James stalked him across the room until Dicky Bob was up against the back door. The other deputy grabbed his cup of coffee and said, “It’s time for my coffee break,” and split.
Dicky Bob looked ready to piss his pants, right as Hank and Sheriff Harmon entered the room and Hank hurried over to him, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! None of that’s necessary, James. Sheriff Harmon has something he wants to say to Leah.”
The sheriff produced the keys to the cell and unlocked the door. “Mizz Woodworth, on behalf of the town of Tuspita, I’d like to offer my most sincerest condolences to you for the unfortunate misunderstanding of earlier today. Your sheriff has very kindly shared the surveillance video he uncovered as part of his investigation, which fills in the missing blanks from that unfortunate lapse on the convenience store camera. We’re releasing you and you’re free to go and we wish you a speedy and uneventful trip home.”
“What about my car in your impound lot back there?” Leah said, gesturing to the back door as she stepped out of the cell.
“You’re free to take it, no charge.”
“How very generous.”
“No charges have been filed officially and any that might’ve been have been dropped. Georgina Harmon will be picked up and cited for not having insurance—”
James wasn’t surprised. “Georgina Harmon?”
“Yeah,” Leah said. “Turns out Dicky Bob’s ex-stepmother was the other driver, who offered to get out of the ticket by giving Dicky Bob a blow job.” She turned to look at good old Dicky Bob right as he reached for the knob to the back door.
“Not so fast, Dicky Bob,” Sheriff Harmon called out and beckoned for Dicky Bob to present himself front and center. “We ain’t near done. I ain’t surprised Georgina would stoop to suckin’ your dick. She sucked half the cocks in this county before I finally dee-vorced her. And you and I both know that you offer the option of a blow job to anyone you pull over who might be willin’. You owe Mizz Woodworth a sincere apology for acting in an intimidating fashion toward her, for insinuating that she should complicitly allow insurance fraud, for roughing her up unnecessarily, and for generally acting in a fashion unbecomin’ a sworn law officer.”
James stood over Dicky Bob, who couldn’t be much over five feet one inch, and listened as he stuttered out his apology to Leah. He looked like he wanted to make more excuses but his father cut him off again.
“It seems pretty clear that the sheriff of Divine County, these two Divine city police officers, and Mizz Woodworth have been mightily inconvenienced by your arrogance, your stupidity, and your inability to control that pencil dick of yours. You’re fired.”
“But, Daddy!”
“Don’t daddy me. Turn in your badge and your weapon before you leave. I also want you moved out of my house by this weekend. Sissy?”
“Yeah, Daddy?” the young woman said from behind her respirator.
“You’re fired, too, honey. You gonna need to get your job back at the Piggly Wiggly.”
“Aw, Daddy!” She stomped off sobbing into her respirator.
Sheriff Harmon turned to Hank and said, “We did genuinely try to get Miss Woodworth to shower with the carbolic soap and tomater juice back behind the station but she wouldn’t hear nothin’ of it. I’m sorry for that. I hope we can let bygones be bygones.” He put his hand out to shake and Hank held up the DVD.
“If she so chooses, Miss Woodworth’s lawyer may be in touch with your department, and I’d count on hearing from her insurance company when they investigate your son’s part in covering up Georgina Harmon’s lapse of insurance. I’ll expect your help in sorting that out. I will personally take a dim view to any visit by Dicky Bob or any member of your force to Miss Woodworth in Divine.”
“No worries there, Sheriff. We’ll comply with all requests.” The man was literally sweating bullets by this point.
“You’ll be hearing from me. Soon.” Hank looked over at Leah and said, “Anything you’d like to say, Miss Woodworth?”
By this point she was practically bobbing up and down. “Where’s the ladies’ room?” Sheriff Harmon pointed and she said, “Thank you.”
As she passed near Dicky Bob, she reared back with her balled up fist and popped him right in the nose and promptly howled, but not as loudly as Dicky Bob.
“Ow! Daddy! Arrest her! She just struck an officer of the law.”
“Shut the hell up. She just struck an out-of-work imbecile who deserved it.” Turning to them, he said, “I’ll have Mizz Woodworth belongin’s waiting for her up front. Dicky Bob go clean out your locker.”
Leah streaked down the hall and James and Vincent both suppressed chuckles when the restroom door slammed and seconds later she moaned loudly in relief.
Hank laughed silently and turned to the two of them. “I talked to Evelyn and she’s already arranged for a tow truck for Leah’s vehicle. She can ride home with us.”
“Sorry about your SUV, Hank.”
“That’s all right. I’ll get it detailed and it’ll be okay in a few days. We might be able to get our hands on everything she needs to neutralize the odor and she can shower at that big truck stop we passed on the way here, if she wants to, that is.”
Leah exited the tiny bathroom shaking her hand and glowered at Dicky Bob as he inched around them, flinching and steering clear of her as he wiped his bloody nose.
“How’s the hand, slugger?” James asked as he lifted it and looked at her swollen knuckles and kissed them. He asked her to make a fist. “Honey, don’t tuck your thumb in. You could break a bone doing that.”
As they headed to the front, Hank said, “Leah, I want you to start coming to the self-defense classes I’m holding at the community center. James and Vincent are even volunteering to help us. We can teach you safe self-defense tactics. You seem okay with going on the offensive already.”
“Sorry, Sheriff, I know it was wrong but he deserved it.”
“He did. Let’s get your luggage and belongings from your car, and your personal effects from Harmon, and blow this joint.”
* * * *
It was a mark of pure desperation that Leah decided to use one of the ladies’ showers at the large truck stop on their way home. The skunk smell was horrendous. She knew the guys were being nice about it but if she was making herself gag, she knew they had to be struggling, too, even with the SUV’s windows all down.
“Just act like you don’t see them, honey,” James said when Leah noticed people were staring at her when they walked into the side doors nearest the showers. They hurried around in the grocery section and found her shower shoes, a bar of Lava soap, little bottles of Wool-lite and Fast Orange hand cleaner, and a couple of bottles of tomato juice.
“Rinse between each step honey, and please don’t rub yourself raw with the lava soap. This may just take time to fade away,” James said, sympathy in his sweet green eyes. She lifted up on tiptoes and kissed the cleft in his chin that was covered with his neatly trimmed beard and hurried into the ladies’ showers, blissfully relieved that there was one immediately available to her.
The men were seated in the snack bar when she exited a while later, with the skunk odor moderately better. She smelled strongly of the orange cleaner and her skin felt taut and dry but at least she no longer made herself want to heave. The break from the nausea made her realize how hungry she was and they shared a pizza with her while they sat and talked. She kept catching James and Vincent peering at her with concern.
Hank took them as far as the police station in Divine, because both men’s trucks were there, and Leah gave him her sincerest thanks for his willingness to drive all the way to Tuspita for her.
He just grinned down at her and shook his head. “The ladies of Divine hold a special place in my heart, sweetie. You just take good care of yourself and don’t worry about it. The smell isn’t so bad anymore.”
She laughed and said, “You sure that’s not because you’re desensitized to it now?”
“I’m sure.”
/> Standing in the parking lot, Leah, James, and Vincent debated about where they were taking her. She wanted to go home to her apartment. They wanted her to come to their home so they could “take care of her.”
“You could soak in our big whirlpool tub with some of that lavender-scented bath oil. I’ll bet that will make you feel better.”
She tilted her head, wishing they could understand, but she could see in their eyes that they thought she really didn’t want to be around them. Finally, she spelled it out for them. “Guys, I don’t want to foul that beautiful brand-new bed and mattress. Those linens had to cost a fortune. I don’t want to ruin any of it.”
Vincent looked sad. “It’s okay, doll. I realize that I’m still in the doghouse. I just want you to know something.”
“What’s that?”
“I think you’re beautiful, no matter what happened yesterday or today. Even though you don’t feel your best, I think you’re beautiful.”
“Well…thank you.”
“And…and…I think you smell good. Damn. Well, maybe not tonight specifically, I want you to know I love the way you smell. I think it’s sexy. And I think you’re sexy. And even now, you don’t smell all that bad anymore.”
Leah turned to James and said, “Did he hit his head?”
James was shaking with suppressed laughter and slapped Vincent on the back. “No, it seems to me like he just wants you to know you’re special to him.”
Vincent held up a hand and said, “I’ve got an idea. How about this? You stay with us and make use of the tub. Let us fix you a little snack, maybe some fruit or something. And stay in James’s bed with him. The odor is hardly noticeable now and I doubt he cares all that much about the bed. I’ll stay in my room. You can have a night alone with him to make up for me barging in on you the other night. And I’ll make a big breakfast for us in the morning.”
She chewed her lip for a minute, giving his offer consideration. She had an extra business outfit in her suitcase because she always over-packed. That whirlpool tub was also really tempting. “I have to be at the store at eight thirty in the morning. Can we have waffles?”
“Sure thing, fluff,” he replied with a chuckle. “Anything you want.”
Chapter Ten
They brought in her suitcase and she took a shower and scrubbed her hair again while they filled the tub for her and added the scented bath oil to it.
After she wrapped her hair in a towel, Vincent helped her into the slippery tub.
“Are you coming in, too?” she asked as she eased back into the hot water, which felt even more relaxing after her vigorous scrubbing in the shower.
Vincent squatted down beside the edge of the tub, so he was just inches from her. He wet his fingers and then painted her collarbones with them. “No. I’ll watch some television in my room and let the two of you have the rest of the house to yourself.”
She frowned, struggling to put the feeling into words. “I know that shouldn’t bother me but it feels wrong somehow.”
Vincent rested a forearm on the edge of the tub and his green gaze held her captive. “I forced the issue the other night. I didn’t have your permission to be there. Things got a little wild.”
“That part didn’t bother me. You know I enjoyed myself.”
“I’m glad but I’m not proud of the man I was the other night. I’m not interested in keeping score with James with how much time we get alone with you. I just want to bow out for the night and give the two of you the same consideration I was afforded. You could’ve thrown me out on my ear the other night. Then I messed up the gift you gave me when I didn’t take the proper precautions.”
She watched his hand trailing into the water and realized that in the chaos of the day, she hadn’t given it very much thought and she couldn’t honestly summon any negative feelings toward him. Her breath caught in her throat as he slid his fingertips between her breasts. Her nipples tightened to stinging points as his fingers skimmed down her abdomen until he stopped and laid his hand on her abdomen.
“I meant it the other night, fluff. I won’t be upset if my seed takes root. But neither do I want to take your life, as you had it planned, away from you. I love you and I want you to be happy, no matter where that is.”
She palmed his cheek, leaving him a little damp as his short dark beard tickled her palm. “I understand what you’re doing, Vincent, and I appreciate it. I’m not sure how I feel about you not being there when you’re so close by. Maybe I’ve gotten spoiled really quickly. I don’t know. But beyond that, I appreciate that you’re attempting to make up for last night’s lapse. I hope you rest okay. You must be exhausted, after travelling that distance twice in twenty-four hours.”
He turned his head to kiss her palm and then rose to his full height. He bent over and kissed her and murmured, “Sweet dreams, fluff.”
“You, too.”
“Oh, and I hardly smell the skunk odor at all.”
She shrugged. “I hope I’m okay to go to work tomorrow. I’m afraid you and James are just desensitized to it.”
He paused at the doorway. “I meant what I told you earlier, even though the timing could’ve been better. You’re beautiful.” He smiled and walked away.
A few minutes later, she heard soft, sensual instrumentals playing in the bedroom and James entered the master bathroom with a bowl of freshly cut strawberries and a bowl of whipped cream. She giggled when he set them on the edge of the tub, lit some candles, flipped off the light switches, and began to undress.
He showered quickly, like she had, to remove the skunk residue from brushing up against her skunk-sprayed clothing and then stepped into the tub with her. He groaned as he settled back into the water that reached their chins. Without hesitation, she moved into his arms and let him arrange her on his lap so her back was to his chest.
The strawberry dipped in whipped cream that he offered her was delicious and decadent. Never had a man ever pampered her like the two of them did. This tender moment just made it even harder for her to keep her mind on the fact she should be thinking about her possible career move. All she wanted was his arms around her.
He squeezed her and kissed her temple. “Does it bother you that Vincent isn’t here?”
She rested her head against his chest and slid her hands up to caress his bulky biceps and shoulders. The guy was seriously brawny and she felt safe in his embrace. He offered her another dipped strawberry and she opened her mouth to take it from his fingers as she thought about his question.
“He said he’s not keeping score. He wanted to make up the other night to me. But I confess I do miss him. What’s done is done and I’m not one to keep him in the doghouse to prove a point. I think I can even understand why he let the situation get to him and drove all the way out there like that. What’s between us had been simmering a long time and I don’t enjoy keeping the two of you on eggshells.”
“What’s best for you, honey?”
Letting her eyelids slide closed, she murmured, “Now isn’t that a complicated question? I used to think I knew.”
“We want what’s best for you, regardless of what that winds up being. I love you enough to let you go.”
Tears stung behind her eyelids. Her voice cracked as she said, “I love you.”
His arms tightened around her as a lump rose in her throat and his reply was simply his lips pressed against her temple.
After lathering a sponge, James lifted her right leg and ran the sponge from the top of her thigh down to gently rub her feet, even between her toes.
“You’ve got the prettiest little feet,” he said as he lifted her left leg and gave it the same attention. “Pretty little arches and toes.”
She giggled as he slid a finger along her sole, tickling her. “They look more like Flintstone feet to me.”
“How ’bout we pin a bone in your hair and call you Pebbles?”
“Very funny,” she murmured as he stroked her inner calf and then upward to her inner thigh, while he
still held the leg bent and aloft.
“Mmm,” he growled as his fingers slid into her slick, tingling cleft. “You’re hot, aren’t you?”
“Feeling you wrapped around me turns me on so much. You’re so big and strong.” She reached a hand behind her and gently stroked the head of his cock. “Yes, very big, and hard, too.”
Keeping her legs parted for his easy access, he slid his fingertips into her pussy, rubbing her clit and dipping into her opening with his fingertips. She couldn’t resist his arousing caresses and soon she was undulating against his cock, imagining it sliding deep in her cunt as he grew bigger and harder.
“I need you, James.”
“I want inside your tight pussy, while I have you in my lap.”
“Yes. Tell me what to do, James.”
“Stay just as you are and hold still. Brace your hands on the tub for balance and let me do the work.” He slid a hand around the underside of her right thigh and slid down in the water just a bit as he lifted her. “Arch your back and position me.”
She did exactly as he asked, completely transported by his strength, the candlelight, the scent of the bath oil and candles, and the sensation of his wonderfully thick cock poised on the verge of thrusting inside her. He braced her in position with his grip on her thigh and lifted his other hand to turn her jaw. She was enraptured by the love she saw glowing in his green eyes a second before he kissed her and slid his cock deep inside her.
He was so big, so thick and hot, and she felt positively invaded as her opening stretched to accommodate him. She caressed him with her pussy muscles, wanting more of him, and more, until she rotated her hips in a gentle circular motion and took him inside her as deep as he could go. Her eyes rolled with the intense eroticism of the moment. He breathed out slowly, a hint of a groan in the soft sound. He slid his hands around to cup her hip bones and slowly flexed against her, holding her in place as he moved.
Brokenhearted Beauty [Divine Creek Ranch 19] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 14
