“Don’t use sex to manipulate,” he told me.

I stared at him in the dark.

“You do it al the time!” I said.

“I’m good at it,” he quit grinding and started moving. I couldn’t help it, I moved with him. “And I don’t do it with anything that’s important.”

I ignored his arrogance and the fact he was ful of shit.

The night before he’d used it to try to manipulate me into staying. If that wasn’t important, I didn’t know what was.

I decided, instead, to go back to the matter at hand, or at least one of the matters at hand. “I want my car back,” I demanded but it came out kind of breathy.

“Quiet,” he returned.

“I want my car back,” I repeated.

He kissed me, I went dizzy. He kept my mouth busy so I wouldn’t talk and my body busy so, after awhile, I couldn’t talk.

Then, I felt it. I twisted my head and tensed, breathing into his ear, “Whisky, I’m going to…” I didn’t finish. He lifted my legs with his hands behind my knees and pounded into me and I lost the ability to speak.

When he was done, he rol ed to the side, then to his back, taking me with him. I lay on top of him for a while, my head on the pil ow next to his, my forehead pressed to his jaw.

Final y I said, “That wasn’t fair.”

“The first time you touch me, it’s so you can ask me for your car so you can leave me. I didn’t feel much like playin’

fair.”

“Hank.”

He interrupted me. “You were cal in’ me Whisky a few minutes ago when you intended to make me do what you wanted by takin’ me in your mouth.”

I realized then that he was angry and I came up on my elbows.

“Are you angry?” I asked, even though I knew he was.

“You are ‘She’s the One’.” I gasped.

“I am not ‘She’s the One’,” I snapped.

“You’re completely ‘She’s the One’.”

“Am not!” I shouted.

“Please tel me we aren’t havin’ this ridiculous conversation,” he said, sounding exasperated.

“You started it,” I returned.

“I see. We are having this ridiculous conversation.” I made a strangled noise.

He rol ed me onto my back and then his weight moved and he reached over me, switching on the light. Then he settled on his side, towering over me and looked at me.

Before he could say anything I said, “I want my car.”

“You aren’t leavin’,” he replied.

“No. I’m not. I just want my car.”

“Then you aren’t gettin’ it until I know you won’t do anything stupid, like leave.”

I scowled at him. “I said I wouldn’t leave, I won’t leave.”

“I hate to say this Sunshine, but I don’t trust you. You think al igators are cute and you got friends who’l drop everything to drive across country to bring you your stuff and that’s because you got a heart bigger than the state of Colorado and what happened today flipped you out. Not, I’m guessin’, what happened to you but what happened to Daisy while she was with you. I give you back your car and you’re gone.”

He was so right.

I hated that.

“It’s my car.”

“You’re my woman and I don’t want you off on your own with Flynn and God knows who lookin’ for you.” My body froze.

“Bil y?”

Hank stared at me and I knew he’d said more than he intended.

Then he muttered, “Fuck.”

I felt fear steal through me.

“Hank, talk to me,” I whispered.

His thigh moved over mine and he pinned me to the bed.

“Roxanne, you’re safe. No one’s gonna harm you,” he

“Roxanne, you’re safe. No one’s gonna harm you,” he said.

“Talk to me,” I said, louder and slightly more hysterical this time.

He sighed. “Got word before I came into the bedroom.

Jimmy got one of those boys to talk. Flynn got away from them.”

Good God.

My body jerked and Hank’s arm went around me, pul ing me into him.

“No one’s gonna harm you,” he repeated.

“Hank, he knows where you live. I have to get out of here.”

“Roxanne, listen to me.”

I started squirming, total y panicked, trying to escape.

“Roxanne, dammit,” he swore, but I didn’t quit struggling.

He dropped to his side and rol ed me into him, wrapping his arms around me, pinning mine to my body and he tossed a heavy thigh over mine. He was so strong, resistance was futile so I stil ed.

“He hurt me,” I told Hank’s neck.

“I know.”

“He’l do it again.”

“No he won’t.”

I lay there breathing heavily more from anxiety than my struggles.

“I’m scared,” I admitted and it took everything I had left to do it.

Hank’s arms and leg tightened. “I know.”

After a few minutes of internal struggle, I relaxed into him After a few minutes of internal struggle, I relaxed into him and he let go, reached out and turned off the light. Then he fel to his back, me partial y on top, partial y in his side, keeping one arm around me.

I tried to keep my mind quiet. Luckily I was exhausted so it worked. I’d think about it tomorrow. Or not at al . I was thinking not at al sounded good.

“I’m not your woman,” I said, drowsy.

“You are,” he returned.

Jeez.

There real y was no shaking this guy.

“I’l die. I’l go with Bil y. I’l do whatever so no one gets hurt,” I promised.

“It won’t come to that,” he gave me a promise in return

“I want my car,” I went on, stubborn.

“We’l talk about it tomorrow night.”

“I’m going to be at the Haunted House tomorrow night.” I heard his head move on the pil ow, probably he was shaking it because he thought I was a total idiot.

“You’re a nut.”

Okay, he was shaking it because he thought I was a nut.

“No I’m not,” I said.

He didn’t answer.

I lay there for a long while. I felt the tension leave his body, his hand now relaxed on my hip and I figured he was asleep.

“I didn’t start touching you to get something out of it, I did it because I wanted to,” I told his sleeping self.