by Jackie Wang
“Kieran...Not everyone can run around chasing skirts and partying all night for cash,” I said. “I have a real job.”
Kieran ran a hand through his black hair. “Ouch.”
“You know what I mean. I have a nine-to-five cushy office job. My schedule is not as flexible as yours.”
“Fine,” Kieran said. “Don't call in sick then. I just won't drop you off until it's seven in the morning. You can go to work on zero sleep.”
“Kieran,” I ground out. “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”
“I’m…in between jobs at the moment.” Before I could ask more, he tossed me a helmet. “Hop on, Princess.”
I bit my bottom lip and put the helmet back on. “Just so you know, I’m an unwilling captive right now.”
“Yes,” Kieran said, “you’re my unwilling captive.”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat but it just wouldn’t go down.
From Eastport we headed farther away from Northbridge, toward Westport. I knew Sierra's family had a farm there and it was a pretty rural area. What would we be doing there?
“Where are we goin—?” I tried to ask. I swallowed a mouthful of chilly air and started getting hiccups instead. Each hiccup was louder than the last, and gave me terrible, pinching cramps. To make matters worse, it began to rain. My dress was hiked up so high, its hemline left welts across my thighs. And my ass hurt from all the engine vibrations. Where the hell was he taking me?
I groaned as my surroundings became increasingly dark, foreign, and dangerous-looking. A cold chill suddenly ran through me. Was this the part where I got dragged into the bushes and raped or worse, murdered?
“Where are we going?” I asked again, trying to mask the tremor in my voice.
“You haven't lived yet until you've skinny dipped in the Dalton River on a cold winter night,” Kieran called out.
“You're kidding me!” I screamed. “Like hell I'm going to do that!” I wanted him to stop the bike so I could get off. Hell, I didn't even care if he left me on the side of the highway. I was not about to follow this lunatic into the middle of nowhere and go skinny dipping with him when it was this fricking cold! I could hitch-hike home. Walk all night if need be.
“Stop struggling. You're tickling me,” Kieran said, his t-shirt flapping slightly in the breeze. “We're almost there.”
“Stop the bike! Stop!” I cried. But he ignored me. I wanted to thump him on the back, but didn't, in case it'd throw him off guard and cause us to crash. This man was a maniac.
How was he not frozen stiff yet? His clothes were soaked from the rain, and he should've been a block of ice by now. But he wasn't. He was warm. And it felt good to wrap my arms around him. Too good. Hugging a stranger should never feel this good. If this tiny bit of contact could make me feel so hot and bothered, what would happen once we stopped in the middle of nowhere? What if he tried to seduce me? What if he stripped down for me?
“Kieran, this isn't funny. Please, stop. I know you're some sort of adrenaline junkie but this is getting out of hand.”
“You don't have to participate, Chicken. You can watch me.”
“That doesn't make it any better,” I cried, gulping cold air. “And I'm not a chicken. I'm just not that stupid.”
“Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Princess.”
My hiccups were getting out of control so I stopped talking and held my breath in thirty second intervals until they abated. I knew it. I knew he was a lunatic. I shouldn’t have gotten on his bike back at the club.
What the hell was I thinking?
Chapter Five
Rachelle
As soon as we got to the river, I could hear waves rocking against the shoreline, crashing into boulders on the beach. The water was inky black, and I wasn't sure how deep it was. I hadn't seen the Dalton River since I moved away to Seattle for middle school. When I returned to Northbridge for work, coming to Westport never crossed my agenda.
The long, winding river stretched for almost eighty miles, and in the summertime, it abounded with salmon. Dad once told me there were so many fish, you could reach in with your bare hands and catch them. But in the winter, it was sticky morass of dead weeds, mud and ice. My nose was so stuffed I couldn’t smell a thing. I counted that as a blessing, because the riverbank probably reeked.
The only illumination came from the bright, full moon above. It was not much to go by. “You want to step into that buck naked?” I asked as Kieran whipped off his shirt. “You're freaking insane.”
He nodded. “Used to do it with my brother every winter when we were kids.” Kieran kicked off his shoes and worked on his belt buckle. Somehow, I couldn't imagine Cameron going along with something like this. Cameron Mahoney was a sophisticated and charming businessman. His brother here, not so much.
“So, you grew up here?” I asked, teeth chattering.
“In Northbridge, yeah,” he replied.
“Have you always lived here?”
“You could say that,” Kieran said. “Though I’ve…moved around a few times.”
“So, I thought we were supposed to do something fun,” I said, trying not to gawk at the bulge that lay beneath his zipper. “I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be having more fun than you.”
“Why can't we both have fun?” Kieran wiggled out of his jeans until he stood in his boxers and socks. I could barely make out the contours of his body, but from what I could see, he was ripped. I wasn't surprised. He'd given me a full tour of his body when he ground up against me at the club. Now I was getting the full picture. Sort of. I spotted a large, triangular tattoo covering his right pec. Inked. I never thought I'd find tattoos attractive, but on him, everything seemed sexy. My growing attraction towards this psycho was alarming to say the least. Did I find him sexy? Sure. But this sexy piece of temptation was strictly off-limits. So the less I dwelled on his appearances, the better.
Get a grip, Rachelle!
“Join me,” Kieran beckoned, holding out his hand. “I'll be a gentleman.”
I shook my head. “Nice try, big guy. I'm not falling for that one.”
Kieran shrugged, his face obscured by shadows. “Suit yourself.” With that, he removed the rest of his clothes and started running toward the water.
“Kieran!” I screamed, hardly registering what I was seeing. That crazo was seriously going for it! Under the milky moonlight, I could see his white ass bouncing up and down as he made his way toward the rocky shore. O.M.F.G. “Stop! Stop it!” I screamed.
But he was far away now.
I could see small black waves lapping at the shore. Its hypnotic rhythm invited me. But I wasn't that buzzed. It was the middle of December, for Chrissakes. Cold enough with a leather jacket on my back...I couldn't imagine how it'd feel like in my birthday suit. My exposed knees were locked, stiff and painful. I wanted to go home. Bad. I couldn’t believe I was missing out on a Desperate Housewives rerun for this.
“The water's great!” Kieran shouted. A loud plop echoed in the still air. Then another.
I didn't want to stand beside his bike like an idiot so I edged toward the shore. “I hope you freeze your ass off,” I said. The riverbank was covered in sharp rocks and there was no way I could get closer wearing four-inch heels. I sat down, took them off and rubbed the balls of my feet. Dancing and walking around all night in stilettos gave me several nasty blisters. “You're going to regret this tomorrow,” I called out.
“No I won't. This feels fucking awesome!”
“Remind me again, how old you are?”
“A gentleman never reveals his true age.”
“I think you mean a woman—”
“So...you changed your mind?” Kieran asked, pointing to my shoes. “Comin' in?”
“No, just taking off these damn torture devices,” I said, dangling my stilettos from two hooked fingers.
“While you’re at it, why not take the rest off too? I won't stare...Much.” Kieran's loud belly laugh rumbled towards me. Challenging. Mischievous.
Dangerously alluring.
“I told you, I'm not stupid,” I said, hopping down onto a flat rock. It was frozen and a bit slippery and I regretted my decision immediately. “It's too cold. I'm going back,” I said. “Kieran, do you hear me? I'm leaving.”
No reply.
I hopped onto another rock and squinted. Where did he go? “Kieran, I'm leaving,” I said again. “This is so stupid.”
“Not before I do this.”
Before I realized what was happening, large hands pushed me into the river, clothes and all. Kieran's wet leather jacket felt like weights strapped to my shoulders, dragging me down. When I resurfaced, my nose stung from the cold and my makeup irritated my eyes. “Asshole!” I screamed, coughing out water. I felt as if I'd been punched in the throat and I tasted blood on my tongue. “You’re so dead!” My teeth chattered as I swam back to shore. Icy daggers stabbed my chest, making it impossible to breathe. Every step I took was leaden and took twice the amount of effort because I was so drenched, miserable, and exhausted.
This was probably what hell felt like.
No, this was definitely what hell felt like.
“Bastard!” I cried again. “Fuck, it’s cold!”
Kieran was sitting on a flat boulder, looking super smug. And very naked.
Luckily (or unluckily?) shadows hugged his body like a blanket. I couldn't see anything other than half of his moonlit face.
“Feels good doesn't it?” he asked, standing up. “The cold numbs all your senses. Erases all your pain.” His eyes gleamed, challenging me not to ogle his exposed body. Especially what lay between his legs. “How’s the water? Refreshing?”
“No. No it isn't. Not at all.” I took off his soaked jacket and threw it at his face. Then I pointed to my ruined dress. Bits of rotting debris clung to the fabric. “You owe me a new dress. And an apology, jerk!”
“I'm not sorry you had a little fun, but I will buy you a new dress,” Kieran said.
“You little—”
Before I could finish my insult, Kieran lunged at me and we both fell into the river again. This time, the water didn't feel as bracing, but I was still shocked and speechless. My chest struggled to expand and deadly fire burned in my lungs.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I said when I found my footing again. I tried to return to shore but Kieran's hands found my waist and pulled me back. Water whooshed past my ear, followed by his voice. “Embrace the cold, love. Embrace the fear and the panic and just zone out. It'll feel so good when you finally get that rush of adrenaline.”
“I'm not an adrenaline junkie like you,” I snapped. “I'm drenched, frozen like a popsicle, miserable as fuck, and I just want to go home.”
Kieran hugged me close, his hot breath against my wet cheek. My nipples were rock hard and rubbing painfully against my bra. Screw Kieran and everything he stood for. He was forbidden fruit, a rotten apple to be precise, and he was going to poison me.
“Whenever life throws me a curveball, I come here for a swim,” he said. “Clears my head, you know. You're the only person I've ever brought here, other than my brother.”
“Is that supposed to be some kind of line?” I snapped.
“No, I just wanted to let you know that. I don't usually do this with other girls,” he said.
“Sounds like a line.”
“Believe what you will,” Kieran said. “But I believe you owe me some clothes.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, breath catching. I tried to blink away the water from my eyes but more droplets kept rolling down my forehead.
“I'm naked and you're not. Hardly fair,” Kieran said. I watched droplets of water cruise down the handsome bridge of his nose. His lopsided grin made him look like a little boy trapped in a grown man’s body. It was a mischievous, little rascal-type grin.
“You chose to get naked, I didn't force you,” I said. “And like hell I'm going to swim in this disgusting river naked.”
“Chicken,” Kieran said. “I knew you didn't have it in you.” He started strutting around, flapping his imaginary wings and going, “BWAK, BWAK, BWAK!” Water churned around us, splashing against my stone cold chest.
“Call me what you want, I'm not going to be the one bedridden with hypothermia for the next week. I'm out,” I said. This time, Kieran didn't hold me back. But he was holding onto something: my zipper. As I walked away, he tugged down the back zipper of my dress. Bracing air dug into my backside like a knife and I screamed.
“Jesus Christ, Kieran! Boundaries!”
“You might as well take it off now,” he said. “C'mon. If not for me, then for your grandkids. One day you can brag to them about how you went skinny dipping with a stranger one week before your wedding.”
The word 'wedding' dug into me like a thousand needles. I let myself get into a very stupid and very compromising situation. I was engaged for God's sake! My wedding was in less than week! “Stop Kieran, this isn't funny anymore,” I said, wiping muck off my arms. “I need to go.”
My change in tone arrested him. “When are you going to shed that cocoon, Rachelle? You can't protect yourself forever. One day you'll have to take some risks, if not with me, then with someone else.”
“You're blowing this way out of proportion,” I protested. “Just because I won't go skinny dipping with some man-whore doesn't mean I'm incapable of taking risks. You’re acting like a self-righteous prick who has no sense of boundaries and refuses to respect my wishes!”
Kieran was so close to me I thought I could hear his heartbeat. Water gurgled all around us but neither of us spoke.
Finally, Kieran said, “You’re right, I crossed a line. Let's head back.” He seemed more sullen now, his head hung low, his shoulders tense.
As we waded back to shore, I put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you a man-whore. I guess both of us got a little carried away.”
Kieran didn't reply. Instead, I watched, gobsmacked as he walked all the way back to his bike...buck naked. His taut glutes twisted and turned in the shadows and I had to use every ounce of my self-restraint in order to keep my emotions in check.
Breathe, Rachelle. Six seconds in, four seconds out.
Seeing another man naked isn't the end of the world.
It’s not like I asked for this.
When Kieran reached his bike, he dug into his saddlebag and pulled out a hoodie and a pair of track-pants. Then he started putting his jeans back on.
“You came prepared,” I noted. My dress clung like a second skin and I was eager to shed it.
“I'm always prepared,” he said, pulling up his zipper and throwing me the hoodie and pants. “Here.”
“Thanks, I think,” I said, catching it. My legs were quivering, covered in goosebumps and blue veins. My hair was soaked too and I knew, I just knew, I'd regret all of this tomorrow. In fact, I was certain that by tomorrow I'd hate everything Kieran put me through. Scratch that, I was already rife with frustration and misery. Kieran was trouble with a capital T, and I couldn't wait to get away from him.
“If I catch pneumonia—” I started.
“I'll cover all your medical bills,” Kieran finished.
“Oh, you mean with all the money in your bank account?” I retorted.
“I wouldn't just let you fend for yourself, that's for sure,” he said.
“Come on, just drive me home.” I was beyond exhausted and all I wanted was a warm bath and my comfy bed.
“Fine. What's your address?”
I told him and he frowned. “That's almost two hours away. You'll freeze to death by then.”
“And it would be your fault,” I pointed out.
“Let's stay somewhere closer for the night. Then head out at dawn.”
I squinted my eyes at him. “Was this your plan all along? To get me wet so I'd have to settle for a sleepover at some shady motel?”
Kieran smirked. “What would you say if I said yes?”
I smacked his chest but it had
no effect on him. His smooth pecs were rock hard; bulletproof maybe. And glistening wet. Yet somehow he wasn't even shivering. Don't stare at his erect nipples. Just don’t.
“I didn't really think this far,” Kieran admitted. “I just thought about the river and how much I wanted to go there for a swim...so I did.”
“Not helping your case.”
“I can be a bit impulsive I guess.”
I balled my hands into fists. “A bit? You call driving me into the middle of nowhere on a whim a bit impulsive?”
“You could always call a taxi home if you—”
“It's like two a.m. and we're in the middle of nowhere. I don't even have a phone and—”
“Then stop arguing and let me take you somewhere to warm up.” After a sigh, he added, “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I’m stupid and reckless all right?”
I bit my tongue. At least he admitted his faults.
As soon as we found a place with a phone, I was calling Terri. The girls probably wouldn't shut up about this for months, years even. Glad they were having a good laugh at my expense.
“Turn around,” I said. “I have to take this damn dress off.” Lucky for me he'd already pulled down the back zipper.
Kieran turned around and faced the street. “Alright. Make it quick. I'm freezing my balls off.”
Suits him right. “Again, it's your own damn fault.”
“Any colder and my dick is going to fall off, you hear?” I heard him shuffling on some clothes as well.
“Serves you right,” I muttered under my breath.
I peeled off the dirty dress and contemplated just tossing it on the side of the road. After all, it was totally ruined. After I shrugged on the hoodie and the oversized track-pants, I said, “You can turn around now.”
Kieran eyed me up and down and let out a low whistle. “You look good in my clothes.”
The hoodie was two sizes too big, but it was very warm. What Kieran didn't consider was that underneath it, I was 100% commando. My pebbled nipples rubbed against his clothes as I walked, sending a delicious pulse down between my legs. I hoped he wouldn't notice me having these dirty thoughts; my face tended to be a bit of an open book. The last thing I wanted was for him to realize how aroused his little stunt made me feel. Aroused and angry. It was unfair how both feelings showed identical physical symptoms.