No Mercy (13 page)

continued on up Juniper Road, all the way to the towers. He parked there so that the rear of the truck

was facing the view of the town, like he used to the times they’d come up here to make out.

The thought of those old days brought back good memories, yet they were so good that they

were almost too painful to bear.

He went to her side of the truck and helped her out, then grabbed the bags of burgers and fries,

along with a blanket from the back of the cab and two jackets. While she got the milkshakes, he put

down the tailgate of his truck and spread the blanket on the cold metal.

“Do you need a jacket?” He held them up as he set the fast food bags aside.

“Not yet.” She touched the lapel of her blazer. “This is warm enough for now.”

Before she could climb up, he grasped her by her waist and set her on the tailgate. He didn’t let

go. He held onto her while she gripped the large Styrofoam cups so tightly she thought her fingers

would go right through them.

She held her breath, her heart pounding, half afraid he would kiss her and half afraid he wouldn’t.

After a long moment he released her and she let out her breath as he scooted onto the tailgate

beside her. He was so close that his big arm brushed hers as he moved, and his leg pressed against

her thigh. Her skin tingled wherever his body touched hers.

He grabbed a burger out of the bag that was wrapped in the old-fashioned way, with the plain

white paper the place had always used. He handed the burger to her when he’d partially unwrapped

it.

She breathed in the warm, delicious smell. “It smells as good as I remember.”

He unwrapped his own. “The new owners have done a good job of staying true to the original

menu and way of making everything.”

She bit into it and closed her eyes and chewed. When she opened her eyes again, Dylan was

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“It’s amazing.” She had to tear her gaze from his and focused instead on the view.

The sun was sinking behind them, but there was enough daylight left for one of the best views

she could remember. The mountains, the high desert vegetation, and the houses built on the side of

the hills in the canyon.

Lights began flickering on in the town as the sun went down and it seemed almost surreal, like

fairy lights appearing in the hills.

They ate in comfortable silence, but it allowed her to think too much about secrets and lost years.

She knew she should tell him, but the words wouldn’t come.

The burger was so huge that she handed him the rest after she’d eaten half, just like she used

to when they were dating. It came naturally, as if they’d stil been doing it for years.

He’d already downed his burger and all of his fries. He took the rest of hers and ate it as she

picked at her fries. The sunset faded away as they finished eating.

When they were done, he crumpled the wrappers and used napkins, and then stuffed them into

one of the empty bags, which he set behind him in the truck bed. He gripped his milkshake cup as

he studied her.

She took a sip of her chocolate milkshake, lowered it, and looked at him. He was much taller

than her and even sitting on the truck bed she had to tilt her head a little to meet his gaze. It was

nearly dark now, but she could still make out his features.

“You were about six-feet-tall when I left.” She let her gaze drift over him. “You’re around six-three

now?”

“On the money.” He set his milkshake on the truck bed, reached up, and took several strands of

her hair, letting them run through his fingers. The way he did it, so sensually, so familiar, caused her

to tremble inside. “I want to know everything that’s happened since you’ve been gone.”

She looked down at the cup that she still gripped. He hooked a finger beneath her chin and

raised her face so she was looking at him. A lump grew in her throat. “There’s not a lot to tel .”

“To me it’s everything.” He spoke quietly. “Please tell me.”

“Okay. You deserve to know.” She sighed and he released her chin. She looked away for a

moment before turning her gaze back on him. “When I made the decision to leave, I only took a

backpack, two changes of clothing and a few other items, basic toiletries, and cash. I’d managed to

accumulate over a thousand dol ars from years of babysitting, and I’d kept it hidden beneath a

floorboard so that my mother and stepfather would never find it. They would have used it for drugs.”

His brows narrowed slightly. “You’d planned that long to leave?”

“No.” She cleared her throat. “At the time I was just saving it for something special someday.”

Like a ring for Dylan, if he proposed to her when they were out of high school. She wasn’t about to

tell him that. “But things got worse and worse at home after my mother died, and one night I decided

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Tears bit at the backs of her eyes as she continued. “I would have told you everything, Dylan.

Honestly. But I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

The full moon peeked through dark clouds and she could see his anger in the tightness of his

jaw. “What did your stepfather do to you, Belle?”

She bit her lower lip. What hadn’t Harvey done? Telling Dylan wouldn’t change it or take the pain

away. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“Like hel it doesn’t.” If it were possible, flames would have lit Dylan’s eyes, he looked so furious.

She blew out her breath. “He sexual y abused me. Took pictures and videos, too.”

The rage on Dylan’s face had her hurrying to speak.

“After I left, I hitchhiked my way to Albuquerque.” She kept talking as anger grew in his gaze. “I

only rode with women. I also cut off my hair until it was spiky and dyed it white-blonde so that no one

would think twice about me looking like the girl on the news. I even wore glasses with plastic lenses,

made to look like they were prescription.” She thought of those days when she’d been running

scared, afraid the authorities would find her and take her back to her stepfather. “I saw my face on

newspapers once. Back then there weren’t Amber alerts, so it was a little different.”

The way the moonlight hit his face let her see his intense expression. “Why didn’t you at least

tell the authorities if you wouldn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want to be put in foster care, and ultimately it would have come back to you.” She

pleaded with him with her gaze.

She set the milkshake cup aside and folded her arms across her chest as she shivered, the cold

getting to her now. He retrieved his jackets and helped her put on one of them. It was lined and

comfortable although so huge she was practically lost in it. Dylan slipped on the other jacket and

then looked at her again as he stuffed the two empty milkshake cups into the remaining empty bag

from the hamburger place.

“It wasn’t easy but I managed to get a job with a woman in Albuquerque.” Belle hugged herself

tighter. “Marybeth let me sleep in her backroom and wash dishes to earn money. I saved everything.”

Dylan’s frown deepened. “Why didn’t she turn you in as a runaway?”

“She was going to, but I told her my story and begged her not to send me back to that monster.”

Sadness for the woman gripped Belle’s heart.

His expression was so intense. “I’l bet Marybeth had a story similar to yours.”

At first Belle was surprised, but then realized in his line of work he was trained to listen and pick

out details.

“Yes.” She nodded. “Marybeth was abused by her uncle and she ran away at a young age, like

me. So even though I was over forty years younger than her, we were kindred spirits in our own way.

I started off with menial jobs and worked my way up to waitressing over the two years I spent working

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A tear rolled down Belle’s cheek. “One night Marybeth was kil ed in a car accident by a drunk

driver. I was homeless again and my closest friend was dead.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close to him until her head rested on his

chest. “What happened then?” His voice rumbled against her ear.

It felt so natural, so comfortable having him hold her. “I’d saved almost everything I earned, so I

moved on, got an apartment, and found another waitressing job. It took a long time, but I made my

way up to restaurant management.”

He squeezed her tighter to him and just held her for a moment.

She tilted her head up. “What about you?”

“Pretty much what I told you and the others at the Den.” He played with the ends of her hair like

he used to. It was a natural, comforting movement. “I’ve worked in Washington, D.C., California,

Phoenix, and then transferred here when a position opened up.”

She wanted to know more, like what kind of relationships he’d had, if there had been a special

woman in his life. But then she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Her heart ached at the thought of

him being with someone else. Even after all these years, she still felt more for him than she should.

“Did you ever marry?” His question startled her out of her thoughts. “Is there someone back in

Houston waiting for you?”

“No.” She shook her head, her hair sliding over his shirt beneath his open jacket. “And no.”

“Why not?” His question was simple but it caused heat to flush over her skin.

“I’ve just never met the right man.”
Since you,
she thought.
No one ever measured up to my

memories of you.
She dove in despite her earlier thoughts. “What about you?”

She felt him shrug his big shoulders. “Nope, never married.” He squeezed her tightly to him. “I

wouldn’t have kissed you if there was someone I cared about.” He caught her face in his hand and

tilted her face up so that she met his eyes. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t have kissed me back if you

had someone back in Houston. So I asked a dumb question.”

“What if I’d been lost in the moment?” she whispered as she looked at his moonlit features.

He shook his head. “You wouldn’t have done it.”

Her lips parted and the stirrings in her belly grew more intense. Her breasts felt heavy and she

ached between her thighs, a need so great for him that she wanted to beg him to kiss her again. And

more. So much more.

He lowered his head and slowly brought his mouth closer to hers. “I’ve missed you so damned

much.”

His kiss was slow and gentle, his lips moving over hers. He nipped at her lower lip, causing her

to gasp. She remembered him being a good kisser, but now he kissed like a man with more

experience, a man who took what he wanted.

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irrational thought, but she felt it just the same. Even though she didn’t deserve it, she stil wanted to

be the only woman he’d ever loved, just like he was the only man she’d ever loved. Every man she’d

dated over the years had paled in comparison to her memories of this man, even back when he was

so much younger.

She slid her fingers over his cheek and moaned against his lips as he slipped his tongue into

her mouth. He tasted so good, of the milkshake he’d been drinking and of the flavor that was uniquely

Dylan.

His scent was so familiar, filling her like nothing ever had before. He smelled earthy and

masculine, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until now. No, the truth was she

hadn’t let herself think about how much she’d missed him, but her heart and soul always had.

A groan of need swelled inside her. She felt the dampness between her thighs, the ache growing

ever more powerful.

He shifted, picking her up and settling her on his lap as he continued to kiss her. He slid his

hand into her hair and pulled back so that he could kiss her neck. She gasped at the dominant move

that was unfamiliar, but felt so right with him. It was like he was claiming her all over again.

Her chest rose and fell, and small sounds of need escaped her as he moved his mouth to her

ear. He rubbed his stubble along her soft skin as he slid his lips to her throat and kissed his way to

the hollow.

She inched her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck as she tilted her

head back, finding it harder and harder to breathe.

His hand eased beneath the jacket, pushing aside her blazer, and then cupping her breast. She

squirmed on his lap, tingles running from her belly straight between her thighs as she felt the length

and hardness of his erection. His cock seemed even bigger than she’d remembered it.

He circled her nipple with his finger through the soft material, and she grew wetter, wanting so

badly to have him inside her.

The thought of sliding his cock into her mouth, licking him, tasting him, sucking him, was

overwhelming. She slid off his lap and off the tailgate so that her feet hit the ground, and moved

between his thighs.

He grasped her ass and pulled her close for another kiss. She leaned into him, sighing and

sliding her hands to his huge biceps before skimming her fingers over his pectorals and then down

the hard plane of his abs.

She liked the way he had filled out over the years, and loved touching him again. She moved

her hands further down to his lap. A shiver of desire ran through her as she traced the outline of his