I’ve never been so torn. Part of me was already out there hunting this motherfucker down, and the other knew I had to be here with her.
She wound down after ten minutes and I really tried to give her time to tell me the whole story, but in the end that shit didn’t fly. I let her keep her head hidden in my chest where she kept it because she seemed to know me well enough to know what comes next.
“Tell me how it happened. You don’t have to go into detail about the assault if you’re not comfortable with that, but tell me the rest.”
She wiped her snotty nose in my shirt without a care and somehow that innocent act helped to calm me down a little.
“It was my first movie. I’d only been here three months when I got a callback. I was so excited, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. Everyone knew he was one of the best. Some of the top names worked with him in the past and they all went on to make it big here.”
I ran my hand soothingly up and down her back and tried to imagine it. “He was really nice at first, kinda like an uncle. I didn’t see anything wrong with the late night calls and no one ever said anything. I mean he’s been in the business for over twenty years and no one even gave me a hint. It was only after…after, that I started hearing the whispers.”
“We were in the middle of shooting. We were on location in Seattle, away from everyone and everything I knew. It had been a good day on set, everything just seemed to be going really well. Everyone got together at the end of the night since we weren’t working the next day.”
“People were drinking, I think some were doing drugs, but I didn’t.” She rushed to tell me that last part like I didn’t already know. “He offered me a soda when I said I didn’t drink. Even joked about it, about how young and innocent I was. Said he hoped this town didn’t change me once I became a star.”
She sniffed into my shirt and I knew the horror was coming by the way she shook. I hugged her closer, trying my damnedest to give her some of my strength and gritted my teeth so I didn’t say any of what was going through my head.
“I woke up with him on top of me.”
“Son of a bitch.” I squeezed her so tight I thought I might crack a rib. She really had the shakes now and I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to go any farther, but I suspected that she’d never told anyone about this and that wasn’t good.
“He threatened me, if I said anything to anyone, including my family. He made me believe that he had that kinda power and I believed him. I was so stupid.”
“No you weren’t, you were victimized end of story. What happened after that.”
“I didn’t say anything. The movie was almost done shooting. I spent the next two weeks throwing up every morning and again at night.”
“He even had the nerve to try to get me to go to bed with him after that. Of course I said no, and I avoided him ever since. When I first started getting those letters I kinda thought it might be him. It was some of the things he said.”
I fucking knew it. “I refused to work with him again and until now I’ve been able to avoid any weird questions. He went out of the country for a while and I was able to breathe again, until the letters started. I just don’t understand why he’s so fixated on me.”
I could tell her but that was another story. I just held her and reassured her that she was not to blame and that everything was going to be okay. In a perfect world I’d bring her his balls on a fish hook, but that shit’s illegal.
She fell asleep not long after and I left her to go drink away my anger. The shit didn’t work. I couldn’t sit still but I couldn’t leave her unprotected. So I made a phone call. “Drake I need you here on the Redeye.” He didn’t ask any questions, just called me back five minutes later after he’d made arrangements.
19
I checked on her for the next few hours until my boy showed up. “She’s asleep. I don’t expect her to wake up, but if she does she knows who you are so she won’t be afraid.”
“You found him, it’s bad.” It wasn’t a question so I just nodded. “Okay brother go do you, she’s safe with me.”
“I know!” I went back upstairs and kissed her forehead lightly so as not to wake her and left.
The fucker wasn’t that far away; just a few streets over in fact. That meant he knew where she was. But now I knew where he was. I stopped the car a couple houses down and walked. I put black paint on my cheeks and forehead and donned my night goggles just as the house came into view.
There was only one light on in the house but it was easy to find the box and cut it. I could hear noise coming from inside like someone knocking around in the front, so chose the backdoor.
The lock was a joke and I was in in less than a minute. I used his grumbling and cussing to follow his voice to where he was in the living room opening drawers.
He didn’t even know I was there until I was right on him. As soon as he turned I hit him in the throat and dropped him. I could see why she was afraid of him. He’s a big guy, almost as tall as me and twice as wide. But he was no match for me.
“This is for Tara you son of a bitch.” I smashed his balls with the heel of my boot and the scream got trapped in his throat. I didn’t stop until they separated, then I went to work on his ass.
I left the way I came and jogged back to my car, cleaning my face all the way in the off chance that some night bird was out for a stroll.
Drake was sitting in the living room with the TV on low when I got back. “Did she wake up?”
“Dude, you were gone for like twenty minutes.” We both looked at our watches before I headed into the kitchen to grab us some beers.
I gave him the bare bones of the story, leaving out anything that would embarrass her and sent him off to the guestroom before turning in.
I took a quick shower to wash away the blood on my hands and made sure my shoes were clean before climbing into bed with her. “Hunter?” I wrapped her up tight and kissed her hair.
“Yeah baby, it’s me.”
“I’m cold.” She pushed her groin into me and I froze. What the fuck was I supposed to do here? After the story she’d told I can’t imagine she’d want me pawing at her. But of course my dick was already on the rise.
I held back and let her take point, I’d follow her lead. She started out slow, running her hand up and down my chest. My heart was knocking the shit outta my ribs but still I didn’t make a move.
Only when her hand went down beneath the sheet and found my boy and her lips lifted to mine did I tell myself it was okay.
I took her tongue into my mouth and pushed my cock into her hand. I had me feelers out for anything hinky. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you touching me? I knew I shouldn’t have told you.” She tried pulling away but I held tight.
“Babe, don’t do that. You feel that.” I pushed my rock hard cock more forcefully against her hand. “That says I want you. The only reason I’m not handling you is because you had a rough day and I’m letting you call the plays.”
“But I don’t want you to. I don’t want anything to change between us. Please, don’t let him take you away from me.” I lifted her chin and rolled until she was under me.
“That will never happen.” I kissed her lips once before making my way down her body, spreading her thighs with my shoulders. I took my time and loved her with my mouth, bringing her off twice before climbing back up her body.
I slipped into her softly and held her eyes with mine. “I love you Tara.” The clouds were finally leaving her eyes as she moved beneath me. Her arms came around me and she repeated the words just before she took my lips. “I love you like crazy.” Kids!
In the morning Drake was long gone as prearranged and there was no sign of him. She called out sick, something I didn’t know she was allowed to do, but they said they could work around her as long as she made it in the next day.
I made her breakfast and we sat out on the lanai with her on my la. That’s pretty much how we spent most of the day. She was clingy and babyish, whi
ch was totally understandable.
But when she cried or looked like she was having a meltdown, all it took was me putting her under me to get her back on track.
We were laid up in bed watching some mind numbing shit on the tube when the newsflash came on. I didn’t change anything about my relaxed mood when she turned up the TV to listen.
It was about the asshole being attacked by some unknown assailant in the night. She went white as a sheet when they started listing off his injuries and I took the remote and turned that shit off.
“Did you hear that? Somebody took his eyes and his tongue.” She looked like she was in shock.” “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer asshole is you ask me. Let’s go for a walk on the beach babe, it’s too nice to stay cooped up all day.”
I dragged her out of bed and made her go with me. Each time she brought it up I found a way to change the subject without looking suspicious.
At least I cut that shit off before she heard what I’d done to his balls and one of his hands. Let’s see him direct shit now. Or put his hands on someone else’s daughter.
“I’m not going to tell you-you have to tell your parents. But when I get you home with me I have someone I want you to see about this.” She started to argue, but I knew in this, I was right. It was a miracle she hadn’t broken already, carrying this shit around with her all these years.
“It’s someone I trust, and you need this.” One of my guys was a therapist. His specialty was PTSD, dealing with servicemen and women, but I knew he could help her.
“I’ll think about it.” That’s what she thinks but I wasn’t gonna argue with her.
I kept her away from the TV and electronics for the rest of the day but knew it was only a matter of time before she got the whole scoop. This fucking town broadcasts every damn thing.
“Thanks honey.” We were in bed after another round of lovemaking and she was lying on me, running her hands up and down my chest.
“For what.” I kissed her hair and squeezed her shoulders. She picked her head up and looked at me. “For taking such good care of me. I think I’ll like to see this friend of yours as long as you’re sure this person can be trusted.”
I knew what she was afraid of and assured her that it wasn’t a problem. “Do you want to talk about it?” is sure the fuck don’t, the shit would only make me want to go to the hospital and finish the job, but she might need it.
“Not really, I told you everything that happened. It’s funny. I’m a nice person, but I….” I squeezed her again until she fessed up. “I’m happy that he got hurt.” She said that shit in a rush as if expecting me to scold her.
“Nothing wrong with that.” She gave a big sigh, kissed my chest and settled down to sleep. I waited until she was out like a light and left the room. I booted up my computer and read all the news clips about the incident. Though there was no way he’d ever know it was me, I wanted to see who knew what and how much they knew.
They didn’t have shit so I shut it down and then pulled my phone to deal with the other problem in my life. “Hi, are you back? I knew it wouldn’t last. What happened, she threw you over for her hot costar?”
She said all that shit before I even got a hello. “No to all the above. I’m just calling to let you know that the last time you contacted her, is the last time you’ll be contacting her. Your beef’s with me, leave it there. We clear?”
She didn’t say anything for the longest and I was ready to hang up. “I never thought you’d do this to me.”
“Zeta, again, kill the shit. I know what you’ve been up to the last five years remember? Same as you know what I’ve been doing. I think your problem is that I actually love her and for some reason that bothers you.”
Why the fuck am I having this conversation? “Look, there’s no point in going over this again. You might as well know, I’m gonna marry her…”
“Why because you knocked her up? I find that kinda hard to believe seeing as how you never touched me without protection.” Oh the irony.
“And yet I never even thought of it with her, not once. I’m sorry if this hurts you, but what we had is done. Even had she not come into my life when she did, I was looking to end it anyway so don’t go blaming her. And that threat you made about going to the press, that shit’s dead. You hurt her, you’ll be hurting me. You know me well enough to know what that shit means.”
There was nothing more to say so I said my goodbyes and hung up. I had no doubt she’d fade into the background never to be heard from again. There aren’t that many people in our hometown who doesn’t know my reputation, and not many would dare cross me.
“Come here Tara.” Damn sneak, I heard her on the stairs a good five minutes ago. She slinked her way towards me and I held out my arms so she could sit on my lap.
“You got what you needed?”
“You knew I was there?”
“Not the whole time, no, little sneak.”
She laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck and laid one on me. “So we’re getting married?”
“Well yeah. Where did you think this was headed?” “I thought you’d at least ask me.”
“Not my style baby. I figure after we finish here, we can do the deed while we’re visiting your parents.”
She almost flew off my lap but I caught her. “Are you insane? Do you know how long it takes to plan a wedding?”
“There’s a guy in my town who could do it in a day. All we need is a license.” She rolled her eyes and gave me on those female looks that interpreted meant men are stupid. That’s her problem. As long as my ring was on her finger before the kid got here I’m good.
Epilogue
“Shut it down.” I climbed up on the treadmill behind her once it stopped moving.
“How long you been on here?” She looked at the readout. “An hour and forty-five minutes.”
“This isn’t basic training, the fuck you trying out for?”
“Well I had that piece of cake at dinner.”
“You had a piece of cake so that means you have to kill yourself?”
“Well, the camera packs on ten pounds.”
“Fuck the camera. Let go.”
“I just have a few more…”
“No, Tara, fuck…” I pulled wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off before heading for the shower.
“What are you…where’s Natalie?”
“I put her down.” I stripped us both and turned on the water before stepping in and dragging her with me. Pain in the ass.
“Your breasts look heavy, do they hurt?” I soaped up my hands and rubbed them over her large tits. The baby had filled her out nicely but she was forever doing her best to lose it.
Personally I thought she looked amazing. But then she could weigh three hundred pounds and she’ll still look good to me. Fuck!
“No, I fed her before I put her down, you know, ten minutes before you came home and woke her up again.” I wasn’t about to have this argument with her for the one hundredth time.
She didn’t wince or cry out in pain when I washed her so I rinsed her off and put my mouth on her. She lost her train of thought and held my head in place, rubbing her legs together and pressing her crotch into me.
I emptied both her breasts while my cock dripped pre-cum down the drain before turning her to face the wall. “Oh no you don’t, you had yours it’s my turn.”
She dropped to her knees and swallowed my cock. “Fuck! Greedy fuck, shit.” This was her new favorite thing. When she was too sore to fuck coming on to the end of her pregnancy this was the only thing I would let her do and she seems to have gotten a taste for it. And after all the hours she’d spent on it it’s like she’d taken lessons.
I fucked into her mouth hard the way she liked until she went after my balls. That’s when I called a halt because I had plans for this load.
She didn’t know it, but I knew she was about to drop an egg and I’m going after that shit. “Hands against the wall.”
I helped
her up and turned her around, bending her over just right. I smacked her ass cheek with the heavy weight of my cock before nosing around her pussy for the goods.
Once my boy homed in on that little opening in her slit he went straight to work. “Aw fuck that’s good.” She pushed her ass back and sucked me in deeper and my hips did the rest.
Our hips slapped into each other at a rapid speed but I had no fear of hurting her. Since the baby she’s been taking my cock much easier so I was free to go ham on her ass.
By the time the water cooled I had a gut full of milk and empty balls. “I’m taking over your workout schedule, I don’t like that fucking idiot who has you running on a treadmill for two hours three and a half months after having a baby.”
She knew better than to argue. I’d changed up a lot of her Hollywood shit in the last year or so to the annoyance of her manager, her agent and her. I wouldn’t allow her to kill herself to make those assholes more money.
As it stood she could retire now and never have to work another day in her life. She had more money than I did, but I was holding my own and could take care of my family if it came to that.
She didn’t seem to mind that I’d cut her down to three movies a year instead of the four or five she was used to, because she had a husband and a baby now, something else she loved more than acting thank fuck.
We lived in my hometown and I only had to go to Hell-Wood a couple times a year for some award show or other or when she was shooting there. She wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without me there to look after her.
Aldridge had lived which is what I’d intended, but he was hiding away somewhere in Switzerland probably trying to find new eyes or some shit. Good luck with that. I’d thrown his in the damn ocean after gouging them from his eyes.
She still didn’t know that I had anything to do with that and as far as her people knew, her stalker had just slinked away after realizing that I was in the picture. The only one who knew anything about what went down was Drake and myself.
The Protectors Book 3_The Bodyguard Page 11
