Inevitable (10 page)

‘Oh yeah, there’s been a change to your transport. Frankie explained to me that Bella had never been on a motorbike before. I thought there was no way in hell she was going to be able to ride the V-Rod all the way to California, so we’ve had a different Harley delivered this morning, it has dual seats, it’ll be more comfortable and there’s a bit of space for holding your bags.’ Alex didn’t wait for an answer as he crossed what was left of the open space in between him and Nathan and they man hugged for a few seconds, before banging each other on the back with closed fists. Scott stepped up and joined them both, considering what they been through as a family I loved the fact that they were so close.

‘See ya.’ With that one statement Nathan swept up Frankie and Ruby to him and just as suddenly he was moving off towards the door.

Men showing their emotions made me laugh, they did it in such a reserved way. It was obvious Nathan and his siblings loved each other, a lot. They had gone through so much, but luckily it seemed to have brought them closer together.

‘I need to do this as quickly as possible, I don’t want to end up all teary eyed… so I need a big group hug and we’ll see you hopefully in a couple of weeks when this has all been sorted out.’ I was speaking in my matter-of-fact, “I’m in charge of this situation and I’m taking no prisoners” voice. I grasped Aunty Jean, Frankie and Ruby to me very briefly, then released them and without saying another word I walked out of the Blackmore home feeling wretched. No one spoke another word.

The bike was parked right outside the door. It was black and chrome, and shiny, that was as much as I knew about bikes. It looked powerful and I knew from secretly watching Nathan race on TV, he could control awesome, formidable machines. Yet another thing that spoke volumes to my libido. I let out an audible sigh. It was going to be a hell of a long torturous week.

‘We’re gonna be ok, you know!’ I let my eyes drift up and over the leather seats to the man I both loved and hated. ‘Just listen to me, and do as I say… you let me have control of you before… you just need to let me again, agreed? … Bella... AGREED?’ he asked again with more force. I reluctantly nodded my head. ‘All right, stow your bag and climb up behind me.’

I watched as he flung his leg up and over the bike and stood stock still as he manoeuvred his delectable arse and groin into the leather seat as it squeaked with his movement. I wondered how I was going to survive the week ahead, in more ways than one, as I placed my bag into the pannier to the side of the huge machine.

‘We can’t possibly be going all the way on your bike?’ It wasn’t so much a question as I knew the answer, but it was the very thought that was running around in my head at that moment, spilt out once again by my treacherous mouth for Nathan to hear.

I watched him as he turned back to me and bestowed his cheeky lopsided smirk on me. ‘Can’t we? If you’re gonna come with me, Bella, you’d better throw your leg over and hold on for the ride.’ He raised both eyebrows to me in question. The innuendo was quite obvious and I was pleased that no one else had come any further than the doorway of the house, at least only I would hear it. I pulled at the soft leather encasing my legs, making the leg of the trousers ride up up slightly over my skin.
Brilliant!...
even the clothing I was wearing, was touching my skin like a lover’s caress. I was surely damned to a frustrating week of hell. I threw my leg over and exhaled a deep sigh as I tried to position myself comfortably, on a seat that I realised was likely to become my home for at least the next week. He turned to look at me over his shoulder.

‘OK, move yourself forward, up tight to me. I will expect to feel the heat radiating from your hot, sweet pussy on my ass, at all times. If I can’t feel it… you’re not close enough. I need to feel that pulsating heat to know your body is in sync with mine… so I can control the bike safely. From now and until I say, your arms will come around my body and you will hold on tight to me, like you do when you cum… darlin. When I feel you have mastered mine and the bike’s movements, and only then, I will allow you to hold on in other ways… got it?’ The only good thing about all this teasing and sexual innuendo was the fact that I began to see cracks in Nathan’s mask, the old spark returned to his beautiful hazel eyes, albeit only momentarily.

It was a revelation to me.

‘Yes, I’ve got it… but do you have to be such a complete control freak about it?’ I couldn’t help it, against my better judgement my face broke out into a small smile.

‘As far as I see it, darlin… I have a week with you, a week to clear up this clusterfuck in between us. A week to make you see sense.’ For what was only a few seconds, he stared into my eyes. ‘OK… here’s your lid, shout out your goodbyes, Bella and put it on, pull the strap as tight as you can comfortably stand, or I’ll do it… I seem to remember you enjoyed me pulling straps tight,’ he finished with a deep laugh and then placed his helmet on. I watched his every movement intently, knowing that my body couldn’t cope with the touch of his calloused fingers on me, not right now. His mouth had done enough damage and I only had so much underwear packed. I needed to be able to fasten the helmet all by myself.

‘Bye, everyone…see you soon…I love you, Frankie. Take care of her and the baby, Alex.’ I offered a confident wave in their direction and placed the helmet on my head. It was the heaviest thing I had ever had on in my life, it was almost too claustrophobic to cope with, and I hoped that the feelings it was conjuring up inside me would pass soon. After pulling my own strap tight, I wiggled forward doing as I was told and making sure I was as tight to him as possible. I leant forward, wrapped my leather-clad arms around him and held on tight, I could feel his broad muscular back flex as he sorted the bike out. His bike leathers had the spicy sandalwood smell to them and a musk that was pure Nathan. It was such a relief to be this close to him, I felt like crying. I had missed him so much… but I had to remind myself he wasn’t mine to miss; and he wasn’t mine to touch or hold on to, much as I wanted him to be. He was, whatever he said, back with Candy and I knew I was going to have to tell myself that on a regular bloody basis.

‘God I’ve missed you,’ I whispered into the confines of the helmet. My voice disappeared into the padded confines and I shut my eyes momentarily

‘That’s good to hear, darlin… good to hear, because I’ve missed you too,’ I heard in reply, as it vibrated around the inside of my helmet.

WTF?

The bike started to pull gently away as I physically sat bolt upright and in doing so, peeled myself away from his body.

‘Hold on to me… NOW!’ he shouted out. I quickly replaced my arms around his torso.

‘You could have told me!’ I exclaimed into the helmet.

‘Yeah… I could have, darlin… The lids have bluetooth, so we can keep in communication with each other… OK?’ He ended the statement with a laugh that filtered all the way down to my core. The bike picked up speed as the gates opened to the road. I looked back once, to see the distant figures waving us goodbye.

BELLA

T
he first few miles were utterly terrifying, but equally exhilarating at the same time. Yes, I had been asked to hold on to him tightly, but to be quite honest in my absolute terror I would have done so anyway. I was used to being at least six-feet wide and surrounded by metal casing. I knew he hadn’t yet opened up the bike. Just going around corners and bends in the road brought us scarily close to the tarmac and so far I had only done one bend with my eyes open. It had been bloody alarming and I knew that I was definitely holding on tighter than necessary. It was probably equally difficult for Nate. He wanted me to hold on properly, but trying to control the beast of a machine with a fully grown limpet on your back, must have been more than challenging. With this thought, I tried to release the ridiculously smothering death grip I had on him.

‘That’s it, darlin… take a deep breath and just let your limbs relax into the hold. We’ve got a hell of a long road trip in front of us and you need to relax into me and the movement of the bike,’ his deep rasping voice filtered through to me.

I let his voice wash over me, as I attempted to communicate with all of my now nearly frozen limbs. They were so rigid, as if rigor mortis had already set in. I knew just by trying to move them that the whole of my body would be beyond painful later.

I had to complete at least seven days of this?
I was never going to make it.

After the initial surprise of Nathan being able to hear anything I said, the communication in the helmets had proved to be invaluable. Nathan had explained that this, our first day on the road, was going to be roughly six hours’ worth of riding. I was normally a very animated person when trying to get over my thoughts and feelings, but in this precarious position I had just slightly shaken my head in disbelief.

The plan apparently was to get from the Hamptons, through New York and out to Pennsylvania, stopping in a motel the other side of Chambersburg. I managed to at least open my eyes as we passed through New York and let out an audible sigh. I loved New York.

‘We’ll be back, one day soon… we’ll be back, I promise ya.’ Nathan must have let go of the handlebar to pat me reassuringly on the top of my thigh. Of course, it had a completely different effect on me and I closed my eyes once again to compose myself. His touch both set my body on fire and scared me, as I knew he now had only one hand controlling the machine. However, what really shocked me was the fact that I even found that a turn on, it must have been the element of risk he took in touching me.

I became aware of a pulsing sound in my ears and Nathan responded with, ‘Speak,’ and a low rumbling laugh, that I felt vibrating all the way through his body and into mine.

Edwards’ voice filled my helmet, almost as if he was riding on the bike with us.

‘Nathan… I’m calling to let you know, so far my sources report the Antonescus haven’t flown in to any of the airports we’re watching, but I am getting reports that it’s possible Marku Antonescu, Ioan’s father, has a cousin that already lives over here. Can Bella hear this conversation, Nathan?’

‘I’m here, Edwards,’ I spoke hesitantly.

‘Any idea of whether that’s true, Bella?’ he gently questioned.

‘I believe it is… I can’t remember names… I can just remember conversations that I wasn’t really supposed to be a party to. Just bits and pieces of talk from nearly ten years ago, that they had relatives over here.’ My somewhat relaxed grip on Nathan increased a little with the memories.

‘We’re already looking into it. Can you remember what state they lived in? I know it’s a long time ago.’

‘That I do know… it was Florida.’ It came flooding back to me now. ‘Ioan had always told me that when we got married we would spend our honeymoon in Florida.’ I shuddered with the feelings this simple conversation evoked within me. Nathan stiffened somewhat in my hold.

‘Got that. Anything going on that we need to know about, Nate?’ Edwards replied.

‘No it’s all quiet, so far,’ Nathan answered, his playful relaxed tone had dissipated.

‘That’s good… you’re about an hour from your scheduled pit stop, I’ll catch up with you there.’ With that Edwards was gone and the void around my head filled with the gloomy oppression of silence and the misery of my memories.

The bike was pulling over, I could feel the change in the gearing as Nathan began to slow the bike down.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked.

‘You need a break,’ he countered.

‘Are we allowed to pull over here? The bike hasn’t broken has it?’

He didn’t answer, as the bike came to a complete standstill.

‘Wait until I put my feet down on the ground… got that, Bella?’

The bike stopped dead and I realised that I had been starting to almost enjoy the power of the bike between my thighs and the closeness of the man I had been holding in my arms. I felt Nathan begin to shift and heard his leathers abrading the leather of the bike seat.

‘Jump off on the side of the interstate that’s away from traffic.’

I did as he asked, surprised at the first feel of my slightly wobbly legs underneath me. My inner thighs were worse though and a fleeting understanding ran through my head of why John Wayne always appeared to walk with a splayed gait.

God I was going to be sore and bruised tonight, and not in a good way.

My thoughts and the small smile on my lips were rudely interrupted as Nathan stepped into my personal space. He had already expertly removed his helmet. I looked up through the visor of what I was certain was my bloody comeuppance of a torture device. His hands found their way to the straps situated beneath my chin and I took a sharp intake of breath as his rough tattooed hands came into contact with the exposed skin at the top of my jacket. In an almost immediate reaction, my hands flew up to his. I was bloody adamant that I was able to release my own straps and I didn’t need his help, especially if it meant him actually having to touch me. The moment my hands found his in my silent refusal of help, he wrenched his away and slapped both of my hands down and out of his way.