Author's Note: Oh oh oh...thank you guys so much for your response. It has inspired me! I hope to make this one of many updates today on all of my stories. Hugs and smiles to you and please R&R. Ahhhhh, I heart all of you. I really really do. Hugs. Angel422
"What the hell was that, Jude Harrison!" Tommy exclaimed as I just shrugged before looking over the side of the cliff while stroking my chin thoughtfully. Hmmm….so small keys had a tendency to float a little on air too.
"That was therapy." I finally stated simply as I looked back over at him before backing away slightly when I noticed his darkened expression. He was not in a good mood now….nope, he was furious and it felt good to be angry—for both of us.
"You have a twisted sense of psychology, you know that Harrison? Jesus! I'd even let you hit me with one of those foam baseball bats that shrinks seem to favor, but my Viper…" He began as I peered back over the edge again. A small smile flitted across my face.
"You can always go after it." I replied caustically as he stared at me a moment in stunned silence before finally shaking his head as if getting a bearing on his thoughts and emotions. Something seemed to click in his brain, and he kicked a pile of dirt over the cliff before beginning to advance eerily over in my general direction. I backed away again.
"Tommy?" I asked almost uncertainly as he continued to advance on me. I could see the frustration in his gaze as he got closer, and I almost stumbled as I kept edging away.
"I could always send you down there, Jude—you know to fetch it per say." He growled as I grinned—why was I grinning—before shrugging my shoulders and letting my gaze peruse his face almost bitterly.
"Well, you know what they say about dogs. If you act like one, you might as well be treated like one. You wouldn't want a bone now would you?" I asked as Tommy stopped suddenly before clenching his fists and continuing toward me a little faster. I yelped as I turned and ran—heading anywhere as long as it wasn't near him. I could hear the 'thud thud thud' of his shoes as he followed after me, and he was too close for comfort--way too close. The air rushing past my ears almost made me laugh and before long I was chuckling without realizing it. I grabbed a hold of a building post—keeping it between Tommy and I as I turned toward him again while panting from the run—gasping as I tried to catch my breath. Tom stopped across from me as he peered quietly into my face—circling the post as I circled it to stay away from him.
"I ought to throttle you." He ground out as I narrowed my eyes up at him.
"And I out to castrate you." I bit out in return as his jaw dropped open in shock. Okay, I hadn't even expected that to pop out of my mouth either, but I suppose it made sense. I wouldn't be having this problem with him if he wasn't so irresistibly male.
"I ought to throw you over that cliff." He commented after schooling his features as we continued to circle the post. I was beginning to get a little dizzy.
"And I ought to point out to you that sometimes its not about being the bigger person. It's about fighting the good fight." I stated vaguely as he hit the post between us—hard. I didn't even flinch.
"Is this where you remind me of what I really am—where you point out that I've been down to the bottom of every bottle lately trying to drown out the impossible. Damn you, Jude. I ought to make love to you now." He reiterated as I suddenly froze. What had he just said? He had rounded the corner again, but I couldn't move. It was like my feet were planted to the planks beneath my toes.
"What?" I finally asked as Tommy grabbed onto the post—gripping it between his hands until I saw his knuckles turn white. It didn't make me feel any better knowing he was fighting the actions he had just mentioned. Oh my God!
"Don't make me give you a lesson on the birds and the bees right now, Jude. I'm having a hard enough time keeping myself grounded as it is--keeping a reign on my control." He grumbled as I backed up against the wall of the building. My back rested against the dust resolutely as I watched the sun begin to descend behind Tommy's back. I hadn't even been there more than a day yet, and look at where we already stood.
"I hate you." I finally whispered as I placed my hands over my face. It sounded harsher than I meant it—I hated him for doing this to me, for making me burn with equal parts passion and frustration. I couldn't let him near my heart again. He had a habit of launching those over cliffs as well.
"Right now, Jude, I hate myself." Tommy stated in a low tone as he moved toward me again. I closed my eyes. Oh God! Don't touch me. No, do touch me. Aggghhhhh!
"I'm not going to touch you." He finally uttered as I opened my eyes to see him leaning against the wall beside me. He seemed to be trying to convince himself with the statement as much as he was reassuring me. The location suddenly interested me as the anger faded.
"Where are we?" I asked him quietly as he glanced first at me and then at the small buildings surrounding us.
"One of Montana's ghost towns. It was one of the small quarries abandoned during the gold rush." He whispered as if the ghosts of the place could hear us talking now. I nodded before watching the sun turn from a big ball of white matter to a glowing orange orb of fire in the background. Wow!
"Come on, Harrison. We should be getting back before I forget my place." He remarked as he climbed down the steps of the old building before stomping over to his bike.
"I should really make you work to replace that damn key." He bit out as I followed him more slowly—grinning as I remembered his expression when I had dropped it. That had been priceless. I would do a hundred sit ups to see that again—no, a thousand even. Tom climbed onto the seat of his bike and I felt my stomach muscles tighten as I glanced at him in the fading sun. With the ball of orange highlighting his back along with his aviator sun glasses and leather jacket, he looked like a desperado.
"You coming?" He asked as he held my helmet out to me. I just nodded before grabbing the object and climbing onto the seat resolutely behind him—loathing the reaction I had as the front of my body settled against his back. I could see his jaw tense up. I grinned mischievously.
"I'll bet I could give those moaning ghosts a run for their money." I whispered into his ear as he looked down at me before kicking the bike into action. He didn't even worry with his own helmet as I placed mine over my head. No, he seemed to wish we would have an accident. Maybe, he needed to feel dangerous right now.
"Just hold on." He muttered as I wrapped my arms around his waist. Those words were beginning to take on a whole new meaning for us both. What the hell did Montana have in store for us?