One Night Stand (12 page)

His chest deflated as the air left his lungs. “It’s all I know, Mandy. It’s all I’ve ever done.” The sadness in his voice tore at her heart. “I don’t want death to be my legacy.”

She smoothed his frown lines. “You raised your brother when you were but a child yourself. Then you came back to make sure he was taken care of and so he wouldn’t be alone. Whether you choose to see it or not, your legacy will be that of love.” His arms tightened around her. “How did your dad take to you joining the military?”

He snorted. “He didn’t say a word. He just looked at me. Then he got up and left the room. It was the last time I ever saw him.” His eyes took on a faraway look. “He died a few years back. Heart attack. But if you ask me, he died the same day my mother did.”

Amanda reached up and kissed him. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re just the sweetest thing, you know that?” He squeezed her tight. “There isn’t anything to be sorry for. It took some time for Jake and me to get back on track, but we’re good now. What about your folks?”

“Plane crash. I was fifteen. Since I’m the youngest, it sort of fell on my brothers to take care of me. Well, Brandon and Alec anyway. Caleb had been gone for almost five years. I’m not gonna lie, I was horrible. I was angry at Brandon and Alec. When Caleb came home a year later I was angry at him too. I blamed him for everything.”

“How did you get through it?”

“Sam.” Her smile stretched from ear to ear. “She’s the same age as Alec and was everything I wanted to be: daring and fun. She had no fear, no reservations. She started college early and was already on her own, which to a young girl like me was the coolest thing ever. She and Alec had been friends for a while so she used to come over to hang out with him. After our parents died she started hanging out with me a lot. She was this pretty girl with wild red hair who took pity on the plain-Jane girl who just lost her parents.”

Joe looked surprised. “Plain-Jane? Darlin’, do you not have a mirror? There’s nothing plain about you.” He smooched her nose.

She ignored him. “Sam and I became inseparable. We talked, we cried, we laughed. She let me be whoever I needed to be. She didn’t judge. She was there for me, but she didn’t hover. She let me grieve without fuss, unless I started feeling sorry for myself.” She laughed. “Then she’d rip my ass a new one.

“Caleb would tell you Sam’s the troublemaker, but in all honesty it was just as much me as it was her.” Joe looked skeptical. “Sam’s a big talker. I think it’s how she hides. I’m not saying she’s a saint. Lord knows
that
would be a big pants-on-fire kind of lie. But she’s not a bad person. Did you know her parents are rich?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “The kind of rich that most people only read about in magazines.” His eyes widened with surprise. “Times twelve,” she added drily. “Sam doesn’t talk about her family much. I get the feeling there are hard feelings there, but she won’t talk about it.” Concern for her friend bled through her words.

“The thing about Sam,” Amanda continued, “is she has a heart of gold under all the gruff language and innuendoes. And if she cares about you, she’d give her own life for you. It’s just who she is.”

“So, tell me about the horsemen thing. What’s that about?”

Amanda rolled over onto her back and burst into laughter. “I was sixteen. Caleb decided it would be good for us to come here, you know, to bury the ghosts of our parents, so to speak. We all loved it here and Caleb wanted us to be able to still enjoy it as a family, even without our parents. It was our first trip back after they died and we’ve rarely been back since.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I was
not
looking forward to a week of testosterone overload, so I begged Caleb to let Sam come along. He flat-out refused. They didn’t get along even back then. So I informed him of all the girly things he, Brandon, and Alec would have to do with me.” Joe raised a brow at her, setting her off into another fit of laughter. “You know? Braiding hair, nail painting, shopping, makeup … that kind of thing.”

“You’re evil.” He laughed.

“I know, isn’t it great? But in the end, Caleb realized it was in the interest of their own sanity to let me have my way. About three days into the vacation, Sam and I decided it would be a great idea to raid the liquor cabinet and sneak off into the woods. I’m not sure how long we were out there. It had started to get dark and we were more than a little drunk. We were contemplating the pros and cons of starting a campfire while drunk when we heard this loud clumping noise headed right for us. We looked up to see these three horses bearing down on us with three very angry riders attached.”

Joe burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Completely.” She giggled. “You should have seen them. I swear their eyes were flashing red. It looked like hell itself had opened up and dropped them out on top of us. Sam started waving her arms and yelling that the three horsemen of the apocalypse were coming for us. We started running. They chased us all the way back to the house. Thus the name was born.” Amanda draped herself over Joe’s chest and looked into his eyes. “I remember joking with her once, asking her what happened to the fourth horseman. I figured she’d say it was me, being their sister and all. But she didn’t. She just laughed and said that one day I’d meet a man who’d fill the saddle.” She gave him a sexy smile. “Congratulations. It seems Sam has given that honor to you.”

She shrieked as he pulled her fully on top of him. “I’d rather fill you.”

Her body came to life as she straddled him. She loved the feel of his calloused hands as they brushed across her nipples. She rubbed her fingertips lightly across his chest, delighting in the quiver that rolled over his skin. She teased the skin of his arms, trailing to his shoulders and up the sides of his neck. He growled and brought her down to his mouth. He didn’t devour her as she’d expected. Instead, he pressed light kisses to her face. He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose. He kissed her eyelids as he slowly entered her. “God, Mandy. I love how you’re always ready for me. So wet and ready.”

She tried to lodge him deeper, but he wasn’t having any of that. He rolled until he was on top of her, his knees forcing her thighs wide. He returned to kissing her. His mouth trailed down the curve of her jaw. She felt the heat of his breath on her neck as he pushed farther inside her. She tightened on him, causing him to groan with pleasure.

His leisurely pace made her head spin. He worshipped her lips, her neck, her breasts. The stroke of his tongue matching the stroke of his cock. He filled her with excruciating precision. Slowly. Until finally, mercifully, he gave her every inch of him.

He entwined their fingers and brought their joined hands above her head as he continued to rock into her. She wrapped her legs around him. She pressed her heels into his ass, trying to increase his speed. “Relax, sweetheart. There’s no hurry.” His voice was a husky rumble in her ear. “Let me love you.”

She tightened her grip on his hands and gave herself over to him. He rode her slow and steady. Her arousal increased at the same slow pace. Her skin became sensitive to the slightest touch, making each caress an instrument of torture to her already aching need. The tenderness he showed her brought tears to her eyes. He blew a warm stream of breath over her collarbone, causing a delicious shiver to skate along her spine. When he took her mouth again, his gentle assault was her undoing. Her back arched as her whole body shattered. He swallowed her screams as his body continued to master hers.

She opened her eyes to look at him. She felt her breath leave her lungs with a loud
hiss
. His eyes shone with adoration. And there was something else. Something possessive. Something powerful.
Yes, yes, yes!
her heart sang.

No, no, no!
her mind screamed, but she quickly reminded herself, “It’s just sex, it’s just sex, it’s just sex.”

*

Joe stilled as he heard Amanda chant softly.
What the hell?
He’d been so consumed with her that he’d lost any semblance of time or space. There was only her. And yet…

It’s just sex.
His heart plummeted to his stomach as the words wormed their way into his brain.
It’s just sex.
His body thrummed with the need to prove her wrong.
It’s just sex.
A searing pain shot through his chest. Pain that was replaced by a cold realization.

She didn’t want anything from him. She was still using him, even after the time they’d shared.

Jesus, he’d been wrong about her.

“Joe?”

Shit.
She thought this was just about sex. For those first couple of days, sure. Well hell, maybe not even then. He wasn’t sure it had ever been just sex for him.

Time to go.
He eased off her.

She immediately reached out for him. “Wait, you didn’t—”

“I need to go,” he said abruptly as he jerked on his jeans.

“What? Wait a minute. I don’t understand.” Her eyes were frantic. “What just happened?” She reached for the sheet and drew it over herself, clutching it at her breasts.

“Nothing.” He smiled at her. “It was great.” He struggled to pull his boots on while standing up.

“It was great?” she mimicked. “What’s wrong with you? You didn’t even finish!”

“I finished you, didn’t I?” His anger boiled to the surface.

She pressed herself against the headboard. “Joe?” Her voice sounded so small in the face of his anger.

He shoved his foot into a boot and stomped against the floor to finish the job. “Isn’t that why I’m here, Amanda?” He bent his knee to adjust his pant leg. “You wanted a one-night stand and you got four nights. You should be more than satisfied.” He spat the last word at her.

He knew he was being an ass, but he didn’t care. The fact that she wouldn’t face him pissed him off even more. “Well?” he demanded. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears when she looked at him. “Oh no.” He narrowed his eyes as he jabbed a finger at her. “No fucking way do you get to do that. No fucking way do you get to rock my world, say ‘it’s just sex’, and then cry about it.”

Amanda’s eyes widened in horror as realization dawned. “Oh God. Joe. No … I—”

“Save it,” he snapped. He swiped his gym bag from the floor, tossing the strap over his shoulder. He hesitated in the doorway for a brief moment.

And then he was gone.

Chapter 9

Amanda sat rigid until she heard the front door slam. The sound of Joe’s motorcycle revving up barely muted her distress as she burst into tears. There was no denying the hurt on his face. She’d done that, she thought miserably. She had caused the pain that burned in his eyes. And she wanted to take it back. More than anything, she wanted to see him smile and wrap his arms around her. God, she’d really messed things up.

Her body shook with the force of her sobs as she buried her face in her hands.

It was over.

She knew it would happen. It always did. But she never expected it would end like this. She’d been naive to think they’d kiss and hug, thank each other for a wonderful time, and then go their separate ways. The truth was much grittier when emotions were involved. There was no denying the emotion she’d seen in his eyes. The same emotion she’d felt reflected in her own.

She had fallen in love with him. The crushing weight of her realization sucked the air from her lungs. She loved him and he was gone. Would it make a difference now if she told him? He’d left like he couldn’t wait to be as far away from her as possible. She doubted he’d even talk to her.

She reached for his pillow and brought it to her nose. His pillow. Wrapping herself around it, she drew his lingering scent into her nose and cried.

The afternoon sun was blazing through her window when she finally rose, feeling more miserable than when Joe stormed out. She stumbled to the bathroom, squinting as the bright light burned her eyes. She stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like total shit. No real surprise there.

Dark circled her eyes, which had seemed to sink a little into her head. She ran her fingers gingerly over the vivid, purplish mark on the side of her neck. She could live without the zombie eyes, but that mark was one thing she wasn’t in a hurry to be rid of. Joe’s mark. She shivered as she remembered his frenzy to have her last night.

While she loathed the idea of washing his scent from her skin, she took the hottest shower she could stand. She washed and conditioned her hair, letting the force of the water beat away the tears that seemed to keep falling. She methodically went through the motions. She dried and dressed herself in her favorite jeans, a light T-shirt, and tennis shoes. She didn’t even bother with her bra. Not as if she was having company or anything. She sat cross-legged in the bed while she worked a brush through her hair. The conditioner had done the trick so it wasn’t long before she was tangle free. She felt detached as she gathered her wet hair into a ponytail, her mind already cataloging the things she needed to pack to take home.

Coffee. She needed coffee.

She desperately wanted to call him. In the end, she didn’t. She was damaged goods. She didn’t know how it happened or even when it happened. As she’d lain in her bed, alone and crying, she’d figured it out. She’d never completely given herself to a man before. She’d unknowingly held back, guarding her heart out of fear of being hurt.

The irony of the situation hit her dead in the face. The one man she willingly tried to hold back from ended up obtaining something no man ever had before. Her heart. And she didn’t deserve him. Not after last night. He’d loved her so tenderly, so sweetly, and she’d ruined it.

She made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was lost in thought as she poured the leftover coffee into the sink and refilled the carafe with fresh water.

As she turned back, a hand clamped down on her mouth; another came around her waist and held her tight. The carafe fell to the floor, the sound of glass breaking resonating throughout the kitchen. She tried to scream but the hand pressed down harder, digging painfully into her cheeks. She slammed her heel down on the foot she could see behind her as her fingers dug into any flesh they could find.