I grin. Huge.
“Anyhow, please sign here.”
I sign without looking and wait until the front door is closed before I reach out for the card. I practically rip it out of the cream envelope in giddy excitement.
Vail,
These are close to how beautiful you are to me.
Happy Birthday, baby.
A.
Two dozen stunning, pale perfect roses. Lisetta must have told him about my birthday. I bury my face into them, inhale deeply and break into a glee-filled laugh.
***
That evening, once I’m home and showered, I sit down with a mug of steaming tea and open my laptop, prepared to email him for the first time.
Dear Alreck,
Thank you for the lovely flowers. They made me feel so special today. I have them on the table in front of me and their scent is as delicate as the pink blooms. I’m sorry that I didn’t contact you sooner. To be honest, I wasn’t certain if it would be healthy for either one of us. I was relieved to hear from you and hope that everything is going well in court. I miss you … terribly. I miss your smell, your hands, your heated gazes, your touch. I know that you said we would see each other again. I want that, Alreck, with everything that I am.
Be well,
Your Vail
***
Weeks turn into months. I’ve heard updates from Lisetta that the case against the Russians is dragging in Olso’s high court. I have to stay positive and hope for the best, trying hard to not worry about Alreck and his testimony. All too often witnesses in cases against known criminals simply … disappear.
Chapter Seventeen
***
Five Months Later
“That was a bangin’ ride, Vail. Are you gonna hit it again? There are plenty more waves where that came from and I just spied one with my name all over it!”
I laugh and wave to Clarissa as she paddles off on her electric yellow board. Surfing has kept me centered these many lonely months. In fact, when I’m on a wave it’s just about the only time I can truly let go and forget my longing for him, if only for a while. We’ve corresponded regularly via email but he’s given me no indication as to when we might see each other. My feelings are still the same, however, strong and true.
I see a giant wave rolling in. That’s so mine. I paddle out and turn my board fully around, waiting on my belly with anticipation. As it closes in, I paddle strongly right before I jump up and take command. Oh yeah! I crouch down low and ride right across the nearly perfect tubular wave, letting my fingers playfully tickle the inside wall as I fly through. I laugh in triumph and dive at the last moment off my tethered board into the warm water.
Popping up, I push my hair back and glance up at the pier. Something unusual catches my attention. Something shiny and … Oh my God! Is it? I bob in the water and stare at the Harley parked on the pier. Motorcycles are so not allowed on the pier, as in ever.
With arms crossed against his straining tee, Alreck grins at me. My eyes widen and my heart is about to leap out of my throat as I throw my hand up in a wave. I pull myself up onto my purple and white board and swim in firm strokes toward the shore. Once there, I quickly pull the Velcro strap off my ankle to undo my leash and sprint for all I’m worth straight toward him.
I jump onto him with such enthusiasm that we both nearly topple over his gleaming, bad-ass ride. Without a word I smother him with salty, wet kisses.
With legs around his waist and arms around his neck, I smile brightly and say, “I was wondering when you were going to show up to boss me around!”
He bursts out laughing and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.
“Well, if I knew you looked like that in a bikini I would have arrived much sooner, baby. God damn, you’re so hot!”
I nuzzle against him, smelling him, kissing him. He’s tanned and even larger than I recall.
“I’ve missed you so much. How did you find me?”
“Remember? You told me you had a favorite spot near the Huntington Beach Pier. I told you, you can’t get away from me, baby.” He ends with a naughty, sexy grin.
He glances down and holds up one of my wrists. “You’re wearing them.”
I latch my eyes with his mesmerizing ones and whisper, “Of course, they’re from my love. How could I ever take them off?”
The intensity in his gaze could melt the sun.
A bike cop rides up. “Hey! Can’t you read? No motorcycles on the pier. Move it now or I’ll ticket you both.”
“Uh oh, we’re in trouble,” I giggle.
“He’ll get over it. Get on the back, baby. I’ve been waiting for this, among other things, for quite a while now.”
“I have my board and I’m all wet …”
His voice lowers to a seductive level. “That’s how I like you best, Vail, you know that. Now do as you’re told and get on the back of my bike.”
Oh my …
“Yes, sir!” I laugh and hop on. “I need to stop at my car in the lot over there to pack my board away, though.”
The bike roars to life, the strong engine vibrating intently between my legs. I hold onto him as he yells over his shoulder back to me, “Fucking beautiful, watching you surf. Like you were born to ride those waves.”
I smile and lay my chin against his familiar back while breathing in his uniquely masculine scent.
***
His knee on the bed, pushing the mattress down with his weight, causes my heart to hammer impossibly faster inside my chest. So long, it has been so long, the sleepless nights, the aching in my heart. I can scarcely believe the sight before me. Alreck, fully naked and aroused, coming at me like a breathtaking Viking from a legend. How many nights had I imagined him here, in my bed, making love to me? Countless times …
“I love how you watch me. Jesus, Vail, your eyes are so beautiful, baby. I’ve waited so long. I about came undone this winter without you. I missed your voice and the sexy way you would blush all the time. Fuck, that always got me so God damn hard.”
His honest confession is jarring, as my own thoughts are a near mirror of his own. I push up from where he tossed me on the bed mere moments ago. I run my fingers across his lightly shadowed jaw then lower, whisper-light, down his throat. He crawls forward, closer to me, like a panther stalking a gazelle. He seems surreal, nearly primal against my pale blue bedding.
A whimper escapes my lips as he captures them in a soft kiss. His smell is so perfect, intoxicating even, and floods my senses as he positions himself between my open legs. I’m so very ready for him. I always am.
Wordlessly, with his slick tongue twining in unison with mine, he positions the head of his cock against my slit. The thick pressure is immediate. It has been a long time. I grasp his shoulders for support right before I pull him closer, urging him forward, wanting, needing more. I gasp as he glides into me with one forceful, controlled shove. He knows that I can handle him. He’s throbbing hot inside of me. All of my memories fall hopelessly short of the stunning reality of our bodies joined together as one.
I urge him on with needy moans as he sets a slow pumping rhythm. So close … I won’t last long. He’s allowing me no quarter as his kisses turn wilder, more urgent. I reach blindly for the elastic in his hair and pull, setting those sunshine waves free to flow over both of us. Magnificent.
Loud groaning rumbles from his chest, echoing within my room. His sounds are guttural, desperate. Just as he shoves deep once again, I’m blindsided as the pleasure detonates within me without warning and causes me to buck wildly beneath him. As the shudders continue to rack my body, I tear my mouth from his to gasp for air and cry out one word in agonized ecstasy, “Alreck!”
He moves faster, ferocious as he heaves harsh breaths against the side of my face. “Ugh … Vail!”
I watch, completely fascinated as he locks into place before giving three choppier, shorter thrusts accompanied by a loud, strained moan. I link my arms around his slick neck and pull him down to lie atop m
y glistening body.
Several minutes pass with only our desperate breathing cutting through the air.
The lightest brush of his lips passes across my right ear. “I love you, Vail. Don’t ever forget.”
Tears flood my eyes as I begin to tremble beneath him, unable to control my emotional response. I know from the bottom of my heart that he would never, ever speak such a deep sentiment if he didn’t mean it with his entire being.
He pulls back a few inches, brows drawn together in concern. “Shhh, did I upset you baby? Don’t cry.”
I cling to him, pulling him in closer as I whisper in the fading light, “Alreck, oh my God, I can’t believe you’re finally here. I love you also, so much. I’ve loved you since we first made love together in your rorbu. I should have told you then. I’m sorry I didn’t. I was scared, too cautious I suppose.”
He holds his weight up off me but he is still close. “Everything is good. Don’t ever worry about anything anymore, baby.”
I run my fingers down across the small scar at the corner of his tattoo. “Does it hurt?”
“Not at all.” A content smile passes across his full lips.
“What happened to the Russians? You told me in your email that you were heading to court. Did you find the justice that you were seeking?”
He moves to rest back against my padded headboard. I watch him snag a gray throw from the bottom of the bed and he covers both of us before sliding his left arm behind me. “Yes, one of the men who came to my rorbu that night was one of the guys that did Ragnar. After he was killed, my goal was to clear you as best as possible and get as many of those nasty fuckers out of my country as I could. I contacted the police in Oslo and told them that I was the sole witness to Ragnar’s murder that night.”
I’m aghast and manage to squeak out, “What? Why?”
“Because it was the right thing to do. The police who investigated the shootings at my rorbu were able to link the dead men to a small Russian crime syndicate that has been wreaking havoc all over Oslo. Drugs, weapons, you name it. My testimony against the Russians was the final nail in the coffin. I had to restrain myself in court not to strangle the other guy who confessed to being there the night Ragnar was shot. They had enough against them to deport nine of them. The worst ones that we know of, actually. I’m sure more will pop up before long, but for now you’re safe. I find it hard to believe they found you at my place. None of us would have talked. I can only guess that they noticed I was the one guy from Heavy’s who had not been to work lately, and they must have found a way to get to my tax records, finding my property. I’m still amazed that we escaped that night. Once you arrived back here I called up a few fellow biker friends who live here and asked them to keep tabs on you, to make certain nobody else was watching you. I had to be sure you were safe, Vail.”
I turn into him and wrap my arms around him as I bury my face into his perfect chest. “Thank you, thank you, Alreck. I’m so glad everything worked out like it did. It’s safe to say you were well worth the wait.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. I’m not sure you would’ve said that the day I took off with you from Olso. For fuck’s sake, woman, you were a total pain in my ass!”
I giggle knowingly as he continues, “But we’re together now, that’s all that matters. So, enough of this intense talk, let’s go check out your favorite taco stand, my little beauty.”
“Right on, you don’t know the yumminess you’re about to encounter. Oh, and they have peach iced tea!”
Epilogue
***
The Rally
I see the orange and black sign getting closer. “Sturgis, South Dakota. Legendary City of Riders.” It’s hard to believe we’ve spent the past two months together, nearly inseparable. With him it’s fluid, natural, the way it should be. My mother absolutely adores him and, after coming to learn that both his parents have been deceased for some time now, she sees it as her mission to spoil all six foot six inches of him. It constantly amuses me to see him, so large and Viking-like, moving around my small feminine apartment with carefree ease. We rented a longboard for him and he’s already picking up the basics of surfing like a natural.
Leaning back, he yells over the roar of his bike, “Nearly there. I have a surprise for you once we arrive. Are you excited, baby?”
I lift the visor of the sleek black helmet that he insists I wear and say, “Are you kidding? I never thought that I would ever attend a bike rally, much less THE bike rally.” The Sturgis rally, as I’ve come to find out, brings riders and designers from all over the globe. Its seven days of unadulterated biker throw down fun. I can’t wait!
I glance down at my teeny red shorts, stitched silver cowboy boots and white lace-trimmed tank and laugh. We’ve had the best road trip up from California, so scenic and romantic, and yet there’s more? I really can’t believe it.
At the stoplight leading into the jammed town he checks his phone to read a text. As we make our way into the loud mayhem, I glance around at the Wild West looking town that has been transformed into Harley heaven for the week. Everywhere you look is a visual treat of bikes, tattoos, skimpy clothing and leather. It’s fantastic! Some of the women are even brazen enough to walk around beautifully airbrushed while wearing only tight booty shorts.
He pulls into one of the few empty spots and helps me off his blue and silver custom Harley. It sits low and sleek and features leather studded detailing around the wide double seat. It suits him perfectly.
“In here, you’ll find your surprise.” He grins as he leads me by the hand around the sea of visitors and into an authentic looking saloon, complete with swinging double doors. The sign reads ‘The No Holds Bar.’
We enter into the packed main area and, before my eyes can adjust to the dim light, I hear voices shout out wildly through the vibrant rock music, “There they are!”
My mouth drops open as a tanned and stunning Lisetta rushes toward me. We embrace for a long time, and she nearly starts bawling as she pulls back to look at me. “Oh, Vail! I know I’ve said it over the phone a thousand times but I’m so happy that you’re all right now. I’m so, so sorry for what you went through, darling.”
“Lisetta, I’m so happy you’re here! I’m speechless. I’ve missed you so much. Let’s just have fun and not talk about what happened right now, all right my sweet?”
Her pretty hand flashes out before my eyes and in a giddy voice she chimes out, “I’m engaged! Bern asked me on my birthday last month.”
“I’m thrilled for you. That’s fantastic news,” I gush.
I glance over her shoulder to see Bern and Mikkel, who are heartily laughing and drinking with Alreck and a few intimidating, tattooed American bikers. Wait, how on earth did he get a beer in his hand so quickly?
Alreck calls out, “Vail, come here, baby. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
I cross the space to the large weathered table where a red-haired biker of medium build is chatting away with the group.
“Max, this is my girl, Vail. Vail, this is Max. He owns the bike garage in San Francisco where I’ll begin working next month.”
I stare at him, frantically processing the information. He’ll be living here, in America, in the same state?
“What? That’s fabulous, Alreck. I think I’m in shock.”
Max holds out his hand to shake mine. He appears quite young to own a custom business, not much older than Alreck.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Vail. I’m happy to finally meet you. And I assume that Alreck also left out that one of his awesome designs is here at Sturgis to compete for the title of the custom bike builders’ annual world championship.”
My jaw falls open, again.
“By the stunned look on your face I can see that I guessed right, ha! It’s safe to say that you have an extremely talented and also very modest boyfriend, Vail. Let’s get this girl a drink.”
I look up at Alreck, who is watching me amid the swirling party that surrounds us.
He leans down and pulls me close, his arm wrapped around my shoulder.
He breathes quietly into my ear, “I love you so much, Vail. When you left that night my heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest.”
“Alreck,” I whisper back to him, “you know that I love you with everything I am. I never thought I’d admit it but I’m so grateful that Lisetta dragged me out to your crazy biker party that night. It’s where we found each other.”
His mesmerizing eyes smile down at me with glittering intensity.
“Oh, and baby?” I add saucily, “I hope that you’ve already booked us a room because you’re in for an unbelievably hard ride tonight and this time I’ll be the one driving.”
His eyes immediately turn smoldering hot and I shiver, knowing that I’m about to become a very lucky lady.
He leans into me, his hot palm threading possessively through my hair to clasp down against my bare neck. He speaks against my ear in a vibrating growl. “I took care of it. You’d better have a quick drink and say your goodbyes until later because I’m about to drag your sexy ass to our room right now. Damn, you’re so very naughty, Vail.”
Standing on tiptoes with my arms latched around his soft hair and bronzed neck, I say in a sultry purr against his sculpted lips, “And you love it.”
Christine Edwards grew up in the Deep South on Hilton Head Island, SC. At an early age she developed a passion for the arts that led her to earn a bachelor’s degree in Art History from the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
Christine has a special place in her heart for reading and writing erotic tales. To date she has published two novellas along with two full-length novels including Claimed in Canada and Naughty in Norway. Her main focus is on loving, multifaceted relationships involving intense alpha males and feisty heroines.
She adores snow skiing, traveling the world, and spending time with her amazing family.
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