they could walk side by side.
“So do I get to hear your recording?” he asked. She’d filled him in on the morning she’d spent in the studio.
“Sure, why not?” A tiny, grey lizard darted out of their path. “Well, let me rephrase that. Before I commit, I guess I ought to listen to it myself to make sure it’s not a piece of crap.”
“Hey, I heard you sing. We’re not talking about crap here.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence. Anyway, I know the engineer needs a couple days to edit the tracks, and then they upload an audio file to a shared folder.”
“Wow. Technology has really changed the music business. Well, I guess it’s changed all businesses.”
They stopped to check out a tiny waterfall spilling across the trail. As they did, he took her hand and brushed his lips across it. Her nipples jumped to attention through the thin fabric of her tank top. She realized she’d better make some conversation before she threw herself on him, right there in the dirt and rocks.
“Speaking of business, what exactly do you do? I saw something about motorsports on your truck. And then there’s that cap on your head,” she said, pointing. It was embarrassing, how little she knew about him.
“You know the area you pass on your way to wine country—Sears Point?”
“I think so. You mean where’s there always a traffic backup at the light?”
“That’s the place. There’s a motorsports raceway there. I own it with a business partner.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding! I know just where you mean. I’ve never been there, though.”
He laughed. “I didn’t take you for the racing type, being a non-car owner. But you should let me take you there sometime. We have all sorts of events—motorcycle races, performance driving courses, NASCAR, drag racing.”
“So that explains the tattoo on your back? I thought those flags had something to do with cars.”
“That’s exactly what they are,” he said, nodding.
Damn. That smile.
“Sounds like another world. I don’t know. I’m not really into cars.”
Oops. Was that rude?
He smiled. “Yeah, it’s not for everyone. So tell me something about yourself. Like, where are you from?”
She sighed.
Time to tell him the sad, sordid tale?
“I came out here a couple years ago from New York. Running from a broken heart. Actually, it was more like a pulverized, atomic-bombed out heart.”
“Ouch. What the hell happened?” They stopped at the edge of a steep ravine to admire the dissipating fog below.
“You sure you want to know?”
“Yeah. I’ve got nowhere to be. Except here.” He threw a casual arm over her shoulder.
Oh my god. Stay cool.
“It’s so classic it’s almost comical. Except that it happened to me. It goes like this. My boyfriend hooked up with my best girlfriend. Then if that’s not bad enough, he also knocked her up. The epilogue is that they’re together now, and I’m down one boyfriend and one best friend.”
“Holy shit.” Hale’s eyes were wide. “That is classic. I thought things like that happened only in the movies.”
“I did, too. Until it happened to me. It’s been a year, and it still gets me in the gut.”
“That is some crazy shit. So, you left them all behind. I don’t blame you. Your parents back there, too?”
“Oh yeah. And they’re not happy about my being out here. Initially, they were supportive and put me up in the cute little house I live in right now. But as time has passed, it has become clear they—well, really my mom—just want me to come back. She misses trotting me around the club, bringing me to services on the High Holidays, dragging me on her shopping excursions. That sort of thing.”
“That’s…a lot of pressure.” He turned toward her, his proximity spreading an undeniably warm, safe sensation.
“And…she’s been threatening to cut me off now.”
He turned to her with a furrowed brow. “Cut you off from what?”
“My dad was a successful investment banker before he retired. They’ve set my brother and me up with trusts we can access in a few more years. I don’t really care, though. I don’t want the money. I can make my own.”
Right? She could make her own money. Right?
“Holy shit. I call extortion.”
“Me, too. And at the rate I’m going, it will never be mine if my mother has her way.” They continued walking on the crunchy trail. “What about you? Any family drama?”
Family drama. The great equalizer.
Hale took off his cap to run his fingers through his hair. “Oh, sure. I help support my younger sister. Her husband walked out when their kid was just a few months old, never to be seen again. They tracked him down, but he never made a single support payment. So I help them. My nephew is awesome. I bring him to work with me from time to time.”
Nothing hotter than a good guy.
A lone hiker smiled and said hello as he passed them on the trail. The minute he was out of sight, Hale embraced Aurora, one hand cradling her head and the other at the small of her back. He possessed her lips in a deep, lush, unhurried kiss and there was no stopping melting into his grip.
Grabbing her hand, he led her from the fire road to a narrow trail forged by deer. Bushwhacking past overgrowth, they climbed over small boulders and fallen tree trunks until they were out of sight of the main trail.
She had no idea where he was leading her. And after that kiss, it didn’t matter.
When they stopped in a tiny clearing, Hale pushed Aurora’s backpack off her shoulders. The bag thumped to the ground as his lips returned to hers, licking and biting and soothing.
“So that’s why we came here.”
“Mmmm hmmm,” he murmured, running his lips along her jawline and down her neck.
It was beyond intoxicating, being with him in the stunning quiet of Mount Tam, relishing their own little slice of heaven. She inhaled his scent of simple, clean soap. It, with the smell of nearby wild sage, was delicious and heady.
When his fingers found the hem of her tank top, they wandered underneath until they brushed her heated skin. She gasped at the tingles that shot straight through to her sex.
Backing her against a tree trunk, he pinned her against its abrasive bark. His cock, getting harder by the moment, pushed into her lower belly. Grinding her hips forward the little that she could, she met his sex with great need.
“Touch me,” she whispered.
One of his hands went to her hair, raking her curls. The other slid up to her full breast, his flat palm running over an agitated nipple. In one swift moment, he yanked her sports bra out of the way and his mouth found her nipple, tugging her flesh. She looked around to make sure they couldn’t be seen, and then arched her back to give him more.
It was her turn to grab his hair as he inundated her with a cycle of pleasure and pain, gently sucking, then forcefully drawing on her nipple. Her hand wandered down to her throbbing sex, which it rubbed and kneaded through her hiking clothes.
Releasing her tortured nipple, he ran his thumb over her lips, raw from his abuse. The tree, rough against her back, was the only thing keeping her upright.
“Touch your tits for me, baby,” he whispered in a low growl. He pulled her tank top and bra over her head and threw them to the ground.
At that moment, she would have done anything for him.
Her hands drew
to her stomach and smoothed over her belly. They worked their way up to the swell of her breasts, which she brushed with just her fingertips. Finally, she cupped herself, running her thumbs over hard nipples. They were sore from Hale’s treatment, but also exploding with delicious sensation.
He looked at her as if she were the most beautiful thing on Earth, leaving her shaking and nearly gasping for breath.
Fuck. This guy.
A fresh breeze fanned her lower body. Hale had pushed aside her hand, lowered her leggings to her thighs, and was kneeling before her. The stretchy fabric gave way but only to a point, binding her legs. That didn’t stop him, however, from sliding his fingers between her shaved lips. After several strokes, he zeroed in on her pounding clit. The friction of her legs squeezing together, and his greedy fingers, doubled the intensity. Shocks flew straight to her toes.
“Yes, Hale. Please…” she begged.
Kneeling before her, he spread her wet, pink pussy. With his scruffy chin scraping her thighs, he found her hard clit with his tongue. The moment he touched her there, she whimpered and moaned.
His tongue lapped her, softly at first, and then furiously. The quivering of her legs grew stronger, and she clawed at the tree to remain standing. Surrendering to sensation, she rocked her hips as best she could to meet his lashing tongue.
“God, baby, you taste so good. I want you to come. Come in my mouth.”
His words were the last straw. Aurora threw her head back against the tree, rolling it from side to side. Her mouth dropped open in frantic pleasure. One more lap of his tongue and she washed over the edge, losing herself in a rhythmic explosion that creamed her inner thighs and Hale’s face.
Just when she was afraid her shaking legs would not hold her a moment longer, Hale stood and pulled her into his arms. She shuddered as he ran his hands over her skin, kneading her ass softly.
“I want a taste,” she murmured. With hot greed, she went for his mouth, licking and sucking her tang off him.
“Do you like it, baby?”
“Yeah. God, yeah.”
With several deep breaths, and the short walk back to the fire road, her head cleared. Resuming their walk, Hale slung his arm around Aurora’s shoulder, and she leaned into him.
It was amazing, really, how she let herself go with him. As long as she didn’t think too hard about it, everything seemed like it would be okay. Maybe even perfect. It was when she let her mind wander, let it go there, that the past came back with frenetic force, unkindly depositing its little doubts like weeds in a front lawn.
But she was staying in the present, at least for the moment. Her energy, after that mind-blowing orgasm, came rushing back in a burst. She picked up the pace of the hike until Hale stopped, out of breath.
“Whew. You’re killing me.” He found a seat on a big rock at the side of the trail.
“So, how did you end up owner of a motorsports complex?” she asked. “I would guess that’s every little boy’s dream, huh?”
“Absolutely.” He dabbed his face with his T-shirt, revealing skin so smooth and golden, all she could think about was when she might be able to lick it.
Focus!
Hale continued. “When I was a kid growing up here in the Bay Area, I always asked to go there for my birthday. I saw all kinds of shows—NASCAR, motorcycle races, you name it. And when I got old enough, my parents let me take racecar driving classes.”
“You’re kidding. How old were you?”
“Believe it or not, fourteen. You don’t even need to have a license.”
“Then it really is a dream come true for a boy.” Aurora laughed.
“It sure is. So after that, I hung out there as much as I could. Eventually, they hired me for summer jobs. At first I cleaned, emptied the trash. Shit work like that. Then, when I was older, they started teaching me the business. When I finished school, I was able to talk them into bringing me on full-time.”
“You must know the place inside and out.”
“No doubt. And just a couple years ago, the owner wanted to sell. My best friend and I raised the money we needed to buy it, and here we are today.” Recovered, he hopped back to his feet.
“You’ll have to come up with me sometime. I’ll let you drive one of the racecars we use for our driving courses.” He put his hands on either side of her face.
That gorgeous, sexy mouth.
“Oh, well, that could be fun. I mean, I’m not much of a car person. But I could, you know, give it a try.”
Cars? She could not be less interested, especially as a committed cyclist. But with Hale on the menu, that could be a different story entirely.
“You’ll like it. I promise.”
You’ll like it? I promise?
In that instant, his words jerked her out of her adrenaline-fueled hiking frenzy.
You’ll like it. I promise.
They played like a broken record.
And it came to her.
Those were the last words Ben had said to her before she discovered his secret.
You’ll like it. I promise, he’d crooned when suggesting a group vacation with their circle of friends. A circle that, of course, included Anna.
Fuck those assholes, intruding on my day. Just fuck them.
Chapter 7
“Hello,” Aurora said, after she’d swiped her phone open. She was enjoying a rare free morning sipping a coffee on her deck in the shade of a giant redwood.
“Aurora, hi. Glad I caught you. Is this a good time?”
Bolting upright in her chair, she splashed coffee out of her cup and watched it dribble down her white T-shirt. It was the booker she’d provided her recording to. Something in his voice sounded…funny.
“Sure. How are you? What’s up?” Was that a tightness creeping into her voice?
“I’m well. Hey, I wanted to let you know the audio file you provided for your demo was empty.”
For a moment, she was winded. It was as if someone sat on her chest until every last breath of air was had evacuated her lungs.
That’s not possible.
“Aurora? Are you there?”
When she was able to suck up a bit of air, she spat out the only words she could manage.
“Um. What?”
“Yeah, it’s really weird. It looked like a good file, but maybe something happened to it in production or transmission. Anyway, it was empty. No recording.”
She stammered again. Confusion and hot anger mingled inside her, resulting in a bad, bitter taste. She rose from her chair, and pacing across the deck, thought quickly.
“I’m so—I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Let me check with the recording studio. I’m sure there’s a good explanation. Can I get back to you?”
“Sure thing. Do you think you could get back in the next couple days? I want my boss to hear you before he makes any decisions. You’re the last one we need to hear.”
“Absolutely.” She swiped her phone closed.
Her jaw tightened and she scowled at a squirrel that ran across her deck.
What the hell?
She scrolled through the contacts and tapped on “Isabella.”
“Hey,” Aurora cried.
“What? What’s wrong! I know that tone. Something is wrong.”
“I just got off the phone with the booker I sent my demo to.”
Aurora pulled the phone from her ear to avoid her friend’s shriek.
“Tell me! Did they love it? Oh, I just know they did!”
“Not exactly.” Aurora’s stomach knotted in fury.
“What? What do you mean?”
Her voice cracked. “The fucking thing was blank, Isabella. There was no music in the file I sent.”
“Huh? Can that happen?”
“I don’t know. I guess. I am pissed.”
“I don’t blame you. All that hard work.”
“Right? I’m heading over to the studio now. I don’t have to be at work till this evening.” As she spoke, she grabbed her bike helmet and headed
for the door.
“Do you want me to meet you there?”
“No, thank you. I’ll take care of it, one way or the other.”
“Get back to me the minute you figure out what the hell is going on.”
Aurora could have called the studio. But instead, she rode her bike over. If someone was fucking with her music, they were going to have to deal with her. Face to face.
Pedaling full throttle, she tore along the bike path, arriving in Sausalito in record time. She locked up her bike and ran to the studio, dripping with perspiration. Flying through the front door, she ran smack into her vocal instructor.
Stan’s eyes opened wide as he caught her. “Aurora! I didn’t know you had a lesson scheduled today.”
She exploded. “Stan, the guy I sent my demo to called to let me know the file was blank. There was no music in the file on the shared drive. Nothing.” She bit her quivering lip.
“Are you kidding? Are you sure? I check those things myself.”
“I’m serious. The guy just called me and said he got nothing. And I’m running out of time.” Her chest tightened.
“Okay, let’s go back to my office and check the files.”
Aurora hustled after him to the small space at the back of the studio that served as a control room for recording, and where the sound engineer worked his magic.
He motioned toward a chair for her, sat at his computer, and began typing. “First, let me find the master file.”
Her heart pounded.
Please, please, please.
“There are a ton of them in here, but yours should be one of the newer ones.” He clicked a few more times on his computer. “Okay! Got your file. Let’s open it.”
With a few more keystrokes, her voice filled the room. The quality was not great since it came from PC speakers, but it was her voice. Her recording was intact.
Relief washed over her like a wave, and her hand flew to her mouth. She laughed with gratitude. For the first time since the booker had called, she could breathe without effort.
“Oh god. What a freaking relief.” She threw her head back with a giddy laugh.
