by Smith, CP
I could hear the whir of the blender as I watered the plants and watched families run along the beach, chasing the crashing waves and tiny crabs as they burrowed into the sand.
Traffic was heavy as vacationers bottled up the side street that ran along our cottage. I glanced at the rental next door to ours, where a senator’s daughter had almost been kidnapped to blackmail her father. No lights were on, indicating the rental was either vacant or the tourists were out on the beach. I said a silent prayer for a peaceful weekend, just in case the gods of chaos were listening.
The sound of a motorcycle broke the evening air as I turned off the hose. “Sister?” Eunice called through the open window. “I made the mojitos.”
I turned to head inside for a glass of our favorite cocktail when a Harley pulled up in front of the vacant rental. I was struck with a sense of familiarity when the man climbed off the bike and peeled off his leather jacket. I watched as he unhooked his saddlebag, and my heart began to pound. A tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve raised my suspicions further. When the man finally turned in my direction fully, I knew for sure.
“Joe,” I whispered. “Oh, my God. It’s Joe.”
Joe hadn’t seen me when he pulled up, so when he turned around and looked in my direction, he jerked solid.
Does he remember me as much as I remember him?
For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to do. I was frozen in time like a stone statue in Forsyth Park. I could neither move nor breathe for fear he’d vanish if I expelled a single breath.
Joe stared at me for a moment with intensity, then dropped his saddlebag where he stood and stalked across the side street between the cottages, heading straight for me. He was bigger than I remembered. Stronger looking. He’d grown a beard—which only upped his hotness factor—and still had that air of a man who intimidated those around him. He looked dangerous. As if, when pushed too far, he’d react with force. He was a bad boy, without question, and my prim and proper upbringing stood up and took notice in a way my momma would be ashamed. He thoroughly excited me at every atom of my being.
He was ten feet away when I rubbed my hand nervously against my sarong, all while taking in the contracting muscles in his arms, the way his muscled legs ate up the distance between us. He was five feet away when Eunice called out my name to get my drink, but I couldn’t respond because the air dragging into my lungs felt thin and hot.
Then he was right in front of me, and I swear I felt a swoon coming on.
His jaw was tight as stone, and his brown eyes blazed with unconcealed hunger, causing heat to shoot through my body and land squarely between my thighs.
I tipped my head back and waited while Joe scanned my face as if he were memorizing every line, every minuscule imperfection time had wrought upon my skin.
It was surreal how at ease I felt with him bare inches from my person. No sane woman should allow a stranger to invade her personal space so forcefully, but I wasn’t scared in the least. Even though he could snap me like a twig if he had a mind to, I somehow knew he wouldn’t. After dreaming about Joe for the past year, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to have him towering over me.
His body heat seeped into my exposed skin, causing goose bumps to pop up on my arms at the intimacy. I should have been warm from the sun bathing my body in its rays, but having Joe so close made me shiver in anticipation instead.
“Hi. I’m Bernice,” I finally wheezed out between dry lips. Lordy, I sound like a schoolgirl. I felt a flush begin to creep up my neck and settle in my cheeks. Gone was the confident woman I’d become, one who had thumbed her nose at her parents and their millions. In her place was a simpering belle, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I’d never been faced with this much testosterone in my life. I was way out of my element with this man.
I tried to swallow, but my mouth had run dry. When I parted my lips to lick them, Joe’s eyes moved to my mouth, and his hands shot up to cup my cheeks right before his mouth slammed over mine in a ferocious kiss.
I gasped in shock at first, then I clung to him for support, completely blindsided by his actions.
“Fuck, but you taste like a dream,” he mumbled against my lips, then came back for seconds, as if he were a starving man.
“A gentleman should probably introduce himself before kissin’ a lady,” I gasped between breaths, not caring that years of etiquette had flown right out the window the moment Joe had kissed me. What woman could think straight during such an attack on her wits?
Joe rose his head slightly at my admonishment, a slight grin crossing his mouth, and growled, “I’m no gentleman,” before wrapping his hand gently in my hair and tugging my head back so he could see my face. “I’ve been hard since I laid eyes on you, and I’ve spent the last year thinking you belonged to another man. Now that I know you don’t, I’m not wasting time on formalities.”
What on earth is he talking about?
“I don’t understand?”
“You will when I bury my face between your thighs until you can’t breathe for calling out my name,” he said confidently, “then slide inside of you until neither one of us is coherent.”
My eyes grew wider at the bold statement. I should have pushed him away for his crassness, but I quoted Calla Lily instead. “Oh, my God. That’s so stinkin’ hot!” His mouth pulled into a sexy grin and he began to lower his head again, but I put a hand up to stop him. It was time to regain control of the situation. “You’re awfully confident for a man who hasn’t introduced himself yet.”
He leaned in and whispered into my ear, causing a shiver to run up my spine. “You already know my name.”
I blinked and pulled back, staring dumbfounded at his handsome face as it hit me what he’d said. Then I narrowed my eyes. How did he know I already knew his name or, for that matter, that I didn’t have a man? “I’m missin’ somethin’. A year ago, our paths crossed briefly. You walked away without so much as sayin’ boo to me, then you show up a year later and—boldly, I might add—tell me that you’re gonna, you know, and I’m just supposed to be okay with that?”
“Sister, what’s takin’ you so . . . Oh, my.”
I pushed out of Joe’s arms and turned to face my sister, heat rushing to my cheeks for an entirely different reason. She looked between Joe and me with concern, then lifted a questioning brow.
“Should I call the authorities?”
I shook my head while I tried to control my heart rate. “Um, this is Joe,” I said without thinking, confirming his belief that I already knew his name.
Eunice’s brows pulled together as she tried to place his name, then she gasped in recognition. “Oh, my God.”
“Exactly,” I muttered under my breath.
“He . . . you—” She stumbled over something to say, then her eyes darted toward our driveway before widening in surprise. I glanced back at Joe. He was smiling arrogantly because my sister’s reaction proved I’d spoken about our encounter a year ago.
Dangitall, a lady really should be allowed her secrets.
“Sister, I need to tell you somethin’. That is, I meant to tell you before they arrived, but they appear to be early, so I’m out of time.”
I heard a car door slam shut, so I turned toward our driveway. Odis Lee was smiling up at us from beside his car, and he wasn’t alone. He’d brought a gentleman with him, one who was leering at me like I was something to eat. I suddenly felt very underdressed.
“Not this guy again,” Joe growled behind me, but I ignored him for a far more pressing matter.
“Sister, what did you do?” I hissed, but I had a bad feeling I knew. Just as I’d predicted she’d do, when she found out about my infatuation with Joe, Eunice had felt sorry for me and was trying to set me up with a friend of Odis Lee’s. I glanced back at Eunice and knew I was right when I saw what she had on. Instead of wearing a bathing suit like we habitually wore while relaxing at the cottage, she was in a flowing sundress and had her makeup on. “Eunice! This
was supposed to a girls’ only weekend.”
She at least had the decency to look guilty.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” the man accompanying Odis Lee drawled cheerfully. I spun back around and found him scanning me from head to foot. I reacted to his indecent perusal of my body by crossing my arms over my exposed cleavage.
Before I could tell the man to keep his eyes to himself, a hand landed on my shoulder and gently tugged me back until Joe was standing in front of me. “You wanna keep your eyes to yourself,” Joe growled.
I suppose some women would have appreciated Joe’s interference, but my nerves were rattled by his sudden appearance and the nagging suspicion he wasn’t here by chance, so my back shot ramrod straight at his interference, and I poked him in the back. He glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow as if I’d interrupted him. “I’m perfectly capable of defendin’ my own honor, thank you very much. I’m not some simperin’ female who needs a man to protect her,” I said with more heat than was necessary.
He had the nerve to scowl at my tone before replying, “Yeah, but that’s my job now.” With that surprising yet admittedly exhilarating announcement, he turned back around, crossed his arms, and dismissed me so he could glower at Odis Lee’s friend.
My mouth gaped open and I poked him again.
He raised another brow when he looked back at me. “Don’t dismiss me when I’m tryin’ to talk to you.”
I expected him to argue, but he smiled instead. Not just any smile either. It was a smile that said he thought I was cute. Or spunky. Or any number of things men think is endearing when faced with a strong woman. My first impression of Joe had been correct. He was a man who didn’t take crap from anyone. He was a Neanderthal just like Devin, Bo, and Nate, which spelled trouble for me. I had a weakness for men who took control. But weakness or not, I wasn’t getting my lips anywhere near his again until I got to the bottom of why he was suddenly here after a year.
“Is there somethin’ goin’ on between you two that I should know about?” Odis Lee asked curiously, looking between Joe and me.
I ignored Odis Lee and crossed my arms, concentrating on the smiling man in front of me. He’d walked away without a backward glance, then blew into town and manhandled me like we’d been lovers for years, as if he had no doubt that I would respond to his advances. Like he knew I’d been pining for him.
“Please explain to me how you knew that I already knew your name,” I asked politely because good manners had been drilled into my head from an early age. “An Armstrong never raises their voice unless absolutely necessary,” my mother always said. I had a feeling she was going to be disappointed in me if I didn’t get answers to my questions.
Joe looked confused by my change in subject. “What?”
“How”—I put a little more heat into my tone this time—“did you know that I already knew your name? We didn’t speak when we crossed paths a year ago.”
He seemed to puzzle over the question for a moment.
“Joe—” It hit me then. The only way he could know was if he’d spoken to someone close to me. “Was it Calla Lily?” I rushed out, heat burning my face instantly with humiliation. All the questions she’d asked me about Joe rolled around in my head. All the secret looks between her and the Wallflowers. Even Devin’s trip out of town with no reasonable explanation. It all clicked into place.
I searched his face for proof of my suspicion and found it written in his eyes, in the taut jaw that ticked as he clenched his teeth. Embarrassment ran rampant through my body, and I took a step back. “Excuse me, would you, please?” I said despondently, needing to distance myself from everyone. I was nothing more than a woman he thought was a sure thing. He’d heard how I’d reacted to him and came running, hoping for a quick roll in the hay over the long weekend. The year-long fantasies I’d had about the man crashed and burned in a haze of disappointment. Joe was no different from my father. From most of the men of my acquaintance. Just like all of them, he saw women as inconsequential, as playthings for their own amusement and nothing more.
I turned to go inside, but I didn’t make it a step before Joe grabbed my arm to stop me. “I can see the wheels turning in that head of yours, but I’m telling you right now, this is not what it looks like.”
I wrenched my arm from his hand. “Really? So, you haven’t been excited for close to a year and don’t plan to bury . . . well, you know?”
Joe leaned down until his eyes were level with mine. His were glittering with humor for some reason. “Oh, I plan to do that, angel, and a hell of a lot more.”
“What the fuck?” Odis Lee hissed, outraged like any good soon-to-be brother-in-law should be when his soon-to-be sister-in-law was so thoroughly insulted.
Odis Lee made to stand between Joe and me, glaring up at Joe. I would have sighed at the unneeded protection if it weren’t so chivalrous. Odis Lee had once been a spy for my father, which took me a while to forgive him for, so I let him think he was helping to appease his lingering guilt.
Joe narrowed his eyes at Odis Lee, his jaw ticking with anger. “Trust me, you don’t want to come between Bernice and me. Not again.”
Oh, for goodness sake.
I rushed between them because as gallant as Odis Lee was behaving, he was no match for someone like Joe. “Enough. You played your hand and lost. I’m not any man’s easy lay,” I bit out, then turned to Odis Lee’s friend, snipping, “and that goes double for you,” for good measure.
Joe stepped closer instead of giving up the ghost and getting lost like he should. He looked incredulous. “You think I drove all the way down here for a quick fuck?” He sounded indignant, too. “I’ve spent the better part of a year trying to forget you, then I find out Sonny Crockett here is your sister’s man and not yours,”—Odis Lee froze behind me at the insult, which I had to admit was right on target—“so I hauled my ass down here to find out if you’re truly the angel I thought you were.”
My father had taught me a long time ago that men always tell you what they think you want to hear, but I’d give Joe props for appearing sincere. He sounded so believable, in fact, I almost let down my guard. One I’d perfected to keep from being hurt again. My own father had kept Eunice and me at arm’s length, interacting with us only when it benefited some agenda, so we learned to be wary of men and their intentions. Eunice had finally found a man she trusted in Odis Lee, which was laughable considering how they’d met, but it would take more than a handsome face for me to let my guard down.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced to my right. Calla and the Wallflowers were making their way up to the cottage from the street, followed by their men, proving I’d been right. Calla was smiling like the cat who’d eaten the canary while her attention darted between Joe and me. She wasn’t surprised in the least to see him here, had obviously known he’d been headed to Tybee, and wanted to get a closer look. Betrayal the likes I’d never known tightened my chest.
How could the child I’ve raised as my own do this to me?
“I have to go,” I mumbled to no one in particular.
I turned to leave, and Joe grabbed my arm again. “We aren’t finished, you and me. I’m not leaving Georgia until I find out one way or another.”
I tried to rip my arm out of his hand, but he held tight. “What’s that, Joe? If I’m good in bed?”
His eyes narrowed with irritation. “No. I’m not leaving until I find out if you’re a woman who’s worth living and dying for.”
My breath hitched and my head jerked back in astonishment. He took advantage of my shock and leaned in to brush a whisper-soft kiss against my lips before he let me go. Confusion. Betrayal. Even a little bit of hope all paralyzed my chest, making it hard to breathe. I searched his eyes one last time then turned, pinned Eunice with a look that said, ‘Keep everyone away from me,’ and headed inside the cottage to pack my bag so I could get the heck out of Tybee.
Eunice, like always, decided to ignore me, bec
ause I’d barely torn off my sarong before Calla was calling out my name. I could hear her footfalls getting closer while I dug through my closet for a T-shirt. When she entered my bedroom, I was pulling a vintage Madonna T-shirt over my bathing suit. “How could you?” I snapped before grabbing a pair of Levi’s.
Calla stopped dead in her tracks, a look of wariness masking her face. “I was tryin’ to help.”
I jammed one leg into the jeans, then looked up at her through hair that covered my face. “I didn’t need your help, butterbean. I was fine.” I started to lose my balance when my foot caught in my jeans. “Dagnabit, Calla Lily, you made me look like a simperin’ fool. Like some—” I tried to free my foot but ended up falling onto the bed for my trouble. Frustration caused a knot to form in my throat, and for the first time in a long time, I was on the verge of tears.
I lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling while I willed myself to calm down. It didn’t work. A traitorous tear rolled down my cheek, and I swatted it away.
“Bernice?” Calla closed the distance between us and sat on the bed next to me.
“Do you think me so pathetic?” I heard Calla’s breath catch, and I turned to look at my darling girl. No mother could love a child more. And that’s what she was to me. My child. My brother and his wife may have given Calla life, but she was mine.
She reached out and grabbed my hand and lifted it to her cheek, rubbing her face against it. “I think you’re the most wonderful woman in the world. I want you to be happy like I am with Devin. You, more than anyone, deserve to have someone in your life who will look out for you like Devin does for me.”
I turned my head away from her and closed my eyes. “How can I trust his motives now that I know you hunted him down?”
“What do you mean? Devin checked him out before he even considered goin’ to Tennessee.”
At least I knew where Joe hailed from. “Butterbean, can’t you understand how humiliatin’ this is for me? My family hunted down a man I found attractive and said, ‘Hey, Joe, my aunt has the hots for you. Bet she’d go out with you if you gave her the time of day.’”