Moving On (Cape Falls)

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2013
Sam Crescent

ISBN:
978-1-77130-595-2

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Karyn White

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

I'd like to thank all my readers for their continued support and encouragement. This story is for all of you.

MOVING ON

Cape Falls, 5

Sam Crescent

Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

Three years from
His to Control

Peter Miller stared at the hard stone planted in the graveyard. The name, date, and relevant details were lost on him as he simply looked at the stone. All around him people lay buried beneath the earth where at one time they’d been in the prime of their life. What had happened to them all? When they were alive did they experience love? Was their love reciprocated?

He had all these questions about people he didn’t
know, and yet there were more pressing issues to deal with in his own life. Control, the exclusive BDSM club, was thriving even though the residents had tried to shut it down. He worked as a Dom there and had trained many subs in the last few years.

No matter how many women he trained there was still a void inside him. He was twenty-eight years old
, and he’d achieved next to nothing in his life. For the past ten years he’d been in love with a woman who was married to another man. That same man had almost died, and instead of taking his shot, he’d not wanted to. His friendship with Laura was different. Something wasn’t the same, and he didn’t know what it was. Staring at the gravestone he saw the person who’d passed had once been a son, husband, and a brother. Peter was no such thing. His parents had disowned him for being friends with Laura and the rest of the Cape Falls outcasts.

The only things he’d achieved in the last few years
were moving out of the small apartment and into a house near Control. The salary he was paid for working at the club kept him in a good lifestyle. Then he’d become a good Dom. He took care of his women and made sure they got everything he needed.

There’s nothing for you here.

“This place is fucking morbid. Why do you always come here?” Edward Banner asked.

Edward
was one of the men who worked at Control. He was close friends with the owner, William, and had travelled from England to live in Cape Falls. Peter still couldn’t believe Edward had moved to Cape Falls. The town was a nightmare.

“I invited you because you needed to get out of the club. Be respectful or leave,” Peter said, looking at the gravestone.

“Fine, I’d rather be here, in a cemetery, than dealing with Daisy and the twins. I remember a time when William wouldn’t have kids, and now he’s got two sets of twins running amok.” Edward shook his head. “It’s totally not right.”

Peter laughed. In the last three years Daisy had become pregnant twice
, and both times she’d given birth to twins. The first set was twin boys, which William had been happy about. The next two were girls, and their father had become over-protective overnight and they hadn’t even gone to play school. Peter felt for the men who’d come in twenty years wanting to date William’s twin girls.

“He doesn’t let them near the club, Edward. What’s your problem?”
Peter loved children. Over the last three years he’d spent plenty of time with Laura’s kids.

Thinking about Laura made pain spike through his heart
but not in the usual, yearning, kind of way. Something was different, and he hated not knowing what it was.

“I don’t want kids. I hate kids
, but Daisy’s kids are always around and I find myself wanting something I’d given up on a long time ago.”

Peter glanced up at his friend. “You’re not serious.”

“You’re not the only guy who tries to avoid the things that make you want something,” Edward said.

Peter
didn’t like how accurate the older man was.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Peter turned away from the gravestone and started toward another one.

“I know a lot more than you think.” Edward followed behind him. “You avoid any romantic attachment because you’re still yearning for Laura, Dean’s wife. I’ve heard everything. The locals of Cape Falls love to talk. Although, I’m not seeing the long lost yearning look on your face anymore. Maybe you’ve moved on?”

Spinning around Peter glared at him. “Then explain it to me
if you’re such an expert.”

Edward rested his hands on his hips. “
Dean Riley was diagnosed with testicular cancer three years ago. It was in the early stages, and they caught it. He gets regular check-ups and is now in the peak of health.”

Peter felt the tears spring to his
eyes at the remembered pain on Laura’s face. Dean and Laura had been through a lot in the last three years.

“Dean gave you the chance to win his woman. He didn’t know how severe the cancer was and wanted you to be the man to take his place
, but you wouldn’t do it. You were in love with a woman you could never have. Then out of the blue you got a chance, and you didn’t take it at all.”

“That has nothing to do with avoiding, Edward.
You’ve just stated some facts.”

“I’
ve never seen you attempt to date other women. You keep women, even your subs, at a distance. No one can get close to you. Your friends are the only people you allow close to you, nothing else and no one else.”

Peter
shrugged. “What more is there to life? I can’t have the woman I love, and I don’t think it’s fair letting another woman get close. It would be unfair of me to let another woman think they’ve got a chance with me.”

Edward stared at him. “Do you even love Laura?”

“What?”

“You’ve been in love with her for ten years
, and you’ve never really been close to her. Are you sure you’re actually in love with her?” Edward asked.

“I’m not going to talk with you about this.” Peter headed out of the cemetery with Edward following behind him. He’d walked the entire distance
from the club to the cemetery near town.

“Why not? It’s not like I’m on Dean’s side. I imagine everyone knows you’re in love but see Dean and Laura together,
so they don’t really care.”

“And you’re saying you care?” Peter asked, amazed. He kept walking, needing the fresh air to keep him sane.

“I’m your friend. Of course I care.”

Peter stopped. “I appreciate your caring, I really do
, but I can’t handle this right now.”

Edward reached out, touching his arm. “You can talk to me. When the time is right, you can talk to me no matter what.”

Staring at his hand, Peter nodded. “Thanks.”

“I better get back to the club. Take care
, and I’ll see you tonight.”

It was Saturday night
, and it was always busy on the weekends. “You certainly will be seeing me.” Peter smiled and watched the other man walk away before heading into town. He passed several people who stared at him. Some whispered behind their palms.

He didn’t care.

Like every other Saturday he went to the library, going straight to the back to grab a book off the shelves. He loved his peace and quiet, but at the library he got to see people while he was doing it. Grabbing a book from the shelf, he sat down and flipped open the page.

“You’re here again?” Rose
Slater asked.

He looked up to see the girl who stocked the shelves. Rose was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. He’d seen her around town and the library
many times. She was nineteen and hadn’t been allowed to go to college. Her family wouldn’t let her leave Cape Falls.

Yes, Rose Slater was his only piece of heaven away from the club and all his troubles.

“I thought you’d be used to me by now?” he asked.

“I’m used to you. I just thought you’d have something more exciting to do on a Saturday.” She smiled at him
, and Peter couldn’t help but be struck by how it lit up her whole face.

“No, nothing interesting.” He smiled, thinking about his morning trip to the cemetery.

“Well, I’ll see you at lunch.” She turned to leave, and he took the time to admire the curves of her ass.

She’s got her whole life ahead of her. Leave her alone.

Staring down at his book, Peter couldn’t help but wish his life had been different. If he’d not fallen for Laura he might have had a chance to experience love with Rose.

****

Rose watched the clock ticking. She was counting down to the time when she got to sit with Peter outside of the library and have lunch. He was so handsome, and she knew a lot about him. She remembered him from when she was younger and shouldn’t have developed a crush on him.

Letting out a sigh, she passed the doorway, carrying some books, and watched as he turned a page of the current book he was reading. In the last ten years Peter had changed. Gazing through the window she
had seen how his boy-next-door good looks had advanced into the masculine strength of a confident man. He looked nothing like the boys whom she used to go to school with. There was a maturity in his depths where there was once a nonchalance about life. Peter had changed. His hair had darkened over the years and was no longer a sandy blond.

I shouldn’t be thinking about his hair or his muscular body.

Licking her lips she dropped her gaze to the book in her hand. The title meant nothing to her. She placed the book on the shelf then went around the counter to serve a young girl. The mother glanced in Peter’s direction and clucked her tongue.

She knew who he was and who his friends were. They were the social outcasts of their small town. Rose knew the only reason they put up with them was because of the Steer brothers and the fact Gabriel was an amazing
sheriff.

Rose saw the mother clucking her tongue
, but she noticed the hand the woman pressed to her breast. For as much as she despised Peter’s presence, the woman was also affected by him. The town knew he was a Dom. He worked at Control, and his reputation for being a fair man with women had circulated.

The mother and daughter scurried out of the library leaving
Rose alone with her thoughts and a few of the other staff. She continued to stock the shelves, all the time aware of the man in another room.

Her body hummed to life whenever he was around. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. If her family was to ever find out about her
association with him they’d find some way to stop it. The best part of her day was his visits to the library. It was lame of her, but she really loved seeing him.

When he didn’t visit her
the days always went by slowly.

I’m going to get caught.

Dropping her gaze to the computer, she started checking the system and typing in the reserves that had been delivered. Her family shared the old-fashioned views of the town. She’d gotten good grades and should have gone to college. Her family didn’t believe in college. They wouldn’t help her get in, so she was stuck in Cape Falls working at the library. She loved books but wished there was something else to keep her going. What didn’t help her situation was the fact she knew they were planning something. She feared it was a marriage to one of the men they’d picked out.

Putting the books on the shelf she glanced through the window and watched as Peter kept reading. How had he escaped everything?

There were times she felt like she was drowning in the open air. Her family pushed her all the time. They wanted her to be the perfect girl who would marry the man they chose. She didn’t want to end up like that.

A couple of times she’d passed Control. The only thing her parents allowed her to do was walk. She took long walks and ended up looking at the front gates of Control, wondering if her future could be inside there.

Her thoughts were ridiculous. No one would want to help her. Shaking her head, she finished working and was shocked as the clock struck noon Peter was waiting for her. He stood by the front doors smiling.

Grabbing her bag, she walked toward him
, and together they headed out onto the grassed area. It was open, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she got caught with him. For now, she loved spending time with him.

“Did your mother make your packed lunch?” Peter asked.

She watched him pull a salad out of his inner pocket. It was warm in the late October day, but Peter still wore a long jacket.

“Yeah, she always does. Who packed your lunch?” She pointed at the fish salad he started eating. Rose made her own lunch. She hated it when her mother interfered with her food. Also, she wasn’t about to tell Peter that her mother had banned foods. The cupboards were locked
, and all she was allowed was two meals a day.

Her parents were strict
, and they hated her fuller figure. No matter how much she dieted or exercised there was no dropping the extra pounds. Banning food and putting chains on the cupboard was her parents’ next radical move. She was scared of what would happen in six months when she didn’t lose weight.

Shaking her head, she pushed the bad memories aside and smiled at Peter.