Welcome to Sugartown (15 page)

“
Ana, get
back here,” he growls.

“
Screw
you!”

“
Where you
gonna go, baby girl?” he singsongs, and because I can practically
feel him breathing down my neck, I pick up the pace. The next thing
I know I’m airborne, and Elijah flips me over his shoulder like a
goddamn cave man.

“
Put me down,
arsehole.” I kick and scream and pound on his back with my fists. I
think I may have even got in a shot to the side of his head with my
knee.

“
You keep
strugglin’, baby girl. I can do this all day.”

I believe
him, too. The boy’s probably got enough stamina to stand there for
several days, but the minute I stop acting up he unceremoniously
dumps me onto the blanket and crouches in the sand before
me.

“
I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have yelled, I just …” He exhales loudly and looks down
the empty beach before meeting my gaze. “I guess there isn’t a
whole lotta good to talk about, you know? The shit I’ve seen. The
shit I’ve
done
.
I’m not proud of any of it.”

“
I’ve done
things I’m not—”

“
I’ve done
time, Ana. Twice.”

I feel my
eyes widen in surprise. He’d hinted as much the night of our “date”
but I thought it was all just for show. I didn’t believe that he’d
actually been in jail.

“
Yeah, not so
perfect now, am I?

“
You hurt
anyone?”

He shakes his
head solemnly. “Just my future and any shot I might have had at a
real career. I fix bikes because I’m good at it. I’ve been taking
engines apart and putting them back together since I was ten
years-old. Sometimes I think I have oil running through my veins
instead of blood. I make enough to get me from one town to the
next, but it’s not any kind of life. Sure as shit not enough of one
to drag someone like you into it.”

“
Someone like
me?”

“
Baby girl,
you could have any man you want and instead you settle for a broke
ex-con.”

I wasn’t sure
I wanted to know the answer to my next question. In fact, I was
pretty sure I’d really rather not know, but I had to ask all the
same. “What did you do?”

“
The first
time?”

I
nod.

“
Stole a car
with some buddies of mine, took it for a test drive and wrapped it
around a telegraph pole. Sean ended up with a concussion and a
broken arm, Luke had a cracked rib and Brent and I walked away
unscathed—at least until they found out I was driving. Then they
marched me straight into juvie and spat me out three years
later.”

“
And the
second time?”

He swallows,
hard. “Part of my release on good behaviour is that I can’t talk
about it.”

“
Well, that’s
convenient,” I deadpan.

“
It’s the
truth.” Elijah swipes a hand over his face. “Look, I should have
told you this a lot sooner—”

“
No
shit.”

“
I’ve kept my
nose clean since I got out. I don’t plan on ever going back. That
shit’s done with. There are parts of my life that I can’t talk
about and others that I won’t. If you think you can handle that
then great, if not, then we end this thing right here.”

“
What is
this
thing
?”

“
You tell
me.”

Easier said
than done. Yes, I was falling for the guy, but holy crap, how do
you fail to mention something this huge to someone you care about?
And does he really care about me, or am I just a way to pass the
time between this town and the next?

I finally
meet his gaze and I’m surprised by the amount of anxiety I see
there. It softens my anger, just a little, enough to understand why
he’d keep this a secret from me. Aside from the fact that it’s been
court ordered, that is. “Does my dad know?”

Another
solemn nod. “One of the stipulations of my release is that I have a
job to go to before I move on anywhere. I have a parole officer who
rides my arse if I’m more than an hour late to check in with both
her and my new employer. If I break parole I go back inside, hard
time and no hearing.”

“
And he’s
okay with this?”

“
When he gave
me the job, he was, but when I met you—hell no! Why do you think he
fought so hard to keep me away from you? He wanted to string me up
by my balls after he found out you’d spent the night with
me.”

“
Well, I
kinda know how he feels.”

“
I’m sorry,
Ana.” He tentatively cups my face in his hands, as if he’s afraid
I’ll pull away. I don’t. I lean into his touch instead. “It didn’t
feel right, telling you before now. I’m working hard to keep that
shit buried, you know, but sometimes it all just resurfaces and
kicks me in the nuts.”

“
I get it, I
do. But if you lie to me again, Cade, it won’t be my dad you’ll
have to watch out for.”

“
Shit, baby
girl.” Elijah ducks his head and his dimples come out swinging.
“You’re pretty bloody scary when you wanna be.”

“
I learned
from the best.”

“
No arguments
there.”

Chapter Thirteen

Elijah

You’d think
having a kid along on a date would seriously cramp any chances I
had of getting his older sister naked beneath me by the end of the
night, but whenever Ana saw me treating her kid brother like my
six-year-old best mate, it’s like her maternal instincts went into
overdrive. At nineteen, she may not have been aware that her body
clock was already set to the soccer mum setting, but it was as
plain as fuck to me. She’ll make an incredible wife and mother
someday, and I feel a pang of stupid jealously that I won’t be
around to see it.

I can feel
her eyes on Sammy and me as our dodgem car careens head first into
a couple of little punks that’d been out for blood since the ride
began. She leans against the wire fence, her cheeks flushing as she
spears her bottom lip with her teeth. I can practically feel the
lust emanating off her. A couple of guys her age stop to check out
her arse as I feel both a swell of pride and possessiveness roll
over me.
That arse is
mine
,
and in just
a few short minutes I’ll show everyone by slipping my hand into the
back pocket of her jeans and squeezing it until she yelps. For now,
I’ll avenge the beating we’re taking from these little Justin
Bieber lookalike shits.

Sammy lets
out a squeal of a laugh, his head thrown back as another little
turd ramrods us in the rear.

“
You okay,
buddy?” I ask and he nods. “Whaddya say we hit these fools where it
hurts?”

“
Do it!” he
screams and flies back against the seat as I hit the pedal to the
floor. Christ, he’s so bloody little, I’m surprised the jolt
doesn’t break him in half. We take off after the fuckers,
side-slamming both their cars into the guardrail at
once.

Ignoring the
signs about remaining seated while the ride is in action Sammy
jumps up on his seat and gives them both the finger. “Eat thit
fuckerth.”

I laugh
before catching sight of Ana on the sidelines. I can practically
see the steam pouring out of her ears. She’s ranting about
something, though the candy-coated shit they call pop music is
grating at my eardrums and blocking whatever the hell it is she’s
raving about.

“
Dude, sit
down. You’re totally cock-blocking me right now!” I yank Sammy back
down in his seat.

“
Whath
cock-blocking?”

My eyes go
wide with horror and then I laugh. “Ask your sister.”

The end of
some tragic bloody Lady Gaga song signals the ride’s end and,
before I can stop him, Sammy’s up in his seat again and screaming
at his sister, “Ana, Elijah thaid to athk you what cock-blocking
meanth.”

Every person
within fifty metres turns their head to gawk at us. I throw Ana a
sheepish grin and her returning glare is both a thing of wonder and
the kinda shit nightmares are made of.

“
Both of you
get your bums over here, now!”

Aww shit, I
am never getting near that pussy again.

“
Thee lookth
mad.” Sammy stares up at me as we make our way over to the
gate.

“
Here’s
twenty bucks.” I fish a note out of my wallet and slap it in his
little hand, “See that fairy floss stand over there?”

He follows
the line of my pointed finger. “Go get us a couple bags, okay? I’ll
handle your sister.”

The man opens
the gate for us and gives me a brief lecture about standing up
while the ride is in progress. I assure him it won’t happen again
and nudge Sammy forward, before turning to face the firing
squad.

“
Sammy, get
back here!” Ana screams after her brother but I pull her toward me
to stop her from going after him. The fairy floss stand is less
than five metres away and I’m keeping a close eye on him, but she’s
not satisfied with that and struggles in my grasp.

“
Let go of
me.”

“
He’s fine. I
sent him across to get us some sugary goodness. You look like you
need it.”

“
What the
hell happened back there, Elijah?” God, she’s so fucking hot when
she’s fuming. “I leave him alone with you for five seconds and
already he’s swearing like a sailor?”

“
Come on,
baby girl, it was an accident.”

“
Yes, because
I can totally see how the words cock-blocking slip out when you’re
conversing with a six year old. You have to be careful around him,
Elijah. Kids are like sponges, they absorb everything they see and
hear. What the hell am I going to do when he repeats something like
that in class?”

“
Hey, would
you relax?” I rub my hands up and down her arms. “Kids say all
kinds of shit these days.”

“
Relax? Is
that what you’re going to be,
relaxed
, when my dad’s castrating
you for teaching his son what cock-blocking means?”

“
That
depends. Will you come and nurse me back to health?” I kiss her
lips and begin trailing kisses down her neck, careful to indulge
that sweet spot that she loves so much just beneath her
ear.

“
Maybe.”
She’s still not happy with me, so I dart my tongue out and lap at
the soft skin. Fuck she tastes good, like vanilla and cookie dough.
Her breathing becomes heavier, her eyelids close and her mouth
opens in an ‘O’. “Okay, yes!”

“
Ewww,
groth,” Sammy pipes up. He’s standing behind Ana with a tower of
cellophane bags full of fairy floss.

Ana spins
around and baulks when she sees his cargo. “Geez, Sammy, why not
buy the whole stand?”

“
I tried. He
thaid I didn’t have enough.”

“
Come on,
kids, I think the monster trucks are about to start.” I take the
bags from Sammy, tucking them under my arm before they end up all
over the ground. I slip the other around Ana’s waist and slide it
into her back pocket, where it belongs.

On the drive
home, Sammy stretches out across the front seat of Bob’s Chevy, his
head on Ana’s lap, legs tucked into a ball and feet dangling off
the edge.

Ana is quiet;
but I know she’s not still pissed at me. I made sure of that by
kissing her stupid outside the giant jumping castle while Sammy
bounced around, head-butting other kids. I glance over. It’s hard
to see clearly because of the lack of street lights, but she looks
like she’s waging some sort of internal battle.

“
You okay,
baby girl?” Her terrified eyes meet mine and I almost veer off the
road. “Ana, what’s wrong?”

“
I love
you.”

Then I do
veer off the road, just onto the gravel shoulder, but it’s enough
to jolt Sammy awake, enough that Ana cries out and clutches him to
her for dear life. I have a brief disagreement with the steering
wheel and then guide the car back onto the road. Sammy’s back
asleep before we even leave the bloody shoulder and I stare
straight ahead at the road before me while my heart thrashes around
in my chest.