Page 65 of Anchored to the Storm

After taking away the cup neither Saleeni nor I wanted, a hand rested on my shoulder. “The way she looks at you.”

Not taking my eyes from hers, I grinned. “Stop trying to make me feel better.”

Her face nuzzled into my touch. “Hi.”

When Styx or I said such a simple word, we sounded like idiots.

Saleeni? Melt. My. Fucking. Heart.

“Hi, baby.” Confidence resurfacing in my chest, I said, “Styx?”

“Yeah, Silly Rabbit?” He set the cup down.

“I need skylights for her.” Blindly, I pointed up in the air with my free hand. “Up there.”

A kiss landed on the top of my head. “Bravest kid I’ll ever know.”

Saleeni left again that day, but this time, I knew she would come back when ready.

“It’s time you learn your way around a gun.” At the kitchen counter, Styx opened a bag of Cheese Puffs.

Spreading mayonnaise on my sandwich, I asked, “Like, go to a shooting range?” The idea of leaving the clubhouse both thrilled and terrified me. I hadn’t been off this property since arriving, nor away from Saleeni since that very first night.

“Not exactly.” He popped a Puff in his mouth. “More like practice in your own shooting range.”

My head drew back. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been so up a certain somebody’s ass—” He thought for a second. “Does she have an ass?”

I wiped mayonnaise from the butter knife on his arm. “Fucker.”

“Well?”

Clueless about her anatomy, I mumbled, “I dunno.”

He elbowed me and smirked. “You’ll have fun finding out.”

Would it be fun though? A part of me, the altered part, sensed some sort of mating ritual coming. The other part of me, the simpler-minded human, wasn’t sure of any of the basics. With Talullah, I slipped between perfect thighs. Did Saleeni need to have legs before having sex with me? Like River and Ol’ Mighty Seed Gramps?

Adding fixings to my sandwich, I asked about another concern, “What if… she… becomes pregnant?”

Making his own sandwich, he was already nodding. “Oh, I see. You’re afraid you’re as fertile as me. I get it.”

“Does your ego ever sleep?”

He took a bite of a slice of cheese. “No. Even in my dreams, I’m a badass. Fast as a cougar. I can even fly and shit. Fuckin’ unreal. Now that I think of it, I’m⁠—”

I stole his cheese and shoved it in my mouth, pretending to eat his ego.

“Hey, that’s sacred shit!”

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

He grabbed another slice. “All seriousness, with all I’ve learned so far on this magical ride, is to do just that. Ride. Treat it like the freedom of a bike. Let the wind guide you. Let it help you breathe. Let it take you to your next destination.” He rested his hands on each side of his plate and stood there quietly, finally adding, “Saleeni may never get legs like River did.”

With hands on the counter, he looked at me as if seeing any pain on my face was going to gut him.

I wish I could’ve hidden it, but the human in me still didn’t comprehend how to make that fact work. I was willing to learn! I was all in with Saleeni, just… “Would’ve loved to have her on the back of my bike someday.” My throat tightened. “Hate that my Old Lady has to stay hidden.” I shrugged. “I’m proud of her.”