Salvation

by Terri Anne Browning

  By the time we got to the cell door, Ben was standing there waiting. “Baby, let me drive you home,” he said imploringly. “We need to talk.”

  Scrubbing my hands over my still damp cheeks, I shook my head. Keeping my gaze on the wall over his shoulder, I refused to meet his eyes, too embarrassed to let him see just how much pain I was in. “I have nothing left to say to you. And anything you want to say to me, I seriously don’t want to hear.”

  Muttering a curse, he took two steps toward me. I took three steps back, knowing if he touched me, I was going to start crying all over again. He kept coming, and I kept backing up until I connected with the cell’s wall. “Campbell is ruining my life,” he muttered, so low I barely heard him even as close as he was. “Everything that is going on with Paige and me is because of him. Nothing else. I swear to you.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” I gritted out between clenched teeth, trying and failing to keep my emotions in check. “My father told me he wouldn’t stand in my way if I wanted to be with you. He also told me you needed to respect my decision if I decided you weren’t what I wanted. Well, I don’t want you, Ben. Now leave me the hell alone.”

  Brushing past him, I took the hand Aunt Gracie offered and clung to it as we walked away, the first tears falling before we even made it to the door.

  Chapter 13

  Ben

  As the door shut behind Lexa and her aunt, I couldn’t hold back the rage-filled bellow demanding to be set free. My fist connected with the cell wall, and I pounded out my frustration and anger until I couldn’t feel my hand anymore.

  This shit was getting out of hand, and I was losing control not only of the situation, but I was losing Lexa too.

  Blood dripped from my knuckles, red droplets sprinkling over the stark-white wall. The pain in my hand did nothing to calm the beast wanting to be unleashed on the world right then, though.

  As badly as I’d wanted Lexa to come home from New York, part of me wished she’d stayed a little longer. Then none of this would have happened. Paige would have been gone by next week, the investigation would have been over, and Campbell would have been out of all our hair.

  The week before, when Paige showed up out of the blue, telling me she was going to help with the investigation into Campbell, I’d been pissed. She did plenty of work for her father, but I didn’t want her sticking her nose in this. I thought the attorney general would have picked someone from Creswell Springs so as not to draw attention to a newcomer. This town was too small for a newbie not to stick out like a sore thumb.

  As I suspected, the second Paige stepped into the municipal office, Campbell smelled blood. To divert his attention, we decided to let everyone think Paige moved to town because we were trying to get back together, but Campbell hadn’t bought that at first. I still wasn’t sure he had. And now that Lexa was back, I didn’t think I could keep up the pretense.

  What happened earlier only proved that I couldn’t.

  Paige had shown up at my door trembling because she thought Campbell or someone else was following her. To throw him off the scent, when I’d heard someone at the door, I’d pulled her in for a kiss, thinking it was Campbell spying on the two of us.

  Fuck, I’d gotten it wrong.

  Since Lexa hadn’t shown up at eight, I figured she was just being stubborn and wasn’t going to come like I’d asked her to. I didn’t imagine it was her at the door and that she saw me kissing someone else. Now I might have fucked up everything with her completely.

  Walking through the police station, I shot Murphy a glare as I passed him. I’d bitched him out earlier, but there were too many cameras and witnesses around for me to do to him what I really wanted to do. I suspected Campbell had someone in his pocket, and if I had to take a guess, Murphy would be at the top of that list. He was a little weasel, but I’d deal with him very, very soon.

  When I got to the parking lot, Hawk Hannigan’s car was pulling out into traffic. Jogging over to my truck, I jumped in and followed them.

  Ten minutes later, the car pulled into Lexa’s driveway, and Hawk and Gracie both got out. Before they reached the front door, it opened and Bash stepped out. I put my truck in park and turned off the engine, but I didn’t follow after them. Instead, I leaned back in my seat, getting comfortable.

  As I watched, Hawk and Gracie spoke to Bash for a few minutes while Lexa stood there with her arms crossed, mutinously saying nothing. From the porch light, I could see Bash was anything but happy, but he wasn’t raging at Lexa. Still, I kept my eyes on him in case he made a sudden move.

  Eventually, the Hannigans said goodnight, and they both hugged Lexa before going back to their car. Bash turned to Lexa, pulled her hard against him for a hug. After only a small hesitation, Lexa hugged him back, and they walked into the house with their arms still around each other.

  Hawk backed out of the driveway, and as he passed me, he threw up his hand in acknowledgment.

  I waited for over an hour until all the lights were turned off inside the house, keeping my eyes glued to the second-story window I knew was Lexa’s bedroom. During that time, my hand started to swell and the bleeding continued. I had a box of Kleenex in my glove box that I used to make a bandage, but I knew I probably needed stitches to close a few of the deep gashes on my knuckles.

  It could wait, though.

  Once her light was out, I waited another thirty minutes before getting out and quietly shutting my door. While I’d been sitting in my truck, I’d mapped out how best to get inside the house. Using the banister on the porch, I climbed up to the roof and then walked around to the side of the house with Lexa’s window.

  I wasn’t surprised to find the window unlocked. Not many people locked their second-story windows. I wanted to scold Lexa for not being safe, but at the same time, I was thankful she’d made it easier for me to get to her.

  Silently, I climbed into her bedroom and closed the window. The room was in complete darkness, and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. When I could see the outline of her bed, I crossed to it. Kicking off my shoes, I climbed in beside her.

  Only when my arms were around her did the rage monster inside me start to calm down. Pressing my face into her hair, I inhaled deeply, needing her scent to fill me.

  Lexa startled awake, and I quickly covered her mouth to keep her from screaming and alerting her father to my presence. Whatever truce we’d called when I’d confided in him about my plans for Campbell, I doubted extended to finding me in his daughter’s bed.

  Her eyes widened in fear until I stroked a hand down her spine. “Shh, it’s me, beautiful.”

  The fear turned to anger, and she spat muffled curses at me against my hand.

  “You are so damn stubborn. I knew this was the only way to make you listen.” My hand trailed down her back and over her luscious ass, pressing her lower body against my own. Fuck, but she felt good. She was wearing some old shirt that felt thin and had a few holes in it, making me remember I needed to give her one of my own for her to sleep in. But first, I had to get her to understand there was nothing going on between Paige and me.

  Leaning in closer, I breathed in her scent again, savoring it. “I called in a favor, and Campbell is now under investigation by the state’s attorney general. It’s a secret investigation, but the AG sent Paige, his daughter, to head it up. Campbell is smart, and he sensed something off the second he set eyes on her. We’ve been letting everyone think she’s only in town because she wants to get back together with me. Tonight, on her way home from work, she thought Campbell or someone who works for him was following her. I thought it was him at the door, and that’s why I kissed Paige, to make it look more convincing. I swear, that’s the only time I’ve kissed her since she’s been here. Nothing else has happened between us, and nothing else will.”

  She said something against my mouth, but I didn’t understand and cautiously lifted my hand to let her repeat it.

  “I don’t
believe you,” she whispered, pushing at my chest, but I wasn’t going anywhere, so she couldn’t budge me. “Maybe about the Campbell thing, sure, but not about Paige. Your ex shows up, and suddenly, you have to pretend like you’re in a relationship again? Then out of the blue, she’s at your door—conveniently at the same time I’m supposed to show up so we can talk—and you need to kiss her? That’s bullshit, Ben. Either you’re playing me, or she’s playing you. Whatever it is, I’m not going to be pulled into your games with your ex.”

  My hand clenched at her hip, and I pressed my forehead to hers. “Baby, I don’t want Paige. Whatever was between us burned out a long time ago. I’m just trying to keep her safe until we can get Campbell out of our hair once and for all.”

  “It might have burned out on your side, but hers still seems to be blazing,” she mumbled with what sounded like a pout in her voice.

  “If it is, that’s on her. The only woman I want is you. Can’t you feel how badly, baby?” I thrust my hips forward. Her thighs opened ever so slightly, and I felt her shirt rise an inch. My hand moved down to push it up even farther, and I felt the little scrap of cotton that was covering her pussy and the dampness already coating the insides of her soft thighs. “I ache for you,” I breathed in her ear and felt her shudder.

  “N-no,” she said in a voice that was weak with the same need that was burning my blood. “I won’t give in to you again… Oh God. Ben, that feels good.”

  Nipping at her neck, I cupped her pussy through her panties, my thumb playing with her slit. “This is the only way I would ever play with you, beautiful,” I rasped in her ear. “I’ll gladly tease and torment you until you beg me to let you come on my fingers. But I will never play games with your heart. Not when I want it more than I want inside this sweet pussy.”

  “Ben,” she moaned, willingly spreading her thighs wider, granting me full access to utopia.

  Smothering a groan against her neck, I shoved the panties down her legs. She mewled a protest when my hand left her, but as soon as she was free of the little piece of cotton, I spread her lips and skimmed my middle finger over her clit.

  Her entire body trembled at the first caress, her hands clenching in my shirt. When I felt how wet and ready she was for me already, my dick leaked onto my thigh, screaming for attention. But I didn’t come here to get off. I came to show her she could trust me, and if I had to, to beg for a little time to clean up the mess I’d created when I’d tried to get that bastard Campbell out of our lives so we could be together.

  But I’d be damned if I was leaving before she came all over my fingers. I needed to feel her lose control for me, and I needed to show her that she would always be my top priority.

  “You smell like heaven,” I told her as I circled her opening. “I want to bury my face right here.” I thrust one finger into her and nearly came in my jeans at how tight she was. “And lick up all this honey.”

  “Please,” she whimpered, pressing her face into my chest to muffle the achy little sounds she couldn’t control.

  “Tell me this is my pussy,” I commanded, playing with her clit while thrusting one digit in and out of her tight heat. “Tell me you’re mine, Lexa.”

  “I…” She shook her head. “No. I’m not yours.”

  Growling, I took my thumb away from her clit but kept thrusting my finger into her. “You are. Your body, your heart, your soul. They are all mine. Tell me, and I’ll make you feel so good, baby.”

  “You can have my body, but not my heart.”

  Clenching my jaw, I pulled my finger from her and thrust two into her, stretching her a little more. “I want it all,” I told her greedily. “Tell me, Lexa. Give me what I want.”

  “N-no.” She shook her head stubbornly. “I won’t give you anything else to hurt me with.” Grabbing my wrist, she pulled back enough so that our eyes locked in the darkness. “Take what I’m offering—or leave. I’ll just get myself off when you’re gone.”

  “Will you now?” Grinning, I propped myself up on one arm, looking down at her. “Show me.”

  “Ben!” she hissed.

  “I’m serious. Show me how you make yourself come. Do you rub your perfect little pussy with your fingers? Or maybe you have a toy. If I looked in your nightstand drawer, would I find a vibrator, baby?” She looked away, but I caught her chin between my thumb and index finger, turning her face back toward me. “Show me. I want to see you touch yourself.”

  “The vibrator is in the nightstand behind you,” she informed me, giving in.

  I grabbed it from the drawer. The little egg-shaped thing was swallowed by my hand, but it fit perfectly in hers. Rolling onto her back, she pulled her sleep shirt up to her stomach, exposing her bare pussy.

  I wanted to turn on the light so I could see her better, but I knew it would only draw attention if someone got up.

  Keeping her eyes on me, she turned on the little egg and then rubbed it down her flat stomach and straight to her clit. The tiny gasp that left her when it first made contact had me rubbing my palm over my cock, trying to ease some of the pressure already building in my balls.

  Her lashes started to lower. “Eyes on me,” I ordered, and they flicked upward once more.

  Getting on my knees, I moved between her spread thighs, needing to see it all. “Lift your shirt,” I instructed.

  Without hesitation, she lifted her shirt with her free hand until both her tits were exposed. Cupping one in her palm, she lifted it toward me in offer, but I shook my head. “Play with your nipples for me.”

  As she pinched and tugged on first one nipple, then the other, I heard her pussy getting wetter and sucked my fingers I’d had in her moments before, licking her essence from each digit.

  “Ah,” she whimpered. “I’m close.”

  I fell on her then, pushing the vibrator out of my way and sucking her clit into my mouth. I flicked it with my tongue, drowning in the honey that flooded from her as I tried to lick it all up. She fisted her hands in my hair, lifting her hips off the mattress as she rode my face until she was coming apart on my tongue.

  I pressed my hips into the bed and sucked her clit even harder to keep from shouting as my own release hit me with the force of a tsunami, and I shot load after load in my boxer briefs and jeans.

  When I found the energy to sit up, we were both still breathing hard, and I wiped her remaining juices off my face. She looked up at me sleepily, and I lay down beside her, cuddling her for a little longer before I had to leave. I didn’t want to give Bash a reason to shoot me, so I knew I had to go before long or risk him finding me in Lexa’s bed.

  Trustingly, she put her head on my chest and wrapped her arm over my stomach. Kissing the top of her head, I savored the peace that filled me in that moment.

  It was only a matter of minutes before her breathing evened out and she was fast asleep. Wishing I could stay like this with her forever, I gave myself another half an hour before carefully untangling our bodies and then tucking the covers back over her.

  As I was putting my boots back on, I noticed her phone charging on the nightstand and picked it up. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a lock code, so I went in and unblocked my number, knowing she was too stubborn to do it herself.

  Grinning, I started to replace it, when I saw she had a text message alert. The grin disappeared when I clicked on it and saw it was from some guy named Theo. I read the last text he sent.

  Theo: If you need me, I’m there. Just say the word. Call me when you get up. I want to hear your voice so I know for sure you’re okay.

  I didn’t like how this Theo guy seemed to be so close to her. Feeling the rage monster in me start to rear his head, I thumbed up, seeing how far back the texts went. It went as far back as two weeks before not letting me see anything else, and I started reading again.

  From what I read, they met up in New York and, from the looks of it, spent a lot of time together. There was a lot of joking about how Theo’s mom wouldn’t take n
o for an answer and kept buying Lexa things, and Lexa begging him to save her from his mother and aunt. There were plans for dinners and even a movie date. He was the one to drive her to the airport the day she came home, and he’d said he missed her already that same night.

  My hand clenched around the phone, and I heard it creak at the mistreatment. My knuckles protested the tightening of muscles, the gashes that had started to seal and scab over opening again, causing blood to drip down my fingers.

  Gritting my teeth, I blocked Theo’s number and then erased his text history, along with his contact information. I didn’t know who this guy was to Lexa, but I wasn’t taking any chances with him wanting what was mine.

  Chapter 14

  Lexa

  A tap on my door pulled me from the most peaceful sleep I’d had in what felt like forever. Frowning, I reached for my phone to see what time it was just as the door opened and Aunt Flick stuck her head around.

  “You okay?” she asked in a quiet voice as I sat up, pushing my sleep-tousled hair out of my face with one hand and holding the blanket tucked under my arms to hide my nakedness.

  Seeing it was only just after seven, I nodded. “I’m good.”

  The lights were still off, but as she walked farther into the room, she flipped the switch. “Lexa!” she gasped, shutting the door and running across the room to touch my cheek. “What the hell happened?”

  I winced at her gentle touch grazing my tender cheek, right beside my scar. “You mean the entire world doesn’t already know?” I tried to joke, only to get a stern look from her. Sighing heavily, I told her about being arrested. “Murphy was pretty rough with me last night. My entire body was aching when I got home, but it’s worse now. I feel like I got hit by a bus.”

  She was already examining my arms and wrists, her eyes on fire. Looking up at me, she finally realized I wasn’t wearing any clothes. “Lexa…”

  Blushing, I pulled the covers closer. “It was really hot last night,” I muttered.