“Stop it, Kenneth,” I said louder. He dipped his head and tried to lean in to kiss me. There was no way in hell that was happening. I managed to duck out of the kiss, and Kenneth fell against the door, which made a hollow sound when it hit the wall behind it. Kenneth spun around, facing me. There was rage in his eyes, but his mouth was smiling, and he looked manic.
I did what any girl does to a man who doesn’t behave. I lifted my hand, spread it flat and wide, and slapped him. My hand connected with his face and the sting-and-burn followed the moment I pulled back. Kenneth’s head snapped to the side. He turned his face slowly back to me. His cheek was already getting red where I’d hit him. His eyes held all sorts of danger, and it wasn’t hot the way Saxon’s was when he looked at me with a dangerous expression. This was a problem.
I turned and stormed out of the office, coming back to my senses.
Kenneth was quicker than I was. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
“Home,” I said. “It’s the end of my shift.”
Kenneth looked wild. His eyes were wide, the whites showing around his irises, and he breathed harder than he should have. I twisted my wrist and tried to free it from his hand, but his fingers were a lock around my wrist and there was nothing I could do.
“Just stay away from him, Tanya. He’s bad news. It won’t be long before the cops pick him up, and when they do, I don’t want you to be caught in the crossfire. You’re a good girl. Keep it that way.”
I yanked my hand back, and Kenneth let me go. It was the only reason I got away. I doubted I would have gotten out of that death grip if he’d decided to hold on. I walked out of the diner, fingers trembling. My heart thundered in my chest, and I was struggling to breathe. I felt dizzy, and no matter how much oxygen I sucked into my lungs, I still felt like I was suffocating. I pulled out my phone with my trembling fingers and tried to unlock the screen. It stayed black, and only after the third try did I remember it was dead.
I lifted a trembling hand to my hair. I felt like crying. Home felt miles away. I needed Saxon.
A pay phone. I had to find a pay phone.
I found one a block in the opposite direction of my home, deposited the coins and dialed Saxon’s number. A couple of rings, and it rolled over to voicemail. I swore and hung up. I had to get home. I could charge my phone there and then try Saxon again.
I walked back to the apartment on numb legs. Every sound around me made me jump, and I felt like an idiot. When I got there, I looked up at the building. I didn’t want to go inside and have Margo bombard me with questions. I didn’t want to have a meltdown in front of her, which was going to happen if she asked me anything at all. If I just opened my mouth. I stuck my hand in my bag and thumbed the edge of the cd.
I didn’t want to talk about what had happened. So I got into my car and parked in my bay in the resident parking. I seldom drove it. Gas was expensive. However, I had a car charger and a full tank.
CHAPTER 22
I stood in that sissy lounge I was betting Sherman’s previous woman had decorated, pumping my hands open and closed, wondering where I was going to go. Adrenaline surged through my body, and there was nothing I could do with it. This wasn’t time for fight or flight response. I had to hide. I didn’t have a lot of time. He was heading toward the front door, his shadow disappearing where the window ended. A moment later, I heard a jingle of keys and I turned and made my way back into the house. One glance out the kitchen window told me the cops were still there. If I wanted to make it out at all, I had to lay low until they disappeared, or Sherman left again.
I wasn’t going to take the chance. I had to hide and fast.
I headed upstairs, taking them two at a time, relieved the stairs were carpeted so it muffled my steps. I’d just about cleared the staircase when I heard the front door slam and keys drop onto a table. I looked around. Bedroom, spare bedroom, bathroom. Not a lot of options. I ran into the spare bedroom and looked around. I opened the closet door; it was packed with boxes and books. Not enough space for me, and I wasn’t going to be able to see the room once I was closed in there.
No way to escape, either.
I heard muffled footsteps on the staircase and chose the next best spot—beside the closet and the bed. There was nothing else in the room. I wasn’t going to stand behind the curtain like a bogeyman, so I crawled underneath the bed like a child. I swore at myself under my breath. This was the most unmanly place to hide, but if it meant I was avoiding jail…being in this house was going to be an automatic trespassing charge, maybe breaking and entering as well.
The carpet was dusty. It hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, and the smell was stale. The bed had a frill, thank God. I tipped my head to the side, leaned my cheek on the synthetic carpet, and saw a pair of black shoes appear at the top of the stairs and then walk to the main bedroom.
I had to get myself out of this mess. I’d spotted an alarm system I was guessing he activated at night. There were a lot of folks that only secured the place when they were home, leaving it disabled for domestic workers or pets during the day. And if I couldn’t get out of here before he set the alarm, I would be royally fucked. It wasn’t my plan to spend my night under a bed.
I was hoping Sherman would get in the shower. It was already late. Maybe he did it before bed and I could sneak out. Instead, he was only in the room for a short while before he came out again and went back downstairs.
Dammit.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Thank God I’d put the damn thing on silent. The last thing I needed now was to get caught because of the phone going off and I couldn’t reach it to silence it. I wasn’t going to be able to answer. I reached down to see if I could get it, but I was lying on it, and there was no way to move around under the bed so I couldn’t get it.
A few moments later it rang again.
Skinner was going to have to do without me tonight. Rather this than me ending up in jail. He wouldn’t be happy with me then, especially considering that this wasn’t gang business at all. I shifted a little and the cd in my jacket pocket dug into my ribs. This damn tape had caused me so much trouble already. The moment I got out of here, I was burning the thing. Watching it go up in flames was going to be satisfying.
The twilight in the room faded into an inky blackness while I waited. The dim sounds of a television came from downstairs. My arms had gotten pins and needles at some point, but after a while, they’d numbed out. I had no idea how long I was under that godforsaken bed.
I rested my cheek against the rough carpet, rolling my head until I found a spot that was as close to comfortable as I could get on my cheekbone, and closed my eyes.
Tanya stood in front of me. Her dark hair was loose, hanging in waves over her shoulders, and she wore a green dress that made her eyes seem more like an olive color than the hazel I’d seen before. I’d only seen her in her diner’s outfit, the checkered red dress that didn’t do her curves justice. That and my old t-shirt she’d borrowed once.
But this dress was a knockout. It hugged her curves, showing off her body in all its splendor. Instant hard on. My body ached for hers. I could already imagine the feel of her hips against mine, her supple breasts in my hands, and her tight body clenching around me as I pushed into her.
I groaned with pleasure before I even knew it happened. My body ached, cock straining against my pants.
“You’re starting without me,” she said and smiled. God, that smile had so many dark promises. We were alone, a bedroom that was decorated in poor taste with fine floral print on the curtains and cover, and a frill around the bed. But it didn’t matter. As long as there was a bed, I could take her.
Tanya walked toward me, ran her hands up my chest under my leather jacket. She pushed her body up against mine so that I felt the swells of her breast through my clothes. My breath caught in my throat when she stood on her toes and brushed her lips against mine. Her breath was sweet, intoxicat
ing. I shuddered with the powerful ache of the need for sex building inside of me.
“You’ve been a bad boy, Saxon,” she said in a husky, bedroom voice. Her lips were ruby red, and she kissed me. She tasted sweet, like cherry and something all her own, and the moment her tongue pushed in my mouth, I was lost. I snaked my hands around her waist with one hand on her ass, because a piece of perfection like that needed to be appreciated. My other hand was fumbling for the zipper at her back, because I needed her out of that dress. Now.
I shifted, my pants clenching where my body had hardened for her. I shifted my hips against her, pushing into her pubic bone, and she sighed into my mouth. This was it. Just us. Alone. Nothing mattered. I was going to take her every way I could and make her mine.
I found the zipper and tugged it down. The dress split open, revealing her soft skin, and I slipped it over her body until she stood in front of me in just underwear. Lace. Black. Just the way I liked it.
I nuzzled her neck. Her hands were starting to work on my belt buckle, and I was so ready for where this was headed. I had three things in mind. My body. Her body. Bed.
I made work of the bra clip behind her back and peeled it off her. It fell on the carpet, looking out of place in the boring bedroom. The panties went next, and when she stood naked in front of me, I stopped and leaned back to look at her. Her body was perfect. Even, milky skin stretched over her entire body. The only hair on her body was on her head, and her breasts and hips were full and in contrast to her tiny waist.
She smiled at me again, that same smile that always had me focused on her lips instead of her eyes. She managed to get rid of my pants and my jacket and shirt.
The door was open, but I doubted anyone was home to see us. I strained my ears for sounds, but all I heard were police sirens in the distance. The house around us was empty.
I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. Two steps and I was on the bed, Tanya beneath me. I hovered over her body, my breathing erratic and hard, like hers. She looked at me, her legs open and heat seeping out of her pores. She enveloped me and sucked me in until I was huddled in a cloud of her lust. My body was hard and ready for her, throbbing, and I positioned myself at her entrance.
She breathed in sharply, anticipating what was coming.
Someone came in the front door.
I snapped my head up and looked at the door.
“He doesn’t matter,” Tanya said in her seductive voice. I looked at her. Her hair was tied up, and she was suddenly wearing clothes, her diner outfit. It was pushed up over her hips, but I couldn’t see her breasts.
“What’s going on?” a voice came from the hallway.
“Just ignore him,” Tanya said again, and I was torn. Danger was coming, but I didn’t know what it looked like. I looked at the door again and pushed away from Tanya.
“Come on, Saxon,” she said, but she sounded irritated now. When I looked back at her, there was no bed, but a desk, and we were in that asshole’s office. She was up against the desk, her arms crossed over her chest. I was clothed again.
“You’re not supposed to be in here,” she said to me. I frowned.
“What’s going on in here?” Sherman asked, standing in the door to his office. “What are you doing?”
He was looking at me.
“He was going through the files; we should call the police,” Tanya said.
“What the fuck?” I cried out. How had it gone from mind-blowing sex just waiting to happen, to locking me up for theft?
My body jerked, and I knocked my head against the springs of the bed. I nearly cursed out loud but caught myself. The darkness in the room wrapped around me, and it took me a couple of seconds to figure out where I was. The house was dark and quiet. There were no sounds from downstairs, no dim lights from the passage. I was willing to bet Sherman was asleep in the main bedroom just across from the one I was in.
I lifted the frill up and peeked out. There was no one. I wriggled out from underneath the bed, one small bit at a time until I lay on the floor feeling like an idiot for getting caught here in the first place. If there was an alarm, it wouldn’t be set for the bedrooms, so Sherman could get up at night. I was safe for now.
I tiptoed down the passage, relieved I was wearing black. There was an alarm activation pad against the wall just outside the main bedroom. It didn’t look activated. There was a green light at the top. A red light flashed to the side, but the green light made me confident. I could get out of here.
CHAPTER 23
I knew that it would be better to just to go home and calm down. My body trembled slightly, hands shaking when I picked up the phone. I tried Saxon again. No luck. I put the phone down and took a deep breath, holding it for three seconds before blowing it out again. It didn’t do much to help my nerves, but it seemed to calm down the shaking.
It was just my stupid boss. It shouldn’t have gotten me so upset. Of course, that wasn’t entirely true. I didn’t matter who it was, harassment was going to upset anyone as much as it upset me. But I had to handle this. It was no time to panic.
Especially not since I refused to go home, and I couldn’t seem to get ahold of Saxon.
My phone vibrated, making an insistent buzzing sound against the plastic cup holder in my car where I’d put it. I snatched it up, hoping to God it was Saxon.
It wasn’t. Kenneth, again. I silenced the call so it wouldn’t hang up on his end, but at least the vibrations stopped. I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to see the lit screen and kept it close for as long as I thought I would take for the call to roll over to voicemail and my screen to dim and then switch off again.
I was effectively running away. Kenneth could get me in a twist when he was in my face, but if he wasn’t with me, I could ignore him.
I opened my eyes after a while and glanced down at the phone. The LED light blinked, indicated I’d missed a call, but otherwise, it looked like nothing had happened. Denial was my best friend right now.
I tried Saxon another time but this time, the call wouldn’t connect. I sighed and leaned my head back against the car’s headrest. Then I leaned forward and turned the ignition, starting the car. I pulled out of the parking bay and turned into the road. I followed the road I’d told Saxon to take to my place backtracking so that I could find his apartment again. We’d gone there in the dark of night and I’d been shaken up. I hadn’t paid attention to his address then.
I took me a bit of driving around, and night was starting to fall, but eventually I found it. I was an apartment that was not like my tall high-rise complex. The place looked more modern and had more space for imagination. I walked to the elevator and took it took the second floor where his door was one of three on the landing.
I knocked on his door and waited. No answer. I knocked again, and again, and after a while of waiting I decided that it wasn’t going to help to stand there hammering on the door all night. He wasn’t home. Wherever he was, I couldn’t reach him or find him, and I was going to have to deal with this by myself. I turned away but then stopped, a thought striking me.
I turned back, fished in my handbag, and found the cd. I bent down and tucked it under Saxon’s door. In any case, it was a good thing for him to have it, and he didn’t have a roommate. The cd would be safe.
I dwelled on the idea of him not having a roommate as I made my way back down to the lobby and then to the car. I wondered what it would be like to be Saxon’s roommate, to live with him.
I could just imagine—a lot of sex, breakfast in the morning, his hardset face and those electric eyes to wake up to every morning.
I shook my head, knowing I shouldn’t think about that.
By the time I got back into the car, it was almost dark and the city was transformed again the way it did every night as the sun set. The colors all around me were drained to different shades of gray, turning a place that was usually alive with people into something like a ghost town with only patrol cars showing that it wasn’t deserted complete
ly.
The nightlife downtown was a different story, the natural daylight being replaced by artificial neon colors in unnatural shades. But here, and in all the suburban areas, people tucked themselves away for the night, waiting rather for daybreak before poking their noses out of their homes again.
I tried Saxon one more time. One more, I told myself to be sure he wouldn’t answer this time. But no more than that, because no matter what the circumstances, I didn’t want to be overbearing. We were still strangers to each other in many ways, and we may be partners in crime, but I didn’t want to make a nuisance of myself.
The call connected this time but rolled straight over into voicemail. Either it was off, or he was out of range for signal. I was getting frustrated, but there was nothing else I could do about it. I was going to have to deal with the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to reach him.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t reach him that bothered me as much as the idea that maybe he didn’t want to be reached. How many times had I heard stories of women who were worried their men had disappeared, that something godawful had happened to them, and then they’d just been getting the silent treatment all along? I was terrified that it wasn’t that something had happened to him, but that he just wasn’t interested anymore.
Filthy Ride: A Motorcycle Club Romance (Iron Bones MC) (Whiskey Bad Boys Book 3) Page 13
