Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  “Put some damn pants on. The sheriff is on his way.” Victor was still wearing his underwear, even though Vanessa had on her pajamas. Thank fuck, with the sheriff having set up a camera in here. His heart twisted.

  “Why didn’t he call me?” Victor was still rubbing his eyes.

  Linc looked at him pointedly before saying, “Because he wasn’t sure you’d be able to restrain him. I’m not sure you could, either, since you’re still fucking standing there, blinking him away like I Dream of Jeannie.” He couldn’t stop the snarl but knew it was misdirected.

  So he stared at Ian, the shit hole who had been breaking into Vanessa’s house and messing with her. He directed all of his anger at the man dressed in black.

  With a sudden insight, Linc stood and stalked over to Vanessa’s bed.

  “Move,” he growled at her, as she sat on the edge. She complied, and Linc pulled the mattresses back to reveal a hole in the floor just big enough for a small man to squeeze into.

  Vanessa gasped, then ran to the bathroom. Linc could hear retching noises, and it inflamed him yet again. He didn’t care who she was sleeping with, she didn’t deserve this.

  Linc slowly turned to find Ian cowering in the corner, where he had left him. He itched to punch him in the nose but was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop with one punch.

  When Vanessa came out of the bathroom, she was drawn. Her normally effervescent visage was pale and waxy, with dark circles under her eyes. Her shoulders hunched over in defeat. Thankfully, she was wearing actual pajamas, but that didn’t mitigate the fact she’d typically worn much less while this creep had come in and watched her while she slept.

  “Mystery solved,” she muttered. “I guess you were behind the phone calls, too?”

  “Vanessa,” Ian pleaded with her, but as Linc watched, fascinated, Vanessa’s arm reared back, and she punched him square in the nose, exactly where Linc was aiming in his mind. She shook her arm out and spit on him.

  Linc felt a pride in her well up inside him.

  Lights cascaded across the walls as Tate’s police cruiser pulled up, and Vanessa turned to the door. When the sheriff walked in, he raised his eyebrows at the scene and dismissed Linc. “You can go back to Cindy. I’ll come by in the morning and get a statement from you.” Of course he could. Tate wanted to be the hero who got into her pants now.

  He left, feeling like he was leaving something critical behind. Linc knew exactly what it was.

  His heart.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  When Linc left, Vanessa had never felt so alone in her life, even though her living room was currently crowded with Tate and Ian, and her mattress laying all catawampus in the floor. She looked at Ian, bile still burning the back of her throat.

  “Why, Ian?”

  Victor came tromping down the stairs, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

  “Because of the inheritance, I’ll wager. He wanted a piece of it. When did he propose? I bet it was after you got the money from Mom.” Victor’s voice was choked with anger, and the protective big brother came out to play.

  “It was so easy, once I found the town tramp. I offered her five hundred dollars to get your boyfriend out of the picture, and that’s worked like a charm.” His oily smile sent a shock through her, as well as a lot of self-doubt and recrimination. What had she ever seen in him?

  “So Cindy’s not pregnant?”

  Ian shrugged. “No idea. Could be.”

  Tate had to hold Vanessa back when she went after him again. This time, she had more on her mind than just a sock in the nose. She wanted to kill him.

  He’d ruined her fucking life.

  ***

  A week later, Ian was in jail, her floor was fixed, and Vic had actually started to make himself useful, finishing her upstairs room so Vanessa could move her stuff up there. He was currently working on her roof, but Vanessa didn’t have super high hopes that would work out for her, as the parts he’d repaired were already leaking.

  But she did enjoy having a bedroom, finally, even if she didn’t have anyone to share it with.

  Everything had happened so fast, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Ian and what he’d done to her. To Linc. Ian had said there was oil under the property, some conclusion he’d come to after speaking with some land men who had done mineral surveys in the area. It was hard to fathom he’d done all this for money, but it appeared he had.

  Linc was ruining his life to help some woman who had made up a story that likely wasn’t even true, just to get him away from her. And she didn’t want to be the one to tell him.

  So she met Sam at the pub for an emergency Book Bitches meeting.

  Remarkably, all the women showed up. Even Melanie, who had a hard time getting away from the house when her husband was in certain moods, and Tiff actually had a job at the bar now. Vanessa only had five friends in this town, and all five of them had shown up at the drop of a hat because she needed them.

  It was overwhelming.

  Tiffany brought a round of drinks and squeezed in next to Sam. “Okay, spill, woman. What’s up?”

  Vanessa couldn’t stand it. She just did as instructed and spilled. “Ian paid Cindy to keep Linc away from me. I’m not even sure she’s pregnant. And Linc is doing this, being with her instead of me, and I can’t take it. But I don’t want to be the one to tell him. I’m not sure he’d believe me.” She continued her story, filling in the details. Sam knew most of it, and presumably had already filled in the others, but it just felt too good to lay everything out like this. Vanessa needed to get it out.

  All noise in the pub stopped as soon as Vanessa raised her eyes to the opening door. Linc stood there, in silhouette against the fading sun, Cindy at his side, a small lump in her stomach.

  With the sun setting behind them, Linc looked like a desperado, entering the saloon shielding his damsel in distress. Vanessa could only hide her face as her stomach plummeted and she felt like she would throw up.

  “Fuck. Me.”

  “Aw, hell no.” Samantha was trying to get out of the booth, but Tiff was in her way.

  “Ladies, allow me.” Tiffany stood and sauntered over to the bar, whispering something to Nick, who raised his eyebrows before filling up two pitchers of water.

  “What’s she up to?” Melanie mused.

  “I don’t know, but somebody pass me some popcorn. And another tequila shot. This is gonna be good,” Wren replied wickedly.

  They all watched in rapt fascination as Tiffany, laden down with a tray full of water, made her way over to where Cindy and Linc were sitting. When she reached them, she oh-so-elegantly tripped and dumped two pitchers of water all over Cindy’s torso.

  “Oh, shit! She didn’t!” Samantha squealed into her hands. Vanessa was peeking out through her fingers, not wanting to watch, yet unable to stop herself.

  Time stood still as Tiffany whipped the towel off her shoulder and started a vigorous rub-down of Cindy’s wet belly, causing a fluffy purple throw pillow to fall out from under her skirt.

  Displaying a flat belly.

  If Vanessa thought all was quiet before, she could have heard a pin drop now. Until Nick broke it with, “Girl, you’re gettin’ a raise.”

  Linc grabbed Cindy’s elbow and hauled her out while Vanessa watched, dumbfounded.

  “Looks like you’re not the bad guy,” Samantha quipped. “He figured it out on his own, along with the whole town of Mystic.”

  Outside, they watched while Linc and Cindy got into a heated argument, complete with wild gesticulations. Linc was yelling something they couldn’t hear, his face purple, and veins popping on his neck, while Cindy was crying huge tears. Unmoved, Linc stormed off, tossing the keys to his truck at her feet.

  “Aaand, he’s on his way to my house now. I guess I’ll see you guys later?” Samantha slid out of the seat and hugged Vanessa. “Chin up. He’s not bad, just ridiculously stupid sometimes. Like all other men.”

  ***

  Chapter Forty

 
; That night, Vic was back at Samantha’s, and Vanessa wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but they were both grown and willing, so she couldn’t say much. The danger to her had passed; she just didn’t want to be alone while she waited for Linc to call her.

  And she waited.

  She told herself she could totally call him. He might be sitting around waiting for the same thing from her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. What would she say? She missed him like air, and now that he wasn’t on some misguided quest to fix Cindy, they could be together again? No. The entire thing had hurt her too badly.

  Vanessa felt like all she’d done was give Linc chance after chance, and at the first sign of trouble, he ran. He wouldn’t give himself a chance for happiness.

  Tears she didn’t realize she still had in her made their escape, running silently down her cheeks.

  Fine. Tonight. She would cry for him one last time tonight, and after that, she would be done.

  Her phone let out a shrill sound next to her, and she looked over at it, wiping her face. Maybe Linc was finally calling?

  But it started talking to her in the weird, automated voice that spoke when it read her texts aloud.

  “Men are foolish, Vanessa. If you love him, you will have to fight for him.”

  As soon as the voice spoke to her, Vanessa jumped out of her seat and backed away from it. She hadn’t touched the thing. Cobwebs caressed her arms, and Vanessa felt a sudden sense of peace.

  “Emily?”

  Again, the voice from her phone spoke. “Yes.”

  Emily from the diary had found a way to talk to her. Emily, who had loved the Union soldier and partaken in a forbidden romance, who had chased him back up North when he had run from her. And his own desires.

  “What can I do? Call him?” She scooted back near her phone, watching it carefully. Opening her senses, she tried to concentrate, to make this easier for her to communicate, if she could.

  “Find him. Do whatever it takes, Vanessa. You are destined.”

  Destined? Vanessa hadn’t ever really believed much in the fate thing. But there was certainly some magic in this place, magic she couldn’t deny. Afraid to touch her phone, of dislodging something, Vanessa got on her knees and got right next to the phone.

  “He loves you, but doesn’t think he can. Make him realize he can. You two can be beautiful together.” The robotic voice seemed to soften as she spoke, and her words spoke the truth, because they had been beautiful together.

  “But he gave up. Will he give up every time life gets rough?” It would be frustrating, if that was the case, and a futile feeling bloomed in her chest.

  “He just needs to learn to fight for what he wants. Show him he can.”

  And the phone went dark and silent.

  Vanessa let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Was it worth it? Would she have to fight for him the rest of her life, every time something got difficult?

  The alternative—living without him—was worse. She tried to imagine her life without Linc’s steady smile in it, without his strength, without his humor. She couldn’t.

  Vanessa spent all night trying to figure out what to do, but only one option for her remained. She had to see Linc. She had to talk to him. While she had the best friends of her life here in Mystic, the only thing really keeping her here was Linc. She loved him.

  Of course, she had the house, and it was serving its purpose of granting her the independence she had craved. She’d managed to get it mostly fixed up, even though the repairs Vic had done were pretty shoddy. It was a home to her, but it was empty without Linc around. Now that Ian wasn’t fucking with her anymore, it was peaceful.

  But if she couldn’t get a sign from Linc that they could get back together the way they were, then she would have to do something else. She couldn’t stay here and run into him every time she went into town, pretending nothing was wrong.

  It just hurt too much. Watching him find out he’d been duped by Cindy should have been a celebration for Vanessa, but it wasn’t. It was painful to see him hurt. It was like Cindy and Ian had lied all over again, seeing it for the first time through Linc’s eyes.

  With her phone’s voice echoing in her ears, she decided to go see him. She dreaded it, since Cindy had answered the door wearing his clothes the last time, but she had to. It was a compulsion she couldn’t ignore. She would go crazy if she didn’t talk to Linc, tell him what she was feeling.

  Vanessa would have to place the ball firmly in his court, see if he would catch it, throw it back, or let it go out of bounds forever.

  ***

  When Linc opened the door, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, his beautiful blue eyes filled with pain and sadness, and Vanessa’s nerves flew into overdrive. She trembled and took a deep breath, knowing she had to get things off her chest. It was now or never. And she was likely to have to move somewhere else after this was over because the tension in Linc’s body didn’t look too receptive to whatever she had to say.

  His jeans were faded, and his torso magnificent. His shoulders even had muscles, and she’d always wondered exactly what purpose those particular muscles served, but they were sexy as sin. The hem of his jeans showcased his beautiful feet, and Vanessa swallowed the mouthful of slobber, attempting to ignore the sudden wetness in her panties.

  The stubble on his face was nearly a full-on beard, speaking of his own heartbreak. She longed to touch it, to run her fingers across the roughness of it, to feel it abrading her skin, but she was scared.

  “Linc, we need to talk. Can I come inside, please?” Her voice was shaking, and she hated that, but at least she was talking. She couldn’t take the silence between them anymore. She just wished she could do this without crying, and it didn’t look like things were going that way for her.

  Wordless, he stepped back and opened the door, allowing her to come in. She brushed against him quickly, wanting to linger against his hard chest, but didn’t.

  He perched on the arm of his chair, and she wondered if he remembered when they’d had sex there. Plopping herself on the edge of the sofa, another place they’d made love, she tried not to think about it while she stared at his bare feet.

  Another mistake.

  Linc’s feet were amazing. Long and thin, they were clean, with just a few blond hairs sprinkled across the top of them. She knew they were the foundation for a pair of long strong legs, also dusted with golden blond hair. Vanessa’s breasts grew heavy, and her nipples puckered, but she forged on, concentrating on the futility of it all. Their hearts were broken, and she wanted to heal them. Vanessa didn’t know how but hoped talking would help.

  “I’m honestly not sure what started all of this, but I want to take the first step toward fixing it. Fixing us,” she began. Her voice was still shaky, so she took a couple of deep breaths, trying to gather a semblance of control. Unfortunately, Linc was the closed-off Linc she’d met, the one who wasn’t letting her in, who was pushing her away. “I’m sorry.”

  He slapped his hand on the back of his neck, raking it up and down, tousling his already messy hair. “Sorry for what, exactly, Vanessa? You didn’t do a damn thing, and coming in here to apologize for nothing when I’m the fuck-up isn’t going to get you any brownie points.”

  “I don’t want brownie points. I want—”

  “It doesn’t matter what you want.” Linc’s eyes sparkled with something dangerous. “You can’t be with somebody like me.” The pain in his voice tore her heart straight down the middle. “Go be with whoever left those cuffs at your house.”

  For a minute, she was lost, then Vanessa remembered the look on his face when she’d given him the handcuffs for Ian. She smiled softly. “I bought those for us. Before.” All this madness. At the thunderous look on his face, she went on. “I don’t want somebody like you, Linc. I want you,” she said softly as she stood and walked over to where he sat on the arm of the chair, so stiff and unwavering. “And don’t tell me I don’t deserve you because I want to
be the judge of that. I don’t want somebody else in my life telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. I want a partner. Someone I can grow with and discover things with.”

  “That’s not me,” his warning growl stopped her. “I ran at the first fucked up sign of trouble, straight into the town slut’s lies. I’m hardly someone who plays well with others.”

  She offered a weak smile, desperate for him to hear her. “I want you, Linc.”

  “My past is too fucked up, you don’t mean that,” he spoke quietly and wouldn’t look at her, his eyes focused on her waist. His fists clenched in his lap, but she could tell her nearness was affecting him, judging by the growing bulge in his jeans.

  “Yes, I do. I want you. All of you,” she whispered, her voice betraying her emotions, but at least she wasn’t crying yet.

  Linc grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, burying his face in her shirt. “I can’t give all of me to you.” He was almost yelling into her flesh, frustration emanating from him in waves. “Were you not there when I threw everything away?” His voice was tortured, ripping Vanessa’s heart into pieces for him.

  Vanessa’s fingers smoothed his hair, trying to be soothing, but he was gripping her so hard, his fingers bit into her flesh. Butterflies danced around in her stomach as it heaved with the implications. He was actually touching her. They were sort of having a conversation. This was good, right? With a rueful chuckle, she muttered, “I’ll take what I can get.”

  Still clutching her tightly, Linc rose to his feet. Vanessa suddenly couldn’t breathe, as all the air was sucked out of the tiny trailer with that one motion. His eyes on her were hard, and she knew he’d locked away the emotion he was feeling. He’d put it in the same place where he put his sense of worth.

  Now she had to get it all to come back to her.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying, Vanessa,” he bit out in a growl. His eyes were filled with regret, but it was overshadowed by something hard, and his mouth twisted into something cruel she wasn’t accustomed to seeing on his face.

  “I miss you,” she continued to whisper because her voice had fled. She wasn’t above begging him to come back to her, but as long as he was touching her, she felt like she was making progress.