“Fine. Whatever.”

“Great. I’ll set it up.” Z slapped my leg as he stood to leave. “I gotta run.”

“Wait!” I yelled, needing the answer to a question of my own.

“What?”

My eyes drifted up to his face. “You still living with Uncle Keith?”

Z laughed. “Hell no. I’ve got my own house about five miles away from them. I only lived there in high school. I went to the academy right after high school. You think a hot guy like me still lives with his auntie?” He raised an eyebrow.

“That’s the way it seemed. So, you’re a cop?”

“That’s what they tell me.”

I thought about telling him what was going on with me, but fear ripped through me in the thought of him telling Deke. I didn’t know how he would take it, so I shut up.

“Gotta go. Later.” Z didn’t give me a chance to ask him any more questions, and he was off.

Sitting alone again, I allowed the quiet night to calm me. I could do this. It would be just like high school. When I existed, but Deke didn’t recognize me. Just like Grams said, time to pull up my big girl panties.

8

Deke

“You are never gonna believe this.” Z’s annoying voice droned on through my office door.

“What?” I grunted. The paperwork was piling up. I hated it and put it off ‘til the very last minute, and like always, this was the last minute. Shit was due.

“Guess who my new cousin is.” Z had that damn smile on his face that told me he knew something that I didn’t. To hell if he did.

“Vann,” I said as I stared at him deadpanned.

“Damn it. You took all the fun out of it,” Z grumbled.

He always wanted to try and get one up on me, but he should know by now that I knew shit. “You think I didn’t know that from the moment you moved into this town?”

“Would have been nice for you to at least seem a little shocked.” Z leaned against the doorjamb, practically pouting, which only made me smile.

“Nah. Old news.”

“I had dinner with her tonight at Grams’s.” This information caught my attention.

“Really. How’d that go?” Not that I wanted to know every single play-by-play that happened with Vann … who am I kidding. Yeah I did.

“Good. She agreed to hang out with us and Sawyer and Kinsley.”

I stared at him shocked. “She what?”

That damn know-it-all smile came back on Z’s face. “Yeah. Something about letting you go or something.”

Letting me go. Didn’t she already do that when she left me high and dry. “Good. You have a point to this little visit,” I said coldly.

Z slammed a manila file down on my desk. “More info on the mark?”

“No. Look,” he said, pointing to it.

Opening the file, I stopped breathing. Vann. Dozens of pictures of her—eating, sleeping, grocery shopping, working out. “What is all this?”

“Your Vann has a stalker. The California police sent all this down to the station. We just got it this morning. I was gonna say something to her at dinner, but decided to wait.”

Rifling through all the papers, I found pictures of dildos, handcuffs, lingerie, lube and various other sex toys spread out in front of me. “What is with all this shit?”

“He sends it to her.”

“Who is he and why is he sending her shit?” I barked.

“Gary Bankenship. At least that’s the name on the packages, but there is absolutely no record of him. Anywhere.” So, some fucker is trying to get to Vann.

“Shit. But why? Ex?”

“Nope. Seems your little Vann is also known as Gabriella Daniels.”

I stared at Z as if he grew three heads. “Who the hell is that?”

“Gabriella is her pen name.”

“Like for a writer?” I asked, growing impatient.

“Yeah, dipshit. She writes erotic romance novels. Very sexually explicit stuff. Check out the list.” Z pulled out a list of titles with their summaries. As my eyes wandered down the paper, I noticed she wrote lots of sex. Sex between a man and a woman. Sex between a man and two women. Sex between two men and a woman. Sex. Sex. Sex.

“How long has this been going on?” I asked breathless, thinking of how Vann felt during sex and wondering what exactly her thoughts were in her books.

“Reports say it started soon after she started writing about four and a half years ago. They believe it’s been the same guy the entire time, but they really have no leads.”

“All right, so she has a stalker. Is it an immediate threat?”

“As far as we know, no. But before she left, she got a letter stating all the things this guy wanted to do to her. And because we don’t know who he really is, we have no idea on his whereabouts.”

Sitting back in my chair, I rubbed my hands over my eyes. Some asshole out there wanted to hurt Vann. Fuck. And she was a writer. A sex writer. Memories of our first time together flooded me like a tidal wave.


“Vann,” I whispered in her ear as she lay on the blanket under the old oak tree by the river, my body on top of hers. I knew she was just as inexperienced as I was, but I wanted to rectify that. I’d had a rep of being a player in school, but it was far from the truth.

I’d never had sex before. I’d always thought about it. I mean, shit, what guy didn’t? I just didn’t want to just do it. I wanted it to mean something.

For some reason, it stuck with me what my dad told me about it not being taken lightly. I’d made out with girls, but that was about it. I never let the guys know, though. They’d be on my ass.

But Vann. She was different. She listened to me and cared. Every time I kissed her, my entire body caught on fire and I wanted more—more from her.

“Yeah Deke?” Vann’s voice was shallow and breathy. The kisses I’d just stolen did that to her. I did that to her.

“Can I touch you?”

Vann’s eyes searched mine as if she was looking for divine intervention. I didn’t know what she would find in my eyes besides want. “Yes.”

Smiling, I reached my shaky hand to Vann’s stomach, slipping my hand under her shirt. Reaching up, I lightly touched Vann’s boob. Her gasp in my mouth told me she felt it, too.

Rubbing her nipple through her bra, I could feel it harden beneath my touch. I wanted to see it. Reaching for the hem of her shirt, I began to slowly raise it from her body. Vann lifted her arms for me to remove it.

Underneath, her beautiful body lay before me. Her pink satin bra was standing in the way of me finally seeing her beautiful breasts. I began kissing her again, reaching around her body releasing the clasp. I pulled the fabric off of her in one swipe.

She was beautiful. Her breasts were the perfect size for my hands as they found them and began kneading. I tried my damnedest to look as though I had a clue what I was doing but the porn I watched with the guys didn’t hold a candle to this moment.

Vann’s small moans were such a turn on. My dick was swelling, becoming almost painful behind my zipper. “Deke.”

I began kissing down her body to her boobs. I kissed and sucked, trying to figure how to make them pebble tighter... My hand glided down her body to the button of her jeans. I began to slowly unbutton them.

I glanced up at her to get permission, but her head was thrown back and her eyes were shut tightly. Slipping my hand down to her panties, I didn’t immediately slide my hand into them. Nerves held me back. This was my first time to feel a girl like this. Shit. I could do this.

I rubbed the outside of her panties, feeling her hot, wet heat. Vann began writhing underneath me, grasping at my shoulders. “Deke”

I looked up at her face. “Vann?”

“Don’t stop.”

Her words gave me the courage to go into her panties. The feel of her soft curls ran through my fingers. Everything down there was wet, coating my hand. I slipped one finger into her and by God, I thought for sure I’d come right then. The feeling of being inside of her was a high that was hard to explain.

Vann’s breathing picked up to almost a pant. I pushed my finger in and out of her, trying not to scratch her. I should have cut my damn nails. Vann’s pussy began to clamp on my fingers as if trying to pull them in deeper. She began chanting my name, “Deke, Deke … What’s … Ohhh …”

I watched as the orgasm shot through her. With her head thrown back, she never looked more beautiful than at that moment. I couldn’t help but feel proud that I made her feel that way. I slowly pulled my hand out as I watched Vann try to catch her breath. She was so beautiful. I wanted to kiss her, but her breathing was so ragged.

She eyed me. “Don’t stop.”

“What?”

Vann began to push her jeans off of her body. My eyes focused on the curls I felt just a few moments earlier. The movies didn’t do this sight. Just when I thought my dick was as hard as it could get, I was wrong.

Vann’s hands went to the front of my jeans as she began unbuttoning them. She pulled them down, along with my boxers, springing my cock free. It felt so good to have it out of confinement.

Vann’s soft hands wrapped around my cock, and I did everything I could not to come in her hand. Her touch was soft yet tight, nothing like when I jacked off in the shower.

Her hand began pumping it up and down. “Vann, I’m gonna blow.”

Vann stopped and stared at me. “I want to do this.”

“Do what?”

“I want to have sex with you.”

Damn. I wanted that more than anything. “I want to, too.” Reaching over to my jeans, I grabbed my wallet and pulled out the condom I kept there just in case this was to ever happen.

Vann watched as I opened the packet. I took the small rubber ring and tried to pull it down, but it wouldn’t go. I kept looking down, not wanting to make eye contact with Vann and show her how much of a tool I was.

I turned the condom over and it instantly rolled down my shaft. I looked up at Vann who was smiling at me. “Good job,” she jabbed.

“Hey, at least I got it.” I smirked, not wanting to show any embarrassment. I pulled Vann to me kissing her while laying her down on the blanket. Rising up, I positioned myself. She was very wet so I hoped it would help get it in.

I slowly began to push inside of her. I lay on top of her with my weight resting on my elbows. Leaning down to kiss her, I felt my dick slowly sliding into her. The pressure was so intense.

I didn’t want to hurt her, but I needed in.

“Vann, this may hurt. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m happy it’s you.” Vann’s megawatt smile stole my heart. I was so in love with this girl.

I closed my eyes, knowing I was going to hurt her; how badly I wasn’t sure, but I was scared to see the look on her face. As I pushed, I heard Vann’s gasp of pain. My eyes flew open meeting hers. I could see tears welling up, and it crushed me that I did that to her.

As I stilled inside of her, I just wanted to get out so maybe that would stop her pain. “I’m so sorry, Vann.”

“Deke. It’s okay. Give me a minute.” I began to pull out. “Stop!” Her voice made me freeze in place. “Don’t stop. Just give me a minute.” She closed her eyes and tried to slowly breathe in and out.

I stayed there, frozen, waiting for something … but had no clue what. For her to say something, for a look in her eye, I had no clue. “Are you okay?” I finally whispered.

Vann’s eyes opened to mine. “Yeah. You need to start moving now.”

I slowly started to move, watching her face for any signs of pain. I kept going and going. She felt so good. I felt the telltale sign that I was about to blow by the tingle in my spine.

“Vann, I’m gonna come.”

Vann looked up at me, “I am, too,” she panted.

Vann began yelling my name and gripping me, pulling me farther into her. I reared back with one more thrust, spilling into the latex.

Trying to catch my breath, I looked into Vann’s smiling face. “I love you,” I said so softly, I didn’t think she heard me.

“I love you, too, Deke.”


“What are you going to do?” Z’s voice snapped me out of one of my best memories.