Sand Angel

chapter Six


Josh threw another glance toward Zoë’s toy hauler as he popped a top on a can of beer and took a swig. He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees. “Her boss called me.” There was a slight edge to his voice. He swallowed hard before he continued. “After her show in Phoenix, she’s got some time off.”

Drew set his plate down on the empty chair next to him. The steak had tasted like leather and went down like chunks of cement. It wasn’t the quality of the food but the foul mood he was in. It had been over an hour since his last interaction with Zoë. Night had fallen. A full moon graced the sky littered with bright stars. While they sat around the campfire smelling the burning pine, laughter and music filled the air as parties began all around them.

And still no Zoë.

He reached into the ice chest that sat between him and Josh and grabbed a bottle of beer. “And?” He knew there was more to what Josh had to say. As Drew twisted the cap, it made a hissing sound. A drip of cold water dropped on his bare thigh just below his denim cutoffs. He held the chilly bottle away from his naked chest and took a drink.

His hair was still wet from his brief shower, but was quickly drying beneath the breeze. His bare feet sat on top of his sandals. It felt good to be clean. If only he could have washed away his mistreatment of Zoë. First his unforgivable behavior in her trailer, and then his he-man act when she returned from riding. Instead of clearing the air between them, he seemed destined to screw it up more.

“And—” Indecision played across Josh’s face as the light from the fire flickered over his features. He took a deep breath. “Her boss thinks she has a death wish.”

Drew sat straight up in his chair. “What?”

Josh shook his head, watching the door to Zoë’s trailer as his voice lowered. “He’s told her to seek counseling.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t told Mom and Dad. I don’t know how.”

Drew couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I had no idea.”

Josh pinned him with an accusing glare. “How could you? You weren’t around.”

Drew mentally felt the jab of his friend’s words. “The guy’s crazy. Not Zoë.” Not his precious angel. She wouldn’t place her life in danger. Duh. Was he the crazy one? From what he’d already seen of Zoë, she was riding the edge.

Josh’s mouth turned into an incredulous curve. “Are you blind? This isn’t the same little girl you left behind three years ago.” He shot quickly to his feet. “She doesn’t come home, doesn’t call. This is the first time I’ve seen her in over a year. Man, your leaving f*cked her up good and proper.”

Felt that barb too.

Uncomfortable having an angry man hover over him, Drew slipped his feet into his sandals and rose. The tendons in Josh’s neck were drawn tight. Even in the dark Drew could see his friend’s eyes bright with concern and accusation.

Josh’s face went cold, unreadable. “If you’re not here to make right by my sister, then you leave her the f*ck alone.” There was something dangerous in his tone, his mien. His fingers curled in fists, arms straining at his sides as if he fought the urge to strike out at Drew.

Now wasn’t the time to remind the guy that he was the one playing matchmaker this weekend. Besides, Josh was right.

Drew had made a mess of their lives—it seemed not only his and Zoë’s. “I’m not leaving this time. If she’ll have me, I’m staying.” His words surprised him, but the minute he said them he knew it was true.

A huff of disbelief left Josh’s mouth. “Well, buddy, my guess is she won’t have you. Not by the way she was looking at you the last time I saw you two together.”

“That’s going to change,” Drew said as the door to the toy hauler opened and Zoë stepped out.

She wore a pair of jean cutoffs, a high-cut tank top that showed off a bellybutton ring Drew had never seen and a pair of tennis shoes. Scrapes and scars marred her beautiful legs and arms—something he hadn’t noticed when he had her stripped naked beneath him.

“Hungry?” Josh asked as she bent over her quad.

Her snug shorts caught Drew’s attention. Damn she had long legs, legs he couldn’t wait to have wrapped around his waist.

“No.” She continued to check the gas and oil levels. Her hair was braided down her back, falling forward each time she bent over.

Drew couldn’t help moving closer. The woman had a great ass, which several of the men in their party happened to notice as they whistled. Possessiveness gnawed at his gut.

She was his woman.

“Zoë, leave that thing alone and come eat,” Josh said, playing the concerned big brother.

She snorted.

Drew had never heard her make the unladylike sound before, but it suited the new her. No, the woman before him was hard, carved from a difficult life, one that he had inadvertently caused.

Dammit. This wasn’t only his fault. He had written. He had offered to come back home.

A set of headlights blinded him as a sand rail revved up its engine and tore down Gecko Road. Several people on quads followed. Night riding was legal but dangerous. Add to that drinking and you had a combination for disaster.

When Zoë slipped her helmet on, Drew closed the distance between them. She was already on the quad as he reached her.

“Not tonight, baby.” He placed his hand on her arm. She stared at his hand for a moment, then slid her gaze up his arm until their eyes met. He didn’t see anger, only sadness.

Had she cried after he left her? Did she still have feelings for him?

Her tongue swiped across her lips. “Drew, I don’t want to fight. Besides I’m just checking my quad.”

The smell of soap and shampoo and something uniquely Zoë, that soft powdery scent, assailed his senses. “Talk to me instead.” Her skin was cool beneath his palm as he smoothed it up her arm and over her shoulder. Slowly he caressed her collarbone with his thumb. “I need to talk to you, Zoë.”

She looked away. “I’m tired, Drew.”

“I know, baby.” He wanted to hold her. Tell her what she meant to him. Ask her to forgive him.

“I need to ride.” She replaced one pair of colored-lens goggles for clear ones and tugged them on.

“You’re not dressed for riding.”

“I know, but— I just need to ride.” Ignoring him, she reached for the key.

He cupped her hand. “If you’re going, I’m tagging along.” He slid on behind her. His crotch fit snug against her ass. Bare thighs hugged bare thighs. Immediately, his cock hardened. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Riding double is illegal in California.” Her voice cracked as she scooted forward, attempting to put distance between them.

He almost laughed. There was no way she was getting away from him. “Then we’ll have to stay one foot ahead of the rangers.”

“You don’t have a helmet, goggles.” The minute the words left her mouth, Josh was there with Drew’s headgear. “Thanks, bro.” The endearment from Zoë held a hint of sarcasm.

Drew settled the helmet and goggles in place. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

“Then hold on.” She gassed it.

By the grace of God he didn’t fall off as the bike lurched forward. Instead he wrapped his arms around her bare midriff. She felt good in his arms, even if they were moving quickly through the sand. They hit a bump and his hands slid up her rib cage, discovering she wore no bra.

“Nice,” he hissed in her ear, but he doubted she heard because of her helmet. Or maybe she did hear. She spun the quad into a turn that nearly dumped both of them off the bike. He moved his hands back along the defined muscles of her abdomen. The damn woman had a six-pack. He traced the line of muscles, playing a moment with the bellybutton ring that slid back and forth.

The front brakes grabbed and she applied pressure to perform a stoppie. The back tires rising from the ground threw them forward. She dipped low against the gas tank.

Damn her. She was intentionally trying to throw him over the handlebars.

“Good try, sweetheart,” he said as she topped a ridge, stopped and killed the engine. The headlights died, leaving them bathed in moonlight.

In the distance the roar of engines filled the night. Dancing headlights were all around them. Laughter and hoots and hollers joined the chaos. It was an all-out free-for-all.

“Why’d we stop?” he asked. She was up to something, he knew it.

She gave him a little push with her shoulder. “I need some breathing room.”

He slid off the bike and she followed. As a second thought, he reached for the keys and pocketed them. No way in hell was she leaving him stranded at night in the desert.

Her laugh was weak at best. “Afraid?” She removed her headgear and set it on the quad’s seat.

He followed suit. “Always with you, baby.” And that was the truth. His feelings for her scared him to death. He wanted her so bad his cock ached, but it was more than that.

Zoë drifted away from him. She peered over the ridge into the dark unknown. Drew couldn’t help but notice how lonely she looked standing there by herself.



Life was so unfair.

Time after time she had prayed to be wrapped in Drew’s arms. Now that it had happened, all she could think of was getting away from him. As her vision adjusted to the darkness, she wondered if she should load up and take off tonight. Maybe swing by Mom and Dad’s and make amends for staying away for so long. Or maybe she’d hit one of the clubs and go on a weekend drunk.

Her emotions were raw. The last thing she needed was Drew confusing her. But that’s just what he did as his warm hands slid around her waist, pulling her against his firm body. An impressive erection pressed against the small of her back as a shiver raked her.

She closed her eyes. Even now, her breasts swelled and her nipples were sensitive tips rasping against the cotton of her shirt. The pulse between her thighs begged to be stroked, filled. She fought the urge to wiggle against him. To work his hard cock between the cleft of her ass.

“Cold?” he hummed in her ear as his lips smoothed across her cheek and down her throat. The tickling sensation made her pull away, but he held her firmly against him.

“No.” Her answer came out a sigh. He sucked gently on her neck. “Drew, stop.”

“This?” he murmured as he nipped her neck and then repeated the light suction.

Through slightly raised eyelids she peered at him. “Yeah. That.” She tried to sound pissed, but she missed the mark. Instead she groaned the words and unconsciously bent her neck, giving him more access.

His large palm caressed her belly, then moved slowly to slip beneath her shirt and cup a breast.

She sucked in an audible breath and held it.

“Do you want me to stop this, too?” His thumb played over her nipple, teasing it to an aching peak. “Or do you want me to suck your nipple into my hot, wet mouth?”

“No. Yes,” she hissed, but it came out sultry instead of angry.

He pinched her nub and rays of desire shot through her breast. The back of her head fell against his chest. “Oh God.” Arousal dampened her thighs. Her nipple became unbelievably hard beneath his touch. Strings of desire pulled at her p-ssy. The small contractions increased with the steady pressure of his fingers.

His chuckle was soft and warm, filled with male satisfaction. “Do you like it hard, baby? Do you like sweet, sweet pain?”

Her mind screamed yes.

When he released her nipple, blood rushed in, along with the tingles of feeling that brought more delicious sensation.

No. Oh please no. Don’t stop.

Before she knew it he was fondling both her breasts. Her back arched, pressing her breasts into his hands. She should have felt shame for her surrender, her weakness. Still, she held on to the glimpse of hope that this time he would choose her. This time he would stay.

What a fool. What was she thinking? That maybe what she needed was a taste of him to quench her thirst. Perhaps all she needed to drive him from her soul was to experience what she had longed for all these years.

Fantasies were always better than the real thing—weren’t they? What she had felt for him was in the past. After she f*cked him, she’d be able to walk away. Besides, he was just a man. Right?

“I’ve missed you, Zoë.” There was an ache in his voice as his tongue traced the shell of her ear. “I’ve been so lonely without you.”

Heat brushed her cheeks. He had no idea what lonely was. Lonely was three long years of sleepless nights. Lonely was a hunger never fed. Lonely was being in a crowd, but never really existing. Lonely was the unworthy feeling she got every time she pictured him walking out on her.

Now that was lonely.

She trembled. Her heart raced a staccato beat in her ears.

He tightened his arms around her. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Damn him. Tears threatened to fall. She closed her eyes, refusing to give in to the pain burning behind them. “Drew, I can’t do this,” she choked. The seams of her soul felt like they were ripping. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold herself together.

Before she could resist, Drew spun her around and his lips met hers. There was nothing gentle in his kiss as he pushed past her lips, taking what he wanted. He touched her in places she hadn’t known existed, with a hunger she hadn’t expected.

Like a dam bursting, she lost it.

Her hands were everywhere, touching and caressing his broad shoulders, needing to get closer, needing to feel everything she had missed. Hip to hip, the blessed outline of his hardened cock pressed against her belly made her undulate to get closer. The need to feel him between her legs, parting and filling her, was overwhelming.

She whimpered, the sound an ache from her heart, as she sucked his tongue into her mouth, savoring the taste of the past. Her hands moved frantically over him, touching, pulling, dying to experience everything she’d been denied.

God, she wanted more. Craved more.

Uncontrollable tears swelled. Fell, one after another. Her body rubbed against his, fast, furious. Her fingers shook as she fought to release the button of his waistband. She had to feel his cock in her hands, taste it upon her tongue, and feel it deep inside her.

He stilled her hands, drawing in a strangled breath. “Slow down, baby.”

Her answer was a cry of distress. She choked on the knot stuck in her throat. Gulps of air threatened to strangle her. No way could she survive another rejection. No way. Please, she silently prayed.