The Stranger (28 page)

“The Inupiat used to toss hunters on walrus-skin blankets like these to spot the whales in the water,” Seth explained. “They still use it to celebrate good whaling seasons. Want to give it a try?”

“Me? On that thing? Oh, I don’t know...”

Before I could end my sentence, Seth picked me up and tossed me into the recently vacated blanket. The blanket holders heaved in unison, launching me in the air. Up I went, arms and legs flailing, squealing like a madwoman. For a brief moment, I soared above the crowd, only to plummet like a stone, crash on my bum, and bounce again. By the third bounce, I knew enough to stay upright. By the fourth bounce, I was actually enjoying myself, laughing like a little girl, trying to do somersaults in the air.

The thrill. I felt alive. For the first time since my dad’s death, joy gushed through me like a long-awaited flood. I forgot all about having to find Tammy. I forgot about Louise, my duties and responsibilities at work and at home. I forgot about my mother’s murder and the attempt on me. I felt happy, carefree, hopeful. True, the star-studded sky and the powerful music helped me soar high into the Alaskan night, but it was Seth’s smile, waiting for me at the bottom of every bounce, that thrilled me beyond belief.

Just when I thought that this grand night couldn’t get any better, the spotlights illuminated the sea and I spied a spout breaking through the water’s surface.

“Whale,” I shouted and pointed. “Over there. Whale!”

The whale breached in the water, adding its primal majesty to the awesome spectacle that was Alaska. The crowd roared as one. Behind the stage, the ocean exploded with the impact. The blanket holders turned to watch. I fell a long way onto a slack blanket, but Seth was there. He caught me in his arms and set me on my feet.

“Spotting a first whale brings blessings for the season,” he said, face flushed with excitement. “Good?”

“Extraordinary.”

I threw my arms around his neck, dove for his mouth and kissed him. I rocketed up to the sky without the need for the walrus-hide blanket. I was sleepwalking while awake, caught in an extraordinary dream and unwilling to wake. As if on cue, the band began to play my all-time favorite song, “Slave to My Dreams.” I couldn’t stop kissing Seth.

“Get a room,” someone called out playfully nearby.

“Oh, God,” I muttered when I came up for breath.

“I know what you mean.” Seth grabbed my hand. “The hell with it.”

He led me under the rope. A mere look was all he needed for security to let us through. I thought we were going backstage, but instead of going upstairs, Seth ducked below the stage, where I followed blindly.

I stumbled in the dim space, surrounded by scaffolding, tripping over tangles of wires and cables. I dodged the metal braces that held the stage, which hovered dangerously close to the top of Seth’s head. The scent of trampled seaweed and sea salt enveloped my senses, combined with a heady whiff of pot. Someone had used this hideout before us.

It was loud down here, deafening in fact, but as Seth crushed me against his body, the sounds of the music enfolded us in an acoustic cocoon, lending us a sense of intimacy. It was a totally false one, but in my current state of lust, I didn’t care. I clung to Seth, devouring his mouth, exploring the shape of his body with eager hands, engaging him in a slow, grinding dance.

Seth braced himself against a metal column and cupped my ass. I lifted one foot on a pylon and dug the other one in the sand to give him berth. He angled between my legs and pressed me against his groin. The pleasure of that rasping contact left me breathless. The thrill of doing this, now, here, was an aphrodisiac.

I was so aroused that I couldn’t think. There was a lot of freedom in not thinking. Intense and all-consuming need freed me from my mind’s bondage. All of my body’s resources were committed to fulfilling the primal craving aching and throbbing between my thighs. Seth’s hands found all kinds of ways around my clothing, diving beneath my coat, dipping into my jeans, stealing into my bra and raking over my rigid nipples.

My hips curled in and out of his hands. My crotch rubbed hard against his jeans, riding his erection’s wooden path. He felt so good! My own jeans contributed to the friction. The seam pressed against my clit. My sex smarted and chafed and yet I didn’t want to stop. I rasped against him like a match on sandpaper.

It didn’t take more than a song, maybe two. I cried out so loud, the whole of Alaska must have heard me coming. Seth roared in my ear. His fingers dug into my flesh. Pleasure struck us in unison, drove us to our knees and left us both shaking and sucking for breath.

The crowd cheered the end of the song at the same time that my body hailed a mind-blowing orgasm. I couldn’t believe my staggering, newfound capability for sexual pleasure. It was Seth. He was like an accelerant to my fires. Together we were an explosion waiting to happen.

I kissed his mouth, his neck, the spot pulsing with his powerful heartbeats. I basked in his enthralling scent, spent male, come and sexual sweat. He gathered me on his lap and held me as if I were a part of him, his arm, his leg, his heart, as if he’d never let me go. We clung to each other for a long time, trying to catch our breaths. For all I knew, we were the only two people remaining in the world.

“Hell, Summer.” He planted a kiss on my lips. “I think we made fire.”

I was pretty sure I’d felt the flames.

Eventually, reluctantly, his arms loosened about me. “I guess we should get back out there. I don’t want you to miss the grand finale.”

“Didn’t we just have one of those?” I said. “Wait, do you mean grander than that?”

The smile he gave me ignited me all over again. “Not that grand.”

He planted another kiss on my lips then helped me rise to my feet in spite of my wobbly knees. We straightened our clothes as best we could. Together, we stole out from beneath the stage and back to our roped section, grinning at each other like fools, partners in naughty crimes.

The world streamed before my eyes like a high-definition movie. My overly stimulated body resonated with every single note. The light dazzled my eyes. For a girl who had shunned sex most of her life, it had been a day of sex and excess, and yet I couldn’t regret it. My body savored Seth’s essence. My sex quickened with the memories. My heart drummed in tune with my body’s song. For once, my soul felt whole.

Back behind the rope, Seth put his arms around me and held me through this other grand finale. I leaned against him as we watched the fireworks light up the night. I craned my neck to glance up at him, feeling as close and intimate as I’d ever felt to another human being. Eyes wide, lips turned up at the ends, he looked happy.

The concert came to an end with an explosion of light and music. When the glorious sounds ceased and the band took a final bow, after the spotlights dimmed and the crowd began to disperse, we lingered behind. We held hands and talked with Seth’s friends along with Ally, Stuart, and Jer, enjoying the concert’s resounding success.

I waited while Seth talked to some of his crew. I couldn’t help but notice that a few of his cousins hovered nearby in an isolated little group, as if contemplating approaching him. A little part of me empathized with their hesitation, since I still remembered keenly how intimidating Seth had been when I first met him on that frozen stretch of Alaskan road. As more of Seth’s crew came over, he lingered greeting them. The cousins wavered. It looked like they were getting ready to leave. I knew the rule, the strict division between the Erickson factions, but, hey, I wasn’t technically an Erickson and I didn’t want to let the opportunity go to waste.

I took a deep breath, mumbled a little prayer and sauntered over to the group. It took some courage, but I introduced myself and struck up a conversation with some of the girls. They were a little leery of me at first, but after we got talking, I found out that they were curious about me and interested in anything I had to say about Seth. So I said a lot and all of it was true.

And then, something incredible happened. Seth came over and joined me. He actually engaged his cousins in conversation, asked them about their lives and even joked a little with them, reminiscing about their youth. One of the women actually asked him about what had happened at Star Lake. Seth told his side of the story and, as he answered other questions, began to share with them his vision for the company’s future. His cousins listened. And boy, he was good. I was so proud of him. I melted into the background and enjoyed the magical moment when Seth lowered his drawbridge and allowed his family into his mind’s formidable fortress.

Alex noticed. I watched him from the corner of my eye. His face set into a grim expression as more of his own brothers and sisters gravitated toward Seth. Never one to be upstaged, he countered Seth’s move by approaching the folks from Seth’s New Mission Program. One thing I’d learned during my brief time in Alaska was the people here relished strong views and the right to express them. Alex might have been born in Alaska, but he hadn’t learned that lesson yet. He offered his hand to my new friend, Trevor, but Trevor’s fingers tightened around his chair’s wheels as he refused to shake with Alex.

Alex’s face flushed a deep shade of crimson. “What’s your problem? Don’t you know who am I? Don’t you want to meet one of the Ericksons that supports your little program?”

“I know who you are.” Trevor spat on the ground. “I haven’t forgotten what you tried to do last week. I also know the Ericksons that matter. You’re not one of them.”

“The hell with you,” Alex said. “I can have you thrown out in no time. Who do you think you are talking to me like that?”

“He’s Seth’s VIP guest.” I stepped in. “Why don’t you move on, Alex?”

Alex sneered. “An imported slut like you wants to tell me what to do while standing on Erickson property?”

Trevor grumbled. “You shouldn’t call a lady names if you’re aiming for a punch-free night.”

Alex snapped. “Shut up, wheels. She’s no lady and what are you gonna do, trample me with your wheelchair?”

Seth was suddenly there, standing next to me. “What’s the problem here?”

“No problem.” I exchanged a pleading look with Trevor, who immediately understood the need to avoid trouble.

“Just waiting for my ride,” Trevor said.

“You need to upgrade your taste in friends,” Alex said. “Between this moron and that slut, you’re surrounded by freaks.”

Seth’s body uncoiled with the speed of a viper. He lunged at Alex. Hand around his throat, he slammed him against the stage. I got in between the men, pried Seth’s fingers one by one from Alex’s neck and, planting my hands on Seth’s chest, pushed back with all I had.

It was like trying to move a mountain. Trevor helped, wedging his chair between the men. People around us took notice. Jer and Stuart rushed to help me hold Seth back.

“What’s going on?” Jer asked.

“Your hothead brother is itching for a fight.” Alex fingered his neck and straightened his collar with an angry tug. “When you hang out with crap, you get splashed.”

Seth rumbled. “I’m warning you.”

“Come on, Seth,” I said. “Let’s go home.”

“Run away, little boy,” Alex taunted. “Hide behind your girlfriend just as you’ve always hidden behind Grandma’s skirt.”

“Is that what this is about?” Seth said.

“I don’t need propping up,” Alex said. “And I don’t need the support of an old wrinkled crone to do my job.”

This time it took more of us to hold Seth back.

“This is what he wants,” I said. “He wants to provoke you, ruin your evening and show everybody that you’re short-tempered and violent. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”

“Yeah, Seth, go home,” Alex said. “Take your whore with you, see if she can squeeze more Erickson money out of your inert little dick. After all, there aren’t too many whores willing to put up with a half-grilled coward who killed half his crew.”

Alex had called me names. He’d insulted me in every possible way. He’d even messed with Trevor, someone he had no business irking. But it was his cruelty toward Seth that set me off. Before my mind registered, I was on Alex and my fist collided with his jawbone.

He staggered backward, stunned. “What the fuck?”

I stared at my fist, throbbing with pain. “Ow.”

“You bitch!” Alex charged at me, face twisted with rage.

One moment Seth was standing behind me, held back by Stuart, Jer, Trevor, and several others. The next moment, a dark shadow flew at the edge of my peripheral vision, all of the guys sprawled on the ground, and Seth pounded on Alex with lethal efficiency.

Stuart and Jer tried to stop the fight, but Alex’s brothers got in the way. The fighting expanded. The guys of Seth’s squadron jumped into the fray along with his friends from the program. Within seconds, most people who’d lingered in the mosh pit were fighting, even if most of them didn’t know why.

And that’s how the best night of my life went to hell.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Robert arrived at the sitting room, carrying another silver bucket full of ice. He assessed our sorry lot and shook his head. “I can’t believe that you were willing to put the mistress through this,” he said somberly. “I might have expected this sort of behavior from others, but not from you. The troopers had to be called. The troopers!”

As he exited the room, his countenance left no doubt that he was disappointed in all of us. No wonder. Seth sprawled on the couch, pressing an ice bag to his eye. Jer leaned over a mirror, disinfecting the gash on his forehead. Ally iced Stuart’s shoulder, while Stuart examined my hand. I opened and closed my fist for him. I was pretty sure none of my knuckles were broken, but boy, they hurt.

“Nothing’s broken,” Stuart confirmed, letting go of my hand. “You’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Seth didn’t say anything. His face was blank. His silence spoke volumes. I was pretty sure he was livid with me. He held me responsible for the fight. Oh, hell,
I
held me responsible for the fight.

“Summer’s got quite the hook.” Jer winced when he dabbed his forehead with alcohol. “Really impressive. If we ever have to fight again, I want you on my side.”

Stuart grinned. “Are you sure you’re not from Texas?”

“You made that jerk whirl,” Ally said admiringly. “He deserved it.”

“I hope he’s black and purple all over,” Jer said.

“If you must know,” Stuart said, “Alex is worse off than any of us, by far. Astrid asked me to check him out. His nose might be broken. I put his arm in a sling, and his clothing is in tatters.” He eyed Seth obliquely. “He looks as if the wrath of God descended on him in lightning form.”

“I don’t know what got into me.” I mumbled a bad attempt at yet another apology. “I’m really sorry. I’ve never hit anybody in my life.”

“If you had to hit someone, you picked a good one,” Jer said.

“I can’t believe I did that.” I dipped my face in my hands. “I lost my cool.”

The sounds of an argument came from somewhere upstairs, a screech and a crash. Seth set aside the ice bag and sat up on the couch. “What the hell is that?”

“Master Erickson!” Robert’s shouts rang through the house. “Miss Silva!”

Seth bolted out of the sitting room and tackled the stairs like a horse at a gallop. I followed on his heels and so did everyone else. Our feet hammered on the polished wood floors and thumped over the oriental rugs. Robert met us at the top of the stairs, face ashen, mouth set in a downward curve.

“What’s wrong?” Seth demanded.

“It’s the mistress,” Robert said, “along with trouble like I’ve never seen before.”

Another crash echoed from the library.

“Dear God.” Robert grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me through the doors. “You have to fix this. Go in there.”

I stumbled into the library and took in the scene. Astrid stood by the family portraits dressed in a silk kaftan, hands on her head, mouth gaping, eyes fast on the broken pieces of china scattered on the floor. The dogs whimpered, hiding behind her legs. I was distantly aware that there were other people in the room, but my stare was glued to the wiry woman with an awful lot of crazy in her glare who faced Astrid.

Nah. It couldn’t be.

I took in the woman’s teased, bleached blonde hair, her artificially enhanced pout, which was smeared in neon-pink lipstick, and her toasted brown-and-orange skin, wrinkled and freckled by too many hours spent under the sun.

I knuckled my eyes. Was I seeing right?

Standing next to the fireplace, her chest puffed out like a rooster in the fighting ring. The pair of artificial double Ds skewering the air dwarfed her scrawny frame. Leopard-print tights did nothing to suppress an overall impression of feral wildness. My throat constricted. Oh. My. Freaking. God.

I squeaked. “Louise?”

My stepmother didn’t even bother to look at me. Her furious stare beamed on Astrid like a death ray. Her platform sandals crunched on the broken shards on the floor as if she were playing Candy Crush with her feet. And the filth coming out of her mouth. My nails bit into my palms. I wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Is that who I think it is?” Seth said under his breath.

“Yes,” I muttered, “and she can’t be around china when she’s in a rage. Help me, please?”

“Got it.” Seth peeled off to my right. “Go.”

“Louise?” I edged my way forward. “Look at me. What are you doing here?”

“That bitch!” Louise growled in her best Brooklyn accent, adding a string of mortifying obscenities. “She set her dogs on me!”

“I know you’re mad,” I said, advancing slowly. “But you need to calm down.”

“Who the hell does she think she is?” Louise grabbed a Ming vase from the shelves. “The queen of England? Nobody treats me like this. Nobody! I’m not trash to be thrown to them devil dogs. I’m not putting up with this stuck-up bitch.”

“Louise, please.” My eyes shifted between her face and the vase in her hands. “I know you’re mad and you’re right, Mrs. Erickson shouldn’t have set those dogs on you. But this is her house and you have to get your temper under control.”

“What about her?” Louise’s face flushed with a surge of fresh rage. “She’s the one stinking up this mausoleum.”

God almighty. How on earth had I gotten stuck in this nightmare? Louise raved and Astrid sneered and all I could do was stare at those broken shards on the ground and think about the six-hundred-year-old vase in Louise’s hands, which had survived war, natural disasters, raids, time, and greed only to succumb to clashing egos and my stepmother’s legendary temper.

“This is no mausoleum,” Astrid spat, incensed. “This is my family’s home and you’d be well advised to behave in my presence!”

“Well, since you asked nicely,” Louise said, “allow me to say... Up your ass!”

The vase went airborne at the same time that Seth tackled Louise from behind. I dove to the ground and caught it, not two inches from the floor. I lay there for a moment, knees and elbows smarting, catching my breath, balancing six hundred years of history in my quaking fingers, listening to Louise’s foul string as she wrestled in Seth’s arms.

“Mrs. Silva, please calm down.” His voice broke through, even and neutral. “I assure you, we mean you no offense.”

I got up on my knees and, holding on to the Ming vase, accepted the hand that came to my assistance. I’d been so focused on Louise and the vase, that, other than Astrid, I hadn’t taken notice of who else was in the room. It was Alex who helped me up to my feet. His face looked deformed, his arm was in a sling and one of his eyes was swollen shut, but his other eye gleamed with amusement that irritated me to no end.

“Family rows are such a riot, don’t you think?” He smirked. “Welcome to my world.”

I couldn’t share in his good humor. I snatched my hand from his and, after dusting off my jeans, returned the vase to the shelf and went to Seth’s assistance.

“Let me go, you big brute!” Louise kicked his shins and stomped on his foot. “Is this what you call Alaskan hospitality?”

Seth winced, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he asked, “How long will this last?”

I shrugged and gestured toward the balcony. “Maybe a breath of fresh air will help?”

“This way.” Seth dragged Louise along while she kicked and screamed like a cranky mule. He glowered at his grandmother as he went by. “I’ll be right back.”

I straightened my back and followed Seth, aware of all the eyes fastened on me. I was so embarrassed. There was Astrid, of course, beaming her icy glare in my direction, and also Robert, who looked both shocked and appalled. Jer, Ally, and Stuart looked somewhere north of supremely uncomfortable. Alex’s face was set on that stupid smirk. I tripped when I saw Hector Carrera, a tiny elf of a man, pale as a ghost and making himself even smaller in the corner by the door.

I frowned. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” he said. “Tell you later?”

“Good idea.” I pushed through the doors to the balcony and got walloped by a lungful of freezing air.

The Alaskan evening had the desired impact of cooling down Louise’s temper. Seth let her go, but blocked the door to the library, just in case.

I crossed my arms and faced my stepmother. “What was that?”

“I’m sorry.” Louise slumped, avoiding my eyes. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“Your temper got in the way,” I said. “You know you’re not supposed to react like a crazy woman every time somebody rains on your parade.”

“I know, I know!” She looked wretched. “I tried, I swear, but that woman, she’s got the worst case of the snobs I’ve ever seen, and you know how I feel about snobs.”

I knew very well. I also knew that some situations challenged people like us worse than others. Case in point, I’d just socked Alex myself. Still, I wasn’t feeling very sympathetic toward my stepmother at the moment.

“I’ve been doing better with my temper.” Louise’s huge eyes leaked a few fat tears. “But I guess I didn’t do too good today. I made a spectacle of myself, didn’t I?”

“Un-huh.” I gave a crisp nod.

“I promise,” she said. “If it makes you happy, I’ll go to Dirty Dog Pottery next week and make the witch another vase on my buck. Or five if she wants. Or maybe I should make her a turtle-shaped ashtray too?”

“Louise?” I said. “That vase you broke before I came into the library can’t be replaced with something you make in your pottery class. It was probably really old and extremely expensive.”

“I’ll put it on my credit card, then.”

I shook my head.

“Oh, dear.” Now she looked sick. “Will I need to get a second mortgage on the condo?”

I took pity on her. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Thanks, you always do,” she said in her hoarse, cigarette-husky baritone. She lifted her arms and wiggled her fingers. “Aren’t you gonna say hello to your Mami?”

I tried to stay mad at her, I really did, but then I spotted the longing in her eyes, and yes, maybe even a bit of remorse, and I just couldn’t.

She embraced me, poking her double Ds like concrete cones into my chest. I knew she was sincere. This was the same woman who’d cared for my dad when he was sick, the same loving soul who’d tried to be a mother to me after I became an orphan. Beneath her jean jacket, she was shivering. I took off my jacket and put it on her.

“Better?” I said.

“Better.” Louise huddled inside the jacket. “Is it always so cold here?”

“As far as I know,” I said, feeling the chill in my bones.

Seth had been quietly standing by the door, but now he came forward, took off his leather coat and draped it over my shoulders.

“Who’s he?” Louise asked.

“This is Seth,” I said. “Seth, this is my stepmother, Louise.”

“Mrs. Silva.” Seth gave Louise a curt nod.

“I’m very sorry if I hurt you.” She winced when she spotted Seth’s bruised eye. “Oh, geesh, please tell me I didn’t do that.”

“You didn’t.”

“Good—well, not good that you have a black eye, I didn’t mean it that way.” Louise twisted the golden rings adorning her thickened knuckles. “It’s just that sometimes I get crazy when I’m mad. I’m not wrong in the head, you know. I just lost my marbles when that woman said that Summer was sleeping around with some Alaskan guy.”

Seth’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what she said?”

“Imagine that,” Louise said. “Summer. Sleeping around. That broad doesn’t know anything about my baby, and yet she implied my Summer was nothing but a cheap slut.”

Seth’s irises darkened. “Did she now?”

“Un-huh.” Louise nodded. “She tried to feed me some yarn about Summer, hitchhiking, but she doesn’t know Summer like I do. My Summer is as cautious as they come. Classy too. She’d never hitchhike. As to sleeping around. Ha! Not Summer. She doesn’t sleep around. Period. I’m sorry, but could you stomach someone you loved being thrashed around like that?”

“Nope,” Seth said. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to set some things straight.”

“Seth,” I said. “Don’t...”

His glower forbade me from saying another word.

“It’s cold out,” he said, before he went in the door. “I’ll clear the crowd. You come inside as soon as you’re ready.”

“Boy.” Louise whistled as she watched him go. “That guy reminds me of thunder booming over the ocean. He’s something else, isn’t he?”

“That he is.” I took a deep breath. “There are a couple other things you should know about him.”

“Like what?” Louise said.

“I did hitch a ride with him,” I said. “And then I slept with him. A lot. And then some more. And now? I’m totally hooked on him.”

* * *

By the times things settled, the evening was late. Seth had disappeared with his grandmother, but Robert had obviously been instructed to keep us comfortable, something he did to perfection. I was surprised and grateful when he offered Hector and Louise rooms. After the spat tonight, I expected that the Ericksons would throw me out, along with anyone remotely related to me.

Hector looked dead on his feet and I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. He accepted Robert’s hospitality and followed the attendant who led him to his rooms for the night. I suspected he’d traveled all the way here to check up on me. With a multi-million dollar deal on the table, could I really blame him?

Louise, on the other hand, wasn’t one to let go of a grudge so easily. She crossed her skinny arms and grumbled. “I’d rather stay at Motel 6.”

“You’re not in Miami anymore,” I said. “The nearest hotel is far, far away.”

“So what?” She wrinkled her nose. “These people give me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Please, Mrs. Silva,” Robert said in his British accent. “On behalf of Master Erickson, I strongly urge you to reconsider. He insists you accept his hospitality.”

Louise gestured to Robert with her pointy chin. “Does he always speak like that?”

“Always,” I said. “Louise, can we try to get along, at least for tonight?”

“Okay, fine,” Louise said. “We’ll do it your way.”

We followed Robert to a luxurious suite on the third floor, appointed with all the conveniences, including a crackling fireplace and tray of hot tea along with a three-tiered platter loaded with finger sandwiches and tiny cakes.