Hard Core

  Jacy and I had been comfortable with each other from the start, and that ease of knowing each other and enjoying each other’s company had only gotten better. Slowly, it seemed, Jacy was growing to trust me. But as happy as I was when I was with her, I knew I had to come clean. I had to let her know that I’d come to Rockwood Beach for the sole purpose of meeting her. I just needed to decide the best way to tell her, and those words hadn’t come to me yet. But I thought about it every day. She’d told me about the baby. She’d laid bare her soul, and it was my turn to do the same.

  Jacy stared out the window into the night, curiously glancing around to see where we were headed.

  “O.K., I’ll tell you. I’m taking you somewhere romantic but without the wind and sand. It’s a clear night. I thought we could perform a little backseat magic . . . only in the front seat.”

  “Ah ha, so, basically, you want to make out in your truck.”

  “Pretty much. Figured I needed to break it in on that front.”

  She swept her hand around the cab to remind me of the maze of duct tape holding the interior together. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this truck has been broken in and then some.”

  I pulled off onto the wide swath of dirt that had been designated as a vista point because of the scenic view. Tonight, for a change, the fog had stayed away. We could see the thousands of lights running up and down the coast. The beach below was more an outcropping of rocks and the occasional thunderous wave.

  I trailed my fingers along the back of her hand. “We’re completely alone, which works perfectly with my diabolical plan. In fact, we’re so alone, it seems perfectly reasonable for you to slip out of those jeans.”

  Jacy turned so her back was against the door. She crossed her arms. “You consider that reasonable, do you? And what about that guy with the hook, the one who inevitably shows up whenever two people are in the middle of nowhere ready to make out? Then I’ll be pantless, while you’re standing outside the truck fighting off a man with a bloody hook.”

  I laughed. “Darlin’, if a man with a bloody hook comes up to this truck, I’m throwing the thing in gear and taking off. So your state of undress won’t be a problem.” I leaned over to her and kissed her. “Of course, maybe you’re one of those shy women who doesn’t like to do naughty things in the front seat of a truck.”

  I pushed her sweater up above her bra and kissed the hollow between her breasts, while my hand smoothed down her belly to the button on her jeans. I flicked it open and peered up at her. “I’ve heard no word of protest.”

  She gazed at me with dark blue eyes shaded by long lashes. Her lips parted as my hand slid the zipper down. “Guess you’re skipping first and second base and going straight for a home run,” she said breathlessly.

  “Damn right.” I parted the zipper and shimmied her jeans and panties down.

  I took off one shoe and removed one leg of the pants. I wedged myself down on the floor between the dash and the edge of the seat. It was a tight fit, but I didn’t need much room. I just need to be between Jacy’s legs. I smiled up at her over the sweet mound in front of me. “I’ll leave one leg in just in case we’re visited by hook man.” I lowered my mouth to her thigh and kissed her, running a long, hot trail up her leg. “Part your legs for me, baby. I want to kiss that beautiful pussy.”

  The cool air inside the cab of the truck was slowly being replaced by the warm steam drifting off our bodies. I reached forward and parted the folds of her pussy. She sucked in a gasp and nearly slid off the seat as I began stroking her clit with my tongue.

  Her fingers curled in my hair as she held my face snugly between her legs. “Oh, Ledger, you know my body so well. I’ve never had this. I’ve never felt like this.”

  I reached beneath her ass and held her up higher. I stroked her clit with my thumb, strumming her closer to an orgasm with each pass. Her pussy was wet with wanting me and my cock strained against my fly. I slipped my tongue along the creamy wet folds and pushed it inside of her. Her soft groan floated over my head, and I badly wanted to take her to the end. I wanted to feel her pussy tighten around my mouth and hand.

  She mewled a sweetly erotic song as she rocked against my mouth, inviting me to push my tongue deeper. “Yes, there,” she whispered. “I need you there, always.” Her words dissolved into moans of pleasure. The heat and moisture in her pussy surged, and her thighs clamped tighter around my head. She lifted her hips and pushed against the pressure of my mouth.

  “Yes, Ledger, yes,” she said softly as she came.

  Her body relaxed, and she reached for me to hold her. My shoulder smacked the steering wheel as I climbed back on the seat.

  Jacy opened her eyes at the sound of it. “Are you all right?”

  I rotated my shoulder around and slid onto the seat. “I’ll live. I think I outgrew my car sex days. Worked a lot better when I was a scrawny sixteen-year-old.” I pulled Jacy into my arms.

  “You were scrawny? I find that hard to believe.”

  “I looked like a damn stick figure with a mop of hair.”

  “God, I bet you were adorable.” The front windshield was coated with condensation. Jacy leaned forward and used the tip of her finger to draw a heart. Inside she wrote the letter’s L+J and then sat back to admire her artwork. “The initials drawn in a heart is required after a front seat make out.” She relaxed back into my arms. “But this has been terribly one-sided.”

  “Not one-sided at all. As cool as this lookout is, I think we should finish this in my luxury beach house, otherwise known as Bombay Cottage.”

  Chapter 31

  -Jacy-

  Ledger’s fingers dug into my hips as he drove into me. My knees sank into his mattress and my hands pressed against the plaster wall as I braced myself to meet every thrust. With as wild as the sex had gotten, I couldn’t get enough. The floorboards beneath the mattress creaked along with the walls of the cottage. I could hardly keep upright from the heady rush that had overtaken me, but I still wanted more. The harder he grasped me, the harder he pumped into me, the more I wanted.

  Five minutes into the ride home, after the flush of my first orgasm had cooled from my skin, I began to tease Ledger, running my finger provocatively over the erection that pressed against his jeans. It had made both of us so hot with need, that we were undressing before we even slipped inside his house.

  The raw energy, the scent of sex, our feral sounds only made it all more intense. We were both nearly senseless with desire, crazed with the need to finish what we’d started. Ledger slid a hand in front and between my legs, once again knowing just where to touch me to take me over the edge.

  I stretched my arms out and pushed my bottom harder against him. His cock pummeled my pussy, delivering a sweet ache with each impact. All the while, his fingers teased my clit. The rolling tingles of pleasure started low in my belly and swept through my pussy like a hurricane.

  I cried out as Ledger continued, pumping into me, pummeling my orgasm into one long, stretch of ecstasy. My knees and arms shook as Ledger thrust into me two more times before a groan rolled up from his chest. He stiffened behind me as my pussy milked his cock.

  “God, baby,” he siad as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down onto the mattress, “your pussy is magic. It’s got me under a fucking spell.”

  I laughed and wiggled my bottom against him. “The things you say.”

  He kissed my shoulder. “It’s true.”

  “I don’t know about you, but all that magic has made me kind of thirsty. Do you have some soda or water in that ice chest?” I turned around in his arms. “I think the first thing you need to buy yourself is a refrigerator. Especially if you’re going to have guests, namely me, over.”

  “Already working on that. A guy I work with just bought a new one, and he’s giving me his old mini fridge at a steep discoun
t.” Ledger sat up and combed his hair back with his fingers. “I’ll be back in a second.” He made a pit stop in the bathroom on his way to the ice chest.

  I sat up on the mattress and stretched my legs out in front of me. “I think we moved this mattress a few inches from the wall,” I called to him, and smiled thinking about the last few crazy minutes together.

  There was no real purpose to it, but my eyes swept down along the floor and I caught a glimpse of a something sticking out from under the mattress. It looked like the corner of a picture. I pulled it out without even thinking.

  My pulse was thudding in my ears and my heart raced as I stared down at the tiny picture. My own face stared back at me. It was my senior portrait. My hands shook as I turned it over. Lights spotted my eyes and the room seemed to be spinning. It was the picture I gave James in high school. My picture was in Ledger’s house, under his mattress, and there was no possible reasonable explanation for it being there.

  The bathroom door opened, and Ledger walked out. “I also have soda.”

  I didn’t answer. My body was frozen in horror. My mind was frantically telling me to get dressed and run like hell, but I couldn’t move. It was like that scream that stuck in your throat, only this time it was my body stuck in time.

  I could feel Ledger turn to look at me. I could feel his gaze on me. His footsteps came closer.

  “Fuck.” I heard him say it but could barely tell from which direction his voice had come.

  The floor creaked under his feet as he came closer. Adrenaline finally pushed me into action. I dropped the picture and lunged for my clothes, without looking at him.

  “Jacy, I was going to tell you. It’s not what you think.”

  “Oh my god, for your sake, Ledger, I hope it’s not what I’m thinking.” My voice shook, but I was too afraid to cry. I began pulling on my jeans and sweater without worrying about my bra or panties.

  “James was my cellmate.”

  It felt as if the floor had been ripped out from under my feet, and I swayed forward. Strong arms caught me, arms that I’d felt so safe in. I had been such a fool.

  I pushed him away and put up my hand to stop him from moving toward me again. “No, please don’t come near me.”

  “Jacy, just let me explain. I know it sounds nuts, but I sat for months and listened to James talk about you. And I fell in love with you. I know that sounds fucking nuts, but it happened. I came to Rockwood Beach to meet you, to make sure you were all right. I wasn’t sure any of this would happen. I wasn’t going to stay. I just needed to know that you were all right.”

  My head was spinning, and I felt close to throwing up. I swallowed some of the fear and looked up at him. Everything about his expression seemed genuine, like the man I’d grown to love in the past few weeks. But he was a fake. He wasn’t real. “I was all right . . . until now. You were the last fucking thing I needed.”

  “Jacy, please. Fuck, fuck, fuck.” They were the last words I heard as I scrambled out of his door.

  Chapter 32

  -Jacy-

  I’d already experienced the worst life could offer. An abusive husband and the loss of a baby was enough to harden a woman to anything. So having my heart splintered in two by a man who I’d grown to trust and love had sent me into a dark mood, but I could get past it. I’d survived worse. I refused to let it take me back to that place I had once been where I could barely function. I’d started a life, and I’d made a promise to myself never to let a man influence that again.

  Now if only I could get past feeling awful and stupid. I felt duped, as if I’d let myself fall for a handsome, charming man even though he was a complete fake. None of it made sense. Everything about Ledger seemed genuine, including his feelings for me. Never in a million years would I have expected him to be hiding such a huge secret.

  I heard Rachel’s car out front and opened the door. Monday was her only day off. I hated to take up her spare time, but I badly needed to talk. I was sure I couldn’t possibly make small talk and act the coffee house hostess today and I’d had Henry cover the shop.

  Rachel’s face showed the concern that only a true friend could show. She held up a bottle of wine. “Thought we’d need this.” I ran out to hug her before she even reached my stoop.

  “I’m such a fool, Rach,” I sobbed. Until now I hadn’t really let loose with tears. I’d been so stunned, so angry about his betrayal that I hadn’t had time to cry. Seeing Rachel had pushed me past my anger to the brokenhearted stage.

  “Come on, let’s go inside, and you can tell me everything. You weren’t making much sense on the phone, but I can tell you, I’m shocked as hell.” She led me back into the house and walked straight to the kitchen to get two glasses.

  I sat down on the couch. Rex came right over to curl up at my feet. The only truly loyal man I’d ever known was my dog. He always knew when I was upset, and he didn’t ask questions or make up lies or even worse, lecture me about being dramatic. He just stayed close by to let me know he was there.

  Rachel worked on the wine cork in the kitchen. “So, Ledger was in the same cell as your ex-husband? Actually, let’s go back. Why was your ex-husband in jail?”

  I didn’t respond. It was always such an ugly thing to confess.

  Her face blanched as she, seemingly, came to the conclusion it had to do with me. Her green eyes were glass as she looked across the room at me.

  “I’m sorry, Rachel, you’re such a good friend. I haven’t been open. My past was so tragic, so nightmarish, it was too hard to talk about.”

  “Think I’m going to need this.” Rachel took a few gulps of wine.

  My head was aching from everything. I hated going through this right now but Rachel deserved to know. “I will tell you a brief version for now. My head and my heart really can’t take the long, detailed story at the moment.” I put my glass on the coffee table and stepped over Rex on the way to my purse. I reached in and pulled out my wallet and the little picture I kept stashed inside. Then I returned to the couch.

  Rachel put down her glass of wine and tentatively took hold of the picture.

  Her dark brows knitted together in confusion as she stared at the photo. Then she lifted her face. It seemed, she’d once again puzzled things out.

  “Her name was Autumn.” That strangling knot that always followed her name took hold of my throat. “James is in prison for assault . . . on me. He nearly choked me to death in a drunken rage. He was so drunk, he stumbled into her bassinet and . . .” I swallowed hard. “She hit her head. I can’t tell you how often I wished that James had finished his task, that he’d choked the life from me that day.”

  Rachel broke down into tears and threw her arms around me. I never needed a reason for a sob session when it came to Autumn. We stayed clutched together, soaking each other with tears until it seemed there were no more to shed.

  Rachel got up, walked to the bathroom and came back with a box of tissue. Like a true friend, she looked devastated by what I’d told her.

  I grabbed a tissue and wiped my nose. “I’m sure you can see why it’s been so hard for me to tell you. It’s just too overwhelming to talk about.”

  “I understand, but still, I wish you’d told me. I kept bugging you about dating and getting on with your life when you had this horrible weight hanging around you.”

  I rested back and closed my eyes for a moment to relieve some of the pounding in my head.

  “Do you want some aspirin?” Rachel asked.

  “No, I already took some. Think I waited too long. You know how it is when you pass the point of no return on a bad headache.”

  “A cold compress then.” She hopped up from the couch and returned a minute later with a cold, wet washcloth.

  I dropped it over my forehead. “You’re the best.”

  She sat sideways next
to me and rested her arm along the back of the couch. “So, Ledger was cellmates with James?” She restarted the story. “And he claims that he came here to make sure you were all right. And he claims that he fell in love with you when he listened to the stories your ex-husband told about you? I don’t know if that’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard or the most romantic.”

  My head popped off the couch, and the wet cloth fell onto my lap. “Romantic?”

  “Think about it, Jacy. Most men look at a woman and say nice ass, nice tits. I think I’m in love. Kind of like you when you first saw him. You know, the old double standard thing. The only thing we talked about the first few days of knowing him was how gorgeous he was.”

  I sighed. “Despite everything else, he is definitely that.”

  “But he had never even seen you and he fell for you. And from stories that your ex-husband told him, no less. I mean, that doesn’t happen often.”

  I returned the soothing cloth to my forehead and rested my head back. “If that’s really what happened. It all sounds so implausible. Why should I believe him at all? Who knows what his real motives were in coming here. No, Rachel. I need to stay clear of him.”

  “You’re right, Jacy. You can’t trust him. But he lives here on the beach, and you’re all alone.”

  I thought back to the past few weeks with Ledger. “I know this sounds strange, but I don’t feel threatened or like I need to worry. I never felt unsafe with Ledger. Granted, when I saw my picture I was terrified. Every horror stalker movie plot dashed through my mind, but I don’t think he would ever harm me. Other than the damage he did to my confidence in learning to love again. That he shredded pretty well. It will be a long time before I consider trusting a man again.”

  “Only if you’re sure, Jacy. Otherwise, you and Rex could come and stay with me for awhile. Or maybe a good storm will blow through and take the cottage away with it.” She picked up her wine and leaned back on the couch next to me. “Just remember, I’m here for you.”