by J. S. Scott
Elaina shivered in his hold. Now was absolutely not the time to tell him she was twenty-one. He assumed she was eighteen because she was first year. His mistake. Her good fortune. Not everyone had the money or the opportunity to start college at eighteen. She hadn't. But no way was she telling him that now.
"I'm not asking for it. Let me go."
He waited for the count of three very long heartbeats as he seemed to conquer his anger. Finally, he dropped her wrist.
She immediately scrambled back and scooted away from him and then lifted her hand to rub her wrist. It was red and almost sore where he had squeezed her. She bit her lip and stared at him while she held her arm and waited for him to say something, do something.
His eyes dropped to her reddened wrist. "Did I hurt you?"
"I'm okay." She pushed the words through gritted teeth.
His eyes ran over her and Elaina was supremely conscious of the fact she should have put on more clothing that morning. Yellow t-shirt, frayed shorts and Converse weren't nearly enough protection against his dark, intense inspection.
He raised his eyes from her body, to her lips. His searing stare held her until he lifted a hand, ran it through his dark hair, and put the truck back into drive.
Three minutes later, he was pulling around to the front of her aunt's house.
She reached down for the handle, but before she could get her hand there, the locks were activated and she was shut inside with him until he decided to let her out. Shocked, her breathing going haywire, she silently turned to face him, her back against the door.
He broodingly watched her and took his time about speaking. "I'm going to get one of my men to put gas in your car and bring it around. There's no sense in having the garage pick it up. But you can bet your ass I'm going to tell Brian what you did. Maybe he can talk some sense into you."
"You're too kind, Mr. Vega." Her words were sarcastic and she watched a quick, ferocious scowl cross his face.
"You just do not know when to quit pushing, do you?"
"Let me out."
He didn't move. His eyes were glued to her.
She tried again. "Let me out."
"Doesn't feel good, does it? Knowing you're stuck. You better be glad it was me that found you, baby. Another man might not have been such a gentleman."
Her eyes flared wide. "A gentleman? Are you f--"
Her voice stopped on that word he hated as he interrupted her at the same time.
"You want your ass blistered?"
Great waves of intense fury mingled with fear pulsed through her bloodstream. The fury won. "You think you're man enough to do it?"
He reached out and swiped her wrist again, but this time, his hold wasn't as tight. Just as strong, but not as tight. "I'm plenty man enough, you grow up some and I'll show you." His eyes glared into hers, then dropped to her lips. His nostrils flared. "That's a promise, Miss Ruiz."
He released her from his hold and pressed a button to unlock the doors.
She didn't wait even a second before jerking the door open and jumping down. Just before she slammed it in his face, his dark voice hit her with one last demand.
"Elaina, do not run out of gas again, understand me?"
She gave him a go-to-hell look, slammed the truck door, and ran up the steps to the house.
****
At ten the next morning, Elaina sat on the side of the unpaved county road in almost the exact same spot where she had run out of gas the day before. Today, her car was safely in the driveway, but she was shaken and bruised. Her morning run had started out fine, but the surface of the road was not what she was used to. It was her own fault she'd tripped and fallen. She'd more than fallen, she had a couple of strawberries on her knees like she hadn't had since she was a kid. They dripped blood down both shins. The palms of her hands were rough and abraded, and one of her ankles was twisted so badly she couldn't even stand. Shit. And that wasn't the worst of it.
She'd been carrying her phone, listening to music and had landed on it, crushing the screen and pretty much disabling it completely.
She was stuck until a vehicle came by. Her aunt and uncle were still in San Antonio. Unease trickled through her. The good news was it was only ten in the morning, she could sit here all day before it got dark, and the weather was unseasonably mild. Another reason she had strawberries on her bare knees. She was wearing shorts again.
She hung her head between her legs and waited.
At one o'clock, not a single car had come by and she was getting more than a little worried. She was ferociously hungry, her face was burning from the sun, and she had to pee. Badly.
****
Raul was cutting down county road on his way to the north pasture when he saw her and braked. Jesus Christ, what the hell was she up to now?
Letting the truck idle, he jumped down and was squatting beside her in seconds.
Her head was hanging between her legs and he gently lifted her chin until he could see her face. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and dust, and he took in the skinned knees and dried blood.
"Christ, little girl, what happened to you?"
"I fell." The answer was short and all she could manage.
"That's it? You fell? What the hell are you doing this far from the house?"
"I was running."
"Running?"
"Yeah, you know, running. Jogging, exercising. Whatever."
Raul was acquainted with the concept. He just never had to do it. He got so much damn exercise around the ranch, he needed extra calories and protein. He damn sure didn't want to expend any of them uselessly.
She looked at him with dark eyes swimming in tears. "I wanted somebody else," she whispered quietly.
"What?" he questioned.
"I didn't want you to find me. I don't want your help again. I don't want to be yelled at right now and I was praying you wouldn't find me like this."
Damn. That cut him deep. He had been rough on her yesterday.
"Sorry, baby. You're stuck with me."
He reached down and as gently as he could, scooped her up with one arm under her back and the other under her knees. "Put your arms around my neck."
Elaina did as he said and collapsed against him. Her eyes shut and she let out a sigh of relief. It had been a long few hours.
He walked around to the passenger side of his truck and deposited her there, shutting the door. She was immediately closed in again and felt much as she had the day before when he had locked her in with him.
He started the truck, executed a reverse maneuver and headed down the road, back the way he came.
"Brian and Janie home yet?" he asked.
"No. Probably tomorrow."
"Right. I'm taking you to my house." It was a statement of intent.
Chapter Four
"No. I d-don't want to go to--"
"Tough shit, Miss Ruiz."
Her eyes welled with tears again as she swiveled her head in his direction and impaled him with a vicious glare. "See? That's why I wanted someone else to find me."
Guilt and irritation trickled down his spine. Shit. She was young, she was alone and she was hurt. Couldn't he fucking rein it in with her and not act like a wad of shit? It wasn't her fault his body was screaming for her. He needed to remember that.
He kept driving and the silence in the truck was deafening.
Minutes later, he pulled into the circular driveway that fronted his house. He climbed out of the truck and walked around and opened the passenger door. He reached in to get her and was amazed she didn't put up more of a verbal fight about him carrying her.
He found out why seconds later as he climbed the steps to the front door with her in his arms and pushed it open.
"I have to pee."
He didn't answer her, just strode to the nearest bathroom. He flipped the light on, and carried her to the commode.
"Can you stand?"
"Yes."
He slid her down carefully and she put her weight on he
r good foot and balanced on the vanity next to the commode. "Thanks. I'll just be a minute."
"Call me. I'll hear you."
"Okay." She waited for him to turn and shut the door and then she sat down with a massive sigh of relief.
Five minutes later, she was sitting on the closed lid of the commode and he was kneeling in front of her, carefully taking her shoes and socks off.
"Damn, little girl, those are some badass skinned knees."
"Mr. Vega--"
He cut her off. "My name's Raul."
She lifted her eyes from her torn up knees and her gaze tangled with his.
His eyes were deep, unfathomable. "Say it."
"Raul."
"That's right, little girl."
She cleared her throat minutely. "You could start calling me Elaina."
His eyes stayed hot on hers but he didn't answer.
She tried speaking again. "Thanks for saving me. Again."
He did respond to that. "Not a problem. Better me than the next guy."
She still wasn't so sure about that. "You think?"
"Yeah."
He turned away and came back seconds later with a tube of antiseptic ointment and a moistened cloth. He held the cloth in front of her and gently offered, "You trust me to do it?"
She puffed out a breath as something unknown passed between them. "Yeah."
He placed the cloth on one knee and then the next, loosening the dried blood, rubbing gently, carefully removing the sand and flakes of rock from the dried sores. It took awhile and she sat still, trying to distract herself from the pain by watching his hands on her.
He had large strong hands, with thick, blunt fingers. They were cool and capable as they touched her skin. Elaina felt a trace of heat hit her high in the breasts and slide down through her system, landing in a damp pool of need between her thighs. Shocked, she trembled softly and raised her eyes back to his face.
His movements stalled and she knew he felt the tremors in her body as his eyes left his task and lifted to hers. Incendiary heat passed between them. She licked her lips and stared at his male beauty.
She opened her mouth and tried to speak. "So--you're not always mean." The words were off the top of her head but they conveyed her exact thought.
His ministrations stopped completely and she felt his attention leave her abraded flesh and center wholly on her.
She sucked in a breath at the naked look of self-contempt in his eyes.
"I was hard on you yesterday." His hand stroked absently down her leg to her calf, and he rubbed back and forth, stopping to cup the feminine definition of her muscle. "I'm sorry about that. I get pissed when I get scared. And it scared me shitless to think about you putting yourself in danger." His eyes continued to rove over her features as his hands stroked her skin. "You're young and small and weak. There are bad people out there, baby." The visible anxiety in his eyes told Elaina his worry was sincere. "You have to be careful all the time, you know?"
His hand lifted to her face and cupped her chin, his calloused finger tilting her face completely to his. "Okay?"
"Y-yes." Elaina was mesmerized by his masculine beauty so close to her. Her heart was beating in wild gallops; her brain seemed absent from her body. Again, she spoke without thinking, "You're so handsome."
Her face immediately flushed red when she realized she had spoken the thought out loud.
His hand tightened on her chin and one side of his mouth lifted in an attempt at a smile that failed completely. "Yeah? Well, you're gonna be stupendous when you get grown. You're beautiful already and there's no fucking way you can stay here with me. This was a bad idea."
He let go of her face and pushed back from her onto his haunches. I'm gonna get you cleaned up and get you back home. I got a pair of crutches. You'll be fine until they get back."
"Why do you get to say--the f-word and I don't?" she whispered.
His hand lifted to her face one last time and held her cheek, his thumb running over the tracks that the earlier tears had left. He leaned into her, put his mouth to her ear and whispered, "You get grown up some and I'll let you say it to me all you want." His mouth lingered, and Elaina quivered as she felt him breathe in her scent and place a slow kiss on her ear.
This was the third or fourth time he had made a comment about her growing up. It sent shivers through her system.
Her arms were just about to reach up and enfold his neck when he abruptly stood to his feet and turned away.
****
The next day Raul fought with himself off and on about checking on Elaina. He knew Brian and Janie were home, he'd seen their truck flying down the road leaving a cloud of dust a couple of hours before.
At three o'clock, he couldn't fight the beast inside anymore and flipped his cell open.
Brian answered it on the first ring. "Hey man. Thanks for bailing us out. Again."
"No problem. She was pretty shaken up yesterday. Vicious twist to the ankle. She okay?"
"Yeah. Janie drove her to the clinic this morning just to make sure there's no fracture. Just a sprain. Thanks, man."
"Sure. How'd the trip go? Janie buy out the stores?"
"Hell, yeah. Now we're throwing a goddamn New Year's Eve party."
"Shit. Do I have to be there?"
"Better believe it, pard. I gotta be there, you gotta be there."
"Goddamn, Canton. You better learn how to rein her in--"
He was interrupted by Brian's laugh. "Right. Not in this lifetime. This is the last one. Holidays will be over for a year. We'll let you rest after this one. Hey. You got somewhere you gotta be on Christmas Eve? Janie wants to have twilight drinks."
"Twilight fuckin' what?"
"Twilight drinks," Brian said on a laugh. "No worries. Nobody gonna be here but us. We're gonna light a fire and grill steaks. Dude, come on. Don't leave me alone with both these women. They've been ganging the shit up on me and I can't keep up. Six o'clock. Beer and steaks. Dude. Please."
"Yeah, all right. What can I bring?"
"Just yourself. Janie's already stocked your brand."
****
Raul pulled his truck in front of the Canton's house three nights later. He didn't care to acknowledge to himself how much he'd looked forward to this night. Already, four days without seeing her was too damn long.
The weather was mild. If Janie had her heart set on a fire, they were going to have to turn the air conditioner on. He rang the bell, twelve- pack under his arm.
Janie answered the door, a smile on her face, a cold beer for him in her hand.
Raul grinned at her and took the offering. "My kind of woman. Too bad Canton found 'ya first." He threw a nod at Brian who was standing behind his wife.
Janie grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. "Right. That would have been like me robbing the cradle, don't you think?"
Raul continued to tease Janie, feeling free to do so with her husband leaning against the wall, drinking a beer, listening in. "What are you Janie, thirty-three, thirty-four? No much of a cradle robber there, sweetheart."
"Well aren't you sweet, darlin'." She turned to her husband. "I knew there was a reason I liked your friend."
She never gave up her age, and Raul got a kick out of it. Maybe she was closer to forty. Who the hell knew? She looked good was all he knew. Brian had done well. Except for her annoying inclination to throw parties for every damn reason, Janie seemed the perfect woman. Brian deserved her. Ten or so years older than himself, Brian Canton was a good man, a good friend, and he deserved happiness just like the next guy.
Raul tossed the twelve- pack at Brian's chest as Janie pulled his arm and brought him into the room, coming to a stop next to the couch where Elaina relaxed, propped up with pillows. "Come say hi to my baby."
Raul looked down and felt a vicious kick to his solar plexus. Completely annihilated by the transformation in front of him, he stood zombie-like, having to force out his voice, and all he could do was mimic Janie's words. "Hi, baby."
Elaina heard the surprised heat in his voice and her stomach clenched with excitement. His eyes were running over her and his body was held immobile, as if in shock.
Four days without seeing him had left her anxious, unsatisfied.
She had known he was coming and prepared well in advance. She let Janie assume it was for Christmas Eve, but Elaina knew in her heart she was dressing up for him. She had conflicted emotions--she didn't particularly want him to find out her age, but at the same time, she wanted him to see her as an adult. It made no sense.
She was still on crutches, and her knees were seriously scabbed over. She couldn't wear jeans, so she had put on a little black dress that was the epitome of the phrase, and she had done her hair and make-up. He stood staring down at her, and on the inside she was laughing and shouting at the gobsmacked look on his face. So there!
Raul knew he was staring, but he really didn't give a shit. He was seriously debating whether eighteen was too young for him. What the hell? She was an adult. She was old enough to vote. She was legal. Not jailbait. As he watched her, his brain analyzed the ramifications of making such a move.
Janie interrupted his thoughts when she swirled back into the room and handed Elaina a can of Diet Coke.
Janie was drinking a glass of wine, he and Brain were drinking beer. It was a vicious kick to his stomach to see her take a delicate sip of the soft drink. It was the kick he needed to get his head out of his ass. She's too fucking young, Vega. Understand it, man.
How long would he have to wait? He'd have to let her go back to school, grow up some. Twenty-one. No. Fuck that shit. Twenty. Just not a teenager. He didn't want seducing a teenager on his conscience.
He was deep in an internal conflict when Janie and Brian went outside to check the grill. The back door slammed, leaving him alone with Elaina.
Silence pulsed between them as they stared at each other.
She cleared her throat and asked him, "What are you thinking about?"
He stood over her, and took his time answering. "I'm thinking you're dangerous, baby."
"How so, Mr. Vega?"
"You're dangerous to my peace, my state of mind, my equilibrium." His eyes roved down her legs, the only imperfection the scrapes on her knees. He took in everything, her tiny ankles, the pink polish on her toenails, her feminine little feet. His eyes slowly moved back up, stalling at the vee between her thighs and the curve of her chest. "You think this is a smart move, Miss Ruiz? Pulling out all the stops when you know I'm trying my damn best to stay away from you?"
