by Teagan Kade
Slowly, I get onto my knees on the floor and take hold of his cock.
He watches me, making soft cooing noises as I guide the head of it between my lips.
“Uh,” he groans. “That’s so fucking good.”
I no longer want to be a small-town girl when it comes to sex. I want to prove to him I can be just as wild as anything city girls have to offer.
I lathe the underside of his dick with my tongue, press it up against his glans until he moans freely, his fingers caught in my hair. I flick my eyes up and see that wicked grin on his face, that constant hunger.
“That’s my girl,” he says, eyes closing and his head falling back with pleasure.
His fingers press into the side of my head. He thrusts deep into my mouth, desperate and wild.
He rocks my head back and forth on his length, my jaw spanning wide as he fucks my mouth.
It’s dirty, so very, very naughty, but it’s turning me on, too. The more I work him, the more I discover of myself, this hidden Haley kept locked away for so long.
He hammers against me harder and I take all of him, the head of his cock slipping into the tight vice of my throat.
Within seconds he tenses again. He pulls my head over him until his entire length is inside.
“I’m coming,” he pants, going to pull out, but I hold him in place and wait.
I feel him flex and wait for the deluge. He comes hard, shaft pulsing against the flat of my tongue. I swallow fast, struggling to keep up.
His entire body shakes and bucks, a long moan following that tells me this was the absolute last thing he was expecting.
He draws himself slowly from my mouth.
I lick my lips and laugh. “Wow.”
He slumps onto the couch, his cock finally starting to wilt. “You can say that again. I didn’t expect… I mean…”
“There’s more to me than you think,” I offer. “I’m nice, but I can be naughty when the situation calls for it.
“Clearly,” he laughs, head hung over the back of the couch, continuing to pant and breathe heavy. “But how are you going to follow that up? If I come any harder my cock’s going to blast right off my body.”
I stand up before him, hands on my hips, the space between my legs continuing to tingle. I nod down at his crotch. “I think you mean my cock.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DANE
The shower streams over the both of us, steam clouding around the space. Haley’s got her hands wrapped around my waist, her soft breasts brushing my skin where the water falls.
“What’s it like to fly?” she asks.
Pretty damn close to this. “Fucking amazing,” I reply, “excuse the language.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know. I kind of like it when you talk dirty.”
“Well, that’s one thing they teach you in the Air Force. You’ve never been on a plane?”
She shakes her head. “Can’t say I have.”
“You’re in for a treat then.”
“And you’ll take me up, in a fancy jet?”
“You have my word. I’ll get you flying high if it’s the last thing I do.”
“You already have.”
Her gaze falls to my arm. “What do all the tattoos mean? Is it an Air Force thing?”
I shake my head. “As stupid as it sounds, they don’t mean anything.” I point to the ink on my arm. “This one? I was drunk in Cancun, found the first tattoo parlor I could and simply told the girl there ‘Go nuts.’ I guess she was really into Japanese tattoos.”
“It looks like a fish.”
“A koi fish, actually. Basically carp that climb waterfalls with strong currents. It’s meant to be a symbol of overcoming adversity, which I suppose is fitting enough given the shit I’ve dealt with.”
Her eyes shift to the same design on my chest. “It looks… painful.”
“Apparently I was there all night, drunk enough not to feel it until the following morning, and boy did I feel it.”
“And you don’t mind, having them now?”
“Do you?” I ask.
“Guys around here get tattoos, but they’re usually skulls or the American flag. Captain America is actually pretty popular, believe it or not.”
I run my hands down her back until I hit her ass. “Am I going to find any hidden tattoos on you if I look hard enough?”
She laughs, hair now the color of caramel stuck to her cheek. “I don’t like needles.”
“Who does?”
“Will you get one for me?”
“A tattoo?” I laugh back, standing away from her and puffing my chest out. “How about ‘Haley’ in bold copperplate right here across my pecs?”
She shrugs, a hand falling to squeeze my right ass cheek. “Actually, I was thinking my name would look better on this tight butt of yours.”
“You can have my butt if you like.”
I squeeze it again. “Looks like it’s already mine, buster.”
I shift my head through the curtain of water, let it stream down my face.
Haley’s hands slide up onto my chest, her head flat against it. “Like you said, it’s been a long time since I enjoyed myself as much as I have today.”
“It’s not over yet,” I muse.
“I’m serious, Dane. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” And it’s true in more ways than one. God, the way she was deep-throating me before blew my mind—and something else. Who knew she had that in her?
“And you were great with Andy. I think he’s becoming really attached to you.”
As much as I ignore them, alarm bells start ring in my head at the word ‘attached.’ I think the reverse is true, and it’s scaring the fuck out of me. I don’t verbalize these feelings. “Sure,” I reply. “I like seeing you guys smile.”
“It’s rough sometimes, this town,” she tells me, no doubt aware of the way my cock’s growing against her leg. “But like I said before, it’s not so bad under different circumstances. It’s not a bad place to live.”
I laugh it off. “Right. I can just picture myself settling down here, swapping a jet for a tractor, shoes for snow boots, becoming a real family man.”
She looks offended, pushing away from me. “What’s wrong with that?”
I run my hands over my head, shaking off the water. “Baby, you don’t know me well enough. I’m the wrong man for all of that. I’m not… built to be in a place like this.”
She doesn’t reply, struggling not to let her disappointment show.
I bring my hands up to her shoulders. “Come on. Don’t be like that. I’m not cut out for commitment, monogamy—none of that blue-collar bullshit.”
Which only makes it worse. She pulls away and steps out of the shower, grabbing a towel from the rack.
I shut the water off and step out as well, reaching for my own towel, wrapping it around my waist. “What do you want me to say? I’m being honest here, and you’re what? Pissed at me?”
“I know what you’re saying, Dane. I get it. I’m not stupid.”
I lean against the vanity, the steam from the shower starting to dissipate. “I never said you were.”
But she’s on a roll, unable to stop talking. “I know you’re just… passing through, so to speak. I’m not some little girl that has to babied. I understand how the world works.”
“I know.”
“No, Dane. Everyone thinks I am, thinks I’m just one mistake after another, but it’s not true. You’re passing through and this, what we’re doing here, doesn’t really mean anything to you, does it? I don’t mean anything to you? Tell me, honestly.”
So she wants honesty. I can give her that, but she’s sure as hell not going to like it. It’s clear I’ve opened a box of worms here. Trying to close it’s going to do more harm than good, but she does need to know where I stand. “You’re definitely not a little girl. No, you’re all woman, Haley Walker,” I say, using my hands to outline her figure, “but I am who I am, and I won’t apologize
for that.”
It’s meant to placate her, but her features tighten in a way that’s telling me I’m way up shit creek here and the paddle’s back at the ol’ bayou. “I don’t expect you to apologize,” she spits at me, moving over to the dresser and randomly pulling out clothes.
I haven’t seen her this frustrated. How the hell has this all gone so wrong? Fifteen minutes ago we were soaring. And now? Diving fast for the ground.
Haley throws her towel off and dresses, pulling on pants and a mismatched shirt. It’s back to front, but I’m not about to point that out.
“Haley?” I plead.
“She grabs a coat off the back of the door. “I need to get more baby food.”
I bought an entire pantry-full of the stuff just the other day, but again, I’m not sure pointing this out is going to win me any favors. “Okay,” I respond. “Do you need me to do anything while you’re gone?”
“Andy will keep sleeping for a few more hours. He won’t annoy you.”
Annoy me?
She leaves, closing the bedroom door harder than she should. I follow her footsteps down the stairs, hear the front door unlatch and close again. I watch her from the window pulling her coat tight around herself against the incoming cold.
What the fuck have you done?
Me? I rally back. Why’s it suddenly my fault?
I punch down into the mattress. “Fuck!”
What she said about Andy not annoying me, that I should be bothered by him, stings more than it should.
Emotions rise and fall—hurt, anger, regret—I can’t seem to pinpoint one to stick to as I pace around the room. It only makes me more pissed. She shouldn’t be making me feel like this. This is why I stay away from any kind of relationship that lasts longer than a night. I can’t deal with this crap.
Haley’s sweet, but at the end of the day she is just a girl like any other, I tell myself.
You know that’s not true, the better half of me rallies.
I put my hands on my head, the room suddenly bearing down on me with its lace and homemade quilt, the flowery fucking wallpaper and doll collection.
Drumming starts up in my ears, my temples beating in time.
I’ve got to get out of this town, I think. Get out before it swallows me up completely.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HALEY
My mind’s churning on the way back from the store. I wasn’t even paying attention to what kind of baby food I was buying, simply depositing it onto the counter while I tried to make sense of the conversation Dane and I had earlier.
And just when I thought we were making progress…
Maybe I’m being foolish. What did I expect? That this built, bad boy from the sky would fall into my lap and suddenly change completely overnight?
You know people don’t change. It’s something people say, to excuse themselves, to fall back on when things don’t work out.
I promised myself I’d never be a fool again, to see people for what they are.
And here we are?
It’s clear. He’s going to leave.
And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
My cell starts to ring. I take it out. “Haley speaking.”
“Hi, Haley. It’s Jerry here.”
I stop walking. “Sherriff Fallon?”
“The one and only.”
“Have I done something wrong?” I ask, but truthfully I have a pretty good idea why he’s calling.
“How’s your job at the motel going?”
“Fine,” I reply, wishing he’d get on with it.
“Good, good,” he mutters, no doubt trying to think of more small talk to delay the inevitable.
My nerves are getting the better of me. “Just hit me with it,” I say, sharper than I intend to.
He seems taken aback at first. Everyone knows Haley Walker doesn’t snap. She never talks out of place or has a bad word to say to anyone, but that Haley is gone.
“Well, okay then,” he says. “There’s no good way to say it, so I’m simply going to spit it out. I’ll be handling your foreclosure on the twenty-second. Do you… have some place lined up to go?”
Now I snap, the weight of everything too great to carry. I turn on the spot, throwing my free arm up. “Do we have somewhere to go?” I correct. “No, we don’t. The Ritz is booked out, sorry.”
“Now, there’s no need for—”
“My attitude,” I cut him off. “You know what, Jerry,” I huff, “I’m sick of everyone in this stupid town with their unblinking little eyes and judgement. I’m sick of being stepped on and put down. I won’t stand for it any longer.”
“That’s all well and good, but the fact remains—”
“Does it give you pleasure, doing the bank’s dirty work, taking a home from a mother and her child? Tell me. Tell me!” I shout.
“I… ah…” Poor Jerry doesn’t know what to say, clearly on the back foot.
But I’m not done. “Yes, I had a baby out of wedlock. No, I’m not sorry about it. Why should I be punished, day after day after day, for that? Please, enlighten me.”
I swallow hard and tap my foot against the sidewalk, my head beating and my breathing quick.
“I, I’m not sure what you want me to say here, Haley.”
“I can’t exactly leave town until the ice clears, can I? And it’s not like there’s anywhere in this god-forsaken town I can stay except for the motel, but, oh, wait, I can’t even afford that, can I?”
“Like I said, I’m real sorry. Good day to you.”
He hangs up just as I’m about to start on another tirade.
I throw my cell down into the snow. “Asshole.”
Feel better now?
I don’t. If anything, I feel stupid and lost. That may have been the one person who was in a position to help me out, and what did I do? I went full Exorcist on him. I’ve taken my frustration with Dane out on the first person to cross my path.
“Asshole,” I mutter again to myself, smiling at the sound of it.
I doubt it’s going to be the last time I pull it out today.
I pick up my cell from the snow and start to walk.
*
Dane’s stoking the fire when I get back, a pot of coffee waiting.
He stands, brushing himself off and reaching for the grocery bag, but I push past him to the kitchen, dumping it down.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he offers.
I start unpacking, facing away from him. “I don’t need your help or anyone else’s for that matter, thanks.”
“What’s with the—”
“Attitude?” I bark.
I hear Andy start to cry upstairs.
“I’ll get him,” says Dane.
I spin around fast, blocking his path. “I’ll do it. I wouldn’t want to bother you with such trivialities.”
Dane throws his arms out. “Hey, I’m here right now, aren’t I? Let me help while I can.”
I shake my head, crossing my arms and facing him. “‘While you can’? That says it all.”
I break down—the call from the Sherriff, trying to act like this is fine… everything’s pressing down. I’m being buried alive below it.
I sense Dane wants to comfort me, but he holds off, heading upstairs to get Andy.
I take a seat at the dining table and take a tissue from the box, dabbing at my eyes with it and wondering why I’m so damn weak. Was it my upbringing? Was it my schooling, my friends? They’ve all gone, quick to move to greener pastures with proper jobs and real families.
When I see Dane emerge from the stairwell with Andy against his shoulder, my heart breaks even more.
Andy deserves a father.
The wall phone rings. “I’ll get it,” says Dane, reaching for it with his free hand, lightly bouncing Andy up down with the other.
“Walker residence,” he answers.
I only catch part of the conversation.
“I understand.”
“Sure.”
/>
“That’s good to know.”
“I don’t follow, sorry.”
“Right. Thanks for the call.”
“Yeah, go ahead and book me a room.”
“Yes, same details.”
“Yes.”
“You too.”
He hangs up, looking towards me—my son and the stranger holding him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DANE
It’s the motel manager on the other end of the line. “Oh, Mr. Carr. I’m glad I got you. The phone lines have been down and… Well, you know.”
“I understand,” I reply, conscious of Haley sitting at the dining table.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure.”
“I just wanted to call and let you know the power is back on at the motel.”
“That’s good to know.”
“I thought it best I inform you in case you’d like to make… other arrangements.”
“That is, unless you’d like to stay with Ms. Walker?”
What’s he getting at here? I hate the way these folk talk in riddles, always fishing and hunting for information. “I don’t follow, sorry.”
“Well,” he pauses. I picture him licking his lips for the no doubt juicy morsel he’s about to send my way. “Word does travel in these parts.”
I don’t reply, don’t give him the satisfaction.
“I didn’t mean to offend—”
“Right. Thanks for the call.” I’m about to hang up when he continues, talking faster now he realizes money might be lost.
“I’m happy to offer you a significant discount on a room, for your troubles. Shall I reserve one for you? It’s going to be quite busy given—”
“Yeah, go ahead and book me a room.”
“Same details?”
“Yes, same details.”
“Wonderful. You have a pleasant day Mr. Carr.”
“You too.”
I hang up and notice Haley watching me.
Andy’s down to sniffles, my shirt wet at the shoulder where he’s been crying against it.
It’s then, at that precise juncture in time, I realize how attached I’ve become—to Haley, to her son.
I hand Andy over. He curls up into his mother’s arms, his thumb disappearing into his mouth. I slide my hands into my pockets. “Looks like the power’s back on at the motel. Guess I’ll finally be out of your hair.”
