Blown Away (5 page)

Tex sighed and crossed his arms. I'd never seen him so unanimated at Bruiser's, the bar down the road from the campground. We'd been frequenting this place since our first trip to Red Road several years ago. The jukebox was always blaring country and pizza and fried food made up the entire menu. Most of the women here wore cutoff shorts and tank tops and quite a few of the men had on boots and cowboy hats. The place was pure honky-tonk, and we'd had a lot of good times here.

Tex finally spoke over the Willie Nelson song that was playing.

“It's weird not having him here.”

I nodded silently, remembering all the times I'd sat in this bar with Colby and Tex.

“It kinda helps having Drew here,” Tex continued, nodding at a passing waitress to get her attention. “I think Colby'd be proud of her.”

“Another, boys?” the waitress asked. Her brown eyes lingered on me for a few seconds.

“Sure,” I said. “And two shots of Jack. Three if you'd like one.”

She smiled and bit her lower lip. “Wish I could. I'm not off for another hour.”

After a few more seconds of eye contact, she turned to get the drinks. I let my gaze follow the sway of her tight ass. Christ, was it good to look at a woman who didn't have me tied up in knots. Drew did a hell of a lot more than make my dick hard. She ruined my aloof, detached attitude about women. Fucked with my good intentions. Reminded me that even I was capable of wanting something more.

“Looks like Toni wants to give you a naked lap dance,” Tex said, arching his brows knowingly.

“Toni?”

“The waitress. While you were checking out her tits I was checking out her nametag.”

I grunted and watched Toni lean over the edge of the bar while she waited for our drinks. She turned, saw me looking, and smiled.

“You need to hit that, man,” Tex said. “You've been extra moody on this trip.”

“Maybe it'll help,” I said, not talking about my moodiness. I was wondering if a nice hard fuck would get Drew out of my head.

“Can't hurt,” Tex said, shrugging.

Toni returned with our drinks and I brushed my fingers across hers as she handed me my shot. She inhaled sharply and looked straight at me again. I let my eyes tell her I was interested.

This was one upside of bringing my camper instead of staying in Murph's crowded, smelly motorhome. I could bang Toni the waitress, see her off, and get some relief from my fixation with Drew and no one would be the wiser. No one but Tex, anyway. But he sure as hell wouldn't tell anyone.

The beeping and static of Murph's radios seemed extra loud tonight. Millie was in her bunk across from mine watching a TV show on her laptop, her laughter grating on my already worn nerves.

I knew a few things for sure at this moment: I was really damn tired. The motorhome was very close quarters. And I was going to blow if I didn't get some peace and quiet.

Sliding down from my bunk, I grabbed my backpack and put on my flip-flops.

“I'm sleeping on Aiden's couch tonight,” I said.

Murph nodded once, not even looking at me. He was staring at his radar screens, wide-eyed as a kid watching cartoons. The guy lived and breathed weather. I admired his commitment but wondered if he had any real relationships with people who didn't talk to him from the other end of a radio.

When I stepped into the night air, the fresh smell of earth made me take a deep, cleansing breath. I was happy here. I needed a little space tonight, but overall, there was nowhere else I wanted to be right now. What I didn't know, I'd learn.

I went to Aiden's camper and found the door unlocked. Just as I was about to open it and walk in, I thought better of it and knocked. Maybe Aiden wasn't still out with Tex. I didn't want to walk in unannounced.

He didn't answer and there were no lights on, so I opened the door and called his name inside. Still nothing. I went in and found the camper dark and empty.

I could tell it was nicer than the motorhome, even without much light. It was clean and spacious, with a couch and kitchen in the main area. A blanket and pillow were folded up on the couch, making it look like the place Aiden slept.

When I walked to the back of the camper, I passed a small bathroom and found a bedroom behind a dark curtain. The bed was much bigger than my narrow motorhome bunk. It was made, a comforter tucked neatly around the bottom of the mattress.

Aiden wouldn't mind me bunking here for the night. I'd planned on taking the couch but since that looked like his spot, I pulled the curtain closed and curled up on top of the bed instead. It was dark, quiet, and cool. I was alone for the first time since arriving here. My tension melted away as I faded into sleep.

I woke to the sound of a woman's gasp. A moan followed.

“Right there,” she said in a breathy tone. “Oh, God.
Yes.
That feels so good, baby.”

Crap. Aiden had brought a woman in here. I cringed, my heart pounding. Should I say something? Step out of the bedroom? I'd probably scare them. Aiden might think I was an intruder and take me down before I had a chance to tell him it was me.

“You've been giving me those fuck-me eyes all night,” Aiden said in a husky tone. “Now you're gonna get fucked.”

Warmth pooled between my thighs. His direct, commanding tone was surprisingly sexy.

“Yes,” the woman said in a breathy tone.

I carefully hooked a finger around the edge of the curtain and eased it back an inch. It was just enough room for me to see two silhouetted figures against the camper's small kitchen island.

The woman was sitting on the island's counter, her long, lean legs wrapped around Aiden's waist. She leaned back, her palms pressed against the counter, moaning as Aiden's mouth toyed with one of her breasts through her bra.

He unhooked it in an instant, pulling the bra and shirt off and letting them fall to the floor in a bunch. As he locked his big hands around her waist and kissed her neck, her head tipped back and her long hair hung loose in the air.

I didn't know who she was, but
damn,
was I jealous. Sexual desire had been missing from my life for a year, and now it was back in a very big way.

Aiden wrapped a hand around a bunch of her hair and pulled, forcing the woman to arch her back and grant him greater access to her neck. He kissed her neck and breasts with a hard, fierce passion and she let out a sound of blissful gratification.

I didn't have to watch. I shouldn't have watched. It was wrong. But I couldn't help it. I watched as he worked down her shorts and pulled the T-shirt over his head. I never looked away as he took a condom from the pocket of his jeans before letting them fall to the floor, slid it over his rigid length, and drove himself into the mystery woman.

I hardly even blinked as they grunted and moaned together, Aiden's hips thrusting into her hard as his biceps flexed. He was breathtaking in the moonlight, all lines of muscle and smooth skin.

After a few minutes, he slid her down from the island and flipped her around. She whined helplessly until he pumped himself back inside her again, and then she purred like a kitten as he bent her over the island and did her hard. I felt another sharp tug of unexplainable jealousy toward her.

He was rough and merciless, but she couldn't get enough. I'd never known sex could be something so raw and primal. I licked my lips, a wave of guilt hitting as I watched his hand find its way between her legs to push her over the edge. They came together in a rush of grunts and groans, both of them panting when they stilled.

The woman gave a low hum of satisfaction as she picked up her clothes and got dressed. “That was hot, baby.”

Aiden picked up his jeans from the floor and put them on. “Lemme get dressed and I'll walk you to your car.”

A reprieve. I could sneak out of here while he was gone and he'd never know I'd just watched him having sex like a creepy voyeur.

“Don't worry about it,” whatever her name was said.

“You sure?”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Yep. 'Night, sexy.”

“ 'Night.”

He opened the camper door and she left, taking my chances of escaping humiliation with her.

Aiden walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water, sighing deeply before opening it and taking a long drink. What was the sigh about? But no, I couldn't think about that right now. I was in a bad spot here.

Think, Drew. Think.

My heart raced as I weighed my options. It didn't take long, because really, I had none.

There was an off chance I could wait and see if he fell asleep on the couch and sneak past him. But that was risky. If he woke up thinking I was an intruder, that would end badly.

I briefly considered pretending I was asleep, but Aiden was unlikely to believe I'd slept through his thorough banging of such a
vocal
woman.

With a cringe, I spoke up. “Hey, Aiden? It's Drew. I'm in here.”

Through the crack in the edge of the curtain, I saw him scrunch his face in confusion and push away from the kitchen counter.

“Drew?”

I pushed the curtain aside and stepped out of the tiny bedroom.

“Yeah. Hey.”

His eyes widened. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

I couldn't even look at him. “Funny story. The motorhome was really loud earlier and I didn't think you'd mind me crashing here.”

“Jesus Christ, you were there the whole time? While I was—” He stopped talking and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I didn't mean to be.” My cheeks burned as I defended myself. “I didn't want to interrupt. Look, it's not a big deal, all right? We're both grown-ups.”

His pointed glare told me it was a big deal to him. “What the fuck, Drew? I can't fucking believe this.” He took an ominous step toward me and then turned around, taking several steps in the other direction.

I'd never seen Aiden angry. My stomach clenched in a nervous knot.

“I didn't mean for it to happen,” I repeated.

He turned his dark gaze on me. “You should've
said something
.”

“What, in the
two seconds
before you guys jumped each other? I'd just realized there was someone in here and you were already inside her.”

He rubbed his forehead and swore several times. “I can't believe this.”

With a deep breath, I walked past him to the camper door. “I'm sorry, okay? I never would've done it on purpose. I'll never crash here again. I didn't think it would matter and I really am sorry. Don't worry, I won't talk about anything with the others.”

“It's not that.” He shook his head. “It's…not that.”

“I'm going back to the motorhome. I promise your camper is off-limits to me from now on. I'm such an idiot for coming in here when you were gone.”

“Drew. No.” He gave me a look I couldn't decipher. Regret, maybe?

“Let's just forget this happened. We're good, right?”

“Stay. I want you to stay.”

Now I was the one shaking my head. “Oh no, I invaded your space and there's no way I'm staying.”

“Look, just—”

“You're pissed,” I said sharply. “And I can still
smell
her. See you in the morning.”

I opened the door and heard another string of swears from him as I closed it behind me and walked down the steps. Barefoot.
Shit, I'll have to pick up my flip-flops tomorrow.
I picked my way through the pine needles as quickly as I could; I couldn't get back to my bunk in the crowded motorhome fast enough.

It was quiet when I slipped inside, unfazed by Tex's loud snoring and the faint odor of dirty socks and smelly farts. Nothing could be worse than getting turned on from secretly watching Aiden bang a random woman into next week. Except maybe getting busted for it.

She
was
random, wasn't she? I'd never considered whether Aiden knew the woman whose world he'd just rocked, but it was a possibility. And I didn't like it. That was unexpected and more than a little unnerving. Not that I thought he was a monk, but when I'd been with Colby I'd never really known what Aiden's personal life was all about.

I crawled under the sheet on my bunk, trying to process my feelings: embarrassment, jealousy, and arousal that just wouldn't quit. My sex drive was back after a year-long break, though the timing was awful.

Not to mention…Aiden? I'd never thought of him that way, and now I couldn't
stop
thinking of him.

Gah! I've got to stop thinking about how hot Aiden's body is. And how much I liked seeing his primal side.

I focused on the salon, trying to imagine what had happened there today. I had to get my mind in a place that didn't involve Aiden and sex before I fell asleep. Otherwise, I risked having a sex dream about Colby's best friend, and that would make me feel even guiltier than I already did.

The next morning, I stood alone outside the motorhome, waiting for the other team members so we could have a group meeting and head off.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees onto our campsite. The smoky scent of last night's campfire still lingered in the air. We were nestled into a forest here, and I'd never experienced such a peaceful place.

But despite the serenity of calling birds and chirping insects, I was on high alert.

Would Aiden bring up last night? God, I hoped not. Just being his storm-chasing wingman had me stressed enough.

I sipped the coffee I'd made as soon as I woke up, wishing I had some cream and sugar to stir in it. I tried to remember what Tex did during yesterday's storm, and I was lost in thought about it when the motorhome door opened and Tex walked out.

“Mornin',” he said, nodding at me.

“Hey.” I gave him a tight smile. “Morning.”

His light blue T-shirt had a fish on it and the words
MASTER BAITER
. And like every T-shirt he wore, the sleeves were torn off.

“You all right?” he asked, slinging a backpack over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I'm good.”

“Don't be nervous. Aiden doesn't bite.” He grinned.

My cheeks warmed as I recalled last night, when Aiden had buried his mouth against the mystery woman's shoulder and I'd wondered if that was what he was doing.

On cue, Aiden approached, running his hand through his damp hair. He looked back and forth between me and Tex and then scowled.

“What?” he demanded.

“Nothin',” Tex said. “How'd your night turn out, brother?”

Aiden glared at him. A couple seconds of awkward silence passed before Murph joined us, followed closely by Millie.

“The cell I've been tracking for a few days is looking really good today,” Murph said. “We're gonna go hit it in western Kansas.”

“Good chance of a twister?” Tex asked.

Murph nodded. “We won't know 'til we get there, but I think so.”

He launched into technical talk. Aiden was fixated on Murph, and I took the opportunity to sneak a sideways glance at him.

His gray T-shirt molded around his big shoulders and biceps. He was one of those men who had a five o'clock shadow by noon, and he looked like he hadn't shaved this morning. What did that dark stubble feel like? I fought the urge to reach over and find out.

Murph was wrapping up the meeting, and Aiden turned to me and arched his brows for just a second. What did that mean?
I saw you checking me out just now? Stop staring at me, crazy?

I turned away and cleared my throat.

“Ready?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah.”

I got into the passenger side of his truck, staring straight ahead in hopes of avoiding awkward looks between us. I tried not to think about his guttural grunts of satisfaction as he pounded himself into the screamer.

Especially at the end. His final grunt had been half groan, deep and primal. Colby had always frozen when he started coming, his mouth hanging open in a silent O.

My comparison of Aiden and Colby filled me with guilt and shame. I wasn't supposed to be thinking of Aiden this way. In fact, I adamantly didn't want to think this way about
any
man. I was trying to find my way on my own now.

“Coffee?” Aiden asked as we approached a gas station just outside the campground. I shook my head as he pulled in and parked. “Water? Anything?”

“No thanks.” I fiddled with my phone, scrolling mindlessly to avoid looking at him.

He came back a couple minutes later, taking a sip of his tall cup of coffee before putting his arm around the back of the seat to look over his shoulder and back out. My skin tingled with awareness from the closeness of his hand to my shoulder. Just feeling his heat had me thinking about his naked, muscled body yet again.

He turned onto the highway and sighed softly. “Hey, about last night—”

“Let's not,” I cut in, cringing. “I think we should just forget about it.”

He sighed again. “I was an asshole to you, and I can't forget about that.”

“You were fine. I'm sure anyone would be put off if they found out someone was watching…an intimate moment.”

He turned to face me, eyes wide. “You were
watching
? I thought you were just—”

“Ugh, Aiden.” I buried my burning face in my hands. “Can we please not talk about it?”

A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke. “Drew.”

I shook my head, my face still in my hands. “Let's just talk about tornadoes.”

He sighed and laughed at the same time. “All right, look. You'll never guess what I'm thinking right now.”

I peeked over at him. “What?”

“Colby would laugh his ass off if he could see us right now.”

I couldn't help smiling at that. “He would. Nothing ever made him uncomfortable.”

“We were about as different as two people could be.” Aiden shook his head slowly. “Maybe that's why we worked as friends.”

“You had storm chasing in common.”

“Yeah.” His expression turned serious as he stared at the road. “You know…I meant to call, or drop by and ask how you were doing. I'm sorry I never did.”

“It's okay.”

He glanced at me. “So…how're you doing?”

The concern in his greenish brown eyes melted me a little. “I'm doing all right. Things were really hard right after he died. I was grieving and canceling wedding and honeymoon plans at the same time. But Jackie and Shayla picked me up and got me back on my feet. My sister came and stayed with me for a while. And eventually, the hardest part passed.”

I looked out the window at a pristine farm with a white picket fence and bright green fields. The fence reminded me of the one at the small brick bungalow I'd had my eye on back home. Colby and I had talked about buying a new place after we got married. My dreams of a white picket fence had been forgotten when he died, and I didn't think they'd ever be back.

My mind wandered and I let a question spill out without thinking.

“Did you know her?”

Aiden turned to look at me, brows arched in question. “Who?”

“You know…last night.”

His face fell. Why had I brought it up again? And why did I even care?

“No,” he said. “It was just…stupid, I guess.”

I shrugged. “I'm not judging. I just wondered if she was your girlfriend.”

“No,” he said, a little louder this time. “It was just a onetime thing.”

“I've never had a onetime thing,” I admitted; Colby had been my first and only.

“That's because you're too good for that shit.”

I shrugged. “Well, I've always been a relationship-or-celibacy type. But I'm not doing another relationship. And long-term celibacy is a pretty depressing option.”

Aiden's brows drew together in a look I couldn't decipher. “Don't give yourself to some asshole who doesn't deserve you, Drew. Sex is a big deal.”

“You and what's-her-name made it look pretty simple.”

He cringed, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel.

I smiled at him. “We're dropping it. I won't bring her up again.” Jeez, what was I trying to prove anyway? Ugh.

Aiden had caught up to Murph's storm-chasing vehicle. I settled back in my seat, my eyelids getting heavy from last night's lack of sleep. It wasn't long until they slid closed.

When I woke up, the interior of the truck had darkened. I could see through my window that the sky was an ominous shade of gray. I sat up and looked over at Aiden.

“How long did I sleep?”

His gaze was warm when he glanced at me. “Couple hours.”

I shook my head. “I didn't mean to fall asleep. What should I be doing?”

“Nothin'. We're just passing through a thunderstorm.”

“So we're not there yet?”

“Nope. You can sleep some more if you want.”

I pulled a paperback from my bag and read instead. Aiden listened to talk radio and we drove in comfortable silence. By the time I finished the book in the afternoon, we were getting close to the spot Aiden had put into his GPS as our destination.

“It's so dark,” I said, my voice nearly a whisper.

“You ever seen a tornado?”

I shook my head.

Murph pulled off to the side of the dirt road we were on and Aiden followed suit. Static crackled on the radio sitting on the seat between me and Aiden.

“Aiden, I'm heading up to the bluff,” Murph said. “Let me know if you see anything.”

“All right, man,” Aiden said into the radio.

“You gonna shoot your gun off?”

“I might. You piss me off and I'll shoot it at your station wagon.”

“It's not a station wagon,” Murph said, his tone irritated.

Murph pulled out and drove away. I looked over at Aiden.

“You brought a gun?”

“It's a probe launcher. Me and Colby spent hours in this truck trying to come up with a better way to get Murph's little round probes into funnel clouds. He measures all kinds of stuff with the things, but they're a bitch to get into a twister.”

I couldn't help laughing at the sheer audacity of trying to get
anything
inside a tornado.

Aiden was unfazed. He kept talking. It was the most I'd heard from him all day. “The thinking has always been that chasers need to predict the path of a storm and leave our probes there. But it's often a guessing game. We'd leave the probes in weighted barrels and either they wouldn't get airborne or the barrel would get thrown and the probes would be smashed.”

“So what did you come up with?”

“Instead of trying to bring the storm to the probes, I came up with a way to bring the probes to the storm. It's pretty much a modified RPG launcher.”

“RPG?”

“Rocket-propelled grenade.”

“And you're going to shoot this at the tornado?”

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “If I can get close enough. You don't think I can do it, do you?”

“No, I…I mean, I have no idea.”

“I'm a damn good shot.”

“I'm sure. You were in the Army, weren't you?”

He nodded. “Four years.”

I looked out at the dark, deep gray sky. This darkness was different from nighttime. There was an ominous feel about it. I'd heard about the calm before the storm, but had never realized it felt so silent I'd hold my breath as I waited for whatever was next.

My heart rate kicked up as I wondered if a tornado was on its way.

“Nervous?” Aiden asked me.

“Yeah.”

He opened his door. “I like to get out because I can see better outside. You want to come with me?”

I got out and met him on his side of the truck, where we both looked out at the horizon. The air was thick with humidity and eerily still.

Aiden checked in all directions and finally broke the silence after a few minutes.

“There it is,” he said softly.

I followed his gaze and saw a dark, narrow funnel cloud in the distance. It formed and touched the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt. Then it broke apart but quickly formed again. Though we were far away, I still fought my instinct to run. I edged closer to Aiden.

It was mesmerizing. I couldn't look away as I watched it rip through a field in the distance, destroying everything in its path. Trees flew, their leaves swirling in the air as the twister cut its swath of ruin. Its sound was a dull roar, and again, my inner voice spoke.

Run.

Run.

Run.

“What if it comes toward us?” I turned to Aiden and asked. He put down the camera he was shooting photos of the twister with.

“It won't. It's tied to the thunderstorm that produced it. That moved southwest to northeast, so that's what this tornado will do.”

Reassured, I turned back to the twister swirling across the horizon. Awareness surged through me. Aiden was next to me taking in the most awe-inspiring sight I'd ever seen. I felt his warmth and tasted the thick, woody air around us. Suddenly I wanted to jump up and yell out my excitement to everyone and no one. I wanted to tell the world that I was alive. Not that I hadn't been before, but in this moment I felt what that meant in all its glory. I was
living
.

For the first time in a year, I realized what I'd been missing.