All In (13 page)

Mick killed the engine. Cara slid to the front of
the seat and gripped the throttle. In one synchronized motion, she pumped the
kick-start. The engine caught. Cara gunned the throttle with a quick snap of
her wrist, revving the engine.

“Good,” Mick smiled in approval.

Mick’s job at the deli was over. He was now cutting
the grass and doing general maintenance around the grounds of the motor inn.

Though Mick had given Cara several lessons on how to
start the bike and work the gears, she was still a bit rusty. She’d taken a few
practice spins around the parking lot of The Beachcomber. Mick had reassured
her that she would learn by doing. Once their helmets came in she’d be able to
ride the bike more and gain the confidence she needed to venture out alone.

Todd Conway was pleased with her work performance.
All his rental properties were cleaned and ready. He would still need her to
clean in between tenants, but her schedule would slow down.

Mick had walked with her to work, saying he’d come
back for her at the end of the day.

“See you this afternoon.” He pulled her into his
arms. His fingers threaded through her hair, tipping her mouth to his. He
kissed her leisurely and then stepped back.

“Wow… I’ll see you later.” Mick grinned. That now
familiar fire burned in his eyes, flooding her body with an aroused awareness. The
rays of the sun angled across his face. Mick stepped back, jamming his hands
into his jeans. The hem of his T-shirt grazed a sculpted abdomen that Cara
suddenly wanted to bury her face in, needing to smell his scent, a fragrance
that mirrored all his strength and power. It was a sharp, manly musk that
lingered in dark, clothed places, places only intimate lovers sampled. Her
thoughts began to roam into unexplored territory.

Mick had made all the moves, shifting their
relationship and directing it into new waters. He’d seen, touched, and tasted
all of her. Cara wanted more. She wanted to give Mick everything he’d given
her. Something had her second-guessing herself. Was her confidence lagging? She
would never want him to feel rejected after feeding her desires, needs she’d
only ever gotten from the written word.

Cara watched him as he strolled down the road,
turning the corner. She needed to step up. Was she waiting to feel something
more? Did his declaration of love have to align with her actions? He’d been so
tender and affectionate. Was he now waiting for her?

Are
we in love?

****

Once back at The Beachcomber, Mick decided to clean
up the room. Cara did the laundry and most of the cooking, as far as cooking
went with a hotplate.

Mick wasn’t one of those guys who frowned upon
domestic chores, unlike his father, who refused to ever touch a mop or rag.

His parents bled through his thoughts. The Hollow
had become a distant memory, like a low-budget movie that was quickly
forgotten. This was his new life. Here, with Cara, striving to build a new
future one brick at a time. They would have a wonderful life together. Mick was
determined and hopeful, especially since their relationship had progressed.

Cara was receptive to his advances, as well as
participating, yet something inside her hadn’t come completely undone, unlike
him. If she read those books, then there had to be more inside somewhere. Mick
had a deeper need for more of her. He wanted Cara to want to give him more,
matching his desires, their hearts perfectly aligned.

He made the beds and tidied the disarray on both
dressers. When Mick tossed the extra pillow up into the closet, his attention
was pulled down to Cara’s pack on the floor, shoved into the corner.

Fuck!

There it was. Temptation had lured him in again. It
was a test Mick already knew he would fail. He was well aware that was where her
reading material was, hidden away from him and the rest of the world.

Once
more,
he told himself. She’d never read in front of him, and now he knew why. It was
as bad as an alcoholic who craved their drink. It was something she didn’t want
him to know about. Why? It was a natural urge. Why was Cara uncomfortable about
it? Maybe she hadn’t gotten used to the ‘new level’ of their relationship yet,
still questioning his acceptance on certain things. Mick was dying to share it
with her. That wild unleashing, an uttered moan and airy confession of love, a
love that sank so deep it made your bones ache. If Cara read about it, then she
must want it.

Scarred
and Marred
sat cover-side down in the bottom of her pack. Mick bit down hard on his lip,
cursing under his breath as he reached down and grabbed the book.

He sat down, leafing through the pages in an attempt
to find where he’d left off. Lee and Kate had been going at it in the pool.

Mick fanned the pages, unable to return to that
scene. The first sentence of chapter seventeen had his body flinching like a
junkie. He settled back on the pillows and began to read.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

“I haven’t parked since high school,” Kate said.

“You up for an adventure?”
Lee
asked, killing the engine.

The snapping of crickets filled the dark car as the headlights
dimmed.

“Oh yeah,” Kate exhaled in wonder. “The lake looks
beautiful. Let’s go for a dip.” Her body shimmied in the small confines of the
two-seater as Kate removed her blouse and skirt.

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Lee said gruffly,
releasing his seatbelt as Kate bared her breasts to him. Firm, ripe parcels of
flesh tempted and teased.

Lee opened the door and stepped out into the night.

A slow-crawling fog moved across the lake, hovering
over the surface. Narrow lines of water sloshed up and over the small sandy
area of a man-made beach.

Lee wasn’t sure who owned the property now, but it
looked just as desolate as it had all those years ago. He’d brought a few girls
here, but never had baptized his fleshly body in the water. He stepped out of
his slacks and briefs, draping them over the hood, laying his shirt on top with
care. Lee stepped into the water, sinking in the cold, mucked bottom, feeling
it ooze between his toes.

The scent of damp earth and woods filled his
nostrils as Lee waded through a cold pocket.

“I see lightning bugs,” Kate called, splashing into
the lake behind him. She scooped up handfuls of water, pouring it over her
breasts. Lee groaned as he indulged in the sight. Water trickled down the
rounded swells, dripping from stiff nipples. His cock extended, ribbed and
solid, as he studied her beautiful nudity.

“Look at you,” Kate said. Her tone lowered into a
sultry, feminine growl. Her brow
arched,
her eyes dark
and wicked. A naughty smile curled her glossy mouth. Strands of red hair flamed
under the hazy light of the moon. Her flesh was glazed over as if airbrushed.

“What
d’ya
want
, precious?” Lee walked toward her, the water lapping
at his thighs. His erection skimmed the water. “You’ll see,” she told him, her
voice laced with need.

Kate lowered herself in the water. The only
disappointment to the vision at his feet was that her body was now submerged,
escaping his gaze.

“Spread ’
em
wide,
captain,” Kate said sharply, her voice rebounding around them.

“So hot,” Lee murmured. He wound his fingers through
her hair, steering her mouth to where he knew he wanted it to be, and Kate seemed
more than willing to appease him. Glinting green eyes stared up at him as she
stroked his cock and slowly fed it through her lips, pulling him deep into her
mouth.

“Ah.” Lee sighed, thrusting his hips into Kate’s
face. Her internal heat sparked up the taut flesh of his cock, sending lines of
fire straight to his balls. Lee’s spine ignited with heat, his body arched as
he soaked up the sensation. Her cheeks hollowed as she drew him in and out of
her mouth with a sweet suction that had Lee going weak in the knees.

Her head bobbed as she pleasured him. Her hands
skimmed up and over his thighs, slipping back to his buttocks, cupping each
cheek in her palms. Her touch skated down the seam of his ass, opening him to a
balmy breeze that gusted across the lake, rippling the water around them.

“That’s it, babe, eat me up,” Lee said, his words
garbled, crippled with a feeling of pure decadence. “I’m coming for you, you
sweet thing. Get ready to drink me down.” He held her head tighter, feeling the
delirium set in.

His body quaked, shuddering and shivering with a
chilly thrill. The momentum of his orgasm was snowballing, building fast.

“Fuck, you’re good…”

****

The entire room shook as the door slammed, propelling
Mick back through the dimly lit tunnel of a fantasy only a skillful author
could create.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Cara’s
harsh tone carved right through him.

Mick hadn’t even heard her come in. The tempting,
fictitious words of the written page had seduced him, hurling him into another
realm, a realm that could now cost him everything he’d worked toward.

Mick jammed the book under his thigh, meeting a
glare in her eyes he’d never been forced to look at before.

“I can’t believe you went through my things!” Cara lunged
for the bed and yanked the book out from under him, her eyes blackened with
anger.

“I—
Listen
,” Mick
stammered. Heat burned through his body, filling his face with shame.

“Thanks a lot,” she seethed. Her cheeks lit up, her
skin glowing with what Mick knew was embarrassment.

Mick jumped off the bed, his erection blatantly evident.
Cara’s eyes fell, seeing the strain of his crotch through his jeans.

“Jesus Christ,” Cara bit back at him. The expression
that hardened her features, transformed her face into an enraged stranger. It
siphoned a bit more of his ego out of him.

“This is just great. Is this where you get all your
ideas? Huh?” She turned her back and flung open the dresser drawers.

“Wait … no, hold on,” Mick said, his tone harder
than intended.

Cara spun around, her personal breeze wafting under
his nose.

“No! You wait a minute,” she said. Cara’s breaths
huffed between them. “Just what the hell am I supposed to think?
After all these years?
I’m like your dream girl, now?
Yeah, right.”
She shoved past him, took her pack out of the
closet, and began stuffing her clothes in.

“Don’t.” Mick dragged his hands down his face. His
fingers dug into his cheeks, needing to find a solution and quickly. “Please
don’t leave. I’m sorry, it’s just that…” His words stalled. Could he say
everything he wanted and needed to say? It’d been so jumbled in his head, the
thoughts and words spinning around for weeks now, weaving together with their
newfound intimacy.
I am so fucked!
Now
that chaos had broken out, Mick couldn’t put it all in proper order.

Cara stormed into the bathroom and tossed all her
toiletries into her pack, zipping it closed. She charged him, her nose to his. Her
brown eyes lowered into dark slits like the line of a pen.

“Is this what all this is?” Her hands motioned
around them. “Some fictional fantasy brought to life to meet your needs?”

Mick reached for her. His throat closed. He
swallowed hard, his stomach about hurl at her feet. Cara stepped
back,
creating a space between them Mick couldn’t look at.

“No,” he said, his voice wavering. She was plucking
at a sensitive root, a seed she had implanted in him so long ago. “You have no
fucking idea.” His emotions split in two, ripped in half with devastation, and
frustration.

“Oh really,” Cara said. Her hard tone knifed through
him. Her lips
twisted,
her expression tight. “But I
think I do.” She pushed past him, slamming the door, creating a barrier between
them. Her potent breeze knocked him flat on his ass, right where he deserved to
be.

Chapter
Twenty-Six

It had to be The Sandpiper on the opposite end of
the main thoroughfare. There wasn’t anywhere else to go.

Now
what?

After the anger raged, fear began to course through
her body, mixing with her blood. It leaked into her veins like a poison. Cara’s
mind spun with questions she couldn’t answer.

After checking in to The Sandpiper, she counted her
cash on hand and looked at the bank book. She and Mick had opened up a joint
account.

Big
mistake
!

Cara had almost $400 on her person. They had
accumulated almost $3,000 in their account. Half of that was hers.

She unpacked and set her things in the drawers, and
littered the bathroom vanity with her toiletries. She was due at work tomorrow
at 8 a.m. The time was fast approaching where Todd wouldn’t need her on a
regular basis.