banner by the always amazing behrbabe
Title: Pulse
Author: jake17
Couple: M/L
Disclaimer: I own nothing Roswell
Rating: Adult
Summary: He knew it was forbidden, but love abides by no rules of man or other such wild things that tempt our fragile hearts...
Chapter one
~ Oh what storms may bring, fate, love and all that’s wild and restless in our beating thundering hearts, awakening the dormant, bringing life to the soulful ache, oh what storms may bring…
The hypnotic sway of the windshield wipers swooshing back and forth against the sideways rain caused his eyelids to feel heavy closing slightly before a sharp elbow to his side jolted him to attention.
“Don’t go falling asleep on me now Max, look we’re here.”
Sure enough Mikey was right as he saw the line of tracker trailer trucks begin to turn off the main highway one by one.
It was the dead of night when the caravan of misfits and so called freaks Max had made his home with pulled into a narrow dirt road lined with thick woods on all sides.
Throwing his truck into park Max sighed heavily as he pushed opened the rusted door of his faded green truck planting his worn work boots down into the muddy ground to look upon the large field littered with garbage and tall brown grass that was lit by the headlights of the rickety vehicles that went before him.
Punishing wind drove the pelting rain against his pensive handsome face immediately soaking his jet black hair causing it to fall across his sad amber eyes that flickered upward towards the starless sky.
Thick clouds hid the impeding mysterious moon from sight but he could feel it there all the same.
Something was coming, just beyond the storm that raged over head, he felt it in his bones as his muscles tensed and his blood rushed like pistons into his heart making it race wildly in a way he had not felt in a long time.
Jarring him out of his troubled thoughts Mikey, his closest and only real friend in this traveling carnival he called home drawled out with his heavy southern accent as he too jumped out of the passenger side of Max’s truck.
“Hell of a night, it’s gonna be a bitch setting up tomorrow in this shitty weather, this here field’s gonna be a giant freakin mud pit come morning. Don’t see how we’re gonna be ready for operation in two days.”
Wiping his forehead with the sleeve from his flannel shirt Max scanned the barren area lit up by dozens of headlights and shrugged somberly.
“It’ll be fine.”
His soft deep rasping tone made him sound as if he were a million miles away.
Laughing a little too loudly Mikey slapped his hand on the Max’s broad shoulder shaking it roughly amused how Max rarely spoke and he when he did it was usually no longer than a one word answer or a muddled poetic reference which made little sense to his six grade education mindset.
Just the same he loved him like a brother and would do anything he asked, Mikey was as loyal a friend as you could hope for.
“Yep I supposed you’re right, besides we’ve seen worse. Better at least get the trailers and the generators hooked up. After an eighteen hour drive I’m guessing everyone’s dying for a hot shower and some grub. I see the boss up ahead I’m gonna find out where he’s fixin’ us to start first, you best get back in the truck and out of this rain while ya still can, I have a feeling it’s gonna be long night.”
Max nodded as he quietly walked back towards the truck but instead of getting in he kept going down back where they came from.
His back was tight as hell from driving so long, he was feeling antsy and tense, he always got that way when they pulled into a new town.
The last place was shithole out in the middle of the boonies somewhere in Pittsburg, but it really didn’t matter, they were all the same to him only the faces changed, and he didn’t pay much attention to that either.
He just needed to keep moving, another town, different state, made no difference to him as long as they didn’t stay too long.
These were the thoughts that were swirling around in his mind when he turned the corner onto the water logged asphalt on the highway.
That’s when he saw her, long dark wavy sopping hair stuck to glistening golden perfect skin that sent and immediate chill up his spine and other places that had gone neglected for far too long.
Her back was too him which made her all that more alluring, her silhouette, the shape of her body the way she carried herself, how completely unaware of the sexuality that steamed off of her warm skin in the cool rain.
She literally took his breath away, she was beyond beautiful.
Dressed in a white tank top that was transparent soaked clinging to curves so enticing it nearly distracted him from her frayed jeans that hugged an ass that most men would give their left arm to have in their bed, she stood with her hip cocked out and her thumb wavering up and out angled toward the road.
He stood silently going unnoticed hidden by the relentless pounding of the rain watching as she shifted her weight from one foot to another.
He surmised by the way she was dressed and by the worn flip flops on her feet drenched in shallow puddles that this was not something she had planned.
Trouble was written all over her, it was glaringly blatant and disturbingly ominous in the most intriguing and glorious way, there was no way he could go back now, even though everything inside him was yelling at him to do so.
Rubbing the back of his neck he couldn’t help but wonder what the hell she was doing out in the middle of nowhere hitchhiking with nothing but a back pack slung over her slender shoulder in the pouring rain.
Kicking a rock beneath his foot he silently swore as he looked back at Mikey who was busy directing all the trailers as to where to set up for the night.
Conflicted, knowing that there was no way he could get involved he had just made up his mind to get back to work when he took once last glance in her direction.
She was shivering; he could see it from four feet away, desperate to get out of the rain as she stood on her tip toes catching the lights of a car as it peaked over the crest of the hill.
Shoving his hands in his pockets still completely unnoticed by her he turned back towards the dirt road trying fruitlessly to convince himself that this was none of his business.
Hidden by a group of tall pine trees he heard the screeching brakes of a car as it drove just past her only to slam on its brakes.
Max closed his eyes hearing the rumbling idle of a muscle car and the thumping base of classic rock that was quickly cut off as the window rolled down.
“Hey little lady, you looking for a ride?”
Max’s stomach twisted at the alcohol laced slurred middle aged voice echoing out onto the empty highway.
Out of the corner of his eye Max could see her, she had ran up to the car window but must’ve seen something that alarmed her because she began shaking her head and backing away.
“Sorry thought you were a friend of mine I’ve been waiting for.” She attempted to speak firmly as she turned quickly on her heel.
What Max didn’t see was that there were two other guys in the beaten up black Camaro that had no intentions of just letting her go.
She didn’t get far as one of them whipped open the door and grabbed onto her back pack sending her flying into his arms.
“Where exactly do you think you’re going sweetheart?”
Max turned his face slightly as the rain began to beat down harder sending a clap of thunder and lightning streaking across the dark sky.
He watched as she wriggled her arm out of the back pack but was slammed back into his hard rib cage brutally as he grabbed a hold of her hair twisting it around his fist.
Drunken laughter rang out amongst the older guy and the one younger one as they now all stood around her boxing her in passing a bottle of whiskey between them.
She tried to sound calm but her body gave her away as she shook furiously glaring up and down the road praying that a car would drive by.
“Look, my friend is going to come along any second now and see us, he’ll know something’s wrong. Just let me go and we’ll go our separate ways. This really isn’t worth jail time when you think about it. Besides assault, you’re all clearly intoxicated. I’m guessing this isn’t your first offense, I’m sure the cops are well aware of you in a town this small. J-Just … let me go and I promise I won’t say a word.”
Furrowing his eyebrows Max was shocked expecting her to be crying or trying to fight her way out, no she was smart, too smart to be caught up in this mess.
Regardless it was clear it had escalated into a situation he couldn’t walk away from.
“Ain’t no one coming for you little girl, no need to lie, don’t worry the three of us just wanna have ourselves a little party."
The older one stopped laughing and ordered what turned out to be his eldest son to get the bitch in the car.
Slapping the tall lanky kid, who had her still by the hair, upside the head hard the father swore stumbling towards her clearly bombed.
“God Damn it Carl, grow a pair and throw her in the fucking backseat before someone sees us!”
No one was laughing now as the third son who couldn’t have been older than fifteen lowered his head clearly scared and nervous nudged his older brother.
“Fuck Carl just let her go, she’s right… dad’s drunk again. We can’t do this, I can’t hurt nobody, and I know you can’t neither.”
Wanting his presence to remain unknown Max walked silently through the woods around the back of the car.
Appealing to the youngest of the three she desperately tried to remain calm.
“Look you haven’t done anything wrong right now, but if your brother forces me to get into that car you’re going to be an accessory to kidnapping, assault and much more. You are so young, don’t make a mistake that could ruin your life – “
Just than the father grabbed the boy by the back of the neck and shoved him in the back seat.
“Jesus Christ Brandon I shoulda’ left you home wit your momma you useless pieces of shit!”
The next few minutes were a blur to everyone as Max emerged from the driver’s side of the car.
Within what seemed like seconds Carl was bleeding from the side of his temple and sitting back in the passenger seat dazed while Max had the father pinned against the door with a blade to his throat.
In all the chaos the girl had fallen to the ground smacking her head hard on the wet black concrete.
Laying there in a dizzy haze she gazed up to see a tall dark beautiful stranger glaring down into the eyes of the father quietly, calmly speaking so softly she couldn’t hear over the thunder roaring all around her.
Before passing out her breath hitched as the stranger averted his stare from the asshole in his grasp to catch her frightened gaze.
She froze as he focused in on her intensely; his eyes wild like an animal, glowing bright as if on fire, like burning embers piercing straight through her.
It should have terrified her but instead she was pulled in, entranced, unable to look away fixated on what could not have been possible.
It was then that everything began to fade to black her small frame collapsing as she passed out from the bump on her head.
Standing on yellow broken lines in the pouring rain Max watched as the muscle car skidded fishtailing back and forth before speeding off into night.
Sighing to himself as he stripped off his flannel shirt to shield her from the unforgiving cold rain he gently swept her wet tresses from her long dark eyelashes already lost in her.
Cradling her in his arms close to his strong bare chest he gazed up towards the brightly colored bulbs as they lit up one by one ironically spelling out the broken down nearly bankrupted traveling vagabond troupe he called home.
Paradise Carnival
