A Storm Is Coming (16 page)

They ached to be touched by him in the same way now. Her body clenched desperately at an emptiness she knew he could fill. The heat continued to rush to the hollowness between her legs as Alex cupped her from behind. Somehow, Braylee managed to wrap one leg around his waist.

He grunted as he pumped his thickness into her body over and over again.

Breathlessly her words escaped, “Yes…I need you…this.”

Hungrily, she thrust her tongue deeply into his mouth. Sucking and swirling hers with his until they found a rhythm that was in sync with their bodies. It was an incredible dance.

Alexandro was so hard it was painful. Instinctively, his body tried to connect with Braylee through the barrier of their clothing. He pounded and pounded into her.

Moments later, he felt her come apart in his arms.

Alex didn’t want to let go. He had wanted this…no needed this for so long that it was almost obscene. His body was begging to be fulfilled, to lay right where they were, strip down naked and make love until neither of them could walk.

This moment was rare…special…because for the first time since he’d let her walk out of his life, Braylee didn’t think about what was the right thing to do. She just went with what felt right and all it took was a tornado to get her to let her guard down.

Somehow, in the midst of their raging desire, he found the will to pull away. The last thing Alexandro wanted was to lose their connection. He touched his forehead to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist. Panting heavily, each trying to catch their breath.

“Braylee, I need to get you somewhere safe and to make sure Cecily is okay.”

He was more than a little concerned that the storm had made the house unstable and that the ceiling could still come crashing down on them.

She was disoriented for a few moments while trying to calm down from such an explosive orgasm. Once her mind started to clear, she eased her leg down from his waist. Braylee was shocked at her ferocious primal need for him.

Alex watched her face the entire time. She was more beautiful than ever. And for once, she didn’t try to hide the different emotions warring inside. He saw the fear, the uncertainty, the vulnerability and the euphoria all over her.

In a hoarse whisper, Braylee responded, “Yes. Of course, I understand.”

Alexandro stood and helped her off of the cold floor, “Can you stand?”

Although slightly embarrassed and legs like jelly, she could stand, “Yes. I’m…I’m…good.”

Once he was certain she could stand on her own, Alex pulled his cell phone out of his inner jacket. There was no signal. But, just to be sure, he punched in Cecily’s phone number. No service.

“Damn. I don’t have any service.”

Braylee remembered she had her phone too, “Let me try mine.” She bent low to pick up her purse and pulled it out. With shaking fingers, she had the same result. No signal…no service. “Maybe we’ll have service once we get out of here.”

Alex nodded and motioned for her to stay put. He went over to the stairs to make sure they were sound enough for them to walk on. He handed her the flashlight before he slowly mounted them.

“Just wait here. Let me go up first. If I make it up, then you can follow me.”

Nervously, Braylee wrapped her arms around her body. She didn’t like the idea of him testing out those stairs any more than he wanted her too. However, when that firm set of his jaw was in place, she’d learned there was no changing his mind. Instead, all she could do was cringe with each step he took until he’d finally made it to the top.

Relief flooded through her.

He yelled down, “Okay…it seems fine. Come on up.”

Braylee quickly climbed the steps. The closer she made it to the top, the more she realized that half the roof was missing along with several walls. As a matter of fact, they were virtually standing outside.

Alexandro took her by the hand to get away from the house. He didn’t want what was left to fall in or on them.

The rain was now falling softly as she turned around in a circle to see the utter destruction left by the tornado. Homes had been leveled for as far as the eyes could see.

Where was their car? It certainly wasn’t on the curb where they’d left it. It was gone. Hell…where was the street? So much debris littered it that it was hard to find.

People were coming out of what was left of their homes and milling about in the rain…walking around like zombies.

Braylee’s teeth chattered as her body began to tremble most likely from the cold rain, but quite possibly from the shock of her situation. Alex rummaged through the emergency bag he’d pulled from the trunk of the car and took out a plastic sheet. He drew Braylee into the crook of his arms, as he covered them with it, hoping to shield them from the rain.

“Oh my god, Alex. This is crazy. It looks like a bomb has been dropped on us. How in the world are we going to get home from here?”

That was a good question, “Let me try my phone.” He pulled out his cell and by some miracle was able to get a signal. He called Cecily first. She was home safe with Fabi watching the devastation on the news.

The storm had turned towards the lake and wasn’t a threat to them. Cecily told him that they were just getting some rain.

It was probably best not to tell her that he’d seen the storm up close and personal. Once Alex reassured his niece that he was okay, he attempted to call into his office. It had taken several tries before he got through, but everybody seemed to be good there too. Finally, Alex could breathe. Everyone who meant something to him was safe.

Braylee attempted to use her cell too. The first time her call didn’t go through. She tried it again and was able to connect with Nate.

He was worried, “Where the hell are you?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I’m with Alexandro. We didn’t make it to our destination.”

“You’re phone is spotty. You’re coming in and out. Are you safe?”

“Yes.”

Nate raised his voice, “What…I still can’t hear you. Say it one more time.”

Braylee yelled as she tried to plug her ear to drown out the outside noise, “Yes! I’m safe. Obviously, I won’t be back into the office today. As a matter of fact, tell everyone to go home right now. Whatever is not finished just leave it and go home.”

“Will do. Are you sure you’re safe?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“Well, I’m keeping my cell close. Call me as soon as you make it home.”

“Thanks, Nate.”

They disconnected.

Braylee called her IT guy. The call didn’t go through. She waited a moment before she tried it again. It connected. His phone rang and rang, but there was no answer.

Then she remembered, he lived in the north suburbs where they’d had a tornado touch down too. Braylee hoped that he was okay and that the information he’d had for them wasn’t lost in all of this chaos.

Alex looked around again at the utter destruction. He was contemplative, pensive, “It’s going to be dark soon.” Sighing, “We can’t stay here. Give me your shoes.”

“Gi…Give you my shoes? Lord…Why?”

“I’m guessing we won’t get very far with you walking in those heels. Who knows how long it’s going to take for emergency services to get to us. Look at these streets. We’re going to have to go to them.”

Hesitantly, Braylee thought about that. But, still…what did he want with her shoes? She couldn’t walk in all of that glass and debris barefoot.

She held on to him as she gave him one of her favorite pairs. They were no good anymore now. Alex took the shoe and broke the heel off and then he did the same with the other one. While still very uncomfortable, at least she’d be able to walk in them.

“We should get moving. Hopefully, we’ll run into someone before too long.

Chapter 22

It had taken hours for Alexandro and Braylee to make it home. They’d walked and walked seemingly for endless miles. Luckily, the rain stopped shortly after they began looking for help.

And, as they walked out of the neighborhood, Alex would intermittently stop to assist when someone would call out for help.

Darkness had fallen upon them. Alex made sure Braylee stayed close. She was exhausted, cold, and dirty. “My god Alex…remind me never to live in the boonies. We would have had emergency responders in place had this nightmare occurred in the city.”

Alex spotted flashing red lights, “I think our prayers have been answered. Look…” He pointed towards what he hoped were first responders, “And…remind me to make a huge donation to whatever the hell outfit they’re with.”

“Oh…thank god! I hope you’re right. And, I’ll be right behind you writing out a big fat check.”

They walked faster in the direction of the lights. As soon as they rounded the corner there it was…a Red Cross truck.

Braylee bent over with her hands touching her knees, “Wait…just give me a second to catch my breath.”

“Come on baby. You can do this. We’ve walked this far salvation is just a few steps away. If I need to, I’ll throw you over my shoulder.”

She was tempted to let him try especially since she couldn’t even feel her feet anymore. “Right. I’ve got this. I just need a breather.” She stood, “Let’s go.”

Alex could see the pain on her face as she attempted to walk. They weren’t that far from the truck, so he swooped her up into his arms. “Come here.”

Braylee’s eyes widened in surprise, “What are you doing? Put me down. Are you crazy?”

“Stop squirming. It’s obvious you’re in pain, and we’re almost there.”

He was right. She did feel a little guilty because he was exhausted too, but there was no arguing with him. So, Braylee just wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

For just a second, she closed her eyes. And in what seemed like no time at all, they’d made it to the makeshift disaster relief area.

After being checked out by an EMT and given a blanket, they were finally loaded onto a vehicle. It took them to a school parking lot that also doubled as another emergency relief area.

Braylee was a mess. Not only was her hair all over the place, but so were her nerves. She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear as she made a call, “Everybody is probably worried about us. I promised Nate I’d call him when I got home. That was hours ago. I hope he called Lisa.”

Alex chuckled, “If Nate weren’t gay, I’d almost be worried about how close you two are.”

She furrowed her brows, “What? Nate’s not gay? Whatever gave you that impression?”

“Nate’s not gay?”

Braylee shook her head and mouthed the words, “no” as she spoke into her phone.

He was stunned. Nate not being gay put a whole different perspective on things. He had a ton of questions that for now…would have to wait. In the meantime, while Braylee was on her call, he needed to contact his private car service to come and pick them up.

As they sat on the curb waiting, instinctively, he put his arms around her shoulder. And, she automatically laid her head on his shoulder as if it were the most natural thing.

There was no place Braylee would rather be than tucked into the safeness of his arms. She could honestly say that she’d never felt more protected than she had being with Alexandro.

*****

Alex whispered into Braylee’s ear, “Babe…the car is here.”

Her head snapped up. Did she really fall asleep in all of this madness?

It was close to midnight by the time she was finally able to kick off her shoes in the backseat of the car. Her nerves were still shot, but Braylee needed to make one more phone call. She’d hoped that her battery on her phone would have died by now, but no, she still had one bar left.

Whispering into the darkness, “I need to call my parents. I’m sure they are probably worried sick about me.” Her voice was slightly unsteady. In all honesty, Braylee was sure of no such thing. The phone rang several times. Just when she didn’t think anyone would pick up, she heard the sound of her mother’s voice on the other end.

“Hi…mama.”

Mrs. Hinsdale did nothing to hide her irritation, “Girl…do you know what time it is? You’re going to wake the whole house up calling this late.”

Tears pricked her eyes, “I…I know it’s late. I just wanted to hear your voice. It’s been a really long day…”

Katherine interrupted, “Well, I’m sure whatever it is could have waited until tomorrow.”

Braylee closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Why did her mother always have to be so cold? Dammit, she just wanted to hear her voice. Weren’t mothers supposed to comfort their children? Braylee spoke softly, “You’re right. I didn’t want anything important. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She quickly disconnected and threw her phone in her bag. Her tears were close to spilling onto her cheeks as she desperately fought to keep them at bay. So, instead she gazed out of the window.

The questions. She could feel his eyes boring into her. If she looked at him…he’d know.

After a moment or so, once she felt she had her emotions under control, Braylee did her best to lighten the mood, “You know, I’ve learned so many valuable lessons today. But, the one that will stay with me forever is always to keep a pair of kicks in the trunk.”

He didn’t know what was said on that conversation with her mother, but he knew that it hurt her. Was that it? Was that why it was so hard for her to let her guard down? All Alex wanted to do was gather her close.

She turned to him, “Thank you for keeping me safe today.”

“I’ll do anything for you. I hope you know that.”

Braylee mustered up a smile, “I do now.”

Perfect timing. The car pulled up to her apartment. Braylee gathered her shoes and bag. “Home sweet home. I can’t wait to get into a hot bath, and then I think I’m going to sleep for a week.”

She gazed deeply into his eyes just before leaning into him and kissing him softly on the lips. “Thank you again for today.”

She was about to get out when Alexandro reached out to take her hand in his, “Stay with me tonight.”