Page 92 of One Wild Ride

THIRTY-SIX

Alexander

I was happy.No, that’s not right, I was blissfully content. I had no idea I could feel this way but here I am in a motel room in Sterling, Colorado waking up next to the woman I love with my sister in the room across the hall.

Could I have even imagined this a year ago? No.

This must be what it feels like to have a happy family. To be surrounded by the people you love. Even Alexa, I told her she could come stay with us for as long as she wanted. But she decided to stay with a friend in New York. We dropped her off at Denver International Airport on our long drive back to Chicago.

“What time is it?” Aria asked, her voice rough from just waking up.

She stretched and curled into my arms. I pushed some strands of hair that fell into her eyes before kissing her forehead.

“It’s a little after eight in the morning.”

We kissed and my hand began to wander down her bare back until it grabbed at her plump ass cheek. She groaned which I have learned was the switch I needed to turn me into the wild animal she loved.

I rolled on top of her and was about to pin her arms back when there was a knock at the door.

“Did you order something?” Aria whispered into my ear.

“No.” I lifted my head shaking it and reluctantly, lifting the rest of my body until I left the bed.

Grabbing my jeans that I bought while we were in Denver, as none of us had a change of clothing, I slipped them on before looking out the peephole.

“It’s Grace,” I said as I opened the door.

It felt like all those missed years were trying to squeeze themselves into my heart whenever I saw her. And when she blushed, I knew it was happening to her, too. Maybe that was a twin thing. That I just knew what she was feeling without having to ask.

But something was a little different. Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine and I wondered, was all this too much for her. Not just meeting me but finding out her real mother was a monster?

Everything must all be sinking in now. I wanted to hug her and tell her we had each other but she held her hands up as I moved closer.

“Alex, um, I need to go get something at the store. I’ll take the car, just wanted you to know in case you came looking for me.”

I nodded. “Okay. Thanks for telling me. Is it okay if I give you a hug?”

Her eyes widened as she glanced around the hall. “Why?”

My heart cracked wondering if she was ever shown affection by the people who raised her.

“Because you’re my sister and I love you,” I said with my arms open.

Grace turned her head slightly as if she was thinking of something but finally nodded. I enveloped her in my arms and gave her a big squeeze. She made a squeaking sound and I loosened my hold. When I pulled back she seemed confused.

I stepped back. “When you’re out can you pick us up some coffee because the stuff here is awful. I can give you some money if you need it.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m good. Coffee it is.”

With that, she turned and made her way toward the lobby of the motel. Shutting the door, I went back to the bed. Aria was sitting up looking beautiful. She had put on a T-shirt which made me frown but she was gorgeous with or without clothes.

“That was nice of you,” she said.

“Nice?”

“Yes. You gave her a hug. Now it makes sense why Grace always acted a bit strange. Because of how she was raised. You’re probably one of the first people to hug her because you wanted to, not because you needed to give the appearance that you cared. I have a feeling the few times that woman has been shown affection was because her parents were pretending to care in front of social workers.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. The bed dipped as Aria scooted toward me. Her hands warm and needed as they slid across my chest holding me close.

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