Larkspur Road (15 page)

She cupped his face, touched her tongue to his, her body taking over, moving against his tall, muscled frame, soft curves against hard steel, her heart racing, needing, wanting.

The kiss they shared was slow and intimate. As heady as the summer night. It had every nerve in her body electrified as she tightened her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go.

As if reading her mind, Travis tugged her closer still against the length of his body.

He took the kiss deeper, slowing it down, savoring it until her heart was pounding. An ache filled her, sweet and hot, roaring through her blood like thunder.

The night seemed to tilt around them.

Travis meant to take his time. But it didn’t work out that way. Once he tasted her mouth, then her tongue, exploring its texture, he couldn’t stop breathing her in and wanting more of her.
All of her
. She tasted so sweet, as sweet as candy and as sexy as musk. Incredibly sexy. Her lips against his were soft and eager, their shape and taste exactly as he remembered from a lifetime ago.

To hell with slow
. She all but melted like candle wax in his arms and he felt consumed by everything about her, the softness of her skin, that little moan in the back of her throat, the way her tongue flirted against his.

Mia
. She kissed like no other woman he’d ever kissed. Made him feel like no other woman had ever made him feel.

He drew her closer still, his hands sliding downward
along the curve of her hips, then gripping her bottom as she fitted herself against him. Their mouths were hot and welded together, waging an escalating battle in a secret language that was theirs alone.

It felt familiar and yet new…brand-new. Hotter even than before. He couldn’t tear himself away from her and he was glad as hell she didn’t seem to want him to. Her arms were wound tight around him and her velvety mouth clung to his as if she were clinging to life and breath itself.

“Travis,” she gasped, trembling against him.

Cradling her face, he found himself wishing her hair wasn’t in a damned ponytail so he could stroke his fingers through it. He bent her head back, his mouth taking and giving with a single-mindedness that left them both shaken.

They might have been alone on the highest peak of the Crazies—hell, alone on the planet. There was only the starry vastness of the night, the sage-scented air, and the two of them, him and Mia.

And the dog. The damned midget of a dog.

Samson barked, nudged against Travis’s leg. He barked again, and kept on barking as he jumped up, bracing his paws against Mia’s knee. She seemed to waken from a trance and froze, then jerked back, her lips parting suddenly—not in passion but in shock.

She stared at Travis for a moment as if he were a vampire who’d materialized from the grave and flown like a bat into her front yard, then she scooped the dog up into her arms.

“This wasn’t supposed…to happen,” she whispered unsteadily, and without waiting for him to reply, she bolted up the steps and disappeared inside, slamming the door behind her.

Brittany grabbed up her cell phone Saturday night, then quickly set it down again on the nightstand in the guest room without opening the new text message.

Don’t look at it. Don’t even think about looking at it,
she told herself. But nervousness twisted inside her like razor wire. Wade had sent her two other texts today and she’d deleted both of them unread.

But he was relentless. He just didn’t let up.

What was he writing this time? Was he begging her to get back together, or threatening her? Promising he’d never hurt her? Or hinting that if she didn’t take him back, she’d be sorry.

He’s never going to leave me alone,
she thought in despair.

He won’t give up. Ever. Oh, God, what am I going to do?

For a moment, she had to struggle against the tears squeezing from between her eyelashes.

Maybe I should tell Aunt Mia,
she thought. She already
felt guilty for not having told the truth in the first place. If only she’d told her mom….

But her mom had been so happy and excited getting ready for her honeymoon. Britt hadn’t wanted to spoil that.

Since meeting Alec, her mom was happier than Britt had ever seen her. Alec was the nicest guy in the world, and he treated her mother like she was someone special. Britt knew if she’d told her mom Wade was sort of stalking her, she’d have canceled her whole honeymoon and probably called the police and who knew what else.

Staring glumly at her reflection in the tall oval mirror in the guest room, she tried to calm the fears building inside her.
You can handle this,
she whispered to herself for the thousandth time.
He hasn’t hurt you or anyone yet. So chances are he’s not going to.

But he’d threatened Tate. Her half brother, only three years old. He’d sworn if she didn’t meet him to talk over their relationship he’d get to Tate. Scare him. Maybe even hurt him.

The idea of that adorable little boy who called her “Bwitney” and who had the sweetest little giggle in the world getting hurt or even scared on her account made her want to die.

She’d actually agreed to meet Wade at Starbucks that day. Anything to keep Tate safe. But when Wade showed up, he’d said they had to leave Starbucks, go someplace else to talk. He wanted her to go for a ride with him alone up into the mountains, where they could talk about getting back together without all these people around.

Brittany wasn’t going anywhere alone with Wade. She’d left, run back to her car while he was busy at the counter ordering more coffee.

That was the day she’d decided she had to disappear. She hastily packed a few things, told her mom she was having a sleepover at Laura’s, and then left Laura’s house at five in the morning to drive to Lonesome Way.

Laura was the only person who knew how bad things were with Wade, and she’d sworn she’d never let on to him that she had any clue where Britt had gone.

Until this morning, Britt had almost started to believe he really wouldn’t find her. That by the time the summer ended, he’d have forgotten all about her or landed a new girlfriend, and would be ready to leave her alone.

But this morning everything had changed. Because Wade was here.
In Lonesome Way.

He’d found her.

The photo he’d sent to her cell phone proved that.

He’d sent it from a different cell phone, not his own. One with a number she didn’t recognize—otherwise she wouldn’t have opened it.

But the instant she saw the photo, she felt a clutch of fear. It could only be from him.

The shot had been taken early this morning when she’d stepped onto the porch to pick up the
Lonesome Way Daily
for Aunt Mia. In the photo, she was wearing the gray tank top and pink sleep pants she’d worn to bed last night, and her hair was still all mussed from sleep, not even brushed yet.

Britt knew this was Wade’s way of telling her that he was here in Lonesome Way. Close by. He was trying to scare her.

Somehow he’d found out where she’d gone when she left home, and he’d been hiding outside Aunt Mia’s house early this morning, watching her, snapping that photo to show her she hadn’t gotten away.

Fear pumped through her, but so did anger. What had she ever seen in Wade? He was cute, sure, and pretty hunky. Not to mention smart. He’d been nice at first and funny, with that kind of sarcastic edge that appealed to her, but underneath it all…she’d always sensed something. Something a little bit off.

He always wanted to know what she was doing when she wasn’t with him. And he didn’t like her talking to any other guys, even her guy friends, the ones she’d known forever.
He picked fights over the stupidest little things, like when she didn’t tell him she’d made plans with Laura and their friend Tracy to go shopping downtown without checking with him first to see if he wanted to hang out. He’d started acting like he
owned
her—and that’s when she’d broken things off.

Her hands shook a little as she pulled on her cute new T-shirt from Top to Toe, the one with the heart. It looked perfect with her khaki shorts, all crisp and new. Taking a deep breath, she slipped into the silver wedge sandals her new friend Lacey from A Bun in the Oven had lent her to wear to Jackie Kenton’s party tonight.

But her skin felt like ice and she wasn’t as excited anymore about going with Seth to Jackie’s house. She was scared. And she wasn’t sure what to do.

She dug her peach lip gloss from her purse and swiped it on. As she ran a brush through her hair one more time and let it fall in loose curls around her shoulders, she could hear Aunt Mia in her own room, opening and closing drawers, getting ready for the birthday celebration at the Double Cross Bar and Grill.

If I tell her what’s going on, it’ll spoil her whole night. She’ll stay home and she’ll make me stay home, too. She’ll probably even make me call Dad and tell him.

He’ll force me to go back home—and keep me under lock and key for the whole summer.

She wanted to stay
here
. She liked living with Aunt Mia, she liked working at the bakery—and she liked Seth. He was sweet and easygoing and funny. He made everyone at the bakery laugh, and she hadn’t met a single person who didn’t want to be his friend.

Seth actually was everything Wade wasn’t. As in,
normal.

And what good would it do if she did go back home? Wade would get to her there, too.

And he’d be closer to Tate….

I can handle this by myself,
she told herself, dropping the lip gloss back into her purse and taking a deep breath.
There’s no reason to tell anyone yet. It’s only a photo. Wade’s being a jerk and a creep, yeah. But he’s just trying to pull my chain.

You don’t have to let him,
she decided as she met her reflection in the mirror.

Hearing the doorbell, she dashed to the window, and smiled in relief and anticipation as she spotted Seth’s Chevy truck parked out front.

I won’t let Wade ruin my summer. And he’s not going to spoil tonight
. She snatched up her purse and headed down the hall.

Aunt Mia was already opening the front door, greeting Seth. Britt stifled a wince. Oh, God, it was so embarrassing. She was telling him to drive carefully tonight.

If she only knew….

“Hi, I’m ready,” Britt called out, skidding to Seth’s rescue just as he promised to drive nice and slow.

“You look
great
.” Seth’s glance skimmed over her cute new clothes and long legs. Britt loved that he actually blushed a little. Then he smiled into her eyes.

“He’s right, honey. You look beautiful.” Aunt Mia brushed a kiss against her cheek. “Have fun, you two. Be good. Remember, Britt, home by twelve.”

“I know.” Britt gave her aunt her sunniest smile and tried to ignore the knot of worry as tight as a spool of tangled thread in her chest. Walking out to the Chevy hand in hand with Seth, she was grateful Aunt Mia didn’t know that Seth’s driving speed was the least of her problems.

Cruising into town, Mia heard Vince Gill’s voice blasting from the jukebox before she even neared the parking lot of the Double Cross Bar and Grill.

A few clouds had just begun to drift across the night sky, nearly obscuring the moon and stars, but there was enough misty light to see that the lot was even more crowded than usual and she knew it was due to the turnout for Tommy’s party. She recognized his and Rafe’s trucks in the lot, along with a half dozen other vehicles, including Zeke Mueller’s police cruiser, but as she headed toward the door, her gaze sweeping over the parked cars and trucks, she didn’t see Travis’s Explorer.

A cold sensation settled in the pit of her stomach. Travis hadn’t arrived yet—maybe he wasn’t coming at all. Maybe he’d had second thoughts ever since their kiss and wanted to avoid her.

Which would be just as well. She was having second thoughts herself. And third thoughts.

She didn’t know what had come over her the other night. But whatever it was, she was ready to obliterate it.
Travis not only back in town, but back in her life?