Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1) Read online

  As Ava began to zip up the bag her eye was caught by the shiny silver object stashed with the money. The overhead light of the garage shone down just right and made the metal come to life in an almost sparkling glint. Her hands moved of their own accord, reaching in to take hold of the object. Money shifted around and brushed her hands as she pulled it free of its confines. Protection. That’s the only reason she had this. She didn’t much care for firearms but in case her past came back to find her, she’d at least have a fighting chance. The weight of the 9mm pistol wasn’t as heavy as she remembered last week. It was her ritual to check on her hiding space once a week. It’d become like a religion for her to unlock the space and make sure everything was in its place.

  Pulling herself from a multitude of inner thoughts, Ava gently placed the gun back in with the money and quickly re-zipped the duffle. She jumped up the steps, pulling the metal pole from the lid of the hole and dropped it back in place. She secured the combination lock and twisted the dial to make sure no one would accidentally find their way into her stash.

  “Ava?” She could hear Brandi’s muffled voice on the other side of the door leading into the kitchen.

  “Shit,” Ava cursed under her breath. She hastily pulled the corner of the tarp back over the floor, concealing her secret. Just as she had it covered, the door to the kitchen was flung open with a curious Brandi standing there.

  “Are you covering up bodies out here?” Brandi leveled her with a comical stare.

  “Nope. There’s a huge oil stain on the concrete. I was just making sure it was still covered up,” Ava lied.

  “You’re so weird. This is the south. Oil stains are like works of art here.”

  “You’re the weird one.”

  “So I’ve been told several times.”

  “Let’s get the rest of the living room painted and then I’ll buy you dinner.” Ava led the way back through the house and away from the things she wanted to keep hidden.

  “Just because you buy me dinner, does not mean I’m putting out.”

  “Oh come on.” Ava joked, happy that Brandi wasn’t asking more questions about the tarp in the garage.

  “Fine. Dinner and a movie and you have free reign into the panties.” She held her arms out and offered herself in a dramatic gesture.

  “No, thanks. But to boost your ego…if I did bat for the other team, you’d be the first one I’d go for.” She winked at her best friend, thankful she’d found someone who’d give as good as she got.

  “But you’re going for Luke, right?”

  “I’m going on a date with him Friday,” Ava admitted.

  “You should totally fuck him.”

  “Jesus. Do you not have a filter?”

  “No, I don’t. Besides, if you don’t ride that stallion, some other southern belle will.” Brandi acted like she was holding invisible reins and began whinnying like a horse.

  “Can we please not talk about riding him? It’s just a date.”

  “You have to seize the moment. Clearly he’s attracted to you and you’re hot for him.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m going to drop my panties on the first date, Brandi. I do have morals you know.”

  “I don’t. If that man asked me out, I’d have his man meat in my mouth before we left the damn parking lot.”

  “Okay, that’s a visual I didn’t need.”

  They dipped their rollers into the paint pans once more and went about the job in comfortable silence. About ten minutes into the session, the ding of the doorbell caused both women to jump and shriek, paint flying everywhere.

  “Who the hell is that? It’s nine-o-freaking-clock!” Brandi threw her roller down and headed for the door.

  “Wait…” Ava froze. This was it, they’d found her. All the planning and preparation she’d done to become invisible and it only took them two fucking years to sniff out her trail. Her heart slammed against her ribcage as her breathing sped up. Tunnel vision swamped her until all she could make out was Brandi’s form heading for the front door. Oh no. What if they hurt her friend? What if they did the whole “shoot first, ask questions later” thing? The last thing they’d want was a witness who could identify them. Ava had to think fast before she caused her only friend in this world to become hurt or worse.

  “I’ve got it.” She all but pushed Brandi out of the way to get to the door before her.

  “Holy shit, spaz. You about knocked me over.” Brandi stood rubbing her arm where Ava had banged into her.

  “I’m sorry. It’s my house after all; I’d like to answer the door. Why don’t you go grab me another glass of tea from the fridge?” Ava was trying to think on her feet. She needed Brandi out of the room in case there were some unsavory characters on the other side of the front door.

  “Yeah, okay. But next time try not to beat the shit out of me just to answer the door. I like a little slap and tickle every now and then, but that’s only from members of the human race who let me go fishing for trouser trout.” Brandi laughed and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Ava put her hand on the door knob and closed her eyes. If this was it, she was prepared to go. She’d been happy the last two years. She’d been able to do what she loved and had a good life during that time. She took one last cleansing breath and pulled the door open swiftly. Might as well get this over with.

  Her eyes bugged out of her head when she took in the person waiting on the other side.

  “Luke, what are you doing here?” Her voice came out small and breathless.

  ***

  Luke couldn’t help that his eyes scanned Ava’s body from her bare feet to the top of the messy bun piled high on her head. She was beyond gorgeous. She wore a black tank top that’d been splattered with white paint and a pair of ratty cutoff jean shorts that begged him to run a finger just beneath the frayed hem. Would her tanned legs feel as smooth as they looked? Would her breathing accelerate if he touched her so intimately?

  “Luke?” Her voice was full of question and he snapped his gaze back to her face.

  “Sorry, I was…” His sentence trailed off, leaving him a bit embarrassed that he’d been caught giving her the once over. What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t become embarrassed over things. He was a tough guy, a man’s man. A kick ass and take names kind of guy. Not a total pussy who melted when he saw a silky, gorgeous set of legs.

  “Checking me out?” Ava gave a half smile and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

  “You caught me.” He looked past her and into the house. “May I come in?” Luke lifted his chin and motioned behind her.

  “Oh, yeah. Where are my manners?” She stepped aside, giving him a good look at her bare feet. Pink. How did he know that Ava would be a pink nail polish kind of woman? “Brandi and I were just doing some painting,” Ava explained with nervousness in her voice.

  Luke stopped and turned to face her. He lifted his fingers to a lock of hair in her messy bun. “I can tell. You have some white paint in your hair.” He rubbed her silky hair between the pads of his thumb and forefinger.

  She whispered, “It’s not white, it’s called ‘blissfully serene’.” Her eyes connected with his, pupils dilating instantly.

  Luke couldn’t help but step closer. He leaned his face down to hers. “Then you have ‘blissfully serene’ in your hair.”

  “Whoa! Don’t mind me!” Brandi came around the corner and broke the spell that’d woven between him and Ava. “Should I get out of here? Do you guys need some private time?” She chuckled.

  Ava’s cheeks filled with pink as she stepped back from Luke. “No, you can stay.”

  “Are you sure? Looks like the two of you were putting off some major steam there. I can get the hell out of here and let you burn this place down.”

  “Stay,” Luke and Ava blurted out at the same time.

  He couldn’t be trusted if he was left alone with her. She was becoming the best kind of temptation and he wasn’t sure he could ignore it for too much longer. It
wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ something would happen between them, but ‘when.’

  “We were just finishing up for the night. You could stay and have a glass of tea with us. Or I have a few beers in the fridge,” Ava offered.

  “Sure, that sounds great. I’ll have a beer.”

  He watched Ava’s backside as she stepped in front of him and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “So, how’re you enjoying life here in Biloxi?” Brandi asked.

  “It’s fine.” He wasn’t really into deep conversations. His life was kept private for a reason. This chick didn’t need to know when he took a piss or scratched his balls.

  “Here you go.” Ava reappeared and handed him a longneck with the cap already gone.

  He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long pull from the frothy brew. “Thanks,” he said as he lowered the brown glass bottle.

  “We can go sit out on the deck, there’re a couple chairs out there.” Ava pointed to a set of sliding glass doors through the living room.

  “Sounds good.” Luke followed her.

  “Ava, I’m going to take off. I’ve got work early in the morning.” Brandi grabbed her purse and went to the front door.

  The look of panic on Ava’s beautiful face was almost comical. She didn’t want to be left alone with him any more than he wanted a vasectomy with a rusty pair of hedge trimmers.

  “Are you sure?” Ava pinned her friend with a ‘please don’t leave me’ stare.

  “Yeah, the boss wants me there early. I’ll come by the salon and check on you around lunch time though.” Brandi quickly made her escape and shut the door loudly behind her.

  “I should probably go, too.” Luke placed his beer on the lone end table in the room and turned to leave.

  “You don’t have to leave, Luke. Stay. Drink your beer.” She sounded so sweet. But he knew better. Women like her weren’t all sugar and spice. They were dangerous.

  “Yeah, I guess I’ll hang out for a bit.” Against his better judgement Luke grabbed his bottle and followed her through the door and onto the deck.

  The night view was spectacular. The moon was full and glowing in the sky, casting a luminous shadow on the lapping waves of the gulf just beyond her beach house. The sand right at the shoreline wasn’t too visible except for the darkening the salty waves caused as they lapped up and soaked the sandy grains. Even he could appreciate a view like this. “Nice place,” he commented and then took another drink to cool the thoughts racing through his head. They mainly included bending Ava over the wooden railing, jerking her tiny shorts down her legs, and burying his cock inside her heat. The body part in question twitched with excitement at his lascivious thoughts. Down boy, he thought at the appendage.

  “I love it here. The sound of the waves lapping on the shore makes me feel like things might be alright for once in my life.” Ava stepped forward, bracing her elbows on the railing and leaning over. The action made her tank ride up just enough that Luke could see a sliver of midriff peeking out, beckoning him to trace a finger across the smooth expanse of her skin. “It’s not that I always wanted to live on the beach, but I think it suits me just fine.” She turned toward him and he about lost it. The way the night air was lifting the loose hair around her face, the halo of light coming from the doors that were just behind her and the genuine smile on her face was enough to drive any man to lustful thoughts.

  “It’s good you like it.” His mouth and brain weren’t on the same page as the dumb-as-shit comment came out. He didn’t want to do any talking right now; he wanted to do more feeling than anything. Feeling her writhe as he teased her wet center with his mouth, feeling her body start to slip toward completion as he plunged his fingers inside her center and feeling her buck wildly as he let her ride him with abandon. Yeah, that sounded better than this idle chitchat they had going on.

  “I guess it is.” She smiled and he felt his resolve slipping.

  “I’m gonna get going, thanks for the beer.” He stepped through the glass door and made a b-line for the front door.

  “Hey, Luke?”

  Damn, why did she have to say anything? Couldn’t she just let him slip out so he could go home and relieve the massive ache residing in his pants? “Yeah?” his voice came out pained.

  “Why did you come by?” Her eyes searched his.

  He wanted to tell her the truth but he couldn’t. “Just wanted to say hi.” He shrugged while he lied.

  “Oh, okay. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you Friday for our date.” She threw him a heart-stopping smile.

  “If not before then. Goodnight, Ava.”

  “Goodnight, Luke. Sweet dreams.”

  He hightailed it out the door and didn’t look back. When was the last time someone told him ‘sweet dreams’? How about never. Not even his piece-of-shit mother whispered saccharine words like that to him at bedtime. Hell, the good-for-nothing bitch wasn’t around half the time to say anything at all. Sweet dreams. No, he wouldn’t be having sweet dreams tonight. They would be ones filled with a thousand and one ways he could make Ava scream his name.

  When he made it to his truck, Luke hopped inside and grabbed the listening device from his console. He didn’t visit Ava to say ‘hi.’ He was there to plant a bug in her house. If he was supposed to keep an eye on her, he needed to know who she was talking to and when. He set the device on the channel that would pick up the bug he’d placed under the lone end table. He cranked up the volume to make sure everything was placed correctly. What he heard shocked the hell out of him.

  “Damn you, Luke Daughtry. If you’d have just stuck around and taken care of this ache.” Ava’s voice came out a little scratchy through the device but Luke knew he didn’t hear her wrong. She sure as hell said that. It took every bit of strength he had not to fling open the door of his truck, bang on her door and demand that she let him take care of her ache. Deciding it was best to just walk away, he started the engine and drove off. His thoughts began to race as he headed home. I wonder if she’ll slide her slim fingers between her legs tonight and call out my name when she comes? He knew for damn sure he’d be doing that very same thing in about ten minutes when he arrived home. He couldn’t wait to hear what Ava’s name sounded like as he felt the sensations of orgasm creeping up his spine.

  Chapter Five

  The week seemed to creep by as Ava did her best to control the excitement for her impending date with Luke. She didn’t know what to expect, but the sparks that’d flown during their brief time together on her deck while overlooking the ocean were a pretty good indication of things to come. Did she want that? Did she need someone like him to waltz in and take her body by storm? She didn’t need it but she sure as hell wanted it. It’d been way too long in the naughty department of her life. Even when she was in a relationship with her now ex, she hadn’t felt the same pull as she did when Luke was in the same room.

  Hell, he didn’t even have to be in the same room for her breasts to become tender and her lace panties to be permeated with moisture. One thought about how virile and fit he was had her clenching her jaw trying to stave off the chills that racked her spine. It was inevitable that something explosive would happen between them; she was even looking forward to it. But it couldn’t go any further than purely physical. It was for his own good. Getting emotionally attached wasn’t an option. He would be the one plowed over when it all went south. And she had no doubts that it would go south. It was only a matter of time before she was located and had to skip town again. Luke would be left wondering what the hell had happened when it all went down. She couldn’t do that to him. She wouldn’t crush him and break his heart like that. She’d experienced enough broken hearts to fill up the Gulf of Mexico. Adding his to it wasn’t on her short list of fun things to do with her life.

  Just as Ava swept up the hair from her last client of the day, Luke strolled through the door looking more than sexy in a solid black t-shirt. His jeans were worn on the front of the thighs but not in a dingy sort of way. They
looked soft to the touch and she had to stop herself from thinking about slipping to her knees, popping the button open and reaching in to see what he’d feel like in her hands.

  “Need any help?” He once again caught her eye-fucking him. His smile told her as much.

  “You’re early.” She emptied the handled dustpan into the trash can and reached around to untie her stylist apron.

  “Here, let me help you. You’ve managed to get a knot in this thing.” He grabbed the ties of the apron and began to work methodically behind her back. She could feel his warm breath moving her hair ever-so-slightly as he tried to undo the mess she’d created.

  “Thank you,” her voice came out in a lustful whisper.

  “No problem,” his was equally as breathy.

  It was torture having his hands so close and not touching what she really wanted them on. Each time he’d try to maneuver the knot from its binding, he’d unintentionally brush a knuckle across the small of her back. She sucked in a sharp breath when it felt like at one point his actions were deliberate. “Sorry,” he said.

  “Don’t be.” He did it again just to hear her intake a breath once more.

  He leaned closer to her ear. “Am I hurting you?”

  “Not at all. It feels…nice.”

  “When I do this?” He began to run a finger from the middle of her spine to the indent right above the waist band of her jeans.

  “Yes.”

  “What about this?” His hands dropped the ties to her apron and slid to her hips, the heat of his palms seeping through her clothing and causing sensations that she’d never dared to feel before.

  “That, too.” She tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes.

  “Can I ask you something, Ava?” His voice was now rough and gravelly. Clearly he was feeling the same things that were coursing through her bone marrow.