Hell to Pay (4 page)

Troubled, she leaned down and swept up his shirt. She put it on, and it hit her mid-thigh. She rolled up the sleeves, feeling sexy in his clothes and guilty for it. Hers were strewn around on his lawn for the whole world to see. Her cheeks heated. She needed to go get them, but she needed to check on her pet first.

She left the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her. “Thunder,” she whispered.

Worried, she clicked her tongue. He was a good dog, and well trained, but he’d been trapped in the house with them for hours. She’d seen him come in with them, but then? He didn’t do well when bored. With no way to entertain himself, he could become inquisitive. He didn’t mean to be destructive, but he was bigger than the puppy he thought he still was. She didn’t know how Rafer would react if he’d caused a mess.

When it came to her dog, her new lover seemed overly sensitive.

She looked around uncertainly. She hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings when she’d arrived. She’d been… otherwise occupied. Feeling as if she were intruding, she tiptoed her way down the hallway. Dim rays from the setting sun glinted off the stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. It was well-equipped and tidy.

And empty.

Curiosity began to overtake her as she wandered past another bedroom. Unlike the gaudiness of his brother’s back yard, Rafer’s tastes seemed understated. His furniture was expensive, but for its quality, not its showiness. Just like the paintings on the walls. The artists weren’t famous, but they were local. He’d chosen these paintings not as something to impress visitors, but because he liked them.

The same went for the photographs.

She paused when she turned into the living room. Family pictures were grouped on the walls. Others were propped up on the built-in bookshelf by the fireplace. The setting sun lit them up like a spotlight, and she trailed her fingers along the shelf edge as she inched past.

The Longs didn’t look like monsters.

There might be a few trolls in the bunch, but no monsters.

She traced her toe up the back of her other calf as she stared at a picture of Rafer with Randy. His brother held a huge catfish just out of the reach of a happy spotted Dalmatian. The catch looked like a record one. Yet it was Rafer who caught her eye.

Her heart squeezed.

He was smiling. Happy and carefree. The wind was blowing through his hair, and there was a light in his eyes. She’d never seen him like that. He was always so serious. So solemn and almost hostile. She stepped away, trailing her finger once more over the frame. The contrast bothered her.

“Thunder, where are you?”

She heard the soft whine of response and the thump of a tail against the hardwood floor. She turned, but the setting sun momentarily blinded her. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes. When they came into focus, she had to blink again.

Thunder was sitting contentedly on the floor…

With a bowl of food, water and toys.
Dog toys.

Confused, Cassidy could only stare. Her Lab gave another gnaw on a chew toy, and it squeaked. His tail wagged happily, and understanding hit her with all the subtlety of a two-by-four.

“It’s not what you’re thinking.”

Her head snapped to the side. Rafer stood in the doorway. He’d thrown on jeans, but not much else. His hair was mussed and a five o’clock shadow darkened his jaw, yet his eyes were sharp. He stood with one hand propped against the archway, the other trailing over his chest.

Cassidy’s felt as if her heart was about to burst out of hers.

“What is this?”

He shrugged. “He’s over here a lot. I put out some things for him.”

Her jaw dropped. “You yell at me, yet you put out the welcoming mat for him?”

“I’ve never yelled at you.”

“Snapped at, then. Chewed on a bit.”

His eyes hardened. “He gets away from you too easily, Cassidy. You don’t know what could happen to him when he gets loose.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Her hands fisted at her sides. “Why do you think I’ve tried, like, fifteen different ways to keep him safe?”

A dark expression flittered across Rafer’s face, and his gaze jerked away. His hand slid down his stomach and his thumb anchored itself around the waist of his jeans. She was momentarily distracted by the mouthwatering sight, but only momentarily.

“You’ve been playing with me this whole time.” The lump in her throat felt huge. The disappointment shouldn’t have been so painful. She’d known what she was getting into when she’d let him kiss her.

Yet she’d hoped…

“It hasn’t been a game,” he said gruffly. “None of this has been a game.”

“No?” She took two quick steps forward. “You lure my dog over here so you can berate me for trespassing on your property. You play with my feelings and…take advantage. What would you call it?”

His gaze flashed back to her. “What feelings?”

She brushed the question aside and pointed at her dog. “You made me think you hated him.”

“I didn’t mean—” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I don’t hate him.”

“Obviously. You bought toys for him, you lying son-of-a-bitch.”

He pushed away from the wall and walked towards her slowly, all tightly bound energy and emotion. “If I was a bit…
irritable
…the first few times we met, I had a justified reason.”

“What? Because I’m a Wilson?”

“Yes,” he snapped. He raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know you then. I thought… I thought maybe the old man sent you to rub salt in the wound.”

“What wound?”

His face twisted, and he nudged a red ball out of his way with his bare foot. It wasn’t quite a kick, but Thunder dropped the squeak toy and looked up at him with baleful eyes.

Cassidy felt a twinge of something other than anger. “What wound, Rafer?”

That muscle in his jaw ticked faster, but she watched him steadily.

He rubbed a hand over his heart. “I didn’t buy these things for Thunder.”

It took her a moment to understand. When she did, she looked around quickly. “You have a dog?”

In resignation, Rafer dropped to his haunches and turned the bowl of food. The name Lucy was printed on the side in block letters. “I did.”

Did. As in past tense. Cassidy’s stomach squeezed, and she instinctively looked at the fishing picture. The Dalmatian. Dread danced down her spine. “Oh no. What happened?”

Rafer stayed on his haunches and reached out to scratch Thunder under the chin.

She edged closer. “What happened to her?”

He shook his head abruptly.

“Please tell me.”

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Your grandfather killed her.”

The air left Cassidy’s lungs as if he’d punched her. It couldn’t be. The feud was
not
that bad. Not that…vicious. Her grandfather could never, ever do such a thing. He was loving and patient.

At least with her.

Her knees wobbled, and she gradually let them go. Kneeling down, she tentatively placed her hand on Rafer’s knee. His muscles tightened, but he didn’t pull away. Thunder whimpered, looking back and forth between the two of them. He could feel the tension in the air.

Cassidy’s throat was so tight, she could barely speak. “How?”

Rafer stared straight out the glass pane of the door towards the lake, not really seeing it. “He ran her down with his car. In cold blood, never looking back. That bastard never even stopped.”

Roughly, he rubbed his hands across his face. “I know you had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry if I mistreated you, but the first time you came strolling over here…with this guy…”

He glanced at Thunder, who was so anxious he was trying to insert himself between them. His body quivered as he licked at first her hand and then Rafer’s. Rafer wrapped his arm around the dog and patted him. “It gutted me.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “If I’d known…”

She swallowed hard. There were too many thoughts rushing through her head. Guilt. Responsibility. She couldn’t defend her grandfather’s actions. What had made him do such a thing? He loved animals. She never would have imagined he’d hurt one…
kill one
…not even if it was an extended member of the Long family.

Unless…

Her hand tightened on Rafer’s knee. “When did this happen?”

He let out a heavy breath and looked out at the lake again. “Not long ago.”

“When? Exactly?”

“Right before the chicken-shit ran away.” He brushed a hand through his dark hair. “Sorry. A couple weeks, maybe a month before you moved in.”

Her head whirled as she thought back, adding up the time. Suddenly, everything clicked into place, and tears pressed at her eyes. “I don’t think it was intentional.”

Rafer’s jaw hardened, but he didn’t look at her. “He left because he knew I was going to kill him. He crossed the line. I know he hated when she barked at him in his boat, scaring off the fish. But still—”

His voice cracked. “She was getting on in years, but she had a few good ones left in her.”

Cassidy’s hand shook as she caught him by the chin. His whiskers rasped against her palm as she made him look her in the eye. “He didn’t run… not like you think.

“Rafer, he checked himself and my grandmother into an assisted living center. We didn’t know why. We’d broached the subject before because my grandmother was finding it difficult to do simple things, but he’d always shut us down cold, saying he could take care of them both. Then one day, they moved without telling us why.”

She gently ran her finger over her lover’s cheek. His jaw was tight, and the muscles in his neck were strained.

“My grandfather’s been broken ever since. We didn’t understand what happened. Until now.”

Rafer finally looked at her, his eyes hot.

“It was an accident,” she said, her throat hurting. “A terrible one that could have been prevented. He obviously shouldn’t have been driving. We’re responsible for that, his family.
Me
.”

Rafer suddenly sat forward, his fingers tangling in her hair. “You are
not
responsible.”

Her hands fell limply to her sides, and Thunder nuzzled her worriedly. “I should have paid closer attention. I should have found public transit for them, a door-to-door service of some kind.”

“You lived halfway across the state. Besides, he would have blown up his car before giving you the keys.”

Her breath hitched. It was true. Her grandfather had always been a proud man. “He gave them to my sister. Just dropped them in her hand and walked away. That… That should have told me something was wrong.”

“Cassidy, you couldn’t have known, not if he didn’t tell you.”

She shook her head quickly. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

“Ah, babe. Don’t cry.”

Thunder was beyond concerned. He whimpered as he looked from one of them to the other. He pressed his nose against her cheek and gave her a comforting lick. It only made her hiccup harder.

Rafer pushed himself to his feet. “Come on, boy. You need to go outside.”

The door opened and double clutched on the way shut. When it clicked, Rafer stood stiffly, staring out the glass panes. He braced himself against the doorjamb, watching the scene in front of him.

Or maybe not.

“It was my fault,” he said quietly. “She got away from me. She wasn’t supposed to be up by the road.”

Cassidy looked up sharply, her breath catching.

“It was my fault,” he whispered.

Quietly, she stood and moved in behind him. When he didn’t shift away, she wrapped her arms around him and leaned her forehead against his back. “It was nobody’s fault. It was an accident.”

He let out a shuddering breath.

“Does Thunder make it worse?”

He shook his head. “Better.”

Peeking around his muscled form, she watched as her dog trotted happily down to the lake. Unlike his brother’s property, Rafer’s back yard was all about nature. Grass, trees and flowers filled the yard all the way down to the beach. A top-of-the-line fishing boat floated next to the dock, waiting for those who wanted to venture out farther. The boat was the only true extravagance she saw, but it fit him. Fit his character.

Which wasn’t so evil and foreboding after all.

“He’s a happy dog,” he said quietly.

She spread her hands wide on his stomach, loving the way the taut muscles quivered at her touch. She stroked him softly, gentling him. Soothing him.

“Let’s stop the feud, Rafer.”

“I don’t know if we can.”

“We can stop it between us.”

He sucked in a hard breath when she dipped her forefinger into his belly button. She pressed a kiss against the center of his shoulder blade and slowly stroked her hands downward. “We make better lovers than we do fighters.”

He grunted when she cupped her hands over the front of his jeans. “That we do.”

He started to turn, but she tightened her arms around him. “Let me do this.”

He stopped when she squeezed his erection gently. It was growing and hardening underneath her palms. She let her fingers dance across him, learning his shape and size. The tenderness between her legs pulsed.

She loved the feel of him inside her. She loved the feel of him under her fingertips nearly as much.

But this wasn’t about her.

Leaving one hand over his zipper, she slid the other upwards. He’d taken the lead every other time they’d made love. He was a force of nature when it came to sex—or maybe he just hadn’t wanted to give her the chance to say no.

She licked his spine. She wasn’t going to give him a chance either.

“Let me make you feel better,” she whispered.

Her fingers brushed across his chest, tracing the hard muscles and stopping when she found a nipple. She tweaked it, and he swore softly. His reaction nearly made her melt. To have this intense, powerful man as putty in her hands was so arousing, she got wet.

She rubbed her cheek against his back as she caressed his chest over and over again. His head dropped as she rubbed his cock harder. She got bolder, squeezing and dipping lower to caress his balls through the denim.

It wasn’t enough for either of them.

Using both hands, she went for the button of his jeans.