“Good,” Charles’ fatherly tone grates on my last nerve. “Make sure and bring Rochelle along. I am sure they’d be thrilled to meet her.”
His sarcastic tone doesn’t escape me, nor does it get past Rochelle as her hand tightens in mine. Turning, I meet Charle’s stare one final time.
“They would. Thank you for the tip. Now if you’ll excuse us, Charles. We have more important places to be.”
I give him and his daughter a curt nod, turn, and pull Rochelle out of the restaurant and into the sanctuary of night.
Chapter Twelve
Hunter
She was quiet the whole time we walked the pier. She was silent as we rode the Ferris wheel and I attempted to pull her out of her shell. She was distant as I pulled her close while we stood in line for cotton candy.
Finally, walking the sandy shore of the island, I reach out and grab her hand, and my heart sinks when she shrinks back from me. A shiver rushes up her spine. Her hands rise and grab her upper arms, rubbing vigorously up and down in an attempt to warm herself. Pulling her close, thankful she doesn't deny me again, I wrap my arm around her shoulder in an attempt to get her warmer.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I cautiously say as we walk a little further around the island.
“Funny,” she sasses. “My thoughts are actually on a girl named Tiffany and what I possibly could have done to make her, and her father, dislike me so much.”
“They’re just idiots,” I say, trying to make light of the situation.
“They don’t even know me. Why do they hate someone they don’t even know?”
“It is easier to hate something, or someone, you don’t know. A lot easier than opening up to the unknown. To do that, you have to become vulnerable. Unfortunately, the West Coast world is full of people who are always judging.”
Another shiver courses through her petite frame, and I pull her closer. “But why would they judge me if they didn’t even know me?”
“You mean kind of like you did with me?”
She stops and stares up at me. “I didn’t do that!”
“Oh really?” I tease, as I come a step closer and pull her tight against my frame. “Kinda like how you barely talked to me when I first saw you in the salon? Or when you barely caved and allowed me to take you home? Or how about when you waited four days to call me and drove me absolutely insane? You left me waiting, dreaming that I didn’t scare you away that first night and ruin my chance.”
I kiss her lips, but she pulls back quickly. “That was different.”
I lean in for another kiss but she pushes back against my chest. Annoyed, I cave and ask, “How so?”
“Well, for starters, I am not from around here. And I don’t fit in with anyone from around here. No one ever took notice of me before you, and when you did, it scared me a little.”
“Scared you?” I ask, brushing her hair off to one side and planting a soft kiss on her neck. “How so, Angel?”
Licking up her neck, I take her ear in my mouth.
“Well,” she manages, through rushed breaths. “You were so confident. Forceful. Demanding.”
“I know what I want, and I am not afraid to go after it.” I tease, as I release her lobe and bite her tender flesh.
Pulling the strap of her dress off her shoulder, I savor the taste of her skin against my lip as I continue to pepper kisses across her chest.
“True to your name,” Rochelle pants. “An avid hunter.”
She’s got that right, and all I could ever want is her. But I am not done with this conversation just yet. Pulling back, I say, “But we aren’t from where you come from either. The door swings both ways, Rochelle. You can’t let anyone in if you are afraid to open it first.”
Speechless, her hurt eyes search mine. “Why are you afraid to let me in, Angel? Hell, I’ll let you take every part of me, just say the word and I’m yours. But you. A small piece of you always holds back, like you’re afraid you’ll get burned.”
“Maybe I was burned once before.”
“We all have been burned in one way or another. But you’ll never know what it feels like to dance in the flames unless you let yourself play with the fire.”
