Virgo's Vice (12 page)

“I still have the knife,” he says, pulling it out of his waistband. “Me, Tarzan.”

He gestures to Mark that we’re going to the waterhole and Mark nods. I laugh and follow Billy down the path. Jared says he’s not who I think he is.

Who do I think he is?

Chapter 18

Billy wished he knew more about what was going on with Lexie and that dude, Trip. It was almost as if she was afraid of him. The cameraman, Mark, must have noticed it too. Why did he care so much? Was this really only their second day together?

“That’s what I was hoping for,” he said as they reached the bank of the stream. “The sunset. We’re still a little early, but if you want we can wait. You should have seen the sunrise this morning.”

Lexie smiled. He loved it when she did that. “I saw the sunset last night.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t see it sitting all alone beside a handsome cowboy. Let me go wash my hands and this knife first, and then we can sit up there and watch it. In that tree.” He pointed.

Billy clambered down the bank then swirled his hands around in the murky water. The hole they had dug had been messed up by animals again, but he would bring a shovel later. He picked up some sand and rubbed it into his hands, rinsed them, and sniffed them. Not good enough. He didn’t want her to think he smelled bad. He rubbed them again.

Lexie was standing watching him when he climbed back up to her. She followed him to the tree. He waved her in front and she climbed nimbly up and onto the branch—the one that made a perfect seat.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” he asked as he settled beside her.

“Just because I lived in the suburbs doesn’t mean we didn’t have trees,” she said.

He couldn’t help staring into her eyes a little too long, and he saw her go red. He looked away. “It’s getting prettier by the minute,” he said, pointing at the horizon, but thinking about how she was growing on him. Having her alone here with him was fanning the flames of his lust. He wanted to take all her clothes off and touch her all over. Everywhere. And he wished . . .

“Yeah. It’s beautiful. You notice things like that, don’t you? I mean, pretty things.”

“I notice a lot of things,” he said. “Not all of them pretty.”

She glanced across with an anxious expression on her face.

“You really, seriously don’t like that dude Trip.” Billy picked a twig off the tree and rolled it around in his hands.

“I . . . told you. I knew him. Before.”

“And he did something to scare you, didn’t he?”

She nodded and a tear formed in the corner of one eye. He wanted to hold her and tell it was okay, but she was so jumpy he was afraid to touch her.

“I can’t talk about it. Please don’t mention it again.”

At least she had told him, or admitted that he did something she didn’t like. Something that scared her a lot. Now she was all tensed up and edgy again and her face had a pinched look about it because she was trying to hold her tears back. He knew he was going to pay close attention to Trip from now on. Like he told her, he noticed things. He had seen the way the dude eyeballed her and he must be old enough to be her father. If he saw anything weird going on between Trip and her he would put a stop to it, even if he had to punch the asshole.

There’s something magical about watching the clouds over the distant misty mountains. I love the way they change from brilliant red to orange to buff and then all that’s left is a little hint of yellow, but it isn’t totally dark yet.

I glance at Billy. “Tell me about your horses. I like horses, and I’m planning to move out to a cottage at an equestrian center.”

“We have a lot of horses on the ranch. My best horse is called Chocolate. You’d like her,” he says. “All women like chocolate, don’t they?” He stares at me with a yearning in his eyes and I can’t help staring back. He’s the first to look away. “She’s dark-brown with lighter highlights in her mane and tail, almost the color of your hair.” He picks up a lock in his hand and holds it for a few seconds before he drops it again. Something about the gesture makes me stare at his mouth.

“Ssh. Listen,” Billy says.

Everything has suddenly gone quiet. The birds have stopped singing. The insects and frogs have all stopped their racket.

Then I hear muted footfalls, and mooing almost like cows, and then a high-pitched rippling sound, kind of like a horse’s neigh but different. We also hear snorting.

Billy points. “Check it out.” he says in a stage whisper.

“Wow. That is epic,” I whisper back.

A herd of animals has appeared over the crest of a hill, moving slowly from our right to our left. I recognize the zebras. They’re beautiful. And I remember the other strange animals. I’ve seen them in the zoo. They’re called wildebeests or gnu.

Billy’s arm goes around my shoulders and I lean into him. He’s warm and his arm is hard and muscular.

We sit there quietly and watch them. It’s like I’m watching a movie on the Discovery Channel. It would be hard to believe that I am really in Africa and those animals are real if I couldn’t smell the dust they’re kicking up and their animal smell. A wildebeest baby breaks from the pack and kicks up its heels before it gallops around, dodging rocks and bushes. I can’t help smiling, it’s so adorable. Its mother calls to it with that strange nasal kind of lowing.

We sit there in silence, enjoying them until they move away back down into a valley and over a low rise to where we can’t see them anymore.

“That was awesome,” I say.

Billy’s arm tightens around my shoulders and his hand strokes my arm. It’s so good.

The frogs start croaking again, and a bird makes a squawking sound. Another one seems to answer.

“So there are some animals here.” I can hear the excitement in my own voice. “They haven’t all been poached out or whatever.”

“No. That was really special,” Billy says.

We go silent. His hand is running up and down my arm and it’s making me crazy. I try to remember what we were talking about before the animals appeared. His horse.

“So is she a nice ride?”

“What?” he says.

“Chocolate. Your horse. You were telling me about her.”

“She’s the most ornery horse I ever rode. She’s a real woman. Sorry. But she’s as moody as they come, and feisty too. Something like you. I’m not being rude about women or you when I say that. I like that about women. I like that they’re unpredictable and feisty. And I love that horse, even when she tips me into the brambles.”

“So what mood am I in right now?” I ask him.

“Are you kidding? With that sunset and those animals. It has to be romantic. You’re thinking what a handsome dude I am and how you would love me to kiss you.” He takes off his hat.

My heart misses a beat. I watch his face come toward me. His lips are slightly parted and his gaze is holding mine. He’s very handsome. I like the faint outline of new beard growth on his face. My breath is coming faster and the touch of his lips on mine sends a tingle all the way down to my toes. For a moment I am lost in him. I kiss him back. He tastes salty and smells of man. My tongue meets his and I want more.

His hand slides under my T-shirt and I want to scream it feels so good. He cups my boob and I hear myself moan. He slides his hand inside my bra and thumbs my nipple, and all the time we keep kissing. I can hardly breathe my chest is so tight and this delicious sensation fills me up and I want him to keep doing that.

He breaks the kiss and stares into my eyes and I see the lust and the naked need in them. I welcome his lips with mine as he bends and kisses me again. His hand slides down my stomach and into my jeans.

“I . . . I can’t,” I gasp. I know I’m blushing and I’m glad it’s almost dark. “I-I’m . . .”

He pulls his hand back. I can hear his fast breathing, but I’m glad he stopped when I asked him to. No one would have heard if he had forced himself on me.

The strange thing is, I wanted him to do more. I don’t know why that scares me so much. Maybe it’s because I only met him yesterday. Or is it something to do with his past? Something dark that put him in juvie for over a year.

Chapter 19

Everyone is in a big circle around the fire. Billy is sitting beside me on one side, and Jared on the other.

The fish stew Faith made with the Cassava leaves and rice has put us all in a better mood. The weather is perfect. We don’t know how long the rice has to last us, but I think we are all figuring on three days and the cooked rice filled the big pot to the brim. We all feel a whole lot better now that we have food in our stomachs and are no longer dehydrated.

“Some of your coffee would be good right about now,” Stretch says to Mark.

“I have something that might even make this meal more memorable.” Sam follows Mark into the shelter, where someone has lit the candle.

Mark hands the coffee can to Faith, who still jealously guards the pots. The boys have long since been back to the creek to wash them and get more water to boil.

“Ta da!” Sam says, and holds up a bottle of some sort of liquor.

“What is it?” Billy says.

“Cinnamon Fireball whiskey. It’s good. I was gonna keep it to drink if I was really down, or if I was on a team that had something to celebrate, or something like that. But tonight seems like the right time.”

“Yeah!” Jared drags the crumpled pack of Camels out of his pocket. “Anyone want a smoke?”

Rodriguez takes him up on the offer.

Jared takes both cigarettes into the shelter to light them with the candle. He hands one to Rodriguez before seating himself beside me again. I can hear him suck on the cigarette and inhale. He blows out a smoke ring, and another. They drift lazily up and into the darkness.

We hold our mugs out and Faith pours coffee into them. The whiskey bottle is passed around and those who want pour some into their coffee.

When it gets to us, Billy hands me his mug. He holds the bottle up above mine. “Say when.”

I let him pour a generous amount. “When.”

He pours about the same amount into his mug and passes the bottle on to Jared. “Old Man Dockery didn’t do much about checking what was in our knapsacks like he said he would.”

“I’m not complaining, dude,” Jared says.

I like the warm sensation in my stomach when it gets down there. By the time my coffee is finished I’m feeling real mellow.

“I hope Allan Dockery brings more first aid supplies,” Maria says. “We’ve already used quite a lot of things.”

“Did anyone see the animals?” I say, changing the subject totally. “Zebra and wildebeests.”

No one else had seen them. I guess we were the only ones in that area.

“It was awesome,” I say, glancing at Billy, who nods. I’m thinking about the kiss and the touch of his hands on me. I stare at his face until he wrinkles his brow.

“You’re staring,” he says, and puts his mouth to my ear. “I want to kiss you again. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

My body reacts, and I know I’m blushing at the thoughts going through my head.

The conversation lags and eventually Rodriguez hauls himself up, grimaces, and announces he’s going to bed. The others start to follow.

Billy squeezes my thigh. “Want to take the first watch?”

“I’ll take it tonight.” Trip doesn’t give me time to answer. “You don’t have to do it every night.” He bangs the sole of his shoe to knock the tobacco out of his pipe.

Billy shrugs. “Okay. I guess it’s time to turn in then.” He stares at me.

“Lexie, why don’t you stay with me,” Trip says. “I’m much more a man than him.”

Nausea rushes through me. I stop myself from saying anything or slapping him, and follow Billy into the shelter, and take off my shoes and socks with shaking hands.

Kelli and Andy are cuddling together. They move over and allow enough of a space to fit me and Billy in. I’m so angry with Trip for that dumb jealous remark I want to scream.

Billy pulls his shirt off and hangs it somewhere. He’s probably going to take off his jeans too. A moment of panic rushes through me, and for a few seconds I almost squeeze in at the end, beside Eve. Why? I don’t understand. I tell myself I’m being stupid and wait for Billy to join me, my heart beating way too fast.

He doesn’t touch me. “You okay?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah. I’m just pissed off.”

“That dude sure knows how to push your buttons,” he whispers. “And I was hoping to get you drunk so I could take advantage of you.” He chuckles. “I guess the timing was off.”

Billy lays his arm over me protectively. I’m cold and he’s warm and I snuggle into him. I know he won’t expect me to do anything I don’t want to. There is something so erotic about that—about a man who puts my feelings first. My anger morphs into desire as the tension melts away. He kisses me on my cheek.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

“And you’re warm,” I say. “You didn’t take off your jeans.”

“No, I’d probably poke you in places you wouldn’t want to be poked,” he whispers in my ear.

I giggle. And then I think about what he said and I know I would probably like to be poked in the places he’s thinking about.

“It’s not funny,” he says. “Women are lucky. They don’t have problems like this.”

I lie still and pretend to be asleep. He fidgets around for a while before his breathing gets slow and deep. I stay awake for a while longer, thinking about the day. I’ve only known Billy for two days, but it seems like we’ve been friends forever. The memory of his hands on my most intimate parts is still very much with me. I think about the hunger I saw in his eyes. He seems nice. If only I knew that he hadn’t done something awful like physically hurting someone.

Eventually I must have fallen asleep.

“She’s gone,” I hear. “Eve’s gone again.”