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  Her Maine Reaction

  A Pine Cove Novel

  Rebecca Gannon

  Copyright © 2019 Rebecca Gannon

  All rights reserved.

  No part of the is book may be reproduced or transmitted in any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Visit my website at:

  www.rebeccagannon.com

  More by Rebecca Gannon

  Pine Cove Series

  Her Maine Attraction

  Her Maine Reaction

  To Ashley, thank you for being the fabulous you.

  Chapter 1

  “Ashley! Get back out here!”

  Rolling my eyes, I grab the two bottles of whiskey I came to the storage room for, and head back down the hall.

  I fucking hate this place. It was supposed to only be temporary, but temporary has turned into long-term. I’ve lost count now of how many men have ‘accidentally’ brushed my ass as I’ve walked by, or how many have looked down my top as I’ve placed their drinks in front of them. And while I used to enjoy the attention, I don’t anymore.

  Not since that damn barbecue last summer. Over seven months ago.

  I’ve tried to forget, and I’ve tried to move on, but I can’t. And I hate him for that.

  “Ashley! Hurry up!” my manager, Rick, yells again.

  I also fucking hate him. I’ve worked here for six months, and there hasn’t been a single night that’s went by where he hasn’t tried to get me to go home with him. It’s not that Rick is bad looking, I guess, he just has this creepy way about him that screams ‘stay away!’ I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but I still don’t like being alone with him at the end of the night when we’re cleaning up. I don’t know how many more times I can politely say no before I straight up tell him to fuck off.

  “Ashley!” Rick pops his head out from behind the bar and into the hallway where I’m literally standing only a few feet away.

  “Rick, I’ve been gone 30 seconds, calm down.”

  “We’re just busy. Hurry up,” he snaps back. He’s been doing that more and more with me lately, probably getting fed up with me turning him down every night.

  “I know that. I did hurry. I was gone 30 seconds,” I repeat in a calm voice, holding back what I wish I could say.

  I seriously fucking hate him. But I need this job, so I keep my mouth shut and slip back behind the bar. I’ve appropriately nicknamed him Rick the Dick, and he’s definitely living up to it tonight.

  No matter the time of year, or the weather, we’re always packed from wall to wall with people looking to get hammered and find a one-night stand.

  I’m jealous. I haven’t had a one-night stand in seven months and I’m going batshit crazy. Forget a one-night stand, I haven’t had any sex in seven months and I’m going batshit crazy.

  It’s not for lack of trying, though, I just can’t do it anymore.

  I got a taste of something raw and intense, and I can’t forget it. It’s always on my mind. He’s always on my mind. I’ve tried going out, and going on dates, but it’s useless.

  Damn it! Now I’m thinking about that night again–and him.

  The bottle in my hand almost slips out as I pour two shots of vodka for the Barbie dolls in front of me. I know they’ll have men fighting each other by the end of the night to get them to go home with them.

  I miss that. The feeling I’d have knowing I could get any man in the room I wanted. I mean, I know I still can, but I don’t want to. And that’s the problem.

  Taking a deep breath, I slide the glasses towards the girls and take their money as they knock the shots back like pros.

  All these months later, and I still lay awake thinking about his hands and lips burning my skin–marking me, claiming me. I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to go back to my life like he was any other man, and I can’t shake the feeling of how it felt to have his eyes on me, or the way he knew exactly what I needed without having to say a word.

  This time the bottle of vodka really does slip from my hand and crashes to the floor, shattering on impact.

  “Ashley!” Rick the Dick yells, his eyes angry.

  “Sorry, I’ll clean it up.” Grabbing the broom from the side of the bar, I quickly sweep the glass up and throw it in the trash before washing my hands and getting back to work. I seriously need to stop thinking about that night. It’s never going to happen again, and I need to accept that.

  For the rest of the night, I feel Rick watching me, his eyes running up and down my body every time I laugh or smile. I know, because the hairs on the back of my neck would stand, and a weird prickling sensation would spread across my skin.

  While we’re cleaning up after closing, his leering starts to feel different. I’m trying to focus on wiping down the bottles on the rack, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is off.

  As I’m placing the bottle of Jack Daniel’s back in its place, Rick’s arm snakes around my waist from behind and he whispers in my ear, “Hey, I’m sorry about getting mad at you before.” His arm feels like a slimy snake trying to coil around its prey, and his breath on my neck sends thousands of little bugs crawling all over my skin.

  “It’s fine, Rick,” I say through gritted teeth, trying to take his arm away. But he just tightens his grip.

  “I hate that every night, all the men get to look at you, talk to you, and make you smile and laugh. But I don’t. You keep turning me away like you’re not interested, but I see it in your eyes that you want me.”

  “Rick, please let go of me. Right now,” I demand, my voice cold and hard.

  “I know you feel it between us, Ashley. You just deny it because I’m your boss.”

  “No. Let go.” I try and pry his arm away again, but he pulls me back against him, and I can feel his bulge against my back. Cringing, I try and get loose, but can’t.

  “You like that don’t you? You can feel what you do to me, can’t you?”

  “No!”

  His arm loosens, but he doesn’t let go. Instead, he spins me around and pushes me back against the bar, making the bottles behind me rattle against each other as he steps forward, caging me in.

  “I know you want me, Ashley.” Rick’s disgustingly warm breath blows in my face and I turn my head away so I don’t inhale it. “I can feel it. You’re always swaying your hips and flipping your hair. I know you want me to look. And I love looking at you.”

  This is the last straw. He’s gone fucking crazy! “Rick, get away from me!” I yell in his face. “I don’t want you!”

  He pushes his hips into me. “Stop refusing me. Just give in, Ashley.” Grabbing me behind my neck, he slams his mouth down on mine, and I seal my lips closed. His grip is rough, and I can’t move my head away. When his tongue tries to break through, I snap out of it and fight back.

  I use every ounce of strength I have to yank my head to the side and buck my hips forward. With the few inches I’m granted, I lift my leg and knee him in the crotch.

  “ARRGGHH!” Rick yells as he moves back and stumbles to the ground, holding his–what I’m hoping is broken–penis.

  Stalking forward, I bring my fist back and punch him in the face as hard as I can. “You’re fucking crazy! I quit, you disgusting bastard!” I yell, my voice coming out broken and raw.

  I grab my purse from beneath the bar and empty the entire tips jar into it. With o
ne last look over my shoulder at Rick writhing on the ground, I start running down the hall and out the back door. The second I’m in my car, I lock the doors and start the engine, peeling out of the parking lot as fast as I can.

  Seriously?! What the fuck just happened?!

  Stretching my neck from side to side, I can still feel his rough hand around my neck, and I know I’ll be bruised from his tight grip. I knew there was something off about him, I just never thought he’d do anything as stupid as force himself on me.

  Thinking about his cold, clammy, wet lips on mine, my stomach recoils, and I gag. I rub my lips on my sleeve and try to rid myself of the taste, but it’s still there.

  I focus my attention on driving, but the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins is starting to wear off, and my body starts to shake.

  I suck in as much air as I can, refusing to shed a single tear over what just happened. My dad taught me how to handle myself, and I know he would be proud of me if I could tell him.

  Thinking about my dad will make me cry, though, so I focus back on the lines on the road.

  At least I know my mom will be asleep and I won’t have to be subjected to her incessant questions. She could always just look at me and see that there was something wrong.

  Six months ago, I never would have had to worry about that. But after what happened with my last job, and I started working at the bar, I had to move back home with her to save money. But I don’t like to dwell on that. I have to move forward.

  Pulling into the driveway, I turn the car off and just sit for a minute, taking a few deep breaths. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any more of a hot mess, it just did.

  Sighing, I drag myself out of the car and shuffle inside, making my way upstairs. I just want a hot shower and my soft bed. I need to wash away the grimy feeling that Rick left on my skin. Convulsing at the thought, I strip my clothes off and step under the hot stream of water, my muscles starting to relax for the first time all night.

  I don’t know how long I stand there, but my fingers are pruney, and my skin is red from the heat. Stepping out, I wrap myself in a fluffy towel and look in the mirror. Sweeping my hair over my shoulder, I turn my head, and see the finger print bruises already starting to form on the sides of my neck.

  Fucking Rick the Dick. I hope I did some damage. He doesn’t deserve to use his dick anymore.

  Good thing it’s winter and I can hide behind sweaters and scarves, because I really don’t feel like explaining this to people.

  Walking back down the hall to my room, I throw the towel off of me and drop it on the floor, not caring about where it lands, as I put on a long t-shirt.

  I slide into bed, and the cool sheets greet me as I curl into my thick comforter, my eyes closing the second my head sinks into my soft pillows.

  ∞∞∞

  Waking up to the sun streaming through my window, I groan and roll over, burying my head into my pillow, trying to give myself just a few more minutes of peace. But the events of last night come rushing back to me, and I groan again, feeling the dull throb in the back of my neck from where that asshole gripped me.

  Throwing my arm out, I reach for my phone on the nightstand and scroll for the number I need. I know she’s awake. She talks about watching the sunrise with her man all the damn time.

  “Hey, Ash,” Ally greets cheerily on the third ring.

  “You really need to stop being so cheerful so early in the morning.”

  “Sorry.” She laughs. “Jake and I–”

  “Yes, I know. You two woke up early to have sex and watch the sunrise.”

  She laughs again. “Okay, what did you call for then, if not to hate me for having sex with my man?”

  Ugh, lucky bitch.

  I’ve known Ally since freshman year of high school, when the four of us–me, her, Elizabeth, and Melanie–were put together in a group for orientation. And we’ve all been best friends since.

  Last year, Ally moved to a cute small town in Maine called Pine Cove, and she fell in love. That bitch. Her and Jake found the rare kind of love that we all only dream of finding, and get sick of seeing and hearing about pretty quickly if we ourselves don’t have it.

  Rolling onto my back, I groan at the pain that travels across my shoulders from my neck.

  “I called because Rick tried to force me to have sex with him last night.”

  “WHAT?!” she yells, and I have to hold the phone away from my ear for a second.

  “Yeah, when we were cleaning up last night. He obviously couldn’t take another night of rejection, so he pinned me to the bar, pushed his dick against me, and kissed me. It was disgusting. And my neck is fucking killing me from where he grabbed me.”

  “He grabbed your neck?” she practically growls.

  “Yes. And then I kneed him in the balls and punched him in the face before taking all of the tips and running out of there. I never thought he’d do something so stupid.”

  “I’m assuming you quit then?”

  “Yes. And now I really have no idea what I’m supposed to do. You know I can’t get a job at any law offices around here, and that bar was the only high paying one in the area. I just don’t know what to do.”

  “Why don’t you come up and stay with me for a week?” Ally suggests. “You need a break, and I don’t want that creep coming around looking for you after what happened.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to intrude on you and Jake.” They moved in together after he proposed at the end of last summer, and I really have no desire to hear them having hot sex at all times of the day. I also have no desire to watch them being all cute and in love while I’m lonely and single.

  “I can ask Dottie if the cottage is free. I doubt anyone is clamoring to rent in the dead of winter, so she may let you stay there for really cheap, or even for free.” Dottie is the cute old lady that Ally rented from last summer when she moved to Maine. And apparently, she played a major role in getting her and Jake together. She’s a crafty old broad.

  “Really? Because I don’t have any money to spare. Especially now that I’m jobless again.”

  “Let me call her right now, and I’ll call you back, okay?”

  “Thanks, Ally.”

  “Of course, Ash. I’m sorry that this happened. I’m glad you fought back and taught that fucker a lesson, though. Just sit tight, and I’ll call you right back.”

  “’Kay. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  After hanging up with Ally, I feel a little better knowing that a plan is in motion.

  Rubbing my eyes, I throw the blankets off of me and shuffle down the hall to the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth, and then sweep my hair back and turn to see the marks on my neck. They’ve gotten darker and more pronounced, with four finger marks on the left, and one on the right.

  My anger flares inside of me again.

  I don’t understand what that asshole was thinking. I’ve said no every night for six months, and so he decides that means I want him? He’s fucking delusional! I don’t know why men always think that I’m flirting with them, and then get all put out when they finally realize that I’m really not interested in them. I was already driven out of one job because it, and now a second.

  Is it me? Am I doing something that makes them think this?

  My phone vibrates on the sink counter, interrupting my thoughts, and I see Ally’s name flash across the screen.

  “Hey, what did she say?” I ask right away.

  “Dottie said she’d love to have you stay for as long as you’d like. She hasn’t had anyone interested in renting for the winter.”

  “Did you ask about payment?”

  “Yeah, don’t worry about money. She needed someone to check up on the place and make sure that it’s staying clean and that everything is working through the winter, anyhow.”

  “I can do that.”

  “And if something isn’t working, Jake can come and fix it.”

  “Ah, yes, t
he handyman trick. Should I do what you did?”

  “No, because he’s mine, bitch.” She laughs. “But we can arrange for another hottie to show up if it’ll make you feel better.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’m kind of put off of men right now after last night.”

  “Oh, right, sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I’m more pissed off than anything else.”

  “Good, you should be.”

  “Thanks for asking Dottie for me. I really love that cottage.” When I visited her last summer, Ellie, Mel, and I stayed there with Ally. There was something special about it.

  “Me too. I miss it sometimes.”

  “But now you live with your hunky Thor, and that’s better than a cottage by yourself.”

  “True,” she says, a wistful tone in her voice. Lucky bitch. “Oh, and you’ll want to come as soon as possible. There’s supposed to be a big snow storm coming in a couple of days and I don’t want you driving in it, or having to wait until after it passes to come up.”

  “Shit, okay. I’ll come tomorrow then.”

  “Good. I’ll meet you at the cottage to give you a set of keys and remind you where everything is that you’ll need.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll text you when I leave, and then when I’m an hour or so out.”

  “Perfect. Oh, and pack warm clothes. It’s freaking freezing here. The other night, it was -4. It definitely never got that cold in Jersey.”

  “Oh Lord, -4?”

  “Yup. So pack heavy.”

  “Thanks, Ally-cat, I really appreciate this. I just need to get out of this place and regroup. Maybe think about a different career.”

  “One without a sleazy asshole as your boss?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

  “See ya,” I say, and hang up.

  But when I put my phone back down, it hits me.

  Shit.

  Going up there will mean that I’ll more than likely run into him. I’ll have to look into his handsome, sexy face, and those eyes that haunt my dreams every night.