by Terry Towers
With a nervous hand, I smoothed out my hair. “Hi, Evan.”
His expression was unreadable. “Olivia…”
I swallowed, supposing I deserved his cool reception. It had taken me a long time to get things right in my head, maybe too long. Maybe I was too late and my trip had been for nothing. “Can I come in?”
He hesitated, clearly debating about whether to slam the door in my face or not. After a moment, he stepped aside so I could enter the small sleeping quarters, slamming the door behind me and making me jump. “Thank you for letting me in.”
“I figure it must be important if you traveled all the way to Alaska.”
I nodded. “I came to say that I want to be with you. It’s been a long time coming and I’m sorry...”
“So, you now get that he never asked me to date you, I did that because I wanted to? That I fell in love with you because of who you are, not because of your father? Do you know how much it hurt me when you refused to even take a call from me? I had nearly died and wanted nothing more than to be with you, to make things right, and you wouldn’t even talk to me on the damned phone.”
I flinched. “I know.” Hanging my head, I found myself having a hard time admitting what I had come here to say. “Look, the truth of it is, I got over the circumstances of how we met within a few days.”
He blinked. “Then why didn’t you talk to me?”
I sighed. “I was scared, Evan. I knew I loved you so much. Too much, it felt like. I was still confused about how serious I wanted things to be between us. Our relationship developed so fast. Almost losing you made me face how much I loved you, but it didn’t magically take away all my concerns.” I stopped speaking to allow him a chance to talk, but he remained silent. Peeking up at him through the veil of my lashes, I couldn’t get a hint about how he was reacting.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t. Last time I did, we broke up. I didn’t want that.”
“So, you just didn’t talk to me?” He shook his head. “How is that any better than ending the relationship? You just let it die, let me go through hell thinking you hated me, and all because you were afraid to talk to me?”
Angling up my chin, I nodded. “I was a coward, but I’m admitting it.”
He frowned. “Why now?”
This was so uncomfortable. So much harder than how it went down in my mind. “I was miserable.” I waved a hand at his surprised look. “Oh, I told myself I could go on without you, that I just had to settle in and school could consume me. I endured for the remainder of the semester without acknowledging how much I hated it. But it wasn’t school I was hating, I wasn’t happy because I wasn’t with you.”
“How did you end up here?” Still no trace of emotion, which was worrying.
“I told my father how miserable I’d been, and how stupid. He checked to see where you’d transferred to and got your schedule for me. I apologize if this is an intrusion, I wanted to apologize and beg your forgiveness face to face, not through the telephone or Skype.”
“What if it’s too late now?”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “It can’t be,” I replied in a soft voice. We were meant to be together; the thought of him with anyone else was the equivalent of having a hot poker driven through my heart.
“Why not? There are women in Alaska too.” He arched a brow. “Do you really think I’ve just waited around for you for two months?”
“Probably not, but it doesn’t keep me from hoping that you did. If you love me as much as I love you, maybe there’s still a chance for us.”
His poker face revealed nothing. “What do you have in mind? Me traveling to visit you in California? Maybe you’ll drop in occasionally here? Do a long-distance Skype relationship for the next three years until you graduate or I get re-posted?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve registered for online classes next semester, and I’m ready to move here. I know we’ll need to get married before we can get base housing or a housing allowance. I’m ready to elope in Vegas, if that’s what it takes, though my stepmom is begging me to have at least a small wedding. I told her it depended on you, and how long I could stand to be away from you. I have a room booked at the lodge on base for two weeks. I figure that’s about the max I can go before we have to get married and move in together.”
His expression cracked a bit, though I could still see some hesitation. “You want to get married now?”
“Right now, if you’re ready?” I said with a bright grin, feeling no hesitation whatsoever. “I did all the things I was supposed to want to do, but none of them meant anything without you. I wasn’t even tempted to date or sleep with another guy. I only want you, Evan – no one will ever make me feel the way you do. I’ve made too many mistakes with us and I swear to God I’ll never make another one again.”
“Oh, Olivia.”
I squealed, joy surging through my veins as he swept me into his arms. “I could strangle you for making me wait so long, but thank god you finally decided this is what you want.” He buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply. “I was going crazy without you. There was no one else. I couldn’t even stand the thought of touching another woman. Even the distance couldn’t keep my mind off you.”
I planted a string of frantic kisses up the side of his neck, making my way to his mouth. “So, does this mean that you’ll marry me?”
“Whatever you want, love. I can wait on the kids, as long as I know you’ll be their mother someday.”
“Maybe we should practice making some now though?” I suggested, hitting him with my best sexy smile. “It’s been way too long since we’ve made love.”
“True. We might have forgotten how,” he teased. With that he scooped me up into his arms and I cuddled tight to his chest, burying my face against his neck. “I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it again soon.”
“It should only take three or four years,” I teased before kissing him deeply, content to be back in his arms and secure in the future ahead of us.
The End
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Failure To Stop
By
Terry Towers
Failure To Stop
Copyright 2014 by Terry Towers
Cover by: Taria Reed
www.thereedfiles.com
All rights reserved. With the exception of brief quotes used for critical reviews and articles no part of this book may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the author Terry Towers. Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Terry Towers can be contacted via her website at www.elixaeverett.com
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via internet or other means, electronic or print without the authors permission. Criminal copyright infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov.ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors imagination and used fictitiously.
The material in this book is intended for ages 18+ it may contain adult subject matter including explicit sexual content, profanity, drug use and violence.
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Prologue
“I really need to get back to work, I have a meeting to give, Logan,” Violet weakly protested, arching her back and allowing her head to fal
l back so her boss, CEO of G&B Innovations Advertising, had better access to the sensitive flesh as his lips worked their way down her neck. His lips sent shivers of desire through her, testing her resolve.
“You’ll just be a few minutes late, baby. Don’t worry about it.” He pulled her tighter with one arm as he grabbed her hand and directed it to his rock hard erection. “I happen to know the boss pretty well.”
She stroked him over his pants and he groaned. He was right, he was the boss so who was she to argue, it’s not like she was going to get in shit over being late. But their office sex romps had been going on for quite some time now and she was starting to hear murmurings – people were getting suspicious that there might be something going on between them. They’d agreed to keep their relationship a secret; he was separated and in the process of going through a nasty divorce and she didn’t want the staff to think she’d fucked her way to the top. She’d earned her position within the company well before the relationship with Logan began, but she suspected they wouldn’t see it that way.
Quickly she undid his pants and freed his member. Grasping him in her hand she began stroking his length; he didn’t have the biggest cock in the world, but it did the job. As she was dropping to her knees in front of him the door to the office flew open. Shit. She couldn’t believe she didn’t remember to lock the door, but then again she wasn’t expecting this impromptu sex session; her drop in this afternoon had been for a legitimate business reason, but Logan could be such a very convincing man when he set his mind on something.
“Rebecca!”
Violet’s body froze, her hand still clutching him as she looked over her shoulder to see a tall, dark-haired woman storm in, rage in her dark eyes. Rebecca, his soon-to-be ex-wife. She’d been in a relationship with Logan for a little over four months, but this was the first time she’d actually seen his almost ex in person.
Her cheeks burning, she immediately released him and got to her feet as he tucked himself away. This was beyond awkward and she was at a loss as to what to do.
“What are you doing here, Rebecca?” Looking back at Logan, Violet saw horror and guilt etched in his expression.
“I knew it! I knew you were fucking around on me and sure enough I catch you here with this whore!”
Whore? Who, me?
Violet frowned as she continued to stare at Logan, who met her questioning stare and grimaced. And she could see right then, he’d lied to her, the guilt was written all over his face. He’d been lying to her, to both of them, no doubt from the beginning.
She’d never, ever been in a situation like this before and had absolutely no idea what to do. There was a whirlwind of emotions racing through her – shame, embarrassment, confusion, hurt, rage... So many emotions all wanting to break out. Cry, scream, run out of there and never return – all of the above.
“You were never separated?”
Logan looked anxiously from her to Rebecca and back to Violet. “We… were.”
“For a few weeks and it was hardly a separation,” Rebecca snapped, cutting her eyes at Violet.
Violet’s brow creased, even more confused. “But your apartment. I’ve been to your apartment… There’s no…” Had it all been one big elaborate lie? How could she have been so stupid? But in her defense, in their four months together Rebecca had never shown up at the office and he did a very good job at covering his tracks, keeping his private life extremely private.
Just when she didn’t think his face could get any paler, it did.
“What apartment, Logan?” She dared a look over at his wife, who seemed to have forgotten all about her and was focusing her hatred directly onto her husband. “And where’s your wedding band?”
He hung his head in shame. “In my desk. I never gave up the apartment I rented when we separated.”
Tension filled the room, so thick it was suffocating. Violet was so confused. She couldn’t think straight, but she did know one thing… She needed out of there, and quickly. Up until a few minutes ago she’d really cared for him, but in the span of a few minutes that affection was gone and was replaced with a hate so intense that it was taking all of her restraint not to charge him and knock him senseless.
She’d unwittingly become the other woman, a home wrecker. The man even had two kids! She’d always prided herself on being a smart, independent woman. God, how could I have let him fool me for so long? So stupid, so, so stupid. He hadn’t been keeping it secret for her benefit or because he was concerned of what the staff would say, he was covering his own ass! The urgent need to flee became too much to deny any longer. With tears of humiliation and shame stinging her eyes she raced from his office, slamming the door behind her. She briefly noticed the startled look on his secretary’s face as she stormed past.
If she never saw Logan Sinclair again it would be too soon.
Chapter 1
Twenty minutes and she’d be home, or at least what she used to consider home. Technically, it hadn’t been home since she left seven years ago at age 18 to go to college in New York City. When she left she swore she’d never come back, she’d said good riddance to Alabama for good – or so she thought. But here she was driving down a dark, deserted country road on way to the place she grew up. The only other time she’d returned to Alabama was for her father’s funeral, five years prior, but she was in the middle of exams and her mother insisted she go back to school and make her father proud. So she had – a part of her regretful for leaving her mother alone to deal with the grief, but another part of her relieved; it was easier to come to terms with losing her father when she didn’t have constant reminders of him.
The sound of a siren behind her and the flashing of red and blue lights in the rear-view mirror broke her from her brief trip down memory lane. “Ahhh, dammit.” Giving her head a shake, her blonde ponytail swinging back and forth behind her, she flicked on the blinker and pulled over to the side of the road. Turning off the car, she reached across the seat, popped the glove compartment and pulled out her insurance and registration cards. She had no clue what she’d done, but then again since the day she’d run from Logan’s office, a little over a week ago, she’d hardly been thinking clearly.
The police car rolled up behind her.
“Get out of the vehicle and place your palms flat on the hood of the car,” a voice blared from the car’s speaker system.
Frowning, she looked into the rear-view mirror at the car behind her. You have got to be shitting me. Since when was that the procedure? She’d seen a news story recently about abductors who pretended to be police, had women pull over and then abducted them. She sure as hell wasn’t going to be tomorrow’s headline.
“Get out of the vehicle and place your palms flat on the hood of the car. This is your final request,” the voice blared.
Remembering that she had a Taser in her glove compartment, she popped open the glove compartment and rummaged for it. Finding it, she flicked it on and then stuffed it into her purse before getting out of the car and doing as told, ensuring her purse and the weapon inside were easily accessible – just in case. If this wasn’t a real cop and he intended to take her, then by God he’d have a battle on his hands – Violet Phillips wouldn’t go down without a fight.
The cop got out of the car and began making his way over to her. He was tall, maybe a little over 6’ and appeared to be well-built, although the bulletproof vest he was wearing added to his thickness. His hat was pulled down over his eyes and with the darkness of the road, she couldn’t make out his features.
“Do you know why I pulled you over?” he asked in a gruff voice as he came to stand behind her.
Her hand inched toward her open purse ready to defend herself if needed – although he seemed legit. But what did she know, maybe those crazies who abducted women appeared legit as well. Maybe they even were legit; not all cops were honest and law-abiding.
“You were bored and figured what the hell?” Violet cringed at her words – this certainly wasn’t the time to
be a smartass – but she simply wasn’t in the mood for this shit. All she wanted to do was get to her mother’s house, curl up in her old bed with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and stay there in solitude for a few days licking her wounds and attempting to reassemble the pieces of her broken heart and shattered pride.
He chuckled softly. “Are you always this combative when being pulled over?” He stepped closer to her, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath against the back of her neck that sent a shiver through her as he kicked her feet further apart. Her brow creased as she focused on his voice, damn it sounded familiar, she just couldn’t place it. Or maybe it had been so long since she’d been in Alabama that anyone with the accent sounded the same. She didn’t know, but after 14 hours of driving, she was tired and just wanted to sleep.
“I don’t usually get pulled over, Officer.”
“Uh-huh. Seems a little hard to believe.” He crouched behind her and began to pat her down, starting at her ankles and working his way upward.
“Excuse me, what do you mean by that?” Violet turned to look down at him, but only got a glimpse of the top of his hat.
“It means, you appear to be a bit of a troublemaker. Now, face forward, ma’am.” Standing and grabbing her shoulders, he forced her face forward again and down to the hood before resuming his crouching position.
Troublemaker? She paused and allowed herself to be readjusted, looking straight ahead. The fear that he may be some perverted abductor left her; he seemed more like an overzealous asshat. His hands continued to work their way up her jean-clad legs, his hands caressing her legs as they worked their way upward. She’d been patted down before and admittedly she’d been a little hellion when she was a teenager so no stranger to this process, but never patted down like this.
“Is this really necessary?” she asked and attempted to squirm from his grip but his hands were firm on her as they worked their way over her knee and continued upward. He was seconds away from reaching her crotch. Cop or not, if he even dared touch her there she’d Taser his pervy ass!