Breeze of Life (15 page)

“I’m Evan Lomin, I am the manager of this establishment. I was checking on our CTV footage upstairs when I saw the altercation.  I radioed my guys as soon as I realized what was going on. Do you want to press charges, Miss?” He glanced at me and I shook my head, trying to bury my face in Harper’s chest. I couldn’t seem to get control of my emotions right now and I felt like a weeping mess. “All our footage gets downloaded to a server, if you change your mind I can provide you with a copy of the incident.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lomin,” said Harper, his voice reverberating through his chest.

“Do either of you need an ambulance?”

“No thank you, just call a cab if you wouldn’t mind.”  We were escorted to a small room behind the bar while we waited for our cab.

“Mr. Somerville, I can’t control the footage that might appear via personal phones.” I was still pretty drunk but I knew what he meant. Harper in a fight would make news for sure.

“I’ve got a publicist who can take care of that shit. I’ll call her when we get back to our hotel.” Evan nodded and made sure we had a couple of glasses of ice cold water before he left us alone. I was still tucked close to Harper’s chest, my sobs a little more controlled now as he rubbed soothing circles on my back. Somehow I began to gain control of my heavily swayed, drunken emotions. After a few lingering sniffles, I sat back and rubbed my tired puffy eyes.

“Do I look like I’ve been crying?” I said sheepishly.

“Truth?” he asked.

“Of course not,” I whispered.

“Your eyes are not puffy, your nose is not red and you look as though you just stepped out of a salon,” he said smiling.

“That good, huh?”

“Breeze, you always look beautiful to me, snotty nose, red eyes and all.” I sagged back into his chest, unable to separate myself from his warmth anymore.

“Mr. McDonald totally busted my happy high,” I murmured.

“He told you his name was Mr. McDonald?”

I chuckled. “No, but he told me if I were a McDonald’s burger I’d be called a McGorgeous.” Harper was quiet for a moment before laughter burst from his lips. I think he may have laughed so hard he may have come close to peeing himself too.

The drive back to the hotel was less than ten minutes and once inside I slipped into the bathroom and changed into a night shirt and scrubbed my face clean. I grimaced at my reflection in the mirror. Yeah, I looked like crap, but at this moment I didn’t really care. The only person whose opinion of me mattered had already confessed he didn’t care about my snotty nose. Harper was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers when I left the bathroom and his smooth firm body easily caught my attention. The memory of running my tongue down the solid wall of his chest and hard stomach had my eyes following the path with fond recollection.

“See something you like?” Harper smirked.

“You tasted good,” I brazenly said, possibly helped along by the beers and shots. My inner woman didn’t care who or what helped me. She was beaming with pride and satisfaction from within the confines of the room she’d been locked in for far too long now. Harper’s eyes fell shut as he seemed to absorb my words.

“Damn, baby, don’t say shit like that unless you want me to pounce on you.”

“Pounce, like a cat?” I asked laughing.

“Pounce, as in a hungry fucking tiger who wants to sink his damn teeth into that delicious body.”

“That’s another hour of servitude,” I noted climbing under the covers. Harper flicked the lights off and slid in beside me.

“Trust me, Breeze, being your slave is something I am definitely looking forward to.” My head spun a little when I closed my eyes so I quickly opened them back up and groaned.

“Got the spins?” I nodded. Harper got up and spun around so his feet were now by my head, his own head by my feet. “Turn around and come down here.” I shuffled around until my head was by his again. “Move back so your head is hanging off the edge of the bed.” I hesitated for only a second before moving towards the end of the bed and hanging my head over the edge. “Close your eyes,” he whispered from beside me. I closed my eyes and curiously enough, there was no spinning.

“Holy hell, Harper. You are a genius,” I shrieked. Yep, I was still a little drunk.

“See, all that partying on the tour did teach me something,” he laughed. Harper didn’t reach for my hand tonight, instead I reached for his. He took it eagerly and raised it to his mouth, leaving a lingering kiss on the back of my fingers. “It scared the shit out of me seeing that guy’s hands on you tonight. I didn’t think twice about killing him.” I turned to look at Harper and it was awkward with my head hanging off the edge. Thankfully he shuffled back to join me.

“You wouldn’t have gone that far,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” he breathed, “I would have.”

“It scared me seeing someone hit you,” I confessed. The moment Mr. McDonald’s fist had landed on Harper I had gone insane.

“Just a tap, it will hardly leave a bruise.” We lay in perfect silence for the longest time. As my mind finally began to drift, I rolled to my side and wrapped my body around Harper’s, our heads still hanging off the end of the bed.

“I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know how I got through the year without you,” I admitted. Harper pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“You’re stronger than you think, Breeze, you can do anything. But for future reference, if you ever leave me out of your life like that again, I will spank you.” I smiled as I drifted to sleep.

Chapter 14

Goofy Foot

A person who places their right leg forward when surfing; natural footed is the opposite stance

The next morning Harper woke me with a bacon and egg McMuffin and a cheesy grin on his face.

“For my McGorgeous.” I couldn’t help the laughter that burst from my chest. I sat up and devoured my hangover cure, grease! Two painkillers and one long hot shower later we were back on the road. Harper headed straight for the beach and pulled the Jeep into a car park, checking the surf. Gahhh, I hated surf check time. He soon climbed out and popped open the back, rummaged through our bags before appearing by my door. He flicked a bikini and rash vest through the window at me. I just stared at him.

“What?” I finally asked as he disappeared around the back of the Jeep again.

“Surf is small, couple of feet and completely wind free. Perfect for you first surf lesson.” I’d climbed from the car and now my feet became glued to the ground. Harper glanced at me over his shoulder. “Don’t freeze up now, we had a deal, remember? I sang, you surf.” I remained frozen. I wasn’t mentally prepared for this, I needed a few hours if not a few days to talk myself into something like this. “If you don’t get moving, I will strip you where you stand.” His grin was teasing but his eyes were filled with something else, perhaps a silent hope that I remained still?

“Where do I get changed?” I squealed looking around. There were no bathrooms in sight. Harper held up a towel and backed me in behind the door of the Jeep.

“Hurry up.” He smiled

“Here?” I yelled.

“Yeah, Breeze, here. My eyes are closed so hurry up.” His eyes were closed but I still didn’t feel comfortable just stripping off in public. The car door protected my modesty from one side while Harper and the towel protected anyone from seeing on the other side. Not that there was anyone else around, but you could never be too careful with public displays of nudity. I had already crossed my brave skinny dipping never off. Nevertheless, I quickly changed.

Now standing on the beach with a healthy supply of sun cream on my naked head, Harper tied a knot in the back of his far too large rash vest that I again wore. He walked me to the shoreline and placed the surfboard down on the sand.

“Okay, Breeze, surfing is like walking on water, sometimes you take it at a gentle stroll, sometimes it’s a race for your life. Today it’s a stroll—nice, calm, and quiet.  I’ll give you a few pointers for paddling once we’re out there but the standing part we’re gonna practice here first.” I was grateful for the delay in actually getting into the water. Playing the part of an obedient student, I laid down on the board and positioned my hands on the smooth rails, then sprung to my feet just as Harper had shown me. “No, you gotta go straight to your feet, you’re going to your knee first.” I tried again. “Knee again,” he patiently said. I on the other hand bristled. It didn’t feel like I had gone to my knee first. We repeated this several times until my patience meter cracked.

“What the hell, Harper! My knee isn’t touching the stupid board!”  He grinned and rubbed a hand over his buzz cut.

“Actually, you didn’t the last couple of times, but you look so damn hot down there I just wanted to see you do it again.”

“You son of a….” I jumped up and tried to tackle him, which I can only compare to hitting a brick wall. He easily pinned my arms at my side and his breath was soon at my ear.

“Is that your way of asking me to put my hands on you?” he whispered.

“If you make me do that stupid pop-up thing one more time I’ll be putting my knee in your balls,” I growled, my temper still frayed even though the delicious feel of his hard body around mine was making my stomach do somersaults.  Harper laughed and let me go, then quickly attached the leg rope to my left ankle, because apparently I was a goofy foot. Figures! Harper is natural, I am goofy—story of my life.  Once I hit the water, I began to freak out. The waves were small but once standing before them they looked more like mountains.

“Climb on up, baby girl, I’ll help you paddle out.” True to his word Harper towed me and the board over the gentle waves. He was only chest deep in the water and easily able to keep me and the board afloat.

“What do I do if I fall off?” I asked, the nerves in my voice clearly recognizable.

“Then I help you back out and you try again.” Harper’s eyes were glued to the ocean before us.

“You know I’m a bad swimmer, Harper, and I’m really not at the peak of my physical endurance at the moment.” His hand rested on my lower back, rubbing comforting circles across my exposed skin.

“Breeze, if you got off that board now you could touch and you’re headed in that direction,” he pointed to the beach. “It gets shallower as you go in. If you fall you simply find the ground under your feet and stand up. The board is attached to your ankle so you aren’t going anywhere without it, okay?” It sounded simple enough. “Here we go, I’m gonna give you a push but you have to paddle. When you feel the back of the board lift you’re gonna pop up just like we practiced on the beach.” Harper turned the board and I around to face the beach, then with one big push I felt myself move across the water. Using my arms to paddle as quickly as I could, I soon felt the sensation of the back of the board lift. The speed that suddenly swept me toward shore surprised me and I chickened out on the whole pop-up to my feet part. As soon as I could make out the sandy bottom, I jumped off the board and turned around to search for Harper. He swam in behind me.

“Your forget something, baby girl?” he teased. I rolled my eyes and turned the board around, allowing Harper to pull me out beyond the waves once more. “I’ll make you a deal,” Harper said as we floated on the peaceful ocean. “If you stand and ride one wave we’ll call it a day if you want.”

“And if I don’t?” Harper’s hand reached for my bald head, his hand running down the back of it and resting at my neck.

“I don’t want you getting sunburnt so we’ll only stay out an hour tops.” He was taking care of me, as he has always done. Damn, his selfless attentiveness to me had forced every single feeling I had for him bubbling to the surface. It was only a matter of time before it all spilt out. “Deal?” I nodded and he quickly pressed a chaste kiss to the backs of my fingers. “Let’s do this then.” His eyes sparkled with excitement. He turned the board and gave it another push. Paddling hard I felt the moment the back of the board began to lift. I was expecting the momentum this time and I gripped the rails of the board and pressed myself up. I tried as quickly and as ‘knee free’ as possible to get my feet under me. As soon as I began to push myself to a standing position I toppled right off. I easily found the ocean floor and stood in waist deep water. Well, that wasn’t so difficult. It felt like the salt water had flooded every orifice of my body, but it wasn’t completely unpleasant.

“That was better but you hesitated. You need to push straight up, no hesitation.” Harper swam in beside me and gathered the board by my side once more. We did this several more times and soon my arms were burning. I couldn’t imagine how much strength it took Harper to ride the waves he did. Obviously, this explained his dream worthy body. With another push I was riding another gentle wave in to the shore, this time though I gripped the rail and jumped straight to my feet, keeping my stance wide and my knees bent. HOLY SHIT! I was standing! I was surfing! The wave moved me swiftly towards the shore and I jumped into the knee deep water and laughed like a crazy person, throwing my arms about and wiggling my butt. Harper’s laughter came from behind me and I turned and threw myself into his unsuspecting arms. He let the momentum take us back into the water, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. When I came down from my cloud of surfing delirium, I realized how close our bodies had become entwined. My eyes fell from Harper’s approving eyes to his full lips. I licked my own as I imagined kissing him, tasting him. “You just have to ask, Breeze,” he whispered. I closed my eyes leaning my forehead into his, resting it there, so close but yet so far. The tugging at the leash around my ankle caught my attention and Harper moved to grab the insistent pull of the board. “You wanna go again?” he asked. I looked to the surf and wanted desperately to say yes. Surfing hadn’t been half as bad as I thought it would be and having had a taste I found myself wanting more. But my arms ached and I knew my head had been out in the sun long enough.

“I kind of have spaghetti arms,” I answered truthfully.

“Head on in and get dry then. I’m gonna play around for a bit.” He undid the Velcro tab on my ankle tethering me to the board and with a far too quick kiss to my brow he jumped on the board and paddled out past the breaking waves. It was official, Harper Somerville, my best friend, had penetrated all my defenses, made my inner woman stalk forth from a locked room and purr with approval. He had opened my eyes to the life around me. He had opened my eyes to my heart. Every feeling I had ever had for Harper now swirled through my body with restless demand.