Vinny: Alvarez Security Series (15 page)

She had to admit that it felt good to be in his arms. Well, for her feet.
No,
she had to admit.
It feels amazing to be held by this man.
She wanted to lean in and kiss his jaw. See his eyes on her. Feel his touch on her skin. Pressing her lips together, she battled back the thoughts.

The lone farmhouse came closer into sight, a woman in the yard hanging wash. She saw the two strangers coming across the field and called for her husband. An older man ambled out through the screen door, warily watching them approach.

Vinny stopped at a safe distance so as not to make them nervous. “My wife has hurt her feet while we were hiking and we wondered if we could get some help.”

“Oh my goodness,” the woman exclaimed. “Well, bring her into the kitchen.”

The man stepped back allowing them access into the house, pointing to the kitchen table. Vinny set her down carefully, then bent to take off her shoes. The quick treatment he had given her had helped, but he knew she needed her bandages re-done.

The woman took a look at her blistered feet and immediately got a large plastic pan and filled it with cool water. Vinny took the heavy pan from her and set it down on the floor.

“Ya’ll been hiking?” the old man asked.

Annalissa’s eyes stayed on Vinny’s, allowing him to give whatever story he wanted to.

“We wanted to go for a drive in the country and then decided to take a little hike. Next thing we know, we get lost and thankfully ended up at the edge of your farm. We thank you for your hospitality and promise that as soon as I can get her feet cleaned and re-wrapped, we’ll be on our way.”

“Nonsense,” the woman said. “You’re not any trouble. We’re Mable and Alfred Johnson, by the way.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Vinny said with a smile. “I’m Walter and this is my wife, Delores.”

Annalissa tried not to grin at the names Vinny had given them, earning her a stern look from him.

“Are your feet ticklish, darlin’?” he asked.

“Y…yes,” she answered, stifling her smile.

Soon, he had her feet soaked and re-bandaged. Standing, he was about to thank them when Mable walked back into the room.

“Here are a pair of thick cotton socks, sweetie. You traipsing around in little canvas shoes with no socks is gonna keep wearing blisters on your poor feet.”

Vinny accepted them graciously and slid them over the bandages before placing her feet back into the sneakers. Looking into her eyes, he asked, “Better?”

“Oh my God, yes,” she answered, her eyes less pain-filled. She smiled at him, mouthing, “Thank you.”

Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head, before standing again. Turning to their hosts, he said, “We appreciate this more than you can know. If we could trouble you for some water to put in our canteen, we’d be grateful and will be on our way.”

Alfred nodded toward his wife and she returned his smile. “We’d be happy to have you two share our lunch and then I can drive you to the nearest town, ’bout fifteen miles down the road.”

Vinny glanced at Annalissa, seeing hunger and fatigue written plainly on her face. Turning back to the kind couple, he agreed. “We’d love to, thank you.”

S
everal hours later,
after good conversation and a lunch of cold fried chicken, potato salad, green beans, and sweet tea, Vinny and Annalissa were ready to leave. With hugs goodbye to Mable, they climbed into Alfred’s old Ford pick-up truck with him, and pulled onto the road heading to the little town.

It consisted of a local grocery shop, gas station, diner, several stores and a few other buildings. Stopping at the gas station, Alfred let them out. “Eugene here has some old cars in the back that he’d let you borrow to get where you’re going.”

On cue, a man in oily coveralls came ambling out from the garage. Greeting Alfred and nodding to his passengers, he listened as the older farmer described the plight of ‘Walter and Delores’. Eugene smiled at the couple, nodded, and said, “Sure, I’ve got a decent old car. It’s not much to look at but it’ll get you where you want to go with just a little more work.”

Saying goodbye to Alfred, they watched as he drove off and they turned their attention back to Eugene. Vinny said, “We’d love to buy the car off of you. Our car died a ways back and we really need to get on our way.”

Eugene rubbed his chin, eyeing the car. “Well, I was just gonna loan it to you, but if you wanna buy it, I don’t hardly know what to charge you. It ain’t worth very much. It’s old, but if you give me a few hours I can get it running real good. We ain’t got a hotel in town, but I got a little apartment above the garage that if you can stay tonight. I’ll have the car ready for you first thing in the morning.”

He and Vinny quickly came to an agreement on the car and Annalissa helped to take their backpacks up to the small room. She moved over to the sit on the edge of the bed while Vinny called Tony explaining the next step of their journey.

“We can get to Huntington, West Virginia tomorrow. Is there an airport we can get to?”

“Jack’s contact that was going to pick you up at the previous airstrip is already there and will wait for you.”

Gabe got on, checking to see how they were doing and Vinny could hear the tension in his voice. “What’s eatin’ at you, bro?”

“Annalissa’s father, agent, and manager are all gettin’ on our last nerves. How the hell does that girl put up with them?”

Vinny looked over to see if she was listening, but she had moved into the bathroom. “I don’t know, other than the three of them practically run her life.”

“We’ve told them that the two of you are taking a cross-country trip to relax and enjoy yourselves.”

Vinny chuckled, saying, “Not too far from the truth.”

Finishing up their next day’s planning, Vinny hung up just as she was coming from the bathroom. He watched, mesmerized, as she walked over to the bed wearing only one of his t-shirts that he had given her. It hung to her mid-thighs and off one shoulder. And he’d never seen anything sexier in his life. Once again, he willed his dick to behave, but the sight of her fired his blood.

She pulled back the covers, laying down on the old, but clean bed. Her head had barely hit the pillow when her eyes shut. He stood up and walked over, looking down at her.
She’s had very little sleep in the last three days. And fuck, if she hadn’t been one helluva trooper.
He looked at his watch seeing it was early evening.
She’ll probably sleep for hours.

He quickly took a shower also and then crawled into bed as well. Rolling over toward her, he curled his large body around her smaller one, pulling her in close. Her hair smelled of shampoo and he let it fill his senses. It was fresh. Untainted. Closing his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep once more.

*

Annalissa woke, unsure
of where she was, but knew the arms around her. The same arms that had held her, carried her, cared for her, and protected her for the past several days. Smiling, she rolled over to watch him sleep. He was perfect – thick hair cut close, strong jaw, his nose slightly bent from probably being broken, a muscular arm holding her tight.

She began to feel her body’s response to his virile masculinity. Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples pointed to peaks. Leaning in, she placed her lips on his, willing him to wake up kissing her. Slowly at first, she kept her kiss light, but finding the jolt moving down to her core, she licked his lips and plunged her tongue in as he opened his mouth on a moan.

He immediately rolled over on her, pressing her body deep into the mattress. She wrapped her legs around his hips, feeling his erection against her stomach. Lost in the sensations, she moved her hips upwards in an attempt to seek whatever her body was desperately crying out for. He grabbed her hands in his and with laced fingers, pulled them up over her head. He held them with one hand as the other moved to the hem of the shirt she was wearing. Sliding his hand up her abdomen, he stopped as he cupped one luscious mound, tweaking the nipple.

She wanted to touch him but his hand held hers fast. He pushed her shirt up until her breasts were bared to his view. Moving his mouth from one to the other, she gave in to the feelings of passion. Moisture pooled between her legs and she felt the connecting jolt from her nipples to her core. As his mouth continued to assault hers, he slid his free hand down to her drenched folds. Inserting one finger inside, followed by another one, he began to move them in a scissoring motion, driving her wild. Pumping herself on his fingers in an age-old dance, she felt herself climbing toward…something…she just did not know what. Her insides were coiled as tight as a spring and when his thumb pressed on her engorged clit, she shattered into a million pieces, her head thrown back and crying out his name.

He looked down at her face as her orgasm roared through her.
Fuckin’ beautiful.
He had never watched a woman climax just for the pure enjoyment of the act. He always made sure his partner was satisfied but for more selfish reasons. If they had been well sated and lubricated, it made him getting off and then getting out of there a helluva lot easier.
But this? This is different. This is…everything.
He continued to look at her face, eyes closed with her thick lashes resting against her sunburned cheeks. Slightly chapped lips. Dark circles underneath her eyes.
What the fuck am I doing?

Warring with himself between wanting to claim her as his forever and waiting until she was safe had him clenching his teeth so hard he thought they would crack. He looked back down, this time seeing her green eyes staring up at his. Filled with questions. Doubt.

She opened her eyes after the tremors had subsided, her whole body glowing. Only instead of a look of passion in his face, she saw…indecision. He leaned back over to kiss her, sending her doubts away but when she began to move underneath him, he pulled back. His expression, agonized. Regretful.

He moved out of the bed and grabbed his dry jeans off the floor and pulled them on. Trying to smile, he said, “I’ll go see if the car’s ready and then we can hit the road.” Turning, he walked out of the door, pulling on his t-shirt as the door slammed.

*

Annalissa laid there,
the euphoria of her orgasm gone. Replaced by the cold reality that he did not want her. From what she could gather, he had had sex with just about anyone…
so what’s wrong with me? Did I not do something right?
Bitter tears of embarrassment pricked her eyes. The rush of memories flooded back. Her father telling her she made a mistake in a concert therefore had not practiced enough. Todd telling her what to say when interviewed so that she looked more polished. Sharon telling her that her makeup was not good enough for public appearances and to let her re-do it. Gordon telling her what she needed to do for her career.
On and on and on. And now Vinny.

Sliding out of bed, she grabbed her stiff jeans and pulled them on as well. Her bra was dirty but dry and she quickly donned it as well, then jerked his t-shirt off as though it were contaminated. Reaching for her sweater from yesterday, she pulled it over her head wanting to be dressed when he came back.

*