Jake lay down behind her on top of the comforter with his face buried in her damp hair. He decided to snuggle up with her for a little while and leave her a note. He wanted to watch her for a moment. If he drifted off, so what? Sleeping next to Sabrina wasn’t exactly a hardship. More like a dream come true.
She woke up screaming three hours later.
Chapter Four
The dream always started out the same way. Sabrina looked down at the pink dress with the lace border she wore. She could see her reflection in her black patent leather shoes. She waved at herself and laughed.
Bright sunshine was hot on her head as she stood on the sidewalk outside a big, glass front building. She was holding someone’s hand. Someone who loved her. Someone safe. But something terrible was about to happen. And her little child’s mind knew she wouldn’t be safe anymore.
Everything around her looked fine, but the bad thing was coming. The bad thing always came when she had this dream. Sabrina tried to think of the right words to say to the someone who loved her. She always tried to warn the person holding her hand, but she could never make words come out.
Suddenly, she was inside the glass building looking at a penny gum machine. She liked the pink gum the best. She reached out to touch the glass, but the hand attached to the someone who loved her pulled her along. He said the same thing as usual.
“Come along, my little pumpkin…” said the someone that loved her before her father’s voice suddenly started screaming, “No!”
Then Mommy was there. Mommy had on the soft blue denim dress with two pink hearts on the pocket. A big heart and a little heart. Mommy grabbed her and held her too tight. She could hardly get her breath. “Mommy, stop hugging me,” she always tried to say, but still couldn’t speak.
There were only three more things that Sabrina remembered about the dream. She remembered the loud terrible noise that hurt her ears. She remembered Mommy’s perfume. She remembered the thumpity-thump-thump of Mommy’s heart against her face, could almost feel Mommy’s heart beating right against her cheek. Those were the final three memories she had as a child before her life changed.
Four, if she counted the screaming afterwards.
There was always screaming. Her screaming.
“Mommy, Mommy! No! Stop hugging me, or it will happen again. The terrible loud noise is coming, Mommy!” Sabrina shrieked at the top of her lungs and bolted upright in bed.
Crushing fear overwhelmed her as she fought to wake against the remnants of the dream, every single time she had the nightmare. She struggled to wake as the dream drew to its inevitable conclusion. But as Sabrina screamed, trying to force her body to wake up, something new happened. Strong arms wrapped around her. A low, honey-smooth voice soothed her panic.
No one had ever been there here to soothe her fears before.
Harry had freaked out and abandoned her to sleep on the couch the first time he’d heard her screaming nightmares. The dream recurred in varying degrees at times of great stress. The last time she’d had it this bad was the first night Harry had left her for good and she’d slept alone.
Sabrina felt cool lips on her forehead and arms wrapped around her. The arms rocked her back and forth. She allowed herself to be comforted. The importance of a new safe someone around was her last semi-conscious thought as the night terrors began to fade. She slept again without dreams.
* * * *
Jake jarred awake to hear Sabrina screaming for her mommy. He had never heard anyone scream so loud in his life, and he had five siblings. The terror in her voice wrenched his heart. He calmed her down like he had earlier in the day when she’d had day terrors after the explosion.
Jake settled her back down on the bed. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but he was glad he’d been there for her during the nightmare.
Sabrina settled lying on her side facing away from him. Jake spooned up behind her, wrapping an arm over her protectively. She grabbed his hand tightly in her sleep with both hands holding it firmly between her breasts. Jake dozed off with a contented smile, wrapped around a woman he barely knew, but whom he was already falling for.
* * * *
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
A new noise intruded on Sabrina’s sleep. She opened her eyes. What was that noise?
“Hello,” she heard Jake’s whisper next to her. She was on her bed. She yawned and listened to his side of the whispered conversation.
“Yeah. What time is it? Jesus, don’t have a cow. Not telling. Because you don’t need to know where I am.”
The previous night, complete with the nightmare explosion, the memories of her mother, and screaming night terrors until she woke came rushing back. Jake had slept with her. What happened last night?
The last thing she remembered, besides her vague and disturbing nightmares, was taking a shower. She’d turned down the bed so she could invite Jake to share it with her.
The cadence of his voice was deeper this morning, and a tendril of want snaked its way down her body. She rolled from her side to her back and bumped his hip.
She also recalled that sleep hadn’t been her primary goal last night. She felt anxious in her unsatisfied female parts. He must have been a gentleman and tucked her in bed. He’d been sweet in the middle of the night, too. She wondered if her screaming would scare him away. If not night terrors, maybe her other secret would send him packing.
“It’s fine, Colleen. Perfect condition. Yes, I’m sure. Okay. Yeah, I’ll be there. Relax. Love you, too. Bye.”
Sabrina deduced he was talking to his sister whose precious truck currently resided in her driveway.
“Let me guess,” Sabrina said after he’d put his phone back in his pocket. “You were supposed to have your sister’s truck home safe and sound by now.”
“Yeah. I forgot to call her last night.” He rolled onto his side to face her with a smile. “She doesn’t even need it. She thought I wrecked it and was afraid to tell her. As if. Good morning, Sabrina.”
“Good morning. I can’t believe I didn’t scare you off last night. The unearthly shrieking during the wee hours of the night usually does it for most guys.”
“I’m not most guys. You’re going to have to do a lot better than a little bad dream to scare me off, babe,” he said slyly. He ran a single finger down her body, lightly tracing her from throat to stomach, making her tingle.
Sabrina knew she could scare him off, but she wasn’t ready for him to leave. There was something she wanted from him first. She returned his smile and turned on her side to face him.
“Sorry I fell asleep on you last night. Some sex slave I turned out to be.”
“We have time. I’m looking for more of a long-term sex slave anyway.”
“Really? A Volvo-driving, gentleman firefighter who can ignore night screaming and is looking for a long-term sex slave? How did I get so lucky?”
Jake’s face went blank, an unreadable expression now in place and changed the subject. “I didn’t mean to sleep here. I wasn’t sure of the proper sleepover protocol, but I’m glad I stayed.” His smile was more winsome than wicked.
“Me, too. Sorry about the screaming.”
“Don’t be. Wait until you find out how bad I snore.”
“Can’t wait.” Her voice was laced with interest.
“Can’t, either,” he replied with his own level of interest.
Sabrina smiled at him as he leaned in closer to press a kiss to her forehead. Nope. Too gentlemanly. Her body buzzed with alert sensitivity left over from last night’s teasing. She wanted to resume the action. She wanted some relief. Better yet, a release. A big one. Now, to talk the gentleman firefighter into it.
“I feel sort of anxious this morning, Jake.”
“Do you? How can I help you relax?”
Sabrina grabbed his shirt collar with a hand and pulled him closer. She gave him a wicked smile before planting an open-mouthed kiss across his lips. He responded in kind, pressing her back on to the bed, half covering her with his
body.
“I think we should pick up where we left off last night.”
“We don’t need to go so fast, babe.”
“But I do. Please, Jake. Touch me before I explode.”
His response was a wicked smile. He kissed her again.
Sabrina wrapped her arms around his neck. His warmth spread over her like a blanket. His hand swept up her sensitive body from thigh to breast in no time. The tingle of his hand across the t-shirt she wore made her bolder. She arched into him, her hips grinding against his, trying to make up what they’d foregone late last night.
Jake’s warm hand caressed her breast. Her peak strained beneath her shirt. He flicked it with his thumb, forcing a low feminine growl from her throat. Breaking their kiss, he pressed wet succulent kisses down her throat. He had a slight five o’clock shadow feel again. So sexy.
Jake’s mouth trailed down her chest, stopping only when he had one aching tip clamped between his lips. His mouth made her shirt wet as he nibbled on her. Her fingers wove through his curly hair to pull his face closer. His large, warm, callused hand cupped the back of one thigh and squeezed lightly as his ridged cock pressed into the front of the other. She willed him to touch her. Her body gyrated against his in sublime surrender as a gush of moisture flooded her core in anticipation. Take me. Take me. Take me. She tried to send him mental waves of complete acquiescence.
Sabrina almost cried for joy when his hand slipped underneath her nightshirt. His fingertips traced a light path up one hip and skimmed across her stomach. She writhed again when she felt his fingertips graze the lower side of one breast. His mouth moved to kiss her throat as his hand slid up over where his mouth had been. Whisper soft, he ran his thumb over the peak kneading her lightly. Sabrina groaned in delight, vibrating from the inside out.
Sabrina, exhibiting never before revealed impatience, wanted him right now. Grabbing Jake’s hand from her breast, she pressed it down her body. She heard him chuckle when she pushed it to the juncture between her legs until his fingertips grazed her clit. She winced in pleasure as a small gasp of appreciation escaped her lips. He seemed to understand her eagerness and her intent for his hands to be all over her.
His fingers caressed her at the apex of her thighs intimately. She nearly came unglued when he shifted again. His hand stilled below. He lifted his head from her throat and looked into her face, his eyes asking permission to continue.
“This isn’t what I expected, you know. I…”
“Touch me, Jake,” she whispered her plea. “I’m about to explode and…” She sucked in a sharp breath as he stroked her clit, his emerald gaze piercing as he watched her audible reaction to his touch, his finger stroking her again and again methodically.
She gripped the sheets in her fists as he slipped his long finger inside her slippery sex and stroked her clit with his thumb. Still, he watched her; a wicked smile formed lightly at the corners of his luscious mouth, their gaze unbroken. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Her breath pushed in and out to the rhythm of his finger. Another wonderful finger slid inside to join the first. She closed her eyes, pleasure ripping through her in jolts each time he flicked his thumb across her clit, building her pleasure further and further to that exquisite release she longed for. His fingers slid out of her body and his thumb abruptly stopped.
Sabrina let out a huge breath; her eyes popped open in surprise. Jake lifted up and tried to drag her t-shirt up, exposing one breast.
“I want to see you.”
She lifted up and stripped her t-shirt off in one fluid pull. Dropping it on the floor, she quickly unbuttoned his shirt. He shrugged it off and it joined her shirt in a heap. She lay back down. His mouth landed on her breast as he half covered her bare torso with his naked chest.
His hand slid back between her legs, finding her clit immediately. He stroked her again, perfectly. With his finger rubbing her clit, it wouldn’t take long for her to ride a wave of ecstasy she hadn’t felt in years. It always felt ten times better for other hands to touch, stroke, and create the release.
Jake kissed a path to her mouth, his chest pressing against her breasts. His tongue thrust inside her mouth swirling to the rhythm of his fingers below. She moaned again. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she trembled as his clever hand worked magic between her legs. Breaking the sultry kiss, she loosened her grip as he moved to kiss the nipple of her other breast. He took the tip in his mouth to suckle her. The sheer bliss of his lips pulling on her nipple made her shudder. Watching him do it heightened her pleasure. She pressed her hips forward into his hand when his fingers entered her slick lower lips as his thumb continued to stroke, stroke, and great stars above…stroke with aching pleasure. She was so close.
Sabrina moaned low. He knew exactly where she needed to be stroked. A man who knows his way around a woman’s body. Hallelujah! He bit her nipple lightly stroking her clit with perfect pressure until —Ahhh! She cried out as the climax washed over her in several mind-numbing waves. Her brain stopped momentarily to enjoy the ride. She clamped down hard in release, squeezing the fingers embedded in her body.
Several furiously pounding heartbeats later, the ferocious itch, years in the making, was scratched. Sabrina arched in sublime satisfaction at his continued touch moaning in gratitude. He was amazing. She wanted to sing. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him repeatedly as she made yummy noises. He chuckled.
The outline of his huge cock pressed into her lower belly. Oh, yeah, baby! It was his turn…no…their turn. She wanted his cock embedded inside her now more than anything. Maybe even more than he did. She couldn’t wait. It was time to see if his attribute was as big as she suspected.
Nothing was stopping them. She kissed his mouth once and reached for the aged protection hidden in her nightstand. How long did condoms last anyway? Hopefully, longer than five years.
Buzz-ring.
Crap! What was that?
Buzz-ring.
This noise sounded familiar. Sabrina half sat up in bed as Jake slipped off her and rolled onto his back.
Buzz-ring.
It was her pager. She groped for it on the nightstand and peered unbelievingly at the screen.
It was Murphy. Damn his bad timing. She took a deep breath. He’d used the 911 code, meaning really important.
“I’m sorry,” she panted, trying to catch her breath. “I’ve got to make a quick phone call.” She could barely move. Her whole body felt like melted honey.
“Sure.” Jake put both hands on his face. He seemed to be trying to get a breath and calm down, too. Poor darling. Sabrina dropped the pager down on the nightstand and took her own deep, cleansing, yet very satisfied breath. Reaching blindly for the phone, she speed-dialed her partner.
“What’s up, Murphy?” Her voice sounded relaxed enough to sink though the mattress.
“Boy, you sound tired.”
“Well, gosh, yesterday was such a fun day. What did you expect? Besides, I thought I got to sleep in until noon.”
“You can sleep in if you want, but the information I have might make you change your mind.”
“I doubt it,” Sabrina mumbled under her breath. She glanced over at Jake who was no longer breathing hard, but his marble-hard ‘attribute’ tented his jeans. His hands slid behind his head and his breathing slowed. “You shouldn’t get in the habit of using the 911 code on my pager if you don’t mean it, or I’m going to stop answering.”
“Jeez, tired and cranky this morning, are we? The clean-up crew at the bombsite just unearthed the bomb we defused from the building. It’s on the way over to us. Hennessey wants us to figure out what caused the blast that leveled the hotel…whenever you decide to get your butt over here.”
“You need me this immediate second?”
“Well, no, but you usually would have been here by now, and I’m lonely with no one to talk to.”
“Is Hennessey there yet?”
“No, he’s meeting us here at the office with some additional information he wouldn’t give
up. His ETA is probably twenty minutes, give or take, but if you could have the investigation all figured out by the time you get here, he might not be as cranky as you are today.”
“I’ll be there in…” she glanced back at Jake, “…a little while…I’m not sure how long.”
“You’re twenty minutes away. Throw some new undies on and get over here.”
“Murphy. Listen carefully. I will see you whenever I get there.” She hung up before he guessed what kept her. Although he did see her drive off with Jake last night, he surely had already speculated at what was going on. It was probably why he paged her. She didn’t care. She had one orgasm under her belt, but her body vibrated for more. Sex. She wanted sex. She wanted sex with Jake and his thunderously big attribute impaled all the way to her ribcage.
“Sounds like you have another full day in the works.”
Sabrina rolled over and crawled on top of him, her breasts sliding over his chest. “Not before we finish what we started.”
“You don’t have to do this, Sabrina,” Jake said in a surprised yet hopeful tone of voice.
“Yes, I do. I have to do this for me.” She saw the uncertainty in his eyes. “Listen, if that had been a bomb call, I promise you, I’d already be gone. Now is the investigation part, which takes some time. Twenty minutes one way or another won’t make any difference. Okay?”
Jake said nothing but his pupils widened noticeably, so she continued, “Once an investigation starts, I get obsessed with it, sometimes for days. I refuse to leave you like this, but more importantly, I refuse to leave me like this. I wouldn’t be able to work with a clear head.”
She reached down and stroked his impressive cock through his jeans. She leaned down and kissed away the protest about to erupt from his mouth. Her fingers wrapped around the outline of his cock and squeezed a time or two to make her point. His eyes glazed over and closed half way. He took a deep breath and then another. She ran her hand slowly up and down his cock again in an effort to convince him they weren’t going anywhere until she’d gotten what she wanted. Sexual intercourse.
Blonde Bomb Tech Page 6
