Playing with Fire (12 page)

Noelle laughed and playfully smacked
him in the shoulder. “You might be growing on me.”

“Might?”

She shrugged and waved him
off. “Yeah,
might
.

He gave her another long kiss. When
she moaned he deepened it. A moment later he pulled away and rested
his forehead on hers. “What about now?”

She pretended to yawn. “Eh, it was
okay.”

Trent threw his arms in the air and
groaned. “What in the world…”

He put his hands around her waist and
lifted her so she was sitting on his lap. After taking her face in
his hands, he kissed her like he had never kissed any other woman.
Slowly, deliberately, he made love to her mouth.

When he finally stopped, she let out a
whimper. Her lips were plump and red from being thoroughly kissed.
She moved slightly on his lap then froze. His arousal was
obvious.

To his surprise, she didn’t scurry off
like he thought she would. Instead, she wet her lips with the tip
of her tongue and wrapped her arms around his neck. Noelle
repositioned herself she so was straddling him.

He watched as she trepidatiously moved
her hands down the sides of his neck, across his chest, and down
his abdomen. He was amazed that his t-shirt didn’t burst into
flames as his skin burned for her to really touch him. He marveled
at how even a light touch felt as if he were being branded as
hers.

Trent did his best to sit still as she
moved her hands over the mounds of his biceps and across his tanned
forearms, then back up to his shoulders. Their breathing was all he
could hear and everything else around them faded away.

Noelle laced her fingers in the hair
at the nape of his neck and gave it a gentle, teasing tug. She
leaned forward and kissed him. He allowed her to set the
tempo.

Her confidence seemed to grow as time
went on. Trent kept his hands at her waist, but used his thumbs to
gently rub along her hips. When he hardened further, she snuggled
down and let out a groan.

“I know I should stop but this feels
really good.”

It took a moment for him to clear his
throat. “It feels better than good. You are making it very hard to
behave.”

She nipped at his ear, her voice soft
and sexy as silk on skin. “Oh, I can tell it’s hard
alright.”

Trent groaned and flexed his fingers
on her waist to tighten what little grip be has left on his
self-control. “You little minx.”

He took a deep breath and lifted her
up off his lap, only to lay her down next to him. “I think we
better simmer down before it goes farther than I think either of us
is ready for.”

It took a moment, but she finally
nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”

“You know that’s the second time
you’ve said that today and I like it.”

Noelle batted at his arm. “Alright,
deflate the ego already!”

Trent brushed the hair off her cheek
and gave her a light peck. “You really are bossy. You’re lucky I
like you so much.”

She blushed. Her reply was a whisper.
“I like you too.”

Before he could go all mushy he kissed
her once more then got up and helped her to her feet. “We’d better
get going. What do you think about meeting my friends
tomorrow?”

“I can’t wait. As long as we get some
time alone again.”

“Oh don’t worry about that. Alone time
is mandatory now.”

An hour later, after another mini
make-out session in his car, Trent said goodbye to Noelle at her
door. He whistled to himself as he walked back to his
Corvette.

His life had definitely taken an
unexpected turn in the last ten days, but he intended to enjoy the
journey as long as he could - and as long as Noelle was willing to
take it with him.

CHAPTER
NINE

Noelle tossed and turned in bed then
stared at the alarm clock. She’d repeated the process more than a
dozen times in the last hour.

Could Trent really be right? Would it
be as simple as calling into the Batesville PD and saying she was
okay? Would it suffice? Or would Lenny track her down and hold up
to his word?

It would be just her luck that the one
time Lenny actually followed through on something he said would be
the time it involved threatening her life.

And then there was Trent. She felt
like she was rushing in, but just like a raft racing over the
rapids, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. It was exhilarating and
scary and challenging and satisfying all bundled into one sexy
package of a man.

But what if he wasn’t what he seemed
either? Since the first time she’d seen Lenny in a baseball
uniform, way back in ninth grade, she’d longed for him. When his
gaze finally landed on her at a New Year’s Eve party, she hadn’t
stopped herself then either. She’d raced headlong into his arms to
live out all the fantasies she’d had of him over the years. But the
reality turned into a nightmare faster than she could have said ‘3,
2, 1 … Happy New Year’.

She didn’t truly think Trent would
pull a Jekyll and Hyde on her, but she’d been wrong before. Sure
Trent was charming, good looking, and a great kisser – Lord, she
couldn’t leave those lips out - but she had to wonder what he would
be like after the newness wore off.

Noelle felt something deep inside her
say he would be all he was and more if she just gave him time. Her
heart, her mind, her body, wanted his touch so much, wanted his
attention.

The alarm clock buzzed next to her,
breaking up the vicious cycle of questioning. Noelle shut it off
and threw back the covers. The hot shower felt good, but it made
her think of other hot things – Trent’s kisses, Trent’s hands, and
that smoldering look he seemed to have only for her.

Noelle planted her hands against the
wall and let the water cascade over her head and down her body. The
stream caressed her curves and she imaged Trent in its place. For
seeming so pompous, he was gentle with her, as if she were a rare
gem. He made her feel precious.

Something in that thought, something
about a man making her feel so valuable, brought tears to her eyes.
For so long Noelle had felt worthless. She had allowed Lenny to
make her feel that way, but never again would she have to deal with
him. From now on, She wouldn’t deal with any man who made her feel
like less than she knew she was.

Noelle felt a fire come to life in
her, it had begun the moment she put the car in drive and left
Arkansas and it had only grown since then. At first she didn’t know
what to call it, it seemed so foreign to her, but now she knew it
was confidence – self-confidence.

She smiled and remembered an old
gospel hymn her momma would sing to her about letting her lil’
light shine. This was her time to shine.

That thought had her humming the tune
all morning, to the point that Delphine started eyeballing
her.

“You know you’re gonna get that damn
song stuck in my head.”

Noelle smiled over her shoulder from
where she was changing the bed sheets in Room 12. “I can’t help it.
It seems fitting today.”

Delphine laughed. “He must really be
doing something to you.”

Noelle thought about it for a moment
and shook her head. “No. I mean, Trent is great and I love spending
time with him, but being away from the life I left is really
starting to pick my spirits up. I can’t remember a time when I was
so happy.”

Delphine smiled. “That is good to
hear. I bet your momma is looking down on you with a grin bigger
than yours to hear you say it.”

Noelle grinned bigger. “Oh, I know she
is. I just wish she was still here to see it. I miss her so much.
And I miss her friend LuAnn. She helped me get away and I wish I
could call just to say I’m okay.”

Delphine set out the little bottles of
shampoo and conditioner and shrugged. “Why can’t you call
her?”

Noelle shook her head. “I’m scared
Lenny or his daddy would find out and track me down. I don’t want
LuAnn to be in the middle of this any more than she has
been.”

“Well what if I called her for
you?”

Noelle paused. “Really? “

Delphine nodded. “Sure, it’s no
trouble at all. You know we could get you a cheap pre-paid phone
and then you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone tracking you down
from the phone number.”

Noelle laughed. “Geez Delphine, you
sound like you’ve done this before.”

Delphine waved her off. “Nope, just
watch a lot of cop dramas on television. And it was just a plot
line on my favorite soap.”

They both laughed. Noelle was the
first to recover. “My life has been a soap opera. I bet I could be
a writer on one of them shows.”

Delphine tied up the garbage bag in
her hands and dropped it into the large waste basket on the front
of the cart. “What did you dream about being when you were
younger?”

Noelle pushed the cart out of the room
and onto the sidewalk. “I didn’t really dream it. My thoughts were
just on helping my momma around the house. I started working when I
was twelve cleaning shelves at the little grocery store on the
corner.”

Delphine stared at her, but Noelle
ignored it and kept moving to the next room.

“You didn’t pretend to be a doctor or
a dancer or a singer or anything?”

Noelle shrugged. “Me and Momma used to
sing to the radio all the time and dance round the living room, but
we weren’t thinking of being famous or nuthin’.”

Delphine unlocked the next door and
pirouetted into the room. “I was a dancer when I was younger. Then
I married my first ex-husband and got pregnant with my daughter and
my body’s shape went from dancer to Great Aunt Francis. Loved the
woman to death, but she had hips wide as the Grand
Canyon.”

They laughed until they were nearly in
tears.

Still chuckling, Noelle finally went
to tackle the bathroom while Delphine stripped the two queen beds.
As she cleaned the sink, Noelle tried to think about what Delphine
had asked.

A few minutes later, as she returned
to the main room, Noelle dropped the towels in the laundry bag and
grabbed a fresh set from the cart.

“A mom. All I ever wanted to be was a
mom, just as wonderful as mine.”

Delphine looked at her and smiled.
“You’re gonna be a great mom someday Noelle. I can tell. You have a
good heart.”

Noelle smiled. “Thank you.”

They took a break for lunch and
Delphine drove Noelle to the local shopping center to buy a
pre-paid phone.

“When we get back to the motel, take
the rest of the afternoon off. There are only a few rooms left to
clean, I can do those myself. You should call your friend and let
her know you’re alright.”

Noelle gave Delphine a hug. “You are
so nice to me Delphine. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

Delphine waved her off. “Oh, stop. The
last thing I need is to get all misty eyed and make my mascara
run.”

Noelle kissed her soundly on the cheek
and returned to her room. After fighting to open the clear plastic
package for several minutes, she finally got it out and followed
the instructions to get it working. Once it was charged, she dialed
in LuAnn’s number.

After several rings, LuAnn finally
picked up. “Hello?”

“Hi, it’s…”

“Oh, sorry. You must have the wrong
number.”

The line went dead. Noelle stared at
the cell phone and hit redial. Something in LuAnn’s voice wasn’t
right.

Noelle realized what was wrong soon
enough because this time when the phone was answered it wasn’t
LuAnn – it was Lenny.

“Noelle, is that you?”

She bit her lip and stayed quiet. Her
heart pounded in her ears at the sound of his menacing voice.
Noelle prayed that LuAnn was safe.

“I know that’s you, Noelle. I swear to
God in Heaven when I find ya you’re gonna regret the day you
left.”

Something in Noelle flipped - a hidden
switch that only time and distance seemed to bring out. “Lenny, the
only thing I regret is ever being with you. I swear if you hurt
LuAnn I will make sure your ass fries. You’re a mean, hateful man
and the best thing I ever did was get away from your sorry
ass.”

“You fuc …”

Noelle hung up, knowing full well the
long string of profanity he was spewing on the other end. It had
been his term of endearment to her for so long.

She called LuAnn’s son, Mason, and
told him to check on his momma. Mason hated Lenny and would have no
problem breaking open a can of whoop-ass on him if he so much as
touched a hair on LuAnn’s head.

As Noelle walked to into the bathroom,
she paused at the mirror and winked at herself, feeling freer than
ever for finally telling Lenny what she thought of him. Well, it
wasn’t everything she could say, but it was enough to last the rest
of her life. He could guess what other words she’d use for all she
cared, since there was no way she was ever going back.