Ann Mayburn - Sodom and the Phoenix

The mountains were gorgeous, and the surge of adrenaline that coursed through her veins heightened her senses. Twists and turns tested her skill as a driver as she sped past breathtaking views into the valley below and the views of the snow-capped peaks in the distance. The more she drove, the more she became immersed in the fantasy and fake memories until she truly felt like a young woman living in the 1950s.

She felt alive, carefree. The only thing that mattered was getting to Lake Tahoe where a group of her girlfriends were waiting for her. They had all rented an enormous cabin on the lake together, and she was going to spend the next two weeks flirting with handsome men and enjoying life before returning to college. In the real world, she’d never had the chance to be a carefree, single young woman, and she reveled in the sense of regaining something she’d lost.

The song on the radio changed to “Don’t Be Cruel,” and she sang along with Elvis while drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. A nice, long, empty stretch of road opened up before her, providing the perfect opportunity to really see what this car had to offer. With a light tap of her foot, the car leaped forward, and her shriek turned into a laugh as the wind whipped her hair around her face with a stinging lash. The speedometer read ninety miles an hour. It felt like she was flying.

As she passed a giant billboard advertising Lucky Strike cigarettes, a rising howl split the air and cut through her joy like a razor-edged knife. A glance in her rearview mirror confirmed her worst fear. A big black-and-white police car with its lights flashing was getting nearer by the second. For a brief moment, she considered trying to outrun him, but the straight stretch of road was ending, leading back into winding curves that climbed the side of the mountain.

Fear broke out in the form of a stinging sweat on her body as she found a small pull off in a stand of pine trees. Her heart beat so hard she could hear it in her ears as she fumbled for her purse from the floorboards. If she got one more speeding ticket, she was going to lose her license, and her parents would never let her borrow the Corvette again.

A car door opened and closed behind her, and her hands shook as she clasped the purse to her chest. She tried to smooth her hair with a shaky hand and nervously bit her lower lip. When the police officer stopped next to her side of the car, she dared to peek up at him, then gasped.

Bryan stood next to her door and stared down at her with a stern expression on his handsome face. His silver hair gleamed in the golden light of the sun that filtered through the pine trees. The beige police officer’s uniform he wore clung to his broad shoulders and emphasized his muscular forearms. A gun belt hung from his lean waist, and she really wished she could catch a glimpse of his butt. When her gaze returned to his, she could read the amusement in his blue eyes.

He hooked his thumbs in his gun belt, and his expression turned cold enough to make her heart resume its rapid beat. “License and registration please, miss.”

“I—you—I—”

“Miss, have you been drinking?”

She flushed and fumbled with her purse. “No, Bryan—”

“I don’t believe we’ve met before, miss, and I would appreciate if you gave me the courtesy of referring to me as Officer Nendez.”

She stared at him, and he gave her a small wink before returning to his frosty glare. In the distance, a bird trilled in the trees, and a soft breeze cooled the sweat on her skin. He couldn’t have been any more clear in his desire for her to play along with the fantasy. The question was, did she want to play with him? Something in his stance shifted, and her gaze was drawn back down the length of his body, admiring the hard angles. No softness there; he was a man who worked hard and kept himself in shape. At least in the fantasy he did.

It took some effort to remember this wasn’t real, it was all a computerized scene created in her mind. That thought both disturbed her and made this easier. It disturbed her because it felt so real, and she could imagine becoming lost in this virtual world and forgetting who she was. Even now she had two sets of memories from this morning: one involved boarding a plane in Denver and flying to Detroit; the other had her waking up at her parents’ house in California and begging her father to let her borrow the Corvette. On the other hand, because this wasn’t real, being with Bryan was no threat to her independence. They were just two people enjoying playing a really advanced, really adult video game together. Nothing more, nothing less.

She’d just ignore the fact that the butterflies in her stomach were more from seeing Bryan than from what was about to happen.

Her body certainly wanted to play with him, and her nipples stiffened to aching tips beneath the thin white fabric of her dress. Before she could chicken out, she handed him her license and said, “Please forgive me, Officer Nendez.”

Their fingers brushed as he took it from her, and her skin tingled. Heck, her whole body tingled. She nervously licked her lips as he examined her license. “Do you know how fast you were going, Miss Evans?”

The memory of watching the needle on the speedometer push past ninety flashed through her mind, but she tried to keep her voice light as she said, “No, Officer, I have no idea.”

His firm lips thinned into a narrow line of disapproval, and she laced her hands together on her lap. If her license was revoked, she would be stuck riding the bus or, worse yet, having to ask her parents to drive her around. Her sorority sisters would laugh their butts off.

“Don’t lie to me. You know exactly how fast you were going. I can see it in your face.”

She tried to school her features into something resembling innocence, but she must have failed miserably, because he pulled out the pad of tickets from his back pocket and fished a pen from his shirt.

“Please, Officer Nendez, sir, I didn’t mean any harm.”

He shook his head and clicked his pen. “Very reckless behavior. I would hate to have seen someone as beautiful as you become a victim of your own lack of self-control.”

The compliment burned through her like a shot of good whisky even as she bristled at his criticism. “Officer, I wouldn’t have crashed. I’m a very careful driver.”

“And that’s what makes you dangerous, Miss Evans. You don’t know your limits.”

His blue eyes held her captive as she weakly said, “You’re right. I don’t.” She tried to pretend she was just playing along with the fantasy, but the truth of her words resonated within. She had lived most of her life following the rules, blending in, doing nothing to draw attention or embarrassment to her husband and sons. What did they call it? Ah yes, “vanilla.” She had eaten only vanilla ice cream for the last twenty years, and she was dying for a taste of something different. Something dark and rich that would shock her taste buds and leave them yearning for more.

He watched her, and she felt more exposed just by his look than if he had stripped her naked. “Perhaps you need someone to show them to you.”

Goodness, he was making it her choice. Her conscious decision. This must be that power exchange thing Michelle had been talking about. It was certainly heady stuff, occupying her attention so completely she could only think about Bryan. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to feel that strong body pressed against hers. To know what it meant to be with a dangerous man like that.

She took a deep breath and kept her gaze focused on the gold badge on his chest. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to give me a warning, Officer?”

“What are you talking about, Miss Evans?”