Because I Can (Necklace Trilogy 2)

His lips lower near mine, a hot breath from a touch as he says. “You can try, Allie. Take me away, baby. If you can.”

His words are all challenge and sexual heat. My nipples pucker and my sex clenches in a most unexpected way, considering the punch of my anger only moments before. But then, there is so much about me with this man, and him with me, that I do not understand. But I want to. God, how I want to, but as sure as Dash pulls me closer, there is a part of him I don’t know. A part of him that pushes me away that I may never know. But then, there is that part of me, as well. A part of me that I’m ashamed of. A part of me I don’t show him because I never want him to know who I once was, who deep down, I still am.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

It’s time to leave this house, but not without my wallet.

“Didn’t you have it last night?” Dash asks.

“It’s big. I don’t always carry it. I just stick my license and my credit card in the card file at the side of my smaller purse.”

“And why do you think it’s here?”

“I remember ordering my mother some of the coffee beans she loves, and I don’t remember ever putting my wallet back in my purse.” I walk to the opposite side of the mattress before pulling back the blanket, with me and Dash searching the perimeter with no luck.

“You don’t think it got stolen with the break-in, right?” I ask. “Maybe it was kids and they grabbed whatever they could find and ran.”

“The security system was turned off. I don’t think it was kids. And if the wallet was in your nightstand, it seems unlikely that’s the only thing someone took.”

We both just stare at each other and let that set in. Because the question remains: who was here, and what did they want? “Right,” I say, trying to shake that off and restarting my search.

Eventually, we end up in the kitchen, the journal inside my purse that is now on my shoulder. “I give up,” I say, throwing my hands in the air. “It’s just gone.”

“Maybe it’s at the apartment,” he suggests. “And you just think you left it behind.”

“Maybe,” I concur, but even as I do, I’m not optimistic. “I really hope so. If not, I have to call my bank. At least I have my license.” I lean on the island and Dash leans on the counter across from me in front of the sink. “I’d say I’d follow you to the apartment, but I just realized I still don’t have a car. Did you get any word on the repairs on my car?”

“The mechanic called me when I was with Tyler. It’s not good news. The engine’s a goner.”

“Wonderful,” I say dryly. “Now I have no car.”

“We’ll share until you decide if you’re staying or going.”

The air ticks between us, our eyes meeting, that familiar punch between us. “You’re not the long-term guy, Dash. Remember?”

“I remember everything I was before you, Allie.”

His cellphone rings and he scoops it from his pocket, glancing at me as he says, “My sister, and since she just made me talk her off a ledge over this music deal she’s working on, I have to take it. Again.” He answers on speaker. “Bella,” he greets. “Allie is here with me.”

“She better be,” she chides. “If you lost her that fast, I’d have to tell you what a loser you are. Which of course, you are not a loser. Unless you lose her.” She changes the topic, clearly bursting with her need to announce, “They’re signing my client! I’m thrilled for him. He’s doing a celebration set at Aldean’s place tonight. You two want to come back and cheer him on?”

“Not if you want me to finish this book,” Dash says, “but congratulations, little sis. You rock this country town.”

“Yes, you do,” I chime in. “Congratulations to you and him. How exciting and life-changing for him.”

“It’s an open door,” she says. “You never know if they’re going to swim in a fishbowl and end up a floater or end up owning the ocean. But that’s not the only reason why I’m calling, big brother. We have another studio calling you through me right now. They, too, want to do a spinoff TV show based on the books and movies. They want you there next week.”

I wait for Dash to react, to show excitement, but instead, he grimaces. “My eye is the size of Texas, Bella,” he says. “You know that.”

“This is where you show excitement,” Bella rebuttals. “Then we talk through how to handle the eye.”

“Exactly!” I agree wholeheartedly. “Dash, this is amazing! This is exciting.”

A muscle in his jaw tics. “She knows how I feel about Hollywood,” he grumbles, but when my eyes go wide, he quickly adds, “but thank you, Bella. The love-hate thing I’ve got going on is all love for you and you know it.”