Surrendering To His Mrs. Right (Soul Food Diner) (15 page)

“Tim?”

He peeled his lips from her sex and pulled away. “Yes?”

“I
…I…” How had this happened? Had she known subconsciously… Was that why Tim had come to mind or had she wanted it to be him? “I assumed you were Liam.” In that moment, her words revealed too much. She gasped for air. All night at the club Liam had been groping her despite having a girlfriend.

“
I can’t believe this,

Tim’s room was on the other side of the hall. Why would she have thought it was him? Unable to fill her lungs she doubled over. Liam would never have anything to do with her again. Since he’d found out she was hanging out with Tim he’d been so angry.

“Shit-t-t. I thought you knew.” The light went on. Tim stood before her pain and misery in his eyes. “Indy, I’m so sorry.” Back and forth he paced with his head down.

This would eat him up. Tim was a thoughtful man. Not one that acted on impulse. All her propositioning
had led to what had just happened. Despite her flirting and teasing, Tim had not touched her sexually until now. Until Liam had appeared and tried to separate them.

She hid her face in her hands. What had she done? “I can’t believe this.” She pushed her skirt back down and clutched her stomach. “I’m going to be sick.”

Liam called out from further away. “Indy?”

If Liam found them like this she wasn’t sure what would happen. She needed time to think
, to figure things out. When she was sure what she wanted, she could calmly explain what had happened. But that meant she had to get out of there. Dashing for the door, she yanked on the handle, fumbled her way to the stairs.

Hearing footsteps behind her she ran faster. “Indy.” Tim
was chasing her.

Not now. Not when her head was a jumbled mess. She reached in
to the dish and grabbed her keys.

“Indy.” Liam shouted from the stairs
. Any moment they would catch up to her.

She darted out the front door. Her house
was a few yards away and her bike was in the driveway.

If she went home she could lock them out. They could stand outside, waiting for her, pressuring her to come out.

“Indy,” Liam yelled.

“Indy, please,” Tim shouted, pain crack
ing his voice.

She needed to get far away from them both. Down at the coast
, by the ocean, she would be able to think.

Running to her bike, she lifted her skirt, jumped on and kicked up the stand. The weight of the bike tipped her to one side but she regained control. She fumbled with key and dropped it.

Tim came running out the front door.

Indy picked up the key and inserted it.

When she’d made it around the block she could put on her helmet. The pressure of the seat against her clit made it throb with the sensations Tim had provoked. She started the engine and turned the accelerator then sped off.

“Indy…no,” Tim
yelled.

As she glanced back, the bike leaned too far to one side. There was no correcting. Only freefalling. Tim ran toward her
with Liam a few steps behind.

Everything around her seemed to be moving in slow motion. How much of the pain would she feel? Would she be paralyzed? She slammed into the pavement. Bones shattered…

Muffled voices. The taste of blood. Hurt. Pain. Agony.

Blackness.

Flashing lights. Sirens.

Tim held her neck in place
, blood smeared on his face. Liam gestured people to her, worry evident in his eyes. This was far worse than if she’d explained at the house. Tim would blame himself. Liam would hurt him if he knew what had happened. If she died she couldn’t leave this on Tim’s shoulders, with everyone believing it was his fault.

She tried to speak. Blood pooled in her mouth
and she swallowed. She whimpered.

Hurt. Pain. Agony.

She was fading again but she held on. She had to speak to Tim. She moved her lips.

Tim leaned down. “Did you say something?”

“This isn’t your fault. Don’t tell them why.” If she survived she needed to be the one to tell everyone.

“I have to.” He exhaled.

“For me. Please…” The darkness tugged her. “Promise me.”

“Indy…”

“Please?” Pain claimed her.

Tim watched as Indy vanished into the emergency room. The best of the hospital’s team went in. He
’d phoned ahead and called in all the favors he had. The first few hours were critical if she would ever walk again. On the ride to the hospital in the ambulance he’d agonized over when to call her parents. They couldn’t get off the ship until it docked in the morning. However, he figured they would want to know. He dialed Mr. Kent’s number. It rang and rang. The voicemail picked up. This wasn’t the kind of message one left on an answering machine.

Beep.

“Mr. Kent, this is Tim Boyd calling. Indy’s been in an accident and she’s in surgery. Please call me the moment you get this message.” He gave his cell number. Was that the right message to leave? Obviously Indy wasn’t calling so she was unable to. If he just left a message for them to call him they might think the worst—that she was dead.

Liam came into the hospital. “Where is she?” Blood soiled his brother’s hands and clothing.

“They’ve taken her into surgery.” Tim ran a hand through his hair.

Movement around him appeared to
be in slow motion. If she died he would never forgive himself for what his touch had cost. What had he done to her? He should’ve known better. It was obvious now—based on what she’d said—that she loved Liam. She wanted Liam’s touch, not his. That was probably why she’d struggled with growing closer to him. And why she’d completely pulled away. For him, watching Liam try to create a wedge between them had scared him. He’d wanted to solidify what he’d hoped was developing but for all he’d known it had all been in his head. Indy didn’t want him or his touch. The question he had failed to ask Indy was if she had feelings for Liam. On some level, his brother had to have known how she felt about him. Perhaps he’d been trying to protect her from herself.

“What happened?” Liam sat down and rocked.

Being the bastard Tim now knew he was, he’d pushed aside any thought of having to explain but knew the questions would come too soon. He had to decide whether to respect Indy’s request or not.

Obviously
if he told Liam what had happened, he’d be pissed. The man had been an ass since he’d discovered that Tim had been hanging out with Indy. If Liam was angry with them both that would leave Tim to comfort Indy. What was wrong with him for even thinking such a thing?

Tim would
’ve been better off losing Indy to Liam then what had happened. So now what did he do? Tell the truth and go against Indy’s wishes again? No.

He wouldn’t betray her a second time. She
’d asked him to lie and that was what he’d do, no matter how much he despised doing so.

Fuck!

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Did she say anything to you in the kitchen?”

There was no point in bringing it up. It had been empty words. Perhaps she’d been trying to get him to reveal how he felt. Why else would she have done it when she loved Liam?

Indy was a flirt. She wasn’t out to hurt anyone. Maybe she’d been trying to make Liam jealous
? That didn’t make any sense either since he hadn’t been in the room.

“No, she didn’t say anything.”

“I’ve been an ass to her this entire holiday season.” Liam stood up. “I’m a coward, Tim.”

There was no disagreeing with Liam having been an ass to Indy but so
had he. What could his brother mean when he said he was a coward? “What are you talking about?”

“I love her.”

“You what?” The entire world shifted around Tim.

Liam continued, “I adore her.”

“Then why the hell are you…” He stood and shook his hands. “Dating another woman? Mean to Indy? Shall I go on?”

“I’ve suspected my feelings for a while. It’s hard to really know what I feel. I’m not normal. But when you started hanging out with her I snapped.” He grabbed his hair and pulled. “Everything I thought she and I have, I saw the two of you sharing. I kinda thought we’d go off to school and when we were done she and I would fall into place.”

Did Liam hear his own words? “This is so messed up.”

“You don’t think I know that
?” Liam turned and pressed his forehead to the wall. “I don’t want to ever hurt Indy. Aside from you, she’s all I have.”

“That isn’t love
, Liam,” Tim said clenching his jaw.

“I care about her so much I protected her from me.” Liam pointed to his che
st. “From the poison I bring to the people who care about me.”

When his brother interacted with Indy
, the poison spilled out onto her. “The problem is that you didn’t protect her.”

“She was upset. She told you something, didn’t she? I was groping her the entire night. She got pissed. Pointed out what a degenerate I was. Despite how the evening went when I got out of the shower I called Brenda and broke it off so I could try my best to fuck Indy
. So you couldn’t have her.” Liam hit his head against the wall.

“You’d ruin her first experience
? For what?” Inside, Tim’s head spun round and round. Was that what he’d done? Stake his claim before Liam did?

“Not to lose her to you. I know I’m fucked up
, Tim! So tell me what she said.” Liam grabbed Tim shirt. “Please, tell me?”

There was no going back once he
’d started to lie. “She didn’t say anything.” Other than that she’d wanted Liam to be the one touching her. Not him! Why hadn’t he seen it? No matter what, this wouldn’t end well for any of them. “I heard you yelling for her so I came out to see what was going on. She was running out of the house. You know the rest.”

Who was he really covering up for
: himself or Indy? That was the story he’d tell over and over again. Each time it would eat him up just a little more. Would he be the only one who knew the truth? Indy might lose the minutes before the accident. Trauma victims often did.

If she did, would he ever tell her what
had really happened?

About a.c. Mason

Born from the union of her Scottish and Belgian mother and an African American and Cherokee father, a.c.Mason’s youth was filled with dichotomies and moving from place to place. She developed a curiosity to explore through writing the seedy side of our nature and desires. Add to that her fascination with theology, politics, history, horror, and erotica. And voila, her distinct voice surfaced. Given her own diverse background, she writes stories that represent the world she grew up in. She enjoys delving into the realms of the unknown and blurring the caution lines. Her stories are the place where darkness meets human desire and fairytales endings are not promised but earned.

She is fluent in French and English. She’s an avid traveler, including most of Canada, both of the United States seaboards, England and Europe. For the past nine years of her life, she has worked with one foot in the past spanning from 18
th
century, the Bering Strait theory to modern day and now late Victorian and WWII. She advocates the preservation of our natural and cultural riches for future generations.

Take a journey with her characters and come face to face with what lays beneath their illusions. Emerge…on the other side changed.

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http://acmason.com

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