by Kayn, Debra
Jeremy stepped into the kitchen and gazed at Tiff. "Ready?"
"Yes." Tiff stood. "If any of you have a question tonight, Marci will be awake in her room. Knock on her door, and she'll talk with you. I'll be away until morning."
Ignoring Jeremy's large presence in the room, Nova bit into her pizza. As soon as Tiff left the table, she planned on eating the rest of her dinner alone. She'd had enough excitement for one night.
The long week of working with no breaks, no fun, no late night escapes made time crawl. Until she'd come to Red Light, she believed her job brought her happiness. Content to live each day doing what came easy, she enjoyed visiting different cities every three months and the amount of downtime she had between the few hours she worked each evening. The change of location, people, experiences enriched her life.
Through the Network, she'd met regular men working nine to five, city officials with a dirty habit, and the average trucker needing relief. Each of the ladies working with her, servicing the men, had joined the Network for different reasons and goals. She picked another piece of pizza out of the box and put it on her plate.
"I'm going to my room." She stood carrying the rest of her dinner. "What is everyone else doing tonight?"
"I'm calling my kids and then crying into my pillow." Kathryn wiped her mouth with a napkin. "They spend every summer with their dad, and I spend three and a half months trying not to miss them."
"I had no idea you had kids." Nova reached out and caressed Kathryn's shoulder. "Are you only working part time with the Network?"
"Yep, only three months in the summer." Kathryn's slim face lit up with her smile. "It's enough to pay for my kids to go to a private school. We don't live in the best neighborhood, and I'll do whatever I need to do to make sure they get an education to have a better life than I had growing up."
"That's admirable, Kathryn." Tawny wadded her napkin and set it on her plate. "You're a good mom."
Nova nodded in agreement. There were worse mothers out there than ones who were a prostitute. Like her mother who left her behind with a promise to return and never came back. "Okay, I'm out of here. See you all in the morning."
"Don't forget to set your alarm for six o'clock, so we don't miss our doctor appointments," said Tara.
"I won't." She balanced the plate with one hand and waved over her shoulder.
Inside her room, the phone rang. She quickly chewed the mouthful of pizza and set the plate on the dresser. The screen showed Shayla calling.
She swiped her finger over the screen and put the phone to her ear. "Hey, cuz."
"Get your butt over here. I'm not going to take any excuses tonight. You haven't been here in five days, and I'm bored. Our time together is dwindling," said Shayla.
She sat down on the bed. Ever since Emmett helped her waste the hours until she could return to Red Light, she'd stayed away from the trailer park. She enjoyed talking with him. Too much.
The kiss, while proper and sweet, was unforgettable. She never experienced kisses since joining the Network.
Her teenage years were filled with sloppy, wet attempts. What Emmett gave her with one chaste kiss left her wanting more.
"I'll try." She sighed into the phone. "If I do, I'll give you a call."
"You better."
"Let me finish eating and think about it." Her stomach turned, and she set her plate down on the dresser. "Bye."
She stared at the sliding glass door.
Going to her cousin's house meant spending more time with Emmett. The more she talked, the more she lied. One story blended into another, and while she could fool Emmett, Nick paid attention to whatever came out of her mouth. One slip and he'd demand answers.
Chapter Eleven
The Joker by the Steve Miller Band blared over the car stereo. Emmett walked over to the cooler, grabbed another beer, and tossed the cap underneath his trailer. Jason grabbed Nova around the waist before she could walk away from Jenkins. The single guys in the park had vied for her attention for the last couple of hours.
Emmett rejoined Nick by the fire.
Jason seemed on a personal mission to take up Nova's time while his girlfriend worked in a bar in town. Emmett lifted the bottle to his lips and waited for Nova to break away from the overambitious men of the park or the damn music to stop. She owed him an explanation for why she'd purposely stayed away from Shayla all week. He'd apologized for putting her in an awkward position with her cousins and insulting Nick and thought she was okay with him.
There was no reason to take what he'd done out on her cousins. They wanted to spend time with her, and she failed to show up. He'd asked Shayla about Nova's absence and found out even Shayla had no idea what was going on.
"Jason will be talking about Nova all week and by next weekend, Patty will move out of the park." Emmett pushed the bill of his baseball cap higher.
"He's been looking for an excuse to get away from Patty for a while now." Nick lit a cigarette.
"Yeah. The dumb ass needs to either cut free or give in." Emmett stared at the sway of Nova's hips. "I haven't seen everyone in this good of a mood since the Fourth of July and Caren's trailer roof caught fire from the Roman candle Jenkins brought back from Montana."
Nick chuckled. Emmett rubbed his thumb in the dew of his bottle. Caren had jumped around in a panic while the flames grew. None of the men in the park could concentrate on the fire because Caren had run out of her house without a shirt on and in the middle of dying her hair black. Her trailer burnt to the ground.
"Speaking of Caren." Emmett lifted his chin and gazed down the road. "Here she comes."
A solid woman with an extra helping of curves, Caren strolled through the crowd and jumped right into dancing with the rest of them. Completely oblivious to the fact that everyone had coupled up in the yard.
Emmett couldn't help looking. She packed all her extra weight in her chest and ass, and the woman could move her body.
She offered every inch of herself to anyone who had some time for her. Deep down, she was a good person. But, people took advantage of her giving spirit.
Shayla walked over to the fire, panting hard and pushing her hair off her neck. "Is there any beer left?"
Emmett reached down into the cooler and handed a cold bottle to Shayla. Since Nova showed up, Shayla's whole personality had changed. He'd never seen her so full of energy before or smiling for no reason. Usually, she leaned on the moody side.
"Nova," shouted Shayla, holding up her beer.
Nova leaned closer to Jason, pushed off his chest, and hurried to Shayla laughing over whatever Jason had said to her. Her gaze met Emmett watching her, and her amusement fled. Caught up in her flushed cheeks, wild hair, and awareness of him, he couldn't look away.
Nova took the bottle from Shayla, put her lips on the opening, and tipped back her head. His gaze went down her long neck to her heaving breasts. His cock responded, hardening, pulsing.
"Thanks." She wiped her mouth and gave the beer back to Shayla. "I haven't talked so much in a long time."
Nick flicked his cigarette behind him. "What kept you away this week? I thought you were coming over for sloppy Joe's last night."
"Work." Nova sighed. "There was no way I could take three months off without doing some wheelin' and dealin'. I need to keep the boss happy and the paychecks coming my way."
"I hear you." Nick tossed his beer bottle on the ground out of the way of everyone walking around. "I need to get some sleep if I'm going to make it to work on time."
Nova approached Nick, stretched to her toes, and kissed his cheek. "Night."
"Night." Nick nodded at Emmett. "See you tomorrow."
"You can count on it." Emmett kept his eye on Nova. Any move to leave him, he'd stop her. He wanted to know the real reason she stayed away.
Hell, he wanted to see more of her. A few hours out of her day while she's on half vacation, or whatever she'd called her visit to Federal, was possible if she wanted it bad enough. He'd make sure she wante
d to come here.
Shayla passed the beer bottle to Nova. "Okay, I'm going back in. You finish the beer."
Nova stared after her cousin with a smile. Emmett stepped forward, close enough to brush his arm against hers to get her attention.
"She's happy," said Nova.
"Shayla? Yeah, I think she's usually happy and opinionated. That's why everyone likes her." Emmett placed his hand low on Nova's back and steered her away from the crowd.
"What are you doing?" She continued walking with him.
"I want to talk with you." He stopped at the door to his home. "Will you come inside, so I don't have to yell for you to hear me over the music?"
Her brows pinched, and she hesitated.
"Nova-girl, the walls are thin. You can yell for help, and someone will hear you, even over the music and the rowdiness going on out here," he said.
She lifted her chin. "Okay, I'll listen and then I want to hang with Shayla."
He opened the door and motioned her inside, taking the opportunity to check out her ass again in the light. All night he'd watched from the sidelines. Now he had her to himself. He wasn't going to lose her.
Nova strolled the edge of his living room, fingering the entertainment center, straightening the coat on the back of the recliner, and smoothing the blanket on the couch. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from guiding her into his bedroom and convincing her to put her busy fingers on his body.
She stopped and sat on the edge of the couch cushion. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
He joined her on the sofa. "Did you stay away from your cousins this week, because of me?"
She shook her head. "No, I told Nick why outside. I'm sure you heard. Why would you think it was about you?"
"Because you have a way of saying what you think others want to hear and not speaking up about how you feel." He laid his arm on the back of the couch behind her.
"You're delusional." She laughed. "You don't know me. Why would I lie about having to work?"
He leaned closer. "You've already admitted that you're on a working vacation, and I'll admit people I know don't have the luxury of taking a vacation for more than a week at a time. But, you're here for three months. You didn't have time to come and eat dinner for an hour?"
"I wasn't eating with you. I was invited over to Shayla's."
He grinned. "So was I."
"You ate at their house?"
He nodded.
She glared. "Why?"
"Because I hoped you'd show up, so I invited myself over." He curled his finger in a long strand of her hair and tugged her forward. "I wanted to kiss you again."
Her mouth closed and her body sagged toward him. He swallowed painfully and dove in, capturing her lips. The warmth of her mouth intoxicated him more than any beer. It took all his control not to dip his tongue and taste her. He angled his head, slipping his fingers into her hair and cupping the back of her neck.
Her lips softened. He moved, nudging her mouth open, hungry for a sample of her. His tongue slipped inside her warmth and teased her.
Nova hesitantly reached out with her tongue, connected with him, and retracted. Her shy kiss contradicted her bold personality and mystified him more.
He broke the kiss and gazed into a pair of confused hazel eyes before they shut down and glared at him. "I'm not a guy who kisses women who don't want to be kissed. And, Nova-girl, you might be scared of me, but you enjoyed the kiss," he whispered.
She stood, working her lower lip between her teeth. "You have no idea what I want."
"Ten seconds ago it was to have my tongue in your mouth."
She inhaled swiftly and held her breath. Her lips paled from pressure.
"Sit down," he said.
"Not a good idea." She walked to the other side of the room. "I should leave."
"You can if you want. I'm not holding you here." He waited for her to reply or make the move to leave, and when she continued to look at him, he continued. "I think a better idea would be for you to come back over here and talk with me."
She crossed her arms. "I told you the other night I'm not interested in knowing you better or doing...anything with you."
He leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. "You kissed me back and then for some reason stopped. A woman not interested wouldn't put her tongue in my mouth."
"Listen to you. You're..." She held her arms out to her sides and looked around the room. "You're making a big deal out of nothing."
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Come back over here and sit down beside me if that kiss was no big deal."
She skirted the coffee table and sat down, facing him. He leaned back. He couldn't figure her out. A grown woman confident in the way she moved, talked, and conducted herself. A grown woman running from physical contact. A grown woman with misplaced fear in her eyes whenever he touched her.
"Answer something for me." He put his feet up on the coffee table. "You come from a park, right?"
She tilted her head and frowned. "Yes."
"Did you grow up with Shayla and Nick?"
"My whole life. First in the lot next to theirs and when I was eight, in the same house after my mom left me," said Nova.
His chest tightened. He'd heard the same story many times, repeated by other women and men who had lived in the trailer park. Single mothers showed up to rent a lot space or moved into an existing trailer and ended up leaving their child behind with a relative for reasons that continued to escape him.
"I thought so." He lifted her hand off her thigh and strummed his thumb against the tender skin of her wrist. "The first night you showed up, the dogs started barking, and I shot the gun off to quiet them down. You never flinched."
Her brow softened. "Yeah, well, that's deeply engrained in my life. I've shot a gun off a time or two myself to get the dogs to shut up."
"Every park has them." He stroked her finger, taking in the smoothness and how dainty her hand looked compared to his. "But, you got out."
She laughed harshly, hiding her face from him.
"What?"
"Nothing." She exhaled, staring down at their hands linked together. "I've had years to think about why people stay living in a trailer, in a park, and put up with all the drama and struggles of living side by side other people their whole life. Each one of them wants to leave, and yet they never make steps to improve their life."
Emmett put his feet on the floor and let go of her hand.
"Shit," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm not putting you down. I understand circumstances don't always—"
"You have your view of things. That's your right." Emmett paused. There were times when he thought of leaving. When the people kept him up all night for a week straight or when shit happened. A divorce, death, birth in the community upset the flow of life.
"Still, I was rude." Nova gathered his hand and brought it back to her lap. "It's not the life for me, but I admire my cousins. I think they're doing great, and they're happy. That's all that matters. Living in a trailer park is nothing to be ashamed of. It's honest living."
"Right." Emmett leaned forward. "You're here."
"To visit."
He dipped his head to get a better look at her eyes. "How much time do you have left of your vacation?"
"Work vacation." She grinned, and her teasing nature came out. "A little over two months, why?"
"When you go home to wherever you live do you have a man waiting for you?" He raised his other hand and lifted her chin, needing her eyes on him. "I'm asking if I kiss you again if another man will be putting his lips on you and taking what I'm going to give to you?"
"Would it bother you if I did have someone in my life," asked Nova.
His jaw ticked. "Yeah, I think it would."
"Why?"
He gazed at her mouth. "First, tell me there's no man in your life."
"There isn't," she whispered.
"Good." He tilted her head. "Then you're mine for the rest of your vacation."
"
Work vaca—"
He captured her mouth and deepened the kiss when her tongue made the first appearance. Her warmth encompassed him, and he closed his eyes. Soft lips pressed against his, matching his desire to take more. Take everything she wanted to hand him. Take her places she'd never been. Take what he wanted. Take her.
His pulse raced, and he held her firmly in his hands. He wanted to keep her from walking out of his trailer. Aware of his strength, he fought holding her too tight. An uncomfortable rush to keep her from walking out of his trailer took a backseat to the hell she created with her mouth.
There was no way he'd stop with one kiss.
He had to figure a way to keep her.
She slipped her hands around his side and pressed herself closer.
He leaned ahead, holding her with no wiggle room to move away and she moaned into his mouth. He answered with a groan, stroking her tongue. The softness, the wetness, the heat, perfect in every way, he lost himself in a kiss that was bigger than the both of them.
Chapter Twelve
The phone vibrated on the nightstand. Nova reached over, picked up the cell, and hovered her thumb over the screen. It was the third time Shayla had called in the last hour.
She swiped the screen knowing she only had twenty minutes until she had to turn the phone off and start work. "Hey."
"Finally. I can't believe you left me hanging in the car without telling me what is going on between you and Emmett," said Shayla.
Nova stood and with one hand, pushed her panties over her hips and stepped out of them. "I don't know."
"Come on. You were kissing him, and he followed you to my car and kissed you again. You were hanging all over him and ignored everyone else." Shayla's voice grew louder over the phone. "Did you tell him what you're doing in Federal?"
"No, and you can't say a word." She pulled her arm into her sweatshirt and wiggled the material over her head, putting the phone back at her ear. "Swear it, Shayla."
"You don't even have to ask. I know the dangers of anyone knowing." Shayla blew out her breath. "It's just that Emmett is a good guy. You can't jerk him around. A relationship between you two would be impossible. It's not fair to him."
