ROMANCE: The Surprise That Rocked Me

by Linda Wright

  A blush touched her cheeks. “We’d better go now.”

  It did something for me to know that she was just as ready as I was. Despite everything, I was going to have a happy ending with Stormy. Finally.

  As we were leaving a paramedic was wheeling Shooter’s body out and I almost felt bad about not being more respectful. Both Stormy and I had grown up around violence, though. Death wasn’t new.

  I pulled her out of the house and over to her car. My hands were sweaty and I felt all shaky. Telling her I loved her was harder than the decision to quit my job ever was. I knew I was making the right decision, though, when she looked up at me and smiled.

  Captain stepped in front of me and held up his hands. “Fraternizing on the job? That’s not allowed, O’Conner.”

  “I told you I fucking quit.”

  He forced a smile. “I know. If you’ll stop by my desk tomorrow I’ll have a recommendation typed up for you. I’m sorry about what happened.”

  I thanked him and then turned to go.

  “Oh, and O’Conner? Stay out of trouble.”

  I smirked back at him. We both knew I couldn’t make any promises.

  *****

  THE END

  bonus stories #9

  Free Souls

  Come on and set me free

  By: Linda Wright

  Free Souls

  I felt like I needed to join a support group for the day I was having. I would just stand in front of a room full of other people with the world’s worst luck and intJohnuce myself. Hello, my name is Kacey Rhodes and I have worse luck than any of you. There would probably be an argument that followed but I wouldn’t participate because, with said luck, there was no way I could win it anyway.

  I was having a particularly bad day that day. I’d woken up late and then tripped on my way into work. Normal stuff for me. Only, instead of falling onto a solid patch of sidewalk like usual, I’d fallen into a patch of wet cement that a group of angry construction workers were working on. They’d been overjoyed to yell at me about what a mess I had made. As I stood there with hardening cement clinging to my hands and chest I’d looked down to notice a clear imprint of my breasts in the sidewalk.

  After going back home to wash off and change I had managed to lock myself out of my apartment and then it’d started to rain. Not just any rain. A spectacular, out of nowhere, torrential downpour that had soaked my casual business wear in less than five seconds. My heels flooded with water and my feet slid around in them until I had to take them off.

  There I was, drenched and holding my shoes, when I’d glanced up and watched my boyfriend come out of the building next door. It was strange because he lived with me and had no reason to be in the building he was exiting. What was stranger was that he was supposed to be out of town, visiting his sick mother. The thing that put the icing on the strange cake? He was lip locked with a girl that wasn’t me.

  I’d like to say that I reacted with fury or a crazed determination to rip his penis off. I didn’t, though. Instead I just stood there and watched as the girl locked her legs around Paul’s waist and then they disappeared back into her building. The only thought that was going through my head was that I should’ve asked him for his spare key so I could go inside our one bedroom apartment and call in sick for the day.

  I turned and began my trek to work without any sadness over the end of that relationship. Paul was a loser with a tendency to laugh at my ideas when I actually spoke them aloud. Seeing him and his oversized Star Wars poster go wouldn’t be heartbreaking, to say the least. It actually put a small pep in my step, despite the fact that I was having a horrible day. Even the fact that the construction workers had called it quits because of the rain and I could see my breast tracks still on the city sidewalk, quickly filling with water, didn’t bother me quite as much.

  I was just outside of work when the rain stopped. Perfect timing, as always. I glanced up and watched as a guy raced towards me. I tried to step out of his way, thinking he was just in a rush, but he just grabbed the strap of my purse and tried to yank it out of my hands as he raced past. Normally I would never think of fighting back against a mugger. I’m a quiet girl from a suburban home. I never even witnessed a fight until I was a senior in high school and two girls got into a slap fight over a guy named Billy.

  My day had been too awful already to let it keep going on that way. I braced myself and yanked back with all of my force. I wasn’t losing that purse without a fight. It had everything I needed in it, including a flash drive that held my newest ramblings that would hopefully become a popular blog post soon.

  The mugger wasn’t huge but he was bigger than my petite frame. My force was no match for the forward momentum he’d built up. My feet left the ground and I sailed through the air when he kept running after grabbing my purse. I refused to let go, though. I hit the ground hard and dragging my dead weight seemed to finally slow the mugger down. He spun around and yanked hard at the purse.

  “Let go, you crazy bitch!”

  I fought hard to pull the purse back to my chest and glared up at him. “You let go, you piece of crap!”

  He looked incredulous but that didn’t stop him from reaching down and slapping me. My mouth fell open and I blinked back tears from the stinging pain. He’d slapped me. I fought to my feet and pulled even harder for the purse. Mr. Mugger gave up being nice and I watched as he closed his fist and pulled it back.

  I braced for the impact but instead a leather clad hand appeared out of nowhere and caught the guy’s fist before it connected to my face. I peeked up and followed a leather covered forearm up to a leather covered shoulder and finally to an angry face that made something south of my belt heat.

  My hero was sex-on-two-feet sexy and I couldn’t help but blush. His hair was covered by a wet bandana but it looked dark. His eyes, currently menacing, were bright green and surrounded my thick, dark lashes. His mouth was one hundred percent stern, only broken up by a thin white line that cut through his upper lip.

  I had to tip my head back to see all of him and I was not disappointed. He was tall and broad, that much I could tell, but I found myself curious to know if his body was as strong and dangerous as his face.

  My cheeks heated even more because I was being an idiot. I had no business checking out this stranger in the middle of a mugging. I brought my attention back to what was happening and winced for the would-be mugger. My hero still had his hand wrapped around the other guy’s fist and if the look of pain on the guy’s face was any indication my hero was squeezing.

  “Let go of the fucking purse.” His voice was deep and gravely but it felt like velvet soothing over my tense body.

  The mugger let go and finally got his fist free so he could back up. “Next time mind your own business, man!”

  I watched as he ran away and pulled my purse tight to my body. My blog was saved for the moment. I turned to my hero and opened my mouth to thank him, only being faced head on with all of his sex appeal was too much for my tired brain. I felt my mouth flapping around like words were trying to form only no sounds came out.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” His voice was even angrier than when he’d spoken to the mugger. His eyes narrowed into slits and the muscles at the sides of his jaws worked like he was grinding his teeth.

  I squeaked out my first sound since he appeared on the scene but it wasn’t coherent. I snapped my mouth closed and looked at a spot right over his left shoulder in hopes of distracting myself from how hot he was. “Why are you yelling at me?”

  He stepped closer to me and the smell of leather and something spicy filled my space. It wreaked havoc on my sensibility and I had an instant image of grabbing his face and kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

  “I’m yelling at you because you could’ve just gotten yourself killed! You tried to fight a man who was twice your size.”

  I glanced in the direction the mugger had run. “I don’t think he was twice my size. That’s being a little dramatic. I
couldn’t lose my purse. I have important stuff in here.”

  His scoff brought my gaze to his face and I watched as he actually rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you could replace whatever lipstick he would’ve gotten away with. If he’d knocked your lights out and then dragged you into an alley, however, I’m not sure you could replace what he stole from you then.”

  I shivered. I hadn’t thought about that. It hadn’t happened, though, so that’s what I had to focus on. “He didn’t. I’m fine and I still have my purse. Thank you for your help. I have to go now.”

  He reached out and wrapped his big hand around my upper arm to stop me from leaving. “You need to learn to protect yourself if you’re going to try to fight off muggers.”

  I stared up at him in shock and nearly laughed as his face transformed with more shock than I was experiencing. “Look, you did your job. You saved me. You don’t have to feel obligated to help me past that. Clearly that’s not something you’re used to doing, if the shock on your face is any indicator.”

  His mouth turned down and his fingers tightened slightly around my arm. “I can’t let you go without at least trying to help you learn how to protect yourself. It wouldn’t be right.”

  Another shiver moved down my body but it wasn’t a completely unpleasant one. I stared into his bright eyes and felt my body responding to him in ways that it never had for Paul. At the thought of my boyfriend I had a vision of him kissing the leggy blonde.

  I never did anything crazy. I’d graduated high school with a perfect grade point average and I’d finished college a year earlier than all of my friends with a still perfect grade point average. I’d immediately gotten a job in my field and at the ripe old age of twenty-two I was on my way to a boring marriage with a boring man who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. We’d probably have boring children who went to boring schools and ate boring dinner at our boring dining room table every single boring night. Normally that didn’t feel as claustrophobic as it did in the light of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerously Handsome.

  I’d never done anything crazy and I was going to wake up some boring day and realize that I’d never lived. I’d let fear of failing my parents keep me in a clean little box and it was time to make at least one stupid decision.

  I’d let the sexy stranger teach me some self-defense moves and maybe that would be enough to get me through all the lonely nights coming up after I dumped Paul onto his cheating ass. One crazy day and then back to my normal life. Maybe something unexpected would give my luck a revitalization. It couldn’t hurt it.

  With my mind still on the imprint of my breasts drying in cement a few blocks away I met the stranger’s forceful gaze and nodded. “Okay. You can teach me some self-defense moves.”

  His mouth slid into a lazy grin and the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly. His teeth were perfectly white and at such odds with the dark stubble covering the lower half of his face. “You want to change first?”

  I looked down at my once nice outfit and sighed. The pale pink blouse had gone transparent and my lacey bra was as clear as day through the thin material. The pencil skirt I wore was clinging to my body like a second skin. I’d dropped my shoes in the scuffle and I could feel that the bun I’d pulled my hair into was falling down.

  “Changing would be nice but I locked myself out of my apartment this morning.”

  He held out his hand to me. “It’s your lucky day. My name is Ramsey and locked doors have never been a problem for me.”

  I bit my lip and then blew out a big breath. I was thinking maybe I’d bitten off more than I could chew. Maybe my first time being a little crazy shouldn’t be with someone who said things like that. “That’s a little worrisome.”

  His laugh was unexpected and loud, coming from deep down in his gut. “So, what’s your name?”

  It was stupid not to tell him but a part of me felt like telling him made what we were going to do real. If he knew my name then maybe this wasn’t a crazy decision but something more… telling. I couldn’t make sense of what I was thinking, only that I didn’t want to tell him my real name.

  “Not going to tell me?”

  I opened my mouth to lie to him when someone called my real name from behind me. If anything was telling it was the fact that I didn’t recognize my boyfriend’s voice. When I turned and saw him coming I grimaced and turned quickly back to my new friend.

  “So, Ramsey, do you have a car? Think we can get out of here?”

  His eyes were over my head, in the direction of Paul. “No car. Why are you trying to avoid this schmuck, Kasey?”

  I stepped closer to him and grabbed his arm. My brain temporarily scrambled at the solid muscle under leather I felt there. I looked down and my fingers were moving over the solid material in a stroking motion. My cheeks burned when I realized he was also staring at my fingers.

  I shook my head to clear up my thoughts. “S-sorry.”

  Ramsey stepped even closer, the heavy tips of his boots stopping just short of being on top of my bare feet. His eyes were no longer crinkled in a smile when he stared at me. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and I bit my lower lip in response.

  “Jesus, Kasey! Did you not hear me calling you?” Paul grabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him.

  There was such a dramatic difference in the two men I’d been facing that I couldn’t speak for a second. As large and dark as Ramsey was Paul was small and light. What had I ever found attractive in him?

  While Ramsey’s face was all hard lines and sharp eyes Paul was soft. His cheeks were pink from running after me and his eyes were nervous as he looked behind me at the giant of a man who was still hovering at my back.

  “What are you doing? Who is that?”

  A flash of a vision hit me and I remembered the blonde. “Paul, you have to get out of my apartment.”

  He sucked in a big breath and stepped closer to me. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Ramsey stepped closer to my back at the same time and let out a small growl of warning. I glanced up at him and saw him glaring at Paul. “Don’t get too close, pal.”

  Paul grew some nerve and scowled. “Who are you? Are you in trouble, Kasey? Is he threatening you?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head. “Ramsey’s my hero. I was getting mugged and he saved me. That’s not your business anymore, though. I had to come home this morning to wash cement out of my clothes and hair, Paul. What do you think I saw when I was leaving our apartment?”

  His eyes kept dancing up to Ramsey. “I don’t know. What?”

  Ramsey’s deep laugh startled me and I half turned to him. “What’s so funny?”

  “How’d you get cement on your clothes and in your hair? You’ve had a hell of a morning, haven’t you?”

  I grinned before I could help it. His laugh was infectious. “Maybe I’ll show you.”

  “Hello! Are you serious? Are you seriously flirting with this giant right in front of me?! What the fuck is going on here?”

  “I wasn’t flirting.”

  “Don’t raise your voice at her again.”

  I turned back to Paul before Ramsey could see my red face. “What I saw, Paul, was you making out with some tall blonde woman. See, I thought you were home with your sick mother. In Dallas. So, imagine my surprise when I saw your lips very present and so close to our apartment.”

  Paul started a very unflattering stuttering and a redness started at his neck and worked its way up his face. “I… That wasn’t me.”

  Ramsey snorted and I laughed. “Paul, it’s over. Don’t worry, I’m not angry. I just want you to get out of my apartment. You can have the rest of the day to move out. Minus the next half hour. I have to go change.”

  He suddenly found words. “What? I’m not leaving! I love you, Kase. Let me explain about Meghan. She’s not important. I just needed to get that out of my system.”

  “I don’t care. Honestly. I’m not upset.”

  “What the fuck is wrong w
ith you, Kasey?! We’ve been together for almost a whole year. How can you just end it without feeling anything?”

  I shrugged. “I just can, I guess. Leave your key on the kitchen table when you leave.”

  “You’re being a giant bitch!”

  Ramsey cleared his throat and rested both hands on my shoulders. I sucked in a breath at the feeling and looked down to see his large fingers resting dangerously low on my chest. I found myself wishing he’d lower them another couple of inches and touch me. I felt my nipples harden and blew out the same large, shaky breath.

  “Talk to the lady like that again and I’ll break all of your fingers before anyone can get here to help you. Get your shit and get out of her apartment. I’ll be back there tomorrow and if I happen to see so much as one short sleeve button down I’ll find you and I’ll teach you a thing or two about being a bitch.”

  Paul gasped and moved back. He tore his eyes away from Ramsey and looked at me with accusation glowing on his face. “You’re sick!”

  Ramsey stepped closer, his chest brushing my back, and growled once more. That did the job. Paul back away and then turned and took off at a jog towards the apartment.

  I sighed. “He’s going straight to the apartment. I don’t want to face him again right now. I’ll just make due in these clothes, I guess.”

  “I’m sure I can find you something to wear when we get to where we’re going. Come on. Let’s go.”

  I turned to face him and frowned. “I thought you didn’t have a car.”

  A boyish grin touched his mouth. “I don’t. I have something much better.”

  He led the way to a large black motorcycle and climbed on. “You’ll have to wear my helmet.”

  My eyes widened. “No, no. I can’t ride that thing. It’s huge!”

  His eyes brightened. “You’d be surprised what you can do.”

  I caught his wink and nearly fell over. I rested my hand over my heart and shook my head. “No, thank you. That’s not going to work.”