by Gemma Bruce
This time she yelled. “Cas, please untie me!”
Cas sat up. “Ow.” He looked at her like he had forgotten who she was. “How do you do that thing with your head?”
Julie was close to tears. “Cas, you’re concussed. I’m just looking over my shoulder at you. Please try to untie me so I can see how bad you are.”
“They tied you up?”
“Yes,” Julie said through gritted teeth and jiggled her bound hands for him to see.
He leaned forward, and muttering to himself, he began to pick at the knots. After an eternity, the rope loosened and Julie pulled her hands free. She rubbed them together, forcing the circulation back into her fingers. Then she turned to take Cas’s head between her palms. She gazed into his eyes. He blinked back.
“Pupils seem okay.”
“Well, they’re the only thing that’s okay,” said Cas and listed to the side.
Julie grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him upright again. She held him in place with one hand while the other roved over his scalp. It didn’t take long to find the bump midway down the back.
“Ouch,” said Cas.
“You’re going to live,” Julie pronounced. Long enough for me to kill you for scaring me like that, and for not showing up, and for tricking me, and not calling, and letting me get kidnapped.
“Those sons of bitches.” Cas heaved to his feet and fell into Julie’s expectant arms. She dragged him over to the narrow cot and dumped him onto it.
“Just stay there. I’ll go get help.”
But he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “Thank God you’re safe.”
She let herself indulge in his warmth. This is how it should be, not fighting and lying. But that would have to come later. She pushed away and peered at him through the dark. “It was Henley and Bo and they’re on their way to search my house for the treasure. They stole the riddle, not you.”
“Me? Why would I steal your riddle?”
“Gee, Cas, I don’t know. Why did you withhold part of your riddle from me?”
“I, uh ...”
“Later. Right now we’ve got to get out of here.” She felt her way to the door, grabbed the handle and pushed down. Nothing happened. She tried again. Pushed against the door as she held the lock down. Still nothing. “It’s locked. Do you have your keys?”
Cas stood up. Swayed. “Julie. It’s a jail. It doesn’t unlock from the inside.”
She knew that.
He fumbled in his pockets. “Damn, my cell is in the car. Do you have yours?”
“I was kidnapped. I didn’t think to say, ‘just a minute, please. Let me pick up my purse.’ ”
“Okay. Calm down. Let me think.”
Julie fought the urge to tap her foot while he thought. Fought the urge to bang on the door and scream. Okay. Stay calm. Someone was bound to come eventually. And would find them together ... again. She shuddered; she could practically hear their laughter.
Forget them. Henley and Bo had to be stopped from ransacking her house, maybe even hurting Smitty or her chickens. She went back to the cell, climbed over Cas and stood on the cot to reach the window.
“It backs onto a blind alley. Sit down. We’ll just have to wait. The important thing is that you’re safe. Half the town is out looking for you. Terrence knew I was coming here. When I don’t answer my phone, he’ll figure it out.”
“You were looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“So why did you come here?”
“To get my gun.”
Julie went weak in the knees. She dropped to the cot beside him. “Cas, promise me you will never pull that antique on anybody. I want you to keep all your vital parts.”
He leaned back against the wall. “I figure I won’t have to. You can be the sheriff from now on.”
Julie glared at him.
“I know you’re a cop.” He laughed, but not with humor. “Reynolds had you investigated.”
“Of course. That’s really low. Even for Reynolds.”
“Would you ever have told me, if he hadn’t? Or were you just going to let me blunder around looking like a fool, while you had a big laugh.”
“I wasn’t laughing at you and I would have told you. It just never came up.”
“Bullshit. It wasn’t because you took a bribe, was it? Reynolds said you did. Tell me you didn’t.”
Julie’s mouth opened but she couldn’t speak. She could only feel all-consuming rage. Reynolds had her investigated and twisted the truth to suit himself. Just what you’d expect from Charles Reynolds. And Cas believed him. Just like the Reynolds he was.
“Well?”
“Well, what do you think? Do I look like a bent cop to you?”
Cas shook his head, then pressed his hand to his forehead.
Julie stalked back to the door, gave it a vicious rattle.
“For once you can’t get away from me,” said Cas. “They might not find us for hours. You might as well sit down and tell me everything.”
“Why bother? You’ve already passed judgment, haven’t you? It is so typical.”
“Hey. Give me a break. You waltz into town like the mystery woman. Refuse to talk about yourself. Then get pissy when I ask a simple question.”
“Simple question? You had me investigated. Arggh.” Julie started pacing. It was the only thing she could do to keep from smacking him or banging her head against the bars.
“I didn’t have you investigated. That was Reynolds. And anyway I had most of it figured out. The thing with the gun in the bedside table spoke volumes.” He looked away. “I just didn’t have a clue about the other thing.”
“I don’t have to defend myself against Reynolds’s accusations.”
“No, you don’t.”
“And I don’t care what you think.”
“You’ve made that perfectly clear.”
If that was what he’d been reading from her, he was a bigger idiot than he was acting like.
He drew his knees up, wrapped his arms around them, and rested his head on his forearms, effectively shutting her out.
That hurt. He was giving up. Giving her up. Again. Why the hell does it matter so much? Just one more unresolved issue in her life. She stopped in front of the cell and looked in at him. A man behind bars. Trapped by his family, as much as she was trapped by her past. The two of them separated by more than just bars. And she didn’t see any way to get free.
To get to the future, you start with the old. She gripped the bars to keep from sinking onto the floor. Jesus, Wes. I thought that just meant I had to come back. Wasn’t that enough? Do I have to confront the past before I can move on? I don’t think I can do it.
You have no choice. She heard the words. Wasn’t sure if it was Wes’s voice or Cas’s or her own heart. But she knew it was true. She released the bars and stepped into the cell. She sat down next to Cas, her back against the wall, not looking at him but at a spot on the floor where the concrete had chipped and been painted over.
“Okay. I was a cop. An undercover detective. But Reynolds is wrong. I caught my partner taking a bribe. I blew the whistle on him and instead of a commendation, I was demoted to a desk job. A desk job, after being on the streets where the action was. Do you know what that’s like? It’s like ... like being a banker.”
Cas lifted his head and Julie thought she saw a spark of understanding before he lowered it again.
Julie sighed, suddenly tired. Tired of the secrets, tired of running, tired of trying to make up for a past she didn’t understand. For a father she didn’t know. She leaned her head against the wall and shut her eyes. “I was going to tell you.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because.” She stopped.
Cas looked up.
“Because I was having such a good time. And men usually find it such a turn-off when you tell them you’re a cop.” She shrugged. “By the time I decided to tell you, I knew that it would look like I’d kept it from you on purpose. So I just d
idn’t say anything.”
“I don’t find it a turn-off.” He turned his head to look at her. “In fact, I think it’s really hot. Did you bring your handcuffs with you?”
“Cas,” she said, exasperated. “I don’t get you. One minute you’re accusing me of being bent and the next you’re seducing me. Make up your mind.”
“I kept the other part of the riddle because I think Reynolds did something wrong at the Savings and Loan and that’s why he’s turned into what he is. I know he’s not a good person, but I just couldn’t—”
She put her hand on his arm. “Jesus, Cas. I don’t care what Reynolds did. If he broke the law, the statute of limitations has probably run out on it. And I’m certainly not doing anything to prolong the feud.” She took a breath. “And I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
“You wouldn’t?”
Julie punched his shoulder. “You are so fucking infuriating. Half the time, I don’t know whether to smack you or just—”
“Kiss me.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into him. His mouth was hot, and Julie forgot for a moment that they might be rescued any minute. For a minute. Then she tried to push away. “Cas, someone might come.”
He stilled, then pushed away to look at her. His eyes said it all. He looked away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I owe you an explanation ... about that day ... on the river—”
“Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. I was young and embarrassed and I felt like a fool. I should have stayed instead of letting Reynolds drag me away.”
“So he could drag you kicking and screaming to the car? He was bigger than you then.” She took a breath. “It was after that. You ignored me. Acted like you didn’t even know me. That’s what hurt, Cas. That really hurt.”
“I know. It was lousy, but Reynolds threatened to send me to boarding school if I so much as looked at you again.”
“Then why did he send you? You certainly didn’t look at me.”
“Because his life was going down the tubes and he blamed it all on Wes.”
Julie put her hand over his. “So he punished you and me. The son of a bitch. I didn’t know.”
“How could you? I came to Wes’s the minute I got home at vacation, but it was too late. I thought I had lost you forever. Have I lost you, Julie?”
“Lost me?” she shook her head. “Henley must have hit you harder than I thought.”
He looked confused.
“Aw, hell,” said Julie. She leaned over him and brushed her lips against his, licked his bottom lip then gently bit it. Cas sighed and their tongues met. The feeling was sweeter because for the first time, they didn’t have to withhold anything from each other.
They broke the kiss at the same time, looked at each other and kissed again. And one kiss became another and another. Cleansing kisses. Barrier-dropping kisses, Hopeful kisses. Until they became something more and they pulled Julie and Cas to a place they needed to be, drawing them in and holding them there while their blood ignited and the world fell away.
Cas lifted her onto his lap. Julie slipped her hands inside his jacket. He was warm and strong, and as long as he stayed away from handguns, he was just the right man for her. She pulled her hands back and wriggled out of her jacket, then pushed his off his shoulders. He shrugged it off and they held each other as if they meant to never let go.
“I love you,” Cas said.
“Don’t ever leave me like that again.”
“You can handcuff me to your wrist,” he said.
Julie’s blood zinged and she pressed against him. She felt his heart pounding as his erection thicken against her thigh. “Can we hear when someone comes?” she asked, barely finding the breath to speak.
“I’ll keep one ear open,” said Cas.
“I want you now.”
“You’ve got me.” His hands roved over her back, down to her butt. He lifted her so she could straddle his lap and drew her against him. He rocked into her and she rocked back and the cot creaked beneath them. He pulled her in tighter and Julie felt the tingle all the way down to her toes.
Cas grabbed the bottom of her T-shirt and pulled it up. Then he held her shoulders back, looking at her breasts as they moved together. Julie circled against him, riding the bulge in his jeans. His eyes closed and his lips parted.
Julie leaned forward and licked into his mouth. He unhooked her bra.
“Someone will come,” she said against his mouth.
“Just ... for a ...” He slipped the bra down and cupped her breasts in each hand, lifting them so that he could take a nipple into his mouth. Julie speared her fingers through his hair and lifted herself against his erection. She could feel the liquid heat beneath her jeans and she wanted his touch there.
He released her nipple, slid his tongue to the other one and sucked until Julie moaned his name. Then he looked at her with smoldering eyes while he pulled her bra straps up and reclasped the back. He shifted her weight off his lap and gently rolled her down on the cot. He followed her down, his weight braced on his hands and his legs laying heavy and solid between her thighs.
She trailed her fingers down his chest, then reached for the buttons of his shirt. When it was open she ran her hands over the crisp hair of his chest, captured his nipples with her palms, circled them until they tightened into beads.
He sucked in his breath and shifted so that he straddled her on hands and knees. “Free me,” he said.
Her hands left his chest and stroked down his abdomen. A sense of power flared in her as she unbuttoned his fly. She slipped one hand inside his jeans and lifted out his cock. It was thick and hot in her hand and she wanted more. She pushed his jeans down over his butt, freeing him completely. She slid down between his knees and he lowered himself so that she could touch her tongue to his skin.
Slowly she licked up the length of him and felt his blood surge against her tongue. His whole body jerked in response, then he shifted his weight so that she could take him into her mouth.
Her hand moved from the base of his cock to take his balls, while she sucked him in and released only to swirl her tongue around him and sucked again.
His jeans were stretched around his thighs and she wanted them off, but she couldn’t stop and she knew they might be discovered at any minute. And suddenly, instead of feeling cold fear at the thought, she felt a rush of excitement.
Cas pulled out, breathing hard. “My god, you’re, you’re—”
“So are you,” said Julie, pushing him down beside her and finding him again with her hand and feeling him pulse into it, while he fought to unzip her jeans.
“Next time you get kidnapped—oh God.” He surged against her. “You better wear sweatpants.”
Julie smiled. She knew she could make him come with a shift of her fingers but she wanted him inside her. She grasped his balls in one hand and the base of his penis with the other, and held them tight while he fumbled with her jeans. He groaned and she felt her zipper open. He pushed his hand past it and cupped her, while he slid his middle finger inside her.
She rose to meet him. He thrust his finger farther into her, then pulled it out and dragged it up her crease, slowing down when she shuddered.
“And then,” he said, “we’re going to start getting completely undressed. So nothing holds us back.” He passed over the spot again, and she nearly screamed. She pushed his hand away. He yanked her jeans down to her knees and she pulled him on top of her. It took a moment of fumbling past jeans and knees and she had to finally guide his cock inside her.
“Definitely no clothes,” she breathed and bit his ear.
He grunted. “And more teeth.” He drove inside her. Pulled back. “And handcuffs.” He plunged again. He slid his hand between them and opened her so that she felt the full force of his rhythm.
Julie moaned and he thrust harder. She grabbed his butt and held on, driving herself even closer to him. “I definitely need my legs around you. No more jeans after tonight. Faster.
”
The cot began to move away from the wall. And when they came together, the cot was in the middle of the cell.
They collapsed in a heap, arms and legs hanging off the narrow cot, jeans halfway down their legs and sweaters pulled up to their chests.
“And a big bed,” Cas said on a sigh of contentment.
“Yes,” said Julie and nestled against him. Julie lay half dressed, sprawled on Cas, thinking contented thoughts.
In the following silence, they heard the faint snick of the outside door opening. And Terrence saying, “What the hell?”
Chapter 23
Cas went to the door, pulling up his jeans. Julie quickly rearranged her clothes and pushed the cot back to the wall.
“In here,” Cas called.
They heard keys in the lock, and a moment later, Terrence was standing in the open doorway. “What the hell happened?”
“Long story,” said Cas and led Julie through the door into a crowd of curious searchers. He tightened his fingers around her arm, trying to tell her he would take care of her because it suddenly struck him, what had no doubt already occurred to her. Not drifting in a boat this time, but locked in a jail cell. Together.
“Julie,” gasped Tilda as she pushed through the group. “Thank God. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay?”
“Well, if that don’t beat all,” said Elton. “Right here under our noses the whole time. And us out traipsing all over the countryside looking for you. How did you two get locked in there?”
“Seems like we been here before,” said a disgusted voice from the crowd.
Tilda put her arm around Julie’s shoulders and eased her away from Cas.
“No call for that attitude,” said Henry Goethe, shouldering Arnold Baxter out of the way. “Tell us what happened.”
Cas cleared his throat. “Someone nabbed Julie out of the parking lot and brought her here. She says it sounded like Henley and Bo, but her head was covered so she never saw them.” He felt the heat rising to his face. “And they hit me over the head when I walked in. I never saw them, either.”
“That’s a crock,” said Arnold Baxter, stepping out of the crowd. “And it ain’t evidence. If you ask me, it was you and her that planned this whole thing. Up to your old tricks.”