He felt the chill of the night air immediately and the rocks around the campsite bit into his soles as he walked the short distance to Vee’s trailer. He gently knocked on her door and was actually surprised when she opened it right away.
“It’s too cold to be out without shoes,” she whispered, nodding toward his bare feet.
“I couldn’t risk Lana hearing me.”
Vee held the door open wider and waved him inside. “You’re going to freeze out there.”
He stepped inside and rubbed his hands across his upper arms. “I guess winter is coming, huh?” She crossed her arms under her breasts and Simon tried not to notice her form silhouetted in the light behind her. “Sorry. I wish I could have given you a bit more notice that I was coming by.”
“Speak your piece.”
Simon lowered his face and sighed. “Did you give much thought to what I said?”
“Actually, that’s about all I’ve thought about.”
Simon chewed at his lower lip. “She’s getting worse.” He looked up at Vee and met her gaze. “Is ‘megalomaniac’ the right word?”
Veronica nodded. “Sounds about right.”
“Yeah, well…” He trailed off, glancing through the glass on the door towards his RV. “I think it might be best if we pull up stakes and leave.”
“I don’t.” Veronica’s voice was barely a whisper and Simon did a double take.
“What?”
“I think you should stay.” She kept her face down and lowered her arms. Simon watched and tried not to stare at her breasts under the thin fabric.
“Wh-why would you say that? You know as well as I do that she’s—”
“It has nothing to do with Lana.” She looked up at him and Simon felt his face flush. In the soft light creeping in through the windows, she took on an otherworldly glow.
“Then why would you…” His words trailed off as he tried to concentrate on the topic at hand.
“I don’t…” She turned and leaned on the counter, her body outlined by the thin nightgown. “I think you’re right.”
“About what?”
“That the community needs you.” She swallowed hard and turned to face him. “We need a strong male figurehead. Somebody willing to…”
Simon nodded knowingly. “Somebody willing to get their hands dirty.”
She nodded slightly then looked up at him. “Trust me when I say that I wish Lana wasn’t even a consideration in this equation.”
Simon cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you saying?”
She took a deep breath and sighed. “I wish that her state of mind didn’t play a part in the decision making process.”
“Ah. You’re afraid that she’ll start trouble if we have to leave.”
She shook her head and squared her shoulders. “That’s not what I meant, but if it helps you accept what I’m saying, then, okay.”
“Tell me.” He stepped closer, his eyes drawn to her chest again. “Tell me what you really mean.”
Veronica swallowed hard and looked up, locking eyes with him. “I told you that there wasn’t really anything between me and Trent, right?”
He nodded, moving ever so slowly towards her. “That’s what you said.”
Her chin quivered in the dark as he grew closer. “So maybe I want you to stay for selfish reasons.”
“Like?” He was so close that he could feel the heat from her body.
Veronica looked up at him again and gave him a nervous smile. “Don’t make me say it.”
“I wouldn’t make you do anything, doc.”
Her breath shook nervously as he loomed larger over her. “Don’t go.”
He bent his head, slowly invading her personal space. “I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned closer, his breath hot against her ear. “Unless you tell me to.”
She slowly cocked her head to the side, shaking it. “I don’t want you to go.”
Simon hovered his mouth just above her ear, whispering. “Then tell me what you do want.” He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and a familiar clenching in his guts.
She pressed her palms flat against his chest and pushed slightly back. “I want to.” She looked up at him and shook her head. “Believe me, I want you to stay.”
“So tell me that and I will.” He could feel the urging in his groin and it was unlike any pull he’d felt before.
She inhaled deeply and sighed, her breath shaky. “We shouldn’t.” She looked into his eyes again and the feral stare he gave her made her weak in the knees.
“Then tell me to stop.” He slid his hand up the side of her hip and heard her breath catch. He moved it slowly up the satin material and cupped her heavy breast, his thumb teasing her pert nipple.
Her eyes rolled back slightly and her lids fluttered as his hand deftly massaged her soft flesh. She sucked in air abruptly before she pressed her hand to his chest once more, pushing him back. “We…can’t.”
“Because of Lana?”
She looked up at him and her mouth opened. No words formed in her mind as his thumb continued to massage her breast. She swallowed air quickly to force a word out when he slowly lowered his mouth to cover hers.
The next thing he felt was her arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him tighter to her.
9
Hatcher forced his eyes open and he blinked rapidly, hoping that he could see the carnage he had caused. He began to crabwalk backward in a panic, the shotgun dragging across the concrete floor as he put as much distance as he could between himself and whatever it was that had appeared in the window.
He scrambled to his feet and leveled the shotgun on the window again. He forced his hand to pump the action, ejecting the spent shell and chambering another.
He slipped on the loose cards on the floor and struggled to stay on his feet as his head bounced from the window to the door and back. “Come on you son of a bitch! Show yourself again!”
He kicked the armchair out of the way and stood by the door, his head turning to glance quickly at
