Exquisite Betrayal (10 page)

His face turns so red I think it’s going to
ignite. Shit. Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut. What if he
pulls over and dumps me out here in no man’s land?

However he shocks me when he says, “You’re
right. That was a shitty thing to do to you and I’m sorry.” I smile
to myself until I hear him say, “I shoulda just fucked your
eyeballs out and then left you standing there.”

That stings so badly it feels nearly
physical. I suck my breath in with the impact. “Of all the dirty
things
—
” He doesn’t let me
finish.

“
Seems to me, you’re the dirty one,
Fallon. What else do you want to play at here?”

With all the meanness I can muster, I say,
“How ‘bout you quit acting like a stupid shit and shut the hell up
for a bit.” My hand flies to my mouth, shocked that I just said
that. I peek at him and he looks frozen in place. I hope he can
drive safely like that.

I truly don’t understand why this whole
virginity thing is such a huge deal for him. Isn’t it the girl that
usually acts all hurt and everything? All I wanted to do was have
fun, and when I met him, I thought it had become a little more than
that. Yet, here he is, acting like an adolescent. I’m getting
angrier by the minute.

“
You certainly aren’t acting like
someone who’s been stepped on her whole life. In fact, if I were a
guessing bloke, I’d say
you
were the one who does the stepping. No damn wonder your mum
treats you the way she does.”

Now
that
was uncalled for. He’s just pissed me off
something fierce. Off come the boxing gloves ‘cause I’m getting
ready to go thermonuclear on this motherfucker. “Why you slimy,
teasing cockblocker. You wanna know something? I thought you were
the hottest thing these eyes have ever seen. And while you think
slamming me against that shower wall wasn’t romantic, in my book,
it was hot as fuck. Yeah, you heard right. I wanted you to slam
your dick into me like that. I wanted it bad and I was all about
you that way. Did you ever stop to think about
that
?

“
Why the hell do you think when you
asked if we could do it, I said, ‘yes?’ Because I wanted it that
way, you jerk-faced moron. It was hot, gritty, steamy sex. But what
do you do? You pop my cherry and then get offended. What the hell
is wrong with you? Are you from another planet? If I’m not all
weepy about it, what gives you the right to be? It was my goddamn
cherry and I had a right to do whatever I wanted with it. So stop
whining about it already and shut the fuck up.”

“
Wait a bloody minute. You think
simply because you waltz into my life, you can demand exactly how
we have sex and how you lose your virginity. I have a say in this,
too. It’s my damn dick that’s involved here.”

If I don’t get out of here soon, I’m going
to cram that holier than thou dick of his somewhere the sun never
shines.

“
Stop the car! I can’t deal with your
idiocy anymore,” I yell. This guy is a lunatic and what has me more
concerned is that I’m riding in his car, alone; going to his home,
alone. He is positively nuts.

“
No!”

“
Stop the fucking car or I swear to
God I’m gonna jump out of here!”

“
You wouldn’t do such a
thing.”

I open the car door. Okay, that’s not such a
good idea as we’re traveling at about seventy miles per hour. The
door nearly wrenches my arm off. I can’t hold onto it much longer
as I keep screaming. He slams on the brakes and we come to a
screeching halt.

I unbuckle my seat belt and jump out of the
car. I forget about my stupid foot and tumble flat on my face,
kissing the hot pavement. My palms break my fall, but I get road
rash in the process and my chin takes a hit, too. I don’t give a
crap about that, though. I’m up and moving, trying to get away from
Psycho-Ryland. This dude is infuriating and annoying as hell, and I
can’t deal with this right now.

I hear his footsteps behind me, and when I
feel his hands on me, I start screaming, “Get your stupid hands off
me!”

“
Bloody hell. Stop yelling.” His hands
release me and I start moving again. He’s right next to me asking,
“Where are you going?”

I don’t answer. I want to pretend he’s not
here. He’s a vile creature. And to think that, only this morning, I
was panting and moaning with his mouth on my hoo-hah. Holy hell! I
shudder at the thought.

“
You can’t stay out here, Fallon. It’s
going to be dark in an hour and then what?” Somehow, his words
penetrate my addled mind. What
will
I do? “And your foot; it’s probably bleeding again. Come on.
Get back in the car.”

I stop and look at him square in the face.
This whole interaction has hit me so hard I’m trembling. “I can’t
get back in that car with you. You freak the shit out of me. You’re
crazy. And you’re mean. Plain old mean and nasty. And stupid. Yeah,
you’re stupid, too. And extra dumb.” I’m yelling at him,
panting.

His lips pinch together. He says nothing,
though he does bob his head up and down one time. So we stand
there, looking around like two idiots. I don’t want to break the
silence because I’m afraid of what our next confrontation will be
like. Why does he make me say these crazy things? In fairness, he’s
not the only crazy one. I’m acting bat-shit crazy, too. I don’t
ever scream at people like this. I rub my neck, roll it on my
shoulders and groan.

“
So, ah, what do you suggest we
do?”

I look at him. I honestly can’t come up with
a thing.

“
I don’t know,” I mutter. One thing’s
for sure. My foot is bleeding. The pavement’s melting. I’m hot and
thirsty, too.

Why are women so damn hard to figure out?
Now I’ve freaked her out. Like I’d ever harm a bloody fly. Me, the
kid who brought all the wounded animals home and nursed them back
to health. And now she’s afraid I’ll hurt her. If this situation
weren’t so damn bizarre, I’d laugh.

Finally, I persuade her to get back in the
car, however she’s so suspicious of every move I make, I want to
laugh. “Fallon, I promise, I’m not going to hurt you.”

She shakes her head. Her body is quivering
like a trapped creature. It’s difficult to distinguish whether it’s
from fear or anger, but I don’t dare ask and risk her trying to
bail out of the car on the open highway again. She’s extremely
pissed off at me. I wish Tilly could see this. On second thought,
scratch that. She’d flay me alive for the way I spoke to her,
particularly that comment about her mum. That was the lowest
possible blow.

The cooler is in the back so I rifle through
the ice and hand her a bottle of water while she keeps her eyes on
me like I have a weapon and I’m going to stab her or something.

“
Fallon, I’m not gonna hurt you. I
swear it.”

She grits out, “Okay, let’s get this
straight. I’m not afraid of you. I’m pissed off as hell. You are a
first class, psycho assface. I’m sorry I came to Vegas. I’m sorry I
lost my purse. I’m sorry for a lot of things. Most of all, I’m
sorry I ever met you.”

And that is it. She never says another word
for the rest of the night, so I give up trying to engage her after
several attempts. I figure it’s better this way. At least we’ve
stopped wounding each other with our spiteful words.

It’s after midnight when I finally pull into
my driveway. Fallon is asleep and I’m half tempted to let her sleep
the night in the car. My conscience won’t allow me to do that, yet
it’s a nice thought anyway. I walk inside and check out the guest
room, just to make sure everything is in order before I carry her
up. She never stirs, even when I tuck her into the cool sheets. For
a few minutes, I stare at her and allow myself to imbibe in her
astonishing beauty.

She’s curled on her side with her glorious
hair fanning out across the pillow. Unable to resist, I pick a lock
of it up and rub it between my thumb and index finger, delighting
in its silken texture. If only we could start over, I’d make her
first time memorable and filled with gentleness and not pain. The
sound of her voice screaming, “Ow,” reverberates through my head.
It chills me and makes me sick to my stomach that I caused her
pain.

Why can’t she see my side of things? If only
I could explain to her the amount of bloody self-control it took to
pull out of her. Christ, the way she felt. It was like a slice of
paradise I’ve never known.

Eventually, I back out of the room and close
the door.

***

The morning comes all too soon. When I hear
a tapping at my door, it confuses me for a moment. “Yeah?”

“
Um, do you mind if I use your
phone?”

Shit. I’d forgotten all about Fallon. “Not
at all. Help yourself.”

“
I don’t know where it is.”

As I scrub my face, I say, “There’s one in
my office. Main level, off the great room.”

The clicking and thumping of her crutches
down the hall tells me she’s gone. A doctor should probably examine
her foot today, as I’m sure she tore her stitches out. Then it
strikes me. Oh shit! She’s going to see everything in my office! I
zoom out of bed and head down the hall before I realize I’m stark,
bollock naked. Backtracking, I get dressed and get to my office in
record time.

Too late. She’s standing there with a dazed
grin that stretches from ear to ear. I’ve never seen her smile like
this.

“
Why didn’t you tell me you were a
fan?” She’s awed.

Fan? I want to laugh. “I don’t know.
Probably because most men don’t read romance novels?”

“
Oh my God. I’m so freakin’ jealous.
You have every book, every release, paperback and hardback. Are
they all signed?”

“
Sadly, no.” Why would I keep signed
copies of my own books?

“
But still, you have a treasure trove
here. I mean, I would trade anything for this. Do you mind?” She is
gaga over them and is asking permission just to touch them. Jesus,
I know she loves my stuff, but this is an over the top kind of
love.

“
Have at it.”

“
This is my favorite.
Lovers Between the Sheets.
” She
picks it up and holds it reverently in her arms. “Oh God, I can’t
tell you how many times I’ve read this. Probably a dozen at least.
At the end, when he hands her the sheet of music with his proposal
written in the song, I so lost it. I think I went through an entire
box of tissues.”

“
You liked that, huh?”

“
Liked it? Hell, no! I
loved
it. I freakin’ adored it. It
was the most romantic thing
ever.
That book stayed with me for
weeks
. I couldn’t sleep at night thinking of
Willow and everything she had been through. And then Jack.” She
takes this giant breath and sighs. “R.T. Sinclair is positively
brilliant. I live and breathe for her books, I tell
you.”

Now I have a new appreciation for the way a
fan loves an author. I can only smile at her because I realize her
fresh and honest words, straight from her heart, have made me
happy.

“
What?” She’s giving me a curious
look.

“
What?”

“
You’re laughing at me, aren’t you?”
Her eyes cloud with suspicion and that fresh-faced sweetness that
was there is covered up with something called distrust.

“
No, I’m not laughing at you at all.
I’m admiring the way you’re so passionate about this. I think it’s
quite refreshing.”

She relaxes a bit, yet that beautiful
creature who is so in love with my works, is now shielded from me.
I want her back. “I love R.T. Sinclair, too. And I agree.
Lovers Between the Sheets
is
her best work. I’m hoping for a sequel.” I’m trying to hint
to her that I’m writing that very sequel right now.

“
No
, that
would be so wrong! It ended on such a good note. I don’t want it
ruined by all that angst and tension between the two characters.
With that book, I want the characters to march into the sunset, get
married, have lots of babies and live happily ever
after.”

My face falls. That’s not anything close to
what I have in mind for Jack and Willow. If she only discovers that
Jack cheats and Willow leaves him, she’ll die and hate me forever.
Maybe I need to change my plans.

“
You okay?” Now she’s the one looking
at me with a curious expression. Tilly always tells me I wear
everything on my face and I guess Fallon has picked it
up.

“
I’m fine. I was just thinking you
need to call your state agency for your ID.”

“
Oh, yes! Phone.”

“
Over there,” I direct her.

She makes the call and they inform her they
need certain documentation to send her a replacement.

***

A couple of days pass and our unspoken truce
has now developed into more of a friendship of sorts. We’re sharing
laughs and becoming more and more comfortable around each other.
It’s funny when I realize it’s all the result of her love for my
books. We truly do have a lot in common as we begin to open the
doors to this odd relationships of ours.

Her foot’s been re-doctored by my physician
and I’m keeping her off it while she waits for her new credit card
to arrive, but still no word on her purse. When she called her boss
at the deli, he said he’d hold her job for a week, but then he
would have to fill it.