RUNNING FROM LOVE.
Maggie Marr.
This book is dedicated to Jane Porter.
You inspire me with your wit, wisdom, perseverance, and incredible talent.
Quite simply, you rock!.
Chapter 1.
"Push, baby, push." Poppys voice was breathy. Her muscles tightened. "Harder, right here. Yes, yes."
"Is that good?" A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Trevors face. "Baby, is that good?"
"You got it, yeah, Trevor, youve got it. Just a little bit harder."
With one final push, Trevor shoved the last box into the storage unit. He yanked down the heavy metal door and slipped the padlock through the metal hasp. "Wow, Pop, youve got a lot of stuff. I did not get half of that storage unit."
A wicked smile danced across Poppys face. "No, but you get to share it with me." She hooked her arm through his.
His heart thwapped against his ribs. She killed him. Hed die for Poppy. Hed definitely give up an entire storage unit for her. Of course, if he told Poppy of his undying love, shed run as fast and as far as she could and leave no forwarding address. No, the best approach to Poppy was slow and smooth. Love made her skittish. Hed been working on her for going on six months. Ever since he arrived at Mesquale. Poppy was as fearful of commitment as Trevor was of living a life predetermined by his family.
"Whatre you complaining about? You have plenty of room. Besides, youve got less stuff than me," Poppy teased.
Trevor opened his fist. The key lay in the palm of his hand. "Who keeps it?"
"Well," Poppy said and held out her hand. "I suppose Ill be first one back to Mesquale, so me."
Trevor held his hand up high and out of Poppys reach. "You wont lose the key then, Pop, on your random travels around the globe?"
"Of course not." She reached up toward his hand and her body pressed to his. Her curly black hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, her golden-tinted light brown skin. Tiny shirt, little skirt, the press of her breast, the scent of her skin, that mouth. How could he let Poppy leave? "Now give it." Poppy smiled and reached higher.
Tyler brought his hand down and wrapped both arms around Poppy. Forget the key. Forget the lock. Forget the storage container. All he needed, all he wanted was right here in front of him and she was leaving. Tomorrow. She was leaving him and them, and quite possibly hed never see Poppy after tonight. Unless he could convince her. Take away her fear. Make her understand that the two of them together were much more powerful than any fears she had about giving her heart to him.
He pressed his lips to hers and his whole body ignited with a pa.s.sion that never quelled. He pulled her closer, his s.e.x hard and impatient. She rolled her hips forward and pressed to him. His hands grasped her jaw. She had a beautiful jaw that cut sharp to her swanlike neck. Her body was pure perfection. He kissed her and his tongue slid her lips open. The want. The insatiable desire that throbbed through him. He backed her against the cinder-block wall and his hand slid down her neck and cupped her beast. How would he live without this ... without seeing Poppy every day? Poppy was a need. An addiction. Her kiss, her body ... they were drugs that he needed to survive.
She was his lover and his muse. The words Trevor wrote flowed fast and free when she was with him. His heart sang a different tune. Her sarcasm, which hid her soft gentle heart, was a language that he understood. She was the yin to his yang, the peanut b.u.t.ter to his jelly, the effervescent song that sang through his heart. She couldnt leave and go to Hong Kong. She couldnt leave without him.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. He brushed his thumb over her cheekbone. "Dont go." His voice rasped out over his desire, over his need, over his want. In her eyes, Trevor saw the softness of love and then the slice of fear that chased the openness away.
"Hey, dont do that." His eyebrows pulled tight. "This is me. Wait for me. Well go to Hong Kong together. Or wherever the h.e.l.l you want to go. Just dont leave tomorrow. Stay with me until my contract is up. Its only three more days."
Poppy tilted her chin and dropped her gaze. "Trevor, we made an agreement. Six months." She wouldnt look at him. He pressed his hand to her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.
"Forget the agreement, Poppy. I love you and you love me."
She turned her head away from him. The muscle in her jaw flickered, and she swallowed. He pressed his lips to the side of that beautiful throat. His hand slipped down the front of her body and up under her skirt.
"Dont tell me you dont love me too." He slipped his fingers beneath her panties.
A gasp of air pa.s.sed over her lips.
"Because your body doesnt lie." He slid the tip of his finger over her s.e.x to the nub already swollen with desire. Her body responded and her hips pressed forward. He pulsed one finger into her s.e.x. His lips stroked down her neck. He could get her to say yes. He could convince her to stay. He could make her promise to wait three days and let him go with her to Hong Kong.
"Oh, Trevor." Her voice, that soft luxurious voice, like velvet over his skin, killed him. He slid down the front of her and tugged her panties over her hips and past her knees. Here, in this hallway, he pressed his lips to her s.e.x. So wet, so ready for him. Pleasure. He would give her so much pleasure that she had no choice but to surrender. To admit her love, to admit she needed him as much as he needed her. He parted the lips of her s.e.x and slid his tongue along her cleft. Her breath came from her chest in tight bursts. Her fingers wove through his hair and pulled.
"Oh my G.o.d, Trevor. Oh my G.o.d." Her hips moved forward and back. He clamped one hand to her hip and held her still. He pulled her c.l.i.t into his mouth. His tongue took in the sweetness of her want and her desire. He circled with his tongue and sucked. Her movements caused his desire to ratchet into a frenzy.
"Trevor, baby, oh my G.o.d, Trev, Im going to come."
Tiny noises escaped her throat and he pressed forward and slid two fingers in and out of her as he sucked.
"Oh ... yes ... yes." Her body tensed and tightened. Her s.e.x clamped around his fingers. His tongue stroked her over the edge and her body throbbed with pleasure. She trembled and gasped and fell forward, both her hands on his shoulders. He stood before her and pressed his mouth to hers. The taste of her s.e.x on his lips. The smell of Poppy surrounding him, the essence of this woman he loved pervading his every pore, his every need, his every desire. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes.
"Please, Poppy," he said. "Say that youre mine."
His eyes consumed her. Poppys heart burst open and in this moment, she was his. She would always be Trevors, but she couldnt, she wouldnt, depend on him. The human heart was too fragile a thing to trust to any person.
"Trevor, I love you," she whispered to him. She did. She loved Trevor. She truly did love him and it was this love, her love for him, that forced her to know in her heart that she could not, would not be his. Not the way he wanted. Not the way he needed. He pulled her into his chest and wrapped his strong arms around her. She closed her eyes. Safety warmed her body. Trevor made her feel safe. In his arms she never doubted that there was love in this world.
"We need to get to Coquille," she said, straightening her skirt. "Everyone will be waiting."
Trevors gaze locked to hers. There was a smile on his lips. She could see he believed that hed gotten all that he wanted. He thought her admission of love meant shed stay and wait for him, and theyd travel together to Hong Kong.
But she wouldnt.
She couldnt.
Trevor wrapped an arm around her and they walked down the long quiet hallway to the door at the end of the hall. She pressed her lips together and dropped her gaze to the floor. Tears heated her eyes. Trevor was her one chance at love. The only man brave enough to breach the walls shed built. He understood the feelings behind all her words. Shed never find another man like Trevor. Shed never let anyone this close before and with the pain searing through her heart, she would never do so again.
She closed her eyes. Trevor pushed open the door to the outside. The setting sun greeted them as they exited the building. A wash of pink and gold decorated the sky.
"Pop, I promise, Im a great traveling companion. Youll love Hong Kong, Trevor style."
Poppy forced a smile to her face. She probably would. She loved everything about Trevor. Hong Kong would have been another memory to add to her list of memories. Unfortunately, she would never find out how brilliant Hong Kong Trevor style could be. Because Poppy couldnt wait the three days for Trevor. Wouldnt wait. Waiting would be to surrender her heart, and although love grew in her heart for Trevor, her heart was a piece of herself she was unwilling to give.
Chapter 2.
Coquille was rocking, because Poppy was a Mesquale staff favorite. Her sharp tongue and dry wit fooled no one. She wasnt keeping anyone at arms length. The people she worked with six months of each year loved her. Shed been doing her six months on, six months off at Mesquale for more than half a decade. Her in-between time was usually unaccounted for, with vague mentions of Europe or Asia. Shed trained the reoccurring staff not to ask. Trevor knew better than to dig for details about Poppys life away from Mesquale. Hed learned to be satisfied with the factual crumbs she provided. The pieces of the Poppy-puzzle that hed managed to form into a picture of her life. The one thing was, Poppy wasnt a liar. You had to earn your way into her world, but once you did, she only told you the truth.
He clasped her hand tighter. She was a diamond. A sharp-edged stone, multi-faceted and glittering. She could cut through any substance, no matter how hard. Rare and pure and with a blinding light that shot out around her. Admiration pa.s.sed through his workmates as the two of them walked through the crowd. Everyone who had the night off from the resort was here, to say good-bye to Poppy for the next six months.
"Pop!" A familiar voice called through the crowd.
Poppy let go of Trevors hand and dashed across the room toward Charla. Poppys roommate during this tour at Mesquale, Charla had left Mesquale before her contract ended when she discovered that she been sleeping not with a bartender at the resort, as she thought, but actually the new billionaire owner of Mesquale, pretending to be a bartender.
Trevors gut tightened. What would Poppy say? What would Poppy do, if she knew about his family? Not that he was a billionaire ... yet. Soon. Less than six months, more like three. The money. The responsibility. d.a.m.n, he didnt want any of it. His gaze locked on the beautiful woman who stole his breath from his lungs. He only wanted Poppy. He angled his way toward the two women.
"Hey Trev!" Charla gave him a hug. She looked into his eyes. He could see her attempt to gauge how he was doing. Everyone would do that tonight. Poppy was meant to leave tomorrow, and his and Pops relationship over the last six months had provided fodder for plenty of gossip. Poppy didnt couple up during her six-month stint as a server at Mesquale. Sure, in the past she had engaged in casual s.e.x, as did most of the resort staff during their contracts. But Poppy didnt really have repeats or relationships. At least not on contract. A week, maybe ten days with the same guy.
Hadnt that been what shed expected with Trevor? He grinned. Yes, it was exactly what Poppy had expected, but most definitely not what shed gotten. Hed wooed her. Wooed her with his words. Poems. Weeks and weeks of poems. Romance and persistence and charm had won Poppy over.
"Howd it go today?" Trevor asked Charla.
Charla had only returned to the village of Parpetai on Mesquale to give a deposition for the upcoming trial of Mr. Orso, the former food and beverage director who had been accused of setting fire to the administrative offices at the resort.
"The entire interview, deposition, whatever it was, was weird. I told them what I knew and that was it." Charlas eyes skirted past Trevor. She lowered her voice and looked from Trevor to Poppy. "Ryans not coming tonight, is he?"
"To Coquille? " Trevor shook his head. "Naw, hes not coming here. Smarter than that. The big boss man here would cramp everyones style."
Charla let out a slow sigh and even though she smiled, disappointment flickered in her eyes. Trevor was a writer; he knew what people felt. That was a big part of the job, watching and knowing what people were saying about their feelings without using words.
"What about you? Did you manage to get all of your and Poppys stuff into that storage unit you two are sharing?" Charla took a long drink of some fruity concoction that smelled too sweet to Trevor.
"Sharing? Ha!" Trevor looked at Poppy, who stood a couple feet away chatting to three other members of the food and beverage staff about Hong Kong and how long she intended to stay there before she headed to New Zealand.
"Poppy acts like shes got nothing but a backpack and a toothbrush that she hauls around the world. But thats a dirty lie. I got like three inches of s.p.a.ce and her stuff took up the rest."
Charla smiled. "Of course her stuff took up most of the room." She swirled her straw through her drink. "Wonder how many of those storage units shes got stashed around the world?"
Trevors chest tightened. How many storage units she had stashed around the world? His gaze clung to Poppy, whod thrown back her head to laugh at a joke that Liam, the new head of the food and beverage division, had told her.
Wow. Like a punch to the gut, the realization that he didnt know Poppy socked him hard. He loved her. He knew that she loved him. But who was Poppy Martin? She didnt share her thoughts, she didnt share her past, she really didnt tell him much of anything. He waved to the bartender.
"You okay?" Charla asked. Her head tilted to the side. She was Poppys best friend during this tour. The bartender, knowing Trevors usual, lined up a shot of Jack Daniels. He pressed his fingertips to the cool surface of the shot gla.s.s, then threw the liquor back into his throat. A hard slow burn. He turned to Charla. "What do you know about Poppy?"
She crinkled her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Trevor waved to the bartender for another shot.
"I mean, what do we really know?"
"Lets see." Charla smiled, but an uncertain lilt inflected her voice and a question filtered through her eyes. "We know that her name is Poppy Martin."
"Do we? Do we really?"
"Well, Ive seen her pa.s.sport, so unless shes undercover CIA, Interpol, or Mossad, Id say that one is pretty right on."
Trevor threw back another shot of whiskey. "Fair enough." He slid the back of his hand across his lips. "We know her name. We know she works at Mesquale six months out of every year and shes done so for six years."
"Seven," Charla interrupted. "This contract was her seventh."
Trevor squinted. "Really?"
Charla nodded. "Saw the contract, too."
"Wow, you get a bunch of inside information when you live with the lady." His gaze wandered toward Poppy.
"I know she has one brother and one sister."
Trevor nodded. "And a relative of some sort in Northern California."
"Thats her mother." Charla lowered her voice. "She doesnt really talk about her mom. I think she might have recently moved to L.A. to be closer to Poppys sister, but Poppy lived with her dad for most of her childhood in Australia."
"Her mother is in California?" Trevor asked. "I thought that was her aunt."
"What are you two gossiping about?" Poppy took Trevors next shot from the bar and threw it back.
"Were gossiping about you." Heat from the booze and his desire and his fear and his anger and just odd feelings of not knowing much about the woman he loved swirled through his belly.
Poppy shot Charla a look and then fixed an ice-cold stare on Trevor. "Me?"
"Just how little we actually know about you, Pop," Trevor continued. "How you like to keep your friends and lovers in the dark about your life."
Time stood still.
Poppy froze. Her entire being went cold. For a sliver of time, the inner light that shot out like a beacon to all around was gone, replaced with ice. Frigid and hard. As though her coldness could wipe the sun from the sky.
"I think youve had enough to drink." Poppy did not turn to Charla. She did not seek any kind of confirmation of her declaration. She merely gave her order to Trevor and was done.
"Do you?" Trevor waved at the bartender, indicating that hed like another round. Actually, on second thought, hed take three. He placed three fingers on the bar.
"Yes, I do." Poppy shot a look at the bartender, who continued to pour anyway. Good man. He knew who was paying for this round and also knew Trevor, being a bartender himself, was a h.e.l.l of a good tipper.
"So my a.s.sessment is unfair then." Trevor was pushing too hard. Hed gotten the look and hed been told how he might have his reprieve. End the booze now. But no, he was going for broke. Charlas comment about storage units around the world had made Trevor aware of just how little he knew about the woman he loved. Hed given his heart to a stranger. A virtual stranger. Of course he knew every crevice, crook, mole, dimple, curve of Poppys body. Hed kissed and caressed every millimeter of her skin, but he didnt know if he even knew her real name. Where shed grown up. h.e.l.l, until two shots ago, he hadnt even known her mother lived in California.
Poppys six-month contract at Mesquale had ended today at noon. All Trevor knew, without a doubt, was that Poppy had a plane ticket to Hong Kong tomorrow morning at nine a.m. Was she going to wait for him? Did she want to? He couldnt hold her hostage in his staff apartment.
Poppys face softened. Her eyes widened. "Trev, babe, its my good-bye party. Lets not spend tonight arguing." The bartender set the three shots down in a neat line across the bar.
Trevors heart careened in his chest. He had no willpower, no control where Poppy was concerned. Perhaps that was the attraction. Her effervescence, the ephemeral nature of her being, the unreal merged with the real, spoke to his poets soul. He nodded toward Charla and then to the three shot gla.s.ses. He lifted the first, Charla the second, and Poppy the third.