Devil's Ride (9 page)

              The hotel room door slammed shut.

              "Joe?" She called out again. This time, poking her head out the bathroom door. He was gone. Panicked, she ran to the door and opened it, but he wasn't there. She turned and ran to the window to look out, but didn't see him there yet.

              "Please, tell me you didn't leave me here," she muttered under her breath, looking for any sign that he had left her for good. His luggage was still in the closet. She nearly cried at the sight of it. "Thank God!"

              *

                Alessandra's tear stained face surprised Sammi when she opened the door.

              "What happened, sweetheart?" Sammi pulled Alessandra into her room, shouting at Robert in the bathroom, "Don't come out naked unless you want Alessandra to fall in love with you too."

              Robert poked his head out of the bathroom. "I thought she already was in love with me." He looked at Alessandra's face and quickly closed the door. "I'll be in here, if you need me."

              "I'm so sorry to bother you, Sam, but I didn't know what else to do. It's been four hours," Alessandra explained, her voice breaking.

              Confused, Sammi asked, "Four hours for what?"

              "Joe left. He walked out four hours ago when I was getting ready to take a shower."

              "Left? Where did he go?" Sammi motioned for Alessandra to sit.

              "I don't know. He's barely talking to me. He won't look at me. He won't touch me. He just walked out and left me there." Alessandra put her head in her hands.

              Sammi was dumbfounded. She'd known Joe a long time and knew how much he cared about Alessandra. She had no idea what to say to her.

              "Rob!" Sammi shouted, getting up, walking to the bathroom. "Have you heard from Joe?"

              Robert opened the door, a towel draped around his slim waist. "No. Why? What's up?"

              "He left Alessandra."

              "What? What do you mean he left? Left to where? When?" Robert searched through his suitcase for a pair of pants and slipped them on.

              Alessandra stood up, feeling like she intruded. "Sorry. It's okay. Really. He'll be back. He just needed some time to cool off."

              Sammi called back after her. "No. Let me get dressed. We'll find him. Did he take his suitcase with him? Is the car still here?"

              Robert looked out the window. The car was still where they'd left it.

              "He probably took his bike. He'll be back. You bruised his ego, but he'll recover. He loves you. Never stops talking about you. It does something to a man when his girl, gets a little too close to another guy." Robert looked into Alessandra's eyes. "Give him time. You hungry? We're going to go eat. We kind of worked up an appetite."

              *

               The whole town came to life. Everywhere Alessandra looked there were throngs of people, talking, laughing, drinking and having the time of their lives. She hadn't heard from Joe in over ten hours and lost all hope that she would anytime soon.

              After a day of playing the third wheel to Sammi and Robert, she was ready to go to her room and cry the night away. When Joe left earlier in the day, she thought she'd hit an all-time low in their relationship, but now with hours to think about how bad things had become, she realized that she was sinking further and further into the abyss of the unknown relationship status.

              Part of her wanted to be angry at him for failing to communicate with her and for sulking like a spoiled child, but another part --- a larger part of her - felt like she'd brought all this on herself. What was supposed to be a wonderful trip took yet another drastic turn and twice in less than a year Devon Matthews had managed to ruin her vacation. Just like Florida, she was alone and confused.

              "I hope that pout is because you miss me?" Devon whispered in her ear.

              Alessandra nearly dropped her drink on the table at the sound of his voice.

Sammi turned around, choking on her drink.

Robert jumped to her aid, surprised to find a man standing behind Alessandra.

              "Hey, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," Devon apologized to Sammi and Robert. "Congratulations."

              Robert's eyes grew cold as he assessed the tall, muscular man. "Yeah. Thanks," he said, dryly.

              "Mind if I take a seat?" Devon sat down, pulling his chair closer to Alessandra before anyone had a chance to protest. "What are you drinking? I'll buy you another round?" He motioned for the scantily clad waitress to come to the table. "Get them another round on me."

              She flashed a big, toothy smile and winked. "Sure will, hot stuff."

              "Thanks, babe," Devon answered, winking back at her.

              Annoyed, Alessandra asked, "What are you doing?"

              "Ordering drinks. I know her." He thought that's what Alessandra was annoyed by.

              "No. What are you doing
here
?" Alessandra asked, emphasizing her point.

              He licked his lips, his eyes boring into hers, sending rampant waves of pleasure down her spine. "Spending time with you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

              Ignoring the warmth searing through her body, Alessandra answered through clenched teeth, "I never said that. You need to go."

              The waitress stepped in between them, making a point to rub her leg on Devon's. "Here you guy, sweetheart."

              Devon placed his hand on her hip, holding a one-hundred-dollar bill in between his fingers. "Thank you, sexy."

              Alessandra pushed her chair back and stood up. "I'll be back," she said to Sammi.

              "Wait! I'm coming with you." Sammi got up to follow her, leaving Robert and Devon alone at the table.

              Alessandra felt her blood run cold, but her lower extremities were begging to fail her. Every ounce of her wanted to lash out and make Devon leave her alone, but something stronger, much more powerful, was telling her to throw everything away and leave with him, without thinking about what the consequences would be.

              She wanted him. She needed him. Seeing him again brought back the animal attraction she felt for him in Florida. Just being anywhere near him made her senses come alive with a flurry of emotions. Wanton desire clouded her judgment when he was anywhere near her. He knew her in ways she didn't yet know herself and it was all so confusing for Alessandra because they'd not yet been intimate.

              "I can't breathe." Alessandra flung herself up against the side of the building to catch her breath.

              "Slow down. Calm down. What is going on with you? Why is this guy trying so hard?" Sammi asked, fanning Alessandra's face.

              Alessandra couldn't slow her breathing. Her knees were weak. Her heart was beating out of her chest. The whole world had spun out of control.

              "Talk to me. What do you want to do here? Robert is sitting at the same table, alone with this guy." Sammi could feel her heart beating out of control.

              "I don't know. Where's Joe? Why isn't he here?" Alessandra was so confused by the emotions she was feeling.

              "Joe? I don't know, honey. We have to get you out of here. You look like you're going to pass out." Sammi grabbed Alessandra around the waist and guided her back inside. Once they were inside, she pulled away, distracted by something.

              "Wait. That's Joe." She pushed her way in between people at the sound of Joe's voice.

              Sammi followed her, relieved that she'd found him.

              "What the hell?" Sammi asked in surprise. Joe had his arms wrapped around a petite blond and his hand on her breast. They sat nestled in a corner, empty bottles of beer strewn all over the table in front of them.

              Joe looked up, sensing he was being watched. With his eyes on Alessandra's face, he grabbed the girl's face and kissed her, making a show of thrashing his tongue inside her mouth and fondling her now exposed breast.

              Robert rushed to where the girls stood and looked over their heads at Joe.

              "Damn." He sighed.

              Alessandra couldn't move. She was frozen with anger and embarrassment.

Devon moved through the crowd, grabbing her by her hand and pulled her to him.

              "You don't need this. Let's go," he said. He led her out of the bar and down the street before stopping. Her body was numb. She watched him struggle to find the right words to say. "You know you don't deserve that, don't you? What a piece of work that guy is."

              Feeling defensive, Alessandra lashed out at him. "You have a lot of nerve, talking about someone you don't even know. That man has been nothing but kind and gentle and loving with me since the day I met him."

              He fired back, "Yeah, it looks like it. Good job, sweetheart. You sure know how to pick 'em."

              Tears burning her eyes, Alessandra said, "Go to hell."

              Devon pinned her up against the wall, holding her by her wrists.

She gasped, surprised by the intensity of his reaction, fearing what he would do next.

              He opened his mouth to speak, still holding her arms firmly up against the wall. His hot, sweet breath moved over her face as he leaned closer to her, hitting her forehead, then, her cheek, finally, moving to her ear.

She fought to control her shivering.

              Devon whispered, "He doesn't deserve you."

              "And, you think you do?" She asked, still hurt by his rejection of her in Florida.

              He loosened his grip on her hands, using his thumbs to gently massage her wrists as he made his body flush with hers. She could feel every muscle in his body harden against her. Butterflies raged through her belly. She feared her knees would give way. He lifted her gently off the ground, using his hips to hold her still.

              "I want you. I deserve you. You deserve me," he whispered into her neck. She moaned at the sound of his words.

              Gently letting her feet cascade to the ground, he led her away, holding her hand. She didn't protest. She couldn't. The way her body reacted to him clouded her judgment and made every fiber of her being want him more.