Leather and Sand

by Jayna Vixen

  It was time to lay down the line. Rhee had no desire for anything more than an employer/employee relationship. Darren was significantly older than her, and his high, nasal voice grated on her ears. Sure, he was successful at his business, but he wasn’t attractive to Rhee at all. More like….dorky. Darren had been married once before. In front of others, he seemed like nothing more than an attentive boss, but Rhee knew better. Darren was up to something, and she realized that she didn’t trust him anymore. Not one bit.

  Manali didn’t like the guy either, but then again, she didn’t like most of the males that came sniffing around Rhee. There were a few romantic overtures from random guys when Rhee first arrived, before her condition became more obvious. Thanks to Turtle and her overprotective landlady, the unwanted attention had abruptly ceased. Recently, Darren had come by a few times unannounced, on the pretext of having work to discuss, and Manali had covered for her, telling him Rhee was out. Rhee drew the line at Sirena. No man would enter her home and disrupt the haven she had created for her daughter.

  Rhee was finally starting to feel safe at night, and she had no desire to lose her tenuous grip on her newfound sanity and her semi-pleasant dreams. Manali was right there in the main house, and although Rhee had never divulged her past, her landlady parent just seemed to understand. The older woman predicted her needs without needing an explanation. She was a godsend. Rhee sighed. She didn’t need Darren messing things up.

  If he keeps this up, I’m going to have to be more blunt, she told herself for the umpteenth time. At least he’d never go so far as to make a move…right?

  Rhee exited the restroom and to her dismay, Darren was waiting for the in the corridor. The rest of the lobby was empty. “Darren. I told you twice already; I don’t need a ride home.” She tried to sound forceful and assertive, but to her dismay, her voice came out tired and defeated.

  “I just wouldn’t feel right about that Sabrina. You’re tired, and I’m sure you’re hungry. We deserve a little celebration.” Darren said, extending an eager hand. “Maybe we could get a bite to eat? The diner is open twenty-four hours.”

  “I’m not hungry, Darren. Manali’s waiting for me. Sirena gets up really early, as I’ve mentioned before.” Rhee was more annoyed at Darren’s use of the pronoun “we,” which implied that he had somehow participated in the fundraiser. Other than forcing his company upon her, he had done nothing to help at all. In fact, his increasingly possessive behavior was hindering Rhee’s progress both at work, and with the charity.

  I have had nothing but psychos. Other than…Rhee forced her thoughts from going down that painful path. Dax hadn’t exactly been a saint. But, there had been a fire, a longing, that she had never experienced before-or after-she met the domineering biker. Her body still craved his touch, and her residual yearning for the blue-eyed devil puzzled her because it had been so long. Maybe it’s because I had his baby?

  What she felt when she was around Dax was unusual for her. Rhee always felt a little uncomfortable in her other relationships. Well, relationship. Her stepfather, well, that sure as hell didn’t count as anything. Raping, murdering bastard! Rhee shuddered with revulsion at his memory. Her naivety and desire to escape led her to trade her stepfather for Marco, who also turned out to be controlling and abusive.

  What the fuck is wrong with me? Am I attracting these sleaze balls somehow?

  “At least let me walk you to your car? I wanted to ask you about displaying some of your new work in the shop,” Darren smiled disarmingly.

  “Um, I’ve got a text here from Manali, Darren. Why don’t you go on ahead while I check in?” Rhee couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice. She knew Darren picked up on it too. His jaw tensed in the slightest way. It was a behavior that many people probably wouldn’t pick up on. But Rhee did. There might indeed be work to discuss, but they could talk on Monday.

  “No, I’d be more comfortable waiting for you, Sabrina.”

  Goddamn it. How obvious do I have to be?

  Rhee looked around, but the lobby was deserted. She really didn’t want to piss off her boss, but shit, the guy was driving her crazy. She checked her watch. I’ve been up since fucking five in the morning with Sirena. I am too damned tired for this bullshit…

  Rhee texted Manali back to let her know that she was on her way home, all the while trying to process the level of potential danger that was present. Tonight, Darren was especially insistent. He had clearly developed feelings for her, but the guy certainly wasn’t dangerous. They had closed many fundraisers before and nothing had ever happened. Rhee silenced the little warning bells going off in her head. Her feet hurt in the heels she was unused to wearing, and the long evening gown was itchy and uncomfortable. She could not wait to rip the offending items of clothing off and trade them for an old tee shirt and sweats. Her mind on her fuzzy, pink slippers, Rhee made a beeline for her car, leaving her boss trailing behind.

  “Gotta go, Darren. Thanks!”

  Rhee took off as fast as her heels would allow her to move. Her heart rate accelerated as footsteps paced quickly after her. She jammed her key into the lock and turned it. Rhee decided to close this interaction right now and beat a hasty retreat.

  “Look, Darren. I really appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I have no interest in anything other than…”

  Darren’s hand came up and his fingers gripped her chin. He pressed her bodily into the car and Rhee shrieked as an obvious hardness nudged her belly. From the determined look in his eyes, she knew he was going to try to kiss her.

  Why do these kinds of men always find me?!

  “Sabrina, I’ve waited too long for this moment.”

  “Darren—!” His mouth came down on hers, and Rhee felt a wave of revulsion run through her entire body. She turned her head to the side and jammed the palm of her hand into the man’s chest, pushing hard into his sternum. Although he let out a whoosh of air, her reaction only seemed to piss her boss right off.

  “What are you doing?” she yelled irately. “I told you, I’m not interested!”

  “You little tease,” he responded, in a menacing tone she had never heard from him before. His fingers bit into her cheek as he tried to force her face towards him.

  Rhee reacted instinctively, her knee coming up to catch Darren in the groin. She connected, but not hard enough, and succeeded only in angering him further. It’s a bad combination, lust and rage, she thought, as a part of her seemed to disconnect from what was happening.

  Darren shoved her, hard. “Whore!” he hissed.

  Rhee’s head cracked against the driver’s side window and for a second, she saw stars. Blurrily, she registered Darren’s enraged words as he accused her of teasing him since the day she had started working for him. She was just a knocked-up whore and she owed him. His ramblings made no sense, and fear flooded her as she took stock of the situation. There was no one here—no one to witness her assault. And it was now painfully obvious that Darren wasn’t playing with a full deck. The bleak nature of the situation sank in and Rhee was surprised to feel some of the fight seep out of her. She had been fighting for so long, and in so many ways.

  I give up.

  Rhee was both physically and emotionally exhausted, and if she was honest with herself, maybe there was a reason that she was being treated like this. It was a nasty pattern—one she could no longer ignore. In fact, part of her was starting to wonder if she deserved the abuse. It just kept happening, so often that it seemed nonsensical.

  I wasn’t there for Mickey. Maybe it’s a just punishment that the same thing happens to me…

  She sagged against the car, a part of her separating from her conscious mind as Darren’s sweaty hands went to the neckline of her dress. His hands on her made her skin quiver with revulsion. Sickened, Rhee registered his voice changing now. He was apologizing. He couldn’t help himself, he said. He…loved her?! Oh, God, the man was deranged. Darren’s mouth descended to her breasts, half-exposed in the low cut neckline, and all of
a sudden, her body kicked into high gear. Rhee elbowed him, succeeding in getting a few precious inches of space between her own tender flesh and his nausea-inducing mouth. Rhee grunted as she tried to bring her knee up once more, the contrast between now and the last time she had been kissed rearing starkly in her brain.

  God, no man has touched me since…

  There was an explosion of movement as something slammed into Darren like a freight train, knocking him to his knees. Rhee fell back against the car as the man’s aversive touch was forcibly removed from her person. A shock of blond hair and a pair of furious blue eyes appeared on the periphery of her vision and her mouth fell open in shock. Rhee blinked, wondering just how hard she had hit her head as she tried to process what she was seeing.

  I am obviously hallucinating, because that white-blond hair and those eyes could belong to no other man than…

  Crack!

  The sickening crunch of fists on flesh and the horrible sound of bones breaking disrupted her line of thought. Rhee blinked again, not quite believing her eyes.

  That hair, those shoulders…Oh, God…

  It was Dax! He had appeared out of the darkness like a knight in shining…leather. No, not leather. Rhee struggled to focus her eyes in the dim light. Shit, how hard did I hit my head?! Is he wearing a suit? Where did he come from? It took a minute for her brain to process what she was seeing. It was totally nonsensical that Dax Jamison would be here, on an island, and clad in a shiny, gray suit no less.

  Jesus Christ, how many times is this guy going to save me from my own shitty luck?

  Rhee spent nearly three years unsuccessfully trying to erase memories of the tall, muscled biker from her heart. Now, here he was again, saving the day, like he had done so many times before. It was enough to make her feel a little disenfranchised, even though she was grateful for his help. Again.

  My own personal Mighty Mouse, Rhee thought half-hysterically. Her head pounding, she slid to the ground as shock, fear, and anxiety momentarily overwhelmed her.

  Everything is ruined now. Everything.

  Chapter Six

  “Dax!”

  His arm drew back to mete out another blow and it was only by the grace of God that he didn’t put his elbow into Rhee’s face as she came up behind him. Dax was in an anger-induced, red haze that compelled him to flatten the little peckerwood before him into the ground. He wasn’t sure how many times he laid into the sniveling excuse for a man before the fog receded and Dax became aware of what he was doing.

  “Dax! Stop!”

  Something tugged on his arm. That voice, tinged with fear and shock, and the sensation of those small fingers on his tense bicep finally jolted Dax out of his violent rage. With supreme effort, he got to his feet, testosterone and adrenaline coursing through him. Dax was dangerously close to completely losing control of all of his faculties. He turned his back on Rhee in an attempt to gather his composure. His fists clenched reflexively as he spat on the ground and then walked several paces away, shaking his head as though the action would clear it.

  The bizarre irony of it all was that now that he had Rhee within his grasp, Dax could hardly look at her. Disturbing, unexpected images were running through his heated, male brain. He warred with himself internally as he pictured himself grabbing the stowaway and branding her with his mouth. Competing visions of pulling up the long skirt she wore and reddening her pert little ass for being so naïve overwhelmed him and he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself. Underneath it all beat conflicting sensations of painful yearning and cold anger that stemmed from being abandoned—even though he would never admit those feelings to himself.

  He took a deep breath, forcing the thoughts and the strange, dull ache in his chest away. Taking a few more deep breaths, Dax took stock of himself and of his surroundings. He had waited for her, of course. After the meeting with Vidal was arranged for the following afternoon, Dax sent Wince to collect the grunts from whatever bar they were currently raising hell in. Then, he scouted out the ballroom, located Rhee, and confirmed, without a doubt, that the guy she was with was a total douchebag.

  The way the other man looked at Rhee bothered Dax in a very primal way. Something told him to stay close, and that something had obviously been right. Dax had learned not to ignore that little something that whispered to him when things were going sideways. He had acted on his intuition too late one time, long ago, and it had cost a dear friend his life. Dax wasn’t about to let anything remotely like that happen again.

  As the guests filtered out of the hotel, Dax cased the parking lot. The night wore on, and finally, there were only a few cars left. One of them had to be hers. He waited, fueled by a sadistic desire to see the stowaway again, even if he refrained from any direct interaction with her.

  Great. Now I can add “stalker” to my long list of accomplishments.

  Dax was taking a long pull of his second joint when Rhee finally entered the parking lot. She was walking fast, with the douchebag practically foot-racing her to her car. Dax was moving towards them before Rhee even realized the guy’s intent. When the other man put his hands on her, Dax just saw red. He wasn’t even sure what had happened, but now he was standing a few feet from the girl he had spent nearly three years pining over, blood staining his suit and his hands. It was rather surreal—even though it wasn’t the first time he beat the shit out of someone for mistreating an innocent person.

  Finally, he looked the stowaway full in the face and the shock of looking into her eyes took his breath away. Her face was just as expressive as he recalled. And just as hauntingly beautiful. More so, perhaps. Rhee’s eyes were wide, scared, and somewhat shocked as she regarded him silently. She blinked a few times, as if to confirm that he was really there.

  Dax said nothing. He could think of nothing to say. What could he say?

  Sorry I beat up your boyfriend? Sorry I fucked up your life? Oh, hey Rhee. How have you been?

  Dax’s eyes traveled from her bare feet to her rumpled dress. She shivered and he chastised himself for his insensitivity. Dax shrugged the stained gray jacket from his shoulders and approached to wrap it around Rhee’s shoulders. He was startled when she jerked away as though he was trying to burn her with a lit cigarette.

  “Jesus Christ, Dax!” Rhee hissed, pulling away from his touch. “What the hell are you doing here? And what did you do to my boss?” Rhee’s voice was angry and accusatory.

  Dax froze in his tracks, the jacket dangling limply in his hands. He was at a loss for words.

  She is angry with me?!

  Dax could only stare in disbelief as Rhee crept to the man lying facedown on the ground. He rubbed his bruised knuckles as she tended to her boyfriend, or whoever the fuck he was. Dax felt a twinge of guilt as she worried over the douchebag. Had he misjudged the situation? It looked like Rhee cared about the schmuck.

  Dax watched Rhee, morbidly fascinated, as she rummaged in her purse and yanked out her phone, presumably to call 9-1-1. Did she need a reminder of his ability to handle things like this? He lifted her phone from her so fast she looked down at her hands in surprise. Then, she got in his face. Hm. She’s changed. Rhee was practically shouting, but Dax didn’t really hear her words. First, he was amused by her unexpected reaction. Then, he was distracted by her proximity, fascinated by her full, pink mouth as she railed at him. This was no timid college girl any longer.

  Although he was indignant that Rhee failed to acknowledge his timely assistance, among other transgressions of hers, Dax found himself unable to respond and defend himself. If he did, there was no telling what he would say, or do. So, he let Rhee have her tirade while he slipped his own phone from his pants and shot off a few texts.

  “A couple of affiliates will be here soon. They’ll patch up your boyfriend…”

  “Darren is NOT my boyfriend, Daxter Jamison! He is—was—my boss! Shit! What am I going to do now! I needed that job Dax! But you never care about anyone else’s needs do you? You think you can just show up
out of nowhere, again, and ruin my life?!”

  ***

  Rhee was beside herself, anxiety mingling with exhaustion and abject fear. Once again, her world had come crashing down and the tall, blond, ridiculously good-looking cause of it was just standing there silently, with a familiar aloof and dismissive look on his face. Darren groaned again, reminding her that he could be seriously hurt. Even if he was a lecherous toad, her boss deserved medical care.

  Dax moved like a predatory feline. He was silent and deadly, and you never knew when he was going to sneak up behind you. Rhee had forgotten just how quickly Dax Jamison could move. Dax pounced, swiping her phone before she could react. Infuriated, she whirled on him, ignoring the heat that raced through her body when his hand had brushed her palm.

  Before she could even consider what she was saying, a torrent of angry words fell from her mouth, accusing him of ruining her life. Heat danced in his gaze, darkening the blue of his eyes to a stormy gray. Rhee knew that her words weren’t fair, but the tide of emotions that had arisen now that Dax was standing in front of her were wreaking havoc on her carefully constructed mask. What was he doing here? He could not be here! Feeling the prickle of hot, embarrassing tears threatening to slide down her cheeks, she turned on her bare heel to flee to the sanctity of her car. Perhaps, just perhaps, if she could just drive away, the entire scene would fade, like the nightmares she used to have.

  “Fuck!” The expletive flew from her mouth as a piece of glass sliced into Rhee’s foot, stopping her in her tracks.

  “Rhiannon…” She recognized that tone.

  “No! Stop right there, Dax. Please. Just-just leave me alone!” Rhee panicked as the man who haunted her dreams stalked ever closer, a look of possessive determination on his chiseled face. She was barely holding herself in check, using an old trick of letting anger cover up her true emotions. Her mind raced through all the things that had just gone horribly wrong in her life.

  Darren deserved to be put in his place, but Rhee needed the meager income that job had provided. Now, she knew she should consider herself fired. Maybe the source of her anger wasn’t really Darren, anyway, but rather…herself. Given her past, she had been stupid as hell to let him walk her to her car, knowing his intentions. She just hadn’t expected the anger or aggression with which her boss had come on to her. That was her fatal flaw, perhaps. Despite all she had been through, Rhee still gave people like Darren the benefit of the doubt and she wasn’t sure why.