by Linda Bridey
She kissed him again, and Will put a hand around the back of her neck to hold her in place as he responded strongly to her. When he let her go, he put Boo down and sat up.
“Ok, I have to go now,” Will said.
Rachel walked her fingers up his chest. “Are you sure?”
“You are a naughty, naughty girl,” Will told her.
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Will groaned. “Why do you torture me?”
“Because I’m a very naughty girl. You could always spank me,” she said as she arched an eyebrow at him and gave him a steamy look.
Will stood up. “If my hand goes anywhere near your rear end, I’m not going home tonight.” He kissed her and was just putting his coat on when someone knocked on the door. “You want me to answer it?”
“Sure. Go ahead,” Rachel said.
Will opened the door and said, “Hello. Can I help you?”
The man who stood in the hallway was about Will’s height. His black hair was stylish and his blue eyes held surprise. “I’m looking for Rachel Crispin.”
Rachel heard the voice and stiffened where she sat. No, no, no! It can’t be! She rushed to the door.
The man’s face lit up. “Rachel! It’s so good to see you.”
Will looked at Rachel and saw that she was very pale. “Honey, who is this?” he asked even though he had a pretty good idea.
“Will, this is Brendon Le Fevre. Brendon, this is my fiancé, Will Foster,” Rachel said. “Why are you here? I have nothing to say to you.”
“You’re engaged?” Brendon asked. “To him?”
Will bristled at the implied insult. “Yeah, to me. Isn’t that what she just said? Maybe you need to clean out your ears. And get some better morals, while you’re at it.”
Brendon smiled tightly. “I see you’ve informed Will here of the nature of our relationship.”
“Yes, she did. We don’t have any secrets from each other,” Will said.
“Brendon, leave and go back to Canada where you belong. I don’t understand why you would come here,” Rachel said.
“Well, if you let me come in, I’ll explain,” Brendon.
Will pushed Brendon a little bit. “She said to leave, so leave or I’ll kick your ass out the door. It’s your choice.”
Rachel’s heart pounded and her mind spun. “Brendon, get out!”
Will advanced again and Brendon retreated a little. “Fine. For now, but I do intend to speak with you.”
“No, you won’t,” Rachel said. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Brendon’s face took on an angry expression, but he turned and walked to the stairs. Will stayed in the hallway outside of Rachel’s door until he heard the outside door open and close. He came back inside the apartment, shut the door, and locked it.
As he started taking off his coat, he said, “I’m staying. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“Why is he here?” Rachel said angrily, her fists clenched at her sides. “I don’t understand. Will, I don’t want him here. Please don’t think I do.”
Will saw the deep level of her distress in her face and put his arms around her. He could feel her shaking so he held her tight. “I know, honey. It’s ok. He’ll go away. I’ll make sure of it. Why don’t you go to bed?”
“I can’t sleep now,” she said, holding onto Will.
“Is this guy dangerous?”
“No. I just don’t know why he’s here. He’s going to cause trouble, I just know it,” Rachel said. She hated feeling weak, but she was completely thrown by Brendon’s appearance in Dawson. “Everything has been so wonderful, so perfect.”
“It still will be. When he sees how happy you are and that we’re getting married no matter what, he’ll go away,” Will said.
“You don’t know Brendon, Will. When he wants something, he goes after it and doesn’t care who gets in his way,” she said.
Will made her look at him. “Hey, you and I can get through anything as long as we do it together and this guy is not going to mess up things for us. I promise. C’mon. We’ll go to bed.”
“We?”
“Yes. We. Nothing’s gonna happen. I’ll just hold you,” Will said. “Ok?”
Rachel smiled a little. “Ok. I’d like that. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Will said. When she went to get changed, Will mumbled, “How are you gonna pull that off, Will?” Sighing, he mustered all of his willpower and sat down to wait until Rachel was done.
Chapter Seventeen
Will watched Rachel sleep from where he stood in the doorway of her bedroom. He drank coffee as he looked over her feminine form. Her long brown hair was spread over her back since she slept on her stomach. He’d had to leave her during the night because the temptation to make love to her had been too great.
It had started out fine. They had talked for a while before she’d fallen asleep. Will had lain awake, her soft body pressed against his side, inflaming his desire for her. He’d tried his best to ignore it, but when she’d thrown a leg over his, he couldn’t take it anymore. She’d been in a dead slumber and he’d been able to slide out from under her and go lay on the sofa.
Eventually, he’d drifted off, but it had taken a long time. Boo’s rumbling purr had woken him up. The kitten had been curled up on his chest. He’d tried to go back to sleep again, but Boo had other ideas. She decided it was playtime and started wrestling with his hand. Will had given up and played with her for a while before getting up and making coffee.
His mind kept going back to Brendon. He was a good-looking man and a good dresser, too. Will could see why women were attracted to the man. The fact that he was well off didn’t hurt anything, either. The man had obviously come here with the intent to woo Rachel back.
Like hell he will. Rachel is mine and he’d better leave well enough alone if he knows what’s good for him. Will felt Boo rub his ankle and smiled down at her. Rachel had accused the kitten of liking him more than she did her. Going over to the bed, Will sat down on it and ran a hand down Rachel’s back.
She stirred and raised her head. She saw Will smiling down at her and smiled back. “Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning. I made coffee. I have to go home to change and get ready for work,” Will said.
Rachel liked the way he looked with his stubble-darkened jaw and tousled hair. She reached out a hand and slid it up his chest. “You look wonderful just the way you are.”
“Rachel,” he said in a warning tone. “It was all I could do to not take advantage of you last night.”
“You should have. I wouldn’t have objected,” she said.
Will groaned and stood up. “I’ll see you at the shop, ok? I love you!” he said, as he put his coat on and left in a rush.
Rachel giggled and got out of bed to begin her day. As she did, she prayed that Brendon would be gone, but something told her that he wasn’t going away easily. Once she was dressed and had drank some coffee, she put on her coat and left. No sooner was she on the street than Brendon showed up.
“Go away, Brendon,” she said. “I don’t want anything to do with you. I’m in love and I’m getting married.”
Brendon kept pace with her. “Rachel, you know that he’s not what you need.”
“And you are? I don’t think so. No, Will is exactly what I need and want. He’s handsome and fun. He loves me and puts me first. He’ll also never cheat on me, unlike you, Brendon,” she said as she walked faster.
Brendon put a hand on her arm, stopping her progress. “Rachel, I didn’t know what I’d lost until you left me. I love you and I want to marry you. No other women, I swear.”
Rachel laughed in his face. “I don’t trust you far enough to throw you. It doesn’t matter, Brendon. I don’t love you, and I don’t think I ever really did. Go home and find someone else to deceive.”
Brendon’s face tightened in anger. “I guess I deserved that, but I’m serious. I can’t stop thinking about you, wanting you. You know i
t was good between us.”
Rachel smirked at him. “Will’s ten times the lover you are.”
Brendon’s grip on her arm tightened. “So you’re sleeping with him.”
“Yes.” It was out before she could help it. Rachel couldn’t believe the lie had slipped out so easily.
“How interesting. He doesn’t seem the type to engage in premarital relations,” Brendon said.
“Well, there’s a lot about Will you don’t know or need to know. Get out of my life once and for all!” she shouted.
Suddenly, Mason was at her side. He’d been on his way to school and had spotted Rachel and Brendon. He could tell that Rachel was upset, and he didn’t like the way the guy was holding onto her arm.
“Is he bothering you, Rachel?” he asked.
“Yes,” Rachel said without hesitation.
Mason stepped toward Brendon and said, “You best be movin’ on, mister. Don’t bother my sister again.”
Brendon smiled at the boy. “You must be Mason. I’m Brendon Le Fevre, an old friend of Rachel’s.”
Mason didn’t look at Rachel as he said, “I’d say from the way it looked, you’re anything but friends. Now get lost, jackass. I’m not gonna tell you again.”
Brendon chuckled and opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance. Mason’s right fist shot out, making contact with the left side of Brendon’s jaw. Mason followed up with a left upper cut and Brendon went down.
Rachel grabbed Mason’s shoulders. “Mason! That’s enough. I think he gets the idea now,” she said with laugh.
Mason watched as Brendon sat up and shook his head. “I hope so, for his sake. Listen here, mister. Our father is the sheriff, and he doesn’t take kindly to people messin’ with his kids. You best be on your way now. Get out of Dawson.”
“I’ll have your father arrest you,” Brendon said as he got to his feet. “Assault and battery.”
“No, you won’t. You assaulted my sister, and you were harassing her. I was protecting her and that doesn’t qualify as assault when you do it in the defense of another. Besides, ain’t no way Pa’s gonna arrest me for protectin’ my sister. C’mon, sis. Let’s leave this piece of crap here to talk to himself. He ain’t worth our time,” Mason said. He put an arm around Rachel’s shoulders and began walking toward Foster’s.
Rachel leaned against him and began to laugh. Mason joined her. She hugged him around the waist and said, “My hero. Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“Pa, Jack, Rick. A lot of places, actually. Who was he?” Mason asked.
Rachel sighed and straightened. “He was a man I used to see in Canada. We were very serious. He asked me to marry him, but I turned him down because I found out he wasn’t a one woman man.”
Mason let out a snort. “So he’s even more of a snake than I figured. I’m not sorry I hit him.”
Rachel smiled up at him. “I’m not either.”
They reached the store and parted ways.
*****
Midafternoon, Will jogged over to Elliot’s for some candy. He needed Switch to keep performing and the way to ensure that was to feed him sugar. He was also going to get some beef jerky for Hawk. Rachel hadn’t wanted anything. As he headed back one of the aisles, he ran into Brendon.
“Why are you still here?” Will asked.
“I’m curious about Dawson and I’ve just been taking in the sights,” Brendon said.
“This isn’t a tourist town. You need to leave. Rachel is mine, and you need to accept that,” Will told him.
Brendon smiled. “Yes, I hear you’re quite the lover.”
Will wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “Excuse me?”
“Rachel told me that you are quite amorous in bed,” Brendon said.
Will jerked a little. “She did?”
“Yes. Just this morning. We had a little chat while she was on her way to your store,” Brendon said.
Will could see that the other man was waiting to see what he would say. He knew Brendon was hoping to catch Rachel in a lie. Even though he fumed inside, Will’s instinct to protect Rachel rose to the fore. “That’s right. We have a very satisfying love life, but that’s not any of your business. Now get out of town. She’s mine and there’s no way you’re gonna come between us.”
Will turned around, only to face Mitch, who was looking at the both of them with fury in his eyes.
Mitch asked, “Are you Mr. Le Fevre?”
“Yes, and you are?” Brendon asked.
“I’m Rachel’s father and the sheriff. My son said he had a run-in with you today. Will’s right. You need to get out of town while the gettin’s good,” Mitch said. “I won’t tolerate you harassing my daughter and causing trouble. Move it!”
Brendon hurried from the store and then Will was alone with Mitch, who said, “I think you and I need to talk, Will.”
*****
Will and Mitch sat in Elliot’s office. Mitch had figured it would be more private than back at the station. Will fidgeted under Mitch’s scrutiny of him. The sheriff’s level stare was unnerving and Will could well imagine that it caused criminals to spill their guts.
Finally, Mitch said, “So you and Rachel have been intimate.”
Will wasn’t sure how to respond. He was furious with Rachel for lying about their relationship, but he also didn’t want Mitch to think badly of either one of them. Will decided to go on the attack.
“Were you and Sammi intimate before you got married?” he asked.
Mitch’s jaw flexed and he looked away.
Will felt a little triumphant. It was obvious that he and Sammi hadn’t waited until they were married. “Frankly, Mitch, that part of our relationship is nobody’s business and I’m not going to discuss it with you or anyone else, for that matter. It’s between Rachel and me. I’m sure you can respect that. How would you feel if someone was trying to interrogate you about the subject?”
Mitch shifted in the chair and sighed. “You’re right. It really isn’t my business, but I don’t want her to get hurt. I also sometimes forget that she’s a grown woman now. It’s hard to not want to protect her.”
“I’m not going to hurt her, Mitch. She’s safe with me. I meant what I said to him. He’s not gonna come between us,” Will said. “I can’t believe he showed up here. He bothers her again, and I’ll kill him.”
Mitch smiled. “Yeah, I’m not too fond of him, either. Don’t kill him, though. I don’t want to have to lock you up.”
Will smiled back. “I’ll do my best. Well, I’d better get back to the store. I’ll see you later.”
Mitch stood up. “Ok. I’d talk to her about this, Will.”
Will’s expression darkened as he said, “I fully intend to.”
*****
Will waited until there were no customers in the shop before confronting Rachel about the situation. He entered the store and took her by the arm.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, as he pulled her into the storeroom and locked the door.
Rachel pulled her arm out of his grasp. He’d never handled her like that before. “That hurts. What on Earth is wrong with you?”
Will’s green eyes glittered with anger and his jaw was set. He put his hands on his hips and glared at her.
Rachel had no idea what he was angry about, but his attitude set her nerves on edge.
“I was just informed by Brendon that you and I have slept together. You told him that I’m good in bed. Why would you lie like that?” Will asked.
Rachel’s hand flew to her mouth and she moaned. “Oh no! He made me so mad, Will. It just slipped out. He was taunting me about how good it had been between me and him and I told him you were a much better lover. I know we haven’t made love, but I can just tell that when we do, it’s going to like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
Will couldn’t stop the smile that curved his lips. “You told him that?”
“Yes, I did. I didn’t mean to cause any harm, Will,” Rachel said.
/> He laughed a little. “Unfortunately, Mitch overheard our conversation. Brendon chose to talk about this over at Elliot’s. I turned around and there Mitch was.”
Rachel covered her face as it burned with shame. “Good Lord! What did you say to Brendon? What did Mitch say?”
“You’re not the only one who lied. I told him that we’ve been intimate. He was trying to catch you in a lie. You’re lucky I love you so much, or I wouldn’t have lied to him,” Will said. “I told Mitch that our relationship is no one’s business and that I wasn’t going to talk about it. He respected that.”
“I’m so sorry, Will. It was very wrong of me,” Rachel said. “I just couldn’t stand him putting you down. I’m glad Mitch didn’t give you too hard of a time about it.”
“Yes, it was wrong. You can’t do that again, Rachel. No matter what he says, you promise me that you won’t lie like that again,” Will said.
He held her gaze, intent on extracting a vow from her. Rachel felt that Will was justified in asking for it.
“I promise not to lie again, regardless of what Brendon might say to me,” she said, looking him in the eye.
Will regarded her for a few moments and then nodded. He grinned. “So you think I’m gonna be a good lover, huh?”
“Yes, I do. You already are, up to a point, of course,” Rachel said.
Will closed the distance between them and slipped his arms around her. “You don’t know how hard it was last night to keep from making love to you. I had to go sleep on the sofa because I wasn’t gonna be able to keep my hands off you.”
Rachel smiled. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to be alone after Brendon came there. I confess that it rattled me. I was afraid that he’d come back after you left, and I didn’t want to deal with him on my own. That’s cowardly, I know, but I didn’t feel very brave.”
“It’s ok. I was happy to stay. Boo was happy I stayed, too. She slept on my chest the whole night I think,” Will said.
Rachel chuckled. “I’m sure she was.”
They fell silent and Will felt the air around them change and become charged with the sensual tension between them. Will couldn’t stop himself from kissing her and holding her tightly. The woman felt so good in his arms and her lips were so sweet. All other thoughts but her fled his mind as he plundered her mouth.