Breathing His Air

by Debra Kayn

  “I will. Bye.” She hung up, tossed her phone into her opened purse, and smiled at the cashier.

  One hundred and sixty-two dollars later, she put the last sack of groceries in the bed of her truck and pushed the cart into the storage rack. She hurried back to her vehicle, tossed her purse onto the bench seat, and spotted Renny driving through the parking lot.

  Renny gave her a two-finger wave. She honked and gave him the peace sign as he drove away.

  “Tori. Wait.” A feminine voice came from outside the truck.

  Thinking Naomi had something else to tell her, she slid off the seat and stood at the door, shocked to find Crystal walking alongside her parking spot.

  “Did you come looking for more advice, Crystal?” She peered up into Crystal’s face, since the woman wore four-inch heels and Tori wore her flats.

  “As adorable as you are and how tempting it might be … no.” Crystal scrunched her nose as if she smelled something funky. “I just came from seeing Rain.”

  Liar. She schooled her features. “Interesting.”

  “Yes, well I knew he was concerned about you, seeing how you haven’t lived in a biker town before. I decided after Rain” — she smiled, and it wasn’t a good look on her — “finished meeting with me, I’d swing by and make sure you weren’t getting yourself in trouble.”

  It took three seconds for Tori’s patience to run out. “Cut the crap.”

  Crystal blinked. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “You’re not fooling me.” She shook her head and turned around, stepping toward the truck. “Might want to move your ass, girlfriend, because the rearview mirror is busted on my truck, and when I put it in reverse I usually close my eyes and pray I don’t hit anything.”

  Crystal gasped. “You stupid bitch … ”

  Tori laughed as she hopped into the truck and started the engine. “Dear Lord,” she yelled out the open window as she shifted into reverse, “please let me pull out of the parking lot safely and not kill any innocent people today.”

  She glanced out of her side mirror and grinned at Crystal, who was running on her tiptoes away from the truck as if she’d been caught in public wearing clothes from the Goodwill. Tori left the parking lot laughing her head off.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Rain sat on the barstool, content after having one of the best meals he’d ever had of roast beef, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob with real butter. He watched Tori load the dishwasher. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had corn on the cob. Maybe at the Pitnam racetrack a few years ago; not that it counted when it came wrapped in foil and warmed so long the kernels shriveled.

  Stomach full, mind at peace, he sat back to admire Tori’s waist-to-hip ratio, feeling damn lucky. “Real good dinner, babe.”

  “Thanks. I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, so you’re going to be stuck with things I enjoy cooking, I’m afraid.” She dropped a detergent tab into the washer and shut the door.

  He smiled, tagging her as she moved in front of him, bringing her between his legs and wrapping his arms around her waist. “You made it special to come home.”

  She leaned into him. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” He kissed her, sliding his hand down on her ass. “Never had a woman who’d make this place feel like a home.”

  Hell, he’d spent more time at the house in the last two weeks than in the nine years since he had the place built. Most of the time, before Tori came into his life, he crashed in the cabin behind the bar rather than take the long drive out of town. Lately, he found himself in a hurry to come home, because that was where Tori relaxed and opened herself to him.

  “What about your ex-girlfriends?” she asked softly.

  He loved the way she spoke with a hint of air in her voice, as if she wanted only him to hear her, even though no one else was around.

  “Nope.” He nudged her neck and pressed his lips against her skin. “I like having you here, my hand on your ass, satisfied with a full stomach from dinner my woman cooked me, and knowing you’re keeping me alive just by breathing the same air. Never thought that would happen to me.”

  “Me neither.” She sighed a happy sound. “I swore I wouldn’t let it happen but, until you, nobody made me see what I was missing.”

  “I had this house built with a family in mind, babe. Woods for kids to play in, the river to cool off and swim in, while I sit back and enjoy time with my woman. Until you, I avoided the place,” he said.

  “Why?”

  He moved his thumb, caressing her hip. “Felt empty inside. Silent. Didn’t want to face how alone I was.”

  “You want kids?” she whispered. “Is that why you have all the empty bedrooms … the space?”

  He took in her words, trying to figure out if that was hope in her voice or trepidation. “Yeah. A couple or four. You?”

  She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip. “Maybe. I like the idea, but I worry if I know enough to be a good mom.”

  “You have more than enough to give a kid.” He couldn’t stop the grin. “This is good.”

  “Honey?” She moistened her lips.

  “Don’t question it, babe. Let it happen.” He squeezed her butt. “I’m not playing a game with you. This is real.”

  “Rain?” She traced the collar of his T-shirt. “Do you feel it?”

  He drew air into his lungs. Hell, yeah, he felt it. “We’re sharing the same air, babe. Me and you.”

  “I like that thought.” She kissed him softly. “I like it a lot.”

  The doorbell rang, and Tori jolted. He stood. “Probably one of the guys checking in before his shift ends. I’ll be quick, and then we’ll take that dessert you’ve been hiding from me and walk down to the river before it gets dark.” He eyed her backside as she leaned over into the refrigerator. “Maybe we’ll take a swim.”

  Her head popped up over the door. “Um, I didn’t get a swimsuit when we went shopping for clothes.”

  Total goof. He laughed loud. “I own twenty acres. Did you see any neighbors?”

  “No,” she said.

  He smiled. “That’s right. You don’t need a swimsuit.”

  “Oh.” Her brows suddenly arched, and she repeated herself again with pleasure. “Oh.”

  He was still laughing when he looked out the window beside the door. All humor fled at the sight of his visitor. He punched in the code for the alarm and opened the door.

  He stepped out of the way and let his brother in the house. “Did Denise find the key and unlock you from the cellar?”

  “Lay off her, bro.” Derek stepped inside. “Thought it was time to find out what you’ve been doing to keep busy and see for myself if the rumors about you having a woman here were true.”

  Derek carried around a week’s worth of whiskers on his face and dark bags under his eyes. Rain slapped him on the shoulder and pulled him toward the kitchen. “I’ll introduce you, and maybe you’ll finally see for yourself how a woman should treat her man.”

  Even though Rain didn’t agree with how his brother let someone else dictate his life, Derek was family and welcome in his home. At one time, they’d had similar dreams and ambitions. Derek put his away when he married. A dumb-shit move, considering Denise had no plans to settle down, but he held hope that Derek would pull himself back up and see to his future.

  “Babe?” He waited for Tori to dry her hands off. “Meet my brother Derek.”

  “Hey.” She smiled and walked right up to Derek and gave him a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you. Can I get you something to eat, a drink? How about a beer?”

  Derek glanced over at Rain. He gloated. Damn, she was cute.

  “Yeah, sure. Thanks.” Derek slid onto the barstool by Rain, not taking his eyes off Tori.

  He elbowed Derek. “Take notes.”

&n
bsp; “Here you go.” She set a bottle in front of Derek and carried another one around the island while she popped the cap off and handed it to Rain. “Got you one too, honey.”

  “Thanks.” He tucked Tori against his side.

  “So … this is nice.” Tori patted Rain’s thigh as she leaned against him. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Derek.”

  Rain swallowed his beer wrong and coughed. Tori reached over and snatched a napkin out of the holder and handed it to him.

  He wiped his mouth and finished coughing. “When did we get a napkin holder?”

  “Picked it up today at the store. It’s only plastic, but it does the job.” She leaned forward. “Derek, why don’t you come for dinner in a couple of weeks and bring your wife. Nothing fancy. I’ll throw some burgers on the grill and we can all get to know each other.”

  “Not a good idea, babe.” Rain wadded up the paper napkin and tossed it on the counter.

  “No. I think that’s a good plan.” Derek nodded. “We’ll come.”

  “You will?” he said.

  Derek knew better than to bring Denise around. It never failed that she’d do something to piss Derek off, which in turn pissed Rain off, because he didn’t like to see anyone treat his brother like crap. They hadn’t done anything together for two years. Any visiting with Derek happened only when his brother came alone to the house.

  “Yeah.” Derek shrugged. “Denise is trying, Rain. For real this time. We’re even seeing a marriage counselor together.”

  He studied his brother, who looked him back in the eyes. Maybe there was hope. All he wanted was for his brother to be happy.

  “That’s good, yeah?” Rain said.

  “Yeah.” Derek relaxed and smiled at Tori. “We’d love to come. We’ll bring the beer and a watermelon.”

  “Great.” She leaned against Rain’s shoulder and whispered, “This is so cool. It’s my first family get-together and he said yes.”

  He chuckled. “Babe, he can hear you.”

  She blushed. “I’m excited.”

  He shared a smile with Derek, saw the warmth in his brother’s grin, and chuckled. Damned if Tori wasn’t working her magic over all of them. An hour earlier, no one could pay him to sit in the same room as his sister-in-law, and now it looked like they were getting to be more like a normal family.

  “Do you have family in the area, Tori?” Derek lifted his beer.

  Rain flinched and shook his head. “Drop the subject.”

  Tori laid her hand on his arm. “It’s okay.”

  “It’s none of his business.” He put his hand on her lower back. “You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.”

  Derek rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, if I stepped out — ”

  “It’s okay.” Tori smiled, but Rain could see the hesitation in her eyes. She scooted closer to him and leaned into his side. “It’s just me. Both my parents have passed away.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Derek cleared his throat. “You and Rain have something in common.”

  Dead silence. Rain closed his eyes and shook his head. Focusing on the hurt and pain of the past wasn’t a friendly conversation he wanted to have, and something Tori didn’t need to go through.

  Tori giggled, snapping him out of swearing to himself to never open the door and let his brother inside again. “There’s a lot more that we have in common. I’ve found out we like the same food, the same music, and Rain has an eerie ability to read my mind.”

  Derek laughed. “How about you? Can you read his?”

  “I’m stuck between two of the biggest goofs I know,” Rain muttered.

  “No, that’s not what you’re thinking.” Tori grinned, putting both index fingers on her forehead and squinting. “You want to take Derek out to the garage and show him that bike you picked up parts for. Maybe he can help you figure out what’s wrong with it.”

  He tilted his head at his brother. “Remember that old Harley of Dad’s?”

  Derek’s brows shot up. “You still have it?”

  “Yeah.” Rain stood and motioned for him to follow. “I sanded it all down last month. It turns over, but I think the exhaust piping Dad had on it is corroded.”

  He glanced over his shoulder and winked at Tori, but spoke to Derek. “Go ahead and go out to the garage. I’ll be there in a sec.”

  Alone with Tori, he scooped her into the air and kissed her. She hung from his neck, and he laid his cheek against the side of her head. “Thank you.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” she said.

  “Right.” He set her on the floor. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to fix that bike up and give it to Derek for years. The timing is never right, because we’re always arguing or he doesn’t come around.”

  She caressed his jaw. “Honey, don’t tell me. Go spend time with your brother.”

  “Yeah.” He kissed her one more time before backing away. “I’m still taking you swimming when we’re done.”

  “Got it.” She laughed. “No suit.”

  “Right.” He grinned.

  The weight on his shoulders lighter, he walked down the hall and stepped into the garage. Things were slowly coming together. All he had to do was figure a way to get rid of the Lagsturns, and he could relax.

  “She’s something, bro.” Derek lifted his bottle. “This is serious, huh?”

  Rain nodded. “Yeah. She’s got it all.”

  “Shit. You don’t still believe in the three classifications for women, do you?” Derek held up a finger. “What were they? Sexy? Classy? And … ”

  “Whacked.” Rain smiled, and he knew he was grinning like a fool. “She’s got them all.”

  Derek hooked him by the neck and held his bottle out. Rain clinked his bottle with his.

  “To goofy women,” they said in unison.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Rain held the plastic, sealed container as Tori ran to get her sneakers on. Holding the clear dish up, he wondered when he’d started owning Rubbermaid. Tori must’ve bought it when she and Taylor went shopping.

  Another sign she was making his house their home pleased him. He pried the corner of the lid up. It was good to have an evening alone. The last week, while uneventful regarding the Lagsturns, had kept them both busy.

  The oven had gone out at Cactus Cove, and he’d ridden up to Seattle to get the part he needed. The next day, Tori stayed shut in his office, stressing over her advice column for the Daily. The last two days, they spent most of their free time over at the community hospital after Skeeter laid his motorcycle out on the off-ramp coming in from Kalama.

  Luckily, Skeeter was going to be okay after his leg healed and the road rash cleared up. Although not a member of Bantorus, the guys thought enough of Skeeter to make sure his medical bills were covered, and Pete took his bike to the garage to repair.

  “Don’t you dare.” Tori hurried over and took their dessert from him. “No snooping.”

  “Damn me … ” He shook his head and opened the sliding door. “Just my luck, I found a woman who’s not only cruel but a tease. You plied me with cookie dough, kept dessert from me during dinner, and now you hold it under my nose and tell me I can’t eat? Cruel.”

  She snickered. “It’ll be worth it, honey.”

  He had no doubt. After they ate, he’d show her how much he liked the way she’d started calling him honey lately in her soft voice and looked at him all sexy. He’d be a fool not to do anything in his power to keep her happy, to only hear her call him honey.

  He led the way down the steps, across the lawn, and followed the path down the embankment. One hand holding Tori, the other holding the mystery dessert, he smiled inside, thinking tonight was about perfect.

  He pulled her along the path and stepped out from in front of he
r when they arrived at the riverbank. He wanted to share this place with her, proud of the property he’d bought and paid for.

  “Oh, God.” She gasped, dropping his hand and stepping gingerly over the river rock. “It’s beautiful tonight.”

  The river, a good fifty feet across, went from shallow at the shore to over your head in the middle. The current, perfect during the summer, raged wildly in the winter when the rains came. He’d spent hours each day the first few years after purchasing the place making sure the brush and trees formed a hidden oasis.

  He set the container down on a large boulder and stripped off his shirt. Toeing his shoes off, he kicked them over where he’d thrown his shirt. He caught Tori’s eye. She stood, staring at his chest, then at his hands undoing the buttons of his Levi’s. “Better strip or you’re going in with your clothes on,” he told her.

  She jumped, her hands making quick work of removing her tank top. Her cheeks flushed. He kicked off his pants and stalked toward her. He all but ripped her shorts down her legs, taking her panties off too. She had no idea how the pink tinge on her cheeks got his blood boiling.

  “Babe … ” He pulled her tight against him. He hardened at the feel of her smooth, soft skin against him. “You’ve got two options.”

  “What?”

  “I jump in the river to cool off, and I’m talking cool off completely.” He glanced down, letting her know one part of him did not want to cool off.

  “What’s the other option?” she asked, and damned if she didn’t say it softly, making his balls ache.

  “Or you turn around and brace your hands on that boulder behind you.” He shuddered despite the warm evening when her nipples peaked into hard nubs, tempting him.

  She slowly pivoted, keeping her eyes on him, until she stood with her back to him, her head turned to look over her shoulder. He stopped breathing. He’d never seen such a beautiful picture than his woman looking over her shoulder at him, her gaze eating him up, promising him the world as she bent over.

  Her firm, round ass pointed in his direction. Ignoring the rocks biting into the soles of his feet, he moved toward her. He ran his hands over the curves of her hips and into the indentions of her waist.