by Amber Stuart
“Okay, well, call me when you get home okay?” Kelley says.
“Sure, I’m heading there shortly. A hot bath is calling my name.”
“Good,” Kelley says. “I’ll talk to you then.”
She leaves the office and I hear the lock of the front door as they leave. I start working the deposit but have to stop to let John out once he’s finished. Then I’m alone. The empty ache in my core throbs along with the silence.
CHAPTER TWO
The tumblers of the store’s lock turn over and click loudly in the quiet night. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing up and a tingling itch travels down my spine. I glance around again but nothing seems out of the ordinary. The parking lot is empty except for my Kia parked under a light on the far side. The main road out front is empty as it usually is this time of night.
“Calm down,” I mutter walking towards my car.
I know it’s just my nerves. It’s not like anything ever happens in this town. We’re a quiet, out of the way place. I know this, rationally, but the hair on my arms and the feeling that I’m being watched just won’t quit.
The parking lot is lined with lights every thirty feet and I always park underneath one of them just as a precaution. My tennis shoes squeak as I walk across the asphalt. There’s a line of trees behind the parking lot and a breeze blows through rattling the leaves. I’ve got the bank deposit bag tucked up against my chest hiding it behind a pile of paperwork I decided to take home. I keep looking over my shoulder and every time there’s nothing there but the empty parking lot. Soon as I do though I’m looking again. I just can’t shake this feeling…
A shadow moves by the building just as I glance back. A cold chill runs down my spine and I shudder. I freeze in place staring at where I saw the movement. My stomach tightens, bile rises in my throat, and then I break free of the fear and run. One hand fumbles with my keys trying to get a hold on the fob. They slip and it almost gets out of my hand before I’m able to close my grip. Luckily it doesn’t, at least I’m not a complete horror movie cliche. The parking lights of the car flash and there’s a loud click and beep as it unlocks. I grab the handle and toss the stuff I’m carrying at the passenger seat. I throw myself into the driver’s side and somehow manage to only graze my head.
I slam the door shut and force my hand down on the auto-lock button before I can bring myself to actually look out the window and see… nothing. The parking lot is still empty. No one and nothing out there. It looks glorious in its emptiness. It was all just my imagination going overtime. I lean back in the seat and let my heart beat slowly return to normal. I put the keys in the ignition and start the car.
“AHHH!” I scream as the radio blares to life, startling me.
I slap the power button on the radio killing the invading noise. Now to wait for my heart to get out of my throat. I close my eyes and count to ten while gripping the steering wheel tight. Opening them up I look around one more time and see the parking lot is still empty. Good, everything is just as it should be so I put the car in reverse and turn to look over my shoulder as I back out. My nerves are still wound tight and I feel jumpy. Even here in my car it feels like someone is watching me.
I drive out of the parking lot and head for the night deposit at the bank. My skin keeps crawling and I’m looking all around constantly. I can’t shake this feeling that I’m being watched. How can I be watched when I’m driving down the road at forty miles an hour? Impossible! I keep telling myself I’m not but that feeling is not going away.
All the stores are closed and the road is thankfully empty. I jerk the wheel to bring the car back into my lane after crossing the line because I’m spending more time looking over my shoulder than looking forward. I’ve got to stop this. I’ve also got to shake this feeling. The bank bag in the seat next to me catches my eye and holds my attention. There’s not a lot of money in there but I’ve heard of stores being robbed for less. A pair of headlights flash in my rear view mirror and I jerk my head around to see who’s behind me. My heart pounds in my chest hard enough that I can hear it. My hands are shaking and I’m feeling dizzy from the short breaths.
Out of the corner of my eye I see the sign for the bank. I don’t bother signaling when I turn the wheel sharp into the bank lot. The tires scream in protest as I skid around the corner. Instinctively I whip the wheel back to the left knowing that the drive to the night deposit goes that way but I’m still looking over my shoulder at the car lights. Then the turn signal on that car comes on and they turn off at the previous block. I let out a long sigh as I turn back around and see someone is right in front of my car!
I try to stomp on the brakes but my foot doesn’t move and I hit the gas instead and the car leaps forward. I slam into the figure and I’m thrown forward. The air bag deploys just before I hit the steering wheel and throws me back against the seat. My neck and the side of my face burns where the bag hit. The car is spinning around and then slows at last coming to a stop.
CHAPTER THREE
Oh my god! Did I… was that… no, it can’t… oh my god.
My thoughts are fragmented. I can’t focus through the pounding pain and confusion. What just happened?
“Are you all right?” a deep bass voice asks.
“Huh?”
“Are you all right?” the voice asks again.
I look for its source turning my head slowly. As soon as I move though, my head explodes and stars dance in my vision. Heh, I always dreamed of traveling the stars, now they’re all around me. I close my eyes then open them slowly. The pain eases, clearing my vision, and then I see him.
He’s stunning. I’ve never seen a man who could be more perfectly crafted. He has high cheekbones rising from a perfectly square jaw which is shaved clean. His amazingly blue eyes stare in through the car window and I feel like they’re looking into my soul. I could jump into those deep pools and lose myself for hours. His lips are full and utterly kissable and then I reach his hair which has soft curls and waves sweeping back from his forehead. It’s a rich brown color and offsets the blue of his eyes perfectly. I’ve never seen a more enticingly sexy man in my life.
“I’m…” I start to say but stop. What am I? I look around and my heart sinks. I hit someone! “Oh my god! I think I hit someone!”
“Yeah, you did,” he says with a smile.
Why is he smiling! I hit someone. Oh my god I’m going to go to jail. I fumble for the door handle finding it at last and throw the door open. I leap out to find the person I hit but then I’m thrown back into the seat. The damn seat belt! Grabbing the release button I press and nothing happens. I shake it but still nothing.
“Damn it,” I curse the thing. “I think it’s stuck. Are they all right? Who did I hit? Oh my god let go you stupid thing!”
“Here, let me help,” he says reaching across me.
I’m acutely aware of the size of his arms, which are enormous, and the fact that they brush against my breasts as he reaches across me. My nipples harden instantly and press uncomfortably against the fabric of my bra. He smells musky mixed with some other entirely too manly scent that I can’t put my finger on. It’s distracting and fills my head with thoughts that are completely inappropriate to the situation no matter how enticing. He grabs the seatbelt fastener and shakes it. I hear it being depressed but it’s still not releasing.
“Hmm,” he says.
The muscles of his arm, still pressed close against my chest, flex then he jerks. The seat belt breaks free with that simple motion. He pulls back releasing the belt and my breasts ache for the warmth and closeness of him. Focus! Someone is hurt out there and I did it. I climb out of the car . As soon as I stand up my head spins and I stumble back against the car. He grabs my shoulders and steadies me on my feet. I give him a half smile then nod as my head clears.
“I’m okay,” I say.
“You sure? That was a pretty nasty accident.”
“Yeah, uhm, who did I hit? Where are the
y?” I push off the car and look around but there’s no one besides him.
I trail my hand along the car keeping it close in case I get dizzy again and walk around to the front. The grill of the car is demolished. There’s a clear indent where whatever I hit pushed into the metal and left the front in a U shape. Steam hisses out of the car and I’m certain I won’t be driving it home tonight. Great, just what I needed.
“Be careful that steam will be hot,” he says right behind me.
I turn around to face him and then I realize how big he is. This man is huge with shoulders so broad they look like I could lay down on them. He makes me feel small standing in front of him and I’m not a petite girl. He smiles and raises a hand that must be about the size of my head and gives a little half wave.
“Uh, uh, yeah,” I stutter as the conflicting messages of throbbing need, pain, and confusion collide in my brain.
“Hi,” I say feeling numb. “Uhm, I did hit something right? Someone?”
“Yeah,” he says and chuckles. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry?” I look around trying to figure out what I hit to cause so much damage to my car.
“Yeah, that was my fault,” he says.
“I don’t understand… how could it be your fault?”
“Well,” he smiles and shrugs. “It was me. I wasn’t aware of the customs on your vehicles. I apologize.”
“You weren’t… you? I hit you?”
I look from him to my car then back to him.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“Uh, no,” he says and frowns, which furrows his brow in the most attractive, sexy, man in deep thought look I’ve seen outside a magazine.
“But, it has to be! I hit something! Look at my car, whatever I hit can’t just be… standing… it can’t be, well… you,” I finish lamely.
My head is pounding again and the dizziness is back. Everything starts spinning around then I’m falling backwards. Dimly I expect to hit the car or the ground and somewhere in my messed up state I brace for the impact but it never comes. I feel light as a feather. I force my eyes open and I’m staring into his deep blue pools that are only inches away. His incredibly strong, muscular arms have caught me before I could hit and he’s holding my curvy body effortlessly. The scent of him is intoxicating at this range. I’m overwhelmed by it. I grab his neck and close the small distance between us and our lips lock together.
He doesn’t return the kiss at first. His lips are tight and his whole body stiffens and just as absurdity and embarrassment start to overcome me he returns the kiss. Electric shocks fly out through my body as our lips work together. My headache is pushed away, my fear, my concerns all wash away in the flood of endorphins that release as we kiss. His tongue is tracing my lips and I open my mouth inviting him in. This is crazy. The craziest thing I’ve ever done but it feels so completely right. Blackness edges my vision as I finally pull back and breath deep.
“Thanks,” I exhale.
“Are you… all right?” he asks.
“I think so,” I say. “Are you? Did I really hit you?”
“I’ll be fine, I could use a couple of hours to rest. Let my body recuperate. Do you have a place close to here?”
What are you doing!
Rationality screams in my head but biology and pure physical lust tells rationality to go to hell.
“Yes,” I say. “Not far. It’s the least I can do right? I did just hit you.”
He laughs.
CHAPTER FOUR
My house is a modest one bedroom. Thankfully I’m a neat freak so it’s clean. If I lived with Kelley there’d likely be underwear and other dirty clothes mixed with unwashed dishes spread across every open surface. I open the door then step aside to let him in. During our walk here I noticed he was favoring his left leg. Makes sense since I hit him with my car but nothing else really makes any sense. If I hit him how is he walking around? He should be in a hospital, or dead, or I don’t know but not walking. If I didn’t hit him then what did I hit and how can my car have sustained so much damage?
All the way to my house he kept looking at me sideways. I constantly caught him looking out of the corner of my eye with a thoughtful expression on his face. I notice because I can’t stop looking at him either. He’s amazingly sexy. Mind-blowing is the only word that comes to mind. His broad shoulders and chest, the bulge of his biceps, and the tight pants he’s wearing which leave nothing to the imagination about how big a package he has, well yeah. I can’t stop looking.
His face is like a model. Perfectly chiseled lines form an overly manly, perfectly square chin. His hair flows back from his forehead in a glorious mane that every fiber of me wants to run my hands through. The pure size of him makes me feel small and I like it. No guy I’ve ever dated has been this big or muscular. He has to be pushing seven feet tall. He ducks to go through doorways.
A half smile forms on his face as he looks around the room. Then I realize I’ve been standing here cataloging all his assets without saying a word. Damn I’m a fool! I push past him and head for the kitchen.
“Uhm, are you hurt?” I ask.
“I’m healing fine, thank you,” he says.
Healing fine? Who the hell says something like that?
“Okay, can I get you anything? I need an aspirin myself, would you like one?”
“What’s an aspirin?” he asks.
I stop digging through my medicine cabinet. What’s an aspirin? Seriously who is this guy? He has to be joking surely. Yeah, that’s it. He’s making light of his pain. I get it.
“Yeah, I know right,” I laugh. “Well obviously you’re tougher than I am. My head is pounding and I’m not the one I hit with the car.”
I find the bottle I was looking for and turn around while trying to open it. The cap resists me, damn childproof lids! I’m struggling with it when suddenly he’s there. Inches away turning all my thoughts into incoherent mush. He’s so close, he smells so amazing, such massive, big muscles and I’m for the first time in my life the tiny woman. The damsel in distress. It doesn’t matter that my distress is an inability to open a bottle of aspirin, he’s still coming in as my knight in shining armor.
His massive, strong hand reaches over to take the bottle. As he does his fingers graze my skin. Electric thrills explode from that point of contact racing up my arm. My heart rate goes through the roof and I’m breathing in short gasps. I’ve never felt so much sensation from a single touch. I look up into his deep blue eyes that are filled with kindness. He seems familiar. Something tugs at the edge of my memory but if I knew this man before I would definitely remember him. How could I ever forget such a stunningly beautiful face? He stares into my eyes and it’s like he remembers me too. I feel like we’ve always known each other. There’s a connection between the two of us that I’m certain is more than just biology telling me this is the winning man to mate with.
“I know you…” I don’t plan the words, they just slip out.
Surprise blossoms in his beautiful eyes then spreads out across his face. His half smile disappears and is replaced by a frown. His perfect, full lips move like he wants to speak but he can’t find the right words. What am I saying? I don’t know him, I’m sure of it, but somehow I do. He’s so familiar. There’s a spark about him, an attraction, and something just a bit more than I can put my finger on.
I’ve never been an impulsive person but tonight is a night of firsts. I don’t wait for the words to come from him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down until our lips meet. The world shifts around me as we make contact. Chills run up and down my spine and my core tightens then explodes like a spring wound too tight. Desire rushes out and fills every part of me. Desire so deep, so primal, that it’s more need than want. I don’t think I can survive if this man doesn’t take me right now.
It’s crazy. I shouldn’t be doing this. I don’t know this man but some part of me says I do. Some part of me says this is the one
that will fill that lonely, empty ache inside my soul. This man is the one I’m supposed to be with. Fate, purpose, the universe, I don’t know and I don’t care. The ache in my soul calls to him and his lips respond.
Our mouths move together. Soft and surprisingly gentle in his kisses, his massive arms close around me so that his hands rest on my waist. I love the feel of him holding me. The way it makes me feel small, enclosed, and protected. I close my eyes and lose myself in his kiss. In his arms and by his lips I’m transported to some place more than purely physical. It’s almost like a mini-orgasm just from kissing. His tongue darts out and passes my lips. My own tongue rises to meet his and they dance together. One of his hands lowers and grips my ass and then he pulls me tight against him. Our bodies conform together as I’m pressed into him and somehow I feel even closer to being complete. This is where I belong, this is how it’s supposed to be, how a woman is supposed to feel.
Our lips part, his forehead rests against mine, we’re both panting. My heart is pounding, desire burns hot, and I want him to take me here in my kitchen. Right now, I can’t wait, I need this. I need him to fill this void inside me. His eyes are closed and I study the lines of his face. That sense of familiar still pulls at me like a name on the tip of my tongue.
“This is wrong,” he says softly.
“I don’t care,” I tell him.
I don’t. I don’t care about right or wrong in any bigger sense than I know this is right. I know we’re supposed to be together. How, by who, by what, I have no clue but I know I’m right.
“You can’t be her,” he says.
“I’m not her, I’m me. You want me,” I say pressing against him harder.
His massive erection is straining against the fabric of his pants and presses hard into my abdomen. My finger tips trace the lines of his face and tingle as they pass over his skin. Even his skin is perfect. His face is smoother than any man’s face I’ve ever touched, like he has the perfect razor leaving not a hint of stubble behind. No day’s growth or hint of a beard.
