Serving Pride (7 page)

“You’ve changed a
lot since the last time I saw you,” he said over dinner. They were
seated at a little place right along the beach. The dim lights and
soft music added to the atmosphere. It was just what he’d
wanted.

“Really?” She
smiled at this and for a second he thought she had a secret she was
hiding from him.

“Yes.” He leaned
over and grabbed her hand across the table. He liked seeing the
spark in her eyes when he touched her. “You seem more courageous.
More…” He didn’t have the words.

“It might have
something to do with the fact that I’ve taken Judo since the last
time you saw me. After what happened, I wanted to make sure I could
protect myself.”

“Wow, Judo?” He
smiled as he thought about it, and he found himself getting more
turned on by her. In New Mexico he’d trained in Judo and Tae Kwon
Do, as well as attending a few boxing classes. He’d also had some
gun classes that he had to stay up with. It had seemed at times
that he spent more time attending classes than searching for his
mother.

“What do you plan
on doing now that you’re home?” he asked on the way back to town.
He hating thinking that the evening was coming to an end and tried
to drive as slowly as he could.

“Well, I’ve applied
for a job at the veterinary clinic in town. Hopefully I will get
it. After that, I hadn’t really thought about it. How about
you?”

“I’ve decided to
run for sheriff next year. I’ve been looking at a few houses around
town to purchase.”

“Really? Which
houses?”

“I can drive you by
the one I’ve been thinking about signing the dotted line on. That
is, if you don’t mind giving me your opinion.”

“That would be
fun.” She sat up a little straighter in her seat and actually
looked excited.

“I still have the
code to the front door, so we can take a tour inside,
too.”

“Really? They let
you walk around without someone being there?”

He laughed at her.
“Remember, town sheriff here.”

She smiled at him.
“I almost forgot.”

When he drove up
the steep driveway, he was once again impressed by the place. The
log cabin look had caught his eye right away. Tonight the front
porch lights had been left on and the place seemed to
glow.

The wide front
porch looked inviting and he could just imagine himself sitting out
there on a large swing, maybe watching a couple of dogs play in the
front yard. The nearest neighbor was about a quarter of a mile down
the road, but he didn’t mind; he liked the solitude. The inside had
recently been remodeled and it shined and looked brand
new.

After parking in
front of the oak garage
doors, he walked around to open Amelia’s
door.

“Oh, I can’t
believe how lovely it is. I’ve never been up here before. I suppose
there are other houses in town that I’ve never seen, but I can’t
believe I didn’t know this one was here.”

He followed her up
onto the deck, but instead of going to the front door, she stood
and looked out into the dark yard, leaning on the
railing.

“I bet you can see
the ocean from here.” She turned and looked at him. He nodded his
head in agreement.

“Yes, just through
those trees there, but I had planned on trimming them down a bit so
the view was unhindered.”

“Wonderful. It’s so
far up here in the hills, too, yet still just two minutes to
town.”

He smiled. “Yes,
that’s why I think I chose it. And you should see the master
bathroom.” He walked to the door and entered the code in the keypad
and tried the door. It opened quietly.

“Good, I remembered it correctly. Come on, I’ll give you the
tour.”

She walked up to
him and smiled. “Who used to live here?”

“Well, the last
couple that lived here had moved to Pride from Portland two years
ago. I guess they decided the slow life was too slow and moved back
to
the
city
. Before that, I’m not
sure.”

She walked into the
entryway and he followed. There was a large sunken living room and
the spacious kitchen was off the back to one
side.

“It has four
bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. But the best part is the
unfinished basement. Come check it out.” He opened a door and they
walked down the stairs together.

“I plan on building
it out, maybe put in a large recreation room, a pool table, a large
screen television, maybe even a built-in bar over there.” He was
caught up in the image; he could imagine it
all.

“Robert, I think
it’s absolutely wonderful.” She walked up and placed a soft kiss on
his lips.

Seeing her walk to
him in that dress did something to him, and he couldn’t stop
himself from pulling her back to him and resting his mouth tenderly
on hers.

“Just one more.” He
rubbed his lips over her soft mouth and felt like he was on fire.
Slowly he backed her up until she was against the wall as he
continued to kiss her.

“Mmm, I can’t
believe you feel so good,” he moaned into her neck as she grabbed
him for support. Then she was pushing his jacket off his shoulders
and running her hands over his arms. He held onto her hips and
tried to fight the urge to rip the dress from her tight body. When
she started undoing his buttons, he stopped her hands with
his.

“Amelia, I don’t …
I can’t…”

“Please, Robert, I
want this.” He’d imagined being with her a million times, but in an
unfinished basement was not what he’d planned. Which didn’t mean he
couldn’t enjoy her for a little while longer.

Running his hands
up her arms, he cuffed her wrists with his hands and pulled them
over her head against the wall. Her breasts pushed out towards him
and he dipped his head to kiss a trail along the low line of her
dress. Moving her wrists to one of his hands, he slowly pulled her
dress down until she was exposed for his view. His hand traveled
down the smooth line of her body
as he licked his way from one breast to
the other. When he reached the line of her skirt with his hand, he
felt her soft skin and pushed the material up until she was
exposed.

He ran his hand up the inside of her thigh and felt her quiver as
he sucked lightly on her nipple. His fingers inched up until he
cupped her through her silky panties. He could feel her getting wet
in his hands and almost lost control. Her wrists were still cuffed
above her head in his hand and he had no intention of letting her
go. He wanted to be in control, he wanted to make her
come.

Using his thumb, he
pushed her panties aside and rubbed his fingers over the soft skin
underneath. She bowed her back against the wall and gasped when he
plunged a finger into her heat.

“Please, Robert,”
she moaned as he worked his fingers across her, enjoying the slick
sounds of her excitement. He used his legs and knees to spread her
legs wider, so she stood pinned against the wall, unable to do
anything but enjoy his private torture.

He moved back up
and took her mouth with his, enjoying her moans and gasps as he
pleasured her. She tried to get out of his grip, so he moved a
little closer and pinned her with his body, easily snuffing out her
ability to touch him. He wouldn’t be able to control himself if she
touched him again, and he needed to be in
control.

“Robert, I
can’t…”

“Go ahead, let go,
no one will hear you. God! I want you so bad.” He couldn’t control
himself; he dipped his head and took her nipple into his mouth
again as she screamed out his name.

T
he drive back to
her house was a quiet one. She couldn’t believe she’d just done
that with him in someone else’s home. When she looked over at him,
she could tell he was still wound up. She felt bad, but he had told
her he couldn’t handle her touching him. Not
yet.

She smiled again
thinking that soon they had to arrange a time to be
alone.

“When is your next
day off?”

He looked at her
and smiled. “Next Tuesday.”

“Hmm, maybe I can
plan our outing next time.”

“You didn’t like
the dinner?” She watched his eyebrows crinkle.

“Oh, no! I loved
it. I especially enjoyed seeing the house. I was just thinking
about maybe doing something special for you.”

“Amelia, you don’t
have to do anything special.” He pulled into her mother’s drive and
when he cut the engine, he turned and looked at her and pulled her
closer. “I just want to be with you.” He kissed her again and she
knew she couldn’t get enough of him.

Finally she pulled
back and smiled up at him. “I still want to plan something. Make
sure you dress warm and bring a jacket. I’ll pick you up around
ten.” She started to get out of the car.

“Wait,” he reached
for his door handle.

“No, you don’t have
to walk me to the door. Besides, if my mother answered, how would
you explain that?” She smiled and nodded towards his crotch and the
bulge in his pants.

He laughed. “Fair
enough. Good night.”

Amelia did
everything she could to fill her time until she saw Robert again.
She visited the Jordan’s at the hospital, where Iian had woken a
few days earlier. When she walked into the room to visit, Lacey had
informed her of his condition.

“He’s having some
difficulty hearing. They’re still running some tests, but it seems
to be permanent.” She could see the struggle in her friend’s face.
She sat with Lacey for a few hours while Iian rested. She
remembered him as a scrawny kid who had always been underfoot when
she had spent the night at her friends. But now his feet almost
hung off the hospital bed. He still looked skinny and with all the
injuries, he looked pale and weak.

After a few hours
of visiting with Lacey, a tall man with curly blonde hair and
wire-rimmed glasses came in with Todd.

“Amelia, this is
Matthew Kimble. He’s our neighbor and friend.” She shook his hand
and watched as he walked over to Iian’s bed and wrote something on
the notepad they were using to communicate with him. She quietly
excused herself and hugged Lacey, promising she’d be back later in
the week to visit again.

She had a few
friends in Pride and had made a point to visit each of them, but
felt closest to Lacey now, especially since they’d both just lost
their fathers.