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“Yeah.”
We needed to contact the Alaska chapter. Rain was about get a very interesting phone call.
Chapter 20 – Nylah
“Come on,” Rael ordered softly, taking my hand. “We’re going for a ride.”
Naomi finally fell asleep an hour ago. I left her side in search of Rael. He never returned to the room which I found out belonged to Patriot. The biker assured me that he’d watch over my sister and made me promise to find something to eat. I wasn’t hungry but it was kind of sweet that Patriot cared.
Rael was outside smoking when I slipped out the door, deep in conversation with Grim. Dawn was just breaching the horizon and set off a breathtaking array of colors that made the whole valley feel like it was blanketed in golden starbursts. I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed in the wind, the dust that always seemed to settle over everything, and the heat that never fully receded.
“Nylah?”
“Take me away for a few minutes,” I pleaded, barely holding all of the emotion back that churned and bubbled within as my sister finished revealing the extent of the trauma she suffered in Alexi’s hands. At first, she didn’t know what to say but then seemed to find her voice and it all came tumbling out. The horrors, the degradation, the possibility that every morning could be her last. I could hardly cope with all of that knowledge. She certainly couldn’t hold onto it. Naomi needed to tell what had happened so she could heal. I knew that but it still hurt to hear. I listened to every word and once she was done, I stroked her hair until her eyes fluttered and she found restful peace.
Now I was a mess.
Rael tugged me over to his bike and placed a helmet over my head. He didn’t say a word as he threw a leg over the bike and I followed, clutching him close as the Harley roared to life. We rode outside of the city and approached Mt. Oddie, taking a rocky ATV trail upward to the summit. Mt. Oddie overlooked the entire city of Tonopah and the silver mining park, nestled in the hills and valley of the Sant Antonio Mountains. It was beautiful here and quiet.
Rael and I hiked up a little higher once we parked his bike and held hands as the city glistened below us like a sparkling star. He slid his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder from behind, content to stand here among the tumbleweed, cactus, and sand.
Tumbleweed had a ghostly appearance as they rolled and tumbled weightlessly across the barren desert. Sometimes they could bounce along like an airy ball. I’d seen them pile up against a fence when there was plenty of wind. There were quite a few playing in the valley below.
Tonopah was thought to be the #1 stargazing destination in the nation with some of the darkest night skies since it was so far from the nearest city. No telescope was necessary to see over seven thousand stars, including the Milky Way. As I gazed at the warm amber glow of the city below, I wasn’t sure the experts got that right. At dawn, Tonopah was just as brilliant.
“I ride up here often,” Rael admitted, his breath tickling the lobe of my right ear. “Tonopah can feel boxed in even for a small town. Up here, I feel free, like I can spread my arms wide and let the wind take me away. Next best thing to being on the back of my bike.”
His words were softly spoken, and I knew he shared that intimate moment because he could see how badly I was struggling.
“Rael.”
“I know, kitten. You just let go, okay? You don’t have to hold onto that burden. Your sister let it go, you don’t have to keep it.”
A sob let loose as soon as he said the last word and soon, I couldn’t hold back the flood of tears. Turning around, I cried out my broken heart onto his chest, soaking his white t-shirt as it clung to his skin. He never said a word, just rubbed my back in slow, consistent circles until I was finished. Tilting my chin up, he brushed his thumbs over my cheeks and wiped the last of my tears away as I sniffled.
“Crying girls aren’t supposed to look pretty, but you’re beautiful, Nylah.”
The moment felt intimate and special, something I should file away in my box of memories to revisit in the future. As I searched his hazel eyes, I realized that my feelings for this man had grown exponentially and changed, becoming more intense. He wasn’t just the scary biker I pegged him for when we first met in the hospital. I saw a part of him that wasn’t reserved for everyone else. A sweet, protective, affectionate man that was intermingled with the tough, aggressive outlaw.
“Kiss me,” I whispered as he winked, leaning in to let his lips hover above my own.
“You sure you want this, kitten?” His palm cupped my cheek. “I don’t do anything halfway in my life. I’m an all or nothin’ kind of guy. I don’t promise that you won’t want to kick my ass often, but I can guarantee you’ll always be important and cherished.”
What more could I want? Love? Those were easy words to say, much harder to cling to when the newness of the relationship wore off. He wasn’t shoving a ring on my finger or saying forever but I didn’t need that right now. All he was asking for was a chance to see if what we were feeling could grow and blossom into something more.
“That sounds about perfect.”
Rael smiled wide, slapping my ass hard on the right cheek before he lifted me, and my legs curved around his waist. His forehead lowered to mine, pressing skin against skin. “I’m not good at this sort of thing but I’d like to try with you.”
“That’s all I can ask for,” I answered breathily, c
aught up in this man so completely that I knew my heart was forever ensnared.
His lips moved to mine, pressing with a controlled passion that nearly ripped a moan from my throat. He had this way of kissing that owned and worshipped my lips, caressed and stroked with expertise but also savored as if he couldn’t get enough. I knew he could devour me if he wanted but he held back, increasing my desire and need for him in every way.
I was falling hard for Rael, Angel of Death, outlaw biker and sexy bastard.
There was no doubt he knew it.
