Pain

by Amanda Mackey

  Throwing her purse over her shoulder and flicking her blonde locks, she winked. “Ditto.” Then she was walking out the door, leaving me with nothing to do but pick up the carcasses from Jim’s Meat Works and return to see what kind or trouble Justice had found.

  ***

  It was just on twelve o’clock by the time I’d picked up the haul, delivered it to the waiting animals, and drove to the stables.

  Parking out front, I couldn’t see Justice anywhere, so I got out and walked inside. It was exactly as I’d left it that morning but as I listened, I could hear banging coming from the exterior, so I walked around the back.

  Sure enough, there was Justice in all his male glory, shirt and jacket off, bare torso, sweat glistening in the midday sun, muscles flexing as he stood on a small ladder, hammering a plank of wood in with all the gusto of a raging storm. It was a sight to behold. Even his ass muscles appeared to be clenching with the effort. I couldn’t control my harsh intake of breath as I stood and marveled at the sight before me. He was a work of art. A masterpiece to be studied and appreciated. His skin had taken on some sun and reddened across his broad back.

  “Pass me some nails, would you?” he asked, causing me to startle like a bird.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “Heard the truck pull up.”

  Of course, but I thought I’d been quiet as I rounded the building. He’d never so much as glanced my way.

  Searching for the box of nails, I found them on some loose planks of wood piled a few feet away. I walked over and grabbed the whole box, returning to Justice’s side, then lifted the box up so he could take some.

  Placing one in his mouth, holding it with his lips, he pulled out another one and began hammering it in. The sound ricocheted off the surrounding trees like gunfire.

  “For someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, you sure seem comfortable with it.”

  He turned and peered down at me, a nail still sticking out of his mouth, lips pursed. He went to say something but then realized he couldn’t talk with it sticking out, so he removed it. “I wouldn’t call it comfort, princess but then, I guess you wouldn’t know, would you?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, come on. You might wrestle with tigers and shit, but you can’t tell me you’ve done manual labor such as this.” The hand still holding the hammer pointed at the plank he’d just affixed.

  His self-satisfied arrogance was about to be thrown in his face. Little did he know.

  “Give me the hammer!”

  I held my arm up, waiting.

  His cheeks split sideways into a Cheshire grin. “Oh, sweet thing, this I have to see. Do share.”

  Snatching the hammer from him with the box of nails in tow, I moved across the building to a warped plank at shoulder height. Using the forked end of the hammer, I rammed it underneath the turned up edge of the wood and heaved, easily pulling one end of the plank off.

  Justice had climbed down the ladder and was now standing beside me. I couldn’t look at his face because I knew what I’d see there. Prick.

  “Watch and learn, city boy,” I cockily shot at him as I moved to the other side of the long plank and proceeded to jar it loose. With a clatter, it fell to the ground at the same time the low boom of laughter that powered my insides let loose.

  Stepping over to where I stood, he once again smothered me with his presence. Shirtless. Sweaty. Inked. Eight pack of abs. I was so dead. He kept chuckling. “You think you can teach me a thing or two?”

  Why did he keep doing this to me? Invading my personal space. This was what I’d been trying to explain to Macy. The weakness in my legs and the churning in my gut. The flutters in my chest and the dryness in my mouth. They were signs that I was totally losing it.

  Deciding to grow a pair, even though I was female, I raised my head, stared him down, and squinted through the sun at him. “I can do anything you can do and probably better.”

  That got him going again, only this time when he voiced his humor, a hot breath blew out on part of my head and face due to his height and the fact that he was so close.

  “Is that so? Well now, that sounds like a challenge. What are you suggesting, sweetheart?”

  What was I suggesting? I hadn’t meant it as a literal challenge. I’d wanted to issue a statement, that’s all. Now that he mentioned it though, if I backed out, it would most certainly look like I was a pussycat. I couldn’t have that. I was no wuss.

  And why was I staring again, appreciating how divinely seductive his eyes were? They almost always appeared as if he was insanely aroused, lids half-closed, the thick lashes turning upwards they were so damn long. Seriously? My body was betraying me at the most inopportune time. I was supposed to be figuring out a way to knock him down a peg or two but no, instead I was eye-fucking him. Shaking it off, I had an idea.

  “Lunch first and then you can come back here and do some more work. At about four, we’ll head up to the part of the property that doesn’t have animals on it. It’s steep in parts. The land hasn’t had anything done to it apart from a track we’ve made so we can hike when we feel like it. It runs in a circuit about five miles from start to finish. You and me. A race. How about it, hotshot?”

  His black pools gleamed at my offer, his mouth pressing into a determined line. “And if I win?”

  He wouldn’t, I was certain. I could run the track with my eyes closed. Hmm. What could I offer as incentive? An idea hit me but I wasn’t sure he’d agree.

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. The winner gets the loser to do whatever they want for a whole day. Cook, clean up after, you name it.”

  He beamed and then bit his bottom lip. “Anything?”

  Suddenly realizing what I’d offered, picking up on his innuendo, I corrected him. “Within reason.”

  “I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. Think you can handle being my slave for a day?”

  “You’ll be eating those words this afternoon. Let’s go eat so we can get this challenge started. I have so much I need you to do for me tomorrow.”

  ***

  I could barely contain my excitement when four o’clock rolled around. Justice had returned to the stables around two, and now I was on my way to pick him up for our race. After having him working hard in the sun all day, I was positive he’d be a pushover. The track we were about to run was no easy feat. You had to be careful where you were jogging, as the steep parts fell away to a deep ravine.

  I’d changed into my running shorts and new Nikes which I hadn’t used, as I’d only bought them a week ago. Having told my father what we were doing but not letting on that we were competing, merely mentioning that we were going for a jog, he’d offered a pair of his sneakers to Justice.

  Stopping at the stables, Justice was already leaning on the building out front, taking a long swig from a water bottle.

  He walked over and climbed in, the smell of sweat hitting me. He’d pulled his shirt back on but threw his jacket into the small space behind his seat. “Sorry in advance for all the things I’m going to get you to do tomorrow.”

  “I don’t think so, sport. You haven’t even seen the track yet. Plus, most of your energy has been expended, hammering in those planks all day.”

  Chancing a look over, he narrowed his eyes at me. “Is that all you think I’ve got in the tank? Oh, princess! You underestimate me. I’ve just been warming up.”

  Laughing at his attempt to try and big-note himself, I shook it off, happy in knowing that he had no idea what was coming.

  “You think you can beat me?” he asked.

  “I know I can.” Damn straight. There was no way I was going to be Justice’s slave the next day. Oh no. That was never going to happen.

  I swerved the truck around a tight bend a little faster than I should have, but it was to let him know that I wasn’t just some prissy girl who got upset over breaking a nail.

  He leaned toward me, hanging onto his seatbelt. “Jesus! Will you stop driving
like a maniac?”

  “Sorry, that darn corner always comes up on me before I know it.” I feigned innocence, but I’m sure he could see through me. Inside I was high-fiving.

  Shaking his head while adjusting himself on the seat he scoffed, “You won’t be so cocky tomorrow when I’ll be the one barking orders.”

  “Dream on. And I do not bark orders!”

  “Oh, you bark, all right.”

  “Well, maybe it’s just you.”

  “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Do I stir something feral inside you?” His left hand had come across so he could thumb up and down my neck.

  Pulling away from his touch, I shifted down a gear to take the nearing hill. He couldn’t touch me while I was driving. It was too distracting. I didn’t trust myself. It was bad enough him sitting beside me, throwing off some fierce vibes.

  “The only thing you stir inside me is frustration.”

  “Is that so? Well, I certainly know how to take care of a frustrated female.” His voice was all syrupy, rolling off his tongue in a decadent way that made me melt.

  God, he was enjoying this. “Yeah, I bet you do. Don’t think I’m going to be another one of your bedpost notches. I don’t do the whole casual hookup thing.” At least I never had before this morning’s antics. I wasn’t sure if Justice were to kiss me again, I’d be able to stop him from fucking me. I didn’t know if I’d want to.

  “You couldn’t handle me, anyway.” Dragging a cigarette out of the packet he kept in his jacket pocket, he wound down his window and lit up. I was actually kind of surprised, considering what we were about to do.

  “You have got to be kidding me? You light up a cigarette just when you’re about to run a marathon? Who does that?”

  We were nearly there. Another corner through the trees and I’d park at the start of the trail. We were surrounded by towering pines, and every so often, a large boulder sat firmly wedged into the hilly bank or jutting out of the one that fell away on our other side.

  “Piece of cake, princess. You just worry about yourself. I’ll be fine.”

  His loss. I thought he’d be trying a bit harder to win so he could boss me around for a day, but obviously, he wasn’t taking it as seriously as I was.

  Swinging around a couple of tree trunks and parking, I took a mouthful of water from my bottle and got out, checking that the laces on my shoes were done up tightly.

  Justice squeezed his feet into my dad’s sneakers that looked to be a tad on the small side, took a last puff of his cigarette, and stubbed it out.

  “You better wind the window up. I don’t want some animal climbing into my truck and leaving a mess.”

  He looked at me oddly as if surprised that would actually happen but did as I’d asked.

  “Okay. Like I said, it’s a five mile circuit. Track starts over there,” I said, pointing to a clearing ahead and to our left. “First one back to the truck is the winner. Because you aren’t familiar with the layout, I’ll give you a head start.” He was going to need it.

  His onyx eyes shot to me in question. “You’re giving me a head start? I don’t know whether to be pleased or pissed.”

  “Swallow that pride of yours and just take it, okay? I’m still going to overtake you, so I suggest you get going.”

  “Like fuck you are.” He balked, giving me his angled smile before taking off in a sprint, his back muscles puckering under his tight shirt.

  Five minutes should do it, or maybe I’d make it three for his attitude. Either way, I was going to kick his butt.

  Bending down, I touched the ground to do a stretch and then began jogging on the spot, warming up. Technically I’d never run the track, only fast walked, but I would never let on to Justice. It was time to prove myself.

  Checking my watch, the time was 4:15. Plenty of time to do a lap, wait for Justice, head back to the house to shower and change and then get dinner started. I was counting on my new Nikes to assist my win. I hadn’t paid over a hundred dollars for nothing. Tonight, I’d write a list of all the things I would get him to do for me tomorrow, including my laundry and making breakfast. The idea of him doing anything remotely like cooking in the kitchen had me grinning like a mad woman.

  At precisely eighteen minutes past four I set off at a faster than normal pace, needing to close some of the gap and overtake him before finding my rhythm.

  Without much rain lately, the track was dry and hard, making it a little easier to manage as I eased through the covert of trees, wondering just how far in front of me Justice was. I hoped he had kept to the track and not tried to find a shortcut because I was certain he’d end up getting lost. It was easy to get disoriented when you didn’t know the lay of the land, and the last thing I wanted was to be searching for someone for hours on end.

  My phone was in the truck after I decided it was too annoying to carry on me while running, plus I wouldn’t be answering it anyway and wasting valuable time.

  The path led me on an incline which had my legs aching and only causing momentary lag until I reached the top and everything leveled out. Wildflowers dotted the forest amongst the firs and bracken, filling my senses with their sweet scent. Tree roots scrambling across the track had me jumping over them in order to avoid tripping, adding to the difficulty the circuit provided but still not deterring me. The air was crisp and fresh as I respired fully. In through the nose. Out through the mouth.

  In a few minutes, I was sweating and hurting, wishing I could stop for a rest but knowing that was impossible. Where the hell was Justice? He couldn’t have gotten that far ahead. Could he? Had I underestimated his level of fitness? After all, he did look in great shape.

  Damn. I was not going to lose. Ignoring the muscle spasm in my right leg and the burn in my lungs, I kept on sprinting in order to catch up, twisting and turning with each bend in the path. The hillside fell away, revealing a fairly deep gully pitted with trees and rocks, a small stream running through the heart of it. In another minute or so, the trail would incline its way back down again and wind around toward the small brook, I would have to cross via the smooth protruding rocks.

  I quickly scanned the area near the water for any signs of Justice but failed to see him. I figured I must be getting close now as I’d been powering through the forest like a jackrabbit. There’s no way he’d be doing the speed I was on his first time.

  Running helped snuff out any sexual hormones the guy had me manufacturing by the masses. He must have his own brand of pheromones seeping from his pores because I’d never been affected so quickly by a male. Especially one who lived on the other side of the law. It just didn’t make sense. I didn’t want to like him. In fact, I wanted to hate him, but my head wasn’t ruling my body. It was the other way around, and I didn’t have a clue how to stop it. I think I must like danger.

  My shirt was collecting sweat, and I could have used a bottle of water, but there was no way I could afford to stop and lose ground. I had something to prove to myself and Justice. Perhaps when I beat his ass to the finish line, he’d show me a little more respect—although, I doubted it. Justice was all for himself.

  The track narrowed in places and steadily climbed until it flattened out. My calf muscles burned. The smell of pines filled the crisp air, giving the atmosphere a fresh zing. There was nowhere else I’d rather be living. Cities didn’t do it for me with the smog and traffic. It made me feel closed-in and suffocated. Out on our property, there was freedom and peace. Fresh air and room to move. I wouldn’t swap it for the world.

  As I came up to another sharp turn, I was unaware that a large rock had fallen from the bank to my left onto the track just out of my sight. Rounding the bend, I moved to swerve around it, but my feet caught on some loose ground just shy of the edge that fell to the ravine below.

  Before I could react, my feet had been swiped from under me, my body tumbling over the edge.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Justice

  Pain. My drug of choice. Right now, I was so high on it I
had become it and it, me. We were one. Indescribable agony. Sweet torture. Salvation. My blood was on fire, burning a path of igneous magma through my arteries.

  Each lunge forward ignited the burn further, propelling me into a blissful state of separation from my grimy soul. A welcome reprieve from the hate that consumed me.

  Breathing was a glorious struggle. Something tangible I could grab onto and focus on.

  I’d been running for an impossible length of time, barely slowing since I’d left Lil in my wake.

  How far behind was she? With the way she’d been hyping her ability to beat me, I was surprised I hadn’t been overtaken yet. The only sound around was the occasional swishing of trees when the breeze picked up and several intermittent bird calls.

  Was she even attempting to race, or had it all been a ruse? Maybe she’d never planned on running herself and was going to be waiting at the finish line so she could gloat about the fact that she’d tricked me into damn near killing myself.

  After a few minutes, I began to hear what sounded like water. Running water. Yes. I was so dry my tongue had stuck to the roof of my mouth two miles back.

  The track came to an abrupt halt as it was cut away by the narrow stream. Three large flat boulders acting as stepping stones dammed the water, causing it to churn like rapids. I knelt at the edge and cupped my hand, taking a swig of the crystal clear liquid, the coolness of it helping to quench my thirst and soothe the flames in my muscles. One wasn’t enough. Two. Three. Four. My body was craving it. Ignoring its temperature, I bent right down and ducked my hair into it, flinging it back and out of my face before checking behind me for any sign of Lil and then jumping across the rocks to the other side, ready to finish this marathon.

  The short pause and rehydration had given me a little more fuel in the tank, so I pushed on, enjoying the breeze that chilled my wet scalp. I could do this. I could taste victory. There couldn’t be too much farther to go.