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After a quick discussion, three other women in the troupe lodged complaints against the carny. They felt safe coming forward as a united front, since his threats had kept them individually quiet before now. And, again as a group, they all decided to handle things their own way and not bring in the law.
Damon, though he traveled with them, wasn’t entirely one of them. He was still a bit of an outsider. So he had no vote…nor did he quite understand what they meant to do. Frankly, that was probably just as well. He didn’t want to know. He just wanted to get Allie out of there, and take her someplace safe, someplace private.
Finally, with two of the big workers taking Jonesy by the arms, they all shuffled away. Paulie was the last to leave, but not before offering Allie a sincere apology.
“Thanks, but I don’t blame you for your employee’s actions.”
“Maybe not, but I will make sure he never does it again.”
Carny justice. Damon noted the steely look in his normally affable cousin’s eye. The two of them exchanged one long stare, then Paulie walked away, leaving Damon and Allie alone.
Alone…and finally ready to stop playing games.
Chapter 7
“Come on,” Damon said once they were alone. “Let me get you safely back to your hotel.”
Still shaken by her close call, Allie picked up her purse and sandals from where they’d landed on the beach during the struggle. She slid her arm around Damon’s waist as they started walking. They didn’t speak, both lost in thought, hearing only the soft crunch of their feet in the sand and the churn of the waves breaking on the shore. His arm draped across her shoulder, he kept her close beside him, as if afraid to let her go.
With every quiet step, and the cool caress of the night breeze, she regained her calm. Her sense of security. Safety.
She liked the idea of being safe. But she didn’t need to go to her hotel to feel that way. Since the moment Damon had come charging across the sand, tackling the pig who’d attacked her, she knew she’d be okay. “That’s my hotel,” she said, pointing to the lights of the closest building past the fairgrounds, which was still a good hike away. “Let’s just keep walking.”
“You sure you’re up to it?”
“I’m fine, really. He scared me but he didn’t really hurt me.” Rubbing her cheek against his cotton T-shirt, she murmured, “I was ready to kill him, you know, but I’m not sure I would have been able to. So I’m really glad you showed up.”
“Paulie told me he’d seen you and then we both heard you scream.” He pulled her tighter against his side. “I didn’t stop to consider it at the time, but I think subconsciously I thought it could be you and I might have committed murder myself when I realized it was.”
She was suddenly very thankful she’d left him the note, figuring it must have sent him out looking for her. If she hadn’t, he might still be locked in his camper, falling asleep, out of earshot of her screams. And she could be….
She didn’t want to think about it. Not for one more second.
A big part of her wanted to know what he thought about her explanation of why she’d stood him up, including his reaction to her baby. But the fact that he was here, close and protective, told her everything she had to know right at this moment. He’d obviously understood and wasn’t the kind of jerk who’d hear a woman had a child and instantly find her less attractive.
She stopped walking, turning to look up at him, his handsome face shadowed and mysterious in the moonlight. “What’s happening between us, Damon?” Even to her own ears, the confusion in her voice was obvious.
Why was she so crazy about a man she didn’t know very well? Why had he occupied her thoughts every day for three weeks? Why did something deep inside keep urging her to go after him, even after he’d so thoroughly rejected her?
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But you’re not the only one feeling it. I’ve been telling myself it’s just sex—the need to get you into bed.” Shaking his head, he added, “But when I saw you tonight—your shirt torn, the marks on you—hell, Allie, I haven’t felt that terrified about anything in a long time.”
Behind them, the lights of the distant Ferris wheel finally went off, cloaking them in a more intimate darkness. They were far from the crossover now, and still far from her hotel, on a secluded stretch of beach. Completely alone but for a few nighttime sea birds crying out as they flew overhead.
Lifting a hand to his cheek, she traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. In this midnight-blue light, his eyes had gone from violet to almost purple and they glittered as he turned his face to press a kiss in the center of her palm. An open-mouthed kiss. It sent a rush of warmth up her arm.
Dropping her shoes and purse, she snaked her other arm up and over his shoulders, tunneling her fingers in his silky black hair. She leaned into him, rose on her tiptoes and whispered, “Thank you.” Then she touched her lips to his, sweetly, underscoring her thanks.
Not letting her go, he dropped his hands to her hips. Circling her waist, he gently stroked the small of her back as he licked her lips apart, then slid his tongue between them. She sighed, tilting her head to deepen the kiss, savoring the slow strokes as he explored her mouth.
For all the crazy feelings she’d had about the man since she’d first seen his image on the side of a truck, Allie hadn’t expected that it would be pure tenderness and emotion that would finally bring them together. But it was. Without saying a word, without even ending the kiss, they slowly reached for each other’s clothes. He slid her torn blouse off her shoulders and Allie let it fall to the sand. She tugged his shirt free of his pants, pulling away from his kiss only long enough to push it up and off.
Flattening her hands, Allie stroked Damon’s thick shoulders, then caressed her way down his hard chest, delighting in the textures of his body and the warmth of his skin. Continuing to press those crazy-sweet kisses on her lips, he let her explore every bit of him.
He delicately felt his way from the sides of her neck down each of her arms, the tips of his fingers barely touching her, providing just enough pressure to drive her mad with the need for more. When he reached her hands, he twined her fingers in his. “You’re sure you’re all right?” he murmured as he moved his mouth to her cheek, then her jaw.
She shivered in delight at the feel of his tongue on her pulse point. “I’m fine. I want this. I am ready for this.”
“Me, too.”
