by Christina OW
“Lori, where you?” he yelled placing their breakfast on the kitchen counter.
“I’m still in the bathtub and I’m not moving for the next hour!”
The image of her in the bathtub his mind created, froze his entire body except for one particular part that twitched against his zipper, begging to be let out. He placed his hands on the counter and took several deep calming breathes. He had the entire day planned and he didn’t want to get side tracked by his horny dick. As much as he wanted to spend all day every day indoors naked with Lori, he didn’t want her to think that was why he invited her. If they were going to have that kind of relationship, they had to arrive at that conclusion mutually and a proper vacation may just help her arrive at that decision faster.
“I’ve been gone for almost an hour Lori. You have ten minutes then I’m going to remove you myself!” He hoped she didn’t notice how husky his voice was. The ten minutes was for him to get himself under control before she came out.
“I dare you!”
Reno groaned pulling out a bottle of water from the freezer and pressing it against his crotch. “Or I can dump a bucket of ice over you as the tub drains!”
His threat was followed by silence before he heard the wish-wash of water and his mind conjured up the image of Loraine stepping out of the tub. He could see how the water dripped from the stray wisps of hair that escaped the bun that sat atop her head, joining the other streams that flowed from the nape of her neck following the curves of her back over the hill of her ass. He could see the numerous little streams join at her thighs to flow like a river down her gorgeous legs to join the sea of water around her shapely calves.
And the water at her front…his entire body shuddered and he panted like a dog in heat just imaging her wet pink nipples sparkling as the water flowed between the two round mounds, to her flat belly. Then the river would separate into two streams to travel around her navel adorned with the violet diamond belly ring he’d noticed the first time he saw her naked, then joining to disappear into the brown curls at the apex of her thighs.
“Fuck!” he cursed, abandoning the bottle of water and opening the freezer and stepping closer to feel the cold blast.
It was going to be difficult innocently sleeping next to Loraine if she didn’t agree to a sexual relationship.
“Reno, what are you doing?”
I’m giving my dick frostbite. He cleared his throat of the huskiness he was sure was present before he spoke. “Getting water to drink, you want something?”
He heard her bare feet against the floor boards as she moved closer. “I’ll just have the bottle on the counter.”
“Okay. Wait…” He turned around to see Loraine hold the opened bottle that was once cooling his crotch at her mouth as she drank. It was very erotic watching her lips wrapped around the mouth of the bottle as she gulped down the water but it made him laugh instead. If she were to find out, she would beat him with it.
She placed the bottle down on the island and wiped her wet mouth with the back of her hand, some stray drops dripping on her white vest. The entire time she stared at him like he was crazy.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head and closed the freezer door, moved to the kitchen counter and busied himself with plating their breakfast. He was glad the island was between them, effectively hiding his erection. “How did you sleep?”
“Great. How did you sleep?”
Reno paused for a moment, catching on to the real question in her tone of voice before he turned around and placed her plate in front of her. He knew she was going to ask about his nightmare, but he wasn’t ready to talk about it, not yet.
He met her concerned gaze with a smile. “Better, thanks to you.”
Two pink blotches filled her cheeks as she shyly picked up the jug of orange juice and filled two glasses. “I’m glad.”
Reno smiled at her shyness. “Loraine Larson, are you blushing?” he teased.
“No!” she protested quickly before she bowed her head over her plate. “Let’s just eat…jackass!” She made a face as she poked at her food. “Reno, what is this?”
“Boiled grouper fish, grits and wedges of Johnny cakes,” he answered taking a bite of his Johnny cakes. She looked at him with her face still screwed up. “Just try it. Eat Lori!”
She stuck her tongue out at him, picked a morsel of food and hesitantly put it in her mouth. She chewed slowly and her face lit up. “This is really good.”
“I told you so.”
“Smart ass,” she said, taking a bigger bite. “So, what are we up to today?”
He smiled. “Have you ever ridden a scooter?”
“No, why?” she grinned clapping her hands like an excited little girl. “Are we riding scooters today?”
With an exaggerated nod and speaking in a patronizing sweet voice he said, “Yes little Lori, we are taking a tour of the city on scooters isn’t that wonderful!”
She stood up and danced away toward the bedroom. “Make fun of me all you want, I’m going to finally ride a scooter! I want mine in pink with a pink helmet. I have to find an outfit.”
Reno shook his head, and took another bite of his fish. “You’re weird, Lori.” And that was probably why he liked her so much.
Chapter Six
Loraine stirred the conch chowder soup, staring at Reno from under her eyelashes, fighting a smile. He stood across from her slicing coconut bread fresh from the oven. It was funny how careful he was being, holding the bread with two fingers because he didn’t want to rub off the powdered sugar that didn’t stick as the bread cooled. If it wasn’t for her, she was sure he would have probably ripped it apart with his bare hands.
They’d had a great day touring the city on scooters. They rode one together because just as she started the engine, the bike jumped forward and she almost got knocked down by a crazy driver. Well, it didn’t help that the scooter practically flew into the car’s path. The near miss shook her, but when she saw the fear in Reno’s eyes when he yanked the bike back and out of the way, how tight he hugged her, almost turning into road kill had been worth it.
Worth it because she saw how much he cared about her, especially after what had happened between them the night before. And then he had to ruin that by spanking her and telling her to watch where she was going. Then he told her they were riding one scooter because he didn’t trust her not to get herself killed.
Of course she pouted and complained because that was what he would expect from her before she plopped down behind him on the scooter. But truly, she was looking forward to wrapping her arms around his structured abdomen and her thighs cradling his thick muscular ones. What sane woman wouldn’t? So while he drove them around the city, pointing out buildings and parks he wanted her to admire, she cuddled against him and instead fanaticized about their next sexual encounter.
They were on a Harley and he was a bad boy biker with tats all over his Adonis body, and piercings all over his face, including his tongue and lip. He’d be dressed in black leather pants and jacket, and a black vest that used to be a t-shirt before he ripped the neckline and the sleeves off. And she, she was fresh out of Catholic school, where she was sent to in the first place because she made the mistake of confiding her crush for the bad boy to her mother, virginal and innocent, looking forward to experiencing the world in his hands. He’d drive them to a secluded place, open with nothing but tall grass and scattered trees. That’s where he’d easily seduce her, strip her slowly and do wicked things to her body with his pierced tongue and lips. Have her coming so hard her spin would snap backwards and that when he’d turn his attention back to her breasts as he stripped himself slowly until he stood before her in all his glory. Then he’d lift her up onto the motorcycle, spread her legs wide enough for him to fit and animatedly strip her of her innocence, his tongue in her mouth mimicking the movement of his other glorious part of his body inside her that would turn her into a wanton hussy. After a few earth shattering hou
rs in positions she never thought possible on top of a bike, they’d lay on a short patch of grass on a blanket, covered from the waist down with his heavy leather jacket and she’d dream of a fairytale future while he would think about their more practical future.
That daydream made her tingle all over so intensely she barely paid attention to the sites he pointed out when they stopped. She just kept staring at him in his white t-shirt and blue shorts and sees instead her biker bad boy. He must have sensed she wasn’t paying attention because the next place they ended up was the Bayside Food Market. The tour of the city was over and it was time for grocery shopping. What she found out later was that he’d taken her to a chef’s paradise. Fresh produce was a complete turn on.
She had loved going to the food market with the head chef in Paris, hours of the morning she used to go to sleep in NYU. Though cold and dark, the early morning was her favorite time of the day just because of the food market. Reno made the experience interesting as well. She found she loved shopping with him, especially seeing him bargain the high prices down. She’d never paid so much for a pound of garlic. Well Reno paid but same difference. Maybe not same difference, but she enjoyed herself. It was such a couple’s thing to do. She picked the groceries and he paid and carried them, with one arm around her waist protecting her from the bustling crowd as he led her to the best stalls. He’d actually called his chef in La Paraiso to find that out.
He was so sweet and considerate it was hard to keep from falling for him even more.
“I like helping you and all, but you do understand now why my kitchen is practically brand new?” he said, bringing her back to the present. He stopped slicing and looked at her with a boyish grin on his face that made her heart skip.
“Yes, I can see that, but didn’t you make Riana’s sandwiches when you were kids?”
His grin widened. “Yes, but I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. And the bread came in a bag already sliced and crushed by the other groceries. This bread has been made by a five star chef.”
Loraine smiled at the compliment. “Thank you. The recipe was very easy to do.”
He snorted, turning his attention back to slicing. “Easy for you, not me. I tried making mac and cheese once from my mom’s recipe book, and let’s just say we were almost homeless—us and the rest of the building. So I left the cooking to my mom and when she couldn’t do it, I got leftovers from work. It wasn’t long until Riana learned how to cook.”
Loraine laughed wondering why Riana hadn’t told her this story before. “How old were you then?”
He gave her a sheepish smile. “Sixteen, and Riana had just turned twelve. It was supposed to be a fancy birthday dinner.”
Loraine raised her eyebrow at that. Mac and cheese as a fancy birthday dinner? She knew fancy birthday dinners and mac and cheese wasn’t it.
“I know what you are thinking but considering we had next to nothing, mac and cheese was fancy.”
Loraine’s face flushed with shame. “Sorry.”
He waved her embarrassment away, powdered sugar flying in the air like fairy dust. “Don’t worry about it, poor isn’t something you are familiar with. Did you really have to put powdered sugar on this? I have as much of it on me as on the bread and it’s not in the recipe!” he complained, dusting off his shirt.
“Powdered sugar makes everything taste better!” she retorted.
He snorted then mumbled, “Could have used that growing up.”
Loraine turned off the burner to let the soup rest for a few minutes. She pulled out the bread bowl out of the cupboard, rounding the island she placed it next to the chopping board and stood beside him.
“Reno?”
“Mmhmm,” he responded distractedly as he arranged the bread slices in the bowl.
Cautiously she asked, “You wanna talk about the nightmare?”
He went rigid, the entire room was doused in silence and Loraine just stood there next to him, waiting for an explosion. Well she’d never really seen Reno explode, not even a hint of angry emotion except for the glare he gave her when she laughed at Riana’s ‘our dad is white’ comment. Would she now see the man behind the mask of control?
“You wanna talk about your nightmare?” he returned and Loraine responded with a silent touché. She was ready to talk about anything but that. “Didn’t think so. Let’s eat.”
He turned away with the bowl of bread and moved to the living room area and placed the bowl down on the coffee table. He stared at her with a raised brow, his brown eyes so ice cold that it made her shiver.
“I’ll serve up the soup,” she blurted out, quickly moving to stand before the stove. She served the soup into a bowl, carried it to their dinning setup and placed it on the coffee table. She sank to the floor, sitting Indian style and Reno quickly followed.
They served and began eating quietly and Loraine was scared this was how the rest of their vacation would be. And it was about time she spoke about Pierre, wasn’t it? But what if he…no! If she kept thinking about it, worrying about his reaction, she was going to talk herself out of opening up to him.
She placed her spoon down, wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “His name was Pierre.”
Her admission was followed by silence. Loraine looked up, scared she’d left herself open to criticism but what she met shocked her. His face was expressionless as he lowered his spoon into the bowl and the piece of bread on the saucer. Calmly he dabbed his mouth with a napkin before he said, “Who is Pierre?”
Loraine’s hands shook where they rested on her thighs. That man’s name still made her feel like a little girl hiding under the blanket because she was scared of the monster in her closet. She moved back, away from the table. She didn’t want to risk breaking the dishes, the way she was shaking.
Reno stood up and came to her side. She thought he was going to lower himself beside her, instead he lifted her into his arms and moved to the couch. He sat down with her in his lap. She watched as he weaved his fingers with hers, his other hand combing through her hair. Loraine looked at her empty hand, wondering what to do with it as it sat on her thigh. She wanted to hide it because it was shaking so bad.
“Lori, who’s Pierre?”
She swallowed hard before she spoke, fisting her free hand tightly to stop the shaking. “He’s the reason I’m hiding out here. I have a stalker and I swear, even as annoying as I can be, I did nothing to attract him. He just—”
“Shh,” he cut her off, pressing his lips lightly against hers. “You may be a lot of things Lori, but you don’t deserve to be tormented by a sociopath.”
Loraine was taken aback. She’d thought of a number of reactions—pity, condescending, mocking, judgmental—but not this. It was the reason noone aside from her parents and Jeb knew about Pierre. After her father had blamed it on her itchy feet and insistence to go abroad for a semester, it didn’t inspire her to share her ordeal with anyone else.
“So he’s still bothering you? Haven’t your parents done anything about it?” His eyes narrowed. “Are you still in danger Loraine?” he demanded harshly.
“No!” Ah hell! Why did she just lie? The same reason she was here, to be free. Free from fear, free from the protection, free from the nightmares. He was her freedom and she wasn’t going to jeopardize it.
“He was arrested, it happened eight years ago.” She played it off with a pitiful laugh.
His hand fisted in her hair. “Lori, I hope you’re not lying to me!”
He was back to calling her Lori; that was a good sign.
“I still have nightmares on the anniversary, that’s all.” `
“So you’re here hiding or collecting yourself?”
She forced a smile down at his worry filled face. “A little bit of both.”
His hand released her hair and he began to lazily stroke it. “I’m worried about you, Lori. You came all this way to run from a memory and I’m not sure it’s working.”
Loraine found som
ething to do with her hand as she raised it up to cup his rough cheek. He hadn’t shaved yet and the scruff felt good against her soft palm. “Reno, you help more than you know. How about you let me help you too?”
He exhaled loudly, looking down at their intertwined hands. She hoped he would confide in her, because it meant he trusted her. One can’t love without trust.
“We were arguing about him when I crashed the car.”
Oh God! Loraine leaned closer, pressing her lips against his temple.
He took another deep breath before he spoke again. “We’d just dropped off Riana at NYU and mom had cried halfway back to LA before she finally dropped the bomb. Reno Sr. had died two months before.” He snickered. “It explained her moping around for a month and here we thought she was sad to let go of her baby.”
“It must have been that, too. Your mom loved you both with all her heart, otherwise she wouldn’t have left to give you all a new start,” she whispered.
He nodded. “I know. But it really pissed me off when she started crying over not being able to say goodbye to her only love and all that junk!”
Loraine wasn’t surprised at the anger just at his words. Did he not care that his father was dead? Did he hate him that much? That frightened her.
“Please tell me you didn’t confront her over it?”
He sighed heavily. “I may be an asshole, but I’m not heartless. I stayed quiet as she cried, saying he wasn’t a bad person, just ambitious and misguided. Then she said two things that shocked me. One that he’d left me Albury’s Place.”
Well from what Riana told her, his surprise made sense. “Because he didn’t leave it to Ruiz?”
He nodded. “My mom said Ruiz and his mom left just a few months after we did. I was surprised she left it all, considering it was her money that kept the resort open.”