Crashing Waves (21 page)

Anyway, my father is the one who taught me how to surf. He had learned the summer that he and my mother met. He started taking me surfing when I was three and continued on until…" Rory stopped next to the railing. She looked down at the waves crashing against the jagged rocks below.

Austin felt the change in the woman next to her and looked up to see tears in her eyes.

"My father became very ill all of a sudden when I was seven. He died of cancer three months later, he was only thirty." She took a deep breath, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Angel packed everything up and pulled me out of school. Three weeks after his funeral, we moved back here to the family estate on the Gold Coast. She went back to her maiden name and pushed my father completely out of her life. Her family accepted me with open arms, but it took a lot for her to work her way back in. She went to law school full time. Uncle Mick had already finished law school and had his own firm. He and his wife Lucy practically raised me because Angel was too caught up in school for anything else and honestly, I was a daily reminder of the best time of her life and the biggest mistake she'd ever made," Rory tossed a small rock over the cliff, losing sight of it as it descended.

"She graduated and became my uncle's law partner, until my grandfather helped her move into politics. After I graduated high school, I moved to La Jolla and never looked back. From the time I was seven until I turned eighteen my mother never spoke of my father. My father's family went nuts when she informed them that he'd been cremated. That had been his last wish. He wanted to be spread in the ocean and my mother did what he wanted. They tried to come after her, but had no legal leg to stand on. It was a huge mess and because of that, she forbade me to ever have anything to do with them."

"Oh my God, that's terrible." Austin grabbed Rory's hand.

"Yeah, the only thing I had to keep me going through my childhood was surfing, and of course, Uncle Mick. He wasn't very good at it, but he went surfing with me every single day. His wife left him for some bloke in Melbourne when I was a teenager. He was pretty heartbroken, but it just brought him and me closer. The older I got, the worse things became between my mother and me. She found out I had contacted my paternal grandparents right before I graduated high school and literally flipped out on me. That was the icing on the cake. I never felt at home here. It sounds stupid I guess, but California will always be my home. To me, that's where my dad is."

"That makes sense," Austin said.

"After my first year, she tried to come see me, but I was busy with school and I had been picked up by a few sponsors, so I began surfing the pro tour. I managed to graduate with a double major before winning my second championship. I also worked part time as a design engineer for the board company that sponsored me. I guess you know as well as the rest of the world, I was on my way to winning my fourth championship…that's when…" Rory drew in a deep breath and whispered. "That's when my world ended."

"I'm so sorry, Rory." Austin let go of her hand to wipe away her own tears. She couldn't imagine going through the life Rory had just described. It made her want to go see her mother now more than ever. She hated living on the opposite side of the country, but her mother understood she was following her dreams.

"Angel was running for Queensland State Senator when I had the accident. She came to the hospital, but then she tried to bring me back here to recover and do my physical therapy. I refused. She left and ironically six months later she was elected. I saw her once after that a couple of years ago when she showed up at one of the pro surfing events here because she read in a magazine that I'd be there. We had a huge argument and I haven't seen her since."

"Wow. Did she use your accident to get voted into office?"

"I'm pretty sure she won the sympathy vote whether she wanted to or not. It was national news, but I really don't care. She's always done what she wanted to do and the hell with everyone else. I learned a long a time ago that it's Angel Zane's way, or no way."

"Do you at least talk on the phone with her?" Austin questioned.

"She calls me, or tries to anyway. I never talk to her. She relies on Martie to keep her updated on my life."

"Oh…that must be the hot-tempered woman I've seen you with."

Rory laughed. "Yeah, that's Martie, uh…Martina Cruz, she's the Vice President of my company, along with many, many other titles."

"I see."
I hope lover isn't one of them.
"You're mom asked me about her or rather wanted to know why I was here with you and she wasn't."
 

"I'm not surprised. Uncle Mick and I had an interesting conversation about my mum earlier."

"Was he asking the same thing?"

"No, he knows why you're here."

"Why is that? I mean I know you wanted me to surf bigger sets and see the competition, but why am I really here, Rory?"

Rory chucked another rock over the rail. "Crashing waves," she murmured.

"Huh?"

Rory sighed. "I…I uh…I lost everything in that accident. During my recovery I realized my ears were deaf to the call of the ocean and I'd lost my passion for surfing. I had no desire to go near the water ever again. Everything inside of me died that day." Rory wiped away a tear as she turned to face the woman next to her. "I can't explain it and I don't know how you did it, but Austin, you made me hear the waves and feel the power of the ocean's magnetism again." Rory stepped closer. "This connection between us scares the hell out of me," she whispered just before her lips touched Austin's, ending the internal tango that her heart and mind had been dancing together for the past three months.

The kiss was gentle and slightly hesitant as Rory's heart beat wildly in her chest. She felt Austin's lips part, beckoning her inside. Rory wrapped her arms around Austin's waist, pulling her closer as she deepened the kiss, tasting the woman that had brought her back to life. Austin threaded her arms around Rory's neck, pressing her body fully against Rory's as she returned the kiss intensely, feeding the craving that had been eating away at her since the night they'd shared the tentative, New Year's kiss on the beach.

Rory pulled away breathlessly, staring at the unmasked gray eyes gazing back at her. The desire she saw in them frightened her and fueled the fire burning in her belly at the same time. The cool breeze swirling between them felt like needles on her skin in every place that her body had been heated by Austin's. Rory reached up, running her fingers softly over Austin's cheek. Austin turned into the touch, closing her eyes as Rory's fingers grazed her heated lips. Rory bit her bottom lip, sighing as the last of the breath that she'd been holding, escaped her lungs.

Austin turned ravenous eyes on her once more. Rory had never felt anything like the raw hunger that was driving her. She struggled to breathe, swallowing the lump in her throat. She no longer had control of her body or her mind. The unbridled lust burning deep inside her was like drowning all over again. It scared her to death.

"We can't do this," Rory finally whispered.

Austin put her hand on Rory's chest slightly below her collarbone to steady herself. She was lightheaded from the arousal racing through her veins. Their heated kiss had only scratched the surface and her body yearned for more.

"What?" Austin gasped.

Rory put her hands on Austin's waist to steady her. "Whatever this is between us…it's…it's too much. I can't do this." Rory stepped away and began walking back down the moonlit path.

It took Austin a second to digest what she'd said.

"That's insane," Austin huffed, catching up to her. "You want me just as badly as I want you. Damn it, you can't deny it!" she grabbed Rory's arm as she slowed to a stop. "I felt it. Rory, I felt
you.
"

Rory spun around into her, pushing Austin back against a large gum tree near the side of the gravel path. She pressed her body against Austin's, holding her in place and kissing her hard. Austin put her hands in Rory's hair, tugging and returning the kiss as if Rory was the air her body needed to survive. Rory rocked into her, biting Austin's bottom lip as the flames of desire smoldered inside of her, taking over. She moved her hand from Austin's side to the waistband of her shorts, slipping easily under it.

Austin's breath hitched and her heart raced as she felt Rory's fingers skim across the flesh between her legs. All rational thought had left her erotically intoxicated brain long ago. She was nearly in agony, aching deep inside with anticipation.

Rory pulled Austin's soaked panties to the side, sliding her fingers through the wetness and easily inside of her, pushing her fingers deeper as she kissed her harder. The hunger coursing through Rory veins was driving her wild. She felt alive.

Austin pulled out of the kiss, gasping for air and grinding herself between the tree and Rory's body as Rory's fingers drove in and out of her. Hot wetness covered the palm of Rory's hand as she pressed it against Austin's throbbing center. Austin tugged hard on the short hair at the back of Rory's head as Rory kissed her hard once more, nearly drawing blood as she bit her lower lip.

A guttural moan escaped Austin's mouth as she panted heavily, breathing like a caged bull. Beads of sweat ran from her forehead down the sides of her face. The boiling blood surging through her body roared loudly in her ears. Rory pushed another finger inside of her and Austin screamed out, thrusting down as hard as she could as the orgasm tore through her body, rendering her senseless. She collapsed against the woman holding her up.

The feral appetite driving Rory's wild nature dissipated as she slowly caught her breath. She pulled her hand free, backing away from Austin. Her nerves stung as the air cooled her heated body. It had been so long since she'd last touched another woman and the feverish magnetism between them had nearly driven her mad with urgency.

"I'm so sorry," Rory whispered.

Austin wiped her face on the sleeve of her t-shirt as the blood moved slowly back down to her wobbly legs. Her ragged breathing was starting to calm. "Sorry for what?" she replied.

"That was completely barbaric of me. I…I don't know what came over me."
Oh my God, what have I done?
Rory ran her hand through her hair. "Did I hurt you?"

"Hey," Austin stepped closer, running her hand over Rory's cheek and meeting her eyes. "You definitely did not hurt me, Rory. You took me by surprise, but I never wanted you to stop."

Rory tried to comprehend what had transpired between them and justify her actions, but the uncontrolled passion terrified her.
"I've never been aggressive like that with anything, except surfing, and surely never another person. That will never happen again."

"I hope you're not serious," Austin chided.

"I'm very serious. It was unintentional and I apologize," Rory said as she turned around and walked away.
I completely lost control of myself.
 

~ ~ ~

As soon as the sun rose the next morning, Angel met her daughter as she descended the staircase, asking her to step into the library. Rory sighed and followed her down the hall. She wasn't in the mood for another go around with her mother. All she wanted to do was get on a plane and fly as far away from Australia as fast as possible, but the thought of sitting next to Austin for the eighteen hour journey made her queasy.

"Have a seat," Angel said, sitting across from her.

Here we go…again.
Rory sighed. "We don't have to do this now."

"Yes. Yes, we do."

"Fine."

"Rory, for what it's worth…I'm sorry," she ended just above a whisper.

"Don't do this now, you're too late…"

"I know…I…ever since your accident…"

"Please…"

"I almost lost you too…Rory,"

Rory saw the tears running down her mother's face and felt a tear of her own slip away. "I can't just forget…"

"I don't expect you to. I know I was wrong…"

"Wrong? You kept me from my family and you took him from me!" Rory yelled.

"I didn't know what else to do…"

"It's not that easy. I'll never forgive you. You tossed me aside and forced me to believe my grandparents were the reason you kept me from my father's family. He was my God damn father!"

"I know Rory, I know and I'm so sorry. I can't apologize enough for the things I did when you were younger. I did what I thought was best for both of us."

"That's bullshit and it's way too late for sorry. You pretty much wrote me off too, when I moved away from here. At least until my accident, which by the way you obviously used to get yourself elected so way to go. I'm glad I was able to help you out by cracking my skull and drowning! I fucking died on that beach and you didn't give a shit," Rory screamed as tears poured down her cheeks.

"That's not true. I rushed to your side. You’re my daughter, Rory, and no matter how much you hate me or think that I hate you, I will always love you."

"Then why the fuck did you leave me in that hospital when I refused to come back here to recover? I couldn't walk, I couldn't talk, I barely knew who the fuck I was and you just left me! I hated you for making me feel like I wasn't worth your time!"

Angel stared at the floor, wiping tears from her face. "You…you needed Martie more than you needed me. She was the one you were asking for and wanting to see when you finally woke up from the coma. What was I supposed to do? I can't compete with her. I never could. She replaced me in your life a long time ago and I've learned to accept that."

"Martie? She has nothing to do with this. You're my fucking mother!" Rory shook her head. "I get it now. You'd taken everything else from me and tried to take her away by bringing me here to recover, but it didn't work. She was the one thing you were unable to take away. When are you going to wake up and accept that I'm an adult and you can't run my life?"

"Rory, you pushed me completely out of your life when you moved away. Then, you brought Martie with you the first time you came back and I thought you were making the same mistakes I had made. I didn't want you to suffer the heartache that I had gone through. Your father and I were barely making ends meet before he became sick."