3
Ally held her breath as the truck’s engine
coughed and reluctantly turned over. For a second, she allowed
herself to rest her head on the steering wheel and breathe a quick
prayer of thanks. Her day was not going well. She’d been to almost
half the businesses in the small town and asked for work, but no
one was hiring.
Some people were openly hostile, others
polite but distant. It was her own fault. She’d run off and made no
attempt to keep in touch with anyone from Spring Falls. It wasn’t
surprising no one wanted to know her, let alone employ her. But,
hell, with the way her finances were tangled up, she needed to keep
her savings intact if she was going to follow her dream and go back
to college in the fall.
Her stomach grumbled as she backed out
of her space and headed for the gas station. Ten bucks of gas went
nowhere these days. If she didn’t get lucky soon, she’d be walking
into town to save money. To her relief, the old guy who sometimes
manned the pumps and liked to talk had disappeared. She got out of
the truck and went inside the small cramped shack that smelled of
oil, tobacco, and fish bait to hand over her money.
“Is that you, Ally?”
She looked up to see a vaguely familiar
face smiling at her.
“Yeah, I’m Ally.”
“I’m Jane Evans. Do you remember
me?”
Inwardly Ally braced herself for an
attack. If she remembered correctly, Jane was the younger sister of
Susan Evans, the girl Jackson had been going out with when Ally had
hooked up with him. Just like in some cheesy soap opera, Susan had
been right there, alongside Rob, to discover her and Jackson in bed
together. The tragic consequences of that god-awful moment had
haunted Ally ever since.
“Hey, Jane, what’s up?” Inwardly she
winced. Now she sounded like some flippant teenager.
“Nothing much, thanks. I heard you’d
come back.”
Ally managed an awkward smile. “I’m not
staying. As soon as I fix up the house and sell it, I’ll be off
again. You don’t have to worry about bumping into me all the time
or anything.”
Jane looked carefully around the small
space and then leaned closer to Ally.
“I don’t mind if you stay. I’ve
forgiven you, even if nobody else has.”
“That’s . . . very decent of you. I was
really sorry about what happened to your sister.”
Jane shrugged. “Susan was a fool to get
so worked up over a man like Jackson. How weak can you
get?”
Ally took a small careful step to one
side so that she had room to get around Jane if she needed it. So
much for sisterly love and solidarity.
“It was nice to see you
anyway.”
Jane waved and walked toward the open
door. “You too.”
Ally paid for her gas and went back
outside. Jane’s behavior was weird to say the least, but if she was
willing to forgive, Ally wasn’t going to stop her. One less person
to worry about in a town full of haters was a start.
She pumped the gas, replaced the pump,
and got back into the truck. The setting sun made the raindrops
splattering her windshield gleam for an instant before they
evaporated on the warm glass. Ally shivered as she started the
truck. God, she was so tired of being afraid, of facing the people
she’d let down, of owning up to her mistakes and moving
on.
Her AA sponsor, Jill, had told her it
was important to get rid of her baggage, but sometimes it felt way
too heavy to lift, let alone sort out. Jill had also told her that
even if she apologized, some people might not want to forgive her
and that she had to accept that. An image of Rob’s unsmiling face
filled her mind. Of all people, she had to make things right with
him.
As the sun disappeared swiftly behind
the surrounding hills, the valley became a landscape of deep
shadows and stark silhouettes. Ally decided to visit the
twenty-four-hour convenience store, microwave herself something
fattening, and go home. Maybe she’d even splurge and buy a doughnut
or two to cheer herself up.
She lingered in the small store, drawn
by the lights, the smell of cheese nachos, and the array of glossy
magazines, until the young kid behind the counter began to look at
her suspiciously. She nuked a burrito to eat on the way, grabbed
two doughnuts and headed out. It was much darker outside now, but
the house was only five minutes away.
“What the hell?”
Ally glanced in her rearview mirror at
the flashing blue and red lights of a patrol car. Dammit, she was
only two minutes from home, and she’d been right on the speed
limit. What on earth was she being pulled over for?
She sat rigidly in the driver’s seat
and refused to turn her head as the police officer leisurely
approached. She reluctantly let down the window and tried not to
inhale as Rob’s lemon-scented aftershave wafted over
her.
“What?”
Rob wasn’t smiling. “Driver’s license
and insurance, please.”
Ally flipped open the glove compartment
and handed over the insurance, pulled her license out of her back
pocket, and gave him that too.
“Ma’am, this is a New York state
license. California law states that if you intend to reside in
California, you must get a California driver’s license within ten
days.”
“I’m not residing here.”
“Ma’am, to my knowledge, you’ve been
residing here for at least three weeks and you are a property
owner.”
Ally set her teeth. “I didn’t know that
was the law. I’ll fix it tomorrow, okay? Now, is there anything
else?”
“Get out of the vehicle, please,
ma’am.”
“It’s Ms., and why do I need to get
out? I said I’d sort out my license.”
Rob leaned in the window to stare at
her.
“Get. Out.”
Ally glared right back at him. “You
have no right to bully me. I hope you’re taping this because I’m
going to sue you for every pathetic penny you earn.”
Rob stepped back, and she flung open
the door of the truck and got out, instantly regretting the loss of
her height advantage in the cab.
“What are you going to do now, Sheriff?
Beat the crap out of me?”
He still didn’t smile, just walked
toward the rear of her truck and pointed. She followed him, her
temper rising, and then stopped.
“Oh my God. What happened to my
lights?”
Her left taillight was shattered, and
the light illuminating her license plate had also gone
out.
“That’s why I stopped you,
ma’am.”
Ally stared at the damage, and a sick
feeling built in her stomach. “It was okay when I left Main Street.
I saw the reflection in the shop windows when I backed out of my
parking space.”
“Did you stop anywhere
else?”
“The gas station, the 7-Eleven . . .
Who the hell would do that to me?”
“I don’t know, but you’ll have to fix
it.”
Ally put her hands on her hips and
swung around to look at Rob. “Thanks for the advice. And how much
is that going to cost me?”
He shrugged, and the movement outlined
his broad shoulders in the glare from his headlights.
“Your insurance should cover
it.”
“Not the kind I have. By the time they
take off my deductible, I’ll be paying them. I’ll have to get it
fixed myself.”
“I’m going to run your documents. I’ll
be back in a minute.” Rob turned on his heel and headed back toward
his car, leaving Ally stranded in the road.
She continued to stare at her damaged
taillight. She didn’t have the money to fix the house up, let alone
her truck. She glared at Rob’s retreating form. And how dare he act
like he didn’t know her?
She blinked as he turned off the
flashing lights on his car and came back to her. His radio chirped
and muttered away at his belt but he ignored it. He handed her back
her documents, and she stuffed them into her pocket.
“Can I go now?”
He stared down at her. “Aren’t you
going to thank me for alerting you to the fact that your vehicle
was damaged?”
“Thank you? You’re a cop. It’s your job
to harass people, isn’t it?”
His expression cooled. “It’s my job to
keep people safe, ma’am.”
“Ma’am?” She
wanted to kick his ass but instead gave him her best dismissive
smile. “Well, thank you, then.”
He took a dog-eared business card out
of his top pocket. “This guy deals in secondhand car parts. If you
give him a call and tell him I sent you, he’ll probably be able to
find you a new taillight real cheap.”
Ally bit down hard on her lip. God, she
didn’t want him to be nice. It made it so much harder to ignore the
heat between them.
“Thanks . . .” She met his amused gaze.
“Really, I mean it.”
She moved toward her truck, and he
followed her. He opened the driver’s door and waited as she seated
herself behind the wheel.
“I’ll follow you home.”
“You don’t have to do
that.”
He sighed. “Ally, are you going to
fight me about everything? If I’m behind you, there’s less
likelihood that someone will run into you on the road. My shift is
over, and I’m going back to town anyway.” He paused and looked into
her eyes. “And I’m ready to talk.”
“And you expect me to wait up for
you?”
“Yeah. I do.” He touched the brim of
his hat. “I’ll come ’round the back, so leave the kitchen door
unlocked.”
She wanted to scream that she would do
no such thing, but he’d already walked away. She jumped as he
flashed his headlights and obediently started the truck. He
followed her as far as her driveway and then peeled off back into
town, leaving her to park and run inside.
She didn’t bother with the lights as
she walked through the quiet house to the kitchen, her whole body
so alive and needy it almost hurt to breathe. How dare he be nice
to her when she’d expected nothing but disdain and anger, and how
dare he think that having sex was the only way she could make
anything up to him? But she wanted him, wanted to be dominated, to
forget about how crappy her life had been recently and just enjoy
the physical.
Would that be so wrong? Somehow she
still trusted him, and he knew exactly how to push her sexual
buttons. After the awful day she’d just had, she wanted to be held.
She moved toward the back door, touched the small glass panes, and
looked out into the shadowed yard.
And Rob wouldn’t expect anything from
her. He already thought the worst of her, so she certainly wouldn’t
be letting him down. It would just be about the sex. He’d get
payback and she would start a new sexual journey after her year of
abstinence.
Her fingers crept toward the latch, and
she slowly turned the key.
Rob parked his truck a block away from
Ally’s place and walked through the quiet streets until he reached
the back of her mother’s house. Part of him knew that by coming to
see her, he was behaving like a complete bastard, using that hint
of vulnerability Ally had shown by her truck and exploiting it
big-time. But she wanted him. There was no question of that; her
body had told him everything she hadn’t wanted to say.
He paused outside the darkened lot and
peered over the fence into the backyard. Nobody challenged him. He
frowned. So much for the local Neighborhood Watch. The grass was at
least three feet high, and the smell of rotting fruit from the
unpruned trees cut through the sweet scent of the night. Had Ally
unlocked the door, or had she regained her fighting spirit and gone
to bed alone? He pushed open the back gate. There was only one way
to find out.
To his relief, the door handle turned
and he entered the dark space. Moonlight filtered through the newly
washed windows, revealing Ally standing by the table, her arms
crossed over her breasts. Rob let out a breath he wasn’t even aware
he’d been holding. She was waiting for him, and he was more than
ready to give her what she needed.
He sat down at the kitchen table and
nodded at the chair opposite. “Sit down, Ally.”
She raised her chin at him but
complied. Her hands folded together in front of her. She licked her
lips. “I meant it when I said I wanted to apologize.”
“And I meant it when I said I’d take
that apology in sex.”
She shivered. “You mean you want to try
and dominate me again.”
“I get that I scared you back then, but
I’m not twenty anymore, and I’m no longer into that scene.” He
shrugged. “I tried it for a while, but it didn’t suit
me.”
“You can’t change who you are,
Rob.”
“Yeah, I know that, but I play by my
own rules now.” He held her gaze. “If you choose to ‘submit’ to me,
and I hate even using that word, then you need to understand I’m
not into safe words and all that ritual crap. You either trust me
to know what you want and what you need, or you
don’t.”
Her quick indrawn breath made his heart
beat faster and his cock swell in his pants.
“You want me to decide whether I’ll
have sex with you, and then you’ll tell me
how it’s going to be.”
“Yeah, because I know what you
want.”
She shifted uneasily in her chair.
“Don’t you think I might have changed too?”
“Sure.” He studied her closely. “We’ll
find out, won’t we?”
“I’ll have to think about it, Rob.”
Ally stood up abruptly. “I wasn’t really anticipating having a
sexual relationship with anyone while I was back
here.”
Rob stood, too, and looked down at her.
“Then start thinking about it.” He slid his hand around the back of
her neck and kissed her mouth. “I want to fuck you right now, but
I’m willing to wait until you’re ready.”
She pulled away from him. “Wow, that’s
big of you.”
He caught her hand and pressed it
against the front of his pants, almost groaning as his cock
reacted. “Honey, you have no idea.”
She eased her hand away. “Go home, Rob,
and I’ll think about it.”
Rob checked his gun belt and radio and
let himself out of the house the way he’d come in. As he walked the
quiet, moonlit streets, his body hummed with sexual frustration.
He’d be taking a cold shower when he got home and jerking himself
off like a teenager.
He stopped and turned to look at the
faint silhouette of the shabby house, his sexual high fading as
other, unexpected emotions grabbed hold of him. God, he’d missed
her. He wanted to hold her, comfort her, make everything right
again, and he couldn’t understand why. Was he some kind of
masochist who enjoyed having his heart broken? Wasn’t he supposed
to be the one who was in control, the “dominant” one?
During his first couple of years at
college, he’d gotten way too involved in the “scene.” Of course,
when he tried to tell Ally what she really needed and just how he
was going to give it to her, he scared her into running away. It
had taken him a long time to realize he wanted to be Ally’s “Rob”
not some nameless chick’s “Dom.”
And that was the truth of it. A truth
he’d struggled to acknowledge over the years and had finally had
the balls to admit. He was Ally’s. And if this was the only way she
would let him get close to her, he’d go for it with everything he
had. With a soft, heartfelt curse, he got into his truck and turned
the key. Dammit, he was already committed. Whatever he’d started,
he was determined to see it through to the end.