Their mouths came together, their bodies crashing into each other as all that building anticipation exploded.
She pulled up his shirt and tossed it into the backseat of the car. “I wanted this to be sweet and romantic, but I can’t wait for that.”
“So you want hot and dirty?” he teased between kisses.
“Mmm, when you put it that way…yes.” She unzipped his pants, shoved them down, and wrapped her fingers around his shaft. He was slick at the top, as wet and ready as she was. As she circled his head with her thumb, he devoured her mouth, pressing closer.
“Oh, you are hot and dirty, aren’t you?” he murmured.
“And very, very horny. It’s true. You have corrupted me, Raleigh West.”
“Shame on me.”
He picked her up and laid her gently on the hood of the car. After unbuckling her sandals, he slid his hands up her thighs and hooked his fingers over her panties, and eased them down. His mouth kissed its way up her inner thigh as he lifted her skirt, and he bent her spread legs and scooted her closer.
When his hot mouth came down on her, she knew what heaven felt like. She dug her fingers into her thighs as he swiftly brought her to orgasm. So ready, so hungry. She released a breathy gasp, shuddering in pleasure. All around, crickets sang out in joyous harmony. She laughed at the idea.
“What’s so funny, darlin’?”
“Crick-crickets,” she managed, as he licked and sucked her to a second orgasm. “Crickets singing, orgasm.” Damn, she couldn’t say it right.
He chuckled. “If you say so.”
“I do.” She let out a long, soft breath. “I do.”
He ducked away for a moment, and she heard the telltale crinkle of the condom package. Before she could even catch her breath to tell him she wanted to pleasure him, too, he pulled her to the edge of the car and drove into her.
No, this was heaven. Intimately connected to Raleigh. He gripped her hips to achieve the deepest penetration, sucking her breath away. Thrusting hard and smoothly as she moved with him. And, once again, she spun completely out of control.
Yet safely in Raleigh’s arms. Reckless and safe. Crazy and sane.
He followed, and she felt him pulsing deep inside her core. He looked amazing, his head thrown back, his muscles taut as his body shuddered. When his sawing breath softened, he leaned down and kissed the valley between her breasts.
“God, you feel so good,” he whispered, making his way up her neck.
She pulled him closer. “Mmm, you, too. I’m not sure I can get enough of you, Raleigh.”
He was leaning over her, his nose touching hers. “I know I can’t get enough of you. What am I going to do when you leave?”
Minneapolis seemed so far away. Hell, it might as well be across the globe. The thought of not having Raleigh so close caved her in. “Come with me. I’m renting an apartment. You could stay for a bit, then come back here to check on Cody and Rose.”
“I wish I could. I have to finish up all the work we have on the schedule. I told Peter to accept the offer, though. We’ll see how much time we have.”
She stroked her fingers through his hair. “I want to make this work.”
“Me, too. But—”
She put her finger over his lips. “Let’s just leave it at that. We can figure out all the other stuff.”
He kissed her. “All right.”
They would make it work. She could not lose him again.
—
Raleigh’s ringtone lured him from sweet dreams. He stirred, blinking up into the early-morning sky. Who was calling at this hour? Was he late for work?
Mia woke, too, squinting. “Who’s that?”
“Dunno.” He gently disentangled himself from her and dug in his pants pocket for his phone. Pax’s name appeared on the screen. “Hey, bud. What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
“At Nancy’s cottage.”
“Stay put. I’m on my way.”
Raleigh stared at the phone. “Weird. Pax is coming over. Now.”
Mia pulled on her shirt, her face knitted in worry. “Something happened. Someone’s hurt.”
“Let’s not go there.” He pulled on his pants and helped her to her feet. “I’ll make some coffee.”
They went inside, changed into their clothes, and sipped coffee until someone knocked on the door. The back door. Pax stood, his arm poised to knock again.
“Come on in,” Raleigh said, eyeing the deck. “Sneaking in the back way?”
“Yeah.” Pax stepped inside, oblivious of the joking tone.
“Coffee?”
Pax shook his head, the waves of his hair sticking up. His uniform was rumpled, as though he were at the end of his shift. “I’m here unofficially.” He gave Mia a nod, then turned back to Raleigh. “They ID’d that skeleton, Raleigh. It’s your dad.”
Pax might as well have tossed a rock at his chest. Raleigh stepped back from the impact. “What?”
Mia’s hand went around his arm. “But he left town.”
“He left, all right. Dental records confirmed it. I shouldn’t be out here, but I wanted to warn you. My father, he’s gunning for you. Your dad, with whom you had a rocky relationship, found dead near your property. Remote property to boot, a good place to murder someone—and hide the body. Get a lawyer. Grace Parnell was the one who helped my brother with the rape charges. She’s good at defending innocent people.”
“Why?” Mia asked. “Why is he gunning for Raleigh?”
“ ’Cause my mama was screwing around with Hank West,” Pax stated so bluntly that it made Raleigh flinch.
“Doesn’t that give him a motive for murder?” Mia asked. “Or, at the least, make it a conflict of interest?”
“Neither of them, my daddy or my mama, is ever going to admit to it. She never has, even when I got in her face about it. ‘Sides, I think it ended when my daddy got suspicious, and that was a long time ago.” There was something in Pax’s expression, a shadow of betrayal, a shard of anger. As far as Raleigh knew, Pax had never confirmed that there had been an affair. In fact, he’d always denied the prospect even as he watched an undeniable chemistry between the two grown-ups out by the pool with a hardened gaze. “My daddy hated Hank and, by extension, Raleigh. Any West was a bad West. It didn’t help that we got into boatloads of trouble together.” Pax looked at Mia. “And, yep, it was usually my idea.”
Raleigh’s hand trembled as he reached out to shake Pax’s hand. “Thanks for the heads-up. Now, haul ass before you get into trouble.” That’s why he’d come in the back way. The sheriff’s deputies were probably on their way over now.
Pax backed toward the door. “I know you didn’t do it.”
Raleigh swallowed hard. “Thanks.”
Pax raced off the deck and disappeared from sight.
Mia’s arms came around him from behind. “Raleigh…I don’t even know what to say.”
He turned into her embrace. “I didn’t kill him.”
“I know.”
He stared at the door, where Cassidy and maybe Sheriff Sullivan would be standing before long. Eager to arrest him. An ex-con son murdering his ex-con good-for-nothing father—wrap it up neat and make it go away. Especially if it got rid of the guy the sheriff never did like hanging with his son.
Her grip tightened. “I’m scared.”
“It’ll be all right.” But his record wouldn’t help his character. Nor would the tumultuous relationship he’d had with his father, as Pax had said. There was more to that, too. More that he didn’t want to tell. Couldn’t tell. It would heap motive onto that pile.
Mia’s phone rang. “My parents.” She took the phone out of her purse and answered. “Hi…yes, he’s here…uh, yeah, sure.” She focused on him. “My parents want to come over. Father wants to apologize.”
Raleigh heard her words, but all he registered was the car doors slamming outside. The footsteps coming up the steps, boots pounding across the porch. Then someone knocking on the door.
He quickly wrote down two phone numbers on one of the receipts on the kitchen island, then turned toward the door.
It was the same as when he’d walked into the police station seven years ago to turn himself in, feeling as though each foot weighed forty pounds.
Sheriff Sullivan, an I’m-just-doing-my-job expression on his face. A face nothing like Pax’s lean, angular face with its ability for empathy. Cassidy and another deputy remained out by the squad cars with flashing lights. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Hank West. You have the right to remain silent.”
“No!” Mia ran over. “You don’t have any evidence! This is ridiculous!”
Raleigh pressed the paper into her hand as the sheriff continued to read his Miranda rights. “Call Peter at the garage and Rose, let them know what’s going on. I don’t want her hearing about this through the grapevine. Or from the cops. And call Grace Parnell like someone suggested.” He wouldn’t say Pax’s name and implicate him in any way.
Mia kissed Raleigh, fear written on her face and in the way she gripped his arm. Then he turned and offered his wrists.
The sheriff nodded toward his squad car. “You can walk out.”
“He might run,” Cassidy said, clearly annoyed that his boss was allowing Raleigh that bit of dignity.
“He ain’t running. He just lawyered up.” Sullivan turned to him. “Right?”
“Right.”
Raleigh caught one last glimpse of Mia, who looked as though she were going to race over. She seemed to become aware of the phone in her hand, the buzzing of someone trying to get her attention. Slowly, she lifted it to her ear. If her parents wanted to apologize, they were sure going to change their minds now. They would probably tell Mia to get out of the tangled mess of his life. And rightfully so.
—
It was all Mia could do to stop herself from running after the cruiser. Or jumping into her own car and following. Her mind frantically flew through her options, shoving warnings at her for the more drastic ones. Like chasing down a cop car or storming the sheriff’s office.
“Mia? What’s going on there?”
Her father’s voice pulled her from the sight of the door closing behind Raleigh. “They just arrested Raleigh.” She ran to the window and watched the cruiser disappearing down the gravel road.
“What?”
“I have to go.”
“No, wait! Mia, tell us what’s going on. What was he arrested for?”
She had to force out the word. “Murder.”
“What?” Her mother, in the background.
“We’ll be right over.” Her father disconnected.
Mia really didn’t need their presence right then, but they were coming anyway. She dialed the first number Raleigh had written down.
“Rose, it’s Mia. Raleigh wanted me to call you. They found a body in a truck in the lake at George’s property. It’s…it’s Cody’s dad.”
“Oh, God.”
“And they just arrested Raleigh for his murder.”
“Oh, God,” Rose said again. “No.”
“I’m working on hiring an attorney. He’s going to be all right. He wanted you to hear it from us first. Look, I have to go.”
She looked up Grace Parnell’s number. It was only as the phone was ringing that she realized the office wouldn’t be open yet. The outgoing message, though, gave an emergency number. Grace was, after all, a criminal-defense attorney. It took Mia a couple of minutes to get her on the line, and then everything came out in an avalanche.
“Raleigh West?” Grace said when Mia had finished. “I’m not sure I know him.”
“He’s lived here his whole life. He works over at Peter’s Garage.”
“Oh, wait a minute. Good-looking, tall, mid-twenties?”
“Yes.” And so much more. “He’s a good man, Ms. Parnell. Tender and gentle and loving and…” Her voice caught in her throat. “He wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“He’s a good mechanic, that I know. He always fixes my car’s problem, explains it in a way I can understand without being condescending, and he’s honest. Why don’t you come by my office in thirty minutes, Ms. Wentworth? I’ll call the sheriff’s office and find out when he’s being arraigned.”
“Thank you!” Mia called the garage next and spilled the news as soon as Raleigh’s boss answered.
“That’s crazy! Raleigh wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, he would hurt a fly. He’s a master with the fly swatter—”
“Sir, I want to start a fund to help with the legal fees.”
“I hear she’s good, and she charges for it. See Marta over at Chambliss Bank. She can set up a fund. I’ll spread the word.”
The bank wouldn’t open for another hour. Mia wasn’t the least bit hungry—the thought of food turned her stomach—but she knew that if she didn’t eat something her blood sugar would drop later. And she would need all her strength and wits to get through the day.
The moment she slathered peanut butter on a piece of toast, her parents barged in.
“I knew that boy was trouble,” her mother said, pointing to her father. “You wanted to believe in him, but I knew—”
“Shut up,” he snapped, shocking Mia. Her father was all business as he assessed her. “Are you all right? They didn’t question you, did they?”
“No. This has nothing to do with me. And it doesn’t have anything to do with Raleigh, either, other than it’s his father whose body they found. And it was found near Raleigh’s cabin.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” he said.
No, it didn’t. “But they don’t have a motive. Why would a man kill his own father? The man was a drunk and a lousy provider, which is why Raleigh hasn’t lived with him since he was fifteen. Why would he kill him all these years later?”
“People do things that don’t always make sense,” he said.
“Like you being so attached to this boy,” her mother muttered, turning away.
Mia had to fight not to mirror her father’s raw order. “He’s not a boy any more than I’m a girl. We’re adults. And he’s innocent.”
“Mia, I think you’re in over your head here,” her father said. “If he goes down, you’re going with him. Not legally, but emotionally and in reputation. And you have your job to consider.”
“I’m not leaving Raleigh.”
“What if he’s guilty?” Not her mother’s emotional, angry words but her father’s logical, calm ones.
“He’s not.”
“You don’t know him all that well. You might think you do, but you don’t. What, two months over a summer seven years ago? When he was committing illegal acts. And two weeks now? You can’t base major life decisions on a shaky foundation. I know you think you love him, but could it be that you’re in love with him?”
“I’m both. And if you knew Raleigh the way I do you would understand why I know he would never murder anyone. I have to go to the bank and ask a lady who knows Raleigh to set up a legal fund. I already have an attorney on call. I need to go.”
Her father placed his hand on her shoulder. “We’re scheduled to return home this morning. We can stay if you want us to. I don’t want you dealing with this alone.”
“But we can’t stay,” her mother said. “We’ll be dragged into this mess.” She glared at Mia. “You have put us through so much already. Walk away, come back to Minneapolis and start your job. Don’t do this to us.”
“To you? Don’t do this to you? So I’m supposed to walk away from a man I love, who I know is innocent, so you’ll feel better?”
“What do you know about love?”
“What do you know about it, Mother? Did your heart ever implode when Father was on a trip or when he had to extend his stay? Did it jump at the thought of seeing him again? Do you hunger for his touch? For the comfort of his arms around you, or a gentle kiss on your temple? Do you really know what it’s like to love someone so deeply that you ache from it?” She let out a breath as she studied their expressions. “I didn’t think so.�
��
They both merely stared at her.
“I’m sorry,” Mia said quietly. “But you can’t possibly understand what I feel for Raleigh, because you’ve never experienced it. Or maybe you did but lost it long ago. I love him. And you saw something in him, didn’t you, Father? You said you wanted to apologize.”
Her father nodded slowly. “He’s a hardworking young man. Who loves you very much. I tested him, questioned him, and he passed. But a murder charge is a much bigger issue, Mia. We just don’t want you hurt.”
“Sometimes you have to take risks for things—or people—who are important to you. And, yes, I may get hurt and stressed, but Raleigh is worth the risk. Go on home. I’m a grown-up, as I said. I can handle this.”
“I don’t like leaving you to deal with this alone,” her father said.
“I’m not alone. I have people here to help.” And they would be more helpful than her parents, but she wasn’t going to say that.
The door burst open, and Rose rushed inside. Running over and grabbing Mia’s hands, she probably didn’t even notice Mia’s parents. “Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod! Tell me what happened, everything they said.”
“This is someone who’s going to help?” Mia heard her father mutter.
Mia turned Rose toward her parents. “This is my mother and my father. Rose has known Raleigh since he was fifteen. Rose, tell them that Raleigh would never kill his father.”
Rose made a hoarse laugh-cry sound. “Never. He’s taken care of me and Cody—that’s his half brother—for the last few years. Been more of a dad to Cody than his own dad. Protected him. And now…” Rose broke down.
Mia waved her parents off as she held Rose. “Go. I’ll keep in touch. And, yes, I’ll be okay. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” She would know. If she overcame cancer, and the effects of the crash, she would overcome this. It scared her, but it wouldn’t beat her down.
“You’re right, though. Look at you.” A proud half smile crossed her father’s face. “Look at our little girl, Marie. She’s not little anymore. Not a girl.”
Falling Fast (Falling Fast #1) Page 18
