“About twenty miles from here. It’s the closest place with actual bars and restaurants.”
“So do you set out with the sole purpose of trying to find a woman to take home?”
“I wouldn’t say that, no.”
“So then tell me how it works. What’s your magical secret for luring them in?”
“Luring them in?” He quirks a brow.
“You know what I mean. How do you pick up so many women if you’re not trying?”
“You make it sound like I bring a new woman home every other night.”
“Well, for all I know you do. I’ve only been here two days,” I remind him. “So tell me. What do you do?”
“I don’t do anything.” He shakes his head. “I go to a bar. I have a few drinks.”
“And that’s it?” I gawk at him.
“That’s it.” He shrugs again.
“So they always come up to you? You don’t ever pursue them?”
“You know, for someone who doesn’t like to answer a lot of questions, you sure like to ask them.”
“Sorry, I’m just trying to figure you out is all.”
“Any luck so far?”
“Still unsure,” I admit.
“Well you’ll have to be sure to let me know when you do.”
“I’ll do that.” I smile, dragging my teeth across my bottom lip.
I don’t miss the way Titus’ eyes follow the action, or the way my stomach clenches at the knowledge.
“Here we go.” I jump when the brunette who took our order a few minutes ago appears next to us seemingly out of nowhere.
Setting Titus’ plate down in front of him and mine in front of me, she spins around without another word and heads back behind the counter.
“So,” I clear my throat, pulling the toothpick holding my sandwich together out of the bread, “are you going to answer my question?” I ask.
“You asked me a question?” He picks up his sandwich and takes a bite.
“How does it work? With these women? Once you bring them home, I mean. Are you the love them and leave them type?”
He finishes chewing and swallows before answering.
“I’d say I’m more of the fuck them and show them the door type.” He grins, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“Of course you are.” I roll my eyes, picking up my own sandwich before tearing off a piece with my teeth.
“Good?” He waits until I’m done chewing before asking.
“Really good,” I admit.
“You seem surprised.”
“I am. A little.”
“I told you this place was good.”
“Well, you weren’t lying.”
“One thing I will never do is lie to you, Fallon.” His expression is soft but there’s an edge to his voice.
“Good to know.” I swallow past the lump in my throat.
A weird silence settles between us and neither of us speak again until both of our sandwiches are gone. Well, until his is gone. I’m not able to finish all of mine and I barely touched my soup, even though it was quite delicious.
“You about ready to head back to the cabin?” I ask, dropping my napkin onto my plate, not able to eat another bite.
“Sure. You want a box or anything?” He gestures to my uneaten food.
“No, I’m good.”
“Okay.” He pushes to a stand, grabbing our plates before taking them back to the counter. He returns within seconds. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” I take the hand he offers me, allowing him to pull me to my feet. “You think Link got any work done while we were gone?” I ask, following Titus out of the café.
“Doubtful.” He unlocks the truck and climbs inside at the same time I do. “Though if he knows what’s good for him, he better have.”
“You’re mean,” I tease.
“No, what’s mean is having to split fifty percent of the profits with him when he does twenty percent of the work.” He fires the engine to life.
“I guess I can’t argue with that.” I snap my seatbelt into place as he backs out of his parking spot before he eases the truck onto the road.
Chapter Eight
Fallon
“Where are we?” I ask after we’ve driven several miles and I still don’t recognize any of our surroundings.
“We’re making a pit stop.” Titus throws me a quick sideways glance.
“A pit stop where, exactly?” I shift nervously in my seat.
“You’ll see.” He grins, slowing to a near stop before turning off onto a barely visible dirt road.
“Is this the part where you kill me and dump my body where no one will find it?” I say, only half joking.
“If I were going to kill you, I wouldn’t have taken you shopping and out to eat first. Too many witnesses.”
“Ha. Ha,” I mock. “Seriously though, where are we?” I hold onto the door as the truck rocks back and forth over the bumpy dirt path.
“Look.” He points through the windshield as a large pond comes into view, partially hidden by thick brush and trees.
He pulls the truck off to the side of the path and kills the engine, hopping out before I’ve even attempted to move. He stands in the open doorway and looks back at me.
“You coming?”
I nod, unlatching my seatbelt before climbing out. I join Titus at the front of the truck, noticing the long, wooden dock that stretches out several feet into the pond.
“What are we doing here exactly?” I ask, swatting at an insect that lands on my forearm.
“I was in the mood for a swim.” He grins, grabbing the hem of his shirt before pulling the material over his head. I purposely avoid looking anywhere but at his face.
“Swim?” I look at him like he’s grown an extra head. “In there?”
“Yes, in there.” He chuckles, peeling his faded jeans off before kicking them next to his boots. I catch a glimpse of his fitted boxer briefs before I force my eyes back up, not missing the way heat slides up my cheeks. “You see any other bodies of water laying around?” He gestures around us.
Snagging my hand, he pulls me behind him onto the dock. It creaks and sways under our weight and I’m fairly convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses into the water. Hopefully not while I’m standing on it.
“I am not getting in there.” I look over the edge of the dock, down at the murky pond water.
“Relax. I come out here all the time.”
“All the time? Because it looks like no one has been here in ages.”
“It’s just a pond.” He seems amused.
“I can only imagine what’s living in there.”
“Fish. Turtles. Probably a few snakes. Nothing that’s going to hurt you.”
“That you know of.” I take a step back, shaking my head.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared.” He crosses his arms in front of himself, momentarily pulling my gaze to the splashes of color that pepper his bare chest.
“I’m not scared,” I insist. “I just don’t like swimming in water I can’t see through.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.”
“If you don’t like to do something there’s usually a reason. A bad experience. A fear of something. So what is it? You afraid of snakes or something?”
“Among other things,” I admit.
“I promise, they’re more scared of you than you are of them.”
“If I had a dime for every time someone has said that to me. As if that actually makes me feel better.”
“Well it should.”
“Well it doesn’t.”
“Funny.” He gives me a look I don’t quite understand. “Here I thought you were fearless.” He’s baiting me. I know he is. And I refuse to take it.
“Fearless,” I snort. “Yeah, far from it. And no matter what you say, I’m not going in there.”
“Fine.” He shoves his hair away from his face. “Suit yourself.�
�� With that, he takes a few quick steps and propels himself off the end of the dock.
He disappears beneath the dark water, and the ripples cause the dock to sway more forcefully. I brace myself, feeling my balance waver.
I stare out over the pond, waiting for Titus to resurface. When he doesn’t right away, I step out to the edge of the dock and look down. The water has begun to settle and there’s no sign of him anywhere.
Kicking off my sandals, I lean further over the dock, convinced that he’s going to pop up at any moment and scare the crap out of me.
“Titus?” I call, my voice echoing out over the water. “Titus?”
Too much time has passed and panic starts to seep in. Maybe he’s actually in trouble... And even though I know I have to go in after him, I’m not really sure what good it will do. It’s not like I can see anything down there. Regardless, I can’t stand here and do nothing.
I lean out further, praying to catch sight of him, when out of nowhere, he pops up out of the water right in front of me, startling me so bad that I lose my footing. The next thing I know I’m engulfed by cool water.
I sputter to the surface, still not sure what the hell just happened.
“Well, that’s one way to get you in the water.” Titus’ face comes into view as I wipe the water from my eyes.
“You did that on purpose.” I’m not sure if I’m pissed or amused. I pull my hand through the water, sending a wave right at his face. He tries to duck out of the way but isn’t fast enough. It catches him across the side of his head and neck. “I can’t believe you would do that.” I shove more water toward him. “I thought you were drowning.” I go to splash him again, but before my hand can connect with the water, Titus catches my wrist mid-air.
“Keep splashing me in the face and I might drown,” he warns, tugging me toward him.
My hands collide with his bare chest and my entire body goes stiff. It feels wrong, being this close to Titus, yet when his hands slide around my waist and settle on my lower back, I can’t help but think that nothing has ever felt more right.
“Titus.”
“Relax, Fallon.” He gives me an easy smile as he kicks his feet, sending us floating in the opposite direction of the dock.
“Um, Titus.” I start to panic as the water becomes too deep for me to touch the bottom.
“Relax,” he repeats, lifting both of my arms around his neck. “Just hold onto me. I promise, nothing is going to get you.”
Given his lack of clothes and the wet condition of mine, when I lean in closer and latch my hands behind his neck, it almost feels like there’s no barrier between us at all.
I turn my head, unable to take the heat of his stare as he moves us further out into the pond. When something slimy brushes my foot, I squeal, tensing against Titus as both my legs instinctively go around his waist.
He chuckles, the vibration of his body against mine feeling way better than it should.
“Okay, you got me out here. Now will you please take me back?” I duck my face into the crook of his neck, all my limbs wrapped around him like a vice grip as my anxiety mounts.
“Are you that scared?”
“What do you think?” I croak.
“Okay, okay,” he concedes, slowly turning back toward the dock.
I refuse to let go of him, and given how limited his movements are with me latched onto him, it’s a good two or three minutes before he’s hoisting me back up onto the dock.
I’m both relieved and disappointed.
I’m still trying to unstick my wet dress from my legs when Titus climbs onto the dock in front of me. I’m suddenly aware of just how much you can see through the thin pink material and instantly move to cover myself.
“Sorry about that.” He gestures to my wet clothing. “It will probably dry pretty fast if you take it off and lay it in the sun.”
“Take it off?” I balk.
“It’s not like you have anything I haven’t seen before.” He takes a seat, dangling his legs over the edge of the dock.
“And that’s supposed to make me feel okay about taking my clothes off in front of a complete stranger?” I fire back.
He looks back at me, his brow arched. “Pretty sure you’ve slept in my bed the last two nights and have showered in my bathroom. I think we’re past the complete strangers bit.”
“And so what, I’m just supposed to get naked in front of you and be completely comfortable doing so?”
“You have a bra and panties on, do you not?”
I look down as if I need to confirm, even though I know I do.
“Yes.”
“No different than a bikini.” He shrugs, turning his gaze back out to the water.
I consider his words. He’s right. Though given the light material of my underwear, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could see through them as well. While he’s not looking, I hesitantly lift my dress, surprised by how little you can see through the lacy material.
Considering my options, I decide that sitting in my underwear is probably better than having to wear this wet dress all the way back to the cabin.
Hesitantly peeling the material the rest of the way from my body, I lay it out across the dock and move to take the spot next to Titus, surprised when his eyes don’t leave the water.
I try to ignore how it makes me feel that he doesn’t even attempt to look at me.
“So, how did you find this place?” I ask after several beats of silence have passed between us.
“My grandfather used to bring me fishing here when I was younger. I guess you could say it kind of became my spot.”
“I can see why,” I admit, taking in the peaceful serenity. “Well, other than the creepy water,” I tack on when his gaze swings to mine.
“Creepy water?” He laughs, his shoulders shaking under the action.
“Come on.” I gesture in front of me. “You have to admit it looks like the kind of pond where a man-eating underwater creature would hang out.”
“A man-eating underwater creature?” he questions, humor lacing his handsome face.
“Oh my god. Have you never seen River Monsters before?”
“River what?”
“River Monsters.”
“Wait, is that the show where he travels around the world hunting for different types of fish?”
“Yes!” I respond a little too enthusiastically. “Have you seen some of the creatures he’s found? This,” I point to the pond. “this is exactly the type of place where one of those long-toothed demons would be hiding.”
“Long-toothed demons,” he repeats, his voice shaking slightly as he tries to hold in his laughter. “You know what I think.” He drags his toe over the top of the water. “I think you watch too much television.”
“I do not.”
“And here I thought snakes were your biggest concern.” He shakes his head. “I had no idea you were freaking out over some crazy three headed fish that likes to eat people.”
“Are you making fun of me right now?” I shove at his shoulder.
“Can you blame me?”
“Whatever,” I grumble when I can’t think of anything clever to say.
“That’s what I thought.” Titus shifts, dropping back into the water moments later.
“Where are you going?” I ask as he pushes away from the dock and begins to swim further into the pond.
“I’m going to discover what creepy creepers are lurking below the water,” he says in a ghostly voice.
“You’re such a jerk.” I push to a stand, completely forgetting about my lack of clothes until it’s already too late.
I watch Titus’ gaze lock in on me and I swear my skin heats to a million degrees.
I’m learning there are two very different sides to Titus. There’s the easy going, almost playful side, that up until today I had yet to really see. And then there’s the dark, serious side where his intimidation factor is through the roof and the slightest look in my direction makes me feel like I’m walking on
a tight rope two hundred feet in the air without a safety net below me.
“Why don’t you get into the water and call me that,” he challenges.
It takes me a second to realize he’s referring to my previous statement.
“No need for both of us to get eaten today,” I fire back, having to raise my voice slightly to accommodate for how far out he’s swam.
I hear his laughter dance across the water, the sound washing over me like a warm breeze.
I turn, grabbing my dress before flipping it over to the other side in hopes of drying it faster. With the hot sun blaring down onto the dock, and given the thin fabric of the dress, I can’t imagine it will take much longer to dry.
Sliding back down onto the dock, I watch Titus as he swims laps around the pond. It doesn’t take much to see that he’s a strong swimmer. I imagine him as a child, swimming in the lavish underground pool that he probably had growing up. I wonder if he was forced to take lessons or if he was naturally drawn to the water.
When he disappears under the water, I’m too lost in thought to notice right away. But once I do, I quickly stand and back away from the edge. He may have gotten me once, but he will not get me again.
I scour the surface of the water, watching for signs of his approach, continuing to move backward as I do, convinced that he’s going to pop up at any second.
When my back collides with something solid, I jump and scream, turning to find Titus standing behind me.
“Titus!” I scold, placing my hand flat against my chest, pretty certain I’m about to go into cardiac arrest. “How the hell did you get up here?”
My eyes dip to his broad chest as water droplets slide down his sculpted abdomen and disappear against his black boxers. I swallow hard, my thoughts taking a drastic turn.
“There’s a ladder right there.” He points to the right, snapping me out of my haze. I follow his line of sight, spotting the top part of a rickety, handmade ladder attached to the side of the dock feet from where the land meets the water.
“God, you about scared me to death.” I shove at him, tempted to push his ass right back into the water.
He catches me by the forearm before I can even make contact, tightening his grip as he steps toward me. When his free hand swipes a chunk of wet hair over my shoulder, his fingers brushing the crook of my neck, a full body shiver runs through me.
Follow Me Down Page 7