“Is everything ok?” she asked as he reached through the open window and grabbed a small leather case out of the glove compartment.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s fine.” He and the valet disappeared to the front of the car again, both of them kneeling too low for her to see what they were doing.
After a couple of minutes, he dropped something on the floor behind his seat and slid behind the wheel. Halfway across the bay bridge before he said, “Your father paid us a visit. He put a plate on the car. ‘Daddy’s Girl’.”
Haylie tasted the tequila at the back of her throat. “Pull over,” she said, barely holding the vomit down.
She had the door open before Blake came to a stop in the emergency lane. With her chest pressed against the concrete guardrail on the side of the bridge, she threw up into the bay while he held her hair and the wind whipped her silk dress around her legs.
“He’s going to hurt somebody,” she said, when her body gave up the revolt. “One of the Belles.”
Chapter 11
“Blue’s your color, Sunshine.” Carl Monroe’s voice was like a knife piercing the morning calm of Haylie’s bedroom.
“What do you want from me?” she said into the phone. Fury flashed like a flood through her.
“Just calling to tell you how beautiful you looked. And that friend of yours, what’s her name? Kara? I recognize her voice from somewhere. She’s a stunner.”
“Leave her alone,” Haylie warned.
“They’ve got this cute little dachshund down at the animal shelter. And that little princess from Birmingham who runs the place sure was nice to talk to.”
“Stay away from my friends.” Her voice held steady, even as the tremor of fear worked its way through her and the phone jarred against her cheek.
“I’ll tell you who gave me a hard-on though,” he continued, as if she hadn’t said a word. “That brainy little redhead writes some sexy stuff. I’ll bet she knows a thing or two about the bedroom. Probably could make more money between the sheets than between the pages. What do you think, Sunshine? Think men would pay for her?”
Haylie’s spine stiffened.
Blake reached over and spread his hand across her back. “Hang up. Hang up and call the police.”
“Better not listen to your boyfriend. You can’t trust him as much as you think you can.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Video is so much better than still shots. He must’ve liked it. He’s there in bed with you now.”
Haylie’s hand trembled. Blake snatched the phone away from her.
“Monroe!” he yelled, then followed with a swear. The dial tone cut through the silence of the room as he put the phone back in its dock by the bed. “What’d he say to you?”
Haylie rocked slowly against her pillow, but said nothing.
“Baby?”
Her skin puckered with goose bumps and a deep chill settled into her bones. She didn’t want to believe him. Her father lied. He manipulated people. Blake wouldn’t have seen the video and not told her. He wouldn’t have watched it.
“My God, you’re freezing. Honey, talk to me.” He pulled the covers over her and wrapped his body around hers. “He can’t hurt you. I’m right here.”
“He said you saw the video.” Accusation filled her voice.
“I had it taken down. It’s gone now.”
She tried to grasp what he meant, but the words didn’t make sense. “Taken down?”
“I have a friend who knows computers. It’s gone. The whole website.”
“Website?” She choked on the sob that jumped from her throat.
“I wasn’t going to tell you. I took care of it. You don’t have to worry about it.”
She struggled away from him and crossed the room, her body like a block of ice.
“How many people saw it?” She couldn’t keep her teeth from chattering as she pulled a heavy sweater and a pair of jeans from her closet.
He watched her from the bed. “I don’t know.”
“Did you like it?” Her voice cracked and she scrubbed the tears from her face. She felt sick. Betrayed.
“What?”
“Did it make you want to fuck me? Is that why you’re here now?”
“Haylie. You know better.”
“What do I know? How many times did you watch it?”
“God damnit!” He bolted off the bed, and came toward her. He’d never shouted at her before. She’d never found out how far she could push him. He towered over her, his chest within inches of hers, anger shooting off him in flames. She grimaced expecting the pain of his grip, but his hands were gentle and when he spoke again his voice was low. “If I had actually seen that video, I would be out hunting Carl Monroe with a baseball bat right now.” His breath staggered. “I hope to hell the police find him first because I will kill that man if I get my hands on him.” He cupped her face. “You can trust me, honey. Don’t ever think you can’t.”
She looked up to see the love in his eyes, and her heart squeezed. “Why do you put up with me?”
His thumb traced her jaw. He lowered his head slowly and took her mouth in a kiss that started out gentle but grew more passionate with each stroke of his tongue. Fire burned in her belly. Flames licked at her nipples and danced between her legs.
His naked body pressed against her clothed one and she walked him back to the bed. Hands on his shoulders, she coaxed him to sit. He reached for the bottom of her sweater, but she took his hands and slowly sank to her knees, kissing a trail down his chest, over the smooth skin of his abs, and the hard muscle packed beneath. His cock stretched toward her mouth and a low groan rumbled through his chest.
“Honey, get up here in bed with me.” Breath heated his words.
She shook her head, and raked her fingers through the short dark hair that trailed down his lower abdomen before reaching low to caress his balls and tease the sensitive skin behind them. They drew tight in her hand and his cock jumped.
In the dim light filtering through the blinds, the drop of dew on the broad head glistened. She stroked his length once, before taking him in her mouth.
He hissed in a sharp breath and gripped her hair. His hips pushed in a slow rhythm and his thighs tensed.
She loved the feel of his cock against her tongue, of his strong body struggling to hold back. She loved everything about him. She sucked, drawing a lazy path with her tongue and following the cues of his strangled groans and quick breaths.
His hand fisted in the comforter and his grip tightened on her hair.
“Honey…”
She ignored his warning, sucking harder, taking him to the point of no return with every stroke of her hand. His cock gave a final swell and his whole body stiffened.
She didn’t stop until the last spasm of his orgasm subsided and he pulled her into his arms.
* * * *
Just before lunch Grady came through the door grinning from ear to ear.
“I think you found your calling last night.” Haylie’s carefully applied makeup and resolve to fight fire with fire hid most of the remnants of her early morning run-in with her father. Only the ache in her chest for the way she had treated Blake refused to be masked. Even after they made love, the guilt remained. Trusting him should come naturally. He shouldn’t have to fight for it tooth and nail. “I just got a preliminary total from the Hyatt,” she said. “Are you ready for this?”
“Hurry up.” He rubbed his hands together, unable to hide his excitement. “I’ve got news of my own.”
“Just over three hundred thousand dollars! I never imagined… If it wasn’t for you, Blake and Kara.” She shook her head. “You all were a powerhouse.”
“Is that all?” He waved her off, pretending her news was nothing compared to his.
“You can top that?” She raised her brows in a challenge.
“Blake worked a deal. I dropped the names of a couple of thugs my buddies deal with sometimes and my charges are going to be dismissed.”
“He can do that?” She wasn’t sure whether she should be angry the law could so easily be manipulated or just grateful he’d taken care of Grady the way he had.
“He said it didn’t hurt that somebody who came to the auction can influence those kinds of decisions. He wouldn’t say who he was talking about, but he had it all worked out when I met him down at the station this morning. You’ve got a pretty cool boyfriend, Homma.” Grady grabbed a box of powdered donuts out of the pantry and moved on to the refrigerator. “You need more milk,” he said, shaking the carton. Without bothering to get a glass or a plate, he bellied up to the counter. Lucy assumed his begging position, paws on the counter, snout centered between them, and eyebrows lifted into a perfect pout.
While Grady fed him a donut, and Lucy licked the crumbs he dropped off the tile, Haylie slipped off to her room and dialed Blake’s number. “I don’t think I apologized to you enough this morning,” she said when he answered.
“You want to apologize some more?” His sexy laugh put a wide smile on her face.
“And I want to thank you for what you did for Grady.”
“He’s a good kid. He doesn’t have to be dragged through the system and tagged with a record to learn his lesson.”
“I know.”
“Did you just admit you were wrong? Do some criminals deserve a second chance? I think Satan just got frostbite.”
“You feeling cold?” She couldn’t have landed a better devil if she tried.
“Can I come over?”
“You’re asking permission? Hell did freeze over.”
“Be there in an hour?”
“Ok, but I’ve got dinner plans that don’t include you. I’m meeting the Belles at the Crab Shack.” She couldn’t protect them from her father any longer unless they knew who to watch out for and what he was capable of.
“Got dessert plans too?”
“How about a double helping of apology with a great big thank you on top served in bed.”
Chapter 12
Blake held Haylie against his chest as waves challenged his foothold and the waning sun turned the sky shades of orange and purple. She was quiet, guarded.
Telling the Belles about her past wouldn’t be easy for her. Her cheek pressed against his heart, she clung to his neck, and their hips bumped with every movement of the water around them.
“I think it’s getting close to dinner time for the sharks,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Come on.” He lifted her thighs and settled her legs around his waist. “I couldn’t blame one of them for taking a bite out of you.”
She smiled and fastened her arms tighter around his neck. “You haven’t bitten me yet.”
“The night is young and the moon is full.” He carried her up the beach and laid her in the sand before collapsing on top of her. Her wet hair hung in thick strands over her shoulders, and sand dusted her skin like sugar. He knew the map of her body as if it was the route home, and still the need to explore every valley, swell and curve bore so deep into him he couldn’t fight it. He brought his mouth down between her breasts to feel the beat of her heart on his lips and taste the salt on her skin. He trailed kisses up her chest to the gentle slope at the base of her neck. Her hands held firm at his sides, her fingers and sharp grains of sand dug into his skin.
“What is it, honey?” he whispered close to her ear. “What’s holding you back?”
She turned her gaze on him. “I haven’t told you to stop.”
“You’re not exactly urging me forward.”
“Since when do you need urging?”
He rolled to the side and leaned on his elbow, staring down at her. “Your friendship won’t change when you tell them. That’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it?” He finally understood what kind of number her parents had done on her. All these years, she thought she was to blame and anyone who found out would turn on her the way her mother had.
She held her bottom lip between her teeth, and stared at something over his shoulder.
“I love you more than I ever have, and the Belles will too.” He leaned in for a kiss. Her lips were like a drug and her tongue had a direct line to his dick. One stroke and he turned rock-hard. Two and insatiable hunger whipped through him. He pulled himself away before he had to drag her back in the water. “As soon as your father is back behind bars, I want you to start planning the wedding.”
Her eyes widened in shock.
“You heard me. I’m not letting you get away from me again. You’re going to marry me this time whether you want to or not.”
Haylie laughed.
“I’m serious.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “I hired Ron Donald to find him and keep an eye on you. He’ll start surveillance on your condo at eight o’clock. And I’ll be back later.”
Her hands dragged saltwater and coarse sand up his back. “I love you.”
He nuzzled her ear. “Ready to go in?”
“Go ahead. I think I’ll stay down here a little while longer.”
* * * *
Her heart still pounding from his devilish proposal, Haylie kissed Blake goodbye and ran her fingers through the sand as he made his way up through the dunes. She dug her toes beneath the warm water washing up on the shore and let her mind wander until the early evening light began to fade.
She stood up to brush the sand from her legs. The warm breeze whipped through her hair and a chill trickled down her spine. She twisted her head around. She had the beach to herself except for the broad figure of a man standing on the concrete pavilion between her condo and the gulf. He’d probably been there the whole time, enjoying the fading light and the hypnotic rhythm of the waves. She shook off the uneasy feeling and began making her way home.
She was halfway across the pavilion when she heard unhurried footsteps behind her. The same uneasy feeling that had come over her at the water zipped down her spine again. The man she’d seen standing on the pavilion wasn’t her father. He was too big, tall and wide enough to be a linebacker.
She reached the other side of the pavilion and began traversing the wood walkway that led past the back of the buildings. Up ahead, Old Mr. Dodson’s television flickered through his sliding glass door. If she screamed he’d never hear her.
The lights in her condo shone onto her lanai and Lucy stood at the door barking frantically, his tail straight as an arrow. The footsteps behind her matched her pace. Whoever it was could have caught her by now. Maybe he wasn’t after her. Or maybe the person at her back was her father and not the big man she’d seen. Carl Monroe would savor the hunt, would salivate over the scent of her fear.
The closer she got to her condo, the louder Lucy’s barks became. He jumped up and threw his paws against the glass, scratching frantically to get out. A ridge of hair stood up along the center of his back.
She glanced down the row of condominiums. Four duplexes past her own, smoke curled up from a grill on the patio.
She took off at a sprint. Lucy’s barks echoed in her ears, and her bare feet pounded the wood planks. Behind her hammered the labored breath and heavy steps of her pursuer.
Haylie ran as hard as she could toward the scent of grilled hamburgers and the music of Jimmy Buffet. Just as she reached the first slats of railing a man slipped inside the condo, closing the sliding door behind him and cutting off the sounds of steel drums and guitar.
Inside the condo animated people were engrossed in conversation and margaritas. A man made his way to the kitchen carrying a platter stacked high with hamburger patties and toasted buns. She whipped through the opening in the railing and crossed the narrow patio in three steps. Grabbing the slider’s handle like she owned the place, she jerked the door open enough to slither through, then slammed it behind her and flipped the lock in place.
The conversation stilled. A man yelled, “What the hell!”
Haylie bent over at the waist to catch her breath and held her hand up in peace. “Somebody… chasing me…” she managed
as the adrenalin that flooded her system poured sweat from her body and hammered her heart in her chest.
The room half-emptied as the men set down their drinks and pushed past her to go outside. Two of the women checked her over while another picked up the phone to call the police.
“Somebody, turn that music down. I can’t hear!” the woman with the phone yelled.
The stereo went silent and Haylie kneeled on the carpet by the door.
The woman holding the phone said, “They want to know what he looks like.”
Haylie slowly shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Three of the men stepped through the open door. “Ain’t nobody out there now.” The one talking held up a battered ball cap. “Found this. But that’s about it.”
A loud pop rang from somewhere in the complex, like a single firework. Haylie jumped.
“Backfire,” one of the men said. “Old Henry’s grandson is fixing up that Ford Fairlane.”
“Sorry I bothered you.” Haylie stepped onto the patio. Maybe Blake hadn’t left yet. He might have taken a shower to wash off the seawater. If not, she’d grab her keys and go to his house. She had made it as far as the wooden path when one of the women called out.
“John, go with her. Don’t let her walk out there alone.”
“I just live a few doors down. I’ll be fine.”
John stood out on the walkway behind his condo and watched her Haylie make her way home.
“Thank you,” she called back to him as she reached her patio and opened the slider. Her condo was silent as a tomb. The only sound came from the rush of waves onto the shore.
It wasn’t until she shut the door behind her that she realized what was missing.
“Lucy?”
The only response was a low whimper, or had she imagined that? She called Lucy again. Nothing.
“Grady?” Maybe he had changed his mind about staying in his dorm. Lucy could have followed him to the guestroom to drop his bag. Or maybe he’d taken him for a walk. No. Lucy’s leash was draped over the doorknob of the coat closet.
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