Fixation (Magnetic Desires Book 3) Read online

  "I'm fine. I just need to leave. Can I borrow your truck?"

  Mike rifled through his pocket for his keys and handed them to me. "Where are you going to go?"

  "Back to Mellie's. I'll relieve the babysitter."

  Grasping my arm, he gazed into my eyes. "Do you want me to go with you?"

  "No." I slipped out of his grip. Mike knew more than most about what had happened with Brady, but only what I had volunteered. He’d chosen not to ask about Tia’s father, perhaps because he thought it might be Brady, and I was grateful he didn’t pry. Until I told Leo, it wasn't a secret I was willing to share. "I need some time alone. You enjoy the party and call me if you need me to come back and get you."

  "I'll be fine. I'll drive Mellie's car back after I drop her home."

  Slipping away, I stole around the side of the house and up the drive. I glanced at the moon, not quite full, as I caught my breath. The first free breath since I’d seen Leo. So many times, I'd imagined that first meeting between us. I’d fantasized about him taking me into his arms, and the understanding in his eyes as I told him why I hadn’t followed him to Carlton. Had even gone so far as to believe he would grab onto me and never let me go again. I hadn’t been prepared for him to turn his back on me without a word. I hadn’t expected the coldness. A chill stole over me, and I rubbed my hands over my arms in an effort to shake it off as I strode toward the truck.

  The heavy tread behind me alerted me to his presence, but I didn’t glance back as he stalked me past the other cars. I was sure it was him, but I kept going, not knowing what he wanted to say to me but certain it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. My eyes burned, and I blinked to keep them from welling up, refusing to let him see me fall apart.

  He snagged my elbow as we reached the truck, his fingers biting into the sensitive inner flesh. I winced and the burning increased, but he didn’t ease up, his grip tightening more. There would be bruises come morning. His beard scratched at my skin as he pressed my belly against the hood of the truck and growled into my ear. "You need to leave, Lola."

  Straightening as much as I could, his body covering mine made it hard to appear nonchalant. My heart slammed, the heat of him seeping into my back, his sweet spicy scent mixed with cigarette smoke, familiar but new. My lungs gasped for him, my lips tingled with want. I clamped them together and then pushed out the words. "I am leaving."

  "No." His lips caressed the shell of my ear, but his words cut into me. "Leave this town. Leave this state. Go back to wherever the hell you came from."

  Wrenching my arm free, I spun around. He glared at me. A nerve in his temple jumped. It stung that he didn’t want me, but I wasn’t going to let him scare me away. I crossed my arms and scowled. "No."

  "Have you got your claws into that guy? Is that why you're here? Always trying to find some poor loser to screw over." His gaze was brutal and the curve of his lip vicious.

  "I don't have to listen to this," I snapped, and tried to sidestep him, but whatever room he’d given me he snatched back, crowding me up against the hood. Glaring down at me, his face barely inches from mine, he pinned me to the truck. "Then leave. Get your ass in the truck and don't look back."

  There was anger in his voice, but the thick hoarseness underlying it betrayed the chink in his coldness toward me. "No," I whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."

  "The fuck you aren’t. You’re not welcome here, Lola." He spat his words, which were full of grit, sand blasting me with his desire to get rid of me. But he thrust his arm around my waist, and spun me so that I had to throw out my hands to brace myself against the truck. The heat of him scorched me through my dress. His erection pressed into the curve of my ass as he gripped a handful of my hair in his fist and tugged my head to the side. Even while I winced from the sharp pain of him pulling my hair, my insides flamed with desire. My breath snagged in my throat as his mouth consumed mine, bruising my lips. The roughness of his stubble scratched at me while he pushed his tongue into my mouth and took what he wanted. Tilting my head more, I surrendered to his possession. When he pulled back, he ran his lips down the side of my throat, nipping at me before he captured my skin between his teeth and bit down hard enough to draw blood, leaving the mark of his teeth in my fragile flesh.

  Straining against him, I ached to feel him inside me. "I want you."

  "You want me? You sure about that, sweetheart?" Bitterness twisted his words, and I realized I'd voiced my desire out loud, but I didn’t care. I wanted him however I could get him.

  My voice trembled over the word. “Yes.”

  His hand slipped underneath my dress, grasping my ass, squeezing it before he ripped my thong from me. "Spread your legs for me."

  His words speared my core, and I planted my feet wide, allowing him access to the slick heat he conjured. Quickly fumbling with the zipper on his jeans, he sheathed himself in a condom before he yanked the back of my dress, pulling it up so he could plunge into me. Fingers digging into my hips, he dragged me back against him over and over again. I panted, struggling to keep from collapsing against the truck while he hammered into me, his breath coming in audible grunts. God, I’d missed him. Missed the way his body made me feel. My insides quivered as the heat burned into an ache that filled me until I burst with it. He growled behind me, his muscles bunching. Squeezing my hips he came hard, harsh hot breaths tickling the nape of my neck. Then he jerked away from me, doing up his pants while I quietly adjusted my dress.

  I wanted to reach out and touch him, to reassure myself that he was real, that I wasn’t dreaming, but his words stopped me in my tracks. "You’re leaving, Lola, because when he sees my mark on your neck, that guy isn’t going to want anything to do with you."

  My heart dipped at his cruelty, and I twisted around to push my palms into his chest. "Get the hell away from me."

  He staggered back and for a second pain crossed his features before he steeled his expression and sneered. "I’m going to be on your ass every minute of every day until you work out you’re not wanted here." A shoulder strap tore from my shirt as he yanked the front of it and slammed his mouth against mine in a kiss that left me shaking all over. "So you may as well leave now."

  Then he turned his back on me and strode down the driveway. I climbed into the truck and started it up. Tears formed and trembled in my eyelashes, and I swiped at them as I backed out of the drive. God help me, I still wanted the bastard.

  Chapter Seven

  Leo

  A war raged inside me as I stalked down the drive. My chest was on fire and my blood pounded through my veins. Hands clenched tightly to my sides, I tried not to explode. Lola had been a temptation I should have run from. Rubbing my temples with trembling fingers, I couldn’t escape the disgust twisting my gut.

  I wasn’t a bad guy. So what if I refused to let another woman get under my skin? So what if every woman was fair game until they were no longer interesting, which was usually by the next day? Not once had I taken what they weren’t willing to give, but tonight I’d come damn close. Would I have held back if she’d pushed me away?

  I slammed my fist into the cold brick wall. "Fuck."

  Leaning my forehead against the gritty surface, I dragged deep breaths into lungs that ached.

  I wanted to believe I’d have walked away, but my anger had pushed me past reasoning and control. It was the shock of it all, seeing her for the first time in six years. She materialized out of my dreams and into my brother's engagement party and it was like… it was like she’d never been gone. I’d wanted her as much as ever, but all the pain of her leaving had rushed over me and stirred my anger.

  Gathering myself together, I made my way to my motorcycle. She was the problem here, not me. She was encroaching on my turf and stirring up trouble, and the only answer was for her to get the hell out of Reverence. So, I was going to follow through with my threat. I’d be on her ass, showing her she didn’t belong here, until she turned tail and ran like she always did. As I straddled the bike, I pulled my phone f
rom my pocket and thumbed the screen looking for a little distraction. Glaring at the crack that ran the length of the screen, I called Natalie.

  I didn’t have to wait long for her to answer. "Hey Nat, you want to meet me at mine?"

  She chuckled. "Couldn't stomach all the feels, big boy?"

  "A simple yes or no would be great," I bit out.

  I shoved the phone in my pocket while the bike rumbled to life. In fifteen minutes, I'd have a bottle in one hand and a fine piece of ass in the other. The bike howled as I gave it more throttle and tore up the driveway. Fifteen minutes wouldn’t be long enough to undo what had happened here. If anything, fifteen minutes gave me ample opportunity to stew over the fact that faced with the ghost of my past, all I’d wanted to do was slide into her and claim her as mine all over again. Because of that, I’d overreacted.

  By the time I slid off the bike, I’d gotten a grip. I sauntered into the house and dropped my jacket over the back of the couch. As I made my way into the kitchen, I pulled my shirt over my head and dumped it. Snatching the half-empty bottle of Jack from the counter, I stalked back into the living room and stretched out on the couch. I tossed the cap and put the bottle to my lips, letting the liquid gold glide down my throat.

  The knock on my front door came faster than I thought it would, and I sat up as Nat enter. She raised an eyebrow as she took off her jacket and hung it by the door, revealing sexy lingerie. "That bad, babe?"

  My mouth watered and I took another swig from the bottle while I worked my gaze over her. The deep red corset stretched over soft curves and defined all the parts of her body I wanted to touch, setting off the paleness of her skin and the rich ebony of her hair. She’d coupled it with a matching thong and thigh highs. I let out a low whistle. "Get over here."

  With feline grace, she moved across the room and settled on her knees in front of me. Placing a hand on my leg, she slid it up my thigh and began working on my belt buckle. "What do you want tonight?"

  I grimaced as Lola sprung to mind. The soft seduction of her plump lips and… I pushed the memory back. The only thing I wanted from Lola was to get the hell out of my life.

  Leaning forward, I grasped Nat’s hair in my fist. "How about we start with you spread out over my kitchen counter. I’m going to take my time unwrapping you from this delicious contraption before I fuck you."

  "Okay, then." She sat back on her heels. "Relax, Leo, let me take care of you."

  The bottle empty, I stood and grabbed her, pulling her with me to the kitchen where I searched out another bottle. With a flick of my wrist, I twisted the cap free and tossed it at the sink before raising the bottle to my lips.

  "Maybe you want to slow down?" Nat said, glaring at the bottle.

  Slamming it down on the counter, I spread my fingers around her waist, lifted her up onto the counter and growled, "That’s not how this works, Nat."

  With a shrug, she picked up the bottle. Putting it to her lips, she swallowed some of the Jack, and I watched her throat work before she passed it to me. "We might fuck a lot, but you and I were friends first. You can talk to me."

  I gulped down a double shot and pried her legs apart with my other hand. Moving between them, I ground into her and she wrapped her thighs around me. "Since when do I ever want to talk?"

  Taking the bottle back, she took a swig. "I’m saying you can if you need to."

  Twisting her hair around my hand, I tipped her head back so I could run my lips over her throat while she swallowed. "Don’t ask me if I want to fucking talk. That’s not your place."

  She whimpered as I brushed my fingertips over the wetness that seeped through her thong. "I get that, Leo, it’s just—"

  "What?" I slipped my finger under the edge of her panties.

  "You’re not hard."

  Stepping back, I cupped my crotch. "Fuck."

  Nat stared at me, a twinkle in her eye and her lips pursed as she tried not to laugh. "It’s okay. It happens."

  "Not to me it doesn’t." Snatching the bottle out of her hand, I glared at her.

  Legs folded up underneath her on the counter she travelled her gaze to my crotch. "So tonight was shit, obviously. What happened?"

  The buzz hit me way too fast, and I clutched the bottle, which was now devoid of two-thirds of its contents, as I swayed. "My wife’s in town."

  She gaped. "Seriously?"

  I staggered from the room. Glancing at her over my shoulder as I stumbled into the living room, I said, "Never thought I’d see her again. Thought she was long gone, like she’d said in her note."

  Nat was the only one I’d told about Lola. She was the only girl I’d dated since I married Lola, but we’d worked out pretty quickly that neither of us wanted that kind of commitment. The sex, though, was satisfying, so we’d given up the pretense of a relationship and called it what it was: friends with benefits.

  Nat jumped down and followed me into the living room. "So what are you going to do?"

  I yanked her coat from the rack and tossed it to her before slumping down on the couch. "I don’t know."

  Nat finished buttoning her coat. "Well, when you deal with your problem." Again, she glanced at my crotch, but this time she added an eye roll for good measure. "Call me."

  She let herself out.

  I shut my eyes but darkness didn't come. Instead, it was like an old photo reel of the three weeks I'd spent with Lola. They had been the best damn weeks of my life, until the day I'd gone back to the hotel to find her gone. She'd taken the money, and all her stuff, and then to add insult to injury she'd left her rings in the drawer under the bathroom sink. She'd up and vanished, leaving me shattered and looking like a fool, but then, I had been a fool. The woman was a con artist. She’d told me that, and I still married her. Well, I wasn't a fool now, and despite how she'd gotten under my skin tonight, I wouldn't let her get the better of me again. Tomorrow, I’d find her and push her to leave. She had no business here in my world.

  Chapter Eight

  Lola

  "Mom, get up."

  Drawing out a groan, I covered my face with a pillow while Tia bounced mercilessly on the side of the bed. I peeked out from between half closed eyelids to find I'd forgotten to close the curtains last night and the burst of sunlight had me slamming my eyes shut again. "What time is it?"

  "I’m hungry." Tia snuggled into me, pulling my arm around her.

  "Mmmm." Sleep was so close and inviting.

  "Mom, I want breakfast." Tia didn’t stay still long once she was awake. She climbed over me until I dragged myself up against the headboard.

  "Why are you up so early?" I stretched my arms over my head, easing out the kinks in my muscles.

  She flounced down next to me. "Aunt Mellie is taking me shopping today."

  "Yeah, but that’s not for a while yet." I reached over to pluck a hair tie from the nightstand and pulled my hair back. "What do you want for breakfast?"

  "Mom?" There was something in her voice that made me pause. Climbing over to me, she placed her fingers on my neck, tracing an oval. "What’s this?"

  Cringing, I scooted off the bed. "It’s nothing, baby. I had a little accident last night. Now you go down to the kitchen and I’ll get dressed. Then we’ll fix breakfast."

  Tia jumped off the bed and skipped out of the room while I went into the bathroom to examine the evidence of last night's encounter. Staring at my reflection, I winced as I ran my fingers over the subtle ridges where he’d broken the skin and the purple-red of the bruising, which spread further than the outline of his teeth.

  "Damn it," I muttered under my breath as I stripped and climbed into the shower.

  Turning the water to a steamy heat, I examined my hips and thighs. The bruising there wasn’t as bad as the one on my neck, and blended into the less obvious bruises I sustained from work. I hugged myself as I let the water cascade over me. It had taken me hours to fall asleep after I left the party last night. The pain of the bruises had been masked by a type of euphoria at having
been with Leo again, but his brutal words had left marks that ached far deeper. He didn’t want me beside him. Not even in the same town.

  Tears sprung to my eyes, and I lifted my face to the spray. It wasn’t crying if you were under water anyway. I rushed through washing and shut off the water before grabbing a towel and wiping the steam from the mirror. Dumping out my makeup kit, I found my primer and went to work hiding the bruising. The last thing I wanted was to have to explain what happened to Mike and Mellie. Mike wouldn’t be so bad. He was protective of me and Tia in his own quiet way, but my sister wasn’t so easy going.

  Dropping the primer back into the makeup bag, I surveyed my handiwork. I’d done a passable job of hiding the bruise, though I couldn’t hide the teeth marks yet since they were too fresh, a slight crusting the only obvious mark he’d broken skin. I brushed out my hair, left it down to cover the rest of the evidence, and went to get dressed.

  Mike was already in the kitchen with Tia when I made my way down the stairs. He had a tea towel slung over the shoulder of his white shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and he and Tia were singing as they made breakfast. Mike glanced up at me as I entered the room. "Feeling better today?"

  "Yes." Hoping to throw him off from asking questions, I offered a wide smile.

  "Good." He grinned. "We’re making French toast."

  Grabbing glasses, I poured juice while he whisked the eggs into a frothy batter, and Tia cut the crust off the bread.

  "Do you need a lift to work?" Mike handed the bowl to Tia who began dunking the bread into the mixture.

  "Mellie’s coming to get Tia and take her shopping, so I can get a lift with her." I heated the pan and started cooking the slices Tia had coated.