by Jayne Blue
I pulled back. Thea grabbed her shirt and started to get dressed. As much as I wanted to, we couldn’t stay in the cocoon we’d made against the world. As I found my own shirt and slid on my boots, I turned to her.
“So tell me this. Where were you going? Lottie said you left a note. You were planning to run away again yesterday, weren’t you? Where would you be right now if I hadn’t come after you?”
Thea went very still. I could see her working out the truth behind her eyes. It would cost her something to give it to me. She came to me, went up on her tiptoes, and put a hand on the side of my face.
“I’m not running today, King. But someday, I might not have a choice, and not even you can make certain things okay. I’ve been in Crystal Falls longer than I should.”
Her words stung me. I’d told her I didn’t need all of her truths today, and part of me wished she’d kept that one locked in her heart still. But, as soon as she said it, I knew what I wanted.
“So run with me, not from me.”
She dropped her hand and stared at me. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, there’s nothing tying you here, obviously. Hell, everything you own is still sitting out there on the freeway. And that Honda isn’t going anywhere. So let’s go get your shit, pack it up in my truck, and light out of here together.”
“And go where?” Thea laughed. She looked stunned, but I could see her wheels turning behind her eyes.
“If you need to go, then go with me. I want to spend time with you. But, I can’t cool my heels in Crystal Falls forever. Eventually I’m going to have to get to El Paso to keep that promise to my mother, but I also need to get the hell back to Emerald Point. So, come with me. Whatever you’re running from, Thea, it can’t hurt you where I’m headed.”
“King...I…”
I went to her. I silenced her arguments with a kiss that damn near made her swoon. My cock stirred again and I regretted putting on my jeans. I was going to need to remedy that in about ten seconds the way Thea’s nipples perked up against my chest.
“King, nothing. Don’t tell me you owe Pete anything. You were about to bail on him indefinitely. We can come back. I’m pretty fucking sure Mickey was about to tell me yesterday that he needs more time to fix the bike. So, come out to Emerald Point with me for a couple of days. Let me show you the best fucking beach in the world. Admit it, you have no good reason for saying no.”
I’d stunned her into silence. Thea pulled back. She started to pace and flap her hands as she worked up an argument that wouldn’t come.
“Just a few days,” I said. “I swear to God I’ll bring you back here in a few days. Come on. Wouldn’t it be good for you to run toward something for once instead of away from it? The only reason you can think of to say no is habit, and that’s no excuse. You don’t have to tell a soul where you’re going. Say yes. Say yes, or I might just throw you over my shoulder and carry you off caveman-style. Hell, the way we fucked last night I’m guessing you might like it.”
Her cheeks flamed red and she sputtered again. I went to her and threw my arms around her waist. “Come on, baby. When’s the last time you had a vacation?”
“Uh...I…”
“Right. Never. I said your eyes pretty much tell me everything you’re thinking.”
“Really? So what am I thinking?”
Laughing, I planted a kiss on her lips and lifted her off the ground. Thea squealed and wrapped her legs around me. “You’re thinking, yes.”
Then, I did throw her over my shoulder caveman-style.
Chapter Ten
Thea
“Veronica, you can’t outrun this.”
My father’s eyes were deep and dark as he stood in the doorway looking at me. I stayed in the shadows, hoping he wouldn’t see the fresh bruises on my arms. It turned out he wouldn’t have to because he could see my eyes. Since I was little he’d told me everything I was thinking was always written in them.
“I’m not trying to run,” I said. God, I’d said it so many times. And I’d told him nothing was wrong. I wished I could take every bit of it back. But, how could I have known then that keeping the whole truth from my father is what had finally cost him his life?
“Baby,” he said, stepping into the living room. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my hands folded. Sweat poured from my brow and I lifted my glass of lemonade, pressing it against my cheek so I could feel the cold.
“Baby!” He put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched. I hadn’t meant to; it was just an involuntary reaction. But, when I looked up at my dad, he understood.
“Where is he?”
I stood up, stumbling backward. “Dad, don’t.”
“Veronica, I’m not going to ask you again. Where the fuck is Caleb now? Is he down in the basement sleeping it off?”
“No!” I put up a hand. “He’s not here. I made him leave. It’s over, okay? I ended it. There’s nothing for you to do. I’ve got this handled.”
My father reached for me. Pain glinted in his eyes as he took my wrist and pulled me toward him. I tried to pull away, but he was stronger than I was. He pushed up the sleeves of the oversized flannel shirt I wore and saw the purple marks dotting my arms in the shape of Caleb’s hands. There were worse bruises in places he couldn’t see, but this was enough.
“Get your things,” he said. “You’re not staying here.”
“Dad, this is my house. Caleb’s the one leaving.”
“Fine. Then point me to where I can find his shit. It’s going out on the curb.”
There was no use arguing with him. I didn’t even want to. If I could have just held him off one more day, he might never have known how bad things got. I would have done what I said I’d do. They were even coming to change the locks. But, my father drew some catharsis out of pitching Caleb’s clothes into the dirt road at the end of my wooded driveway.
Later, after I thought he’d calmed down, he came back up to the house to find me sitting at the kitchen table again. He’d kissed the top of my head and told me everything would be all right. He said no one would ever hurt me again as long as he was around. God, he looked so strong and fierce that day as if he could have saved the entire world, let alone just me. When he finally turned to leave, he looked at me one last time and smiled. Those deep, dark eyes shone as he blew me a kiss. I reached up and caught it the way he’d taught me when I was little.
Those beautiful, smiling eyes. The next time I saw them they were sightless and filled with blood.
“Thea!”
I jerked my head and banged it on something cold and solid. It took me a full second to realize where I was. I’d fallen asleep in the cab of King’s truck. For a moment, when he looked at me, I saw my father’s deep, dark eyes. My heart racing, I sat bolt upright. The seatbelt caught, driving me back into the cushion.
“Are you okay? You were having a dream.”
He reached for me; closing his hand around mine, he lifted it and brushed his lips across my knuckles. Just that simple touch made goosebumps sprout up along my spine.
“Where are we?” I asked, my voice groggy and hoarse. “God, how long have I been asleep?”
King’s soft laughter warmed me. “A while. You should have warned me how badly you snore.”
“I don’t snore.”
He took his eyes off the road for an instant and winked at me. “And how would you be in a position to know?”
“Fair point. Did I drool?”
The truck bounced along the highway and King’s face split into a grin. “Not that I noticed.” He slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I rested my head against his chest, feeling his strong, steady heartbeat.
“We’re just about there,” he said, turning off the highway and onto the bridge. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. It became immediately clear why this stretch of Florida was called the Emerald Coast. The bay gleamed jade green as we made our way across the bridge. In the distance, I caught sight of a school of d
olphins jumping near the pier.
“I’m going to take you to the clubhouse later if you’re up for it. For starters though, I want to check on my place. My neighbor’s been taking care of my dog, but I wanna see for myself.”
“You have a dog?”
“Rusty. He’s a golden retriever. He’s old as dirt and half-blind, but he’s gonna love you.”
I put a hand to my cheek and smiled. “Hmm. I’ve always been more of a cat person.”
King raised a skeptical brow as he turned off the bridge and headed away from the more congested lanes of traffic. We drove through a quaint boardwalk with tourist shops along the way. King told me these were the business owners his club had contracted with to protect. This little tucked-away town seemed like paradise, and I couldn’t imagine what he’d have to protect them from. When I asked, a darker look crossed his face that sent a chill through me.
After a few minutes, King turned up an unpaved driveway with dunes on either side. At the top of the hill my breath caught.
“This?” I said. “This is your place?”
King jammed the gear in park and unhooked his seatbelt, turning to me. “It’s a work in progress.”
Smiling, I slid out of the passenger seat and headed the rest of the way up the hill. King’s work in progress was a beach house overlooking a virgin stretch of sand. The house was up on stilts and sunlight bathed it. King walked around me and pulled out his keys. He opened the back door wide and gestured for me to go inside.
The house itself was unfinished, just like King said. He had floor-to-ceiling windows with a spectacular view of the bay. With an open floor plan, he had high, beamed ceilings with a skylight. My mind started to whirl with all the possibilities of what he could do with the place. I walked to the center of the room and my inner eye started working overtime with things he could do to decorate it.
“See something you like?” he asked.
“Everything!” I gasped. “Did you build this yourself?”
He smiled. “I thought maybe it was too big. I mean, it’s just me and Rusty most of the time. But, I don’t know. A lot of the guys told me I should think long term. They thought someday I might want to share it with somebody else.”
I dropped my shoulders. It was such an innocent thing to say, but the way King looked at me told me he meant it. As he leaned against the stone fireplace in the center of the room, my breath left me. I’d never noticed it before, but King’s dark eyes looked so much like my father’s had that last morning. Here I was standing in front of another man who’d sworn to do anything he could to protect me. Even his words last night mirrored those my father had said two years ago on the last day I saw him alive.
“Veronica, you can’t outrun this.”
I pasted a smile on my face and shook the ghosts from my thoughts. King wasn’t my father. Caleb was thousands of miles away. He could never find me. I’d made sure of it. Maybe two years was long enough to run.
A low, gruff bark came from somewhere deeper in the house.
“Rusty, I presume?”
King’s smile widened and he moved around the fireplace, opening a door on the other side of it. Rusty himself came bounding out to greet him waving a fringed, gold tail. He put his front paws up on King’s chest and craned to lick his face. Laughing, King rewarded the dog with a scratch behind the ears that rendered Rusty catatonic. He dropped down and rolled to his back, squeezing his eyes shut in ecstasy.
“Rusty, meet Thea. She’s pretty special, so don’t shed on her too much.”
Rusty opened one eye but didn’t roll off his back. He just waved his two front paws, beckoning me to join in. King was still working on his ears, but clearly his belly was fair game. Shaking my head, I walked over, bent down, and obliged the furball. I scratched his belly. Rusty wagged his tail so hard his torso scooted across the wood floor and he erupted in a chorus of sneezing.
King patted his belly once then moved away. I did the same. Rusty gave us a traitorous look, then finally rolled over and trotted toward the window.
“Come on,” King said. “Let me take you down to the beach.”
I let him take my hand and we walked around the fireplace. The far wall opened up to a balcony beyond a sliding glass door. In my mind’s eye, I saw an outdoor breakfast nook and a bistro set. It would the perfect place to take in the sunrise with a cup of coffee or wine in the evening.
Kicking off my shoes, I let King lead me down to the beach. The tide had already gone out, leaving a glistening line of tiny white hermit crabs burrowing their way into the sand.
“It’s breathtaking,” I said. “I’d love to get my hands on that place. Do you have a decorator? A budget?”
King slid his arms around my waist as we faced the rolling surf. “Do you have someone in mind?”
He kissed the back of my neck. “Hmm. You really get off on this stuff, don’t you?” he asked. “You’re tingling. I’d like to think it’s because of me, but I get the feeling you’re seeing furniture porn in that gorgeous head of yours.”
Laughing, I leaned back and touched my face to his cheek. “Furniture porn? I suppose that’s a good way to put it. But, seriously. I have a million ideas.”
“Good. And I wanna hear every one of them. But in the end, I think I’ll just let you decide.”
King turned me in his arms and leaned down to kiss me. The thrill of his touch warmed me along with what he’d just said. My skin started to tingle with possibilities. I kissed him back then pulled away.
“I don’t know the area very well. Oh, but, this part of the state, I bet I can find a million estate sales. How do you feel about paint? You’ve done such a fabulous job already. The space is perfect. Are you sure you haven’t already worked with a designer? This is a dream job, King!”
King bobbed his head from side to side and his smile kept getting bigger. He had his hands on my hips and stepped back to give me space. I pulled away from him and started pacing along the beach. God, I had so many ideas swirling around in my head about how to utilize the sunlight in that front room.
“Do you entertain a lot?” I turned to him.
King barked out a laugh. “Do I what? Like, throw dinner parties? Um, no. The crew and I hang out mostly at the club.”
“Right, function over form. Got it.”
“Come here,” he said. His voice dropped low and it sent heat racing through me. The sun was just starting to set, turning the waves a brilliant amber.
“I’m sorry, was I rambling?”
“Just a little. But, I liked it. It’s another side of you I haven’t seen. This is your calling, isn’t it? Refinishing old furniture is only one thing you can do.”
I dropped my hands to my side. The wind kicked up and blew my hair in front of my face. The way King looked at me stirred something deep inside of me I thought I’d buried. I let him in without meaning to. It had been so long since I’d let myself feel anything real; now that I had, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have the strength to turn it off again. I took a step back, hugged my arms around me, and started walking along the water’s edge.
“Thea, wait,” he called after me.
Veronica, you can’t outrun this.
I took a deep breath and faced him. “Yes,” I said. “This is what I do.” A small truth, but the first real thing I think I’d ever told him about myself. I’d let my body speak my truths up until now.
King put his hands on my shoulders and peered down at me. Rusty bounded down the steps and ran along the beach until he caught up to us. Then, he splashed into the surf chasing after a piece of driftwood.
“Why did you give it up?”
I sucked in a breath and pulled a hank of hair out of my face. My pulse thundered inside of me and the intensity of King’s stare seemed to burn through me. I might be able to keep my secrets, but I wouldn’t be able to lie.
“It just got too complicated,” I said, feeding him another half-truth. I thought he’d press me for more, but he didn’t. Instead, he seemed
to understand that telling him as much as I had was a big enough step for one day. He pulled me close and kissed me. With the waves crashing beside us and Rusty’s gleeful bark, everything felt normal and possible again.
“You know,” he said. “I picked this spot for a reason.”
“I can see the reason. King, it’s like heaven here. No wonder you were so anxious to get the hell out of Crystal Falls.”
His eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to the side. “I had a pretty fantastic reason to stay. But, Thea, whatever it is you’re scared of, I won’t push you on it. I just want you to know that you’re safe as long as you’re with me. I can take care of you.”
I pursed my lips together and nodded. “King, I’ve gotten pretty good at taking care of myself.”
He brushed the hair out of my eyes, but it was hopeless; the wind blew it right back. “Everybody needs somebody, Thea. Even me. When shit got the worst with my dad, I tried to make myself believe I didn’t need anybody. It nearly killed me though. Then, I found my club. I made a home and a life for myself and that’s what made me strong. I want that for you too. I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but I feel something with you I’ve never had before. I’m not trying to pressure you or spook you. You need time, and I have that. But, I want you in my life. Permanently.”
I blinked rapidly, staving off the sting of tears. When I opened my mouth to say something, King silenced me with another kiss. If he could tell what I was thinking by just looking in my eyes, King bared his soul with his body. He wouldn’t pressure me. For now, this was enough.
His body heat rose as he ran his hands along my shoulders. He lifted me off the ground with such quick strength, my breath caught. Then, he had me on my back in the sand with the waves rushing in.
“Baby, I want you.”
“I want you too,” I choked out my answer.