Chapter 6 #3
“At the bus station,” Del answered, still stunned at the turn of this conversation, “and no, I didn’t see what bus she got on.”
“Thank you, Delbert,” Rory replied as he turned to walk away. Halfway back to his car, he called back over his shoulder.
“If you’re planning to date my sister, you might want to remember this conversation.”
“I have no intention of furthering my acquaintance with Ms. O’Malley,” Del called back stiffly. He could have sworn he heard Detective O’Malley laugh.
* * *
Damn, Rory thought as he drove away. Great detective I am, I can’t find one small woman in this town. Picking up his cell phone he called his best friend on the force.
“Anything, John?”
“As a matter of fact, I’m following your little girl right now.
I just happened to get a glimpse of her at the bus station.
At first, I couldn’t figure out where she was going, but I’m about a block and a half behind her.
I think she’s heading to the pub. It’s not a good area for her to be walking alone at night, bro. Want me to catch her?”
“No,” Rory answered. “Just keep an eye on her and make sure she gets in safely. I have other plans for her. Call me and let me know how she enters. The pub is closed on Mondays, so I want to know if she has a key or what.”
“No problem,” John answered ending the call.
Ten minutes later Rory’s cell rang. “Bro, she went up an outside stairway and let herself in the door. I watched for lights but didn’t see any, must have some heavy duty black out shades or she has the eyes of a cat. You want me to hang around? Are you heading this way?”
“No, buddy, thanks. Go on home. She’s safe there for the night. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Okay, if that’s what you want. See you tomorrow.”
Rory headed downtown and cruised slowly past the pub several times, trying to decide the best course of action.
He wasn’t used to second-guessing himself and his first instinct had been to beat down the door and take her home with him for some serious conversation.
His hand was aching to have an up close and personal talk with her beautiful ass, but he wasn’t sure about the wisdom of that tonight.
This was no time to make a tactical error.
He was in it for the long haul and she had already run from him.
Thankfully, she hadn’t gone far, but she could have.
For the time being she was in town, in a safe place.
Until he found out exactly what was going on in her head, he had to be careful.
Sure, physically he could cart her out of there, take her home and show her why running away from him was not a good idea.
He could take her silky little body to his bed and force her submission in a hundred subtle ways.
But Rory wanted more than that. He wanted her to come to him on her own.
At least that was the plan. Whether he could hold out that long remained to be seen.
One thing he did know, once he made her truly his, once he had buried himself balls deep inside her hot little body, he was never going to be able to let her go.
Kidnapping and imprisonment would not look good on his record, he thought with a grimace.
Damn, that girl had him tied up in knots.
Didn’t it just figure that the first woman he really fell in love with, wanted to marry, would also be the one that wasn’t throwing her body at him.
Gorgeous women had been after him most of his adult life and if truth be told, a good part of his adolescence.
Tall, leggy blondes, sensuous brunettes, smart women, women with money, waitresses and lawyers, it didn’t matter.
Christ, most of Maggie’s friends had made a play for him at one time or another, and some of Colleen’s too.
Some he’d taken up on their generous offers, he was only human, but no one touched his heart.
Until Tess, sex was recreational, which was fine with him.
No ties, no promises had always been his motto.
He had no intention of leaving broken hearts in his wake and would purposely stay away from women he felt would become too attached.
Settling down had not been high on his list of priorities.
His parents had plenty of grandchildren, he enjoyed his work and never lacked for company, both family and friends.
Then he met Tess. Something came over him that night.
He’d gone back to the park three nights in a row to check on her.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her, worrying about her.
It was inconceivable that she was still defying him after two warnings.
He’d never spanked a complete stranger in his life but for some reason it seemed totally natural to upend her over his knee.
His protective instincts amazed him where she was concerned.
It was as though his mind immediately recognized her as family.
The little spitfire tugged at his heart from day one, becoming more important to him with each passing day.
Now, he had to have her. He could not imagine a life without her. She was as necessary to him as air.
He would wait, he decided. He would be patient. He would give her time to make up her mind and come to him, and if she didn’t, well, then he would take her.
* * *
Tess left the lights off and peeped out of the window.
She saw the man following her and cursed the heels she was wearing.
There was no way she could outrun him. He stayed about a half a block behind her, never getting any closer, matching his steps to hers.
Fear choked her and she was almost certain she would not be able to scream even if there had been someone to hear her.
Why had she left the safest place she’d ever known?
The O’Malley home was full of light and laughter and yet she fled.
Ran away like a child. No wonder Rory treated her as though she was five years old, look how she had acted.
Most women would give their eye teeth to have a man like Rory O’Malley pursuing them.
In his arms, she felt more alive than ever before.
So what if he took control, obviously her body liked it.
She never came so hard and fast in her life and not once, but twice.
Tess had no doubt it was not a freak thing.
Just thinking about it made her panties wet and set her knees to shaking.
She wanted him to finish, wanted him to take her.
He was the one who remained firm. If it had been up to her they would probably still be in that bed, she thought sighing.
Oh, where was a cop when you needed one?
That man was still outside, across the street in the dark, talking on his phone.
Tess rechecked the locks and got a soda from the fridge.
Peeking back out the window she saw the man had moved on.
A dark car drove slowly by and Tess shivered.
It looked like the same car that followed her to the bus station.
Letting the shade drop back, Tess kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed fully dressed.
It couldn’t have been Rory in that car. Rory would have marched upstairs and pounded on the door until she answered.
Tess had a pretty good idea what else he would have done too, and at this point she wished he had.
Taking a spanking would have been better than shivering alone in the dark.
Oh, she was such a brave girl. Not! Rory would have taken her home, she sniffled.
The rain beating against the window began to drown out the sounds of the creaking building. Tess put the drink on the nightstand, pulled the covers over her head and prayed for morning.