30 Seconds (8 page)

****

She woke first thing in the morning. Her eyes were puffy and red. She wanted to pop them out of their eye sockets and scrub them clean. Even more, she wanted this to be over. She wanted to go back home, go back to work, and forget about Blake. If this wasn’t over soon, it would take a long time to repair the damage done to her heart.

She decided to take a shower and let the steady spray of hot water wash away the dried tears she could feel on her cheeks. Steam swooped around her as she lathered. The tension slipped off her body and down the drain where she hoped it felt at home in the sewer. She vowed that her heart, no matter how beat up and broken it got, wouldn’t end up there.

Blake’s words had hurt her, especially given the vicious way he had delivered them.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel tightly around her body to keep the hope she felt from floating away. In the mirror, she saw her flushed skin and her clear eyes. She nodded.
Screw the damsel in distress look. Screw the effects of a broken heart. This is not over yet!

She opened the door and froze as a wave of steam flowed over her. Blake was standing in front of her, shirtless. His chestnut curls were in sexy disarray. His eyes drifted lazily down her body, over the swell of her breasts to her legs. Under Blake’s hungry eyes, her body grew hot.

He took a step to where she was rooted in place. He put his hand on her wrist and slid his palm up her sleek arm. Her body quivered excitedly. She wanted to say his name, but was too weak to speak. He lifted his other hand, moved it slowly, sensuously, up her arm. He stepped closer and her lips parted. Inviting, ready, wanting.

Time seemed to stand still, even for just that moment. His arms and hands stopped their movement. Looking at her one more time, he moved her aside, stepped into the bathroom, and shut the door in her face.

She stood by the closed bathroom door feeling wounded. She was naked, wet from a shower, and wrapped in a towel, and Blake was still able to deny her. He may look at her with burning lust, but he didn’t want to act on it. He was a police officer through and through, from the tips of his lashes to the tips of his toes.

He could never love me.
She dressed and packed her bags. She couldn’t bear to stay there a moment longer. She scribbled a quick note and ran outside to the cab waiting for her.

“Where to?” the driver wanted to know.

“The closest motel.” Or cardboard box; she didn’t care as long as she wasn’t near Blake.

Chapter Seven

In a puff of exhaust, the cab was gone. Dani stood in the snow, staring at the motel stretched out on the sparkling blacktop. In the early morning sun, patches of snow glittered beautifully, but the motel looked like a dwarf’s dirty, little house. Heaving a sigh, she hefted her bag and trudged through the melting puddles of snow. A bell dinged, announcing her presence, when she opened the door to the lobby. A teenage boy with black eyeliner around blue eyes sat behind the counter, flipping through a comic book. He wore a name tag on his gothic T-shirt with Seth scribbled in permanent marker.

“Is that the thirty-fourth edition?” Her voice sounded a little loud in the quiet of the room.

The boy looked up. “How did you know?”

“Because it’s one of my favorites. When I was in high school, comics were all I ever read. My all-time favorites are Japanese female super heroes. The illustrations are amazing. I still buy comics when a good one comes out.” She shrugged. “I can’t help myself.”

They discussed comics for a good ten minutes and she realized how nice it was talking to someone different for a change. Someone who didn’t look at her like he wanted to make love to her in one moment then push her far away the next.

“Jeez. We’ve been talking about comics and I totally forgot about my job.” Seth smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” She hefted her bag from the floor. “I was having fun.”

“Well, I guess I should ask…are you checking in?” She smiled, opened her mouth to answer, but the rattle of bells interrupted her.

“No, she isn’t!” The door slammed behind Blake. In the next second, he was at her side, gripping her arm.

“What’s going on?” Seth said.

Blake flashed his badge. “Don’t worry about it.” He grabbed her bag from off the counter and forced her out the door with a bruising grip. Once they were outside, he released her arm and swung around, but she shoved him back a full step, catching him off guard.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She pushed him again. “You made me look like a criminal!” She gave him another hard shove.

“Will you stop?” he said, his own temper growing.

“No!” She went to shove him again, but he caught her wrists and backed her into the brick wall, pinning her arms against his solid chest. “Let go of me,” she growled.

“No,” he shot back.

“Damn you, Blake.”

“Watch what you say to me.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously. “Damn. You,” she seethed.

He clenched his teeth. “You left me a fucking note and came to the first motel you found. Don’t you realize Red can easily find you here and kill you?” His hands tightened on her shoulders then relaxed. His voice was softer when he spoke again. “Why’d you leave?”

“Because I wanted to.”

He shook his head. “That’s not good enough.”

“Because I had to,” she shouted. “Damn it, Blake, I love you. I’ve loved you since you made me that damned grilled cheese sandwich. I can’t be near you anymore knowing my feelings mean nothing to you, that there will never be anything between us, that the love I feel for you is worthless. It took me thirty seconds to fall in love with you, and it only took thirty seconds for me to realize you didn’t love me back!”

“The hell I don’t!” He pulled her to him and took her mouth with a hunger that made her head whirl. As much as she wanted to sink into his demands, she pushed him back again.

“You can’t say that and kiss me,” she told him. “Please don’t play with my feelings anymore.”

Cupping her face in his hands, all the harshness was gone. “Look into my eyes.”

She couldn’t resist bringing her gaze up to meet his. Looking deep within him, hope began to fill her.

“I love you, Dani. I’ve loved you from the moment you ran into my arms on the street corner. I fought against it, but I was in a losing battle. Every time I kissed you, it was exactly what I wanted. I hated myself after what I said to you yesterday. It was all a lie. I love you and I don’t want you to ever leave me again.”

She threw her arms around him and crushed her lips to his. Her hands went on a frenzy to touch hot skin as they pushed and pulled each other to the car. When Blake grabbed her and lifted her at the hips, she locked her legs around him and deepened the kiss.

He pressed her against the middle of the door, unzipped her jacket, and slipped his hands under her shirt, touching her hot skin. His hands molded over her breasts and his mouth trailed kisses over her neck and collarbone. She sighed in longing, arching against him.

Feeling movement between her legs, she pulled back just a bit and grinned. “I think we need to get home. Now.”

He rocked his hips, pressing his manhood into her. “I think you’re right.” But he didn’t move away from her. He lowered his mouth and began to suck on the sensitive spot just below her ear. All the while, his hips were rocking, intensifying the need within her.

She moved her hands to his hips and increased the speed of his movements. Her head fell back and she let out a moan. “Blake…” She tried very hard not to beg.

The electricity between them urged Blake to find his keys. He struggled to unlock the door. When it opened, he set Dani on her feet.

“Get in,” he told her, his voice deep with desire.

She scrambled into the car and he moved to the driver’s side. As soon as he took the seat, they were attacking each other again. “I have to drive,” he said with a groan.

“Drive quickly.” She put her hands on either side of his face. “But don’t get in a car accident.”

He controlled the steering wheel with a death grip as Dani sucked on his earlobe. He swerved past the curve and sped down the snowy lane to the lonely street his house lived on.

When she unbuttoned his pants, pulled down the zipper, and wrapped her hand around him, his foot slammed on the gas pedal urgently. He was hot and hard. She stroked him, causing him to moan, and her blood to simmer.

He whipped the wheel sharply. The car shot up the driveway. Jolting to a sharp stop, he shoved the car into park and looped his arms around her.

Dani laughed.

“You think that’s funny?” He nipped her bottom lip as his fingers worked to unbutton her pants. “Damn it, I can’t wait.” He took a condom from his wallet, rolled it on, and tore her underwear away while fighting to get closer to her in the cramped car.

She put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into his seat. “Neither can I,” she whispered. “You might want to move your seat back.”

He grabbed the lever under his seat and pulled it up. His seat slid back and she straddled him. With their eyes locked, she lowered onto his body. She purposefully went slowly so she could feel every centimeter of him as he went deeper and deeper inside her. She also wanted him to feel every inch of the space he filled.

She moved leisurely at first, letting the sensation build. When it became too unbearable, she moved faster until they were moving together in a flurry of moans and groans and gasps. She grasped his shoulders, sinking lower, moving quicker as he lifted higher, thrusting deeper.

Her moan filled the car and she leapt off the cliff of ecstasy with Blake.

Minutes later, she shuddered against him. She didn’t have the strength to move. She probably wouldn’t be able to walk for a week. When she could manage to speak, she said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” He whispered in her ear.

“For
that
.”

“No.” He pulled her back, looked into her eyes. “Don’t ever be sorry for that.”

“It was—”

“Amazing. I wanted you as badly as you wanted me. We weren’t going to get out of this car, and I knew it the moment I unlocked the door.” He touched her lips with his. “Baby, I love you.” He deepened the kiss. Her hands slid up and down his chest, his hands caressed her naked legs.

After a moment of tangled tongues and caresses, she felt him harden inside her. She pulled back with a smile. “Again?”

“Again and again,” he said. “But not in my car.”

“No.” She stared into his eyes. “I want to make love with you in your bed.”

She pulled away from him and slid into the passenger’s seat. As he zipped his pants, she tied her jacket around her waist and zipped it up, creating a makeshift skirt. She opened the car door and slipped out. The cold wind slithered between her legs, but nothing could cool her insides. She was about to make a dash for the door when Blake swept her up and took the steps in one giant leap. He carried her up the stairs to his room, laid her gently on his bed, and settled on top of her.

“Now it’s my turn,” he whispered in her ear. He pulled the sleeves to her jacket away from her waist and slid the zipper down, exposing her inch by inch, and revealing the small peace sign above her bikini line.

His fingers stroked her warm, wet flesh sending electricity shooting up her body. He dipped his fingers inside her, rubbed her soft interior. She rode the wave of pleasure until she could hold back no longer.

He took her mouth as his hands roamed over her body, starting a fire on her skin. When she groaned impatiently, she felt him slip inside her, as slowly as she had moved over him in the car. She thought she would go unconscious from the pleasure he created, but she came like a gunshot.

****

She slept as though she were in a coma, waking only when she felt Blake’s lips press against hers. “Mmm.” She welcomed the kiss.

“You’re so beautiful.”

She smiled groggily, opened her eyes, and frowned. He had on his uniform.

“I have to go to work,” he explained. “There will be a police car posted outside at all times while I’m gone.”

“What time is it?”

“Twelve.”

“Midnight twelve or noon twelve?”

He smiled down at her. “Noon.”

“When do you get off?”

“Nine.” He pinched her chin. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“You better.”

He gave her a long kiss. “Stay in bed where it’s warm.”

“Yes, sir.” She winked at him. “Have I ever told you how sexy you are in your uniform?”

“No.”

She eyed him up and down. “Well, you are.”

“Don’t look at me like that right now ’cuz I’d be tempted to stay. But do me a favor?” She nodded as he continued, “Keep that thought for when I return.” He planted a quick kiss on her lips and retreated.

Lying in bed, she listened to his boots on the stairs, to the door close, and to the dead bolt slide into place.

Chapter Eight

She was starving when she came down stairs after her shower. She fixed herself a hotdog topped with the works and a can of tomato soup with a spoonful of sour cream in the middle of the bowl. Full and content, she settled cross-legged on the couch with a tall, steaming cup of coffee and flipped through the channels. She grumbled. All that was on, at that time of day, were soap operas, talk shows, or game shows. None of them really appealed to her but she wanted to help the time pass. After a couple of flips through the channels, she settled on a popular soap with a ridiculously unrealistic storyline. In spite of herself, it consumed her attention in no time.