Mayday (Reality Check #1), page 17
“Oh, I will. And thank you, Jessa. God bless.”
Chapter 39
We drove to the other side of town to a small restaurant that looked like it had seen better days. Miss Rhonda’s looked like she needed a paint job and… a lot of work. But Finn and I went inside and took a seat. “Hungry?” I asked.
“Starving,” he replied, with a look that said it might not be just for food.
A girl who looked like she was in high school was our server. We ordered burgers and fries, chocolate milkshakes and water, and our orders were ready fast. Miss Rhonda didn’t mess around. She wanted satisfied customers. I watched as staff buzzed in and out of the double doors, but I still didn’t see her.
When the waitress brought our bill, I asked about her. “Where is Miss Rhonda?”
“Bill, the cook, called off, so she’s in the back fillin’ in.”
“Could you see if I can talk to her for a minute? I can go back there, if it’s easier.”
“Sure,” she said nervously.
“It’s nothing. She knows me and I haven’t seen her in a while, is all.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jessa McDaniel.”
She promised to be right back, and sure enough, she was back in a flash. “Miss Rhonda said to get your ass back there. Her words, not mine.”
I laughed. “Well, I better mind her before she takes a spoon to me.” I told Finn I’d be right back and headed toward the kitchen.
Miss Rhonda was a large woman with unnaturally bright red hair and lipstick to match. She wore a grease-stained white apron and a hair net, and met me with a bone-crushing hug anyway. “It’s been way too long, darlin’.”
“I know it has.”
“I saw you on TV! You were amazing!”
I laughed. “Well thanks, but I just wanted to bring something to you.”
She took the envelope I offered and tore it open, reading the zeros on the check with wide eyes. “What’s this for, Jessa?”
“For helping me. You gave me a job and fed me.”
“You worked for it and you earned the money I gave you and then some. I can’t take this.”
“Sorry,” I said, backing out the double doors. “I can’t hear you.”
“Jessa,” she warned.
“Come on, Finn.”
He was dropping money on the table to cover our dinners and a tip when we ran for it. I heard a loud, “Thank you!” as the door slammed behind us.
Laughing, we fell into the car.
“That was fun!”
It really was.
“Let’s find a hotel and have some more fun,” I suggested. “Then tomorrow, we can go look around.”
Finn nodded. “Sounds like a damn good plan to me.”
We found a simple but nice hotel and as I checked in, Finn grabbed our bags. On the way up the elevator to the fifth floor, I turned to him. “I thought that would take longer, like a couple days, at least.”
“You’re fast.”
“I guess things just worked out right,” I said.
That night was different. As soon as he set our bags down, he kissed me, not hungrily but reverently, like I was the only and last thing he wanted to touch. There was a fire burning in his blue eyes, one like I hadn’t seen before. Lettie’s words filled my head. “That boy loves you…” I thought he did, but this time felt different. It made me afraid that this was goodbye.
But I was too drunk on him to worry for long. Our mouths explored, our hands worshipped, and our bodies became one; a slow, sensual dance that left us both burning but satisfied at the same time. For hours, he rocked into me and I drew him into my body. I kissed his neck and chest and sank down onto him, never wanting to separate again.
He told me again and again how lucky he was to have found me, and how beautiful my body was. And then he showed me he meant those words.
I told him he was everything I wanted and didn’t even realize I needed. I told him to stay with me.
Finn said he would. He promised he would never leave me.
Chapter 40
The following morning, Finn’s side of the bed was empty. He wasn’t in the bathroom either, and when I peeked out the window curtains, I saw that my car was gone. So was his cell. His bag was still here…
I decided to take a shower and get ready for the day, and he slipped in with me ten minutes later. “Where were you?” I asked.
“Getting breakfast and coffee.”
“Mmmm. Thank you,” I said, kissing him. He took the bottle of shampoo from me and lathered my hair, massaging my scalp. “Why didn’t you do this for me on the island?” I breathed out. “I’d have given you anything.”
“Sand and coconut don’t really lather well, but I’ll remember that you like it.”
“Your fingers are magical.”
“You told me that last night,” he grinned.
“It’s true.” I was putty in his hands.
“Put your hands against the wall,” he growled, easing my feet apart with his. Pouring body wash on his hands, the scent of coconuts filled the air. He lathered my skin, tugging at my nipples and rubbing the foam over my ass until I thought I would climb him… if it weren’t so slippery. His fingers fucked me as our bodies slipped against one another. “Come for me,” he groaned.
And I did.
Then he pulled my ass toward him and slammed into me. I was pretty sure we woke the people in the rooms next to us, but it was worth it. With Finn, it was always worth it.
I showed him around Statesboro; not that I had any real stomping grounds that he hadn’t already seen. We walked down the quaint streets and got ice cream, overwriting the old, bad memories with new, happy ones.
When we went to the city park, we sat on the swings and kicked our legs high into the air, giggling and laughing. When he got up and came toward me, I dragged my feet on the ground to keep from hitting him. He grabbed the swing chains and stopped me, and then he dropped to the ground. “I want you.”
“I want you, too,” I giggled. “But there are kids around here.”
“No,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “No matter what, we’re always going to have each other’s backs. We’re always going to be there for one another. Partners for life. And I want you to be mine forever. I want you to marry me. Will you marry me, Jess?”
He brought out a ring with a simple silver band and a diamond that was bigger than any I’d ever seen.
“I’m glad you’re a decent swimmer now,” I said softly.
His brows kissed, confusion etched on his features.
“’Cause I’d surely sink with that thing on.”
“So you’ll marry me?” he asked, his brows raised hopefully.
“I will.”
“You should know now that I’m into kinky shit. You’ll need a safe word,” he warned with a mischievous grin.
“Mayday. My safe word is Mayday.” He brought my face down to his and kissed me, wrapping his arms around me as I wrapped my legs around his torso. “I love you, Finn Cohen.”
“I love you back, Jessa Cohen,” he laughed.
“Ugh. How are we gonna explain the last name thing at the courthouse?”
The End….
Epilogue
Four years later…
GEORGIA EXECUTES STATESBORO SLAYER
The Atlanta Times Journal Press
Tyson Branch reporting
It took six large men to strap Judah McDaniel onto the gurney in the death chamber Tuesday evening. She ate a dinner of raw steak and mashed potatoes with gravy an hour before. The nurses prepared her IV and had to have assistance with keeping her still, even with the restraints.
Witnesses, including the family members of victims slain by her hand and McDaniel’s own daughter, Jessa Cohen, were in attendance. When she saw her daughter, Judah became belligerent. She screamed as the lethal drug pentobarbital flowed into her veins, and didn’t stop until she was dead. Her shoulders twitched a few times after she stopped screaming, and then her breathing stopped. Nurses on site pronounced her dead a few moments later.
Time of death was 9:56pm.
McDaniel is the first woman to be executed in the state of Georgia in over seven years. Her crimes included….
Acknowledgments
I always need to thank God first for blessing me with a career I love. Without my family and their unwavering support, I couldn’t write. They encourage and inspire me. As do reality television shows, but I digress.
Thanks to the amazing Stacy Sanford for waving her magical red pen over my manuscript and making it sparkle and shine! (I might have a girl crush on her. Just saying.)
Without Cassy Roop, her camera and equipment, and her mad design skills, this cover wouldn’t have happened. She is my hero.
I’m pretty sure I’m the first author to ask Becca Bryant and Daniel Wells to play with machetes and knives during a shoot, but boy did we have a good time! Thanks for being such professionals and for laughing along with me.
Thanks to everyone who helped with the shoot, including Rachael Brownell and Emma Mack.
Thanks to my beta readers: Ashley Cestra, Brenda Kness and Cristie Alleman (and my bestie, who reads everything I throw at her —Rachael). Your eyes are invaluable and I appreciate you taking the time out of your lives to help a sister out.
Thanks to Amber Garcia who is a PR diva and who works her booty off to make my books known to the world. And thanks to the amazing street team who has my back through it all. I couldn’t ask for a more awesome group. I can’t thank you enough for all you do for me.
I hope you had fun reading Mayday. I had fun writing it!
About the Author
Casey L. Bond writes romance in all its glorious forms. She lives in rural West Virginia with her hubby and their two beautiful daughters.
She might watch too many survival shows on television. Check out her exclusive reader group on Facebook with behind-the-scenes actions from the Mayday Photo shoot, giveaways, and fun!
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Connect with me!
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Casey L. Bond
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Also by Casey L. Bond
The Keeper of Crows Duology (Keeper of Crows, Keeper of Souls)
The Frenzy Series (Frenzy, Frantic, Frequency, Friction, Fraud and Forever Frenzy)
The Harvest Saga (Reap, Resist and Reclaim)
Insta-Hate
Sin
Temptation
Dark Bishop
Catalyst
C. L. Bond, Mayday (Reality Check #1)
