Preach to me Baby

by Hazel Parker

  If I knew what it felt like to miss his hands touching me with just the right pressure, the muscle of his thighs beneath me, the fullness of him in me, I would never have been able to stay faithful. On second thought, maybe I should have crossed that line sooner. Things may have turned out differently.

  The sound of our breathing was loud in the silence of the cabin. My feet dug into the cushions of the couch, my pace quickening. AJ’s hands supported me and guided me.

  His eyes held mine with such reverence that I had to close mine against it because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to stop the twisting in my chest. The grip that told me what that look meant. And that I felt it too. So instead I let my head tip back and gave my body permission to just enjoy the moment with no regard for what could have been or might be.

  My breaths came quicker; AJ’s strong arms pulling me hard against him as I lost the steady cadence I had. Each push against him applied friction to my clit, sending a spiral of heat spreading through me. I held tight to him, and I could feel the tendrils of an orgasm dancing along the edges.

  “Lexie, I’m not going to last much longer.”

  I opened my eyes to face him, his eyes still on me, his face reflecting the distortion of pleasure. And still that other thing too.

  “Me too,” I whispered, not sure what exactly I was agreeing to.

  The edges of pleasure pulled in tight, gathering low in my belly. AJ’s fingers bit into my hips as he pulled me wildly against him, he too losing the fluidity of his motions. The bundle of erotic energy combusted, radiating out and warming me. I cried out as my release rolled through me like waves coming in fast succession. Beneath me, AJ’s hips thrust up into me jaggedly. His teeth clenched and a strangled groan reverberated through the room. It faded just as his motions slowed.

  When his hands relaxed and dropped beside him on the couch, I too dropped against him. I nestled my face into his neck and inhaled the scent of him.

  “I can’t believe you found me.”

  His low chuckle pulled a smile from me. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close.

  “It was a little harder than I let on. There was a good deal of panicking thrown in there too. Like when I came out of the bathroom to find you gone.”

  “I had to leave. I wanted to believe you were on my side, but there was no way to know.” I thought about it for a minute. “There still isn’t, AJ.”

  “I know. All I can give you is my word and hope that’s good enough.”

  I pulled up to look at him, not ready to tell him that his word went a long way with me.

  Instead I climbed from his lap and pulled my pants back on. He too pulled his pants up, and I couldn’t help but notice the surprise in his face when I curled up beside him, reached out to turn out the light, snuggled in. I was unsure of so many things, but I knew for a fact that AJ wasn’t a liar. And if I was wrong, then I deserved to face the consequences.

  With a tentative motion, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled the sleeping bag over us. I let my actions speak for me and draped my arm around his waist, hoping it told him enough of what I was feeling for now.

  This time, though, sleep didn’t come quickly. There were too many questions that had been rolling around in my head the last day and a half that I needed to finally put answers to. Where I was going to go from here, how long I could travel before a bag full of cash became suspicious, AJ.

  I was still awake hours later, the steady rhythm of AJ’s breathing keeping me company, when I heard someone outside. I knew it was Jason; it had to be. This time there were no headlights, no car door clicking. There was only the soft sway of the tall grass becoming a little louder, the occasional crunch of earth below boots.

  I straightened from my position and woke AJ with a hand over his mouth, praying he would understand. His eyes flashed to mine, a glint of white in the moonlit room. I pointed to the door and he nodded his head.

  This was ridiculous. We should have figured out a plan. We should have got in his car hours ago. But we didn’t, and silent messages would have to do.

  There was no back exit, no other way out than the front door. Staying low, I crept to my position at the door where I had waited to ambush AJ earlier. The lamp was still there on the floor and I picked it up. I didn’t know what AJ’s plan was, but mine had almost worked the first time, and it was the only shot I had to take.

  Soft treads on the old wooden steps alerted me to the intruder’s closeness. I was calmer this time, my breathing under control. As the door cracked open, letting in more moonlight, I caught the man’s profile: it was defiantly Jason.

  Unlike AJ, Jason squeezed his body through the small opening he made in the door before it had a chance to creak. I shuddered to think how he would know to do that. How my mostly attentive boyfriend led such a vastly different life while we weren’t together.

  He took a couple low, quiet steps into the room, his head stretched forward as if to help him peer around the room. He was close enough to touch, his back facing me. I didn’t know where AJ was standing, but I hoped Jason wouldn’t see him. Maybe we could sneak out of here while he checked out the other room. Or maybe he would leave.

  As he began turning, though, scanning for us or for a light, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Nerves gripped me as I tightened my hold on the lamp, my body was frozen. As he peered through the darkness, I knew I only had a few more seconds before he saw me and I would miss my chance, but no matter what I tried to tell my body, it just wouldn’t react.

  From the other side of the partially opened door, AJ’s deep voice rumbled.

  “Looking for me?”

  Jason’s head whipped around the other way and I finally convinced my muscles to release their hold. I lunged forward as he took his first step away from me. The lamp made connection with the side of his head. I reeled it back in, preparing it for another swing. But Jason dropped to his knees. He wavered there for a second before toppling over on his side.

  He wasn’t moving, but I didn’t take that to mean anything. Snatching my bag off the couch, I slipped through the door. AJ waited until I had made it out before following me. He grabbed my hand and we walked as fast as the darkness would allow to his car.

  My head felt as numb as my hands, my mouth not able to utter a single word. AJ opened my door and I collapsed inside. He shut it and raced around to the driver side. Pulling the keys from his pocket, he started the car and backed out, maneuvering around Jason’s vehicle that was parked at the end of the lane. We were silent until he had turned onto the narrow road that led us back to the highway.

  I wasn’t sure how to read him. I had just bashed his brother’s head and we were fleeing the scene with stolen money. He could have been feeling a lot of things right now and I needed to know.

  “What do we do now? Do you think Jason’s okay?”

  AJ whipped his head to me. “I don’t give a shit if he’s okay. Are you okay?”

  I shook my head yes. “I’m fine. My hands are shaky, but I’m okay.”

  “Good.” He turned back to the road, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Then we drive. We ditch this car and find a way across the border, and we do this together.”

  The words were telling me, but his eyes were asking. The questioning look in his face left a pit in my stomach. He was risking everything he had to help me and he wasn’t even sure if I was interested. He needed to know that I was very much interested.

  I unbuckled my seat belt and crawled across to his seat. While he drove I placed a kiss to his lips.

  “Yes, we’re going to do this together.”

  Find Me

  Sera is in a desperate position. After her best friend died in what the police deemed an accident, she couldn’t believe it and couldn’t help but dig a little deeper. And when she starts receiving unexplained notes warning her away from the case, Sera knows there’s more to the story. The only problem is no one will listen to her. With no one on her side, Sera sets out to find out the truth behin
d her friend’s death.

  After months of digging and dead ends, though, she is struggling to make sense of the clues. When her only remaining lead turns out to be phony, Sera isn’t sure where to turn next. When she meets Dean, a police officer on leave and on a mission to find the truth, Sera is more than a little leery. The police didn’t want to help her before and she isn’t sure they can help her now. Even though Sera is defenseless when it comes to letting him into her bed, she’s not sure if she can let him in on her investigation.

  But with her hope of finding her friend’s killer fading, Sera has little choice but to team up with Dean. Between the sheets, they have amazing chemistry, but outside of them Dean and Sera couldn’t be more different. When Sera starts getting too close to the truth, will their partnership be strong enough to save them both?

  From my spot at the bar, I could hear the wind wailing outside. It was flapping around the loose siding that hung from the old building; its intermittent slap against the walls was beating out of sync with the music crackling from the dusty speakers. It had picked up since I’d gotten there hours ago. When I came in, it was sunny. Blindingly sunny. Even now, through the slats of the blinds and through the tint on the windows I could see the sun beating down despite the wind making its sound awful out there.

  The clash of my senses didn’t sit well with me. Neither did the warm beer I was sipping. Neither did the laughter of the crowd behind me. Nothing felt right about being there, yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

  Six o’clock had long since passed. The last and only lead I had wasn’t coming. My rational, functioning brain was telling me that, but still I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Leaving meant I needed to figure out where to go from here. It meant I had to return home with no answers and severely dwindling hope. I didn’t want to face that just yet, so instead I drained the dregs of my beer and ordered another.

  The coaster barely had a chance to show a water ring before I scooped up the cold glass and swallowed some down. The crackle of the stereo and the laughter of the after-work crowd was grating on my already raw nerves, so when that beer was finished, I ordered two more and retreated from the commotion of the bar in search of a quiet hole to stew in peace.

  A dive like this didn’t hold many options, but I managed to score a booth near the back. It was way too close to the bathrooms, but I took it anyways and ignored all the side eye glances from couples looking for a spot. Their judgmental stares at my lone ass occupying the booth did absolutely nothing to motivate me to move.

  Maybe a few months prior I would’ve. Maybe before the police investigation and the newspaper headlines and the rumors. Maybe before Ashley died. But right then, I was past the point of caring. Something changes in a person when they’ve gotten a glimpse of the underside of life, the parts one isn’t meant to see. Or maybe it was just me who wasn’t able to handle the politics and the death.

  Things had started getting too real again. The defeat was crowding in, but when I reached for the glass in front of me, it was empty. As was the one beside it.

  Shit.

  I wondered how I could so mindlessly drink down what must have been my fifth beer when normally I had trouble choking down one. But that was only a vague thought, taken over by the more pressing need to pee. I timed my trip, waiting until after two women came out, before I reluctantly left my booth unattended.

  The bathroom was empty and the trip was short, but I was certain my refuge would be lost. All for the best, really. With the walls starting to weave in and out while I sat on the toilet, it was probably a good time to find my way out and head back to my hotel.

  When I exited the bathroom I cast a glance over to my booth, confirming what I already knew. The spot across the table from where I had been sitting was occupied. Another lone patron, a broad and rangy man. A pint of beer was nestled between his hands, and one more across from him, taking up the spot where my empty one had sat.

  The intention was to keep walking, but I made the fatal mistake of making eye contact with him. His crystal-blue eyes pierced me in place, their hold so strong that I was pulled from the path to the door, my thigh making abrupt contact with a table.

  I easily corrected my gait, but he was standing almost instantly. His strong hands gripped my arm and guided me around the table and towards the booth. I was too surprised and embarrassed to object.

  “Lost, Sera?”

  It took me a minute to process his words. Not only was my world slightly delayed, but the low purr of his voice caught me off guard. He towered over me by several inches; his arms were thick and his eyes were sharp, yet his voice wasn’t gruff like I would have expected. I stared at him a beat too long before shaking out of his grip, finally able to react.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You were walking right past your table.”

  I felt my brows furrow while my mind worked to figure out how he knew that. Or why he cared.

  “That was my intention.”

  “Well that’s too bad. I was hoping to catch you before you left.” He pointed to the table and the drink that was apparently intended to lure me back there.

  “And why is that?” I asked, suddenly regretting not keeping my head clear and sober. There was a fog lingering in my head and in my vision that was interfering with my ability to place this man’s face. Something told me, though, I would have easily recalled those eyes had I met him before.

  He bent over me, his face close to mine and his cologne permeating the fog. I took an involuntary breath in.

  “I think we were both stood up by the same date.”

  With his closeness and his warm breath on my cheek, I almost missed the meaning of his words. When they did register, I backed away a step and shot my eyes up to his. There was no humor in them, just the same hard stare. He gestured to the booth and this time I nodded, stepping past him and taking up my spot.

  I watched as he sat, his broad shoulders taking up most of the space across from me. A man like him would normally intimidate me, but not tonight. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the gentleness that betrayed his looks, or the promise I’d made over Ashley’s grave, but whatever it was, I faced him with all the confidence in me. This man could be holding answers and I desperately needed to know them.

  He nodded to the glass in front of me, but I shook my head. I was fighting to pick up the strands of my reasonable thought and more than a little regretting my lame attempt at drinking away my self-pity. He lifted his shoulder up in a shrug and picked up his own pint.

  He finished his swallow, and set the glass down on the coaster, making sure it was perfectly centered before licking his lips and glancing out over the barroom. Slowly.

  I was losing patience. He may not have been in a hurry to cut to the chase, but I was. I’d had enough of spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I couldn’t waste any more time on dead ends, and until he proved otherwise, I was looking at one big hulking dead end.

  “Are we going to talk, because I assumed that’s what you hustled me over here for? Let’s start with how you know my name.” I didn’t try to hide my annoyance, and he trailed his eyes over to mine.

  “That would be pretty goddamn suspicious, wouldn’t it?”

  My head constricted slightly, and I thought hard to decipher his meaning. None came.

  “Would it?”

  “We came in separately, sat apart from each other for the majority of the night, and when I tried to play it off like a chance meeting, you caused a scene. Now for us to be huddling together whispering would raise some red flags to anyone watching.”

  I ignored the open contempt coming through in his voice, fascinated by how he could look like we were having a genuinely lovely conversation while sounding like a complete asshole.

  “And you think someone is watching us?”

  “I think some strange shit is going on, and I wouldn’t count out the possibility.”

  He diverted his eyes away from mine, continuing his scan of the room and I sat back and w
atched him. It was clear that I was a step behind here and he wasn’t about to catch me up until he was damn well ready.

  While those sharp eyes looked out from under the beak of his ball cap, I took in the rest of him. He wore a dark leather jacket, unzipped with a tight-fitting white shirt underneath. Dark-blond hair curled out from under his hat and he hadn’t shaved in at least a couple days.

  Why did such a perfect package have to house such a complete ass?

  Finally he turned back to me, his eyebrow cocked when I didn’t peel my eyes away from him immediately. The smug half smile that tugged at the corner of his lips both infuriated and thrilled me in equal measures.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do,” he said, leaning back against the booth and stretching his legs long in front of him, a vision of relaxed cockiness. “We’re going to pretend we’re having a nice, friendly conversation; understand?”

  “Do you always get to be in charge?” I interrupted.

  “Absolutely.”

  “I’m not sure how you fit into what’s happening here, or how you knew I was supposed to be meeting someone, but either way, you don’t get to tell me what to do. I don’t even know your name.”

  “You’re not very good at having a friendly conversation, are you?” When I continued to stare at him, unwavering, he sighed and leaned forward. “My name’s Dean. And I can appreciate you not liking being told what to do. I’m the same way, but you have to understand that in this case, it would be for the best. You’re way out of your league here.”

  Oh hell no.

  I didn’t wait to hear what he was about to say next. I’d made it this far without anyone else’s help. And despite everyone else’s attempts to deter me. I’d be damned if I was about to let this stranger tell me what I could or couldn’t handle.

  I pushed myself out of the booth, fighting to stay standing when light-headedness turned my vision fuzzy and black. I pushed through it, putting one foot in front of the other until the darkness receded to the periphery again.

  From behind me, I heard Dean mumble something, but I was too far away now to hear. I knew he wasn’t coming after me; that would make too much of a scene for his liking. And even though I had no idea why, I did my best to make it to the door without drawing any attention to myself. I wasn’t stupid enough to completely dismiss Dean’s concerns. Maybe the asshole had been right.