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  “Uh, do you think she found us from when I turned my cell phone on to text Livey?” My voice is barely a whisper as I realize my dangerous blunder. His blue eyes fly open and in the dashboard lights, I see his features harden.

  Oh crap.

  He pulls into the first gas station he sees, whips the car into park so he can look at me face to face. “Are you telling me that you turned your phone on when I told you not to?” I give him a slight nod. “Shit, Allie! I told you not to do that! We were supposed to be laying low.” The anger in his tone was something I had never heard before, and personally, I didn’t like it. He bangs the steering wheel as hard as he can, making me shift towards the window. I’ve never seen him like this.

  “I’m…I’m sorry. I really am. I had no idea turning it on for thirty seconds would do anything.” Then it dawns on me. “Because of me, Rebecca was murdered.” The sobs start pouring out of me and there’s no way to stop them. “Oh my God. It’s like I killed her.”

  Donovan quickly unbuckles his belt and scoots next to me, pulling me into his arms. I bury my face into his chest, tears steadily coming down.

  “Shhh, baby. That’s not true, You had nothing to do with her death. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. How could you have possibly known that?” He rocks me gently as I start to calm down. “Please forgive me. I’m so sorry.”

  Finally, the crying stops and he releases me from his chest but holds me at arm’s length. “You did nothing wrong, okay? But you really have to listen to me from here on out. We can’t be too careful where Claire is concerned.”

  “Okay.”

  “Good. Now let’s get going. It’s getting really late and I want to make it there before midnight.” We get back on the road and I soon drift off into a restless sleep.

  Chapter 8

  Donovan

  I try to pay attention to the road, but when I look over at my sleeping Allie, it’s pretty difficult. Most of the time, she looks like an angel, completely at peace. But tonight, her beautiful features aren’t the same. Even when she’s passed out from exhaustion, her brow is furrowed and there’s a frown on her sexy lips. I can feel my heart crack a little more in my chest. The thought again crosses my mind that I should let her take the easy way out, but now I know I can’t. She’s stubborn, and thank God for it. I honestly don’t think I could get through this kind of madness without her by my side. But it just seems so unfair to her to put her through this. Damn it, why did I have to meet Frankie? I wouldn’t have met Claire and I wouldn’t be going through this shit.

  “No, you can’t.” Allie breaks my depressing thoughts with the murmuring she’s doing in her sleep.

  “I can’t what, baby?”

  “You can’t leave me. I’ll die.”

  If my heart wasn’t broken enough, it shatters into a million pieces right then. I try to choke back the emotion that has found its way to my throat. “You won’t die. I swear to you.”

  “I love you, Donovan.”

  With three simple words, she mends my broken heart. I know this whole thing isn’t easy on either one of us, but apparently, we are each other’s rock. We can’t stand without the other, and we certainly can’t push through terrifying times unless we’re by each other’s side. “I love you, too. Too much sometimes,” I whisper back. She shifts her weight from the car door to me, nuzzling against my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her so my hand comes to rest on her waist. “I’ll love you until the day I leave this Earth.” What I don’t say out loud is, “I’ll make you my wife someday soon. I will pledge to honor, to love, to cherish you until death do us part. You have my heart for a lifetime.”

  What I feel for this girl is pure and real, nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s so obvious that what I had with Claire wasn’t love; it was fear. Now, I’m dealing with it all over again. Comparing the two of them is like comparing the sky. One is a bright, warm spring day with not a cloud in sight and the other is a dark, miserable hurricane heading towards you at sixty miles an hour.

  We finally pull into my father’s estate at around quarter after midnight. Of course, I know that my Pops and Megan will be waiting for us. I stopped while Allie was sleeping to make a call from a payphone, which I didn’t even know still existed. I put the truck in park and the moment I turn the engine off, Allie stirs and Megan comes running out the front door.

  “Wake up, baby. We’re here.” I gently nudge Sleeping Beauty and she slowly opens her green eyes. She stretches her arms above her head just as my baby sister reaches her door.

  “Allie! Oh my God! Are you two all right?” She doesn’t even wait for Allie to get out of the truck before she’s hugging her.

  “Yeah, we’re okay, considering,” she says as she finally wakes up. She slips out the door and Megan has her arm around her, herding her towards the house. I grab the stuff we bought from town, lock the doors and follow after them. The sweltering heat hits me like a ton of bricks. Even in the dead of night, July nights in Georgia are disgustingly hot and humid. I arm the truck and head inside.

  “Donnie, thank God you two are all right.” My father bounds up to me and wraps his arms around me. It somewhat throws me off guard, but I return the hug. He’s normally not an overly affectionate man, but I suppose when your only son and his girlfriend’s lives are in danger, you tend to change your ways. “I’m just so glad you’re here.”

  “Thanks for letting us stay on such short notice, Pops.”

  “Boy, you don’t have to thank me. My doors are always open to my favorite son.” He gives me a wink as he takes our bags.

  “Uh, I’m your only son.” I smile back at him. Donna must be away, because he always seems to be in a better mood once she’s gone. But I can’t blame him. I’m always glad when she’s nowhere near me.

  “Granted, but still. At least I know you’re safe. Now, I’ve been keeping an eye on your security cameras all day. Care to sit down?” The twinkle in his eyes have stopped and my stomach does a backflip up into my chest. I sit on the closest seat without a word, preparing for the worst. I look around for Allie, and when I don’t see her, my anxiety goes up, even though I know Megan was taking her upstairs to get settled. It’s probably for the best. She’s been through enough as it is. I don’t want her to hear what my dad is going to tell me.

  “Remember, I told you that she was snooping around this morning?” I nod. “Well, she came back later in a black SUV. She got out of the passenger seat and knocked on your door. Since you weren’t home, she kept banging and banging. Let’s say it pissed her off and caused her to knock your mailbox down and leave tire marks on your driveway.”

  “I guess it could be worse.” I really don’t know what else to say to this. For her to just knock over a mailbox is pretty lucky, considering this is Claire we’re talking about.

  “Well, yes, but you have to remember. She got either got someone to kill that caretaker today or she did it herself. She’s a cold blooded murderer and apparently, whoever’s working for her is, too.”

  Okay, maybe not so lucky.

  “Don’t you think the police are keeping a lookout for her after today?” My nerves seriously can’t take much more of this shit.

  “Well, the only problem with that is, the one witness is now at the coroner’s. Unless they find proof that she was there, they can’t pin anything on her.”

  “What about the letter? I mean, she didn’t sign it, but I know for a fact it was her handwriting.” I feel like I’m grasping for straws here.

  “Son, I’m tellin’ you to prepare yourself for the worst, which would be her getting away with the murder and coming after you and Allie.” My father doesn’t sugarcoat things, whatsoever.

  I feel like I’m about to snap, so I stand from my seat. “Okay, Dad. We’ll be extremely careful. Beef up security for now. But I am going to have to go back to work, and Allie has to get ready for school next month. We can’t hide forever.”

  “I know, son. I know. Oh, I know this is a random question, but what do you
want for your birthday?” I see a little twinkle in my dad’s eyes. He was always the one to get the best gifts, because they were gifts from his heart. One year, he gave me Buck, my horse. He knew that I wanted to ride around the property, just to get away from the stress of my mother leaving us and Donna coming in and screwing everything up for me.

  “Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it. I actually forgot it was my birthday next week. I mean, with everything going on.” My body has been begging to hit the bed for hours, so I tell him good night. All I want to do right now is to hold Allie in my arms. Just to let me know she’s safe. I head up the stairs towards my old room and the thought of her leaving me crosses my mind. My heart was torn apart that day after Frankie told her all my dirt before I had the balls to do it. It was like she left me and never turned back, or so I thought at the time. I don’t think I could handle that again. Seeing her leave in that cab was the same as when my mother left us. Heart wrenching and debilitating would probably describe it a little. But it was my own fault, much like the situation we’re in now. I kick myself every damn day for meeting that woman. l truthfully, I still blame Donna, the evil stepmother from the depths of hell. If she didn’t send me away to boarding school, this never would have happened. At least not to me.

  My head is pounding and my nerves are on edge, but as soon as I open the door and see Allie, laying in my bed, staring back at me, it all goes away. I return the sexy smile she’s giving me as I walk over to my side of the bed.

  “Hi,” she smiles, her eyes sleepy.

  “Hi, yourself,” I say back as I brush a strand of her hair out of her eyes.

  “Megan told me Donna is out of town.” She rests her weight on her elbow so that she’s propped up on the mattress. “I’m happy about that, so I know you are.”

  “Baby, that might just be the best news I’ve heard today.” That’s an understatement.

  “You should get some rest, love. We’ve both had a long, horrifying day.” She pats my knee with her free hand. I swear, every time this girl touches me, my body becomes alive and on fire. I start thinking about what I could do to her right now. She can read me like a book.

  “I know what you’re thinking, stud.”

  “Oh, and what’s that?” I retort, trying to act like I’m not having dirty thoughts about her, very naked and very wet.

  “That you want to get these clothes off of me and make love to me until I scream your name.” She sits up and I don’t know why I didn’t notice before, but she’s already topless.

  Oh hell.

  Before I have a chance to process it, she jumps on me like a tiger on its prey. Her lips crash to mine and her tongue slips in my mouth. I gladly let her. Her hands are grabbing at the hem of my t-shirt and her fingers slide across my abs. I’m already hard as steel, my zipper threatening to burst. Breaking the kiss for only a second, she almost rips my shirt off and gets to work on my pants.

  “Oh, damn, baby,” I growl in her mouth as she wraps her hand around my dick and slowly strokes me. We’re both on our knees, so I have very easy access to her firm breasts. My lips leave hers as I find one of her perky nipples with my tongue. Her sharp intake of breath spurs me, so in one swift move, I have her on her back so that I’m in control.

  I hover over her, still licking and sucking her breast as she moans softly. I graze my teeth on her nipple, applying slight pressure as I go. I know this drives her insane, so I do it to the other breast. She cups her perfect tits up, begging me to continue my sensual assault.

  “Oh, please, Donovan.” Her words come in short breaths as I relentlessly massage and kiss her chest. I can feel her legs starting to shake with an impending orgasm, so I stop, move my lips back to her, and kiss her gently. Her fingers run through my hair as the gentle kiss turns back into a “please fuck me now” kiss. My body is pressed on top of hers and I feel my erection pushing into her thigh.

  “Please what? I want to hear you say it.”

  “Please make love to me. Please make me come. I need you right now.”

  Oh hell.

  “Just what I wanted to hear, baby.” My lips hover just above hers, teasing her as she tries to kiss me. As much stress as we’ve been under in the last twenty-four hours, I just want to get lost in her love and never been found. My fingers lightly stroke her cheek as I gently plant my lips to hers, drinking in the scent known as Allie. It surrounds me, consumes me, keeps me holding on.

  “Tonight, just let me worship your body. It’s all about you tonight.” I lift myself off her and tell her to roll over to her belly. She complies and rests her pretty head on her crossed arms. I lie beside her and run my fingers along her spine, causing her to shiver. I repeat the motion over and over again. Then I straddle her back and give her a massage, kneading her shoulders and running circles with my palms all the way down her back. Her moans start getting to me, but I’m focused on trying to relieve her stress. I feel the tightness from where her mind has been racing with depressing thoughts of the wicked bitch. Then I start to think of the tightness of her, wrapped around my dick…God help me. I can’t touch the girl and not get turned on.

  “Does it feel good, baby?” I whisper right next to her ear. She nods, then opens her eyes. The green iris has tiny gold flecks and I can’t help but be caught in her stare. “What are you thinking about right now?” I ask, curious as to what her answer may be. Will it be sexy or sweet? Will it break my heart in half or make me smile? So many thoughts could be running through her mind right now.

  “I’m thinking about…” she trails off, and I frown.

  “You’re thinking about what?”

  “I’m thinking about how I never really, truly knew what love was until you came in my life.” Her cheeks blush a delicate pink.

  “This is just the start of it. Just the start. Now, let me love you.” I move down beside her again so that I’m facing her. Pulling her close to me, her firm breasts lay against my chest. She lifts her leg so that it lays over my waist, causing my rock hard erection to come to rest on her dampened panties. Just knowing how wet she is for me kicks me into high gear.

  I throw everything I have into kissing her, trying to show her all the love and passion my body holds for her. My heart feels like it very well may explode if I don’t get all my feelings out. With all the shit that’s been going down and that poor lady being murdered at the hands of my ex, I feel like I need to live each day as if it were my last. Because, it may be coming sooner than expected if they don’t catch Claire…shit.

  Pushing those thoughts right out the window, I return my total attention back to my girl, who’s willing and ready for me to take her however I want. She starts grinding her hips against me and I can’t wait to be inside her and feel her warmth. I roll to my back and she follows suit, finding herself right back on top of me. Her hands trail the outline of the muscles in my abdomen as her eyes zone in on mine.

  “Your turn,” she purrs as she jerks on my waistline. I quickly help in that matter, sliding my shorts and boxers off in one swift motion. At the same time, she removes her panties. I have no idea how we did it that fast, but we did. Now, there’s nothing between us, just skin to skin. Allie rises up slightly, grabs my dick, then guides it into her. She’s only halfway down my shaft and I already feel like I’m going to explode.

  “God, you feel so good.” My hands reach up to cup her breasts in my hands as she slides all the way down to my balls. I feel her squeeze me as she raises up and the feeling is even stronger. If she doesn’t stop, I’m going to come…hard.

  I watch as her lips move up and down on me as she finds a steady pace. Thank God she waxes; I would hate not to be able to see this beautiful sight. Seeing my dick plunge deeper into her is probably the hottest thing I have ever seen. Okay, it is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Her lips wrapping around me, squeezing tighter as her impending orgasm begins to build.

  “Come for me. Let me know you want this.” I know she loves it when I talk like that to her, so I keep on wh
en I see her eyes roll back. My hands grip a little harder on her breasts, pinching her nipples as she slams back down on me. The way she rides me reminds me of a lap dance. She grinds her hips, making her breasts bounce up and down. I thrust up and meet her on her way down, and I feel that sweet spot, as does she.

  “Oh, shit, don’t stop. Please don’t stop. I’m so close.” Her words come out breathlessly and fast. She pants in between the words, so my hands reach around to her ass and help her move up and down, Her hands replace mine, grabbing her own chest as she pumps up and down until she falls off the edge. “Fuck!” I feel her detonate and she surrenders to her climax. She leans over and rests on my chest as she rides it out. “Wow.” That one single word explains it. But I’m not quite finished just yet.

  My lips find hers, gently at first, then passionately. Our tongues know each other well, but we don’t mind getting them reacquainted again. Before she can say a word, I have her on her back, never breaking our kiss. I feel her sink down in the mattress under my weight. My hands find her wrists and I pull them above her head. “Keep them there and don’t move them.” She nods slightly, then I kiss her one more time. Now it’s time to explore that bangin’ body.

  My mouth trails kisses from her lips to her neck, to her collar bone, to her breasts. I pull her left one in my mouth, my tongue swirling around the hardened nipple Her body bows upwards, but she listens and doesn’t move her hands. After a minute, I move on to the other, repeating my actions. Before long, I’m migrating south down to the sweetest taste on the fucking planet. As soon as my head makes it down there, her legs wrap around, trying to pull me in closer.

  “Patience is a virtue, baby. Let me savor you.”

  I pull her legs apart, softly stroking her inner thighs, feeling her muscles tense beneath my fingertips. I bring my lips against her clit and kiss her gently. Her entire body responds with an almost violent shiver and I feel a smile curl up on my face. I just love affecting her this way. Not that she isn’t affecting me right now…I’m pretty riled up myself, but I want to take my time to enjoy her.