Silent Tears [Liberty, Wyoming 3]

by Lara Jones

  Dylan straightened abruptly, and Liam sat forward in apprehensive curiosity. The steel and arrogance in Dylan’s voice were unmistakable. “Who’s Derek?”

  Mora ignored him. “He says it’s stupid to go alone and that I need to watch my back.”

  “Who the hell is Derek?”

  Isabel looked nervously at Dylan and then back at Mora. “Will he be able to be there at all?”

  “He said he would try…”

  A feral jealous twisted inside Dylan as he growled. “Who the fuck is Derek?”

  Different degrees of shock on everyone’s faces, all eyes turned to Dylan. Liam was scowling at him. Isabel’s men were frowning in confusion. The women sat in complete shock.

  Mora’s chin went up, and her shoulders straightened as she narrowed her eyeson Dylan. “It’s...none…of…your…fucking…business.”

  Royce and Clay tensed and looked toward their brother. They were prepared to jump in if needed, not that they thought he’d ever hurt her because they were one hundred percent certain Dylan wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head, but they could definitely see him putting her over his knees to redden her ass. They were pretty sure it would not go over so well with their fiancée or Mora.

  They could tell it took some strength for Dylan to hold back. Meeting Mora had hit him hard, but they’d never seen him like this before. Clay and Royce understood completely. It had hit them powerfully also when they met Isabel, but they had never intentionally hurt her feelings or goad her into a fight like their brother was doing to Mora. But Dylan had always loved a good argument.

  “Jesus, Dylan. You need to calm down, man,” Liam said. God, what the hell was wrong with him? He was going to blow any chance they had with her if he kept it up.

  A fire burned in Dylan’s eyes as he tilted his beer can at her, ignoring everyone else in the room. “You’ll pay for that, little girl. I’m looking forward to having you over my lap and my hand reddening that sweet ass of yours. Soon.” His eyes flamed with heat and a promise this had just begun.

  Mora’s chin went up another notch, and a sweet smile crossed her face. “Never happen, big man. You have no authority over me and never will.”

  Dylan’s eyes narrowed in anger but also a spark of excitement and respect he couldn’t hide. Not many people stood up to him, and he liked this tiny woman didn’t hesitate to give his shit back to him. “Who’s Derek?” he said very softly, but she still heard a hard edge to his words.

  Mora waited a brief moment. “He’s my brother.”

  His eyes flared, and a muscle jumped in his jawline. “You better be telling the truth.”

  “It’s true, Dylan. Derek’s Mora’s brother.”

  Dylan flicked his gaze to Isabel and then back at Mora. He finished his beer, crushed the can in his hand, and walked into the kitchen, coming out a moment later. “I gotta go.” He stopped and turned at the door, his eyes piercing Mora’s. He couldn’t control the way she was making him feel. “Thank you, Isabel, for a delicious supper. Liam, are you coming?”

  Liam stood and rolled his eyes at his friend’s back as he slammed out the door before concentrating on Mora. “I’m sorry. He’s not usually that intense.” He ignored Royce’s snort. “His day kind of sucked.”

  Isabel’s eyebrows came together in concern. “What happened?”

  “Car crash. Two killed, one of them a small child.”

  All color bled from Mora’s face. “I’m sorry I goaded him. That’s a horrible thing to see.”

  Liam nodded and could have kicked himself for bringing it up in front of her, after losing her own child in a car accident. “Yes, it is. One of the worst drawbacks of being a cop. It was nice meeting you. Next time we see you, he’ll be calmer.”

  “I don’t know if there will be a next time. I don’t know how long I’ll be here.” Mora was assailed by a terrible sense of bitterness and despair. The black void in her life, the day she lost her son, seemed to grow terrifyingly bigger and darker as time passed. She worried that if she didn’t do something to help the healing and start a new life, the life she had yet to discover that would be her new reality, it was going to drag her down into an abyss, and she’d never get out. She needed more time to erase the past.

  Liam’s shocked eyes went to Royce’s and Clay’s in question. He relaxed when he caught the slight dip of Royce’s head. God, he hoped they could keep her here until she got to know them. He had a feeling, if Dylan began acting normal, she would want to stay here with them. He could tell she was attracted to both of them.

  He and Dylan had just found a woman they both wanted, and he knew Dylan wanted her, or he wouldn’t have acted so possessive and out of sorts. There was no way they were letting her go. Now he just had to get his friend’s head out of his ass.

  “I hope you stay a while, Mora. Thanks again, you guys.” The door closed behind him. Liam stood for a minute, took a few breaths, and stared through the windshield at Dylan. Shit, he hated having to deal with a pissed-off Dylan. He guessed his night was not going to end well.

  Minutes later, they pulled up in front of their house and parked. The drive had been completely and utterly silent. Dylan set his arms on the top of the steering wheel and leaned a bit forward. “Liam, I would only admit this to you. She scares the shit out of me.”

  Liam heard the turmoil in his tone. “Bud, I doubt she could do much damage. She’s just a tiny little thing.”

  Dylan snorted. “You asshole, you know that’s not what I meant.”

  “Look, Dylan. I get where you’re coming from. I’m scared myself. I already feel more strongly about her than I ever have any other woman. I could fall in love with Mora very easily. The thought of her leaving and going back to Dallas tears out my heart, but if I don’t take this chance to spend time with her and get a chance to make her want to move here with us, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, and I know you will, too.”

  Dylan got out of the truck and walked up toward their house and waited for Liam to catch up to him. “Let me get some sleep tonight. After the shitty day I’ve had, I’m not much fun to be around for anyone. We’ll get together tomorrow after work. I’ll come to the station. We’ll talk more then.”

  Liam opened their door and lightly punched him in the shoulder as he walked past. “Go get some sleep. I’ll be here if you need to talk.”

  Much later that night in bed, Dylan was restless and unable to get the sleep his body was desperate for. When he closed his eyes, he saw the various expressions Mora made tonight. The shocked look on her face when she first met them, the smiles she had for Isabel and Tommy, the anger she had at him, but what he couldn’t get over was the sadness he caused her by being a prick.

  Oh, she was good at trying to hide it, and she probably succeeded most of the time with other people, but he noticed things others might not, because her every move fascinated him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, or he might miss something she said or did.

  Unfeasible to imagine after only hours, but Mora was fast becoming an obsession for him and one he would not easily give up. He was determined that the next expression he put on her face would be a happy or desire-filled one. Having made that decision, he was finally able to fall asleep.

  Chapter 3

  “What the hell?” He could be wrong, but that looked like the car Mora was driving. He pulled up beside it and parked. “Hey, Stacy, I’m going to be out of reach for a while. If something comes up, have Alec deal with it.”

  “No problem, boss.”

  She was nowhere to be seen, and it scared the shit out of him. This wasn’t a place for anyone who didn’t know the terrain.

  This was his town’s teen make-out area. It was only a small parking lot that could maybe hold five or six cars. His deputies had a hell of a time keeping the kids out of trouble out here. What frightened him was if you walked through a small stand of trees, there were rocky ledges that looked out over a beautiful valley, but the drop-offs were fifty to seventy feet in length. No one wo
uld be able to survive a fall like that. He knew. He’d been down in the valley picking up pieces of people, more times than he wanted to remember, who had intentionally and unintentionally fallen from the top.

  Dylan scouted the area around the parking lot then moved closer to the canyon. His heart almost stopped when he found her on the ground near a boulder. Thankfully she wasn’t close to the edge, so she was at least safe.

  What was tearing at his insides were the heartbreaking sobs rocking her body. She looked so lonely and defenseless sitting there.

  Dylan walked toward her slowly, not wanting to startle her. She was sitting on the ground against a large boulder, hunched over, her arms clutching her bent knees, pulling them into her chest where her head was tucked.

  He’d heard women crying, a lot of times because it was part of the job, but he’d never heard this sort of acute misery and loss. Tears stung his own eyes when he thought about what she had been through in the last year. No one could get through it without breaking down at some point. Thankfully he was here to help her and make sure she wasn’t alone.

  Dylan knelt next to her. “Hey, sugar.”

  All sound and movement stopped as pure shock raced through her. No way was he here right now watching her like this. She’d driven for miles trying to find a secluded area to be by herself. Ha, the joke was on her. She wanted to rail at God for sending him here. He would have been the last person she would have wanted.

  Mora turned away and straightened, quickly wiping her tears away. “Wh…” She had to clear her throat. “What do you want?”

  She tensed further when he gently rested his hand on top of her head. Oh, for God sakes, please don’t touch me.

  “Let’s go back to my car so we can talk.”

  “No, thank you. Please leave.”

  “Mora, I’m not leaving you here.”

  Mora tried to push his hand away from her head. “I don’t want you here. I want to be alone right now. Please leave.”

  Dylan slid his hand down her hair, feeling the silkiness with his fingertips. “No.”

  “God, you bastard. What is it about me that makes you want to hurt me?” she said, still unable to face him.

  “I’m sorry about last night. I never meant to hurt you. Meeting you took me off guard and threw me for a loop. We’ll talk about last night later. Right now, let’s worry about what’s tearing you up inside.”

  “Just leave me the hell alone, you fucking bastard.”

  Dylan gritted his teeth. He knew she was just trying to piss him off, so he let it slide. “Come on, let me help you off…” He was on his ass the next second, shocked.

  Desperation made Mora push him over and run in the other direction. She knew it was a mistake the moment after she did it, but it was too late to change it, so she just ran. “Oomph.” Her breath burst from her lungs as an arm wrapped around her from behind. How in the hell had he gotten off the ground and been on her so freaking quick?

  Dylan stood still with his arms wrapped around Mora as she struggled, hitting and kicking, trying to get away from him. He pressed his cheek to her ear. “This is good. Get all that fight out of you so that we can talk calmly.”

  Mora turned her head to bite him, nearly getting some skin. “Fuck you. You can’t hold me here. Let me go, or I’ll press charges.”

  He tightened his arms and chuckled. “I’ll even help you press charges, sweetheart, but for now you’re stuck with me, so deal with it.”

  After a few more minutes of struggling against him, all the fight deflated, leaving her standing limply against him. The back of her head rested against his chest, and her hands lay lightly on his arms around her waist. “I don’t understand. You hated me on sight. Why are you trying to help me?”

  Dylan pressed his lips against the top of her head. “Oh, baby. I never hated you.”

  Mora drew in a few deep breaths. “You could have fooled me.”

  “I already said we’d talk about that later. Right now, I need to know you’re okay.”

  Mora nodded. “I’m okay. You can let me go.”

  Dylan slowly released her and instantly felt her muscles tighten, getting ready to run again. He had her snatched up again before she could take two steps. A deep sigh ran from him, and he stood, letting a second wave of tantrum go until she wore herself down again. After a few minutes without her slowing, his patience broke. He carried her over to the next large tree, sat on the ground against it, and turned her on her side against his chest. Although he wanted more than anything to lay her over his knees and tan her ass, he knew it was too soon for that privilege

  The move startled her enough she paused, then she fought harder. “God damn, you fucking pig, asshole, prick.”

  Dylan looked up and sighed again. “Sugar, I know you’re trying to piss me off, but I am getting tired of the names.”

  She pushed her feet against the ground, hoping to get away still. “I don’t fucking care,” she snarled.

  “All right, that’s it,” he growled and rolled, pinning her body underneath his in the moist earth and blanket of leaves. His legs pinned her legs between his. He used his chest to keep her in place and effortlessly raised her arms above her, using his elbows on the ground next to her head, to keep some weight off of her.

  She froze for a moment and then went wild again. “Get off me, you asshole, you’re squashing me.”

  One of his hands grasped both of hers so the free one could touch her. Dylan shook his head and cupped the side of her face, keeping it still when she continued to fight. “If I was squashing you, sugar, you wouldn’t be able to talk.”

  His calm, reasonable answer set her off again. “You fuckwad, bastard!” she shrieked.

  He was truly impressed with her stamina, she would need it for what he and Liam wanted from her, but he was getting tired of her tantrum. “Mora, the next time you cuss, I’m going to take it as a silent plea for my attention.”

  Her eyes were wide, and her body stilled. “You’ve got to be kidding? A plea for what?”

  “No, I’m not kidding. Try to cuss and find out.”

  Mora looked at him for a long moment, trying to read anything in his eyes. Her chin came up. “Fuck you…”

  His retaliation was swift. With one twist of his hips, he used his thighs to spread her legs until he was nestled intimately against the notch of her thighs. The one hand still held her hands up above her head, but the other slid down and enclosed her breast, making her breath stutter out.

  Dylan watched the emotions race over her face, and a fierce satisfaction filled him. Damn, she was so cute and easy to read. She acted so tough, but he could see how it was all fake. She was hiding her true self behind her bitchy attitude, and he wasn’t going to stand for it.

  She froze as all her senses leaped to life as the masculine aroma of his body went directly to her head, and the heat from his body seeped through layers of their clothing, making the cool ground underneath her that much cooler. Thank God, the weather had warmed earlier than usual in these parts of Wyoming.

  “Open your eyes, Mora,” he demanded gruffly.

  His cock jump at the sight of her passion-glazed eyes. With a growl, he dipped his head, instantly pushing into the depth of her mouth, sweeping it with his tongue.

  A wild little sound escaped her mouth when he kissed her with devastating force. Slowly his thumb circled her nipple until it turned into a hard-little pebble, making a need course through her that was so strong it made liquid heat instantly pool in her panties, and a cramping desire twist her stomach. The feelings swirling caused her to feel completely vulnerable. The sadness engulfed her again, even though the haze of desire.

  Dylan pressed his aching hardness against the junction of her legs as he continued to devour her mouth. A distressed sound caught his attention. He raised his head and drew in a startled breath. Mora was lying beneath him, silently crying. A tearing fear raced through him at the thought of hurting this woman. He caught a tear on the fingertip before he cup
ped her face and slowly caressed her cheek.

  “Am I hurting or scaring you, sweetheart?”

  Mora bit her lips and shook her head, unable to halt the tears that continued to fall.

  Dylan rolled, sat up, and brought her up to his chest in one efficient move.

  Mora’s head lay lax against his chest, and her hand clung to his shirt as he held her tightly against him, murmuring words she didn’t understand through her tearing sobs, but his tone soothed her.

  “Sshhh. I’ve got you, sweetheart. Everything will be okay. Liam and I will make sure of it.” Dylan continued talking until her tears stopped. After the bout of crying slowed enough for her to talk, Mora started answering all the questions Dylan asked. Questions about her likes and dislikes, little insubstantial things. He was hoping to get her mind on something other than the pain.

  As time passed and the tears and questions lessened, even more, the midafternoon sun faded as it crept below the tree line. Dylan held her for a long time, and he would have kept holding her if she hadn’t started to shiver.

  Dylan tilted her head up with the side of his hand. The aftermath of such a difficult day showed on her face. Her face was bright red, her eyes swollen, and her lips were sensitive from his kisses.

  “Come on, sugar. I need to get you home. You’re freezing, and they’re probably worried about you.” He lifted her with ease to her feet, and he stood until he towered over her. Dylan held out a hand. “Are you ready?”

  Chapter 4

  Mora looked up at him then down at his hand and sighed in defeat before placing her hand in his.

  On the walk back to the cars, a small satisfied smile curled the corners of his mouth. Mora had let him inside her emotional walls. He knew she’d fight against it a time or two, but he damn sure was going to stay there.

  When they got to their cars, Mora tried to tug her hand from his grip.

  “Where do you think you’re going, sugar?”

  “I’m going back to Isabel’s.”

  Dylan shook his head and tugged her to his car.