Free Lawless by Tracey Ward Page A

me.”
    I lower my cheek to his chest and settle in against his body. “Okay,” I tell him quietly. Contentedly. “I’ll stay with you. I promise.”
    It’s word for word what he told me on the beach after he saved my life. I don’t know why I say it the way I do. I don’t know what exactly I’ve just promised him or if he even wanted me to, but as I say it I know it’s the truth because there’s something here that I need. That I crave. That I’d kill for. That I’ve been dying for.
    And it’s not the sex. It’s the man. Not the myth or the legend or the rumors. It’s him.
    It’s Lawson.
     
     

Chapter Ten
    The next morning my ass is dragging. I’m exhausted. I feel like I’m hung over, and as I’m getting ready for work at the crack of dawn I’m trying really hard not to think about why. To not relive it over and over again in my mind, my body clenching low and tight at the memory.
    Lawson’s chest.
    Lawson’s hands.
    Lawson’s moans.
    Lawson’s di—
    “You came in late.”
    I spin around with my heart in my throat. Dad is there in the doorway to the kitchen, watching me stare into nothing by the sink. An empty coffee cup dangles from my hand, an equally empty coffee pot sitting cold on the maker’s base in front of me. I’ve been standing here waiting for coffee to brew. Coffee I never made.
    I need to get it together.
    “Uh, yeah,” I mutter, putting the mug down and stepping away from the counter. “Lawson and I hung out for a while after work.”
    “He drove you?”
    I’m so grateful to him for that – for asking what he already knows. What the entire town already knows. He’s giving me the chance to lie about it if I want to and even though we’ll both know it’s a lie, I know he’ll let me have it.
    “Yeah,” I answer honestly. “He surfs down there all the time. He offered to drive me down and back while my leg is healing.”
    “Could take all summer.”
    “I know.”
    “Does he?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Huh,” he mutters.
    I suppress a sigh. “What?”
    Dad shakes his head, grabbing his lunch bag out of the refrigerator and heading for the back door. “Long commitment for Lawson Daniel,” he says evenly.
    He pulls the door closed hard behind him.
    I’m surprised by the relief I feel when Lawson pulls into my driveway ten minutes later. A part of me, small but persuasive, was convinced he would disappear after what happened last night.
    An even smaller part kind of wanted him to.
    I don’t know what to do with this. With what happened. I don’t know what it means or if it means anything other than the fact that we’re attracted to each other and it felt good. Really, really good. I’m no stranger to sex. I’ve had good, I’ve had bad, and I’ve had a lot of in between, but last night was something singular. It was intense and natural as the tide, and I imagine it was just as inevitable.
    But was it a one-time thing? Was it a mistake? Are we going to pretend it never happened?
    Are we going to do it again?
    He doesn’t get out of the car when I come outside. He doesn’t open my door the way he has before. He doesn’t even look up. As I approach the passenger door I can see him through the windshield, his head down over the phone in his hands. He’s texting quickly, his fingers flying over the keys.
    When I open the door he looks up, a forced smile on his face as he deftly darkens his phone’s screen and drops it into a cup holder. “Hey,” he greets me warmly, his tone more genuine than his smile.
    “Hi.”
    “How are you feelin’?”
    I lower myself slowly into the car and pull the door closed behind me. “Okay. Tired.”
    “Wild night?”
    I shrug. “Pretty boring, actually.”
    “Really? Nothing fun or exciting?”
    “Stayed home. Read a book.” I lift my hands and dance my fingers for him to see. “Painted my nails. What about you?”
    “Same old, same old.”
    “You surfed?”
    He grins. “Banged a chick.”
    I laugh, swatting him hard on the