MALLORY
I stepped into Derek’s house without knocking, since the door was unlocked.
“Who were you talking to?” he hissed at me from the armchair, his voice edgy. Just like I needed him. It felt good to be in charge.
He looked handsome in a white T-shirt, jeans, barefoot, his knees wide apart as he studied me, not bothering to get up.
I walked up slowly, studying him. The way men usually study women.
The way alpha-women study men in movies.
I’d practiced so many times in the mirror.
You have to. A guy on TV said that confidence is a matter of practice.
You might be nervous or even petrified, but you can train yourself to stay calm on the surface.
“First things first, shirt off.” I tilted my chin at him.
A surprised laugh escaped him. Then, in a matter of seconds, he was out of the armchair, his hand around my throat, his body pushing me backward until the back of my knees hit the couch and I fell backward onto it, Derek’s body hovering over mine.
“Don’t play games with me, Mal,” he hissed, glaring at me, his hand still around my throat but not forceful.
I’d been intimidated before. Nothing new here. But I’d already decided that I wouldn’t be a doormat. Not with him.
Breathing hard, I smiled, though it took all my willpower not to push him away.
“I said, take your clothes off first,” I ordered as calmly as I could. “Then we talk. After I get what I want.”
And then came the change in his face, the amusement he couldn’t hide.
“Where did you come from?” he muttered. But his hand was off my neck in a second. In another, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. He nudged my legs apart, took a step between them, and undid his jeans.
“You are pushing my buttons, Mal,” he said, pulling his jeans down, already hard, making a show of himself and his anger.
“You are playing with fire. You know that, right?” He pushed my skirt up and yanked my panties down.
“And you are making me very, very, very angry,” he panted, showing me exactly what he meant, his words losing the spite because, well, Men are suckers for sex.
They turn into impatient puppies when you promise them a piece of action.
Al’s words. She would know. She’d screwed dozens of them.
I didn’t like angry Derek, but I did revel in seeing him needy for something, even if it was information.
When we were done, I watched Derek dress. “I’m thirsty,” I said.
His lips parted to say something, probably, “Help yourself.” But he didn’t. Obediently, he walked to the fridge. “What do you want?”
“Coke. In a glass. With ice.” I pursed my lips, though I wanted to giggle.
He came back and handed it to me, then slumped in the armchair across the coffee table from the couch where I sat, fixing myself.
“Okay. So what’s the story?” His eyes trained on me, he ruffled his hair, so handsome that I wanted to tease him more.
“This woman showed up at the bar today,” I said and told him exactly what happened. Omitting only that I knew where she was staying and her phone number.
“She is a nutcase,” Derek said when I finished.
“So she isn’t your wife?”
“No. Domestic partner. But we haven’t been together in a year. She won’t let go, though.”
“Why is she looking for you? Child support?”
His jaw clenched as he narrowed his eyes on me. No, I hadn’t told him that the woman showed me the picture of his happy family.
“Like I said, she is a nutjob,” he repeated. “That’s why she followed me here.”
“And how would she know where to look for you?”
“Who knows? Her daddy is a cop.”
“Why the name change?”
“So that her daddy doesn’t find me. Apparently, that didn’t work.”
“Apparently, she wants you bad.”
I wasn’t stupid. His story didn’t make sense. But then, there were enough crazies out there.
“She wants to drag me back to Ohio. And her daddy wants to have a talk with me. And because her daddy is as batshit crazy as she is, he will make sure I stay with her. Because if I don’t, he’ll harass me, pin some stupid-ass crime on me, and make my life hell.
A sheriff, like I said. They can do anything they want. ”
“So what are you going to do about her? Jimmy?” I emphasized the name.
“It’s Derek,” he said. “My middle name, I like it better.”
That was another bullshit story, I was sure, but I let it roll. It was amusing to see him squirm. It felt powerful to know that I might be the only person in town who knew this side of him, the Jimmy side. Well, besides Karen.
“Karen will give you away in a second,” I suggested.
“That bitch.” He grunted with irritation and rubbed his face with both hands. “She really gets on my nerves. The moment I saw her, I knew that old hag would be steaming like a clogged pipe. Old women, they can’t get young guys, so they want to show them they are in charge.”
“She’s barely fifty,” I corrected him.
“Yeah.” Derek smirked. “Dammit, I have to leave town. I can’t have Sarah find me and then get her daddy to rope me in, back to that Ohio dump.”
That was disappointing. He could’ve been from Cleveland or another big city in Ohio, but that didn’t sound like it. I’d thought he was a city boy. Turned out, his past wasn’t that glamorous. I still wanted him more than ever. That only gave me more confidence.
“Let me see what I can do,” I said, getting up.
“Do what? Where are you going?”
“Home. I just got off work, and I need rest.” I knew he wouldn’t ask me to stay, so I had to make the first move. “I’ll see if I can talk some sense into your Sarah.”
He snorted with laughter as I walked to the door.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice getting closer, as well as his footsteps, until he caught up with me, pulled me around, and cornered me against the door.
It wasn’t anger in his eyes this time, no. Not mockery either. His hands were on each side of me, trapping me, his curious eyes locked with mine, and… Gosh, despite stupid Al, and annoying Vic, and his delusional ex, and others, I still wanted him.
“I’ll think of something,” I said mysteriously. “There are ways. I’ll divert her, maybe. Send her to another town.”
“Oh, yeah?” Derek’s lopsided smile and dimples made my knees weak. This time, his question was hesitant. “You think you are hard candy or something?”
“Or something.” I licked my lips. “Let’s just say I’m interested in what we have going on here.” I let my gaze drop to his chest, then raised it to his eyes. “For now.”
I’d never thought I’d see it in his face, the want, but there it was, staring at me, his eyes burning with surprise.
He brought his hand to my face and took my jaw between his fingers, then kissed me.
He let go quickly, saying, “Let me know what’s going on.
And don’t share this address, understood? ”
I didn’t respond, but he opened the door for me, for the first time. And I left his house high on that kiss, determined to do anything it took to keep him mine.
That meant Sarah had to go.