She held me, saying nothing as all my fear and pain came pouring out of me. I clutched her, unable to let her go, her touch as necessary to me in that moment as breathing. I clung to her, unable to stop my tears as I began mourning the loss of my brothers and friends, something I hadn’t allowed myself to do, her touch shattering the walls I’d build around my misery, lancing the anguish and allowing it to spill forth.
Finally, after a many long moments, a type of peace began settling over me. I hadn’t pulled out or gone soft as I held her, shaking and gasping as I thought of my brothers. I needed her. I needed her like I’d never needed anyone before. I couldn’t explain my feelings for her, and I knew once the danger to her was past, life could force us to go our separate ways, but for now, I needed her. I’d taken her again. I’d never been able to make love to a woman three times in so short a period, but with Willow I could do anything.
“Colt?” she asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Thinking.” My attention refocused on my phone’s display. Still 2:58. I tucked the device away. “We need to rock. It’s going to be almost midnight before we get to Houston as it is.”
She nodded as she started to the driver’s door. “Waiting on you.”
-oOo-
I tossed my suitcase into the passenger seat of the pickup. “I don’t expect any trouble, but if something happens, you floor this bastard and run like hell, you got it?”
“Got it,” Willow said from behind the steering wheel.
“I mean it, Willow. There’s not a lot I can do on my bike, so you run, and don’t stop for anything.”
“I got it!” she said with a small smile.
I shut the door as she started the truck. I sauntered around to her side as she began rolling her window down, pausing at her door to reach through the window to pull her lips to mine. It was after six, and we were finally packed and ready to roll. I was going to follow her on my bike since loading it into the truck would make us later leaving still, and trying to fit it around the core samples would have been a pain in the ass, if it were even possible.
“Okay. I’ll have to stop once for gas, so just follow me off. We’ll grab dinner at the same time.”
“Okay, but let’s get on with it. I’m already getting hungry.”
-oOo-
I rumbled along the interstate, following the Ford’s taillamps just far enough back so I wasn’t battered by the turbulence it created, but close enough that I could keep an eye on passing cars. There was dick all I could do on my bike if someone intended to hurt her, but maybe I could buy her enough time to realize the danger and run before they got their first shot at her. As the triple headlamps on my Heritage Classic peeled away the darkness, my mind wandered as it sometimes did when I rode. Riding was always a good way for me to clear away the bullshit in my head.
I was again thinking of how Willow had made me feel last night. I’d loved Britt, or at least I thought I had, but now I wondered. The feelings I had for Willow were the same as those I’d had for Britt, yet different. There was no questioning that I was attracted to her. Willow was a beautiful and sexy woman, and I’d have gladly fucked her the moment I met her, but now there was more than that. A lot more. I still wanted her physically, but I also wanted her presence. That was how I’d felt with Britt. I’d also enjoyed Britt’s company, and I wanted her with me, even when she wasn’t riding my cock.
While I had those same feeling for Willow, there was something more there, something I couldn’t put to words, something I didn’t understand, but something certainly felt. I enjoyed having Britt with me, but I wanted Willow. Not only did I want her in my bed, and in my arms, but I simply wanted her at my side. It was almost as if I was no longer complete with her.
Was that love? I had no idea. I loved my parents, but I damn sure didn’t feel about them the way I was starting to feel about Willow. The feeling I had for Willow were more like those I had for Britt, yet they were also different. Could the difference be because I’d been with Britt longer? That didn’t make much sense because the desire to be with Willow was stronger than it’d been for Britt. Stronger, but in less time?
Could it be I was starting for fall for her already? We’d only been sleeping together for a few days, but we’d been together much longer. I’d never been with a woman so long before fucking her. Could that explain the difference? I didn’t know.
I smiled into the darkness. The big, bad-ass biker falling the nerdy geologist? It sounded like the plot for some sappy romance movie. The difference was, this wasn’t some sappy romance movie, Willow was anything but nerdy, and I didn’t consider myself to be a big, bad-ass biker. Still, I wondered if it was possible. Could it be that I was falling for her? Could she be feeling the attraction too? She seemed to enjoy my company just as much as I enjoyed hers. Could we be falling for each other?
A thrill raced through me that had nothing to do with riding and I smiled with the thought. Was it possible that our attraction to each other was more than physical? Last night, especially the second time, had been an amazingly intense sexual experience, but the morning of the funeral, even though I’d only held her, she had comforted me just as much. Was that love? Did drawing strength and comfort from the other simply because of who they were mean someone was in love?
I didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure how to find out. Maybe I couldn’t find out. Maybe the reason there were so many words trying to describe love was because no words could. That was certainly how I felt. I couldn’t articulate it, or describe it, but I damn sure felt it… and I liked it.
I glanced at the trip odometer. I was going to need gas soon. I checked my mirror to make sure the lane was clear before rolling on the throttle. The ride was clearing up a few things, but muddling others. I roared past the Ford before settling into the lane in front of Willow. I clearly had some things I needed to work out, and that was going to require more research. A faint smile appeared. I’d never been one to worry a problem. I tended to take my best guess and then work it out from there, adjusting as I went along. This time, however, I was looking forward to throwing myself into some deep and extensive research on the matter.
-oOo-
Mafic was waiting inside the door to greet us, and she picked her cat up and nuzzled him, talking to him like he was a baby.
“Jesus, I’m beat,” I muttered as I turned and began trudging up the steps to Willow’s bedroom, wearing nothing but my underwear, with our suitcases in hand. It was still raining, and I’d taken my wet clothes off in the garage, leaving them on my bike, so I didn’t drip all over her house. I’d deal with them in the morning.
“Me too,” she muttered as she shut the door to the garage behind me while still cuddling her cat.
Leaving her with Mafic, I climbed the steps and then began unpacking my suitcase. I was almost done when I heard her come up the steps before turning into the laundry room. Moment later I heard the rustle and scrape of her cleaning the cat’s box. I didn’t mind cats, and Mafic was better than most, but if I were going to have a cat of my own, he’d have to learn to go outside to do his business, like a dog, or live outside.