by Sierra Rose
Then a man walked out into the middle of the road. A wireless microphone in his hand.
Lacy let out a silent gasp as the two of them locked eyes, staring for a suspended moment. Then he raised the mic to his lips and the magic began...
“Oh! Darling, please believe me
I'll never do you no harm
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm”
The crowd erupted in screaming applause, as Lacy stared on in shock. Never before had she seen such a spectacle. Not in all her years. She wouldn’t have thought it was possible. But Dylan wasn’t done. Quite the contrary, he was just getting started.
“Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Believe me when I beg you, ooh
Don't ever leave me alone”
The guitar blasted out again, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. How the hell he was doing this—she’d never know. Where the hell the music was coming from—she’d never know. The only thing she knew for sure was that she’d asked for some kind of miracle.
And Dylan Stone had delivered in full.
“When you told me, ooh
You didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried”
He swayed his hips back and forth, sending up a screaming cheer.
“When you told me
You didn’t need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and died”
His voice rose up to hang on the last note, leaving the screaming audience breathless for more. The entire street fell silent as he raised his hands with the inexplicable confidence of a rock and roll god. Then his eyes locked on a specific target.
“Oh! Darling, please believe me”
As the music started up again, he headed slowly across the street. Ignoring the cars that screeched to a stop on either side. His eyes zeroed in on a particular girl.
“I’ll never let you down”
He sank to the sidewalk in front of her, eyes twinkling as he held out his hand.
“Believe me when I tell you
I’ll never do you no harm”
The crowd went wild as the final guitar trailed off, thundering the street as they roared and cheered with applause. A sympathetic police officer took a step towards the impromptu musician, then his eyes softened and he hooked the handcuffs back on his belt—giving the two lovebirds time to do whatever they needed before he reluctantly called it in.
Dylan didn’t see any of them. He only had eyes for one girl.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he murmured, still holding out his hand as he gazed up at her from the pavement. “Will you forgive me?”
Lacy pursed her lips, trying her very best to restrain a smile. It wasn’t easy. His eyes were sparkling with the light of the early morning sun, as it haloed behind his blond hair. The crowd pushed and jostled around her, coaxing the two of them together. When that wasn’t direct enough, one woman actually shouted, “Just marry him already!” before vanishing up the road.
A little grin finally broke through, as she reached down to accept his hand. The crowd went wild again, but none more so than Dylan. He pushed to his feet with a radiant smile, lifting her up in the air at the same time. Her latte fell from her hands, splashing on the sidewalk behind them, as he pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss.
“I really am sorry,” he whispered.
Their faces hovered together, just inches apart.
“I know.” She stroked back a lock of his hair, before kissing him again. A second after that, she spotted the policeman still lurking behind him and cocked her head. “We should probably get out of here. You know, before you get arrested.”
He nodded, but didn’t set her down. From the way he was holding on, a part of her didn’t think he was ever going to set her down again.
“Where would you like to go?”
She glanced down at her empty paper cup.
“Well...you just spilled all my coffee.”
He pulled her in for another grinning kiss, whispering lightly in her ear.
“There’s coffee back at my house...”
“And I do need to get these clothes off fast...so nothing stains.”
Chapter 5
They made it back to Dylan’s house, but they never made it to the coffee. The second they pushed through the door, he lovingly attacked her—kissing her neck, her lips, her face, her hair. Anything and everything he could get his hands on. She let out a giggling shriek and tried to run for cover, but he was too fast for all that. She hadn’t made it two steps down the hall, before he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her back once more.
“I thought you were apologizing!” she cried, holding up her hands to protect her face. A rather counterproductive strategy, since he just started kissing those too. “I thought you were—”
“I am apologizing,” he said playfully. “This is my apology.”
Without another word, he tossed her over his shoulder and started marching up the stairs. She shrieked again and pounded on his back, but it was no use. He only smiled as he made his way to the bedroom, carrying her as effortlessly as if she was a doll.
“Don’t worry, love.” He grinned as he kicked open the door. “After this, you’re going to start asking me to apologize all the time...”
ABOUT FIVE HOURS AND countless ‘apologies’ later, the happy couple was nestled down in the bathtub—staring at the tiles as a random collection of suncatchers scattered little rainbows all across the wall. They had been sitting in silence for the better part of an hour, occasionally letting out the cooler water and refilling it with hot. All the bubbles had long since faded. And yet, there was a strange sort of peacefulness in the air. A blissful sort of contentment that only grew stronger as Lacy nestled down into his arms.
“I could stay here forever,” she murmured, leaning back against his chest as her eyes fluttered shut. “Become one of those bath people.”
He laughed silently, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist.
“There are bath people?”
“You know: don’t have jobs, permanently pruney, never leave the water? Bath people.”
He leaned his lips down to whisper in her ear. “They call those mermaids.”
She broke off in a fit of laughter, splashing a handful of water over her shoulder. “I want to be one of those then. As long as you’ll come with me.”
He straightened up, staring down at her with a crooked grin—as if she was proposing something rather significant. “Lacy Larson, are you asking me to become a merman?”
“Would you do it?”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “I’m already halfway there.”
The two of them chuckled again, before settling into silence once more. Despite the happy smiles, there was a lot they weren’t saying. What exactly had ended up happening to the woman who was waiting in his bed? What exactly would end up happening with the half a dozen open cases naming him as the prime suspect sitting on her desk? Why exactly was all of this happening right now, and how could two such different people possibly make things work?
But we’re not that different, she thought suddenly. Not really.
Sure, they were absolute opposites on paper. But in person, you’d never be able to tell.
All those irritating quirks that Lacy had always hated about Dylan Stone—the arrogance, the adultery, the careless disregard for other people’s feelings—the man sitting behind her didn’t have any of it. It was a little strange, actually. And even harder to trust.
Maybe he has a split personality disorder.
She shuddered at her own subconscious, making a silent vow to stop watching so many medical-based dramas on TV.
He does NOT have split personalities, she chided herself. He’s just a little...different from his profile I created.
How would YOU know? her subconscious responded slyly. One minute he’s a thoughtless cheater, the next
—he’s singing in the street and carrying you up the stairs? Sounds like two different personalities to me—
“What are you thinking about?” he asked suddenly, leaning down to kiss her neck.
“Nothing,” she answered quickly, flushing with guilt. “Certainly nothing about you, why do you ask? Were you thinking about me?”
Way to play it cool, Lacy.
He chuckled again, trailing his hands sneakily down her ribcage to her waist. From there, he proceeded to get lower and lower, slipping them in between her thighs.
“So you were thinking about me, huh?”
His teeth sank into her shoulder, as his fingers moved in a steady circle. Getting faster and faster all the while. She let out a quiet gasp as her back arched up against him. And although he’d asked a question, she found herself temporarily unable to speak.
“It’s cool.” He grinned against the back of her neck, teasing her with one hand, as the other slipped a finger inside. “Probably happens all the time. I’m quite memorable.”
“You’re...” She trailed off, trying to catch her breath. “You’re memorable, huh?” She cast a sideways glance over her shoulder, planting a sudden kiss on his lips. “Aren’t you the guy who almost got arrested this morning for bastardizing Paul McCartney?”
“Hey!” He retracted his hands at once, laughing as she spun around to look him in the face. “Singing in public is a massive fear of mine, I’ll have you know. Sacrificing myself on the altar of dignity and all that. And for the record, I thought I sounded incredible.”
He DID sound incredible.
“You were fantastic!” She then shrugged as if men came out of the woodworks every day just to serenade her on the street. “But next time, I’d love a little Freddie Mercury.”
He pulled her closer with a wicked grin. “Is that right? Maybe a little Shakira, really get those hips moving...”
There was a sudden pause. Followed by a glare. “I’m going to drown you in the tub.”
He laughed as she grinned.
Chapter 6
The next morning, bright and early, the happy couple piled into the car. They’d postponed their plans to go to the lake for two days now, and they weren’t willing to wait even another second. The car was loaded up with gas, snacks, drinks, and the obligatory picnic blanket. A soundtrack was selected. Spartacus was released into the backyard with a small feast of food. After a quick stop by Lacy’s office to tell them she’d be out (a stop during which one of them strategically stayed in the car to avoid getting drooled on by Quin), they were off.
“This is perfect,” he murmured as they flew through the forest and swept past the heavy gates to enter the park. “Exactly how I imagined it would be.”
Lacy shot him a peculiar look. “You mean...exactly how you remembered it?” He gave her a blank look, which she returned with a curious frown. “You said that you used to come here all the time, remember? You’re talking like you’ve never seen the place before.”
“No, I totally have,” he recovered himself quickly, rolling to an abrupt stop in front of the check-in kiosk. “It’s just been a long time.”
He paid quickly for their parking ticket, and they wound their way slowly through the park. Past the groups of families with screaming children. Past the packs of dogs straining at the end of their leashes. Up to the trails that led to the alpine ridge. He had wanted to go down to the beach right away, but she’d wanted to go hiking. A request he was more than willing to oblige.
The second they stepped onto the trail, the soft pine needles crunching beneath their feet, the teasing began. First, she’d left her camera in the car and they had to go back. Then he realized he’d forgotten to grab the water bottles and they returned a second time. The time after that, she’d complained loudly that she was starving to death, and they stopped about half a mile up to rip open a packet of crackers.
“See?” She crunched happily on a mouthful of salt. “This is better, isn’t it?”
He shook his head slowly, watching her with a grin. “How are you so fucking cute? Even when you’re infuriating, you still manage to look adorable.”
“Infuriating?” She repeated the word with a teasing frown. “No, that doesn’t sound at all like me. Charming, maybe. Stunning, with a searing wit. But infuriating? Not a chance.”
He wisely chose not to contest this, and together, the two of them polished off an entire box of crackers with cheese. By the end, a small congregation of squirrels had gathered right inside the tree line, and were watching Lacy with wide, begging eyes. She’d sworn that she wasn’t feeding them, but the second his back was turned, she’d toss over another cracker.
“There!” he exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger. “That time I actually saw it! You’ve been doing it this entire time—don’t lie to me!”
“Dylan, let’s be frank.” She folded her arms teasingly across her chest. “Between the two of us, you’re the liar here. Not me.”
His playful grin vanished in a second, as he froze dead still—staring at her. “Why would you say that?” Unless she was imagining it, there was a note of true anxiety in his voice. “Why would you say that I’m a liar?”
She froze as well, the teasing smile sliding slowly off her face. “Um, I don’t know, how about because of how we met? Because of all those little quirks that made me camera-stalk you before your unfortunate canine blackout? Because of...you, Dylan?”
She said the words lightly, but there was an unavoidable air of accusation to the entire thing. He held her gaze for a moment, standing with a measured stare, before a sudden smile flickered across his face and he gestured to the trail ahead.
“But that’s all in the past, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “You tell me.”
It was an abrupt way to end an abruptly awkward conversation, but the two of them were so eager to get past it, neither one of them seemed to mind. Instead, they put the whole thing behind them, replaced their backpacks, bid farewell to the squirrels, and continued to climb.
And climb, and climb, and climb.
It would have been a lot easier if they’d camped the night before and started out early in the morning. By the time they hit the steepest grade, the summer sun was already high in the sky—beating down unforgivably on their heads.
Lacy kept pace with him. Determined not to be one of those girls that started whining the second they were out in the open air. Determined to match him step for step.
But by hour four, all of that went right out the window.
“This is bullshit.” She sat down abruptly in her tracks. “I need coffee. And crackers!” She gestured to his pack with sudden inspiration. “Can you get out the crackers?”
He turned around slowly, staring down at her with a patient smile. “We didn’t bring any coffee, and you fed all of the crackers to the squirrels, remember?”
“Am I still denying that?” she asked, stifling a yawn. “Or have I confessed already?”
He laughed, running his hands back through his blonde hair. While he might not have been aware of it himself, the man looked like a spokesmodel for the great outdoors. Some sort of walking billboard for hiking gear. The other tourists who passed them by stifled actual gasps of shock. Lacy was enjoying it all immensely. He, of course, remained absolutely oblivious.
“We’re only about a mile away from the peak. Think you can make it?”
She shook her head solemnly, a look of cartoonish misery clouding across her face. “This is the end for me. You go on ahead. Remember me fondly to others.”
He looked at her appraisingly for a moment, judging how angry she might be. Then, without a word of warning, he tossed her over his shoulder and proceeded to jog the rest of the way up the mountain with an exhilarated grin.
People laughed as they ran past on the trail. (One laughing, as the other pounded feebly at his back.) Women looked imploringly at their husbands. Husbands shot Dylan a dirty look—as if he was betraying the brotherhood by
making it seem like carrying was an option. It got to the point where they’d become something of a mountain sensation by the time they reached the top.
“There.” He set her down with a breathless gasp, peering over the magnificent vista at the sparkling water below. “You made it to the top after all.”
She stared in awe at the breathless drop from the cliff beside her. Then turned with similar wonder to the man who’d carried her to the top.
“How the hell are you in such good shape?” she asked incredulously. “I mean, I’m in good shape, and I’m tired. Is it just all the sex, or what?”
Even philandering had to have a few perks...
He faltered for a second, then his face cleared with a sunny smile. “A few years ago, I really got into kickboxing. It tends to keep you on your toes.”
Kickboxing? That was nowhere in his file.
“I love kickboxing,” she blurted, unable to stop herself. “I got into it a little while ago myself.” With a mischievous smile, she dropped back into a casual fighting pose. “Care to show me what you got?”
He froze dead still, looking her up and down.
“Uh...no. Not at all.”
She glanced around the empty view point with a grin. “Why not? No one’s around.”
“It’s not about that. It’s just...” He floundered for a moment, before gesturing to her body in exasperation. “Look at you! I could snap you in half!”
“Oh really...”
She stepped forward with a dangerous grin. He hesitated, then took a step back.
“Plus, I seem to remember that woman at the police station saying something about you carrying a nightstick...”
She burst out laughing, advancing forward once again.
“Well what is it, Dylan? Are you afraid of me, or afraid of hurting me? Because as you can see,” she gestured down to her skin-tight hiking clothes, “I’m entirely unarmed.”
His eyes grew thoughtful for a moment, and he seemed to be taking the question a lot more seriously than it was intended. Afraid of me, or afraid of hurting me. It was like he honestly couldn’t decide. Then a little grin twitched up the side of his lips.