Bad Alibi: a Redemption novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “You know you hired a whole crew of people to do this for you, right, Hummingbird?”

  Cannon’s unexpected voice caused me to jump and whip around. My heart turned over in my chest the moment I saw him, casual as could be, with his shoulder leaning against the doorway to my soon-to-be bedroom.

  I cleared my face of its initial shock and schooled my features. I was good at giving a blank face, after all, I’d been doing it all my life. Turning back to the wall, I mumbled, “So I’ve been told. I just wanted to give it a shot, see what all the fuss was about.”

  “And the verdict?”

  My eyes narrowed into a glare like the wall had somehow personally offended me. “It’s not for me.”

  His chuckle came from closer in the room. He was only a few feet away from me now, and as he looked at me, the hardness that had been carved into his face that day at the garage was gone. That soft, sexy grin of his was firmly back in place.

  My body reacted like it always did, my skin tingled and my pulse picked up, but after our last encounter, it was the voice in my head I chose to listen to. Pushing down those flutters in my belly, I kept my tone even and my eyes flat as I stated the obvious. “You’re back.”

  He came one step closer, and it took everything in me to hold my ground. “I am. Hit town less than an hour ago.”

  “People at the bar were talking. I didn’t think you’d be home for a couple more days.”

  Another step. “Cut my trip short to get home.”

  My heart started beating a staccato against my ribs. “Well, I hope you had a good time.”

  And another step. “It could’ve been better. I wasn’t feelin’ it this year.”

  The scent of cotton and motor oil snuffed out the acrid paint fumes. Damn him. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Are you, really?”

  My forehead creased and my lips drooped in a frown. What kind of question was that? “Of course I am. Two weeks is a long time, especially if you aren’t enjoying yourself. Is that why you cut it short?”

  “Nope.” He ate up more of the space between us, coming so close I felt my composure start to slip.

  “Oh, well . . . uh, welcome home, all the same.”

  “Don’t you wanna know why I cut my trip short, Hummingbird?”

  So in the past two weeks, I’d somehow earned Hummingbird back. I told myself I didn’t care, but I was a liar. Even still, at the very least, I could act like I didn’t care. “Not particularly. I’m sure your reason is interesting enough, but I’m kind of in the middle of something.” I lifted the paint roller in my hand and gave it a little shake for emphasis.

  “I can see that.” His hand came up to tug on a lock of my hair that had fallen from the knot at the top of my head. When he brought it back into view, there was a streak of gray on his fingers. “It’s a good color on you, baby.”

  I got baby back too, and damn if hearing that didn’t make me feel like a million bucks. “Thanks,” I deadpanned. “I’m trying out a new look. It’s called painter chic.”

  “Well, it works,” he chuckled. “Then again, you’d look fuckin’ beautiful in anything.”

  At that, his closeness became too much. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I moved across the room under the guise of putting the roller back into the paint tray as I asked, “What brings you by? After two weeks, I figured your first stop would’ve been your place. Or your parents’.”

  “You know, Farah, the ice princess disguise you got on doesn’t really work for you. We both know you’re nothin’ but warm and sweet to your very core.”

  I didn’t want that to affect me; I didn’t want my breath to stutter or my heart to race, but I couldn’t seem to help it.

  I let go of my carefully crafted façade and got right to the point. “Why are you here, Cannon? You made it pretty clear the last time we spoke that we had nothing left to say to each other.”

  He followed me across the room, stopping less than a foot away. “I was an asshole.” He said it so quickly and with such determination, it took me by surprise. “The things I said to you, the way I acted . . . I was a prick, Farah.”

  It took me a while before I was finally able to find my voice. “Are you expecting me to disagree? Because I’m not gonna do that. You were an epic asshole.”

  For some reason, that made him grin. He closed the rest of the distance between us, taking my face in his hands. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.” I felt those work-rough fingers of his press against my pulse, and I knew he could feel how hard my heart was beating. “I might make you nervous, but that doesn’t mean you won’t call me on my shit.”

  I suddenly found it difficult to breathe, every inhale was filled with his smell, clouding my head and making it hard to think. His touch was like an electric shock to my skin.

  “Never should’ve left you the way I did,” he said, his rumbly voice like a velvet caress. “Should’ve stayed and fixed things between us.”

  His eyes went to my mouth when my tongue peeked out and swiped over my bottom lip, the swirling golden green and brown growing darker. “But, um, I . . .” I swallowed to wet my suddenly dry throat. “I th-thought that we . . . that we were too different.”

  Cannon’s thumb slid across my jaw. “I shouldn’t have said that, baby. It wasn’t true. That was just me talkin’ outta my ass ’cause of my own stupid issues.”

  “Stupid issues like being just a mechanic?” I bit back. “When really you own half that garage?”

  His brows went up and his lips quirked. “I see people in town been talkin’.”

  I lifted my shoulder in a shrug. “This is a small town, right? Isn’t that one of the stereotypes? Everyone talks and there are no secrets.”

  His grin turned teasing. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Why the change of heart, Cannon? What happened?”

  “Nothin’ happened. I just realized I’d been an idiot and let something incredible slip through my fingers.”

  “So, just like that, huh? All of a sudden you, what? Want me?”

  “Nothin’ sudden about it, Hummingbird. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you, and the more I get to know you, the more there is of you to want.” My brain couldn’t wrap itself around what he’d just said. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say, not that it mattered, because he wasn’t done. “You ramble without takin’ a breath when you get excited or nervous. You take soup to crotchety old bastards when they get the flu. You babysit Brantley so Shane can get a few moments’ peace. And you swerve for cats.” His chuckle moved through me, making my knees weak. “Baby, I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone like you.”

  “Anyone else here would’ve done the same thing,” I insisted. “Shane’s a friend. You help your friends whenever you can, and I can, so I do. And Fletch isn’t crochety. He’s sweet as pie.”

  “He’s sweet to you, Farah. Hell, those men are a bunch of hard, foul-mouthed sons of bitches on a good day. But if they’re sweet to you, they know they’ll earn themselves a smile. And I’m comin’ to realize there’s not a damn thing a man in this town wouldn’t do to see you smile.”

  “Wh-what—uh . . .” I had to clear my throat in the hopes that would help me form words. They still came out as barely more than a whisper as I asked, “What’s happening right now? What are we doing here?”

  “Well, if it won’t freak you out too much, I was plannin’ on kissin’ you.”

  “You—” My mouth snapped shut. I wanted him to kiss me. God, I wanted that. But . . . “I can’t be like all those other women to you. I just can’t, Cannon. And this isn’t me judging you. I want you too, but I’m not capable—”

  He silenced me by pressing his thumb against my lips. “You aren’t like the others.” He paused to let that sink in before continuing to rock my world. “I’m not gonna make you any promises about where this is goin’, Hummingbird. We don’t know each other well enough for that. But I got a feelin’ there’s somethin’ good here, and I wanna see whe
re that leads.”

  My lips parted and I pulled in a breath that made my chest rattle. “Cannon.”

  “You want that too, Farah?”

  I felt like I was coming out of my skin. A desire I’d only ever read about in romance novels coursed through my blood, a desire I thought I’d never be able to feel after what that man took from me. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

  All I could do was nod, unable to find my voice. Thankfully that was enough.

  Cannon’s hands moved instantly, one sliding around to the back of my neck while his other arm lowered to wrap around my waist, pulling me flush against him. His mouth came down on mine, and the instant our lips touched, a current of electricity shot through my whole body. My mouth opened on a gasp at the sensation, and Cannon took full advantage.

  His tongue drove inside, brushing against mine in the most intoxicating caress I’d ever felt. My hands trembled as I lifted them to his shoulders. Any hesitation I might have felt disappeared from one blink to the next the moment my palms rested on those wide, strong shoulders. Just like that I melted into the kiss. My arms looped around his neck, and I lifted up on my toes to get closer. The soft, gentle touch of our tongues changed into something so much more. It was primal as we fed from each other. It was as if we’d been starving for each other for so long that we lost complete control. I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel. Feel the way my breasts grew heavy, the way my nipples tightened into stiff peaks. Feel the way my core clenched with need.

  I’d never had a kiss like that before, and I never wanted it to end. Unfortunately, the need for oxygen won out, forcing Cannon and me to pull apart minutes later.

  My chest was heaving, my lips felt bruised, but I felt more alive than I ever had in my whole life.

  “Wow,” I said on a sigh once I was able to breathe again.

  “You said it, baby,” he grunted, resting his forehead against mine. “Jesus, you can kiss.”

  A laugh worked its way up my throat for the first time in two weeks as I dragged my nails across his scalp, lifting them higher to tangle in the longer strands near the top of his head. “I can say the same about you.” I closed my eyes and inhaled his heady scent. “So what do we do now?”

  His hold on me tightened, and I couldn’t help but notice just how good it felt being pressed against him. He was just so big and powerful that he made me feel petite. “Well, I don’t have a rule book for this, but I figure the next logical step would be dinner.”

  I pulled back just enough to look around the room I’d been in the process of painting. “But I still have a lot of work to do here.”

  He followed my gaze, taking the room in slowly before turning those heated hazel eyes to me. “No offense, baby, but you’re shit at painting.”

  I let out a snort before dropping my head back with a full-on belly laugh. When I looked back at him several seconds later, Cannon’s eyes were smiling down at me. “It doesn’t look that bad, does it?”

  “Cut your losses. Maybe if you stop now, Clay’s men can salvage this.”

  That was fine with me. Clay and his guys could have at it for all I cared. I lowered my gaze to my paint-splattered overalls and tank. “I should probably go to the inn and shower first.”

  “Nah.” He reached up and tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “You look perfect just as you are.”

  And just like that, I swooned.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Farah

  Cannon held my hand the whole way down the stairs and through the house to the front door. When I glanced into the parlor where Clay and some of his guys were working to wave, he was already looking in our direction with a knowing smirk on his face.

  “Have a good night, guys!” I called out as I skip-walked to keep up with Cannon’s long strides. “See you later!”

  “Later, sweetheart,” Clay returned with a chuckle.

  “So where are we going?” I asked Cannon once we were out of the house and moving toward the driveway. “Should I just follow or meet you there?

  “We’ll ride together.”

  I planted my heels in the gravel and pulled us both to a stop. “But . . . what about my car?”

  Cannon looked in the direction I was pointing, and all of a sudden his square jaw locked tight and began to tick. “That your new ride?” he asked, his eyes glued to my pretty forest green SUV.

  “Um, yeah.”

  Those hazels flashed with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on as they turned to me. “You get Dad or one of the other guys at the shop to help you pick it out?”

  Then it hit me. That look on his face was remorse. I’d asked for his help, and he’d shot me down. “No,” I answered carefully. “I did a lot of research online, and all the reviews said it was a nice, dependable car. The salesman said it would handle the winter months well and is good for off-roading, if I ever want to drive up into the mountains.”

  “Should’ve been there,” he grumbled, more to himself than to me. “I fucked up. I’m sorry, Farah.”

  Seeing the contrition twisted into his handsome features made my insides ache. “Hey.” Moving into him, I reached up with my free hand and dragged my nails softly across the stubble covering his jaw and cheeks. “I think it’s safe to assume, after that kiss, that you’re forgiven. Now, I’m starving, and if I remember correctly you promised me dinner, didn’t you?”

  The harshness left his face, and his expression grew soft and tender. “I did.”

  “So feed me. Destroying the brand new walls of my bedroom really worked up an appetite.”

  His chest shook against mine with a chuckle as he pressed his lips against mine in another kiss that was far too brief. “Then I better get my blue collar worker fed. But we’re takin’ my bike. I’ll bring you back for your car later.”

  With that, he pulled me over to that matte black motorcycle—and yes, at some point over the past two weeks, I’d googled motorcycles so I could tell the difference between a Triumph and a Harley Davidson.

  “Come here, baby.” I took a step closer at his order, and as soon as he could reach, he grabbed my arm and pulled me right in front of him. He grabbed the helmet from the seat and put it on my head, adjusting the strap beneath my chin so it would stay in place. “There,” he muttered once it was secure. “Now you’re good to go.”

  My eyes bugged out as I looked all around for a second helmet. “But what are you gonna wear if I’m wearing yours?”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m good.”

  Like hell! “That’s dangerous!” I yelped. “You can’t ride a motorcycle without a helmet! What if you crash? Maybe we should just take my car. It has side-curtain airbags. If we crash in that, we probably wouldn’t even feel it. And there’s the added bonus of helmets not being a required. Sure, you’ll have to wear a seatbelt, but—”

  His hand came up and covered my mouth. “You’re ramblin’ again, sweetheart. You got nothin’ to be nervous about.”

  I pursed my lips and blew out a loud raspberry. “I strongly disagree.”

  With a laugh, he leaned back against the bike and kicked his long legs out, spreading them wide so there was enough room for him to position me between them, then he circled my hips with his arms. “I promise, there’s nothin’ to be scared of. I’ve been ridin’ for years, and I’d never let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me.”

  I pulled in a big breath and held it for three counts before letting it out.

  “You trust me?”

  I didn’t hesitate to nod. “Yeah.”

  “All right.” He shifted me back so he could stand and throw one leg over the bike. “Then hop on so I can get you fed.”

  I looked down at the motorcycle like it was an algebra problem I was trying to solve in my head. “Um, how.”

  “See that foothold right there?” He pointed at a metal peg extending outward. “Put your right foot on that, push up, then kick your left leg over. Easy as that.” I managed to do as he’d
instructed without falling on my face, and as soon as my ass hit the seat, Cannon reached back, grabbed behind my knees, and pulled me so close, every inch of my front was pressed against every inch of his back. “Now put your arms around my waist.”

  I placed my hands on his sides, but apparently, that wasn’t good enough. Taking my wrists, he wrapped them all the way around his middle before ordering, “Okay, hold on tight.”

  A second later, the bike roared to life so loud I jumped and clutched the front of Cannon’s tee in a death grip. I thought I heard him laugh, but it was hard to tell over the rumble of the engine.

  My eyes remained clenched shut, and I was squeezing Cannon so tight, it was a wonder he could breathe, but he didn’t indicate he was in distress, so I stayed glued to his back with my head burrowed down like I was trying to fuse myself with him.

  We hit the end of my drive and made a left when I felt a tap on my hand. I lifted my head and brought it closer to his so I could hear over the engine as he called out, “You gotta loosen up, or you won’t enjoy this.”

  I inhaled deeply and willed my body to unlock one muscle at a time, starting from my toes all the way to my head—another technique to stave off panic—and once I made it to my neck, my death grip had unclenched and my palms were resting flat against the ripples of Cannon’s abdominals.

  The first thing I noticed was that Cannon was cut. Lance had gone to the gym religiously, always so concerned about his outward appearance. But he’d never had muscles like this. He was too lean. He could never accomplish the bulk and definition Cannon had.

  The second thing I noticed once I’d loosened up was that the wind felt incredible on my face. Cannon was in complete control. He knew exactly what he was doing. My hair whipping all around as the landscape whizzed by in a blur was the most exhilarating feeling. It was almost like flying.