Fighting With Light (The Coldwell Brothers #2)

26. Liam

26

Liam

We arrive in El Salvador with less than three days left before the competition starts because of time changes and layovers. I roll our bags and carry my board to the exit as Aelia taps away on her phone, walking with me. We’re both exhausted because we’ve been up for a while.

I need to get back on my schedule, get a few workouts in, find out more about the Colombian operation, and win this leg of the championship. I need to be on my A-game, and that means a ton of sleep. Which is hard when my temporary girlfriend is sleeping next to me because she’s the only thing I want to pay attention to. Part of me wants to toss the rest of it to the side and see if she wants to disappear into the sunset…leave it all behind.

We exit the main airport area and I look around for a taxi to take us to the resort. I got us a private villa at a resort that sits right on the beach similar to what we stayed at in Bali. I also ordered a motorcycle from one of the dealers in the area. I’m tired of driving cars and figured it would be more fun to ride a motorcycle. There are hangers for surfboards, so it should work. If not, I’ll get a car. A taxi pulls up a few steps down the road from us. “Come on, princess, your chariot awaits.”

She rolls her eyes and follows behind with both of our backpacks on her shoulders. “I like that you call me princess, but not sarcastically, you ass.”

I grin at her over my shoulder and wink. “Ooo, sassy. I like it.”

She looks away, trying to hide her smile. I open the trunk to the cab hauling our bags in and then try to figure out how to get my board in the car. I reach for the other suitcase and see Aelia walk over to some kids that look like they’re trying to sell hand woven bags or baskets and hands them a hundred dollar US bill. The young boy holds it in his hands like it’s too good to be true. He picks up a bag trying to give it to her, but she says no. He frowns and gives her a pair of silver earrings. She takes them smiling and nods. Her lips mouth thank you then she walks back towards me. I glance at the kids and their smiles are so wide the exchange makes my heart feel like it’s bursting.

She smiles at me and I stare at her for a moment, taken back by her generosity. This woman is so much more than what she allows others to see. I wink at her and go back to figuring out how to get my board in the car.

The driver looks at me like there’s no way I’ll fit it. Oh, it will fit.

“Looks like you’re riding on me, princess,” I quip.

She frowns and opens her mouth, likely to ask me what I mean. Then I grab my board, angle it in the back seat and pull the front seat up as far as I can, leaving enough room for Aelia and me. Once it’s in, I bracket it with our backpacks so it doesn’t wiggle around. The tip sits out of the window, I just have to pray that no one gets to close or I’ll be screwed. I don’t exactly carry two boards with me.

The driver seems to accept how I got it in and gets back in the car. I sit in the passenger seat and pat my lap.

“Your throne,” I say, grinning.

She grumbles and plops down harder than she needed to. I grunt as she wiggles herself so her legs sit across mine. I grab the door, slamming it shut. “La Villa del Mar en La Libertad, por favor.”

“Es un viaje de cuarenta y un minutos,” he says.

“Si, claro que si.”

He shrugs and we drive off.

“How long is this trip?” Aelia asks.

“About forty minutes,” I say, wrapping my arms around her ribs.

She puffs out a breath, relaxing into my chest, and I rest my chin on her shoulder. With the windows down sans AC, we get all the smells and wind in our hair as we watch the city pass us by.

Aelia pulls her long sleeve off and hands it to me before leaning half out of the window, looking at the landscape. I watch her as she takes it all in. I’ve been here once before; I haven’t seen it all, but I’d rather watch her see a new place. Her cherry scent blows into my nose and I take a deep breath, kissing her cheek. She smiles at me and returns to looking out the window.

It’s pretty warm and sweat glistens off her back. I use her shirt to dab it away then swipe at my forehead under my hat. After she seems to get her fill of watching the landscape, she rests her head on my shoulder. The trip goes by slowly and I’m glad for it. I get to hold her and time feels like it’s standing still because of it. If time stopped right here, I would be happy with that. Maybe except for the taxi driver, he could go.

We pull up to the resort’s main entrance, and I help Aelia off my sticky lap and out of the car. We get our stuff, I pay the driver well, and we get checked in.

They give us our cards and I lead us in the direction of our villa. When I booked it there weren’t any two bedrooms available. I didn’t want to assume anything, which is why I looked, but since they were unavailable, I think it was meant to be even though I didn’t want it in the first place. I want her as close as possible.

Aelia slides the card into the reader and cool air blows in my face as she opens the door, holding it for me with our bags and my surfboard. I’m a little paranoid because I had to ditch the guns in Portugal, so I lock the door behind us before putting her suitcase up on one of the holders, and I kick mine into a closet.

She pulls the curtains back, revealing the beautiful ocean right in front of us.

“Why is there a motorcycle parked on the patio?” Aelia asks.

I grin, realizing I forgot to ask the front desk about it. Looks like they brought it all the way here, I’ll have to thank them again for that. Brushing past Aelia, I flip the slider lock and push it open. I didn’t have a ton of options, but I ordered a little Yamaha V Star 250. It has two seats, so Aelia can ride, and it was in stock. I also picked it because it was one of the few options with two seats, and a crotch rocket doesn’t work well with a surfboard or on sand.

Aelia stands beside me and I stoop down, looking at the shiny finishes. Perfect. “Do you know why this is here?” she asks.

I grin excitedly. “Yeah, princess, I bought it and had it delivered.”

“You bought a motorcycle while we’re here for less than two weeks?”

I shrug. “Yeah, why not? Come on, it’ll be fun. ”

She smiles and shakes her head. “You have so much money you don’t even know what to do with it.”

I pull her into my side and look at the bike again. I’m itching to get on it, but I know I need to focus on my schedule that way, I’m ready in a few days. “Okay, Aelia, then what should I do with it?” I ask her.

I earn a lot from sponsorships, investments, and business. My brothers and I were never stupid with our money; our mom taught us at a young age to be smart with it. Our grandpa Astor was loaded and we were his only grandkids, so when he died, most went to Mom, and then the rest went to me and my brothers. We all have trust funds and business ventures with the Astor name on them, and at this point, we all have around ten digits. It used to be nine, but we invested well.

“I think you should open a home for abused women.” I startle at her words and look at her. Her head is tilted up at me and she studies me.

I nod. “It would definitely be a good use of money.”

She dips her head once and goes back to looking at the bike.

“So what are you going to do with it?” she asks.

“We’re going to go on a ride, princess.” I smirk and kiss her cheek. “But right now, I need food and sleep.”

“Now that sounds like a dream.” I smile and we go back into the villa, locking the door behind us. We order room service, shower, and our heads hit the pillow before midnight. Well, Aelia’s hit my chest, but I like being her pillow.