The Straight Crimes (9 page)

Nik looked into her eyes and reached for her hand. “Harper, I’m gonna be honest, the day you walked away totally crushed me.”

“I know—”

“I can’t go through that again.”

She frowned, defeated by his sadness. “I understand.”

“Remember why I told you my uncles, Jimmy and Robbie, moved to Wisconsin to get away from my dad? Before that, going to their house always made me feel safe, it was an escape from my home life, but when they moved, they took that away from me. Last year my father had an affair, left town with some strange woman, and left me behind with my horrible dad. Then two weeks ago, you abandoned me too.”

“I know, but I shouldn’t have left. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why people leave me, but not nearly as much since you’ve been gone. I always thought I wasn’t good enough until I met you. You became such a big part of me so quickly that I never had time to imagine life without you. And to be honest—I don’t like it. I don’t know what to do with myself when you’re gone.”

Hearing his heartfelt confession practically killed Harper. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past, but nothin’ as bad as this. I’m sorry for runnin’ away. I know my apology doesn’t erase the hurt I caused, but I want you to know I regret that decision more than anything else in my life, and if I could take it back, I would.”

He let out a deep breath. “Hearing you say you want me makes me feel a lot better. Look, I understand that you had a reason for what you did. You were scared, but now I’m afraid that you’ll leave again.”

Harper emphatically shook her head in opposition. “I won’t. There’s nothin’ to be scared of. You tried bein’ strong, remember? You told me we have to fight. So if that’s what it takes for us to be together, then that’s just what we’ll do.”

“Don’t forget that you’re the one who was strong in the first place. I learned that from you. You’ve come to my defense and fought for me, but I haven’t been able to do the same in return. Maybe that’s why you were worried, ‘cause I haven’t shown you that side of me. From now on, I swear I won’t let anything bad happen to you ever again. I’ll always protect you. You’ll see.”

“I trust you, Nik.”

“But if we’re gonna make this work, I need to know that you’re not gonna leave me. I can be strong, but not without you. I don’t think I could face losing you again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“You promise?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

“Well if you’ve been half as miserable as me, then I think I have a pretty good idea.”

Feeling utterly relieved, he pulled Harper into his arms, lingering in their secure, mind-blowing connection. He’d almost forgotten how incredible it was to hold her, but not how desperate his cravings were.

“I want you too badly to let you go.”

“How badly?” she asked promiscuously.

Suddenly, the rain began falling heavier and the thunder rumbled in the distance.

Nik’s hypnotic eyes glowed. “I’ll show you.”

The candle light flickered, casting their shadows against the wall. He rubbed his hands behind her neck and helplessly stared at her. There was a certainty in his touch, the same strength as his word that she emphatically trusted.

Her chilled body shivered in anticipation as she turned towards Nik. Uncontrollable desire consumed her senses.

There was a commanding, erotic presence in Nik’s fingers while he forcefully tilted her head back. He watched her eyes slowly shut as his closed, feeling the heat and want on her breath as his lips hovered over hers.

The mere seconds felt like an eternity, anxiously wanting his touch. Harper stared at the face she’d seen night after night in her endless fantasies. However, it wasn’t a dream. Nik was there, sending her body into tiny convulsions.

His mouth enveloped her pouty lips as he planted a determined kiss on her lips. It was unbelievably hot. The familiarity was overwhelming, more exciting than the first time.

Nik’s tongue invaded her mouth, melting with their heated desires. Then he straddled her body, slid his fingers down her arms, and lifted her hands above her head.

Losing her mind, Harper uncontrollably reached for leverage as her yearning eclipsed her senses. She was totally submissive to his commanding presence.

Nik pulled away, but instantly wanted more. He opened his mouth wider, kissing her as deeply as he could.

Harper rubbed her hands across his incredibly muscular thighs, feeling his eagerness rub against her body. It was beyond desire, more erotic than she anticipated in any of her bedroom fantasies. She wantonly rubbed her hands against his straining masculinity.

He tugged Harper’s hair playfully and lifted her chin, showering her neck with smoldering kisses. The masculine scratch of his unshaven face against her skin caused her body to tremble, leaving her starving for more.

As lightning lit the entire watch room, Nik ripped the shirt from his body. The wetness glistened across his smooth, chiseled pecks.

Momentarily fighting her desire, Harper whispered, “I’ve never done anything—I mean…this is my first time.”

“Mine too.”

“But I don’t know what I’m doin’.”

“It’s just us. It doesn’t matter.”

“I know…”

“I promise, I’m gonna take care of you. Do you trust me?”

“More than anything.” She reached up and gently rubbed his incredible stomach. Her wandering hands slid down to his v-cuts, leading to the top of his pants.

He cradled Harper in one arm and lifted her from the ground.

Standing in the middle of the watch room, Harper’s feet dangled off the floor as she surrendered to their endless passion.

They playfully taunted each other with short, breathless kisses, lingering in the stillness of the moment.

Nik carefully put her down. Then he slid his hands up the back of her crop top blouse and pulled it over her head. He caressed her delicate skin, enjoying her softness with his roaming hands. Then he unclasped her bra and let it fall to the ground.

Everything stopped. All he could do was stare at her naked perfection. “You’re so beautiful…”

Harper felt vulnerable and safe all within the same instance. “Hold me.”

She slipped her hand into Nik’s assuring grip, blanketed in his undeniable strength.

The erotic feeling of their bare chests touching made his eyes roll into the back of his head.

Harper let out a deep groan, craving his roaming fingers.

Nik kept his stare locked on Harper as he unzipped his damp slacks and tugged his heavy belt away, carelessly dropping it to the floor, along with his pants. He proudly stood, fully exposed in all his maleness.

Harper clung on to him. Her mind reeled as she imagined taking his sizeable offering.

“If we go any further, I won’t be able to turn back,” he warned her.

“I know.”

“So, do you want me to stop?”

After a moment of hesitation, she feverishly disagreed. “You better not.”

“Good,” he laughed. “I wasn’t gonna.” Nik toyed with the heart-shaped pendant, gently settled against her cleavage. His mouth poured down her neck. Then he lowered his hands and grabbed onto her perfect breasts, squeezing them in his firm grip.

Harper wet her lips and scratched the back of Nik’s head as he ran his tongue over her exposed chest. Every second was intensely erotic, causing her deep ache to grow stronger. She threw her head back and groaned in satisfaction.

Nik wrapped his bulging arms around her tiny body and carried Harper, along with the lantern, across the room in the sudden heat
and settled on the floor.

He never broke eye contact as he pulled her back into his arms, lifted his head, and blew out the candle.

Under the pale moonlight, Harper removed her jeans. She nestled between his massive thighs while he rolled on top of her, rubbing against her with his passionate strength.

Using his powerful legs, he spread her thighs apart and looked down into her eyes, wanting her to feel safe, trusting everything he did.

Nik lowered his head, resting his cheek against hers while he carefully pushed himself inside of Harper for the first time.

“Nik,” she whispered, unable to comprehend the forbidden desire.

He looked at her adoringly, sensing her apprehension. “I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

The painful pleasure was overwhelming. Harper whimpered, digging her nails into Nik’s muscular back. She rubbed her hands against his skin, clinging on with every ounce of strength.

Nik slid his hands around her, pulling her into his ultimate control.

“Make love to me,” she begged. Harper’s heart raced, feeling the thickness of each passionate thrust. It took her mind to places she’d never been.

Nik couldn’t take his eyes off her immaculacy. All he could think about was pleasing her aching needs, causing his carnal desire to grow stronger with each passing second.

Harper loved being overpowered by his animalistic passion, so much that she could hardly breathe.

Suddenly, Nik rolled back and forcefully lifted Harper on top of him, pulling her up and down as he offered himself to her.

Harper helplessly placed her hands on his chest, steading against his hard grinding.

He grunted, trying to wrap his mind around the over indulgence of the moment. She felt perfect, as if she was made for him, like a tailor-made glove.

Then they turned over again so he could see her reaction.

Nik’s heart thudded against his chest while looking into her soul for resolve. His attraction to her ran so deeply that words and thoughts escaped him, and the pleasure was so powerful that he could hardly stand its explosive intensity.

Harper wrapped herself around him, letting out sweet cries as she felt his incredible desire. She couldn’t explain how desperately she wanted him. All she knew was that their unspoken cravings for one another were unmatched.

“Nik!” she called his name, over and over again.

His masculinity drove deep into her while he lifted her left leg over his shoulder, letting Harper feel every pulsating inch of his arousal.

Then the mounting passion reached an epic peak. Everything culminated into a sweet release, where neither of them could fight it any longer. Harper and Nik climaxed together, letting out heavy sighs before collapsing into each other’s arms, totally content.

For several minutes, all they could do was hold each other and try to catch their breaths in the tranquility.

“Nik, did that just happen?”

He nodded emphatically. “It felt amazing.”

Harper bit her lip, relishing in delight. “Do it again.”

“Really?” he laughed, surprised by her boldness.

“Yes, I don’t ever want you to stop.”

EIGHT

“R
oll your window down. Its frickin’ hot in here.”

“Dad, I’m freezing.”

“I said roll it down.”

Nik obeyed and slumped down in the passenger seat of his dad’s rundown pickup truck. All the grief he so desperately wanted to express was suffocated by the foolishness of the most selfish man he’d ever known, his dad. It made him think back to Jett’s deplorable behavior on the night they first received the distressing news…

It had been nearly a week since the five a.m. phone call. Its piercing ring had cut through the ominous silence of the stormy night like a jagged knife.

Nik had just returned home from his passionate reunion with Harper in the lighthouse. It wasn’t more than an hour after he went to sleep that he had been awoken by the startling cry.

On the line was Nik’s Uncle Robert, whom they seldom heard from. Robert was married to Jett’s only brother, James. They lived across Lake Michigan in a sleepy coastal town on Wisconsin’s eastern shore.

However, Robert’s usual calm tone was uncharacteristically shaken as he pleaded for Jett.

“Dad, wake up!” Nik cried.

“Get out—I’m sleeping.”

“Uncle Robbie’s on the phone and said it’s an emergency.”

Jett pulled the receiver away and shooed him out of the bedroom.

Nik quickly ran downstairs and listened on another line. An incredulous look swept across his face as Robert delivered devastating information—James had a massive heart attack.

In a belligerent stupor, Jett made a muffled commitment to get on the road as soon as he could.

For several minutes, Nik anxiously waited to hear him blast through the door. After twenty minutes, he began wondering what was taking so long.

When Nik poked his head into the bedroom, Jett’s drunken body was sprawled out, face down in his bed. He’d passed out.

Nik feverishly shook his dad’s body, infuriated by his lack of sensitivity. “Get up.”

The man did not respond.

“Dad, c’mon let’s go, we’ve gotta get to Uncle Jimmy.”

He mumbled and slobbered over his pillow.

“Seriously, Dad, sit up. We need to get in the car.”

“Go away, Nikolas.”

“Your brother’s dying. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Just let me sleep a little more and then we can go.”

“There’s no time. What if he doesn’t make it?”

“Boy, you’re wearing me out.”

The arguing carried on until dawn approached. It took hours to get Jett out of bed and into the passenger seat.

An incredibly exhausted Nik jumped into the truck and slammed the gas pedal to the floor.

As they crossed the state line from Illinois into Wisconsin, Nik raced to the nearest payphone and dialed Robert’s cell phone.

“Where the hell are you guys? You should’ve been here by now.”

“I’m sorry. Dad passed out and I couldn’t wake him, I tried. We aren’t far away though. I just looked at the map and we’re only about twenty miles from Lake Serena. You said the hospital’s on the outside of town, right?”

Suddenly the phone went quiet.

“Uncle Rob, are you there?”

The silence was broken by a sniffle, quickly followed by an uncontrollable cry of devastation.

Nik wanted to reach through the phone and wrap his arms around Robert. The man was inconsolable, hardly able to breath. At that moment, Nik knew they were too late.

After spending the day comforting Robert, Nik called Harper to share the awful news. He explained that they wouldn’t be back for a couple weeks.

However, hearing her sweet tone made it hard to hang up the phone. It offered great comfort. He hoped that it’d be enough to hold him over until she was back in his arms.

Time went by quickly. The service was planned for the following Sunday, which meant spending time with their extended family and helping make arrangements, at least for Nik. Jett did the only thing he knew, adverted the crisis with a bottle of vodka.

On the day of the service, Robert frantically raced around the house, searching for him. “Nik, where’s your dad?”

“Sitting out back.”

He looked at his watch. “Is he ready to go?”

“I don’t think so.” Nik wiped the blood from his mouth.

“Wait, are you bleeding?”

“Yeah.”

“My God.” Robert pulled the handkerchief from his pocked and dabbed Nik’s mouth. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Robert’s eyes bugged out of his head. “What was his reason this time?”

“I told him to get dressed ‘cause we’d be late. That’s when he told me to F-off. Then he hit me.”

Robert stormed across the living room like a hurricane and bolted through the screen door.

Before Jett could blink, Rob threw a strong punch into his face.

“God damn it, Robbie, what the hell’s the matter with you?”

“Why’d you hit Nik?”

“That boy knows better than to boss his old man around.”

“Your brother’s funeral is in less than three hours. Can’t you act civil for once? Pull it together. C’mon, we’ve gotta get to the church.”

“You guys go on without me. I’ll be there in time for the service.”

“What’s this about?”

“It ain’t about nothing,” Jett growled. “I’m just upset.”

Robert’s mud brown eyes lit on fire. “And the rest of us aren’t? We’re all hurting.”

“You don’t get it.”

“No I do. It all makes perfect sense. You lost a brother, and you want everyone to feel sorry for you. You seem to forget that we all lost someone, like Nik losing an uncle, or me losing a husband.”

“Yeah, but he was my only brother. I’m in the most pain.”

“That’s bullshit. All you wanna do is get hammered. Sorry, but I’m not letting you use my husband’s death as an excuse to binge out.”

“Screw you, Robbie. Everyone handles things their own way.”

“Right, like you running away and letting everyone else clean up the mess. I figured today would be different, out of respect for Jim, but he’s still not important enough to you.”

“You don’t know shit about Jimmy and me.”

“When was the last time you came to visit, or called to check on him? Every time he tried reaching out, you were too damn busy, probably out blowing your paycheck at the liquor store.”

“I’m not putting up with this. We’re going home right now.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me.”

“You think I’m joking? We’re leaving.”

“Jim wouldn’t be surprised to know you skipped his funeral.”

“Please, you fixed up this whole fight to make sure I wouldn’t be there. You never liked me or wanted me to be close to him. That’s why you took him so far away.”

“That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

“You won’t even let me speak at his funeral.”

“He wouldn’t have wanted it that way.”

“How the hell would you know that?”

“Because you made him feel like he was worthless. Why do you think we moved here?”

“Bye Robbie. Have a nice, miserable life—alone. You may have been able to fool my brother, but I doubt you’ll be able to find another man to put up your shit.” Jett raced into the house.

Robert followed closely behind. “You still blame me for the failed relationship between the two of you.”

“Hell yeah I do. He changed after you guys met, became someone completely different. If you can’t see that, then you must be blind.”

“You’re right. He did change. Jim became his own person. He didn’t have to look out for you anymore. He could focus on his own life. Do you have the slightest idea how draining you are? You pushed him away. And to set the record straight—I never came between you two. In fact, I was the one always encouraging him to reach out over the years, so you could rebuild the relationship. If it was up to Jim, you never would’ve spoken again. So before you start throwing accusations around, you should get your facts straight. Now get the hell outta my house and outta my life. You’re a disgrace to the whole family.”

Jett ignored Robert and looked directly at Nik. “Pack,” he ordered.

“Nik, you can ride with me to the service. I’ll drive you back to Michigan next week.”

Jett dashed out of the room and put his hands on Robert’s throat. “Listen to me, you might have taken my brother, but you ain’t taken my boy. He’s coming with me.”

Nik awkwardly stared between the men, trying to figure out what to do.

“Pack your shit and let’s go. I ain’t telling you again.”

“But Dad, I wanna go to the funeral.”

“Do I look like I’m joking right now? Move.”

The early morning light seared through the dusty windshield and burned their exhausted eyes. As they crossed into Illinois, Jett pulled off I-90 and headed into a small town called Rockton.

“Where are we going?” Nik asked.

“We’re taking a detour.”

“Off the interstate?”

“Yes, Nikolas. Is that all right with you?”

“It doesn’t make any sense. We need to go towards Chicago.”

“We ain’t in a rush to get back. We’re already heading home early. Ain’t that what you wanted?”

“No, that’s what 
you
 wanted. I wanted to go to the funeral and be there for our family.”

Jett refused to dignify his comment with a response. Instead, the men sat quietly as they made their way down the bumpy road, heading into the downtown district.

“My dad grew up here. God, I haven’t been back since I was a boy. He took Jimmy and me out fishing in that river on his little canoe. It’s just so different than Silver Shores, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, instead of sandy beaches and the lake, it’s surrounded by corn fields and dust. I see why you’d wanna return and let the magic touch you all over again.”

“You don’t get it, Nikolas. You’re too damn young. Sometimes there are places and things in life that mean so much to one person, but mean nothing to another.”

“Like the way we feel about certain people?”

“Sure.”

“I mean, look at you and Uncle Jimmy. He seemed to be your best friend and then it all changed.”

“Yeah, too bad he forgot what’s important. He’d been so damn occupied with Robbie that he didn’t have time for me anymore.”

“The reason you guys stopped talking had nothing to do with Uncle Robbie.”

“Depends on how you look at it. To me, it’s all Jimmy’s fault ‘cause he let Robbie come between us.”

“He grew up, Dad. He did what he needed to do. If he felt guilty for anything that happened between you guys, I’m sure he was adult enough to accept some of the blame.”

“That ain’t true. Don’t talk about shit you know nothing about.”

Nik knew if he shared any more of his honest thoughts, he’d catch the taste of Jett’s backhand. He was done talking to the exhausting man. “Dad, can you pull over at that gas station? I need to use the restroom.”

As soon as they parked, Nik made a beeline inside to the payphone. He held the receiver in his palm and frantically dialed Harper’s number, anxious to inform her of the change of plans.

He glanced at the old fashioned clock hanging above the front door, certain she’d be awake and eating breakfast by then. She should’ve been home, but the ringing buzzed in his ear for a couple minutes. No one was answering.

Nik dialed three more times before giving up. He couldn’t imagine her leaving so early in the day. However, he figured if he could keep Jett focused, they’d be home in time for Nik to meet up with her that afternoon.

Unfortunately, Jett wasn’t done strolling down memory lane. After they’d driven through every inch of Rockton, they parked on a gravel road. It separated the river from the cemetery, an odd place for fishing, Nik thought.

Jett got out, lit a cigarette, and cracked open a beer from the cooler. He sat on the flimsy picnic bench and stayed there for hours, staring off into nothing.

Nik eventually got out and sat on the hood of the truck, studying his dad’s peculiar behavior. It seemed like he was tied to the place, as if it were his strange way of paying tribute to the memory of his brother.

He wondered if the veiled guilt was beginning to eat at Jett.

As ready as he was to leave, it was a relief to see his dad taking a moment to reflect. Jett may not have been wiping tears from his face, but Nik knew that revisiting a childhood memory may have been cathartic. So instead of rushing him, Nik just let it be.

After the six hour detour, the men were back in the truck, cruising down the interstate. They didn’t exchange a single word, riding quietly through the bustling metropolis of Chicago and all of Indiana. It wasn’t until they crossed back into Michigan, as night began to fall, that the silence was broken.