CHAPTER ELEVEN
The car jerked as it hit another pothole and Sheridan immediately felt the unease start to rise within her once again. She had done some stupid things over the last few days, she thought, but this one... this one took the cake. Leaving with a man she barely knew, it was more than just stupid... it was borderline insane. Okay, it was more than just borderline insane, she thought rubbing her temples, it was totally psychotic. She had to think of a way to get herself out of this mess. Luis probably knew she had left with Josh by now, but there was no way he would know where to find them. Hell, she had no clue as to where they were herself.
Panic lodged deep in her throat as Josh pulled the car to a stop and turned off the engine. She looked around and saw total darkness. The only thing even remotely visible was trees, trees, and more trees. Oh god, she thought closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, please just let this be a really bad dream.
"Sher?" Josh said laying a hand on her thigh. "Are you okay? You're being awfully quiet."
She quickly removed his hand then turned to look at him. She could barely make out his features in the moonlight. The only thing she could see clearly was that she had made a very big mistake. "I really think we should go back to the party, Josh. Ethan is probably wondering where I am."
"I'm sure by now he knows you left with me. Luis too, for that matter. That was the whole point, wasn't it?" Josh asked giving her a crooked grin. "You wanted to make Luis jealous. Well, I can guaran-damn-tee he will be jealous now."
Something told Sheridan that Luis would be too furious to be jealous. He had warned her to stay away from Josh, but she hadn't listened. When he found out that she had left with Josh... alone, she knew he would be positively livid. They may not know each other well, but she knew him well enough to know that. She had seen the animosity between Josh and him first hand. She had thought that by flirting with Josh, she would make Luis jealous and he would be more inclined to help her with her plan. But right now, more than anything, she wished she had been smart enough to listen to him when he said to stay away from Josh.
Granted, Josh hadn't made a move to touch her other than the hand on her thigh a few minutes ago, but there was something in the way he looked at her that made her extremely uncomfortable. It was like being inside a glass house and having people stare at you from all sides. It was unnerving and.... frightening. That was the problem right there, she thought shaking her head, Josh hadn't tried anything, yet she was frightened. Why? Because you don't know him, a voice echoed inside her head, therefore you have no way of knowing what he is or isn't capable of. Oh god, she thought turning to look at Josh in the darkness, what if he tried to -
"Sher." Josh said interrupting her thoughts. "You can relax. I only brought you here so we could talk and maybe get to know each other a little better."
The 'get to know each other better' was the part that worried her, she thought shaking her head to clear the frightening images that had popped into her mind. "Josh, I really think -"
"Shh." He said placing his fingers across her lips. "I think I hear something."
Sher listened into the darkness, but heard nothing but crickets and the faint hoot of an owl. "Josh, I don't hear -"
She broke off when she heard the faint sound of tires squealing. A second later, lights from a vehicle flashed in through the back windshield. She turned trying to see who was coming up the road, but it was still too far away to distinguish the make of the vehicle. The only thing she knew for sure was that whoever was driving seemed to be in an awfully big hurry.
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Luis turned onto the gravel road that led to the old drive-in movie theater and prayed that Josh was there. If he wasn't then he had no idea where to look. No, he thought pressing down on the gas petal, they were here. He could feel it. He just prayed he wasn't too late. If he hurt Sher...
"Dammit!" Luis yelled into the darkness as his truck hit another pothole. He had forgotten how bad this road was. He eased off the gas petal slightly, not wanting to take any chances of turning the truck over. He'd certainly be no good to Sher then. When he got his hands on Josh...
Luis pounded his fist against the steering wheel as his temper began to build. He had warned Josh to stay away from her, but he hadn't listened. Sher hadn't listened either. She had no way of knowing what kind of guy Josh really was. Hell, Ethan didn't really know half the stuff Josh had done. If he had, he would have been alot more worried when they saw them talking earlier. Damn, he thought running a hand through his black hair, he should have gotten her away from him then. But Beth had gotten in his way. She probably did it on purpose. He wouldn't put anything past her anymore.
His headlights reflected off something ahead of him and he recognized it to be the metal bumper of a car. He hadn't even taken her some place original, Luis thought his hand tightening on the steering wheel, he'd taken her to the damn woods!
Luis pulled in behind the car and had barely managed to put his truck in gear, his temper was so strong. He threw open his truck door and headed toward the car. His fury growing with each step he took. He could see Sher in the passenger's side and he saw Josh leaning over her with his fingers on her lips. Luis saw red. He pulled Josh's car door open then grabbed him by the collar of his cheap shirt and pulled him out of the car. "You bastard! I warned you to stay away from her!"
"Luis, get your damn hands off me!" Josh said his eyes blazing with fury. "We were just talking!"
"Yeah, I know your kind of talking, remember?" Luis said his hands tightening on the collar of Josh's shirt. He was so angry he didn't hear Sheridan throw open the passenger side door and run toward them.
"Luis! " Sher yelled from behind him. "Calm down! It isn't what you -"
Luis turned and silenced her with a steady glare. He was in no mood to hear her defend Josh. "Stay out of it, Sher! This is between Josh and me!"
"See Sher, I told ya the guy had a bad temper. Just ask Ethan. After all, he has the stitches to prove it."
"Ethan?" Sher asked in confusion. "What do you... Oh god, you mean Ethan is the guy Luis sent to the hospital?"
Luis saw Sher's eyes widen at the realization and then suddenly they narrowed... on him. "You put Ethan in the hospital?"
"Sher." Luis said releasing Josh and turning toward her. "Let me -"
That was as far as he got before Josh shoved him from behind. Luis turned and ducked just as Josh swung his fist. Luis swung a punch of his own and hit Josh in the solar plexus. Josh doubled over and Sher screamed. Luis caught off guard, turned to look at her, and Josh landed a punch to his jaw. He stumbled backwards a bit, but then pure fury took over and he tackled Josh to the ground. They continued to roll around on the ground, each of them landing punches to the other, but then Sher let out a bloodcurdling scream and both of them froze.
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Sheridan watched as Luis tackled Josh to the ground. A second later, Josh landed another punch to Luis jaw while Luis returned the favor by punching Josh in the eye. Oh god, she thought, this was all her fault. She had to stop them before one of the got seriously hurt. "Stop it, both of you! Stop it right now!"
Neither man seemed to hear her. Their anger wouldn't let them hear her. She took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs. Both men froze then turned to her with wide eyes. "Well," she said placing her hands on her hips. "I'm glad I finally managed to get your attention."
Without a word, Luis jumped up and headed toward her. His eyes were still blazing with fury and she backed up a step. She had to stop when she ran into the open door of his truck. "Luis," she said placing her hands on his chest. "I -"
Luis narrowed his eyes toward her hands on his chest and she removed them instantly. When he looked back at her, his eyes were cold and unreadable and when he finally spoke, his voice was tight with barely held anger. "Get in the truck. I'll take you home."
"Hey," Josh said getting to his feet. "I brought her here, I'll take her home."
Luis turned and started to make his way back to Josh, but Sher placed her hand on his forearm to stop him. He turned to look at her, but she refused to look at him. She couldn't bare to see the anger in his eyes. She looked at Josh instead. "I think it's better if Luis takes me home."
She turned without waiting for Josh's response and started to step up into the truck. She stopped when Luis placed his hands on her waist. She looked at him in surprise, but he merely shook his head and helped her up into the truck. She scooted to the passenger side, moving several cassette tapes out of her way in the process. Once she had settled in the seat, Luis got in and slammed the door so hard the whole truck shook. He was angrier than she could have imagined.
She swallowed hard as Luis started the truck and backed out. She glanced out the window as Luis turned the truck around and saw Josh shaking his head and raising a hand to his now swollen eye. This was all her fault, she thought covering her face with her hands. If she had stopped to think first, she never would have gotten in the car with Josh. She could feel Luis' eyes on her, but she couldn't meet them. She was too ashamed to meet them.
"He didn't... he didn't hurt you, did he?" Luis asked in a voice she didn't recognize.
"No." She said raising her head to look at him. "No, he didn't hurt me."
Luis searched her eyes for a moment then nodded and turned his attention back to the road. "He could have, Sher. Do you realize that? He could have really hurt you."
Sheridan shivered at the truth in his words, but for some reason didn't want to let Luis know that she had really been worried about that very thing. "But he didn't. I'm fine."
"Dammit, why the hell didn't you listen to me?" Luis asked tightening his hands on the steering wheel as they hit another pothole. "What the hell possessed you to leave with Josh anyway? You could have really been hurt!"
"I'm surprised you even noticed I left!" Sheridan yelled her temper on the rise. "You seemed to have your hands full with that brunette!"
Luis tightened his hands on the steering wheel then glanced at her with eyes as hard as steel. "Are you telling me that you put yourself in danger, because you were jealous?!"
"No!" Sheridan lied. "I asked Josh to leave so we could get to know each other better and we would have had you not interrupted! And I didn't place myself in danger!"
Luis cursed. "The hell you didn't! You have no idea what Josh is capable of! None! What would you have done if he had tried to rape you?"
Sheridan sucked in a deep breath because that same thought had crossed her mind. But then because she was angry at herself, she lashed out at Luis. "He wouldn't have had to rape me! I would have done what he wanted willingly!"
In one fluid motion, Luis pulled off the side of the road and stomped on the brake. Then he turned to her with blazing eyes and clenched jaw. "What the hell do you mean you would have done what he wanted willingly!"
Sheridan flinched at the anger in his voice. She knew she was on dangerous ground, but something was making her deliberately provoke him. "I mean just what I said. I came to Harmony to have a good time and since you seem so unwilling to help me with that, I found someone else who would. I'm sure Josh would be more than willing to show me a good time!"
"Over my dead body." Luis said pulling her roughly into his arms, his eyes blazing, and his mouth just an inch away from hers. "I'll be damned if I allow Josh to have the fun, I should be having. If you want a good time, sweetheart, then allow me to show you one!"
Sheridan didn't have time to reply, because his mouth suddenly came down on hers hard. She knew the kiss was mean to punish her, but instead it started a fire, one that quickly turned into a three-alarm blaze. Her hands wound themselves into his black hair as his roamed over her bare back. Then she groaned as he trailed them sensuously down her spine to cup her buttocks. A second later, he pulled away and started to kiss the hollow base of her neck. She angled her head back to give him a better access then groaned as one of his hands caressed its way to cover her breast. She arched her back and placed both hands at the back of his head then moaned as his hand started to gently caress her breast. His other hand reached up to loosen the thin strap at her neck then he ever so slowly eased her shirt down to pool at her waist. He slowly lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes blazing with passion then he gave her a seductive smile and lowered his gaze to her breasts.
He gave a tiny groan of frustration then leaned down and took one nipple into his mouth. His tongue skimmed over her nipple and she tightened her grip in his hair as the fire started to build inside her. He teased her breasts with his lips as his hands continued to roam her body. A second later he tightened his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. She raised her knees onto the seat to straddle him as her back rested against the dashboard. Her hands left his hair to roam over his broad shoulders and she suddenly couldn't wait to feel his warm skin underneath her fingers. She lowered her hands to the bottom of his shirt then moved them underneath.
At the first touch of her fingers against his bare skin, Luis groaned then released her so that she could pull his shirt over his head. Once that was done he crushed her to him and they both moaned as they met chest to chest, bare skin to bare skin. His mouth captured hers again as his hands sprayed across her back and pressed her closer to his chest. She had never felt anything so wonderful in her entire life and she wanted more.
She placed her hands at the waistband of his jeans and had just released the button and pulled the zipper down when someone knocked on the driver's side window. She and Luis broke apart instantly and it was then that she noticed the flashlight shining in the window. Embarrassment flooded her face as she realized they had once again been caught in a compromising position. Only this time, it wasn't by Josh and Hank. No, this time, she thought glancing at the man standing at the window, they had been caught by a cop.
To Be Continued...