Rachel's Rebellion (Moss Bayou) (3 page)

As Phillip
led her around the floor, Rachel searched the crowds. She knew it was a search
in vain. Deke would not be at the reception. Everyone saw Deke Johnson as a
criminal, maybe even a drug user or drug dealer. No one would want to invite
him to a wedding. The thought made her sad. She wanted to share things with
him. Maybe they could leave Moss Bayou and start someplace new and fresh. She
mentally scrapped the thought. Her thoughts seemed to be working six steps
ahead of where she and Deke were. It had only been about a month that they had
been stealing moments together. That’s really all it had been. Stolen moments,
stolen kisses. Kisses so powerful, they stole her breath and marked her soul.

Phillip
pulled her closer and whispered in her ear. “Thinking about him?”

“Am I that
easy to read?”

“I just know
you, Rachel Emerson. Don’t worry, no one else is suspicious.”

She gave a
quick nod. “Yes, he’s been on my mind. All through the ceremony, even.”

“You’re in
love with him, Rachel.” Phillip pulled back a little to look into her eyes.

“Maybe,” she
said, admitting the possibility. “I just don’t know yet. Besides, this is all
too new. I really don’t know where this is heading. But I want to find out.”

Phillip’s
hand touched her cheek. “That’s why we’re performing this little act, isn’t
it?”

“I hope this
doesn’t mess up your love life, Phillip. I would hate that.”

“Babe, don’t
worry about me.”

The smile on
his face and the sincerity in his voice touched Rachel deeply. She quickly
reached up to place a kiss to his lips. He returned the quick kiss.

“Keep that
up and the town will be awaiting our first child,” he teased.

His teasing
made her grow serious. What was she doing? What was she doing to Phillip?

“We’re
deceiving a lot of people, Phillip.” She sighed. “I don’t want to see you get
hurt by this if the truth comes out.”

Phillip’s
handsome face lost its smile a moment. “One day the truth has to come out.
Secrets always surface, Rachel.” His smile returned. “Will you be able to
handle it?”

Rachel
ducked her head into Phillip’s shoulder and he moved her around the dance
floor. Could she handle things? Her life was not usually full of secrets and
hidden moments. She thought about her parents and her friends. Would they just
accept her decisions? Would they be hurt or angry because she had chosen to
keep things to herself? Yes, that did bother her. But trying to imagine not
being with Deke Johnson bothered her even more. His image filled her thoughts.
Did Deke mean that much to her?

Yes.

Gabriel
Deacon sat in the darkness at the side of the large building. The parking lot was
filled to capacity tonight so he’d had no choice but to park closer than he
would have preferred. She would be coming out soon. Soon, she would be in his
arms. He couldn’t wait to hold her. Kiss her. He wanted more and yet, he knew
what was happening was not only going to affect her, but it could jeopardize
the whole undercover operation and possibly his career. He knew better but
couldn’t stop it. There was no stopping his need for her. The past few weeks
had been a whirlwind of emotions for him. Even Hawke and CJ knew something was
up although neither seemed to be interested in telling him exactly what it was
they knew. He suspected Hawke knew that Rachel Emerson was somehow involved but
he had been a friend first and a cop second and kept his thoughts to himself.
No one would expect Wyatt Hawke to be the true friend he was. Usually, all the
world got to see was Wylie the low-life criminal he portrayed so well.

CJ Adams
never let on if she sensed anything different about their undercover charade.
They were supposed to be lovers. Deke Johnson and Cally Brown were a couple.
But as his feelings churned for Rachel Emerson, it had been harder to pretend
with CJ. Their charade was for public viewing. Lately, he had found himself
resorting to only giving CJ a quick peck to her lips. Like he’d kiss his
mother. If he had a mother. His biggest fear was Rachel seeing him kiss CJ.
Yes, it was part of the act but he didn’t think Rachel would buy into the whole
it-didn’t-mean-anything speech. Rachel had no idea any of them were undercover
law enforcement. The whole town saw Deke and Wylie as criminal types working
for Denny Dennis. That was how it was supposed to be. As close knit as the
people of Moss Bayou were, they would never want Rachel Emerson mixed up with
some thug.

Shifting in
the driver’s seat, he started to reach for the pack of cigarettes on the dash.
His thoughts steered toward Rachel and he changed his mind. Deke Johnson
smoked, he reminded himself. Gabe Deacon was trying to quit. Letting out a
rough sigh, he raked a hand through his too long dark hair. His dark hair
touched his shoulders and the beard he wore was best described as scraggly. The
first thing he was going to do when this operation was over was get a haircut
and a clean shaven face.

A yawn escaped.
He was supposed to be catching some zees tonight. At least that was what he had
told Hawke and CJ. He knew, even as the words came out of his mouth, he
wouldn’t be sleeping. He wanted to see Rachel. His life in the military had
taught him how and when to grab quick naps. In the past month, he had relied on
that old training so he could take time to be with Rachel, even if it was for
only a moment.

Grabbing the
bottle of Coke from the console cup holder, Gabe took a gulp. He glanced at the
clock on the Mustang’s dash as he replaced the bottle. Just a little while
longer and she would be with him. Melting into him, stoking a fire that
continuously simmered even when they were apart.

His cell phone vibrated on the console and he grabbed it,
knowing it was her.

“Hey.”

“Phillip and I are getting ready to leave,” Rachel spoke
quietly and quickly.

“I’m near the side entrance. Sorry, Beauty, had no choice.
Parking lot is full.”

“Be out soon,” she said and ended the call.

Replacing the cell phone, he grabbed the Coke once more.
Taking another gulp, he leaned back into the leather seat to wait. The call had
been quick and to the point. How it had to be. Rachel wasn’t in a place where
she could talk freely. She and Phillip would make their way out of the reception
soon. Gable smiled. His wait was almost over.

Phillip Latini knew what was going on between him and
Rachel. If it bothered him, the man never let on. Phillip had agreed to help
Rachel keep things on the QT and had gone out of his way to help. He was in the
man’s debt.

A glance to his right told his heart to kick into overdrive.
His Beauty was heading his way. With Phillip walking in the opposite direction,
Rachel held up her skirt as she quickly made her way to the car. She looked
beautiful as she quick stepped her way toward him, long skirt held in both
hands and purse swinging wildly from her arm. Her long dark hair was styled up
and he would give anything to pull it loose and run his fingers through the
velvety long strands. Not normally a praying man, the sight of her always made
him give thanks.

“Hi,” she said as she opened the door and quickly put
herself and her long skirt onto the passenger seat.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he told her. Then again, she
always looked beautiful.

“Thank you.” She flashed her gorgeous smile.

“How was the wedding?”

“Beautiful. Long.”

He looked at her. He felt his breath leave his lungs. Just
looking at her did that to him regularly.

“I’ve been thinking about you all evening,” she said.

“I’ve been thinking about you, too.”

She leaned over the console and grabbed his T-shirt, pulling
him toward her. “I’ve been waiting for this,” she said against his mouth. Her
mouth found his and the simmering fire roared. Like an electrical charge, it
bolted through his body as he opened his mouth and his tongue found hers. He
felt her lean into his kiss as her hand released his shirt to find its edge and
slip underneath. Her touch scorched through him as she found bare skin and
traveled her hand to his chest. His heart pounded wildly as her hand settled
over it. He shifted slightly for a better angle. His air supply was going fast
as the heat roared, but he wouldn’t pull away. He didn’t care if he needed air.
He didn’t care about anything but the wet warmth of her mouth molding to his.
His hand went to the back of her head to pull her into a world he didn’t want
to leave. Somehow, he managed to draw in the air he needed. Somehow, he
breathed in his life’s need. Rachel Emerson.

They broke apart, chests heaving heavily as air filled their
lungs. Her full lips, swollen and sexy, parted and offered an invitation for
more.

“Beauty, we can’t do this here,” he finally whispered. “You
can’t be seen with me.”

“I know.” Her gaze steadied on his mouth as her hand rubbed
the stubble along his jaw. “You should come to see my new apartment.”

“What?”

“I told you. I’ve moved into Nik Williams’ old apartment. We
could have privacy there.”

Gabe thought about the invitation. His dick obviously liked
the idea.

“It wouldn’t be good for your neighbors to see my car parked
outside…”

“Deke, I’ve given this a lot of thought,” she cut in. “I
want more than just sitting in a parked car stealing a few kisses. Not that
they aren’t the best kisses I’ve ever experienced but…”

“Aww, Beauty.” He couldn’t stop himself from placing another
kiss to her sweet lips. “You know what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” She cast her big brown eyes on him once more. “Yes,
I’m saying I want to make love, Deke.”

Gabe thought his mind was playing dirty tricks on his ears. He
wanted so much to make love to Rachel. He wanted her naked, under him and
calling his name as he drove into her. Like a sucker punch to the gut, one
thought assaulted him. She wouldn’t be calling his name. She wouldn’t call Gabe
in the heat of the moment, she would call Deke. The thought tore his guts
inside out.

“Deke?”

No, she wouldn’t be calling his name as he drove her to
climax.

“I want to make love to you, too. I want to so much, it
hurts sometimes. But, I’m not sure we should move to that next step yet.”

“Why?”

“Because of who you are, Rachel. Because of who I am.”

“We’ve spent the past month beating that horse to death,
Deke.”

“I won’t be responsible for hurting you,” he told her.

Leaning toward him once more, Rachel placed a hand on each
side of his heavily stubbled face and pulled him toward her. Her mouth found
his with a quick, hard possession. He was hers. Nothing but her mouth on his
would matter in that moment. Just as his taste for her grew even greater, she
pulled away.

“That’s your invitation, Deke Johnson. I’m going home.
Follow me.”

Before his words could form, Rachel was out of his car and
halfway to the back end of the building. In a flash, her car zoomed passed him
and out of the parking lot.

What was he going to do now? He shook his head in disbelief
as he turned the key in the ignition. He couldn’t do this. Moving the gear
selector into Reverse, he gave a quick glance behind him and edged the Mustang
out of the parking spot.  She could be hurt. It wasn’t even ethical. He
was a cop. An undercover cop. With the car in Drive, he gave it gas and headed
for the street. People saw him as Deke Johnson. That could bring hurtful words
to Rachel. Turning right onto Bayouside Drive, the car accepted the challenge
when he pressed the gas. God, he wanted to make love to her but it wasn’t the
right thing to do now. Maybe, after this operation was over. He could really
tell her the truth. If only he could tell her. He turned into the parking lot
of the Bayou Mart and immediately he thought of the first kiss they had shared.
The kiss she had asked for. He steered away from the store’s entrance. He would
just call her and tell her he couldn’t meet her. She would be upset and it
would kill him, but there was nothing else to do. He parked his car at the far
rear side of the building. He thought about her face. The way it looked when
their kisses got to the edge of control. Yes, it would be for the best. He
would call her and just be honest. He got out of his car, hit the remote in his
hand to lock it up and walked toward the wooded area behind the convenience
store.

The dark shadows cast by the trees made the trek an easy
one. His black T-shirt blended into the darkness and he moved quickly. Barely,
six minutes after leaving PJ Nites, he found himself on the edge of the wooded
area, facing a street lined on one side with houses. His eyes scanned the
houses until he saw the neat yellow rancher with the detached garage to his
right. The detached garage that was now a converted apartment whispered to him
and Rachel’s little white car parked out front yelled.

He would tell her. He would point out all of the reasons why
this couldn’t continue. He walked to the front door and knocked lightly. He
would assure her his feelings were true but the circumstances dictated the
situation. He would…

Rachel opened the door and without a word, he pushed her
inside and shut it behind him. She reached for him and he pushed until her back
was up against the wall behind her. Pinning her there with his own body, his
hands on each side of her face, he claimed what he wanted. Fire raged through
his veins as a throaty sound escaped her when his tongue speared inside. His
tongue tasted her as his hands traveled down to her tiny waist then traveled up
to her luscious breasts. Pressing deeper into her body with his own, his heart
pounded as his body burned for her.