Free REMEMBER ME: GODS OF CHAOS MC by Honey Palomino Page A

north along the coast, the majestic cliffs towering over the crashing waves below. 
     
    Ryder pulled off the highway, parking the bike next to a steep flight of stairs that led down to the beach below.  We left our helmets on the bike, and he grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers in mine, as he led me down the stairs.  Once again, tall trees towered around us, obscuring any view of the ocean until we reached the bottom. 
     
    When our feet finally sank into the sand, I looked up and gasped at the gorgeous sight in front of me.  I was delighted by it all. I reached down and grabbed a handful of sand, letting it run through my fingers.  It was soft. Cold. Solid and yet completely fragmented all at once.  My boots sank into it with each step as Ryder guided me further towards the water. 
     
    The sunset was magnificent. 
     
    Pink and purple streaks lay over a deep, indigo background, the ocean crashing onto the shore in a splash of blue and white and grey.  I let go of Ryde r’ s hand and took off running towards the water. 
     
    The waves were so strong, the wind whipping up around them, as they crashed violently onto the beach, sliding along the slick sand like one, big, long snake, and then slinking back into the water, untouchable, unstoppable.
     
    Relentlessly powerful, its beauty pulled me in, hypnotized me.
     
    Ryde r’ s hand on the small of my back pulled me out of my reverie. 
     
    “ I thought you might like this ,” he whispered in my ear.  I leaned back into him, his arms sliding around me warmly, as if we had stood here a million times before.
     
    “ I do ,” I answered.  “ How is it possible that I feel like I’ ve seen this view hundreds of times, and yet I feel like I’ ve never seen it until right now, all at the same time?  Nothing makes sense . ”
     
    “ I know.  I ca n’ t imagine how you must feel.  I wish there was something I could do, I really do . ”
     
    I pressed back into him again, and his arms tightened around me.  I needed this comfort, this human contact.  I needed a hug.
     
    I turned around and melted into his arms, burying my face in his chest.  His huge biceps engulfed me, and I felt tiny in his embrace.  I felt safe.  I breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent - leather, always the leather - mixed with the saltiness of the ocean air.  Over and over, I breathed it all in - great, deep, gulping breaths - as if I had been starving for air, starving for the comfort of Ryde r’ s arms, anyon e’ s arms.  My breathing turned to sobs.  Before I knew what was happening, tears spilled from my eyes as I cried in his arms.
     
    He held me tightly, caressing my hair, murmuring reassuring words that I could n’ t hear.  The crashing waves and my own sobbing drowned out everything else.
     
    I pulled away, and Ryder reached down, tipping my face up to his and wiping the tears from my cheek with his thumb.
     
    “I’ m nobody, Ryder ,” my lips quivered as I spoke to him.  Sadness and desperation washed over me.  “ I have no where to go. No past. No future. I’ m like a lost ship, all alone out in the ocean, no solid foundation below me, no compass, no sense of direction to guide me home. I have no idea which way to turn . ”
     
    His eyes darkened as he pulled me closer, his voice low and deep and solid.
     
    “ Sam, it does n’ t matter who you are.  What matters is your heart. Tha t’ s the part of you tha t’ s true, that wo n’ t ever change.  All that other stuff can be re-learned, and what you do n’ t remember, well, ther e’ s probably a good reason for that.  But your heart?  Tha t’ s wha t’ s true. Everythin g’ s going to be okay, Sam.  Let your heart be your compass.  Let it guide you in the right direction.  In the meantime, just relax and let me be your lighthouse . ”
     
    His lips came crashing onto mine like the waves crashing onto the shore behind me, and I melted into his arms, his kiss warm and soft and full