Move the Sun (Signal Bend Series) (25 page)

“Water’s deep,” she gasped, with a strained little smile. “Cold.”

“
I gotcha. Wanna head back?” She nodded, and he pulled her close and swam back. She didn’t fight at all, and Isaac was glad to be able to concentrate on getting them back to the beach. When he got to water they could stand in, though, she didn’t. She’d passed out. Fuck. Thankfully, he could feel her chest moving under his arm, so he knew she was breathing. He swept her naked body into his arms and walked onto the beach.

Duncan and Mindy were both waiting for them. Mindy had the blanket spread wide, waiting to wrap Lilli in it. When she saw that Isaac was carrying her, she shifted her hold so that she could cover Lilli in his arms. Duncan had their clothes.

“She okay?”

Isaac grunted. “Don’t know. Gotta get her back to the camper.”

“Wait, Isaac.” Mindy put her hand on his arm. “She’s freezing. Sit at the fire for a few minutes to warm her up. You, too.”

He nodded and sat down where they’d started the night. Cradling Lilli in his arms, he checked her over. She was
still breathing, so it wasn’t that she’d drowned. Her pulse was strong, if fast. But even in the firelight, he could see that she was shockingly pale. He pressed his lips to her forehead; she was deeply chilled. He wrapped the blanket tighter. He was shivering himself, but he didn’t care. “Lilli, baby. Come on. What’s wrong?”

He didn’t understand what the holy fuck had happened. She went to the bathroom, and then she was swimming naked and wasted, in the dark, out to the middle of a lake? She’d gone much farther, into dangerous territory, when he’d called for her. Like she was trying to get away from him. He didn’t understand.

He had no idea how long they sat there. For the most part, the party went on around them. Somebody—Isaac didn’t even notice who—draped a rough woolen blanket over his shoulders. Duncan took their clothes back to the camper. Otherwise, they were left alone.

When she woke, or came to, or whatever, she did so violently, in the way she sometimes came out of her dreams. Isaac took a hard hit to his chin befor
e he could get the right hold on her. He squeezed her close, pinning her arms until she settled. When she did, he pulled back so he could see her.

“Hey, Flipper. You with me?”

After a confused second or two, she nodded. “I don’t—I—I’m naked.”

Relieved, confused, but no longer angry, Isaac laughed. “Indeed you are. I’m gonna pick you up and carry you to the camper, okay? We’re gonna sleep, and in the morning, we’re gonna talk.”

When he picked her up, she hooked her arm around his neck and laid her head on his chest.

~oOo~

He tucked her close, curling his body around hers. Lilli slept right away, having barely woken at the bonfire, and Isaac was able to sleep, too, once he felt sure she was settled.

He woke at dawn to the sounds and smells of camp waking up—people at neighboring sites speaking quietly, fixing campfire breakfasts, heading off to showers. He was stiff. They hadn’t moved all night, and the camper bed wasn’t exactly luxurious. He had a bad moment, when he feared something terrible had happened, but Lilli was simply sleeping deeply. She stirred, sighing prettily, when he came up on his elbow.

Her lake adventure had really thrown him. He didn’t know whether it was a big deal, or whether he should make it a big deal, but she could have died. Stupidly. And he had no fucking idea why
.

They needed to get up, though. He rubbed his hand up and down the
firm, satiny length of her arm. He kissed her shoulder. She tasted like lake and bonfire, and he felt his heart cramp at the memory of his fear. And his anger. She stirred again, her beautiful ass sliding slightly against his rigid cock.

He shifted his hips back; she was probably feeling like crap. Not the morning to get anything started.
His hand on her shoulder, he gave her a gentle shake. “Time to get up, Sport.” She moaned a little and curled up more tightly, her ass coming back to graze his cock again. Christ, he wanted her. He felt a need for her whenever she was near, like a buzz in the back of his head, but skin to skin with her, the urge was almost overwhelming. He flexed against her, unable not to, and then turned and sat up, making some better space between them.

He swatted
the ass that was causing him such consternation. “Lilli, baby, up you go.” This time she rolled to her back and opened her eyes, giving him a nasty look. The hangover hit her then. “Ow. Fuck.”

He couldn’t help the grin.
“Not surprised. You had an adventurous night. How d’you feel besides your head?”

She sat up and groaned. Her hair was a matted mess, and she looked pained, but otherwise okay. “Like I ran a marathon without training for it first.” She rubbed her hands over her face, then dropped them and looked
at Isaac. “Did we swim?”

“I guess that’s one way to put it. Another way is that you skinny-dipped and almost drowned, and I swam out to rescue you.”

She gaped at him. “Jesus. What was in that weed?”

“It was just
good weed, baby. You’re a lightweight.” He brushed her hair off her shoulders and came back with a piece of lake grass. Rolling it in his fingers, he asked, “There something going on with you? Us?”

She furrowed her brow, then winced in pain and relaxed her face. “What? No.”

“I think there is. Drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. Same with actions. You swam away from me last night, into trouble.”

“No, Isaac, I don’t”—she stopped and closed her eyes—“No.
Truly. And my head hurts too much for a big talk.”

That told him there was a big talk knocking around somewhere in her sore head. Of course there was something going on with her, with them. They were facing big shit when they got back to town. He
still didn’t know whether what happened last night was just a lark or somehow was related to their murky future, but he decided to let it drop. They weren’t talking about that shit now, anyway; that was their deal. “I can help you with the hangover. I’ll get breakfast started; why don’t you take a hot shower?”

She agreed, and Isaac got up and helped
her to her feet. He was still hard as granite, and she cast a sardonic look at his crotch. He chuckled. “What can I say? You’re hot even when you’re a hot mess. But I’m a big boy; I’ll survive without getting off.”

She looked exponentially better when she came back from the showers, but she was still moving slowly. And now Isaac saw that she had a sizable bruise on her upper arm
, as if she’d been grabbed hard. Had he done that? He took her arm and gave it a close look—no; his hand was bigger. “Where’d you get this?”

Lilli looked down, evidently confused. “I don’t know. Random drunk bruise, I guess.” She grazed her right hand over the bruise, and Isaac saw that her knuckles were red, too. She’d punched someone. She didn’t seem to notice her hand, so Isaac didn’t say anything more. But he was going to be on the lookout for somebody with a bruised face today. And he had an idea where to start.

For now, though, breakfast.

He gestured toward the picnic table at their site. “Have a seat.” He’d laid the table,
and fixed her scrambled eggs and toast with honey. A glass of tomato juice. And four ibuprofen. “Start with the juice and pills, then the toast. Eggs last.”

She looked up at him, amused. “Kinda bossy.”

“Hey, trust me. The juice and bread will help. Work up to the eggs. You’ll feel ready for ‘em by then.”

She smiled and did as he suggested. Isaac made himself a plate and sat next to her, his hand on her thigh.

~oOo~

The show was extra busy this year, and Isaac and Lilli had little time to talk during the day. She was a great booth babe. She’d learned a lot about his work in the weeks they’d been together, and she spoke enthusiastically about it. She wasn’t much for haggling, so he took over that part. People liked to haggle at these things.

When he took a bathroom break during a lull, he walked by Cin’s booth. She was wearing a pair of big sunglasses, even though the day had gone overcast. She was alone in her booth, so he went in, walked right up to her, and took the glasses off her face. Black eye. Really good shiner, too. Lilli didn’t go in for half measures.

“You stirring up shit, Cin?”

She snatched her sunglasses back and put them on. “Fuck you, Isaac. You two can have each other. Little b—.” She stopped, thought better of her choice, and continued, “
girl
has no sense of humor.”

That filled in the blanks enough for
Isaac. Cin had said something bitchy—probably grabbing Lilli’s arm to get her attention—and Lilli had . . . expressed her displeasure at what Cin said, or at Cin putting hands on her. He could see it clearly. He put his elbows on her little display counter and leaned in close. “I know it came as a shock to you, and I’m sorry for that. But, Lucinda, hear me when I say that you need to settle your shit down, and right now. We had good times, but you had no claim. You know that.”

She pouted. “If I’d thought you were claimable, I would have.”

“I wasn’t, Cin. That’s what I’m sayin’. Let’s leave it on good terms. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He gave her hand a squeeze.

“Too late, asshole.” She walked to the other end of the counter, and Isaac
left.

~oOo~

The first day of the show really went well. The weather was good—hovering between sunny and overcast, but no threat of rain, so it was cool for midsummer—and the crowds were thick. Isaac sold several expensive art pieces, got some promising queries about furniture, and talked to a guy who seemed pretty serious about commissioning a piece. Time would tell if that panned out, but he couldn’t help but be a little excited at the possibility.

The usual craftsy stuff that always sold well at these show
s was flying out of the booth. Isaac was beginning to get a bit concerned that he’d have sufficient stock for the second day. Not a bad problem to have, though. When a small gaggle of elderly women left the booth carrying carved flowers and birds and one fancy little wren house he’d made on a whim, he turned to see Lilli smiling at him as if she’d caught him doing something cute.

“What?”

She walked up to him and pushed her hands under his black t-shirt until she grazed his nipples, heedless of the people browsing the booth. “My big, macho biker is a totally sweet flirt with the little old ladies. Quite the Lothario—had them all giggling. Shameless, really.”

He grinned.
Also ignoring the browsers, he put his hands around her ribs, his thumbs just skimming the undersides of her breasts. She took in a sharp breath, and her eyes fluttered shut for a second. “What can I say?” he whispered, “I appreciate a woman who can appreciate my charms.”

“Then you must appreciate the fuck out of me.”

“Oh, I do, Sport. Literally.” He kissed the corner of her mouth and let her go.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

When the first day of the show wrapped up, Lilli helped Isaac fill in the rest of his stock and then close up his booth. It had floored her at first that he didn’t pack everything away and lock it back up at night, but he explained that the grounds were guarded, and the tents were too difficult for anyone to get into before one of the guards came around. So they closed up the sides and walked back to the camper.

She’d thoroughly enjoyed watching Isaac work this fair, or show, or whatever it was. She’d loved helping him do it, too. She loved his work, and she loved to hear and see him talk about it. He was so much more than a biker or an outlaw. She felt proud and protective of him, which turned out to get in his way a little. Within a couple of hours, he’d stepped in and suggested that he complete the sales. She wanted to punch people who tried to dicker his pricing down. Fuck them for trying to cheap out on the fruits of his talent and skill.

He’d pulled her back and gotten close, whispering in her ear, “Easy, Killer. This is the game. Everything’s priced with that in mind. I’m gouging the ones who don’t play.”

But she didn’t care. It pissed her off. So instead, Isaac suggested that she hand the hagglers off to him. She did so, gladly. She still wanted to punch them, but she forbore.

He was different here—still Isaac, but more relaxed. Much more. It really hit home for Lilli how much responsibility he carried in Signal Bend.
Here, his cares moved back a little and gave him room to stretch out. He chatted with the people browsing his booth, and flirted with the old ladies oohing and aahing over the knickknacks he made. Boy, did they flirt back.

There were lots of groups of older people traversing the park. Lilli didn’t know if they came in buses or whether this was just a general draw for the ol
der set, but some of the women, in colorful, coordinated slacks and blouses and big sunhats, literally, actively flirted with Isaac, taking every opportunity to put their hands on him—squeezing his biceps, patting his pecs. One teensy, stooped woman in a purple pantsuit and a red hat, who must have been at least 85, actually rubbed his belly and exclaimed, “Oh, Maeve—it’s a twelve pack!” At which point, her similarly clad friends tittered and slapped at each other like high school sophomores.

Isaac took it all in stride, flirting right back, making the most of that sexy, lopsided smile, even lifting the red hat lady’s hand from his belly and kissing it. When she left, clutching several pieces of Isaac’s work, she pressed her new loot to her concave chest and
grabbed his ass in her bony hand.

That shocked him. He even blushed. And Lilli about wet herself laughing.

He didn’t wear his kutte here, but he was still a huge, brawny guy with long hair and a full beard. Only the bottom half of the ink on his upper arms showed under the sleeves of his t-shirt, but he did not look like someone with whom to fuck. Normally, people who didn’t know him—and quite a few who did—looked on him with fear and respect. Not here, though. Here, he smiled almost constantly, and his smile was a thing of wonder. It made Lilli’s heart swell to see it. His aura was warm and approachable, and people approached him.

She
really liked his friends, too, the other artists and vendors. They had a true community together. They were a lot like Isaac, the way he was here. They came as they were, without artifice or façade. Lilli’s kind of people. She had very little patience for most people, who seemed consumed by shit that didn’t matter, and who spent a great deal of energy trying to pretend they were different from their true selves. Lilli liked people who cut the crap. She’d learned that she could find those people on the edges. They were those who lived close to the bone, their lives, for one reason or another, not giving them room for pettiness and triviality. Soldiers. Outlaws. Artisans. Wanderers.

She’d spent
some time talking to several people here, especially Duncan and Mindy, who had the booth next to Isaac’s, and with whom Isaac seemed especially close. Duncan did beautiful leatherwork. Like Isaac, he did art pieces and also more accessible, and cheaper, craft things, like leather-bound journals, for which Mindy made the paper. She, too, did both art and craft. Lilli was sorely tempted to buy a sensational art piece that at first glance looked like an elaborate quilt. It was lovely at that first glance, but when Lilli examined it more closely and understood the intricacies of the work, done all in handmade paper and natural dyes, she was nearly brought to tears. But she was not in a position to be collecting possessions. She needed to be able to shove everything she owned into her military-issue duffels and take off, on very short notice.

The show
wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows, though. Lilli was surprised to learn that Isaac had himself a girl here. The violent jolt of jealousy that charged up her spine when she saw said girl—well, woman, more like; older than Isaac, and almost a generation older than Lilli—surprised her even more. She didn’t think she’d ever been jealous before, but seeing some flouncy blonde with her arms around Isaac’s neck—yep; that did it.

Though the previous night at the bonfire was a haze of beer and weed, parts of her memory had cleared throughout the day. At first, she remembered being cozy with Isaac by the fire, then there was a big blank space. She vaguely remembered being in the lake. But as the day advanced, she’d feel a piece of memory fall into place here and there.
She remembered getting bored when she and Isaac had become encircled by artists cackling like washerwomen over what the fuck ever, and she’d headed to the bathroom to pee and then maybe wander around a bit.

When another piece of the puzzle fell into place, it was skinny dipping. Well,
that
was totally like her. Dropping trou in public while wasted. There was probably a plaque in her honor commemorating it hanging somewhere at her college. It’s why she never drank with her unit. When she was drunk, she followed whatever impulse came on her. Isaac had told her she’d almost drowned, though, and she couldn’t remember why she was out there without him. Probably just because she came across a lake.

But then, toward the late afternoon,
when she was bringing a late lunch back from one of the food vendors, she passed the booth of Miss Lucinda Old News, and they made eye contact. Her fancy blonde hair was pushed back with a pair of sunglasses. She had a nasty black eye. Lilli had a sore right hand, which she’d figured was a consequence of banging it against something last night. Apparently, that something had been Miss Lucinda’s left eye.

And then Lilli remembered. She’d come out of the bathroom and met Lucinda on her way in. When Lilli had tried to sidestep her, Lucinda
stepped over, too, staying in her way. She’d smiled up at Lilli, who had three or four inches on her, and said, “You’re pretty, no doubt. You think you have him now, but don’t get comfy, sugarpie. I’ve had years to figure him out. I know what he needs. You’re just a cute young thing caught his eye. What do you say we wager on who lands him?”

Feeling wasted and mellow, and totally secure, Lilli had just smiled and sidestepped her, but the bitch grabbed her when she passed and tried to yank her back, hissing, “Don’t dismiss me, little whore.”

Lilli didn’t remember thinking anything then. She’d just wheeled around, instinct taking over, and busted Lucinda in the face. Lucinda had dropped to the ground, and Lilli remembered standing over her, snarling, “You lose, bitch.”

The rest of the night was still
a fog, except for a memory of being in the water. But standing in the grassy aisle between booths, staring at Lucinda and her black eye, Lilli remembered enough to know she needed to be careful at this night’s bonfire. Finally, bestowing on Lucinda a confident little smile, she turned and continued down the aisle with falafel and sodas for her and Isaac. She was not thrilled to discover that she could be jealous and catty.

Back at their booth,
she uncovered Isaac’s plate and handed it to him. He stared down at it for a few seconds. “Um, Sport? What’s this?”

“Falafel. Never had it?”

He shook his head. “I ask again: what is it?”

“
It’s fried chickpea balls in pita bread, with greens and a spicy sauce. It’s good.” She took a bite of hers. It was delicious, in fact, and the spice in the sauce made her tongue tingle.

“None of the
words you just said is a meat.” He set his plate aside and opened his Mountain Dew.

She laughed and rolled her eyes.
“Dude. You’re not even going to try it? I asked what you wanted, and you told me to surprise you. Well, surprise!”

“I thought you’d be picking between a
steak sandwich and a bratwurst! Who even came up with a stupid word like falafel? Sounds like a frog with tonsillitis.”

“It’s Middle Eastern, and you are being a big baby. At least try it. I promise you won’t turn into a vegetarian if one meal you eat in your life doesn’t have an animal in it.”

He pulled his plate back. “Yeah, something tells me this is a gateway sandwich.” With an attitude of reluctant experimentation, he took a bite. Lilli watched him consider what was in his mouth and on his tongue. He smiled as he took a second bite and said around his mouthful, “I draw the line at tofu. No way that’s food.”

She laughed and handed him a napkin. He had sauce in his beard, and she pointed where he needed to wipe. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

~oOo~

When Lilli and Isaac went to the bonfire the second night, with their blanket and cooler of beer, Lilli did so with the resolve to stay
in better control of herself. Like the night before, there were people playing music and singing, weed and ‘shrooms were going around, people were talking and laughing. The log they’d settled at was taken by the musicians this time, so they found another spot on a grassy patch a little farther back from the fire. They weren’t mobbed this time by fellow artisans. It was almost as if they were being left alone on purpose. Lilli wondered if Isaac had said something.

There was n
othing to lean back against, so Isaac stretched out on his side and pulled Lilli to lean back against him. He pulled the band from her hair and combed his fingers gently through it, and she closed her eyes and relaxed.

Feeling soothed, she let her senses reach
out. The big fire cast a dancing, golden glow over everything around it; patterns swirled through Lilli’s closed eyelids. The warm, woodsy smell of burning pine was almost a potpourri. The sound of sap crackling in the flames seemed to harmonize with the music being played—right now it was “There but for Fortune.” And then there were Isaac’s hands—one playing softly in her hair, the other around her arm, his thumb tracing patterns on her bicep. She loved those hands, big and calloused, rough and strong. Tender and loving.

“Baby, you goin’ to sleep?” His voice was gruff, little more than a rasp over his tongue. He brushed her hair off her shoulder and ran the backs of his fingers against her cheek. Jesus, what his touch did to her. Everything from her shoulders to her knees constricted in a powerful spasm of desire. Because he’d touched her cheek.

“Nope.” She shifted to lie down next to him, on her back so that he loomed over her. He pulled her in more snugly and looked down at her, his ponytail falling over his shoulder. Lilli reached up and took it in her hand, coiling it through her fingers.

“You look good enough to eat, Sport,” Isaac growled. “I’m more than half tempted to get you screaming right here by the fire.”

She smiled and pulled on his ponytail, bringing him down for a kiss. She’d only had a couple of beers, but she was so overwhelmed by the powerful need she felt for him that she was more than half tempted to let him get her screaming right here. Instead, though, she turned her head away from the kiss, just a bit, and whispered, “I really love you, Isaac. I love seeing you this way.”

He smiled, his brow wrinkling a little. “What way?”

“Relaxed. Easy. Getting a chance to set your burden down for a minute.”

In the flickering golden light, s
he couldn’t read the look that rolled through his eyes, but then he smiled. “You make me feel easy, baby. You make me feel strong.” He kissed her, and she opened her mouth wide, letting him in, taking him into her. He growled and lay on her; she could feel him thick and hard, pressing against her belly. Suddenly, he pulled away, rising onto his elbows and staring down at her.

“Let’s get out of here. I want to ride with you tonight.”