If last night Julien rocked her world, today he revealed the rest of it. Saturday proved to be one of the most exciting days of her life. Of all the things she’d done with her parents, skydiving had never made their list. Julien took her to a local jump club.
The private hangar housing the Cessna ten seater was spacious and clean with a small glass-walled office occupying one corner of the back west wall. Frequent travel with her parents had involved a similar-looking hangar. Though smaller, this area reminded her of their well-kept space, free of dust, oil stains, hydraulic-fluid spots, and spider webs.
“Um, Julien? What are you doing?” As she watched, he removed and unfolded a chute. The bag he tossed aside boasted his name embroidered on the top. Despite the understanding that his actions were somehow safety-oriented, she couldn’t fathom the reasoning. After all, he’d unlocked a cabinet to get his equipment.
He spread the rig out and stood between the sets of lines, explaining the routine.
“Just checking our gear. It’s why we came a little early. This step can never be skipped, and since I didn’t get to it last night, well, this’ll just take a few minutes. Bear with me.” She watched as he bent over and picked up two sets of lines in each hand. They drifted through the cage of his fingers as he walked toward the nylon canopy.
Suddenly, he stopped cold. His body stiffened. On closer inspection of one line, he dropped it and snarled, “Damn. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This line is damaged. It’s been cut three-quarters the way through.” Disgust laced his voice. “I’ll grab another one.”
The storage space off to one side included locked cabinets where he opened one labeled tandem. Again, he pulled out another bag and was easing down the lines when his brothers arrived. Each deposited their bags by the Cessna.
“Figures you’d be the dawdler.” Conner frowned and rubbed his scruffy chin before adding. “You had planned on Adara going solo?”
“No. Just taking a minute to follow a hunch.” Julien finished with the tandem chute and directed Conner’s attention to the damaged line on his personal equipment. “And I was right. We’ve had a visitor.”
“Damn. Your secret admirer is fast.” Marc introduced his girlfriend before adding. “That first step would’ve been a bitch.”
Conner stepped closer to inspect Julien’s damaged line. A snort of disgust and shake of his head preceded him pulling on a pair of leather gloves and picking up the lines. “I’ll take care of this guys, you all go ahead.”
Marc and Nate stepped closer to examine the damage. Tension radiated from one to the other.
“Did you guys check your chutes last night?” Julien’s level gaze landed on Nate and Marc in turn.
“No.” In unison.
“Alyssa and I checked ours this morning.” Marc pulled his girlfriend in for a hug.
“I repacked mine before leaving this morning,” Nate added.
Tandem sky diving added a new layer, a new dimension to Adara’s worldview. Tethered to Julien in free fall, she possessed the world, at three thousand feet. If someone had told her a week ago she’d not only be jumping from a perfectly functioning airplane but also living with the man of her dreams, she would have called them insane.
The first seconds of plummeting toward the Earth included terror. With her eyes closed tight, the shock of cold air against her face jolted her on such a warm day. A brief form of insanity must have infused her mind. At this height, whatever happens will be out of my control, so I might as well get a last look at the world.
The view snatched her breath more than the force of the wind in her face. The steady whistle of it blasting over her soft leather frap hat and goggles would replay in her dreams.
Julien’s strong arms wrapped her tight in his embrace while the farmhouses below resembled small, irregular dots. Neat little oblong shapes separated by several large ponds delineated the various crops, like something seen on a wall calendar.
Morning sun peeked over the edge of the world, the waves of light crawling in bands across the ground in indiscernible increments. Everything light touched, she owned, if only for the small space of time. It was a treasure where memories were conceived and she never wanted it to end.
When Julien slipped his hand inside her jumpsuit to roam freely over her breast and tug at her nipple, fire and ice exploded throughout her body, excitement and fear collided. She thanked God they faced away from the others.
Exhaustion from little sleep heightened the edginess felt with Julien’s proximity. The fact arousal could override her thrill of free fall declared her heart in serious jeopardy. Renewed lust maintained a continuous low buzz of excitement and kept her emotions stirred. Cold rushing wind snatched her growl when he withdrew.
The sudden uptake as the chute opened made her question her mental health, but Julien held her secure. Despite earlier bravado, she held her hands out straight when the ground rushed at them at break-neck speed as if she could break her fall. He’d cautioned her to keep her feet up until he signaled to drop them, thus avoiding the tangle of arms and legs incurred by novice jumpers.
Five other jumpers had blasted out of the Cessna after them, Marc and his sub Alyssa among them. Alyssa jumped from a static line, something she could do the next time.
After securing their gear, they enjoyed simple conversation at a small restaurant where they sat and watched waves lap at the shore. She’d never been so famished.
Shock and awe consumed her with the normalcy of her new life. The brothers took everything in stride—just another day.
From snippets of overheard conversation, Alyssa practiced business law in a local firm. Intelligent, strong-minded, and witty were the first impressions that had come to mind after introductions. The attorney could be a good resource and a quiet conversation might yield much-needed information, since she wasn’t in the least bit subdued, no hesitancy or fear in her countenance when interacting with her Dominant. The woman’s effervescence offered hope. Marc and Alyssa related in a manner much the same way Julien treated Adara.
Both Marc and Nate engaged her in chit chat about her future while revealing aspects of their own character through brotherly antics. The word family came to mind again and again. The camaraderie rivaled the memory of what she’d shared with her parents. When Nate, Marc and Alyssa left, Julien pulled her onto his lap.
“How’re you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Incredible. Like I’ve flown with the angels.”
“Looks like the eight-year-old variant of yourself would like to give you a hug…you’re the angel.”
“How about you?”
His heavy-lidded gaze settled on her mouth, yet his words weren’t what she expected. “At peace.” He hugged her tight as if afraid she’d fly away. “The only time I’ve felt this peaceful…St. Lucia.”
“What were you doing there—vacation?”
“Uh, no.” He grimaced. “I just needed to make peace with my soul.” His brows drew together as he briefly shook his head. The sudden change in demeanor revealed his impromptu utterance a mistake.
Without saying more, he’d closed her out again, not baring the intimate parts of his soul and keeping his heart out of reach.