Vanishing Dreams: Vanishing Dreams (Devil's Bend #2) (11 page)

“Scrambled eggs and bacon?” he asked, opening the refrigerator and
peering at her around the door.

“Sounds perfect.”

Dalton nodded toward the room behind her and Katie turned. “The
television is set up. We can eat in there.”

“Okay.”

While he worked in the kitchen, Katie kicked off her shoes as she
fumbled with the remote. While she hit button after button, she slid into the
brown leather recliner, noticing that it was big enough for two people to sit
comfortably. It took her about ten minutes to figure out the system, but she
managed. She was pretty sure she had heard Dalton chuckle at her as he cooked,
but she pretended not to notice, keeping her smile to herself.

After finding a movie channel, she placed the remote on the small table
beside the chair. A few minutes later, Dalton joined her with two plates
overflowing with food. He handed them over and then retreated to the kitchen once
more, returning with two glasses of orange juice.

They discussed his less-than-adventurous trip to the grocery store
while they ate, and when they were finished, Dalton took the dishes to the
kitchen, but he wasn’t gone long before he plopped down beside her once again.
She curled up against him, completely aware of his body beside her; the scent
of his cologne, mixed with beer and cigarette smoke from the bar, wafted in her
direction, sparking her awareness even more.

Turning her head, she noticed he was watching her, not the movie. There
was an intensity in his gaze, one she hadn’t seen before. Not like this.

“Come here,” he murmured, readjusting his position so that she was
straddling his lap, staring down at him while he looked up at her. “I’m gonna
miss you.”

“And I’ll miss you,” Katie replied honestly. Although she had the end
of their relationship in sight, there was no need to deny the truth. She would
miss him. Terribly.

But they still had tonight.

And Katie wanted to take advantage of every second.

She reached down, unhooking his belt buckle and then releasing the
button and zipper while she kept her eyes locked with his. When she had his
jeans released, she eased her hand inside, stroking him slowly. Velvet-covered
steel slid against the palm of her hand. Dalton’s eyes closed briefly but then
opened, gazing up at her as though she controlled his destiny.

And maybe, for tonight, she did.

They could be Katie and Dalton, two people who were attracted to one
another. They could leave the rest of the world outside of Dalton’s front door
for just a little while. And tomorrow…

Tomorrow, they would both move on and have the memory of tonight to
hang on to.

Dalton wasn’t familiar with the emotion that was consuming him. He’d
never felt anything like this, and he wasn’t referring to the physical reaction
his body was having to Katie stroking his dick in her soft, smooth hands,
either.

Although that was incredible.

But the way she was looking at him, as though she could read his
thoughts or see into his soul… That was what threatened to choke him up.

He was tempted to tell her that he loved her, but he bit his tongue,
holding the words in. He didn’t want to spook her, didn’t want to send her
running. He wanted to make her feel the same way he did, make her want him
until there was nothing more important in the world than what they meant to one
another.

She wasn’t there yet. He could see it in her stormy gray eyes. She was
holding back, for whatever reason. And he was okay with that. For now.

“Oh, damn, baby,” he said through a sharp exhale.

Katie was sliding off his lap and onto the floor, his dick still in her
hands. She was blinding him with a need so fierce he wasn’t sure he was going
to survive it.

Assisting her, Dalton lifted his hips and pushed his jeans and boxers
down his thighs. Katie pulled them the rest of the way off while he tugged his
shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor with the rest of his clothes.

And then he watched her.

With one hand, she was stroking his cock slowly, gently, the other
cupping his balls. He spread his legs farther apart, giving her better access,
keeping his eyes on her as she leaned forward and wrapped her lips around the
engorged head of his cock. The only thing sexier than her mouth wrapped around
his dick that he’d ever seen was when she came. Which she would do very, very
soon.

In the meantime, Dalton sucked in a breath, enjoying the raspy
sensation of her tongue against the sensitive underside of his shaft, the way
she sucked on the swollen head every so often.

Dalton reached for the ponytail holder at the back of Katie’s head,
sliding it off so he could slip his fingers into the silky strands, holding her
head gently while she took him into her mouth, deeper with every downstroke.

His cock was pulsing, his balls drawing up against his body, but he
wasn’t ready to come. Not yet. He wanted to be inside her when he did. And the
only thing stopping him from doing that was the panties she had on beneath that
skirt.

Gripping her hair more firmly, he halted her motions, her eyes widening
as they met his. “As sweet as your mouth is, and as much as I’d like to watch
myself come in your mouth, that’s not in the cards tonight. Come here.”

Katie got to her feet, but she didn’t join in him the chair
immediately. She stood in front of him and slowly stripped off every stitch of
clothing she had. First the sweater and skirt, then her bra and panties.

He observed every move she made, grazing every smooth inch of her skin
with his eyes as she bared herself to him. And when she was as naked as he was,
he reached for her hand, pulling her back onto his lap. She straddled him, her
eyes meeting with his once again.

For the first time since she’d walked in his house, she kissed him, the
thrust of her tongue into his mouth obliterating his senses. She tasted so damn
sweet. And when she lowered herself onto his cock, taking him in hand and
guiding him into her scalding-hot depths, he feared he was going to come far
too soon.

Gripping her hips to keep her from moving, he plundered her mouth with
his tongue. He wondered whether she realized they weren’t using a condom again.
He knew he should’ve mentioned it, should’ve taken the precaution, but he was
immobilized by the overwhelming pleasure, his brain cells scattering.

When she cupped his face in her small hands, pulling back and staring
down at him, he knew he was a goner. And then she smiled, her eyes lighting up
as she said, “Make love to me.”

He damn sure wasn’t about to tell her no.

Releasing the grip he had on her hips, he returned her smile. “Ride me,
Katie.”

Her smile turned a tad wicked, but her hips moved, and his breath
caught in his throat. She started off slow, her pussy gripping him as she took
him as deep as she could.

“Oh, fuck,” he growled. “That’s it, darlin’. Ride my cock.”

Her movements quickened, the way she rocked her hips back and forth,
taking him in and slowly releasing him. And Dalton did his best to withstand
the sensual torture for as long as he could, but he knew he was about to reach the
point of no return. She felt too damn good.

He assisted her by guiding her hips, pulling her down onto his cock as
he thrust up into her, fucking her harder and harder.

“Dalton,” she moaned. “Oh, God.”

Her fingers slid behind his head, her nails digging into his skull as
she tipped her head back, her breasts jutting out toward his waiting lips. He
sucked one beaded nipple between his lips, gently nipping her with his teeth.
She cried out, her grip on his head tightening as her pussy clamped down on him.

“Rub your clit, Katie. Make yourself come on my dick.”

Katie released one hand from behind his head, reaching down between
them. Dalton followed the movement, watching as she used her middle finger to
seek the hardened nub hidden between her swollen folds. He lifted her hips
slightly, his feet planted firmly on the floor, his body sliding down into the
chair as he used all the traction he could find to fuck her, watching his cock
tunneling in and out of her while she teased her clit.

“Oh, damn, baby.” Yeah, he wasn’t going to last long. It was too much.

“Dalton,” she cried out, her internal muscles clamping down on him
almost painfully.

He didn’t slow his thrusts, pulling her toward him as he pushed deep
inside. “Fuck, Katie. Come for me, baby.”

He was tempted to close his eyes, but then he didn’t need to, because
Katie’s entire body went rigid, her fingers pulling his hair, her nails digging
into his scalp as she shattered right there in his arms. Unable to hold back
any longer, he let go, his cock pulsing deep inside her as he pulled her down
onto him one last time. He held her there, his hips flexing as he buried
himself as deep as he could.

Cupping the back of her head, he held her against him, listening to her
breathe as he tried to sort out the emotions that were boiling inside him. Now
more than ever, he wanted to tell her that he loved her. But he knew now
certainly wasn’t the time. Never in the heat of the moment.

He would tell her.

Eventually.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Katie spent the night wrapped in Dalton’s arms once again. However, she
didn’t sleep. Not a wink.

No, she lay awake and thought about everything that had happened
between them over the last few months. She thought about all the good times
they’d had and her reasons for why it all had to come to an end.

As much as she wanted to pretend to be someone else, she knew she
couldn’t. Her secrets would catch up to her. There was no doubt about that.

She’d spent too much time shucking her responsibilities as it was, and
she had more important things to worry about than Dalton or the love she’d
developed for him. In another life, maybe they could’ve had something, possibly
something that defied any love ever established.

But not this life.

Her cards had been dealt, and she couldn’t change her hand at this
point.

It was time to move on, time to end this before he learned the truth.

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was already after six,
and the sun would be coming up soon. She couldn’t be there when Dalton woke up.
He was leaving today, and she didn’t think she was capable of saying good-bye
to his face. Not without revealing how she truly felt about him.

Easing out from beneath his arm, she took her time, not wanting to wake
him. And when she was free, she dropped her feet to the floor and stood.
Glancing back at him one last time, she admired him. He was truly the most
beautiful man she’d ever met. Inside and out. And her love for him would never
die, but he deserved so much more than what she had to offer.

Katie tiptoed out of his bedroom, not bothering to close the door
behind her. She didn’t want to risk any unnecessary noise. As it was,
everything she did seemed to be amplified, at least to her ears. Instead, she
hurried to the living room, pulling on her clothes as quickly as she could, grabbing
her purse, and walking out the front door. As she sat in her car, she stared
back at the house for a moment.

And when the single tear slid down her cheek, she knew it was time to
go. She’d already gotten in over her head, and she wasn’t strong enough to
resist this man, so she had to do things her way.

By the time she reached the main road that would lead her back to her
apartment, the tears were steadily streaming down her face. She didn’t try to
stop them. It was her way of letting him go.

She wasn’t who he thought she was. She would never be that girl. The
innocence, it was a front. A cloak that securely hid the life she’d been living
for far too long. The life she couldn’t turn her back on. Sometimes there were
circumstances that were out of your control, and no matter how much you wished
things could be different, you knew deep down that it wasn’t possible. And
Katie knew.

She’d known since the day she’d turned eighteen.

Five weeks later

End of January

Dalton knew he had no choice but to go back to Devil’s Bend. At least
for a little while. He’d spent the last month with his parents, overstaying his
welcome, he was sure. Although they never questioned why he was still there, he
knew they worried.

But he hadn’t been able to talk to them. Not about this.

He was acting like a fucking pussy over a girl, and it was even
beginning to get on his own fucking nerves.

Which was why he was going back to Devil’s Bend to get his house in
order. Right before Christmas, he had received an offer on his house in
Nashville, one that he hadn’t been able to refuse. So he’d managed to have his
things packed up and sent to his new place, with Cooper overlooking the
delivery. He should’ve been there, but it had been around that time that his
world had come crashing down around him.

At Christmas. What a fantastic present that had been.

Katie, the woman he’d fallen in love with, had entertained thoughts of
spending the rest of his life with, had told him that she didn’t want to see
him anymore. She hadn’t even given him a chance to talk to her, to find out
just what her reasons were.

When he’d tried to call her cell phone, she hadn’t answered. When he’d
tried to reach her at The Rusty Nail, she’d refused to take the call.

Sure, he could’ve hightailed it back before now, but he’d been too
confused to go after her. He still had no idea what the hell had happened. Aside
from the fact that he’d woken up alone the last night he’d been in Devil’s
Bend, he’d had no notice that things were going to go south. Not like this.

Tessa had reached out to him once or twice, but he had tried to avoid
the conversation. Katie was Tessa’s friend and employee, and the last thing
Dalton wanted was to stir up shit for Katie. He might not know exactly what was
going on with her, but whatever it was, she’d decided to put up a wall between
them. And despite Tessa’s good intentions, Dalton wasn’t interested in bringing
others into the mix.

He fully intended to find out what was wrong, but unfortunately, the
timing wasn’t right. He figured Katie had known that when she’d called it
quits.

He was currently in the middle of his next album, and he had a tour
rapidly approaching.

As much as he wanted to drop everything and go find her, to insist that
she tell him what the issue was, he had too much on his plate.

But now he had the chance. He just had to get through the next couple
of hours and he’d be back on the road, back in Devil’s Bend for a few days
before the tour kicked off. Oddly, for the first time since his career had
gotten off the ground, he wasn’t looking forward to hitting the road. But he
knew he had to. He couldn’t let his fans down. Not the people who supported
him. They deserved one hundred percent from him, and he fully intended to give
them that.

For the last couple of weeks, he hadn’t been sure just how he was going
to make that happen, though. His thoughts constantly drifted back to Katie and
what they’d had, what they’d shared. No matter what her reasons were, he knew
she’d felt it, too. They hadn’t just had a brief affair. What had transpired
between them was more than that.

But that was exactly what she’d told him it was in one of the few texts
she’d sent back to him.

Didn’t mean he believed a single word. 

Fucking hell. Dalton just wanted to get out of Nashville. And after
that session, he knew it was time. He couldn’t stay focused. He’d finally hit a
wall.

Devil’s Bend was calling his name, and he was ready to hit the open
road. Hours from now, he’d be back in the one place he’d been thinking about
for the last month. Back where his life hadn’t been a shitty number of endless
days and nights spent thinking about what could’ve possibly gone wrong.

Now he had the chance to find out.

Maybe it would bring a little closure, if nothing else. After all,
every time he closed his eyes, he saw images of Katie, could hear her seductive
voice in his head, the sexy things she had said to him in the middle of the
night back when he’d spent his evenings or early mornings talking to her on the
phone.

When he remembered those instances, he found himself trying to recall
any sign of what was to come. The one thing he always seemed to fall back on
was her insistence that she was busy. The more he thought about it, the more he
didn’t understand. She worked at The Rusty Nail three nights a week, and she
took online classes, which left her with an endless supply of homework, or so
she said.

But he just couldn’t seem to make it all add up.

Something else was going on. He could feel it.

Dalton wanted to assume that school was keeping her burning both ends
of the candle, but he just couldn’t imagine her taking so many classes that she
spent every waking hour doing homework. She had admitted that she was working
on her degree in accounting. So, sure, he figured a lot of studying was
necessary for that sort of work, but seriously. How many hours could one person
spend in a week on homework? And how had she been able to spend time with him
when she had if that was the case?

Dalton pushed open the doors of the office building where the recording
studio resided, the brisk January air slapping him in the face. Shoving his
hands in the pockets of his jacket, he felt around for his keys as he continued
toward the parking lot.

“Mr. Calhoun!”

The sound of his name being screamed by one reporter after another was
grating on Dalton’s nerves. Up to this point, he’d done his best to ignore
them, but they didn’t seem to be taking a hint.

“Is it true that you’re dating a stripper?”

Dalton came up short.

Turning to locate the face that owned that voice, he waited to see if
they’d continue. A smarmy grin told him exactly who the culprit was.

“What did you say?”

“Rumor has it that you’re dating a stripper. Care to comment?”

Where the fuck did these people come up with this shit?

Then again…

There was a warning bell chiming in Dalton’s head. The damn thing was
loud enough that he couldn’t completely ignore it.

But he tried.

“No comment,” he mumbled and turned back the way he had been heading.
It would do no good for him to stop and listen to the bullshit. He’d heard it
all.

Four fucking hours. That’s the amount of time he’d just wasted in the
studio, unable to get his focus where it needed to be. At this point, his
throat hurt, and he wanted to spend the next few hours without having to say a
word. Maybe by the time he was back in Texas, he’d feel at least sub-par.

“No comment? We have it on good authority that you’ve been seeing Katie
Renee Clarren, stripper extraordinaire. Stage name Sunshine.”

Dalton saw red, and his flash-temper got the best of him. It wasn’t
that he was prone to violence, but the one thing he detested was when someone
went and talked shit about someone he cared for. Unfortunately, being in the
limelight, Dalton saw it more often than not. But this time, the smarmy bastard
grinning like an idiot had gone too far.

Stomping back to stand nose to nose with the asshole who was spreading
vicious lies, Dalton growled, “Don’t let me hear you say her name, understand
me?”

“So it’s true?” the asshole asked, clearly pushing his luck while
glancing around as though someone else actually might care what he had to say.
“You’re seeing Katie? Is it serious? Do you care that she takes her clothes off
for other men?”

Dalton was tempted to punch the dickhead in the face, but that would
only add fuel to an unnecessary fire at this point.

Ignore his shit. Move on.

The voices in his head were doing their best to sway him in the
opposite direction, but something kept his feet rooted in place.

“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” Dalton growled, keeping his
voice low.

“Katie Renee Clarren, twenty-three years of age, five feet two inches,
black hair, gray eyes—”

Dalton couldn’t help himself, he gripped the front of the reporter’s
shirt and pulled him even closer.

“Lay off, man,” the reporter spat. “I’m just relaying the facts, and
based on your reaction, I assume it’s true. Wait a minute…” The guy paused,
looking seriously confused. “You didn’t know, did you?”

Dalton shoved him, not hard enough to knock him to the ground but just
enough to make him stumble backward.

“Look, Dalton, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to break the bad news to
you. Look at it like this, at least she’s not a hooker,” the bastard said,
laughing. “At least not that we know of.”

The red haze was consuming Dalton by now, but he managed, by the grace
of the Lord Almighty, to turn and walk away. This asshole had no idea what he
was talking about.

Katie. A stripper?

No fucking way.

Don’t believe everything you hear
, he reminded himself.

How many times had someone made up some bullshit rumor about him? And
even half the time, when they did get part of the story right, they butchered
the rest, probably on purpose.

This was no different. Katie was a waitress, not a fucking stripper.

She would’ve told him, right?

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dalton opened his truck door and
climbed inside, slamming the damn thing a little too hard. He shoved the key in
the ignition and twisted, the big, powerful engine roaring to life with a
ball-rattling rumble.

He darted a look in the backseat, checking that his bag was back there.
It was. And now he was on his way to Texas.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, his stomach roiled and his head
was screaming.

And that was when he took a left, laying on the gas and leaving a trail
of rubber in his wake.

Too bad he should’ve taken a right if he had intended to go to Texas.

♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥

Katie couldn’t curb her edginess. She attributed that to the amount of
time she’d spent in the bathroom these last few days, hovered over the toilet,
puking her guts up. And it had only gotten worse from the moment she’d opened
her eyes that morning. She was sick to her stomach and nearly jumping out of
her skin on top of that.

Dalton was on his way back.

Or at least he was supposed to be, according to what she’d overheard
last night. She had been innocently waiting at the bar for Eric to fill her
drinks when Cooper had mentioned the news to Tessa. So she hadn’t purposely
been eavesdropping, but she knew. And it didn’t make her feel any better.

She hadn’t talked to him for a month, and even before then, she’d only
communicated by text, answering as little as she could without completely
blowing him off. It was the least she could do.

Not that she deserved any praise whatsoever. What she had done to him
was appalling, even to her. She’d shunned him completely, after all they’d been
through together. She loved him; there was no doubt about it. She was trying to
protect him.

She continued to remind herself of that. She wasn’t a bad person,
didn’t get off on hurting people and this … what had happened had damn near
destroyed her, but it had to be done.

Katie could only imagine all of the questions going through Dalton’s
head. All of the answers she’d never given him. He’d stayed away longer than
he’d originally said he would, and she didn’t very well blame him. In the
middle of the night, when she crawled in from work, she fought the urge to call
him. She just wanted to hear his voice.

But as much as she wished she could tell him the truth and life would
continue to go on the way it had been, she knew better. Men didn’t understand
the sort of secrets she held. Especially not men as untainted as Dalton. He
would never be able to deal with the truth.

She’d just clocked in at The Rusty Nail and was wrapping her apron around
her waist as she made her way out to the bar when Cooper approached.

“Did you hear?”

A sudden odd ringing sounded in Katie’s head, along with a strange
heart stutter, all triggered by the sound of Cooper’s voice. She had no idea
what he was about to tell her, but she got the feeling it wasn’t good.

“Hear w-what?” she stammered.

“Dalton’s not comin’ back right now.”

“He’s not?” A sense of foreboding washed over her, making it hard to
breathe. “Did he say why?” she managed to ask.

“No, he didn’t go into detail. Said somethin’ ’bout needin’ to take
care of a coupla things. I figured he’d call you.”

Katie shook her head, answering the silent question. No, Dalton hadn’t
called her, not in weeks. But Katie hadn’t told anyone that she’d broken things
off with Dalton. There would be too many questions, ones she couldn’t answer.
But the fact that he wasn’t coming back now … that in itself told her more than
she wanted to know. Something had happened. And she had a feeling it had
something to do with her.