others. “Playing it out. I think he’s local.”
-51-
Lora Leigh
“Why?”
“The rapes are in a four-county radius around Somerset. Until Kelly, Somerset hadn’t been hit. She fits the profile of the other girls though.
The others he doesn’t bother other than to call every now and then and ask if they’re being ‘good girls’, but he’s stalking Kelly. Calling your dad’s house at all hours of the day and night. My gut says he’s local.” Natches’
gut was rarely ever wrong.
“The guy lost it when he was interrupted. The others…” Dawg cleared his throat, fury flashing in his eyes. “He made them beg. First to live, and then for him. Kelly wouldn’t beg…”
“And he was interrupted— Shit!” Rowdy ran his hands over his head.
“But she’s still a ‘good girl’,” Natches pointed out. “When she stops being a good girl, what will he do?”
Rowdy felt his stomach pitch at the thought of what Ray had told him during their drunken night out. How the bastard called, asking if Kelly was still his “good girl”. It was one of the reasons he’d become so furious when he learned Rowdy had come home, not just because it was home, but because Kelly was there. Because Ray had known his son had come home to claim Kelly.
“The redneck code, cowboys,” Natches drawled. “You don’t fuck the good girls unless you mean it. He doesn’t rape them normally, he takes them anally. He’s not serious ‘bout them. And he’s not going to ‘dirty’ a
‘good girl’.”
It was sickening, and the truly horrifying part was it all made sense.
There were unwritten rules sometimes, a code, a way of dealing with women. Good girls versus “bad” girls and the rules of engagement. This rapist was twisting those rules. Perverting them in ways guaranteed to give a sane man nightmares. He was targeting good girls, or his perception of a good girl.
-52-
NAUTI BUOY
And Kelly gave the impression of the perfect good girl. But she was his naughty girl. He had seen it in her eyes eight years ago; he saw it there now. She wasn’t a fool, and she might very well be a virgin but Rowdy knew that his naughty girl was in there, waiting for him . And he was going to claim her, love her, protect her.
No matter what it took.
“Rowdy, you start fooling with her and the bastard is going to come after her stronger,” Natches pointed out. “We can control it if we use it, control him and take him.”
“But only if he thinks Kelly isn’t a ‘good girl’,” Dawg injected. “Good girls can tame the bad boys. Unless he thinks Rowdy is up to his past games with Kelly, it might not push him over the edge in time.”
Rowdy stared back at his friends. He heard the question in Dawg’s voice, the suspicion. He leaned forward, bracing his arms on the gas tank as he watched them. He ignored the tightening, low in his stomach, the vague disquiet he felt at the thought of sharing Kelly. Of allowing his cousins to touch her, to hold her. He had waited for six years, ever since she turned eighteen, for the chance to show her just how much pleasure he could give her when he took her to his bed. He refused to remember the arousal she inspired two years before that. You didn’t lust after babies, and sixteen-year-old, wide-eyed virgins were just that. Babies.
But the minute she turned eighteen, he had known his days of freedom were numbered.
“I haven’t changed.” He stared back at them with an edge of humor, of determination as he ignored the odd, unfamiliar tightening in his chest. “Have you?”
Snorts of wry amusement met his question.
“Yeah right, and pigs started flying over the lake when it happened.”
Natches laughed. “We’ve been waiting on you, Rowdy, you know that.
-53-
Lora Leigh
You think that little girl would have stayed unclaimed if any of us had changed over the years?”
They were unique, maybe. Sexual fulfillment and pleasure wasn’t a game. It was something they took seriously,
-51-
Lora Leigh
“Why?”
“The rapes are in a four-county radius around Somerset. Until Kelly, Somerset hadn’t been hit. She fits the profile of the other girls though.
The others he doesn’t bother other than to call every now and then and ask if they’re being ‘good girls’, but he’s stalking Kelly. Calling your dad’s house at all hours of the day and night. My gut says he’s local.” Natches’
gut was rarely ever wrong.
“The guy lost it when he was interrupted. The others…” Dawg cleared his throat, fury flashing in his eyes. “He made them beg. First to live, and then for him. Kelly wouldn’t beg…”
“And he was interrupted— Shit!” Rowdy ran his hands over his head.
“But she’s still a ‘good girl’,” Natches pointed out. “When she stops being a good girl, what will he do?”
Rowdy felt his stomach pitch at the thought of what Ray had told him during their drunken night out. How the bastard called, asking if Kelly was still his “good girl”. It was one of the reasons he’d become so furious when he learned Rowdy had come home, not just because it was home, but because Kelly was there. Because Ray had known his son had come home to claim Kelly.
“The redneck code, cowboys,” Natches drawled. “You don’t fuck the good girls unless you mean it. He doesn’t rape them normally, he takes them anally. He’s not serious ‘bout them. And he’s not going to ‘dirty’ a
‘good girl’.”
It was sickening, and the truly horrifying part was it all made sense.
There were unwritten rules sometimes, a code, a way of dealing with women. Good girls versus “bad” girls and the rules of engagement. This rapist was twisting those rules. Perverting them in ways guaranteed to give a sane man nightmares. He was targeting good girls, or his perception of a good girl.
-52-
NAUTI BUOY
And Kelly gave the impression of the perfect good girl. But she was his naughty girl. He had seen it in her eyes eight years ago; he saw it there now. She wasn’t a fool, and she might very well be a virgin but Rowdy knew that his naughty girl was in there, waiting for him . And he was going to claim her, love her, protect her.
No matter what it took.
“Rowdy, you start fooling with her and the bastard is going to come after her stronger,” Natches pointed out. “We can control it if we use it, control him and take him.”
“But only if he thinks Kelly isn’t a ‘good girl’,” Dawg injected. “Good girls can tame the bad boys. Unless he thinks Rowdy is up to his past games with Kelly, it might not push him over the edge in time.”
Rowdy stared back at his friends. He heard the question in Dawg’s voice, the suspicion. He leaned forward, bracing his arms on the gas tank as he watched them. He ignored the tightening, low in his stomach, the vague disquiet he felt at the thought of sharing Kelly. Of allowing his cousins to touch her, to hold her. He had waited for six years, ever since she turned eighteen, for the chance to show her just how much pleasure he could give her when he took her to his bed. He refused to remember the arousal she inspired two years before that. You didn’t lust after babies, and sixteen-year-old, wide-eyed virgins were just that. Babies.
But the minute she turned eighteen, he had known his days of freedom were numbered.
“I haven’t changed.” He stared back at them with an edge of humor, of determination as he ignored the odd, unfamiliar tightening in his chest. “Have you?”
Snorts of wry amusement met his question.
“Yeah right, and pigs started flying over the lake when it happened.”
Natches laughed. “We’ve been waiting on you, Rowdy, you know that.
-53-
Lora Leigh
You think that little girl would have stayed unclaimed if any of us had changed over the years?”
They were unique, maybe. Sexual fulfillment and pleasure wasn’t a game. It was something they took seriously,
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