Abandoned Angel (12 page)

“That would be so cool,” giggled Angelina, referring to his teaching her karate. “What you did with that knife was, well, very smooth.” Angelina knew she must sound like a teenager with an infatuation, but she did not care, she liked the grin the statement put on his face.

Blaze turned Angelina towards him, making her straddle the log with her long legs the same way he was. They sat knee to knee, facing each other. The night had died down, as many of the campers had already headed to their separate area. A slight breeze brushed against the trees.

“Ok babe, this is the way it goes,” Blaze stated, leaning in so that his face sat inches from hers. He planted his hands firmly on her thighs. Angelina became nervous again, assuming he was ready for her to “earn her keep”. Flirting was fine, but when it came down to it, she was not ready for more than that.

“If we don’t leave this place looking like I own your ass, there will be hell to pay later for the both of us,” he stated a little more seriously.

“Hell to pay?” she asked, unsure of what he was referring to. His tone had changed, his playful demeanor lowered.

“The club has a set code Angelina, and, well, the way we are doing this,” he motioned between them, “it just isn’t the way we usually do things around here.”

“What do I need to do?” she asked, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable. His eyes expressed calm warmth when he grinned. Somehow, she managed to look both pure and sexy at the same time, and the particular expression she held made him wish that he could forget that anyone else mattered.

“To be quit frank, Angelina, you need to make it look like we are going back to camp to fuck,” Blaze boldly stated, catching Angelina off guard. She blushed while nodding her understanding.

“Ok Biker Blaze let’s get it on,” she teased while wrapping her slender arms around his tanned neck. She then pulled herself towards the sexy man. If he needed an act, she would give him one. Angelina kissed Blaze hard, intentionally over playing the action, but when he reacted to her soft lips, she had to pull away to catch her breath. She had not expected to respond to his touch as she did. It scared her. Her intention was to put on a show because that was what she needed to do, but the emotions the kiss caused were very real. Blaze, briefly caught off guard, hesitated for just an instant before placing his hands around her backside. He grabbed her ass and pulled her hips up closer to him. She slid her legs up over his athletic thighs as he did this. A warm gust of air escaped Angelina’s lips with the motion. They continued to kissed, pressing their bodies tightly against each other. Angelina wrapped her legs around the back of Blaze and pulled herself in even closer. She was determined to give him the show he asked for. With her body pressed against his muscular chest, for a moment she forgot that she was acting and allowed herself to react to his touch. The desire Angelina felt for Blaze confused and embarrassed her. She liked it too much and suddenly regretted drinking so many beers. She had lost control.

It’s an act,
she told herself,
just an act.

As their mouths slowly parted, Angelina felt a thickness between them that she had never experienced. This thickness engulfed her every being, begging him to touch her. She did her best to shrug the feeling away. With her legs half wrapped around him, and her arms draped over his shoulders, Angelina looked Blaze square in the eyes and nonchalantly stated, “How was that?” She wondered if she sounded as out of breath and hoarse as she felt.

“That was, well, real good,” stammered Blaze as he grinned, impressed with her performance.

“Real good,” he repeated as he slid her legs off his, and raised his well-built, strong frame to his feet, pulling her up with him.

“That should definitely convince them.” His knowing grin was still in place.

Blaze led Angelina back to his camp, with his arm locked around her thin waist. He was pleased with the show they had put on and figured Angelina must be a firecracker in bed. If that was the way she pretended to
be turned on
; the real thing must be amazing. He looked forward to experiencing it.

Angelina had not intended to become as immersed in their “production”, as she had, but something about the man’s tough demeanor made her want more of his touch. She had never been so blatantly full of lust before, nor had she ever felt so relaxed about her own sexuality. She had enjoyed the game, up until the point where her body reacted to his. Then it scared her. Her unhealthy sexual experiences with the cruel men in her life had caused Angelina to become insecure about showing any desire, and intimacy. Pretending had been fun; it gave her courage, but the real thing, that was a different story.

Blaze held Angelina tight against his side until they were well out of sight of the other bikers. He enjoyed having her close to him. She stirred something deep inside his senses.

“It’s been an interesting day anyway,” he stated, laying out their blanket.

He was prepared to call it a night.

“Yeah, interesting,” smiled Angelina.

She tried to hide her nervousness. She did not wanting him to see any type of lust in her eyes. She was certain it was still there. She welcomed the buzz she was feeling.

“Can I ask you something?” she questioned.

Blaze listened, curious about what was on her mind. He knew that the touch of her full, moist lips was on his.

“After that performance, you can ask me anything you want Angel.” He looked up at her, hoping her intent was not to get serious. He was not in the mood for serious.

“Well, I have been wondering about this since we got here,” she continued, a solemn look on her face.

Great
– he thought, here we go with the questions.

“About what?” he asked, keeping his smile plastered across his face.

“Where do I shower?”

Blaze did not expect that to be the question of the night. The question struck him as funny.

“Where do you shower?” he repeated, surprised. With everything that had happened to her, and everything that had happened between them, she wanted to know where to shower – funny.

A puff or air crept between his lips, from deep inside his throat. What started as a slight sound turned into a soft chuckle. The chuckle ended with laughter - an unrelenting laughter. Blaze laughed in a way that he had not done in a long time, and the startled look on Angelina’s face caused him to laugh even harder. She watched in amazement as this hard-ass biker laughed like a carefree child, again. It lifted the worry from her heart, causing her to laugh along with him like a couple of young kids having a slumber party. Finally, as Blaze lay down on the blanket, getting himself under control, he was able to respond.

“I’ll show you where to clean up in the morning.” The amused man motioned for Angelina to lie next to him.

Angelina took her shoes off and stepped onto the soft blanket, a touch of apprehension returning with the action. Slowly, she positioned herself on her side with her back to him. A smile stretched across her porcelain like face. Although her body ached, it was a minor inconvenience at that time. Blaze draped his arm over her curvaceous body, but made no sexual advance.

It was just an act
, he told himself,
just an act. She didn’t choose this life, it is just an act.

Although Angelina was tired and ready to sleep, the strength Blaze exhumed while lying next to her was distracting. She pictured the surprised look on his face when she had first kissed him. The enduring expression would stay pressed in her mind. She had surprised herself as well. She had never been so bold, and liked how it felt - even if she were pretending. For the first time in months, she had fun with another adult. The night had been interesting, scary, intriguing, and, odd as it seemed, it had been fun. Angelina lay, grinning to herself, until she drifted into a deep, well-earned sleep.

In the early morning darkness, the old farmhouse seemed much quieter than Rusty remembered. It also looked smaller than what Rusty recalled. The eerie feel that had always engulfed the place, remained. Although the sun had not come up yet, it would rise soon enough, and his mother was sure to be out of bed at daybreak. While driving, Rusty debated what he should tell his mother, Maxine, about Angelina’s absence. After careful consideration, he decided that he would tell her that his wife ran off with another man. He would stress how she left Justin and himself behind, without a second thought. His mother would be glad to hear that Rusty felt he had no choice but to come back home for a while so that Justin could have some sense of security. The old woman would relish the fact that he needed her, and would dote on the both of them. He would also mention that Justin was having trouble accepting his mommy was not coming back; therefore, Maxine should not talk to Justin about that because it upset him. Rusty figured the story covered him if Justin said something to Grandma Maxine about his mommy showing up.

Maxine had never met her grandchild. Years ago, Rusty brought Angelina to visit the farm, but that was before the child was born. At that time, Rusty had returned to the farm more to face his father than anything else. It had been years since he had seen the temperamental man, and although his father had once seemed strong and powerful, he had aged drastically. His father, whose old body was slowly giving out on him, was much different from what Rusty had remembered. He no longer appeared overpowering, and strong, just weak and feeble with age. Rusty did not bring up the past while visiting, embarrassed that while growing up, he had allowed such a man to beat him the way he did.

During the visit, Maxine and Angelina had taken to each other right away. Both women had become accustomed to being isolated from other women, and cherished the newfound friendship. They spent their days gossiping and cooking, and catering to the men in their lives as their husbands thought it should be. During that long two weeks that Rusty and Angelina spent on the farm, the women developed a close bond. The thought brought good memories back to Rusty. Angelina had been carefree and sweet back then. She did whatever he wanted, no questions asked. It was as if her sole purpose was to make him happy, as he desired. That had changed though, after the baby came. She gave most of her attention to Justin, while pushing Rusty's needs aside. She should never have allowed that to happen. Angelina was getting what she deserved. Again, the thought made Rusty grin.

Rusty, who was by now sweaty and impatient, sat in the quiet truck for a moment debating what to do. He was exhausted after the long drive and pondered if he should just lie down in the front seat of the old truck and sleep for a while. His mother would still be in bed for a few hours yet, and Justin remained curled up in a ball, quietly sleeping in the back seat. Rusty chose not to wake his mother up. Not out of concern or respect for her, but because he knew if she was woken up now he would have to listen to her endless chatter for hours. She had not heard from her own son in a very long time, and would be thrilled to meet her grandbaby. If he went inside now he would be stuck dealing with her excitement instead of getting the sleep he desperately needed. Besides, Justin would be expecting to find his mother in the house, and Rusty was not ready to deal with another of his crying fits quite yet. The truck won out. Rusty stretched himself out across the dirty, torn front seat, placed a coat under his head, and hoped to find a blissful slumber.

----------

“Angelina, it’s time to get up.” Angelina barely heard Blaze calling her name.

“What? Are we leaving?” she questioned the biker, confused in her half sleep state.

Her ribs seemed to scream with pain as she turned to look up at him. Her dirty hair stuck to the side of her face. Her bottom lip appeared to have swollen through the night. The bruise on her face was more prominent than it had been the day before. It was early and she was surprised to see that Blaze had already bathed and changed into a clean set of clothing and somehow managed to no longer look barbarous.

“No, we aren’t leaving, but you need to get up and bathe,” he answered.

Angelina, still tired, and a bit hung over from the late night, did not understand his urgency.

“Now?” she asked as she brushed her snarled hair from the side of her face. “It’s so early.”

“Yes now - unless you want to end up bathing with half of the guys,” replied Blaze with a bit of sarcasm.

The playfulness was gone; he was back to his usual self. The statement brought Angelina to her feet, slowly though. Her tender body hurt from both her previous beating, and from lying on a hard ground through the night. She smelled of sweat and beer, and her tangled and matted hair was in need of a cleaning. As much as she needed a bath, she did not want to bathe with the other men watching her so she followed Blaze as he led her down the path to the dingy bathroom she had used the night before. She kept quiet as she walked, trailing behind. It took a lot of effort for her to try to keep up with Blaze. Her head throbbed, and her complete body felt spent, as if she hadn’t slept at all the night before. Angelina woke up a number of times through the night, feeling lost and alone. She could not stop worrying about Justin. Sleeping on the hard ground had not helped any.

Blaze did not appear much better off, seeming restless and uneasy. He kept to himself. Angelina could see that something was bothering him, but she didn’t dare ask about it. The gloom was back in his eyes. If there was one thing that she had learned about men over the years, it was that you could not trust their moods. Just because he had been kind, and even playful with her the previous night, that did not mean he would feel the same way this morning. She would not kid herself into thinking they had become friends. As long as Blaze was allowing her to ride with him, she had to do what he requested. He was in control, and she would not forget it.