Because of Lila

  I fell asleep before the movie ended, but my night had been fun. The alcohol relaxed me, and I didn’t dream, I just slept.

  The sun was just beginning to rise when I opened my eyes. I was asleep on the sofa alone. A blanket was covering me and a pillow was under my head. I stretched, got up, folded the blanket and ran a hand through my hair. I needed to leave. Bliss and Nate were going to assume things that hadn’t happened. Not that I should care. But a part of me did. And it had happened before, just not last night.

  I found an old receipt and a pen in my purse.

  Thanks for last night. It was fun. I hope it helped.

  Lila

  I placed the note on the table in front of me and then left. I liked Eli Hardy, and in different circumstances he’d be harder to leave. But his heart was taken even if he didn’t want it to be.

  My walk back to Nate and Bliss’s was peaceful. The seagulls were out, and the smell of the salt in the air calmed me. The sun wasn’t boiling yet, and I enjoyed just being alone. My thoughts were all over the place as I walked. So much so that I almost missed the motorcycle parked outside Nate’s house.

  When I did see it, I paused. I knew that bike. I also knew the guy straddling it. He turned his head and looked at me. Even though I hated it. Even though I would do anything for it not to affect me to see him there, my heart picked up just a little.

  I took a deep breath then resumed walking toward the front door and Cruz Kerrington.

  “What are you doing here?” I snapped when I was close enough for him to hear me.

  He gave me his cocky grin. “I heard you were taking a road trip.”

  “So?”

  “Why?”

  I didn’t want to answer him. But he was here. He had never come here. “Why are you here?” I demanded.

  “Why did you take off?” Cruz countered.

  I was the new Lila. I wasn’t the same girl that I had left behind in Rosemary. “Because I don’t want to be that girl anymore. The one you described.”

  “So you thought leaving town alone would change that?” He sounded amused.

  I hated that. I hated his smug grin and self-confidence. “Yes. This is my . . . adventure. Now leave. Let me enjoy it.”

  Cruz didn’t move. He studied me a moment. I started to walk past him toward the front door. “Get on, Lila,” he said and I glanced back at him. He was holding out a helmet.

  “Excuse me?” I asked thinking I’d heard him incorrectly.

  “Get on the back of my bike,” Cruz repeated.

  “Are you crazy?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. But you know that already. Now get on the bike.”

  “I’m not getting on that bike.”

  He cocked one eyebrow at me. It was a sexy talent. “You said you wanted an adventure. What is more adventurous than climbing on my bike and just leaving?”

  “Where would we go?” I heard myself ask.

  “Anywhere, everywhere.”

  I shook my head again. “My bag is upstairs. My car is here.”

  “Yeah . . . but you want change. That’s the old you. Climb on, and we’ll find the new Lila Kate Carter.”

  I stood there. My head was telling me how ridiculous this was and that I needed to march inside and slam the door in his face, but my feet began moving toward him. I had nothing but the clothes I was wearing and the purse on my shoulder. I stopped beside his bike and he put the helmet on my head. Then his hand closed around mine. “Get on.”

  And I did.

  Cruz Kerrington

  SOMETIMES YOU DO shit and you don’t think it through. That’s what got me here. I had just reacted. Now I had Lila Kate on my bike headed west to New Orleans. Once her daddy found out, I was damn sure I’d need to be put in protective custody. Grant Carter was going to kill me. But until then, I was going to be there while Lila Kate liberated her sweet little uptight ass.

  At least she’d loosen up. I didn’t want her to start dancing on bars topless or anything, but this was a step in the right direction. Just leaving all her shit. No explanation. Just driving out of there. I didn’t think she’d do it. I hadn’t been able to sleep. I’d gotten up at three and went outside with a backpack that held a change of clothes and a toothbrush then climbed on and drove off.

  But dammit they’d just let her take off on her own. I didn’t give one fuck that she was a grown woman. She was so sheltered that it didn’t matter how old she was. I loved the fact she wanted to spread her wings some. She just needed a little guidance. That’s why I was here. Grant should be thanking me. He wouldn’t. He’d likely try to kill me.

  We’d be in New Orleans by the time everyone woke up and realized she was gone. I’d have her call her momma, and I’d call Nate and tell him. I wasn’t going to let everyone worry.

  I pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot and drove her up to the door before cutting the engine. “This is the best we’ll find this early. Get some jeans and closed toed shoes. Change and come on back out.”

  She didn’t move. “You want me to go in there and buy jeans and shoes?”

  I turned around and pulled her helmet off. “You want to ride all the way to New Orleans dressed in those shorts and a pair of sandals?”

  She looked down at her bare legs then lifted her eyes back to me. “I guess that’s a bad idea?” It sounded like a question.

  I nodded.

  With a sigh, she got off the bike. “I should have at least got some of my things.”

  “Did you have jeans and boots packed?” I asked her, and she shook her head. “Didn’t think so.”

  She walked inside, and I tried not to admire her ass. That was not what this was about. I’d been drunk when I kissed her. I wasn’t going to play with her emotions. I cared too much about her to just make her one of the girls I’d fucked. Lila deserved romance. I didn’t do romance.

  I did ropes, and handcuffs, and strippers. That was my speed. Girls who knew I liked some rough play, and they wanted it too. Lila was breakable. Definitely, not my speed.

  I thought about calling Nate now and decided not to. They were asleep. No need to let them all know I’d run off with Lila just yet. They’d know soon enough. She’d get her fucking adventure. Then she’d come back home safely.

  Holy fuck.

  I hadn’t told her to find the tightest pair of jeans available and put them on. Lila Kate walked back to the bike. She was wearing black fake leather boots, but that didn’t matter because the tight ass jeans she had on was all anyone could see. That and the equally tight tank top she was now wearing. It said “Speed” on the front and looked ripped at the neckline to show off her cleavage.

  “What the hell?” I asked.

  She grinned. “I think I look like a biker now.”

  She looked like she was going to get me in a damn fight. “Jesus,” I muttered then handed her the helmet. She slid it on and then climbed on the back. “It’s the best they had,” she explained.

  “What, they didn’t have your size clothing?” I shot back.

  “This is my size!”

  “It looks a few sizes too small,” I argued.

  “It’s supposed to be tight.”

  “Where are your other clothes?” I asked.

  “I left them in the dressing room. Those where the old Lila Kate.”

  I didn’t say any more. This adventure was what Lila Kate wanted to do. She was right, she was nothing like the old Lila. Nothing like her at all.

  I pulled back onto the road and headed toward I-10. We needed to get some road behind us. Lila’s arms were wrapped around me and her body wasn’t pressed to my back exactly, but it was close. Close enough for me to feel it. Damn, I had to think about something else. This was about me getting the hell away from the club and all the responsibilities my dad wanted to throw at me. It was also about making sure Lila Kate came back alive.

  The one thing I abso-fuckin-lutely knew it wasn’t about was me touching Lila Kate. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and cursed. Someone had alr
eady woken up and realized I was gone. More than likely it was my dad. He’d probably had another day of early morning golf torture planned for me.

  He’d be pissed at first, but when I explained why I came to protect Lila Kate he was either going to understand or be even more pissed. That was a toss-up. I couldn’t be sure yet. I didn’t fucking care either. I was even gladder I’d woken up and left knowing if I’d stayed I would have had to play golf again today.

  We entered Mississippi, and Lila Kate pointed at the sign as if that was exciting. I understood. She traveled via a plane most of the time. She hadn’t been to places like Mississippi before. When we got to Biloxi, I headed toward Beauvoir—the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. It wasn’t something I’d seen before or ever cared to see. But I knew Lila Kate liked history stuff. Museums and shit.

  We pulled up in front of the large white house that had been restored to what it looked like in 1889 when he had lived in this house. I parked beside the only other car in the parking lot. It was a little after eight in the morning, and the sign said it opened at eight. No one was here yet.

  Lila Kate pulled off her helmet and looked up at the place. “What are we doing?”

  “You ever been to Biloxi?” I asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Then you should see a bit of it. Where the crazy ass confederates last president lived. There’s a confederate cemetery here too.”

  She slowly moved her gaze from the house to me. “You brought me to see the home of Jefferson Davis?”

  Maybe that had been a bad idea. Hell, I thought she liked history stuff. “Don’t you like shit like this?”

  She studied me a minute, and then she laughed. “Let’s go look at the house,” she finally said and put her helmet on her seat.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked her as I got off the bike. I was not going to look at her ass in those jeans. I wasn’t. Dammit.

  “That you brought me to a Confederate president’s home.”

  “There weren’t a lot of options. We are in the thick of the south here, Lila. This is the history they’ve got to see around here. Besides, it’s impressive as hell. Look at it,” I said as I gestured at the large building.

  She turned back to the house and nodded. “Yes, it is. Let’s see the place.”

  Lila Kate

  AFTER SPENDING AN hour walking around the house and cemetery, Cruz then took me to eat breakfast at a casino. It was really good which surprised me. When we were walking back out to Cruz’s bike, he glanced over at me. “So now you’ve seen some of Mississippi.”

  This behavior was so unlike the Cruz that I knew I had smiled big. Once Cruz had been nice. When we were kids I’d seen this side of him, but not since then. Seeing it again was . . . it was . . . dangerous. I had to remember who he was and keep my head straight.

  The rest of the ride was fast. We entered Louisiana shortly after leaving Biloxi. At a red light, Cruz looked over his shoulder at me. “You want safe and fancy or do you want the atmosphere?”

  “Atmosphere,” I yelled through my helmet and over the engine.

  “Good,” he replied then took off toward a very scenic area that didn’t smell that great, but it was exactly like I pictured. Considering I was recognizing things from The Originals that I was guilty of watching on a Netflix binge. I started to point something out but stopped myself. Cruz would have a blast making fun of me.

  He pulled into a parking deck and cut the engine. I took off my helmet and looked around. “Where are we?”

  “Hotel parking.”

  I didn’t see a hotel. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Been here before. A couple of times.”

  “Why were you in New Orleans?” I asked.

  He smirked at me. “Mardi Gras.”

  Ah. I should have guessed. “This won’t be nearly as exciting as I had imagined.”

  He got of the bike. “There won’t be women showing me their tits all over the street. So yeah, it’ll be less exciting.”

  I rolled my eyes and got off the bike. “I have nothing with me. I need to find a store to buy some toiletries, and a change of clothes would be nice.”

  “Let’s get a room, then we can go shopping.”

  “Rooms,” I corrected him.

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously? We’re gonna waste money on two rooms?”

  I nodded. “Yes, we seriously are.”

  “Jesus, Lila Kate. I’m not going to try and screw you. I’ve never tried and I’m not about to start now.”

  That stung. I wasn’t going to let him know it stung, but it did. “I’m aware you’re not attracted to me. You’ve made that very clear. I like my privacy. I don’t want to share a room with you.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever.”

  There was the guy I knew. At least he was reminding me that the sweet guy who had wanted me to experience some of Mississippi was a brief lapse. The Cruz I knew and disliked was back.

  We checked in without saying much to each other. Our rooms were beside each other. When we got to the doors to our rooms, he looked over at me. “This gonna be too close for you? Planning on sneaking in some guy off the street you find and don’t want me to see?”

  He was being a smartass. This Cruz I knew well. But the new Lila Kate wasn’t going to take his smart mouth. I unlocked the door and just before walking inside my room met his cocky gaze. “No. This is fine. My last one night stand was on a public beach. I figure if I can have sex on a public beach then I can have sex in the room next to yours.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I quickly went inside my room and closed the door behind me.

  I almost expected him to knock on my door to ask me what I was talking about. He didn’t. But I knew he was thinking about it. I had nothing to unpack. But I did use a towel and some facial soap to wash my face. Then I got in the shower and bathed the road scum off me. I washed my panties in the shower then hung them up to dry.

  I’d have to go without until we went to a store. Walking over to the window with the bath towel wrapped around me, I took my phone and snapped a photo of the French Quarter. Then I texted it to Eli.

  Arrived. It’s just like I pictured it. Sorry I didn’t say goodbye.

  I needed to call Nate and Bliss to explain. Then, of course, my parents.

  I started to dial Nate’s number when Eli texted me back.

  You left already? was his response.

  I sighed. He hadn’t even gone looking for me when he woke up and I was gone. I don’t know why I expected him to. He had other things on his mind.

  I didn’t respond to him. I called Nate instead.

  “Just got off the phone with Cruz,” was Nate’s greeting. “Your dad is going to kill him. You thought of that?”

  I sighed. I had considered that. But at the moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything other than doing something completely out of character. Something exciting and I did it. But there was going to be hell to pay later.

  “I’ll handle my dad. I’m sorry I didn’t leave a note or get my things.”

  “Cruz thinks he’s protecting you. That’s all this is Lila.”

  Nate knew. I’d never told him, but he knew. He had been part of our trio as kids. He saw it even though Cruz never saw the little girl crush in my eyes. Nate was always more observant. Now he was making sure grown Lila Kate didn’t get the wrong notion that she had a chance with Cruz.

  “I know.” I didn’t say more. It was embarrassing.

  “I got your Rover in my garage, and your things will be in the guest bedroom until you return.”

  “Thanks, Nate. Tell Bliss I’m sorry for running off without a goodbye.”

  “I will. She gets it. Better than me I think.”

  We said our goodbyes and ended the call. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to my parents yet. I was an adult. The money I was using was mine. I didn’t have to call them. I was free to be my own woman.

  I felt guilty but I dropped my phone back on the bed and went t
o put my clothes back on without the panties. That wasn’t going to feel very good in jeans. I had to find a store.

  Cruz Kerrington

  I REALIZED THE jeans hadn’t been bad as Lila Kate came walking out of the department store wearing a short black skirt with a sleeveless silver