Surrender To Sultry

by Macy Beckett

  Before anyone had a chance to respond, she turned and began picking her way through a swarm of bodies. When she reached the hors d’oeuvres table, crowded with simmering crock pots and sandwich platters, she decided to continue to the dessert station at the far end of the room. No one could film her back there. But just to be on the safe side, she faced the wall and pretended to consider the assortment of fruits and candies spread out before her.

  As she scanned the melon balls and brownie bites, she wondered how soon she could leave the party without appearing rude. She probably shouldn’t have come in the first place, but Daddy’s house was starting to feel small, and she needed a break.

  Fifteen more minutes, she decided. Then I’ll—

  All thoughts froze when her gaze landed on a tray of Richman’s éclairs.

  Oh, holy Moses. Richman’s éclairs!

  Like dewy manna from heaven, a thin sheen of condensation made each pastry shimmer in the light. Thick layers of fudge icing had softened, oozing down the sides, just the way Leah liked it—the chocolaty flavor was so much stronger when it melted on her tongue. A faint scent of cocoa lingered in the air, titillating her senses, tempting her to surrender to a thousand-calorie devil in disguise.

  With one hand, she pulled back her hair and bent at the waist to inhale a lungful of pure, unadulterated sweetness. It smelled so good, she closed her eyes and did it again. Her mouth watered in rapture. She simply had to have one.

  When she stood, a new sensation interrupted her confectionary haze. She felt the heat of a large body close behind her, the bold scents of shaving cream and soap filling her head. More than that, an energy charged the air, a force so signature and electric she didn’t need to turn around to identify the man who wielded it.

  “Go ahead, honey,” Colt whispered in her ear. “You know you want it.”

  She closed her eyes again as chills lifted the tiny hairs along the back of her neck. The floor seemed to soften and tilt beneath her feet, forcing her to grip the table’s edge for support. Just as she opened her eyes to orient herself, Colt eliminated the space between them and settled one hand on her hip while he reached past her to grab an éclair. In that moment, every inch of her Judas body flashed hot in recognition of the touch she hadn’t felt in over a decade. The pulse rushing through her veins didn’t seem to care that Colt had ruined her life. Her tightening nipples didn’t give a damn either.

  Why couldn’t she crave healthy things, like carrot sticks and accountants?

  She swallowed a mouthful of desire and said, “Actually, I don’t,” then pointed to a fruit platter. “I’d rather have fresh strawberries.”

  The hard contours pressed into her back shook with silent laughter. “For a preacher’s daughter, you sure lie a lot.”

  Using the table ledge as her guide, she scooted aside and put some precious distance between them. “I happen to like berries.”

  “Dipped in vanilla yogurt,” he said. “I remember.”

  “Then what makes you think I’m lying?”

  “’Cause I also remember the little noises you used to make every time you ate one of these.” He tipped his éclair as if toasting her health, then brought it to his mouth for a bite. Stopping just shy of his lips, he added, “Like you were coming.” Smiling, he shook his head at the memory. “Best sound in the world.”

  Refusing to acknowledge his lewd comment, she folded her arms and watched him devour his pastry. He’d undone the top buttons of his uniform, and he wore his hair loose tonight, shaking it back between bites. The action reminded her of all the times Daddy had complained, That boy needs a haircut! But she’d begged Colt to keep it long. Like his barely street-legal Harley, those silken locks had epitomized the lure of the forbidden.

  Now she knew better. She might not be able to control her body’s reaction to the drug that was Colton Bea, just like she couldn’t help wanting to inhale a dozen Richman’s éclairs, but she could control whether she acted on it. Sexual chemistry loaded the gun, but she wouldn’t pull the trigger.

  She plucked a strawberry from the fruit tray and shoved it in her mouth while Colt sucked fudge off each of his fingers.

  “Mmm,” he said, patting his flat belly. “How’s your berry?”

  Unripe and way too tart. “Perfect,” she garbled around a bitter chunk. “Think I’ll have another.”

  He caught her wrist as she reached for the table. “First, let’s talk a minute about your license and papers. Out there,” he nodded toward the lobby, “so we don’t disturb anyone.”

  She shook free from his grasp and rubbed the skin around her wrist to extinguish the tingling sensation. “There’s nothing to disturb. We can talk right here.”

  But naturally, Miss Pru chose that moment to flip on a microphone and ask the crowd to take their seats. The associate pastor joined her at the head table, clearly gearing up for a welcome home speech.

  Leah gave a resigned sigh. “Fine.”

  She stalked into the dim lobby with Colt on her heels. When she reached the barrier of the double doors and turned to face him, she was surprised to see he’d nabbed another éclair.

  “You’re having two?” she asked.

  “Hell, yeah.” He shoved half of it into his mouth and spoke with both cheeks full. “You don’t know what you’re missin’, honey.”

  The bastard was rubbing it in, pardon her language. “Sure I do. I’m missing twice my daily allowance of sugar and saturated fat.”

  Still chewing, he shrugged. “You only live once, Angel. Might as well make it count.”

  Angel. The seemingly innocuous nickname made her eye twitch. “Just give me my license.”

  “Don’t have it,” he said unapologetically, then gobbled the other half of his dessert.

  “Then why are we here?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You said you wanted to talk about my license.”

  “Oh, yeah.” He nodded and licked the chocolate off his lips. “I lied.”

  Leah hung her head. She didn’t have the patience for this.

  “I just need you to hear me out,” he said, stooping to her height. “Please?”

  Leah glanced at her watch. “You have ten seconds.”

  “Now, don’t be like—”

  “Nine.”

  “C’mon, Leah.”

  “Eight.”

  “Okay, I get it. Just listen—”

  “Seven.”

  “Damn it,” he snapped, dragging one hand through his hair, “I need to apologize, and it’s gonna take longer than ten seconds!”

  His booming voice caused a few heads to turn in their direction. After placating the onlookers with a repentant wave, he gripped Leah’s upper arms and backed her toward the corner and out of view.

  She shrugged free and held her ground, refusing to let him trap her. “I told you before, you don’t have to apologize. I forgave you a long time ago.”

  He made a disapproving noise, half grunt, half snort. “There you go again with the lies.”

  “It’s no lie. I couldn’t hold on to that anger. It was making me crazy.”

  He seemed to turn that over in his mind, then conceded, “Okay, maybe you think you’ve let go, but you haven’t.” He shook his head and pressed a quick palm over her heart. “Not really. Not deep down.”

  She backed away from his reach, cornering herself. “Don’t pretend to understand how I feel.”

  “It’s common sense.” With one step, he closed the distance between them. “I screwed you over, hard. You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t still pissed.”

  She didn’t want to hear this, didn’t want to dredge up those old feelings. “I’m not—”

  “You know the difference between men and women?” he interrupted. Without giving her a chance to supply the obvious explanati
on, he said, “When guys get angry, we go a few rounds, and we’re buddies again five minutes later. But not women. Y’all pretend like nothing’s wrong, and you stuff that anger down so deep, it settles in your bones like a cancer.” He held up one fist and flexed it in demonstration before pointing to the smooth edge of his jaw. “You need to get the poison out, honey.”

  “Are you suggesting we fight?” This was crazy, even for Colt.

  He drew back as if offended. “Of course not. I’ve never hit a girl. I’ll give you a freebie.”

  “A freebie?”

  “As many as you want, wherever you want.” Quickly, he clarified, “Just not below the belt. I might want kids someday.”

  Leah’s stomach lurched as if he’d taken a free shot of his own. Her gaze dropped to the tips of his boots. She had no right to look him in the eyes. You already have a child, she wanted to tell him. But he’s someone else’s son now, and I can’t give you another. She’d already delivered a fatal blow, straight to Colt’s heart. He just didn’t know it.

  Her voice sounded small when she said, “I’m not going to hit you.”

  “Yeah, you are.” Blocking her escape route, he braced both hands against the wall on either side of her body. “Remember why my folks sent me to live with my granddaddy?”

  She nodded, trying not to show how much his closeness unsettled her. “They busted you for joyriding in a stolen pickup.”

  “That’s right. They thought my friends were a bad influence, and a change of scenery would fix me. But they were wrong. And here’s why.” He leaned closer as if to share a deep, dark secret with her. “An asshole in Oklahoma is still an asshole in Texas. I wasn’t interested in changing, and when I got here, it didn’t take long to find my own kind.”

  “Tommy Robbins.”

  “Yep.” He pulled back to give her some space, but didn’t move aside. “The first thing I did was brag about what a badass I was—how I could lift as many skirts as cars. That’s when Tommy threw down the gauntlet.”

  Leah didn’t want to hear any more. She pushed against his chest.

  “Nail the preacher’s unattainable little angel,” Colt continued, unmoved. “I accepted the challenge. I told him I’d have your panties off in less than a month. And I did, didn’t I?”

  “Stop it.” She tried ducking under his arms, but he anticipated each move, stepping aside to block her. “Let me go.”

  “I still remember the day I announced my victory.”

  Leah’s face flushed with anger. She pushed against him, harder, but it was useless. He towered over her, asserting his dominance like the bully he was.

  “I pulled Tommy aside in the locker room,” he went on, “then told him I banged you in my granddaddy’s shed.”

  “That’s enough!”

  “I had you wide open, literally begging for it.” He closed his eyes and used a breathy voice to mock her. “More, Colt. Please! Oh, god. Don’t stop!”

  “Shut up!” She pounded one fist against his stone chest. “I mean it!”

  “You were moaning like a wildebeest,” he taunted. “And I reenacted all your little noises for Tom. He thought it was hilarious. I had him rolling on the floor.”

  Leah’s pulse hammered in her ears, her body tense and feverish.

  “After I left for my next class,” Colt said, “the bastard stood on a bench and announced it to the whole football team. Didn’t they cover your locker in condom wrappers the next day?”

  Yes, they had. And every day afterward.

  “Then your youth group found out and quit talking to you.” He snorted a dry laugh. “I’m surprised they didn’t stone you in the parking lot.”

  Did he really think this was funny? She’d given Colt her love—her body—and in return, he’d made her the running joke of the county. Leah decided she could hit him. She tensed her arm, pulled back, and slapped him across the face with a satisfying thwack! that stung her palm like a fistful of nettle. The force of the blow turned Colt’s head, and as soon as he righted himself, she slapped him harder, with all her weight behind it.

  He let out a low whistle, then rubbed his cheek. “Felt good, didn’t it?”

  Leah hesitated a few beats, her breathing choppy, heart pounding, before she admitted, “Yeah, kind of.”

  “Wanna do it again?” he offered.

  She shook her throbbing hand and flexed her fingers. “No, I’m done.”

  “You sure?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Okay.” He unsnapped one of the compartments on his utility belt and produced a pair of handcuffs, then made a turn around motion with one finger. “In that case, I’ll go ahead and take you in now. You’re under arrest for assaulting an officer.”

  “What?” Surely he didn’t mean it. “Is this a joke?”

  “’Fraid not, honey.” He took her by the shoulders and rotated her to face the wall. When she stiffened and jerked from beneath his touch, he warned, “Don’t make me add ‘resisting arrest’ to the charges.”

  “You’re serious?” she asked. “You’re really going to do this?”

  “Sure am,” he drawled. “Now be a good girl and put your hands behind your back.”

  “I changed my mind. I want to hit you again.”

  He laughed while gathering her wrists. “Too late.”

  “This is low, Colt, even for you—and that’s saying a lot.”

  Instead of answering, he fastened the handcuffs with a tenderness that surprised her, leaving the metal shackles so loose they fit like bracelets instead of restraints. Then he pressed a palm against her lower back and guided her outside to his cruiser. The crisp night air helped clear her mind, but didn’t do anything to dispel the heat from his possessive touch. She hated herself for reacting to him. He’d just tricked her—again—and still her tummy fluttered with desire for this toxic man. Clearly, she needed therapy.

  When Colt unlocked the front passenger door and held it open for her, she glanced at him in confusion. “Aren’t you going to put me in the back?”

  “Of course not,” he said, disgusted. “The seat’s made of plastic so we can hose it down. It’s nasty and uncomfortable as hell.”

  Supporting her elbow, he helped her lower onto the front seat before closing the door and sauntering around the front end to join her. She thought it strange that he didn’t fasten her seatbelt, nor did he start the car once he’d taken his place behind the wheel. Instead, he just sat there and fidgeted with his keys. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was nervous.

  “What’re we waiting for?” She shifted to the side to take the pressure off her bound wrists, bringing her within inches of Colton’s thigh. No matter what she did, she couldn’t escape him. Even the cruiser smelled of his coffee and aftershave, an intimate mingling of scents too homey for her liking. “Isn’t this the part where you humiliate me in front of the whole town again?”

  “No.” He stared out the front windshield, expression unreadable. “This is the part where I explain myself.”

  “Enough with the games. Are you arresting me or not?”

  “That’s up to you.” He turned to face her, the creak of leather amplified by the darkness. “I can take you in, or you can sit here and listen to what I have to say.”

  “And then you’ll let me off?”

  “Scot-free,” he promised, holding up a solemn hand.

  “All right, then.” She’d listen, but it wouldn’t change anything. “Get on with it.”

  “Just simmer down a minute.” He huffed a sigh as if she’d done something wrong instead of the other way around. “I’ve had ten years to rehearse this, but it’s not easy getting it out.”

  He paused for a few moments, running his fingers along the edge of a laptop computer attached to the console. An outbreak of applause from the fellows
hip hall punctuated the silence and seemed to spur him into action.

  “What I said back there,” he gestured toward the church, “about not wanting to change when I came to live in Sultry Springs…”

  She nodded for him to continue.

  “That wasn’t the whole truth.”

  Leah rolled her eyes. “How shocking.”

  “New rule,” he said with a warning glare. “You don’t get to talk.”

  Ignoring the urge to thrust out her tongue like a six-year-old, she returned his glare with twice the fire and clamped her mouth shut with an audible snap.

  “Damn it, this is hard for me.” A frustrated groan rumbled from his chest. He took a moment to calm down, and when he finally continued, he stared into her lap. “I did want to change, but not until the day I met you.”

  Leah didn’t believe that, but she played nice and kept quiet.

  “You were so damn beautiful,” he told her, “and you were so good. It’s like you had this light inside you, and I thought if I could be with you, it’d make me good too.” He paused and shook his head absently. “By association, or something.”

  The sadness in his voice softened Leah’s heart by a few degrees. She’d always hated the way Colt had put himself down. Despite her best efforts, she’d never been able to convince him he was more than a “stupid delinquent.”

  “I wanted to change for you,” he said. “But I didn’t know how. So I fumbled along, half-assing it, letting my friends think you were just another score.” He glanced up and met her gaze beneath his long lashes, eyes dark with a sincerity that made it hard to breathe. “But it was never like that for me, not for a second. I loved you. I want you to know that.”

  Now it was her turn to look away. Unable to bear the intensity behind his eyes, she stared blankly at the tiny cherries dotting her dress. If he hadn’t cuffed her, she would’ve run. She didn’t want to hear that he’d loved her. It was easier believing he never cared.

  “And that day in the shed,” he continued, “I want you to know that had nothing to do with Tommy. I needed to be with you. It wasn’t just teenage hormones or plain old lust. I needed you. It was like…” He sighed in frustration, splaying one hand as if to communicate what he couldn’t say. “I can’t make you understand, ’cause I don’t even get it.” Quickly, he added, “But that doesn’t excuse what I did. I knew you wanted to wait for marriage, and I seduced you anyway. It was wrong of me to take that from you.”