by Lauren Dane
He rolled his eyes and lifted her ass, changing his angle and she gasped as the wide head of his cock stroked over her sweet spot. “Ah, I found it.”
“Yes, ohgodyes you did. More. More, please.”
“My hands are full of your luscious ass, darlin’. I think I need you to make yourself come.”
Months ago it would have embarrassed her but now he’d freed her, made her feel so sexy that it didn’t bother her. She did it not only because it felt wonderful but because she knew he loved to see it.
Eyes locked with his, her hand slid down her stomach to her clit. Still sensitive from the climax he’d given her just minutes before, she kept an easy touch while watching his face. His gaze broke from hers and moved to watch her hand on herself.
“I’ve never seen anything sexier than you making yourself come. The way you feel around me, when you start to get close, it’s heaven. So hot and wet, your sweet pussy hugs me. Even right now I can feel it coming. I love that.”
Her teeth caught her lip at the carnality of his words even as her body began to move toward orgasm. Each thrust brought a stroke over her sweet spot, lit up the nerve endings as he filled her and withdrew.
A low moan broke from her lips as a rolling, deep orgasm spread through her. Her head moved back and her eyes closed as she heard his muttered curse, felt his rhythm speed and deepen. As her body calmed from climax she opened her eyes to find him watching her with such an intensity that she wanted to sob with it. That look said so much, how much he loved and desired her, what she meant to him. It was utterly unguarded and a gift like none she’d ever received before.
Unable to find words she put her fingers over his lips and smiled, tears in her eyes.
“I almost hate to come, you feel so good. I want to feel this forever, right here on the edge...” he murmured against her fingers as he pressed deep one last time and came.
After a shower, they snuggled back in bed as they waited for sleep to come. “You want to tell me what the non oh fuck me harder thought was?” He nuzzled her neck.
“I was just thinking about how much I love and trust you. How you’ve helped me be a person I was pretty sure would never exist again.”
She felt his smile against her skin. “That’s a good one. You know, you’ve done that for me as well. For the last years I haven’t trusted anyone, least of all myself. I kept my heart walled off and only allowed myself to love my family. I had this missing piece of myself, turns out that piece was you.”
“You know I saw her. Sandra.”
He stiffened and moved so he could look into her face. “When?”
“Last week. Penny and I were in Riverton, shoe shopping, and she walked past. Penny pointed her out.”
“She’s nothing to me. You know that right?”
Cassie laughed. “Shane, you were going to marry her at one point in time. You two lived together. She hurt and betrayed you with your best friend. Of course she’s something to you. But I’m not threatened by that. I know it’s in your past but I don’t expect that not to have made a dent in your heart. It’s okay to have feelings about her.”
“I used to hate her. I don’t even have that anymore. I just feel bad. We weren’t right for each other, I should have seen it sooner. Hell, I miss Ron, my old best friend, more than I do her. Anyway, I hope it didn’t upset you and I don’t know why you didn’t tell me.”
“It upset me because she hurt you.”
“She’s married now, to Ron. It’s all in the past.” Shane shrugged. “If it had worked out with her and me, there’d be no you and I. So I can’t be sad about it. Everything happens for a reason.”
“She’s sorry you know.”
He raised a brow. “And you know that how?”
“She told me.”
He sat up and pushed a hand through his hair in that way he did when he was agitated. It made her smile.
“You talked to her?”
“Of course I did.” She snorted. “She fucked you over. I walked right out of that shoe store, Penny ran behind me trying to stop me. I called out Sandra’s name and she turned and when she saw Penny she paled but waited. That took guts. Anyway, I told her who I was and she looked me up and down and nodded her head. Congratulated me, told me what a bitch she’d been and how sorry she was for breaking up two best friends and for hurting you so much. She’s happy now with your old friend but he misses you too, talks about you all the time according to Sandra. He apparently stood in the back at the last two swearing in ceremonies when you were re-elected. By the way, even with saggy boobs and stab scars, I am way hotter.”
He burst into laughter and pulled her against him, kissing the top of her head. “You are indeed way hotter, darlin’. I can’t believe you confronted my ex on the street.” He snorted. “Thanks for defending my honor.”
“I was ready to smack the spit out of that woman but I have to say, after talking to her, I believe that she is sorry and while she hurt you and that can’t be taken back, she did me a favor. But I’ll tell you if I ever see Maggie’s mother or sister on the street? Oh it’s going down!”
“Look at you, like a gorgeous badger. If I weren’t a man, I’d have smacked the crap out of Maggie’s mother and sister too. Two more callous women I’ve yet to meet. But you’d have to stand in line behind my momma.”
“Oh I know. I talked to her about the Sandra thing. She was hopping mad at me for a bit. It’s okay now, she still hates Sandra and I can’t blame her but she knows why I did it and I hope you do too. I want you to have closure on this. I want you to let it go because she’s not worth it.”
“A smart badger too.” He kissed her upturned lips. “I have to admit that it does feel good to know she’s sorry and also that Ron came to my swearing in. I can’t say that I’d ever share a beer with him again but it hurts a little bit less now. No more going all Terminator on my ex-girlfriends though.”
“Worried about your fan club president? Man does she hate me.”
“Kendra? She does? Honestly, Cassie, I dated her a few times. I haven’t in several years now.”
“Shane, if I were threatened by every woman in this town with a torch burning for you, I’d be miserable. I trust you. That’s all I can do.” She shrugged.
“Well, if I get face-to-face with your ex things won’t be so nice.”
“Good.”
* * *
Summer broke with ridiculous fury. Cassie was pretty sure that she’d never been so damned hot in her life. It was only late June and she felt like melting candle wax every time she walked out onto the street.
But things were going well otherwise. No more contact from Terry, her job at the bookstore made her happy and she’d expanded her jewelry business to include several local stores as well as her booming market stall.
Shane’s house was hers now. She no longer felt like a guest but comfortable enough to change around furniture and hang pictures on the walls.
“I’m out of here, Penny,” Cassie called back to her friend as she got ready to leave for the day.
“Okay, see you later tonight at The Pumphouse.” Penny was seeing Ryan every weekend now and he’d looked at houses in a town that was halfway between Atlanta and Petal so he could see her more often. He drove out every Friday night after work or she would stay with him while Cassie handled the store.
Just as she rounded the corner to the courthouse where Shane’s office was, her phone rang. Moving fast now, she saw that the number wasn’t one she recognized.
Picking up, she waved to Shane and pointed to her phone when he saw her. He ran to her as she said, “Hello?”
“And how are you, Carly?”
She took a deep breath and Shane moved the phone so he could hear as well. “I was fine until you called, Terry. Don’t you have somewhere to hide?”
“Oh ho! I see my little mouse has found her roar. T
alking tough when you think I don’t know where you are, aren’t you? I can find you. I did before, remember that night?”
Shane’s arm tightened around her and she focused on the people milling around and tried to keep from losing it. She would not let him win.
“Which night, Terry? The one where you were convicted of attempted murder but then you scurried off like a coward? That night?”
“You fucking bitch! I told you you were mine, don’t you forget it. I made you, you whore! I’ll tell you when you can walk away, I’m not ready yet. When I kill you at last I’ll be ready.”
The line went dead and Cassie let Shane take her phone and lead her into the alcove outside his office. His secretary took one look and helped her sit down, pressing a glass of water into her hand. Shane grabbed the phone and went to work.
An hour later, the office had filled with Chases and Penny as well. Polly held one of Cassie’s hands and Edward was on the phone with Brian. Shane came back and shook his head when she looked up.
“Disposable again. Your cell phone company told us who his cell phone company was. I’ve forwarded the info to your California guy and he’s working on the warrant now. Because we don’t know how long these companies keep records on what cell towers were accessed when a call is made, I’m hoping the warrant will go through quickly. I hate this waiting, damn it!” He pounded the wall with his fist and Cassie jumped.
Seeing it he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t scare me. It startled me. I’m not worried you’d do that to me. But here’s the deal, we know we’re not going to find him with the phone tracing thing. So even if you get a warrant tonight and they get it to the cell phone company and they give the records quickly and trace it to Topanga Canyon or Boston or wherever, he’ll be gone. He’s been on the run for over a year, he’s not a stupid man. So why not get rid of the damned phone? I don’t want to take calls from him again and if he can’t find me and can’t call me, I don’t have to hear it.”
“She’s right, son. Why put her through it?” Edward shrugged. “You need a phone. It’s a basic safety issue.”
“Fine, but Cassie can get a phone. I don’t need this one in Brian’s name.” Cassie’s voice was tired but steady.
They agreed that she’d get a new cell phone but also keep the other phone. Shane felt it was a way to keep track of Terry and in the end, Cassie agreed.
The warrant took a day and a half to go through and they locked the call location to Daytona Beach, Florida. He wasn’t in Petal and that was at least one happy thing.
They sent out police to the area but found nothing. Terry was on the run again.
* * *
In July, another call came as they celebrated at the Chases’ house. Celebrated the one year anniversary of her arrival in Petal and at the same time, the one year anniversary of her crush on Shane Chase which was now a full-out jones.
She danced with him under the stars in the backyard, surrounded by the people who’d become fixtures in her life. Happiness soared through her until she heard the ring of the phone, the old one.
“That’s him.”
Shane stood next to her as she flipped it open and answered it. “Hello, Terry. Don’t you have anything better to do than ruin my Saturday evening?”
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you? I hear music in the background. You’re whoring it up with some man? You’re mine, Carly. I made you! Don’t ever forget that. You’d be nothing without me.”
“I was nothing with you, Terry. Move on. You have your freedom, why don’t you get the hell out of my life and make your own better?”
“You and I have unfinished business, Carly.”
The talking and laughing in the background began to die down bit by bit as people began to realize what was going on.
“We have nothing, Terry. You’re nothing to me but a horrible period in my life. You tried to kill me and you sucked in bed so you had to rape me. Fuck off.” She clicked the phone shut and Shane looked at her, surprise on his face.
“Bet that felt good.”
She appreciated his simple response. “Yeah.” He pulled her into his arms.
This time the warrant came more quickly because he bought the disposable cell phone from the same company. He was in St. Louis. Again police went out to the general location, the area around Washington University. They found nothing.
Chapter Eighteen
The anniversary of Cassie and Shane’s first date came and went without any further calls from Terry. Homecoming arrived and Cassie cheered on Petal at the game like she was a lifelong fan.
She’d looked into medical school again, she’d found out she had to go back and get more training to change specialties and there was still worry about her hand. And she would have to deal with her name change no matter what. Laws that allowed patients to know who their doctors were and to be able to file complaints were important, she realized that, but they also held her back. But she’d been discussing some possible avenues with her therapist and was really excited about one of them in particular.
In the meantime, Penny came to her with an offer.
Waltzing into the shop on a Monday morning, she put a cup of coffee in front of Cassie and said without preamble, “Ryan’s asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted.”
Cassie looked up from the inventory screen and laughed. “Oh my lands. What wonderful news. I’m so happy for you!” Moving around the desk she hugged Penny tight. “Congratulations. When’s the date?”
“He’d like to do it as soon as possible. I’d be fine with living together but his family wouldn’t be pleased and he loves me and wants to start a family soon. We’re thinking November fifteenth.”
“Wow, honey, that’s a month away. Okay, it’s doable. Let’s get to work. What can I do? Obviously I can be here at the shop for you so you can take more time off. But I can help with other things, call around, make reservations, that kind of thing.”
“You’re such a good friend to me. You know, I always thought the idea of an adult woman having a best friend was sort of silly, the thing you only saw in books. But you’re that to me. And I want you to be my maid of honor, or matron or whatever the hell, your marriage to Terry does not count.” Tears ran down Penny’s face as she laughed. “I never thought I’d feel this way after Ben. He was the great love of my life. This second chance is so special.”
“It is, Penny. Ryan loves you so much. I’m so happy for you and of course I’ll be your maid doodad.”
“Doodad sounds just fine and I promise I won’t make you wear anything with tulle or a bow on the ass. It’ll be simple, we want it that way.”
“Fine, sweetie. It’s your day. Where are you going to have it?”
“We just bought a house yesterday. It’s an hour and a half from here. It has this grand stairway that leads into a formal living room with floor to ceiling windows. I want it there.”
“Well, you’re full of good news aren’t you?”
“It’s a wonderful house. As much as I love my house here, it’ll always hold my life with Ben. I have to let go of that now. Take the memories with me as I build my new life. Which leads to my next thing. You interested in a bookstore?”
“What? You’re selling this place?”
“Not all of it unless I have to. But I can’t be here every day like I am now. I’ll live far enough away that more than two days a week would be a pain to drive. I was thinking of breaking it down fairly, like seventy-five percent yours, twenty-five percent mine? We can talk to Edward about it and have him draw up the sales agreement. That is if you’re interested.
“I know you want to practice medicine again but I also know it’ll be a while before you can if you can at all. I’d like this place to belong to someone who loves it as much as I do.”
“I’ll need t
o talk to Shane and my brother but I can tell you I’m very interested. Truly, I don’t think I can go back into medicine the way I was before. I was thinking about going into victim’s advocacy. My therapist and I were talking about the difficulties in going back into medicine with my hand being so messed up and the name issue and what I want to do is help people heal. I can do that in other ways. She works with a doctor in Shackleton and has suggested that I speak with Doctor Wallace here in town to see what he’d think about me working with him on a volunteer basis. I’d need training obviously. But it solves some problems for me and gives me a way to help people.”
“Oh my, Cassie, that’s a wonderful idea. You’d be so good at it.”
“Thanks. Okay, let me talk to Shane tonight and see what he thinks. I don’t need his permission or anything but I want to run it by him. Brian is the person who deals with my trust and he’ll need to handle payment. I suppose we’ll have to get the store appraised too.”
“I’ll get on that today and talk to Edward as well.”
Cassie left the shop with a bounce in her step, things were going well. The more she thought about victim’s advocacy and counseling, the more she liked the idea. She could use the bad stuff she’d survived to help other people. And she loved the bookstore, it would be hers, something to hold her to town in another way.
At home, Shane was delighted with all her good news. They cooked dinner, Polly was giving her cooking lessons and she’d achieved at least a basic level of competency.
Of course, as it happened from time to time, Shane got a call after nine and had to run out. With a sigh, she accepted his kiss and went into her workroom to finish up some jewelry. As the holidays fast approached, she wanted to build up her inventory.
She’d lost track of time when she heard Shane come in. “I’m in the back here, honey. I’ll be out in a sec.”
Putting away her equipment, she turned to leave the room and saw not Shane standing in the doorway, but Terry.
