Out Of Control (43 page)

She shrugged
and stared at a point beyond his shoulder. “Not that it’s any of your business,
but I got sandbagged.”

He raised an
eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You heard
me.” She sipped at her coffee, still staring at nothing. “Don’t believe
everything you read in the papers, Zane. Or hear on television. I, of all
people, know firsthand how the news can be manipulated.”

Zane narrowed
his eyes, waiting for her to go on.

She sighed, a
heavy sound, as if the weight she carried was too much to bear. “Someone gave
me a tip about a scandal in the Miami-Dade Police department. I met with two
sources who gave me what I thought was proof of their authenticity. All the
evidence they pointed me toward seemed to prove out their story.”

“And?” he
prompted.

“I broke the
story, and included the mayor in it, smearing just about everyone I could. I
thought for sure I’d win the Pulitzer for it. My boss was salivating.”

“So what was
the problem? Did you trip over yourself running down the yellow brick road?
What I read said you’d made the whole thing up.”

She made a
sound of disgust. “That’s not my style, and people should have known it. If I
was anything, it was gullible and stupid. I had visions of the
New York
Times
begging me to come to work for them. All the networks calling me for
interviews.”

Zane sipped
at his coffee, waiting while she gathered her thoughts. He’d heard and read the
stories. He wanted to hear her version from her own mouth. Get it settled, take
what he came for, then tell her to leave.

“Well, it
turned out the whole thing was an elaborate hoax, engineered by the mayor’s
opponent in the upcoming election. Every other news outlet got the real story
and I got fired. And sued, right along with my newspaper.” She ran her finger
around the rim of her cup. “One day I’m the golden girl, the next no one will
touch me with a ten-foot pole. End of story.”

Zane put down
his mug. “Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to hang around Amen.
Nothing here for you, and you know how people talk. Sell the property and get
on with it.”

Yes. Please
get the hell out of my life again.

Jamie’s face
took on a hard look. “Do not presume to tell me what to do. I’ll stay here as
long as I damn well please. Maybe until this place falls down around my ears.”

Zane moved
closer to her so they were barely a breath apart. “Don’t do this. You’ll be
happier if you’re gone.”

She raised
her eyebrows? “I will? Or you, Zane Cameron? This is really all about getting
even, isn’t it?”

“Why, Jamie.”
He looked her up and down. “What would I have to get even about? I got over you
and your lousy attitude a long time ago.”

“Yeah, right,”
she snorted. “That’s why you hightailed it over here to ride my ass.”

Zane didn’t
even think about what he did next, just knew he had to get his taste of her
before running her out of town. He took the mug from her hands, put it on the
counter, gripped her head in his palms, and took her mouth.

God, it was
just as hot and sweet as he’d remembered. Lips like spun silk, a taste like
sugar. A thrill of satisfaction ran through him that her nipples, pressed
against the cotton of his uniform shirt, were stiff and hard. And, that without
thinking, her mouth opened and accepted his tongue. He pressed it against the
roof of her mouth, devouring the soft wetness, and skimmed the insides of her
cheeks and her lips. His hands held her head like a vise, as if he’d never let
her go. If his cock was hard before, it was painful now, pushing into the
softness of her belly.

She still
smelled of strawberries, and the scent inflamed him. He wanted to fuse himself
to her, suckle her nipples until they swelled to twice their size. Slide his
fingers into that hot, tight pussy of hers and bring her to a breathless orgasm
like he used to give her. Put his mouth on her cunt and drink of her sweet,
sweet juices. Oh, yeah, he’d get his.

God, I’m
losing my mind.

He finally
lifted his mouth just a fraction. “In two seconds flat I could have you
stripped naked and flat on your back, my cock buried deep inside you. And you’d
love it. You know that, don’t you?”

With sudden
strength, she jerked her head away and pushed at him. Hard.

Zane blinked
to focus and never saw her hand coming as she delivered a stinging slap. He
grabbed her wrist as she drew back for another blow. “Do that again, and I’ll
turn you over my knee.”

Her eyes
smoldered. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Even way back then you wanted to
push the envelope with sex. I’ll bet you’ve learned a lot of new tricks since
then.”

He yanked her
up against his body, holding her in an iron grip. “I don’t remember you running
away screaming.”

“I might
shoot you this time, lawman. Just because you piss me off.”

They stared
at each other for a long moment before he let her go.

She backed
away, rubbing her wrists, her eyes stabbing at him like daggers. “Get the hell
out of my house. And stay away. It’ll take a lot more than your macho swagger
to run me off.”

“We aren’t
done, Jamie. Not by a long shot. Keep that in mind.”

He was at the
door when she called his name, and he turned. “What?”

“Where’s my
father’s old truck?”

“You mean the
one he ran off the road in? It’s totaled.” He frowned. “Why? You sure can’t do
anything with that hunk of junk.”

“I’d like to
get it. I can at least sell the undamaged parts for scrap.”

Zane raised
an eyebrow. “Money that hard to come by now?”

“Yes. Not
that it’s any of your damn business. So where’s it at?”

“Duke Warren’s
got it at the junkyard. That is, if he hasn’t crushed it yet. You could maybe
make some kind of deal with him.”

“Fine. Oh,
and Sheriff?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks so
much for stopping by. But don’t bother doing it again. You aren’t welcome.”

The sarcasm
in her voice was sharp enough to draw blood.

“Is that a
fact? Listen to what I’m saying. There’s no place for you in Amen. You need to
take care of business and get out of here.” His gaze raked every inch of her
body. “But before that happens we’re going to handle
our
unfinished
business. Then I can get you out of my life for good.”

He slammed
the door to the Expedition and ground the engine, tearing out of the driveway.
He sped down the highway until he reached a hidden turnoff where he could pull
in, away from passing traffic. Turning off the ignition, he leaned his head
back, closed his eyes, and twelve years disappeared as if they’d never
happened.

****

Zane spread
the quilt he’d carried from the truck onto the space beneath the oak trees.
Thirty feet away the waters of Fallen Creek shushed over pebbles, moonlight
reflecting off its surface and peeping through the trees. He stretched out full
length and reached a hand up to Jamie, feeling the trembling in her fingers.

“It will be
all right,” he assured her, although his own insides were quaking.

All the heavy
petting they’d done up until now, touching each other, crossing new boundaries,
had them in such a fever pitch of excitement that waiting for tonight had
almost been a hardship.

Shyly, Jamie
lowered herself to her knees beside him, then folded her body against his, her
head on his shoulder. Her soft breasts pressed against him, and he could feel
her nipples poking against the thin fabric of her sundress.

No bra!

His cocked
jumped behind the denim fly of his jeans.

Her skin was
so soft as he caressed her arm, and her scent—ripe strawberries—filled his
nostrils. He couldn’t wait to taste her. Everywhere.

Shifting his
body, he tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes. “Are you sure, Jamie? I
don’t want you to—”

She pressed a
fingertip against his mouth. “I’m not a kid, Zane. I know what I want.”

“Darlin’, you’re
eighteen years old.”

“Old enough
to vote and drive,” she told him.

“And I’m four
years older than you.”

“And we both
know we’ve been working up to this for a long time.”

“I want you
to know this is very special to me.” His voice was so thick with controlled
lust he almost didn’t recognize it.

“Me, too.”

“What happens
when you go away to school?”

“I won’t be
going anywhere unless I get that scholarship. Let’s not worry about that now.”

“Jamie, our
lives are so different. Amen is my home. You want out of here. What can we
possibly—”

She pushed
herself up. “Are you saying you don’t want me?”

“You know
that’s not true.”

He wanted her
more than she could possibly know. But they had no future. All she’d talked
about this past year was leaving Amen behind. And him, too, he was sure.

But he was
through arguing. His body was telling him he’d done enough talking. He traced
the outline of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, then the seam of her lips,
sliding inside when she opened for him. Her mouth tasted like it always did,
sweeter than heaven, setting fire to every nerve in his body.

One hand
stole beneath her skirt, sliding the fabric up to her waist. He stilled when he
encountered nothing but naked skin.

“No panties,
Jamie?”

She gave him
a shaky laugh. “I didn’t want to waste more time than we had to.”

“Then, darlin’,
get ready for a hot ride.”

He rolled her
to her back and spread her legs wide, saw her pussy outlined in the moonlight.
Kneeling between her thighs, he pressed his thumbs on her labia and gently
peeled them back, exposing that hot, honey opening to him. Like a starving man
he lowered his head and traced her slit from end to end with his tongue. Her
juices were already flowing and tasted like sweet cotton candy.

He licked
every inch of the heated flesh, lapping up her feminine cream as fast as it
flowed. Soft little moans floated from her throat as he flicked his tongue at
her clit, then nibbled at it lightly with his teeth.

“Yes, yes,
yes,” she chanted, bending her knees and planting her feet on either side of
him.

Sliding his
hands beneath her hips, he lifted her to his mouth and feasted. His tongue
probed every inch of her cunt, the tip searching out the sweet spots, his teeth
taking little nips here and there then returning to her clit again. When he
rimmed her vagina with his tongue, then swept it lower toward her anus, she
gasped and pushed herself at his head.

He spread his
fingers so the tips reached into the cleft of her ass, but he held himself back
from probing any further. One virgin hole was enough for tonight.

When he
thrust his tongue inside her again, the walls of her pussy quivered and her
cream thickly coated his tongue. God, she was so hot. He wanted to wrap her up
and run away with her, keep her all to himself.

He lowered
her hips to the quilt, and she protested in a low voice. “Don’t stop. Please
don’t stop.”

“We’ve only
just started, darlin’.”

His hand
trembling on her zipper, he managed to pull the rest of her dress over her
head. His mouth watered at the sight of her tempting breasts, nipples pointing
straight at him. He bent and took them in his mouth, one at a time, nibbling
and sucking, pressing them against the roof of his mouth.

Jamie reached
for him, her hands yanking away the leather thong he used to tie his hair back,
then threading through the loosened strands.

He cupped her
breasts, molding them in his palms, pressing the soft flesh with his fingers as
he continued to suck at the tips.

When she
reached down to tug at his T-shirt, he lifted his head. “Give me a minute.”

He’d rapidly
stripped off his clothing, the night air cool on his naked skin. He couldn’t
take his eyes from her, her body, so tempting, so sweet, so hot. If only he
could keep her forever.

He fished a
foil packet from his jeans pocket before dropping them to the ground again. In
seconds, he had himself fully sheathed. He didn’t want to have to stop again
for anything.

Then he was
over her again, kissing her breasts, the valley between them, her navel, swirling
his tongue over the soft pubic curls, tormenting her clit.

His cock was
so hard he was afraid it would break if he hit it against something. All the
play and experimentation, all the nights of fucking her with his fingers, of
her sucking him until he exploded in her mouth, couldn’t hold a candle to what
awaited him.