“The bathroom is through the bedroom.” I went inside her bedroom, nearly coming on the spot. She’d forgotten about her toy and the damn box was on the bed, opened. The toy wasn’t there anymore. Did she use it before I got here? I walked away and went to look for something to tend to my woman. Finding some Neosporin and a small pack of Band-Aids I went into the living room, refusing to look at her bed again.
“I got something. Let me see your boo-boo.” I sat down on the sofa next to her, bringing her arm to me.
“Are you going to kiss it and make it better?” she said, taking a long drink of her glass.
I cocked my brow and replied, “If you want me to.”
“Of course not. I’m teasing.” No, beautiful. You’re flirting with me. I turned her arm to see the inside of her wrist where there was a thick burn forming. Shit. I slid on the Neosporin, but I left off the Band-Aid. “We don’t want it to tear the skin. Maybe before I go, I’ll put this on.”
“You’re my hero, Tate.”
“Thanks. The pizza’s on its way.”
“Did you get veggies?”
“Of course I did. I know what pizza you like. I’ve been there on pizza Fridays.”
“Still. Most guys don’t remember.”
“I’m not most guys.”
“I have beer in the fridge.”
“Thank you. I’m not a fan of wine.”
“I love this one.” I looked at the bottle and it was damn near empty.
“I can see.”
“I need it for the pain.” I got up and got a beer, then came back to see her sitting there with her legs tucked under her ass with her tiny feet sticking out.
“You know you don’t have to stay.”
“I already paid for the pizza. I need some food since someone charred what I believe were sausages.”
“That was the eggs.” I nearly spat out my beer. “I’m just kidding. Those were sausages.”
“Funny,” I growled. Inching closer with my mouth almost on hers, the buzzer went off. “Food.” I stood up as quickly as I could. She was drunk, hurt, and I was holding a big secret. There was no way I’d make my move tonight. She’d hate me tomorrow, especially because I’d be gone.
I grabbed her keys and then ran downstairs to grab the pizza. When I came back up, she had two plates and napkins for us. We sat there, eating and talking. “So tell me about your family, Tate.”
“I don’t have anyone but my grandparents, and they live in Florida. My father ran off with his next wife when I was four. My mother died when I was twenty from an accident at the factory she worked at.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I haven’t seen my real father in years, but I have no intention of seeing him either.”
“You’re right to not want to see him. He sounds like a selfish asshole.”
“He sure is. What about your parents?”
“My parents died six years ago from drugs.”
“That’s tragic.” Thoughts of killing Strickland with drugs left my mind. She deserved better than that from me.
“They were hooked long before that. At least I didn’t follow them down that road, so I’m grateful for that.”
“Me too.”
“Tate. You’re handsome. If things were different…” I didn’t press her to finish because I already knew why she had to push me away.
“Well, I’d better go. It’s been a great night, even if I didn’t get to be your guinea pig.”
“Next time.” I bent down and kissed her cheek, then stood. She got up too, and then tumbled into my arms.
“Shit, you drank too much, Blake. I’m going to carry you to bed.” With her cradled in my arms, I took her to her bedroom, forgetting about the box on the bed. Setting her down, she gasped and reached for the box.
“Got yourself a new toy?” I questioned, wondering how she’d answer.
“Yeah, well, you made me wear out the last one.” I groaned, my dick aching to give her the real thing. “Oops. I shouldn’t have said that.” She brushed her hand over my bulge.
I pulled away from her touch before I nutted in my jeans. “You’re drunk, sweetheart.”
“I’m horny, and you make me that way all the time.”
“Really?” I needed to walk away because she wasn’t sober, and even if she meant what she said, I’d never take advantage of her. “Well, soon I’ll have you coming on my cock before filling you with my come. Now, you need to sleep.”
She reached out to the nightstand drawer, opening it to the new toy and picking it up. “If you won’t fuck me, Tate. I’ll do it myself.”
I should leave. I really should, but I couldn’t. She pulled down her shorts, revealing a pair of white lace panties. Hitting the button on the toy, it began to vibrate. She rubbed it over her panties, up and down her slit. She hums and closes her eyes. I watched, undoing my belt, lowering my zipper, and freeing my cock.
“Give me your panties,” I demanded.
“Take them. I’m busy, Mr. Masters,” she huffed, squeezing her tit while pressing the vibrator against her soaked material.
I stroked my cock once more before moving over to the bed. Straddling her, I grabbed the waistband and slid them down. Her soaking wet pussy begged for more than that toy, but I knew how fucking wrong it was. “Go ahead, rub that baby on your hard nub,” I ordered, stroking my cock from base to tip, feeling the pulse of my own orgasm beating through my veins.
“I need you.” She pressed it to her clit while I pumped my hand up and down, working myself close to the edge.
I wadded her lace in my hand while working my meat. “See what you do to me? One of these days I’m going to nut in your pretty pink pussy, dirtying it all up. That’s it. Get off on it, let me see you come. Fuck, watching you get off is sexy as hell.”
My dirty words hit her hard. She cried out and her back arched, lifting her large breast with her pale pink nipples up toward me, tempting me, calling me to suck on that hardened flesh until we both came, but I resisted. Instead, I watched as her body tightened and she came hard, grinding her pussy against the machine.
Seeing her fall apart sent me over the edge, and I came all over her panties. Regret and shame washed over me as I stood up and realized she fucking passed out. Pulling up my jeans and tucking away my junk, I zipped up and took her little toy and turned it off before she killed the batteries. She was going to need it for a little bit longer. I stole a tiny kiss and covered her with a sheet.
“Tate,” she whispered. “Stay.” Her eyes were closed.
“I can’t. I’ll see you soon.” I closed the door and straightened up the apartment before leaving. I didn’t want her to have to scrub this place down after the hangover she’d have in the morning.
* * *
I’d been on the road for about four hours when she sent me a text. I pulled into a gas station to check it and get something to drink.
What happened last night?
You passed out, I carried you to bed, cleaned up and left.
Thanks…but you didn’t cover my boo-boo again. “I almost covered that fucker last night in a nice clear coating.” I groaned, getting hard and muttering to myself while standing in line.
Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you.
I’m just kidding. Remind me never to drink that much again.
At least you learned your lesson. Stay away from the stove. I wanted to add, “While I’m away,” but I didn’t want to push it. Strickland was still out, and who knew what his interest was in Blake.
Sound advice. Be safe.
You too, Ms. Avery. I paid for my drink and snacks and then headed back out on the road. The time away from her was going to kill me.
Chapter 10
Blake
It had been two weeks since Tate had come over and I made a fool of myself. He’d been on assignment around the country installing systems nonstop, so we hardly had a moment to talk. The night he came over was the last time we spent any re
al time together. We ran into each other, but after my embarrassing comments, I decided it was best not to have him over. He clearly didn’t want me like that, especially when I hinted that I wanted him.
When I texted him about that night, I could have sworn I dreamed we masturbated together, but I couldn’t find any evidence and my toy was back in the drawer, clean, so I hadn’t used it like I imagined. I must have been really horny and drunk because I dreamed some nasty shit, including the size of Tate’s cock. I missed the bastard, but he remained cool when it came to me.
He often worked remotely to install more equipment for Cavanaugh’s growing clientele. About two months ago, they hired a part-time assistant to handle most of the internal problems, but even when Tate was away, he could fix any glitches that we had in the office from his laptop or even his cell phone. I hated that I hadn’t gotten to steal my usual glances of his taut ass that I permitted myself to take when he wasn’t looking my way.
It disturbed me from the second we met that I could feel the mad rush of desire, hunger, and natural ache to be close to him, but not only was it wrong, it was dangerous. I couldn’t let a man into my life when I lived in fear that Rick would get out of jail and come for his revenge. It was best I stayed away from Tate. Luckily, he made that easy.
Rick and I had met a year before I came down to Houston looking for work. Tate had been right that I was fleeing someone. It was the blind date from hell, set up by one of my college friends. She’d thought Rick was everything perfect, and he noticed a picture of us on Instagram while she and I went to Cabo for spring break.
I took him up on a date because he’d been a freaking good-looking guy. I hadn’t dated in so long I thought my pussy would turn to dust soon. The biggest mistake I made was thinking about looks. Why would a guy that hot and that successful be single at thirty-eight? Usually that was because they were married to their jobs or couldn’t or wouldn’t keep a girl. After our first and only date, I knew why the douchebag was single.
Douchebag was an understatement. The second he picked me up at my apartment, he tried to kiss me. It wasn’t a peck on the cheek as a greeting by friends. No, he went all out, trying to kiss my lips. I shoved him back and teased that he had to at least buy me dinner before trying anything. He took that as a promise. Throughout our dinner, he mentioned every dirty thing that crossed his mind. I dropped a twenty onto the table and left to get a cab.
For a month, I hadn’t heard anything from him until I went to lunch with a male colleague of mine. Nothing sexual, but Rick perceived that, and the poor guy’s car was vandalized with Homewrecker on the sides of the vehicle. Neither of us were married or dating anyone, so at first we believed it to be a mistaken identity until I’d gotten home and there was a note in my mailbox.
You cheating bitch. I won’t tolerate it.
I called the police right away and explained to them what happened this afternoon. They researched the note and found no prints and reassured me that my coworker was in fact single, so I knew someone was after me. Someone who had been totally fucking nuts.
“Ms. Avery, can you think of anyone…an ex or something who would feel slighted, jilted?”
“Not a boyfriend, but I had a blind date that went so badly I left in a cab. It was about a month ago, but I haven’t heard a thing from him since. He didn’t even try to talk me out of leaving.”
“Do you have his information? So we can give him a visit.” My hand shook as I searched the text message from my friend. I was one of those people who saved their texts from their friends. I only deleted some if my phone was full, which was rare.
I handed him his number and his Facebook profile info. That was all I had. Since that date, my long-time friend had ghosted me. She claimed I turned into a snobby bitch, and she didn’t deal with stuck-up bitches like me.
“I’ll be in touch with you very soon. If this is a legitimate threat, we’ll do all we can,” the officer told me.
“Legitimate? First the car, and now the note. I think this person is serious.”
“Yes, but we can’t pursue anything unless we have more evidence of intent.”
“Okay. Thank you, Officer.”
“It’s Detective Moore.” I nodded and led him to my door. Once he was out, I locked up my apartment and spent the night in fear, unable to sleep.
The next day in my office, Detective Moore appeared to speak with me. “I don’t normally make personal visits, but I had a feeling that I’d been watched. I ran the plates and it came back to a Rick Strickland, the same man you guessed was the perp.”
“Oh, no. That means he was outside of my house,” I gasped.
“Yes, I wrote it in the report. And I’m here to see if you want to file a restraining order.”
“Yes, of course. If it will help.”
“It would mean he’d have to keep his distance. If he approaches you, I’ll have his ass tossed in jail in a second.” I nodded and excused myself, informing my boss that I had to take a long lunch. Knowing about Tim’s car being ruined, he understood and told me to take the rest of the day off. I couldn’t have been more thankful.
At least that was what I felt at first. Once the restraining order kicked in, he got clever and I got complacent. The final straw that landed him in jail was when I installed a security camera in my car. It showed him breaking in while I was sleeping. He messed with my battery, and he was caught.
The judge was lenient on Rick, sentencing the prick to only eighteen months. As soon as he’d been sentenced, I ran out of Ohio to get as far away from him as possible, which led me to a fantastic job and in love with a man who I never could be with.
I shook myself out of the unwanted memory and pushed back the fear.
Strange. For the first time in over a year, I relived that horror. Normally I let the fear sink in, watching over my shoulder. It struck me that I only felt that way when Tate was gone on business.
“Ugh. Get over both of them. Tate doesn’t want you, and Rick is in jail.” I circled the date on my planner when Rick would be released. It was less than two weeks away. Maybe that was why the experience played over in my head.
I got up from my desk and grabbed a piece of fruit and a cup of coffee. I needed to calm down and get some work done. I entered the payroll for the week and then shut down my computer. I needed a break from Tate and my infatuation with him.
A summer’s rain came and went in the afternoon, but I’d been so busy, I hadn’t noticed until I stepped out of the building. Suddenly the muggy air felt gross on my skin, and there was no sign of the slightest breeze. Then, a chill washed over me as I arrived at my car; sitting under the wiper blade was a folded paper.
As I reached out to grab it, a hand came out and wrapped around my wrist. I gasped, unaware of who it was until his familiar scent hit my nose. The sensation shifted from fear to pleasure, causing my heart to flutter out of control. “Don’t touch that. The bastard who put it there had gloves on,” he growled with his mouth next to my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
“Oh.” Tate took it with a pair of his own gloves and slipped it into an evidence bag. I looked around for anyone around. The streetlights hadn’t come on yet, and the roads were empty as the sun began to set.
“He’s gone, Blake. Come back inside until I get this analyzed, and I’ll drive you home.” This wasn’t a suggestion. His strong arm slid around my back, hugging my waist as he directed me back inside the office building. The immediate security I felt in his hold calmed the intense fear I had a moment ago.
“I didn’t know you were back.”
“I just got in an hour ago. I was unloading my truck out back,” he answered through clenched teeth, looking both ways for the person who left the note.
As soon as we were inside, he locked down the building and walked me out of the front lobby. “How did you know the person who left it had gloves?”
His hand rested on the small of my back and turned me into putty so that I barely heard him answer. “We have
a lot of hidden cameras. Relax, we’d never let anything happen to you, Blake.” His words caused my heart to flutter. He led me over to the mini-lab they set up for his forensics.
“I really need to call the cops on this, but I want to see what it says first.” He pulled out a stool. “Take a seat.”
I sat without hesitation, still lost in the adamant tone in his voice. He moved around getting things prepared to evaluate while I kept a steady eye on the paper. Something told me that it was from Rick. I knew that he was still behind bars because they were supposed to notify me, but I had no other enemies.
“Okay.”
“Can you show me the person who put it on there?” I asked.
He lifted his head from the scanning device and looked at me. In that moment, my heart melted. His eyes were full of compassion and something else.
Tate walked around and stood by my side. “Yes, Blake.” He pulled out his phone and pressed a button, allowing him to zoom in.
My eyes couldn’t be wrong. “Oh my God! He found me.” The room started to spin, but I couldn’t afford weakness. I clutched onto the edge of the metal desk.
“We won’t let him get to you,” Tate promised, wrapping his arms around my body, pressing my head to his chest. I felt my strength coming back to me. Tate made me feel safe.
“You don’t understand,” I cried out.
“We’ll get Strickland. We won’t let him touch you.”
I pulled back out of his hold, looking up into his soft brown eyes. “You know about him?”
“We all do.”
“What?” They all? The entire staff?
“Did you think it wouldn’t show up in your detailed background check? Sean didn’t tell me about it until about a week after you started here, but he asked us to lie low and give you space since he was locked up.”
“I didn’t know how he found me so fast.”
“It wasn’t that fast. He’s been out for a month. We should have told you, but we didn’t want you to worry.”
“You knew he was out? Is that why you always seem to run into me?”
Securing Blake: Cavanaugh Security Series Page 6
