Irresistible Forces (McKingley) (10 page)

“Go,” she said.

“Go?”

“Leo called you and probably said something dirty. I see the lust in your eyes. Go.”

“We’ve not had much time together,” she protested lightly.

“We can do this again. At least one of us should be getting some.”

Deyon shook her head, determined to spend time with her friend. “Nope, I’m fine. He just wanted to know where I was at.”

Amusement lingered in her friend’s eyes. “Ahh, making sure you weren’t out past curfew?”

She glared and stuck her tongue out. “Well, yes. That and he wants to fuck me before bed.”

“Ohhh crap, Deyon, I don’t want to hear that. This is my
brother
you’re talking about.”

“You are such a prude. When did this happen?” she teased.

“I’m not a prude. I just don’t want to know about my brother’s sex life.”

She blinked innocently. “I thought we were talking about mine.”

“You are such an evil bitch. New topic.”

With a wicked grin, Deyon allowed her to change to something else. All the while, her mind continually drifted back to the thought of the man sitting at her house, waiting for her. Naked.

Chapter Seven

Leo walked down the steps from the house of the couple he’d just delivered the news to. Damn it all, there were some days he hated this job. This counted as one of those days. The couple’s daughter, Aslynn, had been riding her bike back from school, as she’d done every day, when a reckless driver had hit her. She’d died on the way to the hospital.

He blew out a sigh as he opened the door to his vehicle. The mother’s wailing could still be heard and it was like a knife to his heart. The child had been their only one and now…they had none. Normally people were asked to come to the morgue for identification, but he’d said no to that. Her face had been so badly mangled it wasn’t recognisable. Her school bag had been beside her and they’d also run a dental on her to get positive identification. No parent should have that image of their child as the last one. They needed to remember her as the vibrant girl she had been.

He stopped for a coffee at a small diner, needing a moment to decompress. Climbing out, he noticed a familiar, mostly dirty, green and dented Jeep parked in the lot. He entered the diner and scanned the area. Finding who he looked for, he made his way there.

“Hey, Sheriff,” the server greeted him.

“Candy.”

“Coffee?”

“Please.” He paused by the booth and stared down at the woman there. “Hey, Lis.”

“Hey, bro. Grab a seat.”

He did and nodded his thanks when Candy dropped off his drink. “How you doing?”

She shrugged. “Some days are harder than others, you know?”

“I do. I just got done with telling Aslynn’s parents. I convinced them not to go down for a look.”

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I tried, Leo. I really did.”

He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “It wasn’t your fault, Lis. You always do your best.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier. I’ll be playing the ‘what if’ game in my head for a while.”

He nodded and grabbed for her plate, dragging it closer to him. Helping himself to her fries, he glanced at her ringless left hand.

“You know you can ask me. Jonathon told me he slipped up and mentioned it to you.” The plate moved back out of his reach. “And you can get your own fries.”

“Candy,” he called out. “An order like Lis has, please.”

“Coming right up, Sheriff.”

He turned his attention back to his sister. “Why?”

She lifted one eyebrow and he read the question before she voiced it. “Really?” She ate a bite of her hamburger. “Have you
not
seen the insanity Mom’s doing for these weddings? I’m not going to be a part of that. Besides, I don’t do girly. I have
no
desire to be put through all of that craziness.”

“What about pictures?”

“We had some taken.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t going to tell Jonathon, but I didn’t return his car to him the next day. You know how he is about his vehicles anyway. This was his new one. His
baby.
So when we got back he demanded to know why. He had Harmony with him to drive one vehicle for him so we told them both.”

“That’s not an answer.”

She blew out an exasperated breath. “Fine, because you blab. And you’re dating Deyon. She would blab to Arissa, which would get it back to Mom.” She shrugged. “I’m going to tell them. Eventually. Perhaps after Katiya and Arissa get married.”

Why did he doubt that? His sibling had absolutely no desire to tell their mother. Or the rest of the family. “What about all the work Deyon is doing for you?” he asked, not at all liking the fact all her hard work and dedication would be for naught.

“She’s not doing anything for me.”

“The dresses?” He scowled at his baby sister. “How is that nothing? And her employees.”

“Damn, Leo. I had no idea you thought I would be so callous. I’ve not told her anything other than ‘no’ and ‘I have to think on it before I make a decision’ so nothing has been started for me.”

“She’s a friend of the family.”

“She is. Yours and Arissa’s, mostly.”

He ate some more fries. “Are you saying you don’t like her?”

Lis threw up her hands in exasperation. “Oh, for goodness sakes, Leo. That didn’t even remotely come out of my mouth. I like Deyon fine. But she’s Arissa’s close friend and you, well, it’s obvious you two are fucking. I don’t need my business all over McKingley before I’m ready for it to be. I grew up with everyone watching my life through a microscope.”

“So you really didn’t tell Arissa?”

“God no! I love her, but she’s so likely to blurt it out. Same with you and Deyon.” She pointed a finger at him. “Which is why I mean it, Leo. She doesn’t get told.”

“I’m not going to keep secrets from her.”

“You’re not. She would have no reason to ask so long as you don’t mention anything about it. And you’re keeping
my
secret.”

He began to shake his head when he stared into her chocolate mousse brown eyes. They shone with unshed tears. Her lower lip trembled slightly.

Shit. Archer will kill me if he finds out I made her cry.
It didn’t matter—he knew she was about to leak crocodile tears. Delicia was the baby in the family and he hated to see her crying. Not to mention Archer Bennett, her
husband
, wouldn’t be happy. The man was damn protective of her. Moreover, he wasn’t a slouch by any means. It wouldn’t be a pleasant discussion if Archer found out Lis had been crying because one of her brothers.

“Okay, okay,” he said. Hands out in a placating gesture. “Just don’t cry. I won’t tell anyone until you give me your go ahead.”

Just that fast the tears vanished and a brilliant smile lifted her lips. “Love you, Leo.” She leaned over the table and kissed his cheek.

“I didn’t stand a chance, did I?”

“No, not really.”

He chuckled. She was good—he had to give her that. It wasn’t something she did often for Lis didn’t like people who pretended to be upset to get their way.

“What happened to not liking women who use their feminine wiles to get away with things?”

“I’m not using feminine wiles with you.”

“Sheriff,” squawked the radio at his side. “As soon as you have time can you please come back to the station, over.”

“I’m on my way, Trina.” Pinning his gaze back on his sister, who’d fallen silent the second the call came across, he asked, “What do you call it then?”

She gave him a Cheshire cat grin. “Candy, put these on my bill will you, please?” The waitress waved her acknowledgement. “For you, Leo, it’s all baby sister wiles. And I get to use those at my discretion.” She leaned close. “In case you wondered, no I have absolutely no qualms about doing that to you or anyone else in this family.”

She slipped away to pay the bill while he laughed. He leant back against the booth and watched Lis stride to the door, glance at him then wave. He returned it and continued observing her as she jogged down the steps to hop in her rugged and dirty vehicle.

I am a lucky man.
He knew this. His family was a large one and they all loved each other.

“Trina?” he radioed back to dispatch.

“Go ahead, Sheriff.”

“Is it important what I come back for or can it wait a bit?”

“No rush, just have a message for you from another officer.” Her tone, like her sister’s was nothing but professional.

“Great. I’m off to speak to someone else from the university incident. Then I’ll be along to the station.”

“Very good, sir.”

He continued eating his meal and tossed some bills down to cover the tip, although he was pretty sure Lis had as well. With a wave, he was on his way out then slid behind the wheel of his cruiser. He started the powerful engine then headed off in the direction of the college campus. He wanted to learn who had set the fire and what the reason was for it.

After work, he would go find his woman and see what fun they could get into. He also needed to double check the dates for the wedding she’d asked him to attend with her up in New York. He was actually looking forward to that. Being away with Deyon. A hotel room, room service. His cock stirred and he shifted, hoping to ease his arousal before he got to his destination. It wouldn’t be easy. Especially when all he could think of was having Deyon all to himself in a hotel room for a few days, away from every day issues which got in the way.

* * * *

Deyon dropped the bolt of cobalt blue fabric she held as a piercing pain infiltrated her head.
Oh, shit this hurts.
She knew what it meant. Another of her debilitating headaches was right on its way. Based on past experience, she had very little time to make it home before she would be worthless. At least the shop was closed so she didn’t have to worry about having someone cover for her, or trying to get the patrons out.

Swiping her purse, she headed at as fast as pace as she could manage for her car. She unlocked it and slid behind the wheel as another one hit. Tears formed behind her eyes and she stared blurrily through them as she revved the engine and tore out of the lot.

She wove in and out of traffic as if it stood still, doing her damnedest to get home before her world went black. A yellow traffic light before her almost had her slowing, but she pressed down on the accelerator, shooting through at the last minute.

By the time she made it home she was shaking and sweat had begun to run as she fought to stay upright and get inside. She dropped items as she fought through the ferocious pain and stumbled to her bedroom.

“Close shades,” she slurred as she stripped out of her attire she’d worn to work.

Even the faint whir of the motor doing as she’d ordered seemed too damn loud and she winced. But blissfully her room became encased in total darkness. With her final bit of waning energy, she flopped on the bed and dragged a coverlet over her before succumbing to the world of darkness.

* * * *

She stirred and moaned slightly. Sitting up slowly, Deyon reached to her bedside table and her touch lamp, triggering it to the lowest setting. The faint glow made her squint regardless, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. She found her pills and a bottle of water where she always had them. She popped a pill then washed it down with a swig of the tepid liquid.

Again, she’d forgotten to take her pills out with her. This time she’d changed purses yesterday and hadn’t put the item in the new bag. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she took several deep breaths before she got to her feet and made her way gingerly to the bathroom.

A hot shower was just what the doctor ordered and she felt better after. With no energy to dress, she merely slipped on her robe and walked out of her bedroom. The setting sun shone through the windows of her living room and it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust.

Shit, I was out longer than I thought.
At least it was the start of the weekend as well and she had nothing planned so she didn’t have to explain anything to anyone about missing an outing. Or so she thought.
I’ll check my calendar later.

In the kitchen, she stared at the array of things before her. She wasn’t that hungry, but she knew she had to eat something. So she reached for a can of vegetable beef soup. While it heated on the stovetop, she leaned against the counter and toyed with the spoon.

She’d just turned the heat off and ladled some into the bowl when her front door slammed shut. A smile lifted the corners of her mouth—Leo had a key. She loved spending time with him and after the day she’d had, it would be so lovely to have him rub her temples and hold her close.

She replaced the pot on the stove and turned to the doorway. Her smile faded when she saw the anger flashing in his eyes.

“I’d say hi,” she began. “But I think you’d bite my head off. Did you have a rough day?”

Not even a hint of a smile at that comment. In fact, his gaze hardened more.
I will go with yes, he had a bad day.

“I can’t believe you!” he spat. “What the hell were you thinking?”

She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
Okay, not the greeting I was expecting.
“Don’t you come in here and yell at me. I had another of my headaches. I didn’t think we had anything planned. If I missed it, then I’m sorry. We both know I’m not going to listen to any ‘lecture’ you give, so just skip it.”

He scoffed. “Really? You think that I’m mad over the possibility you missed something with me? This angry?”

“Then what?” She shifted her weight. “What happened?” It had to have been something—he was almost over the edge with his anger. Not to mention he didn’t even comment on her saying she wouldn’t listen to his lecture.

“You, Deyon. You happened.”

She shook her head, not following. “Care to explain that anymore?” Her own voice had begun to rise.

“Another headache.”

“What, you’re mad because I didn’t tell you I had one?”

“Get over yourself.” The anger in his tone set her back. He no longer had a raised voice, but there was no mistaking the fury radiating from him.

“Excuse me?”

“Listen to me, Deyon De’clare, and listen well. And I’m not kidding, this isn’t something you just ignore me on. You do that again and you’ll answer to me.”