Sliced Trees and Dead Words

7 - Dalen: the reason why I'm here with Luna, not because I actually want to be.

- WOLFE -

Luna is even more attractive up close, where I can see and get lost in how big and green her eyes are, and smell the coconut and lime in her dark brown, long waves, inhale her warm and spicy breaths; better imagine how my hands would feel grazing her smooth skin, which is perfectly grabbable in all the right places.

God, I hate her.

I also hate my dick in these jeans because it's being uncooperative with my resolve to dislike every single part of her. It's also the reason why my eyes keep wandering up and down her body against my control, taking in the way her skinny black jeans accentuate the width of her hips and thick thighs. How tight the maroon t-shirt is across her chest and how much I appreciate in this moment the genius who invented deep v-neck designs, as well as my slight height advantage. How detailed and colourful her arms are and how many hours of work it must have taken to complete her two full sleeves of tattoos, including one particularly large piece which is a very close likeness of Medusa who is sitting next to me staring up at us both. How her chocolate brown painted lips remain parted with her current breathlessness as she stares right at me, witnessing the obviousness of me checking her out from mere inches away after I lifted her up from the floor.

I took a step backwards and dropped her hand from mine, finally feeling how much strain it had put on the healing gash across my sweaty palm to lift her from the floor. I could have very easily left her there to struggle to her feet with those ridiculous boots, but apparently my dick had other ideas when it took control over my body. Now that I was a few feet away from her—thank fuck for that—I was able to breathe freely again and look around her salon. It was nice, just like I said to the pink-haired one who seems to be a lot more taken by me than Luna is. All slick blacks and various shades of grey, with the occasional baby pink accent here and there. I don't know who's to blame for that part of the colour palette—Luna with her pink claws, or Nella with her pink hair.

Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be moon-related things adorning the surfaces or hanging from the wall, none so much as the giant mirror behind a ginormous arrangement of native flowers. I assume that must be where Luna works from because a lot of those items there were already familiar to me seeing as I was nearby when Dalen bought quite a few and sent them to her.

Seeing these lingering pieces of Dalen here unexpectedly was like a knife to my gut, and I moved quickly to avoid bleeding out on Luna's clean floors.

"So, I have Dalen's things in my car for you, if you want to come get them?" I said, stroking my beard and crossing my arms to look at her. I probably could have tried to be a little more delicate about it, but my brashness seems to come so naturally around Luna. I just can't help it, no matter how hot she is.

She narrowed her eyes at me before looking over at her friend, whose gentle smile seemed to encourage the sad, downward droop of Luna's eyes. Nella, no doubt sensing that Luna was about to cry as much as I anticipated she may, walked over to her friend and looped her fingers through Luna's before looking back up at me.

"Luna didn't drive today, Wolfe," Nella said, but her rationale for disclosing this was just not sinking in. At seeing the confusion on my face, she thankfully elaborated for my benefit. "She walked to work, so she wouldn't be able to carry it all home. Perhaps you might be able to drive her back and do it there? You'll be staying with Luna while you're here, right? She has a couple spare rooms in her place, and I'm sure she'd love to have you stay and get to know you better." Nella's face seemed almost pained as she choked out that last sentence, and a quick glance down at her hand being crushed by Luna's pink talons might have been the reason for it.

I hadn't thought to stay in Byron Bay at all. I was coming to drop off Dalen's things, get his parents' address, and continue on up the coast through Noosa to Gympie to deliver the final blow. Staying with Luna, of all people, was not an option that my mind even wanted to consider.