Broken Fences (A TroubleMaker Novel, #1) (9 page)

She glared up at
him. “You can rest assured there won’t be any of that tonight. I hate you far
too much right now.”

“Right now?” His
grin split wide open, blossoming into a full-blown smile. “So there’s hope you
may forgive me after all?” Before she could reply, he leaned down and planted a
hard but effective kiss on her lips. Then, just like that, he slipped away, but
his indulgent mouth left a tingling sensation upon her lips. As warned, he
rolled over on his side, looking away from her. He took her hand and dragged
her along with him. He curled her fingers into his and held the union against his
chest.

The action drew
her closer to his back, and her face melted into his warm skin. She could hear
the beating of his heart. It was racing. She smiled against his strong back.
For all of Colden’s cool moves and playful sarcasm, she had apparently affected
him too.

Chapter
Nine

Click.

Colden’s eyes
were closed, but he heard the faint sound of metal scraping metal. His hand
felt heavy, and fingers tingled, they were going numb. He blinked, then smiled
when he opened his eyes. Leaning over him was the most beautiful woman in world.
The only woman capable of giving him the best sleep of his life just by lying by
his side. The only woman who had tried and succeeded in handcuffing him to a
bed without him feeling a thing until it was too late. He blinked a few more
times, rubbed his eye with his free hand, and looked up at his beautiful
captor. “Mornin’, sweetheart.” He rolled onto his back and stretched.

Dusty watched
his every move, and that only turned him on more. Dark curls hugged her face.
Her full, red lips were pursed. Her eyes black and penetrating. She had
squeezed her perfect figure into a tight little tank-top and jeans.
What a
sight to wake up to, like a dream-come-true.
He’d fantasized about her
frequently, more than he had any right to. He’d disrespected her, after all,
taken her virtue and then abandoned her. He’d had a hard time forgiving himself
for that, so he couldn’t really expect her to forgive him either. As usual, he
pushed the thoughts aside. He couldn’t bother thinking about redemption or
salvation for his past. He had to live in the now, and in that very moment, he
was handcuffed to a bed.

He gave his
wrist a slight jiggle, and the handcuffs clinked. “Are you trying to tell me
something here? I didn’t realize you were into this sort of thing.”

She stared at
him, indifferent, not saying a word.

“You wanna fool
around, is that it?” he provoked with a flick of the brows.

Her eyes
narrowed.

“‘Cause I’m no
longer exhausted. In fact, I’m all rested up and, uh…” He glanced down at his
faithful morning hard-on. “As you can see, I’m ready for ya too.”

Her long lashes
enhanced her sinfully dark eyes as they fell to the place between his legs. She
gazed at the spot where he was straining, thick and hard, against the fleece of
his pants. That turned him on too. She teased him with that scorching look from
his groin, up his naked torso, over his chest, and past his mouth, until her
eyes finally crashed into his.

A sweet little
smile pulled at her pursed red lips, and a hand came out from behind her back.
She tossed his keys up in the air, then caught them. “Sorry, baby. I’d love to
stay and help you deal with your little morning visitor, but I can’t,” she
said, faking a pout. “I have to go.” She mocked him with another sulk, then
tossed the keys again, catching them without batting an eye. She clenched them
in her hand, her demeanor shifting from pouty to jovial. “But don’t worry.” She
turned her back on him and started for the door. “I’ll call the motel in a few
hours to have someone release you.”

He laughed,
watching her hips sway as her nice little ass waltzed away. She was
resourceful, clever, and amazing, and Colden was crazy about her. He liked
hearing her call him “baby” too. He was happy to fill that role. He’d be her
baby. Hell, if he ever had the chance to, he’d be her everything. The notion
startled him, but he didn’t have time to fuck around with it or his psyche, so
he just accepted it and moved on. He wanted her more than just in that moment,
and there was no sense trying to hide it anymore. Dusty had always been his,
and to be sure she remained that way, he couldn’t let her walk out that damn
door. As much as he would have liked to give her the win, he had to stop her.

“Hey, Dusty
girl.”

She paused with
her hand on the doorknob.

“Can I tell you
something before you go?”

Her head shifted
over a slender shoulder. Beautiful curious eyes bore down at him.

“Ah…” He lifted
his hand and raised a finger. “Hold on one sec’.” Arching his body, he tilted
his head and sighed with relief. He was handcuffed to a measly spindle. He drew
back his pointed finger and slammed the palm of his hand into the rod, causing
it to crack. He jumped and was on his feet before Dusty could respond. “There,”
he said with a grin, shoving out an opened hand. “Now be a good girl and toss
me those keys.”

She blinked and
his great escape must have finally reached her brain, she threw open the door
and bolted.

He shook his
head with a chuckle and ran after her. “Shit!” he yelled as his bare feet hit
the stones on the parking lot. “Fuck!” The sharp edges of the rocks sliced his
soles. “Ah! Hell!” Gritting his teeth, he forged onward.

He was close, so
close that she couldn’t risk her escape by stopping at his truck. She passed it
and headed right for the street. When he finally caught up to her, he grabbed
her by the waist and swung her body around to his hip. He half-dragged,
half-carried her back toward the motel, while she kept kicking and screaming,
trying to draw attention.

A man and woman
leaving their room had stopped to see what was going on, and Colden could tell
the man was about to intervene. He had that look in his eyes, the same one
Colden would’ve had if he’d come across the scene he was creating. He needed to
prove to the guy that he wasn’t hurting Dusty. If he didn’t, he’d end up having
to hurt the guy.

When he finally
made it to his truck, he twirled Dusty around and pinned her against it. He
slipped a hand behind her neck and grabbed a lock of her hair. He gave it a
little tug, and her fight immediately stopped.

Breathing hard,
she glared up at him.

“Relax,” he
quietly rasped.

“Relax? You
kidnapped me!” she said, her voice raising an octave with every word. “You
handcuffed me! Relax? Really, St. James? You shot at me for Christ’s sakes!”

The man started
toward them, and Colden knew his time was running out.

“All those years
ago,” he said, loud enough to be heard but still low enough for her to have to
stop shouting to hear him. “I didn’t want to leave you.”

Her forehead scrunched.
“What?”

“I didn’t want
to let you go then, and I sure as hell don’t wanna let you go now.” Like the
quick grip to her hair, Colden captured her lips. His mouth grabbed hold of
hers and refused to let go until she surrendered. When he pushed his tongue
past her lips, her tongue reached out to greet it.

The hot
connection charged him. He pulled her body close. Steering her with the hair he
was clinging to, he devoured her sweet-tasting mouth. A little cry vibrated
against his lips, and that small murmur did him in. He grabbed her by the ass
and pulled her up. Like a good girl, her legs wrapped around his waist, and her
arms clung to his neck. This time, it was his good girl who had deepened the
kiss. He’d always admired the aggressor in her. He squeezed her ass harder,
forcing her to grind into him. The action instantly hardened him. Guiding her
hips, he rubbed her against his throbbing erection.

“Fuck, girl,” he
growled between the tongue-lashing and lip-smacking.

His palms hit
the top of the truck, his ass muscles flexed, and he pushed their joined bodies
against the hard steel door. Dusty’s legs held tight to him, as his cock
demanded to be inside of her.

“Damn.” The kiss
turned hot and wild. His hips gyrated, hammering her into the truck. Then he
did it again, slamming her harder. “Shit!” This time, he stilled, all but his
stirring cock, something he had no control over. That part of him wanted her
bad, and he nearly broke her in two against that damn truck because of it. “Did
I hurt you?”

Gazing up at him
with breathless impatience, she shook her head.

Every muscle in
his body was tight and sore with need, and he could only image what her body
felt like after he knocked her against the truck like some inpatient teenager.

“I’m sorry,
sweetheart.” Dropping his hand from the roof, he brushed the back of it gently
across her cheek. “You always make me so…crazy.”

Her eyes
lingered on his mouth. With her breath waning again, she squinted thoughtfully
up at him. “Colden?” She licked her bottom lip, as if his kiss was still
lingering there. “Why did you leave?”

He grimaced.
“That’s a discussion for another time.” His body may have been ready to
capitulate to her, but Colden had to withhold his heart until he figured out
what it wanted, what he was doing. He wasn’t about to make any promises he
couldn’t keep, and he had no right to keep Dusty without them. If he confessed
any of the truth, he knew he’d have to tell it all, and he wasn’t even ready to
admit everything to himself, let alone to Dusty.

He glanced over
at the man and woman, who were getting in their car. He almost laughed when he
saw the woman shaking her head and heard her muttering, “Get a room. Sheesh!”
His ploy had worked, and that was a relief.

That relief was
short-lived, however, because when he glanced back at Dusty, she was watching
him intently. The obvious had become obvious to her, and anger flushed her face
scarlet.

“Put me down!”

Placing his hand
back on top of the truck, he grinned. “I’m not holding you. It seems you’re
holding me. Wasn’t that our deal last night?”

She snarled at
him. Her slender legs dropped from his waist, and small hands released his neck
as her feet hit the ground. “You only did that to—”

“To what?” He
tilted his head, giving her a chaste kiss. “
I
only did what?”

“You kissed me!
You only did it so that man wouldn’t come over here!”

Leaning forward,
his body barely touched hers. “Did I?”

“I hate you!”

“Yeah, yeah.
You’ve said that before.” He grabbed her hand. “Maybe someday I can change your
opinion of me.” He turned and started back toward the motel. “But today’s not
that day,” he said. He was sure she’d hate him even more when they got back to
the room and he handcuffed her to the sturdy part of the bedpost so he could
take a shower.

“Like hell!” she
raged, staggering behind. “Today or any other day, that’s never gonna happen. I
will always hate you for this, St. James.”

He glanced over
his shoulder. “Oh, pretty girl.” He winked. “Never say never.”

She rolled her
eyes. If she could have gotten away with it without looking like a child, he
figured she would have stuck her tongue out at him too.

Truthfully, when
Colden had kissed her against the truck just as he had kissed her up against Mr.
McAllister’s fence, Dusty had a hard time hating him. That feeling of belonging
had started to stir deep inside her again, and she didn’t want it to stop.

After he lured
her back to the room, he handcuffed her to the bed and left. She practically
spat fire, stewing on that bed until he returned with coffee for both of them.
In desperate need of her morning java, she swallowed her pride and snatched it
from his hand. Sipping the hot liquid, she watched Colden pull out her e-reader
from his bag. He put it and the charger on the bed. He must have snagged it
when he’d gone back into her house for their bags, and a very small part of her
was thankful for his thoughtfulness. It would bore her senseless to be cuffed
to the bed with nothing to do but stare at the ugly, faded, paisley wallpaper.
Her eyes could wander to Colden, but nothing but trouble would come from that.

Without a word,
Colden tried to comfort her, getting her all settled in the bed with her
stories and coffee. He leaned down, gently kissed her on the forehead, and
walked into the bathroom. When she heard the shower turn on, her thighs
clenched.
Damn him!

Sitting in the
bed, partly pampered and stolen by Colden James, she tried to reason why she
was there. She wasn’t an idiot. In his mind, Colden had kidnapped her to keep
her safe. He’d handcuffed her to keep her from running, to keep her as his
company
.
In her heart, Dusty knew he’d never hurt her, but that didn’t make being
restrained to a bed any easier. She wanted to go home. Whoever was after
Colden, it had nothing to do with her. She was furious that he’d refused to
drop her off at the police station when she’d asked him to. None of it made any
sense.

* * * * *

For the next two
days, they remained at the motel. If Dusty had to be honest, she’d have to
admit that she was content with the situation. She was glad to have some time
alone with the Saint. He’d been gone for so long, and she discovered that she
had missed him. At one time in her life, from morning to night, he had been her
everything. She couldn’t take a single breath without thinking about him. Granted,
she was young and naïve back then. Yet, he’d been a huge part of her and
letting that part go… Well, it had always seemed impossible. Hell, the man had kidnapped
her, he even shot at her, and still to this day, it was difficult for her to
breathe without him breaking into her thoughts. She was a lost cause when it
came to the Saint, and that was why without any struggle she had stayed with her
captor.

The only time
Dusty left the small room was to go for a walk with Colden. At least they both had
agreed that exercise was important. In the morning and after they’d had their
supper, they’d take a stroll. He donned a baseball cap, and she wore a pair of
huge sunglasses he’d purchased at the corner store.

Colden insisted
that they hold hands while they walked, and Dusty didn’t mind. It was a far cry
from holding him in bed all night—or at least part of the night. By morning,
she was usually curled up in a little ball, with his arms wrapped around her.
His warm breath, cozy yet firm body, and scent all filled her brainless mind
with foolish thoughts.
What if I roll over and kiss him? Touch him? Take off
my clothes? Would he finish me? Complete the wonderful feeling of belonging and
make me his forever?
She laughed.
As if that’s gonna happen.
Moreover, she didn’t know if she even really wanted it to.