Page 24 of Trapped: Between Sky And Wind

I grow dizzy because I rarely drink alcohol. Ethan sometimes allows it, like on Christmas or on birthdays, but otherwise, it’s taboo for me.

We continue to gaze outward as the sky changes into a gray-black, silky canopy and a million lights flash below us.

“Don’t you feel like everything is upside down?” I finally ask Bren. We lean against the XXL desk, which is close to the windows, our knees raised, our heads resting against each other. “It looks like the stars are rising on the wrong side.”

“Those city lights are the reason you can hardly see any stars, they’re just too bright. It’s completely different in Canada where there’s no light pollution.”

“Remember in the Yukon…that night with the northern lights?”

“Of course.”

I hear the smile in his voice. “What’s real? The city or the wilderness?”

“There’s nothing real in a city, Lou. Everything is artificial. The light and the people. Even their behavior changes here. In the wild, you don’t need to impress anyone, just survive. It’s real, that’s all.”

“So, we usually live in a false reality and the wilderness is the only real place,” I state.

“That’s how I see it, yes.”

It’s reassuring even if I don’t know why exactly. Maybe because our love can definitely exist in the real world.

Later, when Bren gets up to get Grey and some things from the RV fridge, I go to the bathroom. The champagne is making my entire body tingle. My cheeks are hot and I keep giggling.

I test the largest of the three walk-in showers. It is dark blue marble and can be used by at least four people at the same time. It also has six different spotlights and three shower dispensers. I use the shower cream that smells like lemon, and before long, the bathroom is a mix of misty Avalon and Italian lemon grove. After the shower, I dry off, blow-dry my hair, and brush it until it shines.

Bren must be back because I hear Grey barking. Did he walk through that posh lobby with a wolf? I smile to myself. I’m intoxicated, certainly also by the luxury I’ve only known from movies, and I feel like a different Lou—in a different world, maybe in a world where the stars rise on the wrong side. At least this Lou is no longer afraid of being close to Bren or making mistakes. Not at all.

Curious, I inspect the bag Bren retrieved and discover a white dress with silver straps. Wow! It looks…hot. He must have bought it especially for me! I pull it out and hold it in front of me. It is made of extremely fine, diaphanous silk and embroidered with countless flower appliqués with glittering pearls sparkling on them. I stroke the delicate fabric with my fingertips, then slip it on over my naked body and laugh softly. It barely covers my butt, and as I turn in front of the mirror, my cheeks grow hot. My breasts shimmer through the white fabric and the translucent dress reveals everything else like an implied promise.

Oh my God! I feel tingly all of a sudden. I picture Bren’s face when he sees me in the dress and am filled with fiendish joy.

I quickly slip out of the bathroom and tiptoe back into the living room. I stop at the door and notice Bren looking outside.

“Bren?” My voice is barely a whisper.

In front of the picture windows, he turns to me and suddenly grows rigid, shaken in a way that’s new to me. He swallows hard and searches for words but is at a loss. His bewilderment suddenly makes me self-conscious.

“Lou…” His voice sounds hoarse with longing. Step by step, he comes toward me without taking his eyes off me for a second. Seeing him mesmerized sends hot and cold shivers down my spine. Finally, he stands in front of me and I give him a timid smile.

“How beautiful you are,” he whispers, and the desire in his tone makes me tremble.

He carefully frames my face with his hands and leans over me. Our lips touch for a few breaths, then his tongue enters my mouth and it’s unlike ever before.

Behind the softness of that first kiss lies a dizzying urgency, like he knows I’m letting go of my reticence and wearing the dress is an invitation—which it is.

His fingers wander under the thin fabric and slide over my bare skin, up and down my spine. He feels his way over my sides to my stomach and paints delicate circles around my belly button. Repeatedly. Hot and cold flood my veins as if I’m freezing and sweating at the same time. The fine silk crackles like sparks between us and I gasp and pull back.

“What’s the matter, scaredy-cat? Still afraid?” Bren murmurs, trying to pull me close again.

“Scaredy-cat?” I giggle, twisting out of his grasp and backing up a few steps until I hit the wall. It’s cool and hard and I feel it more intensely than usual. I look at Bren and there’s a hunger flickering in his eyes that’s devouring me lock, stock, and barrel, but this time I don’t mind. On the contrary. The new, exciting feeling of being so desirable rushes through me like champagne.

He follows me and I let him get as close as possible before slipping under his arm and dashing behind the leather couch, laughing.

“If you want me, you’ll have to catch me,” I tease. Suddenly, it’s all so easy.

Bren groans, his dark hair falling over his face. “You’re driving me crazy, you know that?” He rips his T-shirt over his head and takes off his cargo pants, standing there in his black boxers only.

My pulse thuds dully in my veins. He is so beautiful, every muscle tense with excitement, his skin shimmering in the glow of a thousand evening lights.

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