Page 38 of Tank
“It’s at the cabin,” she said. “Maybe he’s outside or…he left his phone there. Yep, look at that. Camera four. It’s on the coffee table. Damn.”
I tore out of the bar, phone still plastered to my ear. I ran up the stairs and I was soaked by the time I pushed open the door to my apartment. My heeled boots went flying as I ripped them off. I looked around for my riding boots, ready to tear up the small town in search of him.
“Wait. Got him,” she whispered, breaking through my panic. I froze. “He’s sitting in his truck in back of Lou’s Liquor. I got him on their security camera. He’s just sitting there. Hmm, weird.”
All the air rushed out of my lungs. He was alive. I blinked and tried to swallow down all the emotions that were pushing their way to the surface.
“Okay. He’s just sitting there?” I asked.
“Yeah. Maybe he’s lost in thought. He’s staring out the window not really moving at all. You wanna talk about it?” I could hear the humor in her voice. Clearly, my freak out had been amusing to her. I imagined it was a weird thing to witness, or hear, rather. For the most part, she’d only seen the one side of me. The one that was cold, uncaring and calculated. “Look, you calm down, get comfy, and drink some tea. I’ll watch him and if anything happens I’ll let you know.”
“Yeah. Sure. Thanks,” I mumbled and dropped my phone on the bed.
In a daze, I pulled off my jeans, hopping up and down switching feet until I was free. I shook the raindrops from my hair as I walked into the bathroom. After washing my face, making sure all the makeup was off, I unclasped my bra and pulled it free. It landed somewhere in the middle of the floor. I didn’t care, I needed to be free and comfortable because at that moment, I was anything but.
I had to fight the urge to go to him. If I just randomly showed up there at such an odd hour, it would surely raise suspicion. I had no doubt that he would wonder how I’d found him. It would open too many doors and a slew of questions that I couldn’t answer. I was having a hard time finding the balance of it all and that was something I never had to worry about before— because I was smart and didn’t fucking get close to my hits.
My eyes closed, no longer able to fight the exhaustion that ran through to my soul. Before I knew it I was out, the darkness covering my mind like a warm blanket.
The thing that sucked was, if I hadn’t given in to sleep, I might have heard the ascending footsteps on the stairs outside my door. I might have heard the creaking wood. I might have had time to prepare myself for an attack. But as it was I didn’t know anyone was there until the heavy thud of a fist banging on the door jolted me awake.
My heart raced as I sprang to my feet. I padded over to the door with hesitant steps as I mentally kicked myself for not setting up cameras outside of the damn place. Three more quick bangs against the old wood. I paused, trying my best to slow my heart and shake the trembling in my hands. I knew whatever was on the other side of that door could only bring trouble. Nothing good ever happened at this ungodly hour.
I reached for the handle, having a deep feeling in my gut that whoever was out there wasn’t going away. I readied myself for a fight, cursing the fact that I didn’t think to grab one of my many guns or knives I had tucked away. But then again, I had a mental picture of where they all were and I was confident enough that I could make it to one without a problem.
The door opened to a sight I wasn’t ready for. It was beautiful and sad all at the same time. A relieved breath forced itself out my lungs and my body went from rigid to relaxed in a fraction of a second.
“Noah?” His name rolled off my tongue in a tone that was unfamiliar to my ears.
He stood there, the rain pelting down on his already soaked body. His hair was plastered to his face and his gaze was down. He didn’t move except for the slight sway in his body.
The wind blew hard and my skin prickled with goosebumps. The seconds ticked on in silence, the rain only seemed to get louder the longer we stood there.
“I know he would want me to move on and live, but how am I supposed to live without my boy? How am I supposed to smile again when the whole reason for me to do so is gone? Breathe again when I have no one to breathe for? My world, my heart, my light doesn’t exist anymore and I don’t know how to find my way back or if I even want to,” he said so low that I strained to hear him. But his words were unmistakable.
I broke that moment. All I wanted to do was wrap the big guy in my arms and hold him. I wanted to cry with him and I wanted to help him stand again.
I swallowed, pushing down all the emotions with it.
“Come,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt. I pushed the door open wider and stepped to the side.
He lumbered in, leaving massive foot-sized puddles with each step. I shut the door and then did the most unexpected thing, I turned my back to him as I went to the bathroom to grab a towel for him. Only I didn’t realize it until I was hidden in the dark cove of the bathroom. My breath caught and my hand froze midair reaching for a clean towel. I’d expected to feel fear and anxiety because I’d let my guard down, but instead, I felt an overwhelming calm settle into my bones. If only my mentor could see me now, he’d be so disappointed.
I snatched the towel up and turned to head back out. I stopped short, finding him standing right outside the bathroom doorway.
For the first time that night, his gaze lifted to mine and his eyes were wild, blazing with a ferocious heat. My breath caught in my throat, and I’ll be damned if my nipples didn’t pucker under my thin tee. His eyes raked down my body and back up with a slowness that made me fidget. The air crackled around us. I closed my eyes, thinking that it was all in my head. Hell, maybe I was still asleep and having some sort of crazy dream.
But when I opened them again, he was still there. His chest heaved with each breath. His eyes peeked out from the plastered strands of hair that were stuck wildly on his face. I was standing in front of a runaway train waiting for it to crash into me, the headlight blinding me from what was to come. Only I knew exactly what was behind that bright light and I desperately wanted it to crash into me. There was no way I was moving off of the tracks.
Without warning, his huge form propelled towards me. The towel slipped from my hands as his body collided into mine and my arms moved around him, one tangling in his wet hair the other clawing at his back. Then his mouth was on mine, his lips pressing so hard against mine that they felt like they would bruise. The kiss was anything but sweet. It was a mess of biting, sucking, licking, and teeth clattering. It was raw and powerful.
He fisted the back of my shirt right above my butt and like a volcano erupting, my body came alive.
I cried out with a loud moan as my back hit the wall, causing my mouth to rip away from his as the small zap of pain radiated down my spine. His mouth attacked my neck, nipping and sucking with a desperate need to hold onto something, to feel something. It was then that I realized I needed to feel alive as much as he did. It was like I’d been in a light slumber all my life.
My body shivered with his touch and my panties were instantly soaked. My shirt stuck to my skin as the wetness seeped off of him onto me, but fuck if I cared. He thrust his hips into me and I felt the hardness of his bulge against my stomach.
“Save me, Angel,” he mumbled into my neck.
