Cherry Popper Read online

  “You don’t deserve anything,” I stated quietly as I noticed he was moving toward me once more. I stood my ground. This was my hometown, and I wasn’t about to let him push me around.

  “I know what happened was hard for you, but you need to give me a chance,” he wheedled hopefully.

  I fought the urge to punch him on his weak, faithless jaw. “I don’t need to give you anything.”

  “It wasn’t what you think, Mia. I swear it was an accident. It was just that one time. It meant nothing.”

  Even though I was angry and felt it like a ball of fire in my guts his statement made me laugh. “An accident? You must really think I’m a fool, right? Whatever. I don’t love you, Mark. Now, will you please get out of here? Someone else is trying to have their wedding party, you know—”

  “I know.” He nodded and suddenly, he was right in front of me, staring into my eyes with this imploring expression that was enough to make me want to head butt him. “And I don’t want to ruin their night, but I need you, Mia. I need you back. The apartment has been so empty without you. Please come back. I swear, you won’t regret it.” And with that, he reached out and gripped my arms.

  I froze on the spot. I wanted to shove him away from me, but I couldn’t. He was so much bigger than me and his fingers were sinking into my flesh. I felt so useless, so weak, pathetic. “Mark, let go of me,” I commanded coldly.

  He didn’t move a muscle. He was still looking at me with those big, hopeful eyes.

  “Mark,” I warned him one more time, and the bastard leaned in and actually tried to kiss me.

  I twisted my head away from him desperately and looked around the room at everyone who was just standing there watching this unfold. Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? Was this good enough gossip fodder that they were happy to just stand by and watch me get harassed by my asshole of an ex? My eyes met my parents.

  They were frozen with shock. They stared at me in horror.

  And then, out of nowhere, the back door banged open and footsteps barreled toward me. I was pretty sure I knew who they belonged to, before looking around.

  Suddenly, Jesse was in front of us, yanking Mark away from me, shoving him hard. “What the fuck are you doing?” Jesse demanded. “She clearly doesn’t want to be anywhere near you.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Mark snarled, gathering himself up and marching toward Jesse. In his mind, Jesse was a long-haired hick and he could instantly tell that he was dealing with an important outsider. He was so sure of his God given right to be the superior man that the fact he was a couple of inches shorter than Jesse didn’t compute until a few second before he reached him. It made him suddenly shrink into himself in a panic.

  “I’m the only person here willing to do anything,” Jesse snapped back.

  Like any bully, Mark looked around him for gang support. He seemed to find it in the faces of people there. Emboldened by the look of disgust and disapproval they had for the stranger, he shoved Jesse in the chest.

  That seemed to be all Jesse needed to react. It fact, it was probably what he’d been waiting for. He pulled back his fist and launched it at Mark’s jaw.

  The punch sent Mark sprawling to the floor.

  A gasp went up around the room, but I couldn’t help but grin at the sight of my asshole of an ex crashing to the ground, clutching his face. A trickle of blood was running down the side of his mouth. Jesse did what I wanted to do.

  “He hit me!” Mark pointed up at Jesse, like a sniveling child.

  Ignoring the commotion that exploded around us as the crowd began to move once more, Jesse looked round at me. “Are you all right?” he asked, taking my face gently in his hands and looking anxiously into my eyes.

  I could still feel the spots where Mark’s fingers had dug into me when he was trying to let everyone in the damn room know that I was his, as though they’d been branded into my skin, but I nodded. “I am now,” I said softly.

  He smiled at me and I smiled back. For a moment, I was able to pretend the entire town hadn’t just pretty much exploded into flames around me.

  “You!” A man emerged from the crowd and yanked Jesse away from me. “You need to get out of here, right now!”

  “Fine.” Jesse held his hands up and started toward the door. “Not my scene, anyway.”

  “I’m coming with you.” I chased after him.

  “Mia,” my mother called.

  I turned back to look at her. “See you later,” I said and ran to him. Without thinking, I slipped my hand into his. He grinned at me, and I spotted Julie glaring at me from across the room, beyond a crowd of people who seemed to be helping Mark back to his feet. I didn’t care about any of them. I was out of here, and nothing could hold me back. Jesse and I headed for the door.

  I left the fancy party with my mechanic. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Chapter 24

  Jesse

  I took her back out to my car and she slipped into the front seat next to me. I could see her eyes shining and her cheeks were red from the thrill of what had just happened. I noticed my own heart rate was up too, but not in a good way. I hated seeing men rough women up. It got my blood boiling. I spent a night in jail once rescuing a woman from being beaten by her boyfriend who didn’t want to be rescued.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” she murmured, glancing around at the hall where the entire town seemed to be going to pieces behind us.

  “Well, somebody had to,” I pointed out. “I wasn’t just going to let that fucker get his hands all over you when you clearly didn’t want it.”

  “My ex.” She shook her head. “As hard to comprehend as it is, he actually didn’t realize I was serious about things being over.”

  One look at him and I could tell instantly: he didn’t deserve Mia. She was way too good for that selfish prick. “Well, I think he just didn’t want to, but I’m pretty certain he’s got the message now,” I remarked with some satisfaction, as we pulled away and started down the road back to the garage. I wasn’t sure why I was taking her there, but it was almost as if I wanted to start again, the way it had been that morning when it had been the two of us together, bathed in sunlight.

  “I’m sorry you had to become involved though,” she continued, rolling down the window and letting the cool breeze in. “I feel stupid because I should have known what they were like. That the night would be a total wash, but I honestly didn’t think everyone would be as bad as all that.” She shook her head in wonder. “I really didn’t.”

  “I did,” I replied bluntly. “You’re not around here. You have to stand outside the charmed circle to see how rough it gets for anyone who’s not on the inside.”

  “Yeah, I guess I stood on the outside tonight,” she said softly. “And it was downright ugly.”

  I could feel her staring at me. There was an electric energy running between the two of us. As soon as I saw that useless piece of shit with his hands on her, something had rocked up inside of me, something that told me I had to get over there and make things right in the next ten seconds, or I would never forgive myself. It was more than just my past whispering in my head. It was a protective feeling I wasn’t used to having, let alone directed at someone like Mia.

  As we started down the long road out of town, I reached over and put my hand on her bare leg. Her dress had ridden up a few inches, and if I could have, I would have grabbed her and fucked her right there and then. But there was only so much I could expect from a fancy woman like her, and it certainly wasn’t like I could—

  “Pull over here.” Mia pointed to a spot at the side of the road, a little dusty from all the cars that had stopped there over the years.

  I had stopped here a few times too. I cocked an eyebrow at her expectantly as I let the car come to rest.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She giggled as she unbuckled herself and slid from the seat onto my lap, straddling me at once.

  “You did it before,” I reminded her, run
ning my hands up and over her back.

  “Yeah, but it was late then. This is risker,” she murmured.

  I leaned up and kissed her hard to keep her quiet. I needed to be inside her as soon as possible and I didn’t want to wait a second longer. The adrenalin from the fight and seeing that other guy with his hands all over her, was still rushing through me, flooding my system, and I needed to do something about it.

  She was grinding back down against me, arms around my neck, but this wasn’t what I wanted. I was feeling aggressive, and I wanted her beneath me, to look deep into my eyes as I drove into her. In the tight space of this car, I pulled her around and positioned her beneath me, then shifted the seat to almost horizontal.

  She giggled. “How do you want me?” she breathed.

  I groaned at the sound of those words coming out of her mouth. Every which way, Mia. Every which way. Grabbing her legs and straightening them out, I pulled her panties down and tossed them aside. Then I drew her feet up on to the dashboard and slipped between her thighs. Her need for me was palpable, coursing through the air around us in waves. I could already smell her arousal and it drove me crazy.

  She grabbed my hair, pulling me in close to her, our tongues tangled, and the flavor of her filled my senses. I thought I would never be able to forget her taste, her smell, the feel of her skin. Part of me still couldn’t believe that she was giving herself to me like this. I had always wanted her any way I could have had her, but this was way more than even my wildest fantasies.

  I grabbed a condom, pulled down my pants, and swiftly sheathed myself. She pressed her feet into the dashboard so her hips were angled up toward me. I could already see her pussy glistening from where I was above her. The night outside was dark and quiet while inside, all I could hear was the sound of our breathing, and the sensation of our desire consuming both of us.

  I ran my hands over her bare legs possessively and moved toward her. She’d looked so fancy in her dress with her hair all done and her makeup perfect, but here she was with her legs spread wide in the front seat of my car practically begging me to fuck her. The contrast was sexy as hell and I couldn’t get enough of it. I pushed into her in one swift thrust and let out a long groan of pleasure.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped. She hooked her ankles around me and started to grind back against me, meeting me halfway.

  Her lush body felt so good next to mine, fitting around me like a glove. I ran my hand over her head, letting my fingers come to rest against her full lips.

  She parted her mouth and drew me in, flicking her tongue across my fingertips and sucking on them lightly. “Mmm…” She sighed. One hand was placed against my chest and with the other she sunk her nails into my ass, as though she wanted to shove more of me into her.

  We fucked like that desperately, as though this was all she’d been able to think about all night long. The whole time I watched her, burning her face into my memory. I didn’t know how much longer we would be able to play this game, the one where she made it seem as if she could actually be with me. That I wasn’t just a pit-stop—that she really wanted me—and liked me for who I was. Like she didn’t care that the dress she wore right this minute probably cost more than what I made in a month.

  I knew it was all a big lie, but I was willing to hold out as long as I could.

  “Holy fuck.” She tipped her head back, teeth clenched.

  I leaned down, ran my tongue from the bottom of her throat to the top. Then reaching her lips, I pulled her tongue into my mouth and sucked it hard. That was all it took. I felt her give out around me, her pussy clenching and pulsating around my cock as she moaned into my mouth and came hard. Knowing I had pushed her over the edge, and realizing that in all the mess this night had been, she’d chosen me over them— the pleasure inside me suddenly burst like a dam.

  I roared like a beast as I came. For a long time, I held myself deep inside her as my cock twitched and released. I’d come harder than I could ever remember climaxing before in my life.

  When it was finally over, I withdrew slowly and fixed her seat for her. I couldn’t look at her. I was afraid she would see how affected I was. She ran her fingers through my hair absent-mindedly as I disposed of the condom. When I was sure I had my features composed, I turned to look at her.

  “Back to your place?” she asked.

  I nodded at once. “Back to my place.” Even my voice sounded strange and harsh. I pulled the car out and started down the road toward my house. I couldn’t believe we’d just done that, but I had a feeling it was just the beginning.

  Chapter 25

  Mia

  As I lay on his chest, back in his house, the two of us naked and tangled around each other like weeds, I could hear his heartbeat, fast and steady. I looked up into his eyes and wondered what kind of secrets he was hiding from me.

  “You okay?” he asked languidly, the tiredness obvious in his voice.

  It’d been a hell of a night, and I’d given him a hell of a workout as soon we got through the door. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to stay in town, and I wanted to see if there something more permanent we could step into. Since I could easily become a freelancer, I could even be persuaded to move back to town.

  “Just…” I trailed off, trying to think of a way to frame it. After what he’d done for me back at the party, I felt as though I had seen a side to Jesse that I’d never laid eyes on before. And I wanted to see more of it. “Tell me about yourself.” I grinned and watched him expectantly as a shadow flickered across his face.

  “There’s nothing to tell. I’m just your ordinary mechanic.”

  He was brushing me off. He tried to hide by letting his hand stray a little lower down my back suggestively, but I shook my head and pulled it away. Planting it firmly back on my waist, I looked up at him. “There must be something. You just turned up in this town out of nowhere. How did you end up here in the first place?”

  “Fostered,” he replied curtly. There was also a touch of frost in his voice.

  I furrowed my brow. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had a foster family. Who was it? Do I know them?”

  “Nope,” he replied, shaking his head, his jaw set. It was clear that he really didn’t want to talk about this.

  Then I knew I wouldn’t be able to coax the truth out of him no matter how hard I tried. Jesse only did the things that Jesse wanted to do, and that didn’t involve telling me anything he didn’t want to.

  “So what can you tell me?” I wasn’t giving up. I pressed gently. “I feel like I don’t know anything about you.”

  “You don’t,” he replied bluntly.

  My heart ached in my chest at his words. He didn’t seem to think it was a bad thing to lock me out.

  He fell silent for a long moment, as if considering something.

  “But I want to,” I implored hopefully. “You know so much about me—”

  “Your family makes it hard not to,” he shot back.

  “I know things were different for us growing up, but I want to know you,” I went on. “You don’t have to tell me everything, just tell me…just tell me something.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I don’t know. Tell me about your brother, or your father, your dreams.”

  “Look, I really don’t want to talk. Can we continue just having fun? No need to bog it down with the shit that happened years ago.”

  “I…” I stopped myself before I could come out and say it, before I could express my hurt over the apparent fact that this was all just a causal thing to him. “It’s just, the way you were with Mark.” I shook my head. “It seemed like—”

  “I just don’t like it when I see people touching people who don’t want it,” he cut me off. “Simple as that. Would have done it for anyone.”

  “Right,” I murmured, and I fell silent for a long moment. I guess I had mistaken sex for real feelings. It hurt like crazy, but maybe he was right. I had my life back in the city, and he had his life down
here. More importantly, he would hurt me in the end. If I moved back here and he found another woman, it would kill me to see him with her.

  Saying nothing, I listened to the steady pulse of his heart beneath my head. I knew it should have comforted me, but instead it served as a reminder. A reminder of everything he held in his heart that he would never tell me. He would never be mine, not properly. In fact, I wasn’t even sure he could belong to anyone in a serious way, given that he never seemed to want to go past the superficial.

  It was what Kayla said when he had first turned up at that bar. He was the kind of guy you had fun with, then moved on and married someone else. Had he ever had a serious girlfriend in his life? Hell, had anyone ever come close enough to figuring out what was going on in that closed-off head of his?

  “This is just fun, right?” he reminded me. As though I’d needed it underlined. “We’re just having fun.”

  “Right,” I agreed slowly, even though it hurt to concede that point. I’d been the first one to say it, and now I wanted nothing more than to reel it back to the start and begin again. To do it properly, let myself love him from the start.

  “We should go out for lunch tomorrow,” he suggested, as if the last few seconds of our conversation hadn’t just happened. “Could be fun. See what state the town’s in after what happened tonight.”

  “Yeah sure,” I agreed, and felt a shiver of apprehension for the future go through me.

  “You all right?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” I lied. “Let’s sleep for a bit.”

  He brought his arm around me, and soon enough his breathing smoothed. He had fallen into a deep sleep, but I lay there, on his chest, eyes open while staring into the dark, and wondering what the hell kind of secrets, this man was hiding. Wondering if I would ever find out what they were.

  Chapter 26

  Mia