Slow Ride (12 page)

He grimaced at the memories of their time together, at his weakness when, after they
fucked, he’d stay in her bed and talk. Like they were some sort of couple. God, he
had been an idiot. He knew, deep down, that the whore was hooked on Roger and there’d
be no changing that. But he let himself think, for a moment, that he cared for Cheryl.
He thought that he could finally be himself around her and maybe be happy. But she
had ruined that. It was her fault he had to do what he did. It was her fault he had
to make her pay.

Dumb bitch.

“Martin, can’t you just touch me, please? I was so close. . .”

He clenched his jaw before jumping up from the bed. He was tired of women like Cheryl,
like Marla, thinking what they wanted mattered. He moved fast and before Marla could
crawl away he backhanded her. He felt her blood on his hand, but he didn’t care. He
yanked her by the hair again, this time dragging her off the bed and onto the floor.
She was on his knees, the way he liked his women. He lifted her head so she was looking
up at him. The blood was trickling from her nose and lip down her chin and neck. He
smiled. “I told you to take care of it yourself. Now stop being a whiny bitch and
shut the fuck up. No wonder Cooper doesn’t want you around.”

“He does want me around! And don’t you ever say otherwise,” she snapped at him and
for the first time Martin could see a little of himself on her angry, pinched face
and hear himself in the tone of his voice. It was sort of a turn on.

He released his grip on her hair and pushed her away. He reached for his jacket. “Good.
Now, speaking of Cooper, what are you doing about him? You still hung up on being
with that prick? I’ve heard he’s going after that new woman in town, Kyla.” He’d heard
about her from one of his officers and had seen her walking around town. She looked
good and definitely piqued his interest. Unfortunately he had too much on his plate
to take a taste when he saw her. He’d get around to that, though. Eventually. He always
did. “It’s all just another clue that Cooper doesn’t want your skank ass.”

“I’m not a skank!” she hissed, her hands clenched at her sides. “I just want to be
with Cooper. I don’t know how to do that. He thinks I’m trash, but I don’t know why.”

Martin shook his head. “Look in the mirror, Marla. You fuck around, you do drugs,
and hell, you’ve had sex for money in the back alleys of this god-forsaken place.
You think a man like Cooper wants to tie himself to someone like that permanently?
Especially when your competition is a woman who looks as hot as she does.”

“She is not hot! And he only wants to fuck her; he’ll tire of her and come to his
senses soon enough!” Marla screamed and all Martin could do was smile.

“Sure, whatever you say, Marla. Now get your ass over here.”

Marla was still screaming as she moved to him. “I am going to beat the hell out of
that bitch. He won’t think she’s pretty after I do that. He won’t even recognize her.
She’s not going to take him away from me.”

Martin tugged Marla against him when she got close. “I love it when you go off, screaming
and cussing.” He was unsnapping his slacks again. “See, it made me fucking hard. Again.
Now, get on your knees and suck me off before I leave you, crazy bitch.”

He grinned as Marla dropped to the floor before him and looked up at him with her
big eyes. “What will you give me if I do, Chief?”

“That solicitation charge of yours, well let’s just say it’ll be taken care of. Now,
get to it.” He grunted as she wrapped her lips around him.

God, he loved his job and this town, he thought, as he buried his cock deep in her
mouth.

• • •

After a week of working for Cooper, Kyla was starting to get settled. Getting the
garage organized was quite the task, but it was slowly coming together and she spent
her spare time reading, hanging out in the music store, or turning her room at the
motel into a home. The feeling of being home was something she hadn’t had in a while,
so even the little things, like buying her own towels and groceries, made all the
difference in the world.

On Sunday she woke up relishing the fact she had a day off. She changed into a skirt
and tank top, her bathing suit underneath so she could catch some sun, and threw her
messenger bag across her body. Sliding into her flip-flops, she pulled the door shut
behind her and made her way down the back stairs. The garage was quiet, but she saw
the gate was open and Cooper’s truck was in the lot.

Kyla made it to the chain link fence, only to have someone grab her arm and tug her
back hard. It was instinct to turn her body toward whoever it was. She yanked and
struggled against him, kicking out with her foot. “Let me go!”

The hand on her upper arm loosened but didn’t let it go. “Kyla, relax, it’s me.”

It wasn’t Frank. When that registered she let her arms go slack and sagged against
him. “I am so sorry, Cooper.”

“It’s okay. Not your fault. I shouldn’t have been so quiet. You’ve got quite the fight
in you, though. Jesus, you can kick.”

She closed her eyes and felt the blood drain from her face. She straightened, but
Cooper remained close enough that she felt the heat of his body against hers.

“Did I hurt you?” She heard the thickness of her voice as she struggled to keep it
together.

“Hurt me? No. How could you hurt me? Come here.”

Cooper’s arms were around her right there in the middle of the sidewalk. For all Kyla
knew, there were a hundred people around them, but all she could focus on was the
man who held her tightly.

“I saw you heading for the street. Looked like you were ready to cross and seeing
as there isn’t a crosswalk here, I was trying to get your attention. Cops like to
give out shit tickets like that.” He kissed her at the spot where her neck and shoulder
met, his tongue touching her just enough to make her tremble against him. “I’m the
one who is sorry. I shouldn’t have startled you like that. Forgive me?”

Frank always asked her to forgive him after he beat the shit out of her. Always expected
her to go along with it, be his meek little mouse. But Cooper wasn’t Frank. He hadn’t
done anything to hurt her. She knew that. There hadn’t been anger in the act, and
it wasn’t like he hurt her, physically or otherwise. It had only startled the hell
out of her.

She didn’t have to live in fear anymore and flinch when someone surprised her. She
lifted her chin to rest on his chest and looked up into his face.

“You have to be patient with me, Cooper. I startle easy. I react wrong. But I’m working
on it.”

She loved it when his face softened and his eyes brightened with warmth. “I’ll keep
that in mind, Kyla.” Cooper kissed her mouth, a quick, hard kiss that set the fire
inside Kyla burning. But he pulled back before it could get out of hand. “Crosswalks,
Kyla. Use ‘em.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re bossy?” She tried to muster a similar tone, but
it didn’t seem to work as well, seeing as the corners of his lips were twitching.
“Are you laughing at me?”

“Not at you.” He winked, his dark blue eyes roaming over her face. “Between you wandering
around town on your own, and now confirming you have a clear disregard for your safety
by not following the rules of the road, maybe you do need that bodyguard. And I have
just the person in mind.”

She sucked in a breath, a hand pressing against his chest. “Cooper, I don’t need a
bodyguard. I’m fine. I was just going to walk to the beach.” She mustered all the
attitude she could at the last minute and huffed. “Not that it’s any of your business.
I’m not going to do the whole ‘tell the guy I’m kinda sorta seeing everything I’m
doing’ scene.”

He held that amused smile on his face as he stretched out his hand. “There’s the attitude,”
he said with a chuckle. “Kinda sorta seeing, huh? I can dig that description of us.
For now.”

Kyla rolled her eyes and then sighed, “Whatever.” She started to move across the street,
surprised as he walked alongside her. She didn’t say anything, stealing a glance every
now and then. “You really don’t need to follow me; I can handle it from here.”

Cooper shook his head. “Kyla, look I get it, you want to be independent and not need
anything from anyone, but you’re new to this town and don’t know the first thing about
the place. Shit is going down and given my recent, and now well known, interest in
you, I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire. So humor me, yeah?” He didn’t
say anything for a moment, letting her guide them in the general direction of the
beach. “Besides, you need a crash course on this place, and I’m feeling generous today,
so I’m going to give it to you in the form of a personal tour.”

Cooper being nice and protective, bringing her chai and muffins, kissing the daylights
out of her . . . it was all too much. She was terrified and didn’t know what the fuck
to do about it. Except protect herself.

“Oh, lucky me,” she muttered.

Cooper lifted a brow, annoyance flashing on his face. “I’m not going to apologize
for wanting to keep you safe, Kyla.”

She turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. She could see he was pissed,
and she was annoyed for being angry at herself for pissing him off. It was all very
confusing. “Well, you being nice can feel like you’re trying to control me, Cooper.
I can’t change who I am or what I’m trying to get through. I’ve never had this before
without it turning bad.”

“Kyla, we don’t have to analyze everything we do or say to each other. Christ, I wanted
to walk you around town. It lets people know we’re together, it keeps you safe, but
more important, it lets me spend time with you. Is that such a fuckin’ crime?”

She bit her lip, her eyes trained on her toes. She’d snapped his head off, assumed
he was trying to control her when all he wanted to do when take a walk to the beach
with her. Freakin’ Frank.

She closed her eyes and then opened them, lifting her head as she did. “I have issues
separating what happened before and now. I see things that aren’t there. I shouldn’t
have jumped to the conclusion that you’re a controlling asshole.”

Cooper’s head jerked. “Christ, Kyla. I like you because you are your own woman. You
work hard, you’re good at what you do. Hell, since you’ve worked for me, the guys
and I have been more productive than ever, getting shit done and able to take in more
business. I even got a few orders for some custom paint and detailing work. I’m able
to take ‘em because you’ve organized that freaking office and even me to some degree.
You keep me on track, not to mention you’re pretty persuasive. After all, no one before
you ever convinced me to put that TV up.” His lips tipped up at the corners and she
could tell he was teasing her. At least about that last part.

She smiled. “Yeah, I had such a persuasive argument.”

Cooper grinned, backing her up toward the wall of a nearby building. “Well, it wasn’t
just your argument. It also had to do with how gorgeous you looked in that top.” He
dipped his head down and his lips skimmed her jaw and down her neck. “And speaking
of tops, I got a woman’s fit tee and a tank with the shop logo on it for you.”

She was breathless. “You don’t know my size.”

She felt his tongue slide over her shoulder. “You can try ‘em on and I’ll let you
know if they fit. Or not.”

“Cooper.” Her voice was shaky and so was her body. The last thing she could think
about was trying on clothes in front of Cooper. Or maybe that was exactly what she
wanted to think about.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Kyla.” Cooper lifted a hand to her face, his thumb sliding
over her cheek. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and I. Something about you
caught my interest and I’m exploring that. I don’t know where this is going to lead,
and I can’t make any promises especially with recent events. For all I know, I could
end up in jail or worse, given the corruption me and my guys are up against.” He took
a breath and continued, cutting off her response. “Maybe because of that I should
back off. But I can’t. I’m a selfish bastard, and with you that’s upped to the nth
degree. I wanted to get to know you as soon as I heard you singing on top of that
car. And if in getting to know you I can help you fix whatever the fuck some asshole
broke, then I am going to do it.” He skimmed one hand down her cheek and pressed his
palm into her chest, right over heart. “I want in there, Kyla. But if you aren’t ready
for my help, then tell me to back off. I’ll walk away. It’ll be the hardest thing
I’ve ever done. But I’ll do it. For you.”

Cooper was giving her an out. But as much as the idea of being with him scared the
hell out of her , she didn’t think she could handle him walking away. The ball was
in her hands now. And Cooper had no idea how important that was to her. He was giving
her the control, the ability to decide whether they were moving forward or not. She
would never be able to show him how much she appreciated that. Kyla swallowed the
tears that threatened to clog her throat, happy tears for a man who wasn’t trying
to make her into something she didn’t want to be.

“I don’t want you to end up in jail or worse.” She pressed her palms against his chest
and his muscles tensed underneath as her fingers curled into his shirt. “The corruption
we talked about before, other than what the chief did to Cheryl, what else do they
do? What else do I need to be afraid of?”

Cooper inched forward, pressing her tightly against him, his hands sliding along her
torso. “Have you been afraid of something in the past, Kyla?”

She shivered. She always did whenever he used her name. It seemed to rumble out of
him, lower and deeper than when he called her babe or doll. Normally she hated such
endearments, but coming from Cooper she didn’t care. Kyla didn’t trust her voice.
Instead she nodded.

Cooper’s eyes held hers for a beat before speaking again. “Town hall is a mess, corrupt
politicians who take what they want without regard for the town or the people living
in it. Saybrook is the worst. He’s run this town with an iron fist for way too long.
And when I say iron fist, I mean almost literally. He doesn’t mind using excessive
force to get confessions, or just to get off. He is a sick bastard and his violence
has no limits. Men, women, teenagers, he doesn’t give a fuck. The problem is, he’s
been running the place for so long, and so many are afraid to say anything, no one
investigates him. Those who do complain . . . well, they usually meet other fates
that are much worse than getting the shit kicked out of them.”