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  She crossed her arms and pressed her back against the seat, staring straight ahead. The police car pulled out of the park and headed toward town.

  “You need to lighten up, sweetheart.”

  Her heart raced, and not in a good way. She faced him, wishing looks could kill. “Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me. I have every right to be pissed off. You got me arrested!”

  “Eh. It’s no big deal. Dean has to take us in. We’ll spend a couple hours at the station and get released. Then you can come home with me and we’ll pick up where we left off.”

  “You must be out of your freaking mind if you think I would go home with you after this.”

  “Why not? You can’t tell me you weren’t enjoying yourself. Darlin’, I know you’d be lyin’.”

  “Trust me, the last thing you want right now is to be alone with me.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I definitely want that. Angry sex with you would be fucking hot.”

  “Right now, the only thing I’d be doing with your dick is chopping it off.”

  That just made him laugh harder. And made the officers laugh, too.

  “I’m glad you all think this is hilarious.”

  “I like this girl,” Dean said. “She’s spunky. Hayes, you better find a way to make up and get her to stick around. You need someone like her to keep you in line.”

  “Not happening,” Raelyn said.

  “My being out of line is what turns her on.”

  They laughed some more and she turned to Hayes. “Will you please shut up?”

  “Begging. I like it.”

  “Shut up!” Raelyn was so mad that tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

  They pulled up in front of the police station and she grabbed the door handle, desperate to open the door and get away from him. But it wouldn’t budge. She tried again, repeatedly, as anger and frustration coursed through her body.

  “Stop. You have to wait til they open it for you.” She ignored him and he physically pulled her hand away from the door handle. “You’re gonna break the damn thing.”

  “Let go of me!”

  More laughter. “That’s not what you wanted earlier.”

  Finally the door opened and she leapt out, pinning the sheriff with pointed stare. “Keep him away from me, unless you want a homicide in your quiet little town tonight.”

  And then she stormed off toward the police station entrance. So much for her night of freedom and fun. Hayes Turner had just fucked her, in more ways than she wanted.

  *

  Hayes tried not to laugh, he really did, but he couldn’t help it. It was too damn funny watching Raelyn flip out. And he wasn’t lying. She was sexy as hell when she was mad.

  He went inside and cycled through the arrest processing routine: collection of personal property, fingerprints, mug shot. Not his first ride on this merry-go-round, though amazingly, it was a first for this crime in particular. He then headed to a cell where Raelyn sat on a cot.

  “Oh no. Do not put him in here with me.”

  He felt bad. Her eyes were puffy and her makeup smudged. She looked like she’d been crying.

  “We only have three,” the officer said and yanked the cell door open. “And the others are full.”

  Hayes stepped in and sat on the cot across from her, the metal of the door clanked loudly in his ear. Raelyn’s body jolted at the sound then she rested her elbows on her knees, her face in her palms.

  “This has been the worst night of my life.”

  “It’s not that bad. I can think of worse ways to spend an evening. It sure as hell was fun and now you have a story to tell your grandkids.” He was going for lighthearted and funny, trying to make her feel better about it all.

  “Fun? Getting arrested is your idea of fun?”

  Apparently he did not accomplish lighthearted and funny. “It’s not, but you can’t tell me you weren’t enjoying yourself. Until the cops showed up, anyway. You’d be lying if you did. You were so wet it was like a damn waterfall. You can’t deny that I gave you a helluva good time.”

  She shook her head. “Even after everything that’s happened tonight, you still feel the need to act like a cocky asshole?”

  He shrugged. “I never pretended to be anything different. I’m sorry we got caught, but I won’t apologize for what we did.”

  “Is this a game for you? Do you enjoy fucking up people’s lives? You may not care about getting arrested. You may not have a life to ruin. But I do.” She rested back against the wall, her gaze on the cracked ceiling. “Sawyer was right. I should have thrown away that napkin.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t. That was some of the best sex I’ve ever had, and I know you don’t know much about me, but that’s sayin’ something. You can regret it all you want, but I don’t. I’d do it again. And get arrested again. Hell, I’ll fuck you right here if you let me.”

  “Unbelievable,” she mumbled.

  An officer stepped to the cell. “Is there someone you want to call, miss?”

  Raelyn stood. “Not really, but I know I need to.”

  He led her out of the cell and Hayes was alone. And suddenly feeling alone, too. Probably a good thing she was pissed at him. Last thing he needed was his heart thinking this night meant anything more than sex. Some of the best sex of his life, but still. A means to an end, just like the whiskey. One more night of his shitty life was over.

  *

  Raelyn dialed her sister’s cell phone number and waited. Part of her wished Laney wouldn’t pick up, but on the fifth ring she heard a groggy, “Hullo?”

  “Laney? It’s Raelyn.”

  “Raelyn? What? Where are you? Aren’t you on my couch?”

  “Um. No. I’m at the police station.”

  She heard the rustling of bed sheets through the phone. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just got in a little…trouble.”

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

  “Can’t you come alone?” The last person she wanted to face right now was Sawyer, even though she deserved every second of the “I told you so” he’d surely give her.

  “Sawyer knows the sheriff pretty well. He can help.”

  “Okay.” What else could she say? But at least Laney hadn’t been mad. Maybe they could laugh about this someday. Maybe it could be a funny story to tell her grandkids. Or not. No one wants to hear about grandma getting it doggy-style in a park.

  She sat on a wooden chair and waited, thankful they didn’t make her go back to the cell and Hayes. Laney ran into the station and scooped Raelyn into her arms.

  “Thank God you’re okay! What happened?”

  Raelyn pulled back. “Um… The official charge was Gross Indecency.”

  Laney’s arms dropped, her eyes narrowing. “What?”

  “We were in the park and what are the chances someone was gonna walk by this late at night?”

  Laney breathed deep and closed her eyes. “Let me get this straight. You got caught having sex in the park? I thought you were asleep on the couch.”

  “I wasn’t tired, so I went out. We just wanted to have a little fun.”

  “We as in you and who else?”

  And that’s the moment Hayes strolled toward them, stupid-ass grin on his face.

  “That explains everything right there,” Sawyer said.

  “The guy from the bar?” Laney faced Raelyn again. “Sawyer told you to stay away from him.”

  “And she’s a big girl who makes her own decisions.” Hayes stood next to Raelyn.

  “I don’t need you to defend me.”

  “I can’t let them gang up on you over something so stupid.”

  “You’ve done enough. Please get away from me.”

  His lips curled into a devilish smile. “I love when you beg.”

  Raelyn felt a fresh drip of moisture between her thighs, wishing like hell that he didn’t affect her the way he did. And damn it, where the hell was her underwear? She wanted to demand he give them back, but
decided against it. She didn’t need her sister and Sawyer knowing she was sans undergarments.

  “Dean, is she free to go?” Sawyer asked.

  “Yep. They both are. No charges are being filed. But no more hanky-panky out in public. Next time I’ll have to file charges.”

  “Don’t worry. There won’t be hanky-panky of any kind ever again.” She then shot Hayes with a death glare.

  “Never say never, sweetheart.”

  Raelyn wanted to pummel him and scratch that smug look right off his face. Instead she turned and walked away, giving herself a pat on the back for her maturity.

  “Stay away from her,” she heard Sawyer say, then he followed them out of the precinct.

  Raelyn was ready for this night to be over. The couch was calling her.

  “How could you be so stupid?” Laney demanded as they reached Sawyer’s truck in the parking lot.

  “Shit happens. It was dumb, I know that. I don’t need you being a bitch about it.”

  “Excuse me for being upset that my little sister was arrested.”

  “I really don’t need this right now. I need to go to sleep and forget this night ever happened.”

  “I hope you learned your lesson and remember this next time you think about doing something so dumb.” Laney opened the passenger side door and motioned her in.

  Raelyn stood there, arms crossed over her chest. “You are the last person who should be lecturing me about doing dumb shit. At least Hayes isn’t engaged to someone else.”

  Now Laney was the one who looked like she wanted to pummel someone. “Get in the truck,” she spit through gritted teeth.

  Raelyn just shook her head. “No. I’m walking back to your place and when I get there, I’m leaving.”

  “It’s two in the morning. Don’t be even more stupid than you already have been tonight.”

  Raelyn stepped away from the truck. “I can’t be near you for even one more minute.”

  “Fine. I don’t care. Do whatever the hell you want.”

  Raelyn walked away and Laney hopped in the truck. She heard her sister tell Sawyer to, “Just go,” before they drove away.

  Willing her eyes to hold in their tears, she hadn’t thought this night could get worse. Wrong.

  *

  When Hayes left the police station, he headed in the direction of the park. He needed to get his truck. But then he noticed a woman walking down Main Street, all alone. The streetlights were dim, but he recognized the dress. He jogged over to Raelyn.

  “What happened to your rescuers?”

  “Fuck you. Leave me alone.” She was crying.

  “Did Williamson make you walk all by yourself? What kind of asshole does that?”

  “The same kind who gets a woman arrested.”

  “That wasn’t my fault. And I may be an asshole, but I’d never make you walk home alone at this time of night.”

  “He didn’t make me. I chose to.”

  “Well, I’m choosing to walk you home.”

  “Get away from me.”

  “Nope.”

  She was quiet after that and he continued to walk next to her. Maybe she had used up all her fight. Something deep inside him yearned to grab her and pull her to him, tell her everything would be okay. Sex was the last thing on his mind. He wanted to comfort her.

  Instead, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets, and shoved away whatever this feeling was. He didn’t need it, didn’t want it.

  Chapter 4

  Finally, at three in the afternoon, Raelyn flopped face-first onto her bed in her mother’s house in Dallas suburbia. This nightmare was finally over.

  After Hayes had walked her back to the hardware store—against her wishes—she found her suitcase sitting outside the door that led to the upstairs apartment where Laney and Sawyer lived. It had been the last straw in making it the absolute worst night of her life. She’d driven to the nearest hotel, a couple towns over. After a somewhat decent night of sleep, she had some food and headed for home, ready to erase it all from her memory.

  But as she lay there, the last thing she could do was forget. Hayes’ hands on her, his mouth and the skillful way he’d used it. She could hear his voice in her ear, feel him slide inside her, thick and powerful. He sure as hell was a man who knew how to pleasure a woman, and it was going to be damn hard to forget the best sex she’d ever had.

  She drifted in and out of sleep all afternoon, the events of the night before haunting her subconscious, both good and bad. The embarrassment of being caught in such a compromising position, but also how good that position had felt. The way her sister had hurt her, but Hayes had made sure she got home okay. It was all so frustrating and confusing. Good thing she was going to push it out of her mind and never think about it again.

  The sun had started to set outside her bedroom window, brilliant hues of orange and salmon. She breathed deep and tried to find some peace. Her text alert beeped. She grabbed her phone, expecting a text from her mother or one of her friends. Nope. None of them. She didn’t know the number, but knew exactly who had sent it.

  Hello darlin’

  So much for pushing him out of her mind.

  Raelyn stared at Hayes’ message. She knew what she should do. Delete it and block the sender. But could she do it?

  Another message popped up.

  Can’t stop thinking about u.

  Her heart fluttered at the simple statement.

  The way u taste. The sounds u make when you’re getting off. The way u look at me when your fucking me.

  R u there sweetheart?

  A battle raged within her, heart versus head. Which would win?

  I’m here.

  Apparently the heart—or another part of her anatomy—controlled her fingers today.

  I want u. Now. We need to finish what we started.

  The thought both terrified and excited her. Last night was proof that Hayes Turner was not the kind of man she should be with. Something that was supposed to be simple and fun had turned into a disaster. And that was just a normal night for him. Pursuing anything was a fast track to misery.

  But damn it, she wanted him.

  I’m home in Dallas.

  Well, get yer ass back here!

  Her heart fluttered again. He wanted her. The thing she couldn’t figure out was why she cared. He was kind of an asshole and he only seemed to care about sex. But there was something else there. She’d seen glimpses of it. And it intrigued her.

  I’m not sure when I can get back.

  I know a way to convince u to get here ASAP

  What did that mean? She waited for him to reply, but nothing. Then a photo popped up on her text screen. Of a dick. His dick. Warmth spread through her body and rested between her thighs. Once again she was thinking about it, him, the feel of it, how good he was at using it.

  Does that entice u to get your sexy ass back to Fort Mavis?

  Maybe.

  Your not still mad at me, r u?

  A little. That was all very traumatizing for me.

  U gotta let it go, darlin. It was no big deal. They didn’t technically arrest us

  Raelyn felt the steam start to build. He still didn’t get it.

  I was completely naked in front of two policemen.

  So

  More steam. Raelyn ground her teeth as she replied.

  They saw you screwing me. Your dick was physically in me when they shined a spotlight on us.

  That was pretty damn funny.

  Boom! Her lid had officially blown.

  I don’t know what your bimbo bartender fuck friends like, but Im not some porn star that likes to be watched by random strangers when I’m having sex. And the fact that you think its hilarious just solidifies that the entire night was a huge mistake. Don’t text me again. Lose my number. Have a nice life fucking girls who like showing off for the entire world.

  She wanted to throw her phone across the room, but that would only hurt her. Instead she tossed it in her nightstand drawer and
slammed it shut. But she heard it ding. Three consecutive text messages. She didn’t want to read anything he had to say.

  Raelyn changed out of her clothes and put on fuzzy pajama pants and a tee. She was in desperate need of wine. She went down to the kitchen and found her mother at the island, open bottle, glass in her hand.

  “Good. I need some of that.” She sat on the stool next to her and poured her own. She took a few gulps before she spoke again. “I didn’t know you were home. How long have you been here?”

  “An hour or so.”

  “How was church and dinner with Grandma?”

  “Fine. How was your weekend?”

  “Okay.”

  Her mother nodded and sipped, her expression blank as she spoke. “There was a message on the answering machine when I got home. Apparently you left your license at the Fort Mavis police station.”

  The terror Raelyn had felt last night was nothing compared to the panic that now ripped through her body. Her stomach roiled and the wine threatened to come back up.

  “I called to inquire about it,” her mother continued, without meeting Raelyn’s gaze. “A very lovely sheriff named Dean told me he would mail it to you. Naturally, I asked what had happened. He didn’t want to tell me, but you know how persuasive I can be.”

  Shit. Shit Fuck. Shit.

  Her mother turned to her, a look of disgust that was usually reserved for shag carpeting or a ragged manicure. “How could you be so completely stupid? You’ve done some irresponsible things, but this? What will I do if this gets out? I’m still dealing with the fallout of your sister’s indiscretions. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone found out you were arrested for gross indecency? I have never been so appalled and disappointed in my life. How could you do this to me?”

  Even if Raelyn could form words, there’s no way they’d make it out of her mouth. With a shaky hand, she set her glass on the island, tears streaming down her cheeks, and slid off her stool. “I’m sorry.”

  She hurried out of the kitchen and up to her bedroom. She dug in her nightstand for her phone, ignoring the multiple texts from Hayes. As mad as she was at Laney, she was the only one who’d understand. The only one who could comfort her.

  *

  Hayes lay in bed, waiting for Raelyn to reply, but he was starting to think that wasn’t going to happen. He hadn’t meant to piss her off. He was just trying to get her to lighten up about it all, so she didn’t feel so upset or embarrassed or whatever the hell she was feeling that she shouldn’t. Apparently he hadn’t succeeded. Add it to the list of things he’d failed at in life. Oh well. He certainly didn’t need her. There were at least a dozen women in Fort Mavis that could fill that void in his bed and they wouldn’t be half us much trouble as she’d been.