Tryst (11 page)

For some reason seeing him
not care I left wasn’t something I wanted to observe.

Talie

A couple days passed peacefully. I spent time walking along the shores, browsing through the little beach shops and tanning in the sand.

Considering the awful luck I’d been having, everything was perfect.

Except for one thing.

My body turned against me. I craved him. I’d always been a fairly sexual person, enjoying the act and the pleasure that came from it. But it was as if Gavin had awakened some sort of slumbering nympho.

Almost obsessively,
I thought about the time he spent inside me. Every time the breeze brushed roughly against my skin, I thought of his hands. Every time the water caressed my ankles, I thought about his mouth on my breast. When the sun would beat down on my body as I sunbathed, I thought about the heat he instilled in his kiss.

I pretty much walked around in a knot of sexual need. The problem with one
-night stands was that they were only one night. It wasn’t enough. One night with him was like a tease. Torture at its best. I was supposed to be here, thinking about my life, deciding where to go from here, but instead, all I could think about was how it felt to have his pulsing stiff cock inside me.

I was a slut.

A dirty ho.

I liked it.

Just as I was walking in from the beach, I heard my cell ringing on the counter. I tossed down my towel and rushed to grab it. On my way past, I saw Salty, who gave me a look that promised death later. “Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ll be out of here tomorrow.”

“Hey,” I answered breathless.

“Are you avoiding me?” Claire demanded on the other end of the line.

“Why would I be doing that?” I replied, w
andering over to the fridge for a bottle of water.

“Because I’ve called you twice today and you haven’t bothered to pick up the line!”

“Have you?” I asked, holding the phone away from my ear and glancing at the darkened screen. “I was down on the beach and left my phone in the house.”

“I called a couple days ago too.”
She sniffed.

That was the morning I was at Gavin’s. I didn’t call her back because I spent the rest of that day in some kind of after-sex haze.

“Sorry. What’s up?”

“Blake’s looking for you.”

Just the mention of his name brought down my mood. I don’t know what it said about me, but this past week at the beach, I barely thought of him. It was like I didn’t miss him at all. If anything, I felt slightly relieved he wasn’t around. Turns out living with him was unknowingly stifling.

“Did he call you?”

“He came to the apartment.”

“I’m sorry
.” I sighed. I really didn’t think he would come looking. He was the type of guy that would want me to come back to him.

“I had to tell him that you left town
,” Claire said. “He wasn’t happy. Not at all.”

“Well
, now he knows how I felt when I caught him in bed with lopsided Barbie.”

“Lopsided Barbie?” she asked
. I could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Never
mind,” I muttered. “Did you tell him where I was?”

“No.
He wasn’t happy about that either.”

“Did he threaten you?” I asked sharply.

There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line. “No.” Then she said, “Talie… Did he threaten you? Is he abusive?”

“No!” I said swiftly. “No, he’s never laid a hand on me. Not that way.” Blake was a lot of crappy things
, but he didn’t abuse me. “I just… I know how he can be when he gets angry. His reputation means everything to him.”

“Yeah
, I got that. I guess word got out about your separation. People are talking. His dad isn’t happy.”

I sighed. I was hoping it would be a while before people found out. I knew it was just wishful thinking. Raleigh wasn’t a small town, but for the people who were born and raised there
, it was a tightknit community.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I’ll be home tomorrow and you won’t have to deal with him again.”

“You can’t come home,” Claire said immediately.

“What? Why not?”

“He wants you back. He even had roses. At first, I thought it was sweet, and he laid on the charm, making me think he really had thought things through and decided not to be the world’s biggest douche.”

The last time Blake brought me roses was almost a year ago, on his way home from some business trip. A business trip Barbie went on with him. They probably spent more time in his hotel room than working
, and those stupid roses were his way of trying to make it up to me.
Jackass.

“But you changed your mind?” I asked.

“Once he realized you weren’t there and his smooth talking and flowers weren’t going to score him any points, he dropped the charm. He demanded to know where you were. When I refused to tell him, he said he would find out on his own. Then he stormed out.”

“I can’t believe he thinks I would stay with him.” I sighed. “He doesn’t respect me at all, Claire.”

“He acted like he owned you. Like your whereabouts was something he was entitled to.”

“Oh
, he definitely thinks he’s entitled to me. Apparently, that was the price I paid when he gave me his name.”

“Joanna’s called me too.”

I groaned.

“Jack filed the papers and she’s upset about it.”

“She’ll get over it.”

Claire paused. “Look, my Aunt Ruth still isn’t cleared to be home by herself. She plans on staying with my parents at least another week, maybe two. Stay there
. Let Blake and Joanna come to terms with your separation. Another week or two will be good for everyone.”

“Do you think I’m running away?” I asked, suddenly feeling like a chicken for coming here to hide.

She made a sound. “No. I think your life turned upside down, and you’re taking a timeout, a breather so you don’t end up on one of those god-awful reality shows about desperate housewives.”

I laughed. “I don’t feel like I’m running away, you know? But it feels good to not have to live up to Blake and Joanna’s standards.”

“Your sister totally belongs in that movie
The Stepford Wives.
”

I grinned. Claire was right.

“Take this time, Talie. When you get back, you’ll be getting another job, getting a place of your own, and returning to the real world. Play hooky as long as you can. Being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Of their own accord
, my eyes drifted toward the window and out at Gavin’s house. My libido kicked up and the prospect of even just one more encounter with him was enough to make me want to stay.

“I guess someone needs to feed Salty.” I reasoned.

“You two getting along better?”

I laughed. “Hell no. But Aunt Ruth would feel better if someone was here to look after him.”

“Absolutely.” I had no idea if she was agreeing because it was true or if she was just letting me convince myself to stay.

“Okay, tell Ruth I’ll stay another week.”

“I will. And Talie?”

“Hmm?”

“Next time I call, answer the damn phone.”

Talie

It felt good to be able to stay here. In truth, I wasn’t ready to go home. Being at the beach was relaxing, and despite everything going on in my life at home, I felt utterly at ease here.

With an extra spring in my step
, I went to change out of my sand-ridden bathing suit. As soon as I turned on the bathroom light, I noticed I didn’t do a very good job applying sunblock. My shoulders and back were very red. Thankfully, my face wasn’t burned because when I wasn’t wearing my hat, I was lying facedown, which kept most the sun off my face.

I took a cool shower, grimacing when the spray hit the sun-scorched area. I was going to be hurting later. The jellyfish sting on my lower arm and wrist was healing nicely. The rash wasn’t nearly as red as before
and the pain was gone. I’d been applying hydrocortisone cream to the area, and it was helping.

Once the sand was rinsed away and I felt refreshed
, I climbed out and dried, slipping into a short, white cotton dress. It showed off my newly tanned limbs from spending so much time in the sun. I forwent a bra because I was afraid the straps would hurt my burn.

After combing a bit of mousse into my hair
, I left it to air dry. The shorter length was so much easier and I hadn’t realized my hair had natural body to it. All this time, I kept it too long, constantly blowing it out, fighting against the frizz, when really, if I’d left it alone, I might have realized the strands would dry into effortless waves.

Maybe the rest of my life was like that
. Maybe I spent too long trying too hard, forcing things to be a certain way and never quite achieving happiness. Maybe if I’d taken a step back, I would have realized if my life was supposed to be that way, it wouldn’t have been such a fight. It wouldn’t have been so hard.

My stomach growled and I went into the kitchen and pulled a small packet of preformed hamburgers out of the fridge. I didn’t cook much, but a grilled burger out on the deck sounded pretty darn good.

I laid the meat on the counter and went outside and uncovered a small grill that was stuffed back in the very corner of the deck. Judging from the looks of it, Aunt Ruth hardly ever used it. Thankfully, there was a gauge on the side of the propane tank signaling there was more than enough propane for grilling.

After setting
aside the grill cover, I opened the tank and checked under the hood. The racks were blackened from use and the interior was small and slightly grimy.

The heat would loose
n up the worst of the grime and then I could scrape it down before adding the burgers. I turned on the pilot light and closed the lid. Then I struck the igniter button and turned on all the valves, keeping them on high to blast the inside with sanitizing flames.

While that was burning
, I rummaged in the kitchen until I found her grill brush. Back at the tank, I opened the lid only to frown. The thing never lit! “Stupid grill,” I muttered, leaning down to make sure I did have the tank open and there was enough fuel.

Yes and yes. So I hit the igniter button again, listening to it catch. No flames. I smelled the propane, but for some reason it wasn’t lighting. After a few more failed attempt
s, I growled and stomped into the kitchen to get the lighter I saw in a drawer. It was the kind with the long black nose. I remember as a kid we had an old grill and my dad would use his lighter and stick it up from the underside to light the flame.

Couldn’t be that hard.

I left the grill lid open and bent under, looking for the little area to stick the lighter. When I found it, I turned on the gas and stuck it up inside. I stood to see if it was working when a great whoosh and blast of heat exploded right in front of me.

“Ahh!” I yelled and stumbled back as a huge burst of flames shot up from inside the grill. They raged with a ferocity I couldn’t understand as I sat there on my butt on the floor of the deck
, looking up at the growing yellow and red blaze.

I jumped to my feet and reached for the lid to close it and smother the flames. Only
, the fire was much too high for me to reach the lid. I stood there in growing horror as the fire took on a life of its own. If I didn’t do something fast, I was going to reduce poor Aunt Ruth’s beach house to ash!

I tossed
aside the lighter and ran into the house to look under the sink for a fire extinguisher. Of course there wasn’t one. So I spent precious moments searching and coming up empty. In a last-ditch effort, I grabbed a box of baking powder and a couple bottles of water and prayed it would be enough.

The heat from the fire was intense and the sunburn on my skin
felt tight as my body grew hot. The wind from the water was only feeding the flames, and I watched in horror as the grill’s cover lying just below somehow caught and started to burn.

I opened a bottle of the water and dumped it on the cover
. The flames extinguished a little, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop them completely.

I heard a shout behind me, but I was too busy freaking out to look. I ripped open the box of baking powder and started flinging it everywhere. It fell around me like heavy snow.

Some of the flames began to lessen and my forehead broke out in a grimy sweat.

A flash of movement from the other side of the flames caught my eye
, and then the sound of a fire extinguisher depressing its foam-like material filled my ears. I watched as the white foamy spray smothered the insistent flames and coated everything around me and the grill.

When the fire was out
, I breathed a sigh of relief and looked up.

Gavin was standing there in nothing but a pair of those tight boxer briefs
, wielding the red can like he was some kind of badass.

“Are you trying to burn down the house!” he roared.

I threw up my hands. I so didn’t need this right now. “Yes, that’s exactly what I was trying to do!” I spat.

“What the hell were you doing
?” he said, dropping the can at his feet. “What kind of idiot turns all the burners to high and then lights a grill?”

“Don’t you talk to me like that!” I clutched the baking soda box and remaining bottle of water.

He stalked around the mess and grabbed at the bottle and box. “This is the best you could do?” he cracked. “Honey, you are a danger to yourself and this entire beach!”

His words hurt me. Made me feel stupid. “I didn’t ask you to come running over here!” I roared, drawing myself up to my full height. “I can take care of myself!”

Gavin dumped the bottle and box onto the deck and grabbed me, yanking me roughly into his arms. His mouth descended immediately and something in the back of my head shouted,
Yes!
The kiss was rough and demanding. My hands rushed over his body, trying to take in everything it could feel. I gripped at his arms, hanging on for dear life, refusing to break the kiss.

Gavin reached around and palmed my butt, lifting me so my legs wrapped around his waist. I growled in the back of my throat when I felt the evidence of his arousal against
my core. Without breaking the kiss, he stepped around the mess and carried me into the house.

As soon as the sliders were shut behind us, he slammed me up against the wall, using his body to pin me there as he reached down and lifted the hem of my dress. Both my hands were clutched in his hair, holding him tightly as my mouth explored his.

His skin was cool from being inside with the air-conditioning, and it felt like a breath of fresh air against my overheated frame. Once my dress was around my waist, he shoved his boxers down and thrust into me in one hard movement.

I cried out as he speared me with his unyielding rod. Goose
bumps erupted over my entire body as he lifted me at the waist, moving me up and down along his shaft.

My nails clawed at the back of his shoulders
, and I leaned forward and fastened my lips on the skin just beneath his neck. Little mewling sounds came out of me as he impaled me over and over again. I grew taut, strung tight, as my body begged for release.

Both Gavin’s hands slapped the wall on either side of my head
, and I tightened my thighs around him. My back slid up the wall as he surged into me, and a shout tore from his throat. God, the feeling of him quivering inside me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

I ground down on him, so close to release
, but not quite there. Gavin sensed my desperation and reached between us, pinching my enlarged, throbbing clit, and I broke apart. My teeth sank into the flesh of his shoulder as I rode the wave of release.

I collapsed against his chest, my cheek lying flat against him as I gasped for precious breath. He chuckled and wrapped his strong arms around me, supporting all my weight.

I could still feel him inside me and I closed my eyes, trying to memorize the way he felt. I knew in just mere seconds he would pull away. He would likely act like nothing happened, like what we just did wasn’t a big deal.

It wasn’t.

Was it?

I think maybe it was.

I think maybe I wanted more.

Oh
, hell. I didn’t think. I knew I wanted more.

To my intense surprise
, he didn’t put me on my feet. He didn’t pull out of me. Instead, he walked over to the couch and sat down, keeping us connected. I kept my cheek on his shoulder, not ready to look up into his eyes. I wasn’t ready to confirm how little this meant to him, not after I admitted I wanted more.

His hand rubbed up my back and across the sunburn. I flinched. He stilled and I felt his head look down. He sighed heavily. “You got a sunburn?”

“It was an accident.” I defended.

“You really are a disaster waiting to happen
,” he said. It was without heat, though, without malice. It almost sounded like it caused him regret. I started to lift my head to ask him what it meant when I heard him mutter, “I won’t be around to watch.”

He lifted me off him and sat me on the couch. In one quick movement
, he yanked down my dress and covered up his privates.

The next sound I heard was the door closing quietly behind him.