“Uh, Slade, do you have—”
His mouth tilted up. “Yes, I do.”
“I guess I should have figured. With this and everything.” I leaned back and waved my hand in front of him like I had out in the hallway. “Okie dokie. I’m going to stop talking now because I’m extremely horny, and I don’t want to ruin the mo—”
He silenced my blathering with another kiss. This one was more urgent. With clear, precise movements, he pushed my pants down below my hips. “Shoes off, Tink.” His warm breath tickled my ear as his mouth pressed against it. “I want you naked.”
I needed no prodding. His demand to see me naked only intensified the ache in my pussy, and all I could think about was him between my legs. I clutched at his arms for support as I lifted up one leg at a time and pulled off my shoes.
I started to push my jeans off, but he lifted his hand and motioned for me to turn around. “I want to watch from behind as you shimmy those jeans off, and take it nice and slow cuz you have the cutest ass to go with the rest of you. Oh, and lose the panties at the same time.”
I circled my bare feet around and took a deep breath. Knowing he was standing directly behind me, watching me, made me shiver with pleasure. I hooked my thumb in my panties. “Just so you know, I don’t go around doing stuff like this often.”
“Do you mean pulling guns on people or inviting strangers into your motel rooms?”
“Well, both.”
He’d moved behind me so quietly, I hadn’t heard him. But I could feel the heat of his body just inches from mine. His large shadow fell over me, and I could hear each breath he took.
“Hey,” he said quietly over my shoulder, “if you don’t want to do this just say so. I’ll be heartbroken and disappointed. Fuck,” he groaned, “really disappointed, but just say the word, Tink, and I’ll leave.”
I stood there for a second looking at his giant shadow on the wall in front of me. I slowly pushed my jeans to the floor, and my panties dropped with them. Without turning around, I reached back for his hand. I pressed it between my thighs, and his fingers curled into the hot, moist folds of my pussy.
A low, deep sound rolled up from his throat. “Guess that means you want me to stay.” His fingers slid through the moisture and inside of me.
I pressed my back against his chest and wrapped my hands around his arms for support. “Yes,” I whispered. “Stay.” He continued his erotic exploration of my pussy, nearly stroking me to the edge of an orgasm using just his thumb and finger. With his free hand, he unzipped his jeans. His hard cock pressed against the small of my back. It was slick with wetness and it pushed urgently against me, begging for relief.
I sighed in disappointment as he removed his hand from between my legs long enough to push off his jeans and shoes. I turned around and gazed down at his naked body as he ripped open the condom package with his teeth. He was a perfectly sculpted hunk of a man.
I couldn’t hold back a smile. “I am so glad I didn’t just tell you to leave. If nothing else, I can die knowing that I spent a long, passionate night in a motel room with this.” I went to wave my hand in front of him again, but he grabbed my wrist.
He pulled my arms up around his shoulders and cupped his hands under my ass. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me a few steps to the wall and pressed my back up against it. His kisses were hard, almost bruising, and I was just fine with that. I was nearly crazed from wanting him.
“Fuck me,” I whispered in his ear, “and in this, I don’t want lightning fast, Bolt. I want slow and deep.”
His mouth turned up in a grin as he kissed me. His hands dug into my ass as he held me tightly and drove his cock inside of me. I’d wanted it so badly, a low, involuntary moan of relief ushered from my mouth.
“God, baby, I’d knew you’d feel this good. You are fucking sweet as honey wrapped around my cock.” He held me tighter against him and pushed deeper with each thrust of his hips.
Then, he did something I wasn’t expecting. He lifted one hand and pressed it against my face. He looked at me in way that made my chest ache. He kissed me lightly. “You’re the last thing I expected when I walked out of the house tonight, Britton.”
It was the first moment that I’d experienced a slight regret at my decision to do this. But the regret wasn’t from having sex with a man I’d only just met. It was a dull ache that started deep in my chest, a tiny glimmer of heartbreak in knowing that after this quick, wild night I’d never see him again.
He lowered his hand between our bodies, and his thumb stroked deliciously over my clit. I writhed in his grasp, bracing myself against the wall to feel the full impact as he pumped his cock inside of me. As my body flowed to the edge, I grabbed his arms. My head dropped back against the wall. “Yes, hell yes,” I cried.
“That’s it, come for me, baby.” His erotic plea was all I needed. My body spilled over into a raging orgasm as my pussy clamped around his cock.” He moved faster and harder and the waves of pleasure continued to pulse through me as he brought himself to climax. His powerful arms tightened around me, nearly squeezing the life from me as he came.
I dropped my shaky arms around his neck, and he carried me toward the bed. Our ragged breaths and the occasional passing car on the highway were the only sounds in the room. He reached down and yanked open the covers with one hand. I climbed onto the bed and watched his beautiful and completely intimidating physique as he crossed the room. Every thick, well-toned strand of muscle moved as he reached up to turn off the light.
I pulled in a quietly stunned breath. Interspersed with the black ink of his tattoos, scars crisscrossed the skin on his back and shoulders. Belt marks or strap marks that looked as if they’d been there for awhile. Some of them were stretched as if he’d been much smaller when he’d received them. He plodded back toward the bed and sat down.
I reached up and dragged my fingers along the ridges of the scar on his shoulder. He froze for a second, and I was sure I’d made a mistake by touching the scars.
Then his deep voice floated through the dark room. “My dad was a first class asshole. But he’s gone now. Those are the legacy he left behind. Some dads leave an important family name or a fortune or great memories. My old man left my brothers and me with the scars.” He leaned back, and I wasn’t completely sure he would welcome it, but I curled up against his chest.
His arm wrapped around me and pulled me a little closer. “Strange. I never talk about those marks. Don’t know why I did just now.” He turned his chin, and I peered up at him. “Maybe I’ve been bewitched. Or maybe it’s those incredible brown eyes. Or just maybe it’s because we went through that whole Bonnie and Clyde thing together tonight.”
“Only we didn’t get away with any loot,” I reminded him.
“But you did break the motorcycle mirror.” His fingers caressed my shoulder. “I only caught part of it, but it sounded like you were looking for someone. Someone named Damon.”
I shut my eyes briefly and lost myself temporarily in the feel of his strong arms. Everything in my life had unraveled in the last six months, and all the strands were waving so wildly in the wind, I couldn’t gather them back up. I’d been lost since my sister’s death, and I was floating aimlessly, wondering when or if I’d ever hit land again. “Damon was my sister’s horrid boyfriend. I think he had something to do with her death.”
“Damn. I wasn’t expecting that answer. That’s rough, Tink. I’m sorry. That’s got to be hard.”
“Perris and I were born three minutes apart. We were identical. She could finish my sentences, and I could feel her happiness or sadness even if she was a hundred miles away. I knew she was in a lot of pain when she was with Damon, but I couldn’t convince her to leave him. He had this awful control over her. I have to find him.”
“If he killed her, shouldn’t the police be
after him?”
I thought about the whole ugly story, the voicemail I’d missed, the coroner’s report, Perris’s final plea for help. All of it spun through my head day after day. “It’s complicated. All I know is, my other half is gone, and I won’t ever be whole again.”
The room was quiet and dark as I lay in his arms. It was the most content I’d felt in a long time. I covered my mouth to stifle a yawn. “I think those energy drinks are finally out of my system, or maybe you’re just that comforting to snuggle up against.” It was late summer but the nights on the coast were always damp and cold. The crummy motel room was chilly. I wriggled closer. “Like a big, soap scented, tattooed warm bear whose skills, by the way, did not disappoint.”
“That’s good to hear.”
I sighed. “Thanks, Bolt, for carrying my silly ass out of that bar before I got flattened.” I closed my eyes. “And thanks for this. I really needed it.”
“Anytime, Tink.”
Chapter 5
Slade
A loud knock woke me from a deep sleep. “It’s past checkout time. You’ll have to pay for another night if you don’t get out now,” the voice said sharply through the door.
I opened my eyes and looked around the shadowy room. The faded drapes had blocked out the sun enough to keep me fast asleep. I looked over at the dented pillow next to me and sat up. Her clothes were picked up, and the bathroom door was open. She was gone. She’d been so unreal, I almost wondered if I’d just imagined her. But her sweet perfume still lingered on my skin and on the sheets.
I was fucking bummed, which shocked the hell out of me. How many times had I swept up my shoes and tiptoed out of a girl’s room? Now it had happened to me, and I was realizing just how bad it sucked to have someone take off without saying a word. Guess this was payback for being an asshole.
Another knock.
“I’m leaving right now,” I called.
I climbed out of bed and pulled on my jeans and shirt. I picked up my shoes. There was a piece of paper inside one of them. I pulled it out. It was a coupon for another night in the room. There was writing on the back. “I’m really bad at saying good-bye. I hope those scars heal completely one day. XO Britton. PS. if I ever find my magic fairy dust, I’ll be sure to send some your way.”
I reread the note three times before folding it and putting it into my pocket. I fished out my phone as I walked out the door. The grumpy motel manager scowled at me before stomping back into his office. I dialed Hunter.
“What?”
“Good morning to you too, ass. I’m stuck near the highway right off the Tatter Lane exit.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, his mouth full with something, “good for you. What do you want from me?”
“A ride would be nice. My keys are on my dresser.”
“Fuck, Slade, I’ve got shit to do.”
“Then send Street. Tell her I’ll wait by the onramp near the bus bench with the creepy looking realtor picture.”
“I’ll come get you, but it’s gonna cost you a twelve pack.”
I hung up and headed toward the bench. My mind rolled back to the night before and the petite cutie with the slightly hoarse and extremely sexy voice. Pretty much everything about her was hot. It was definitely a motel room hook-up I wouldn’t soon forget. I couldn’t get rid of the disappointing feeling that kept inching into my gut knowing that I wasn’t ever going to see her again. It seemed she had a lot of shit going on in her life. Hopefully, she’d find a way out of it all.
I sat on the bench. The morning sun was starting to burn off the layer of coastal fog. It would be another warm summer day. I’d planned to wake up and head out for some bodysurfing, but that idea had been squashed by my over sleeping in the dingy motel room. The water and sand would already be too crowded for a decent morning of waves. The offshore breeze that came with the afternoon temperatures usually made the swells choppy and flat.
I glanced at my phone. The batteries were nearly dead. Cleveland had sent a text last night. “The bar owner called the cops to check out the gun the girl dropped. Turned out to be a real looking toy gun. Where did you end up?”
I didn’t have enough juice in my phone to text back, so I stuck it in my pocket, leaned back against the creepy realtor’s smiling face and closed my eyes. If I knew my brother, he’d take his sweet fucking time. Thinking about the girl and the almond shaped brown eyes that took up half of her face, my mind melted into a sleepy, satisfied state. With the sun to warm me and the traffic at this particular onramp being almost nonexistent, I was close to dozing off when screeching tires startled me awake. The faded gray cargo van had pulled up directly in front of the bench. It took me a second to get my bearings. In the distance, I saw my own car rambling toward me. I stood from the bench just as the van door slid open.
Two of the guys from the bar lunged out of the van. They’d caught me by surprise, and before I could dive out of the way, they grabbed me and shoved me headfirst into the van. I swung around, and my fist hit one solidly on the jaw. They hadn’t had time to shut the sliding door before the driver screeched off. The motion sent me backward, and my head smacked the wall of the van. I jumped up, deciding I needed to leap from the vehicle before we hit the highway. As I sprang forward, a horrible stabbing pain shot through my side.
“That was for coming into our fucking bar last night,” the guy with the knife growled.
My hand pressed against my side. Blood seeped between my fingers. The shock at knowing I’d been stabbed stunned me at first, but when I saw his big knuckles and the blade coming at me again, I shot up from my crouch and jumped through the open door. I pulled my body tight and rolled as I hit the hard dirt lining the road. The impact knocked my shoulder out of whack, but I could hardly feel it over the searing hot gash in my side. Road grit stuck to the blood that was soaking my jeans and shirt. My body was writhing with the pain and an angry voice in my head was asking ‘Is this it? Am I finished with this life?’
A cloud of dust kicked up, and I heard more tires screech behind me. “Slade!” Hunter yelled.
I pushed to sitting and struggled to get to my feet. Hunter had the phone to his ear as he ran toward me. Just as I got my feet under me, my head spun and I collapsed.
Hunter caught me before my ass hit the dirt. “I’ve got you.” He lowered me slowly to the ground. He yanked off his shirt, balled it up and pressed it against the knife wound.
In the haze, I saw a few more faces leaning over us. “I just gave the highway patrol a description of the van,” a man said to Hunter.
“Thanks.” Hunter’s free arm went around my shoulder, reminding me of when we were kids hiding in my closet trying to avoid our drunken old man. Sometimes, when we had been really scared, Hunter would put his arm around me to stop the shaking.
Every movement hurt. “Fuck.” I felt my body and mind weakening from blood loss, pain and shock. “Do you think I’m going to die? Not a great ending just bleeding to death out on the fucking onramp.”
Hunter pressed his hand harder against the blood flow. My side had grown numb. “Don’t you even fucking think about it, Slade. Do you hear me? Just hold it together until we get you to the hospital.”
Sirens sounded in the distance. I rested my head against his shoulder. “Fuck,” I repeated. I looked down at the blood soaked shirt he held against my side. “Guess I’m going to owe you a twelve pack and a shirt now.” I could feel consciousness drifting out of reach.
“The ambulance is here, so hang on, buddy.” Hunter’s voice sounded different, less confident, less strong as it floated through the fog in my head. He reached up and rubbed my head. “Hope she was fucking worth it, dude.”
A fleeting image of the girl went through my mind. “She looked like fucking Tinkerbell. And yeah, she was worth it.”
Chapter 6
Britto
n
In my attempt to slip by Nina’s cubby without her seeing me, I’d taken the extra long route through the employee lunchroom and out the far door. But, it seemed, nothing short of an invisibility cloak was going to do the trick.
“Brit, wait,” Nina squealed.
I froze and smiled weakly back at her over my shoulder. She’d changed her hair color yet again, this time opting for a dark red henna color. It didn’t seem to be working with her fair complexion, but who was I to judge? I’d been walking around with a pixie haircut for three months. It had been a drastic attempt to change the way I looked. One impossibly hard thing about losing an identical twin was seeing that person’s face in the mirror every morning.
The wheels on Nina’s chair squeaked as she nearly leapt from it. I liked Nina. She was my closest friend in the office, but I wasn’t ready to talk to her about the weekend. I’d told her I was going down to the beach to clear my head.
She shuffled in her ridiculously high heels toward me. “I’ll follow you to your cubicle,” she said. “I want to hear all about your weekend.” She stopped suddenly and looked me up and down. “Shit, you look like you just stepped out of a clothes hamper. Wait, weren’t you wearing that skirt and blouse on Friday?”
I took hold of her arm and led her to my cubicle. I didn’t need everyone in the office hearing our conversation.
She dropped into the chair next to my desk. “You didn’t go home, did you?“
I stuck my purse under my desk, sat in my chair and turned on the computer. Nina was waiting for an answer. She knew that I was having a hard time adjusting to life without Perris, but she had no idea that I’d been out trying to find Damon. I’d told her some of the important surface stuff, but that was all. I didn’t need her to know more. She was one of those people who tended to give way too much unwanted advice.
“Brit, where are you staying?”
“Around. Look, I couldn’t stay at home anymore. I need to find a place of my own. Every day that I’m there, I lose a little piece of myself.” I took a deep breath. “Let’s drop the subject. I’ve got to get started on the reports, Nina.” I looked at her. “Please.” She was usually pesky about getting info from me, but she also knew when she’d stepped into a topic I didn’t want to dig through.