by Amanda Boone
She flicked on the kettle, ready for a nice hot cup of tea to warm her up and shake away her nerves. Then she heard the footsteps. They were coming from above her head, where her bedroom was. Her heart stopped, and her breath caught in her throat. She knew then that she definitely wasn’t hearing things. The floor boards creaked overhead. Fear pulsed through her so hard that her fingers went numb and her toes curled.
Sammy had gone quiet too, looking up at the ceiling as though he had heard it. She took her phone from her pocket and dialed for the police. Her heart pounded, and her hand shook so violently that was sure she would drop the phone if she didn’t hurry.
As soon as they answered, she whispered into the phone, “I think there’s someone in my house.”
All of a sudden, she was grabbed from behind. Her phone dropped from her hand as she was pulled backward, and she screamed right from her gut. Something hard and heavy hit her on the back of the head, and her vision grew blurry. She dropped to the floor just as everything went black around her. The last thing she heard was Sammy hissing in defiance.
Chapter Two
When Callie woke up, the light was so bright that she had to blink several times to adjust her vision. Her memories came back to her in a flood, and she flew into a sitting position. The back of her head screamed in protest, and she pressed her hand to where she had been hit.
To her astonishment, she was not in some dingy basement, kidnapped by whoever had hit her. She was in what seemed to be a hospital room. Everything was white and blue, and the smell was so clean that it almost stung her nostrils.
She looked around to see a man in the doorway. He walked slowly toward the bed as though he was trying not to startle her.
“Miss Langley, I am Officer Darren Lowe,” he told her as he pulled his badge from his pocket and showed it to her. She nodded. He was a handsome man with sandy blond hair and an afternoon shadow on his jawline.
“What happened?” she asked as she rubbed the back of her head, still feeling the pain smart through her skull.
“You called the station and told one of our operators that you thought someone was in your house,” the officer explained. “When she heard you scream, she knew something had happened to you. We were able to track the GPS on your phone. I was the first on the scene.”
“Did you get whoever was in my house?” she asked. She still remembered the fear of being grabbed from behind. It made her heart pound, and the machine she was hooked up to began to go crazy. Officer Lowe moved forward and sat down on the chair beside the bed.
“Miss Langley, you have no need to worry,” he told her gently. “You are safe here.”
“Did you catch him?” she asked again. The man shook his head. Callie’s heart sunk.
“Then I am not safe anywhere,” she told him. Lowe looked confused at that. He took out his notepad from his breast pocket and removed the pen from the holder on the side.
“Something tells me you know who attacked you.” He looked at her intently as though he was watching for some kind of tell. The truth was that Callie had no trouble with telling him what was going on.
“I think he is someone from the town I used to live in,” she explained. “I had some trouble over there with people breaking into my house, moving things around, but things were never stolen, so the police could never do anything because there were no signs of forced entry either.”
“And is that why you moved?” the officer asked. Callie nodded. The thought that whoever it was wanted her so badly that they had followed her across state lines made her entire body cold with fear.
“I won’t be safe until he is caught,” she whispered almost to herself, but the officer looked just as worried as she felt.
“Miss Langley, I assure you I am going to find whoever did this to you, and I will put them behind bars.” He promised her. Callie was taken aback by his personal way of speaking as though it was his mission to make her safe.
“Thank you, Officer Lowe, and please call me Callie,” she told him.
“Only if you will call me Darren.” He smiled, and she found herself smiling back. His face was warm and welcoming as he stood up and picked out a card from his pocket. He handed it to her and added, “If you need anything just give me a call. I’m going to have a guard posted outside your room until this man is caught.”
“Do you know when I can go home?” she asked. She longed for her own bed. Already the hospital bed was making her back ache, and the smell was making her feel lightheaded and sick. She hated hospitals ever since she had watched her mother die in a hospital bed. It always brought back the painful memories of watching her mother fight against the cancer that was sure to take her life.
“I’m afraid I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I will ask your doctor to come and have a word with you.”
“Thank you.” Callie watched him go and felt as though she wanted to call him back. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want the chance to close her eyes and see her attacker in her dreams. She didn’t want to feel that fear again, to have him watching her, his eyes on her back as he’d clearly followed her home.
Chapter Three
The doctor arrived less than half an hour later. She was a tall woman with long blonde hair that was tied in a heavy bun at the back of her head and glasses that kept slipping down her nose as she spoke. “Miss Langley, it’s good to see you awake.” The woman smiled as she looked over Callie’s files and then placed them on the bed.
“Would you mind if I give you a quick examination?” she asked as she took a small pen-like torch from the breast pocket of her white lab coat. Callie shook her head and instantly regretted it. The pain intensified in the back of her head. She squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth against the pain.
“Are you in pain?” the doctor asked, clearly having seen her reaction. Callie was about to nod when she realized she was only going to hurt herself again.
“My head hurts,” she admitted, trying to keep her neck as still as possible. The doctor nodded in acknowledgement.
“While you were out, we did a full scan of your head and checked for any damage, but there was nothing significant, just bruising and laceration at the back of your skull,” the doctor explained. “I imagine you will be concussed for a little while. Now that you’re awake, you must do your best not to fall asleep for at least twenty-four hours.”
Callie hated that thought even more than dreaming. She was exhausted. Her head hurt, and she wanted to get away from the hospital so badly that sleep was looking better every minute.
The doctor checked Callie’s eyes with the torch for several minutes before she finally nodded and turned it off. “You are showing all the signs of concussion, but there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage. You are one lucky girl.” Callie didn’t feel so lucky. She felt as though she had been dashed against a brick wall, and nausea was beginning to creep up on her.
“I am going to have a nurse come and sit with you to make sure that you don’t fall asleep,” the doctor explained as she wrote something in Callie’s files and then placed them back in the holder at the end of the bed.
“When will I be able to go home?” Callie asked. She was desperate to see what had happened back at her house. Suddenly, she thought of Sammy and how he had been hissing when she had blacked out. Her heart beat fast with fear for the little creature as she wondered if the attacker had gone for him as well. She shook herself mentally telling herself, Nobody would be so cruel. Yet, she knew that was a lie. People harmed animals all the time for no good reason, which meant that, for all she knew, Sammy could be lying dead in her kitchen. The thought turned her stomach. She longed to get up out of bed and head home to check that he was all right. She prayed that he had run for the cat flap and was now safe at home, curled up on his owner’s lap beside the roaring fire.
“In the morning, I think,” the doctor said, “I will sort out the discharge papers for the morning doctor to go through with you.”
“Thank you,” Callie replied. Sh
e was relieved that she wouldn’t have to stay too much longer. She imagined that the night was already wearing it. It had already been late when she arrived home before the attack.
Chapter Four
The nurse sat with her until the morning doctor came. He was as tall as the female had been though his shoulders were broad and his hair was jet black. He had a hard jawline, and he was definitely muscular under his scrubs. He went through Callie’s discharge forms with her before signing them and leaving her to get changed into the clothes the police officer had taken from her house. She was relieved to switch the paper-thin hospital gown for underwear and sweats.
Just as she was slipping her feet into her pumps, she felt as though someone was watching her again. A shadow fell across the floor beside her, and her heart stopped beating. She held her breath, not wanting to turn around for fear that she might see his face.
She felt his hands grab her shoulders, and he pushed her down onto the bed. She was about to scream when his hand came up over her mouth. Her heart pounded so fast that she felt like it was going to explode from her chest. She kicked and pushed at him with her arms, but he was too strong. Thinking quickly, she bit his hand, and he shrank back with a yell of pain.
“Help! Help me!” she screamed as loudly as she could before he was on top of her again. She was sure that he growled in her ear as he pinned her back down to the bed and pressed his whole weight into her.
Suddenly, the door to the room swung open, and the man released her. He ran for the door, barging past Darren as he entered the room. Startled, the officer was slammed back against the door, and the man was gone before he even had a chance to react.
“After him!” he yelled to the other officer, who looked just as startled as he had been. The officer ran as Darren turned to Callie and helped her up from the bed. His hand was gentle as he pulled her to her feet and held her close to him as she began to weep against his shoulder.
“It’s all right,” he whispered softly. “You’re safe now.”
“That’s what you said last night.” She wept. “But he got in here.” She felt his heart beating fast against her cheek as though he was as distressed as she was by the fact.
“I’m here now,” he told her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He spoke as though he was speaking to a frightened child though Callie didn’t mind it. She liked the fact that she was no longer alone.
She pulled away from him, realizing what was happening. She had been discharged, and she was going to have to go home to an empty house and wait for him to attack again. Her heart skipped a beat at the realization, and the tears came even harder.
“What’s wrong?” Darren asked as though he could read her thoughts.
“I’ve been discharged. I can go home.” She was shaking now. Obviously she didn’t need to say anything else because an expression of understanding fell across his face.
“I’m going to take you home, and I’ll stay with you until all this is over,” he told her. Callie raised an eyebrow at him. She had not expected him to be so caring. After all, he was only a police officer. He didn’t know her personally, yet he seemed to be taking this to heart.
***
Chapter Five
The smell of him was all over her. It filled Darren’s nostrils as he sat in the car beside her on their way back to her house. His hands clutched the steering wheel tightly as he tried to control himself. He wanted nothing more than to rip the bastard apart for the fear and pain he had caused her. What made him even angrier was the fact he had let things get personal. Something about Callie made him want to protect her. He had no idea what it was, but he needed to find out.
Darren pulled his car up onto the empty driveway and climbed out of the car. He rushed around the vehicle before Callie could open her door and opened it for her. Then he held his hand out to her to help her out. When she placed her hand in his, he took a sharp intake of breath. Skin to skin there was electricity between them like nothing he had ever felt before. He suddenly remembered how he had found her, helpless and bleeding on her kitchen floor. The image made him grit his teeth in anger, and again, he wanted to tear at something.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he closed the car door behind her and helped her toward the front door of the house. He couldn’t help but notice how pale she had become. She looked completely washed out with hair so dark it was almost ebony.
“I’m ok,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. “Just tired.” Darren nodded in understanding. She had been awake now for nearly eighteen hours, and she had another six before she could safely go to sleep without any risk from her concussion. Darren was determined to keep her awake until then.
“Why don’t you take a shower, and I’ll fix us some tea and clean up a little?” Darren suggested as he placed her key in the lock and opened the door, gesturing her inside.
“You don’t have to do that.” She shook her head, and Darren saw her suddenly shrink in pain, gritting her teeth and squinting her eyes as though her head was hurting.
“I know I don’t but I want to,” he smiled back at her, “I want to do as much as possible to make you feel safe and comfortable again.”
“The truth is I just don’t want to be alone right now,” she admitted. Darren had to understand that. She must have been scared out of her wits knowing that even in a guarded room in a hospital her attacker had still gotten to her.
“Why don’t we sit in the front room then and watch some TV?” he suggested. Callie nodded as he closed the door. He noticed her watching as he locked it behind them as though she wanted to be sure that it really was locked.
“Here,” he told her as he held out the keys, “you take these so that you know nobody has unlocked the door.” She smiled at him then, a smile that warmed his heart, and he longed to touch her cheeks and bring some color back to them.
“I trust you,” she told him as she pushed the keys back toward him and then headed into the front room. When he followed her inside, she had already dropped down onto the sofa. Darren grabbed the blanket that was folded over the back of the sofa and spread it over her. She smiled at him with gratitude as she pulled it up to her chin and snuggled into the cushions. Darren sat down close by in one of the large plush arm chairs to the right of the sofa.
He felt just as tired as she looked. He hadn’t been able to sleep at all that night. He’d lain awake in bed thinking about Callie in her hospital room and wondering exactly who it was who had attacked her. He had a good idea he knew what group the attacker came from and the fact scared him half to death. If he was right, then Callie really was in terrible danger.
Chapter Six
Darren finally let her go upstairs once the twenty-four hours were up. She climbed into her bed and pulled the covers up around her. No matter what she did, she could not rid herself of the bone-biting chill that seemed to fill her up inside. Her fear at falling asleep was replaced by her exhaustion, and within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, she was asleep.
She felt the eyes on her as soon as her own closed. Her heart pounded with fear as the shadow fell across her, and she felt his body pressed against hers. The heat that radiated off his body was like nothing she had felt off any other human before. She almost welcomed it into her chilled body before she was consumed by utter terror.
Then his eyes were there, looking down into her face, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was not her attacker. It was Darren. He held her close to him, his heart beating in time with hers as she pressed her ear against his chest. He was warm and inviting, his breath as sweet against her hairline as he kissed her on the forehead.
“You are safe now,” he whispered, and she knew he was telling the truth. She knew that she would always be safe as long as he was close to her. His hand stroked the back of her head, and she half expected to feel pain. All she felt was the electricity that vibrated from his hand to her. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and gently pulled to force her face up toward his. He leaned
down and possessed her lips with his own. He tasted like honey, and his kiss was so tender that she melted inside. Her body pressed against his, and she felt his erection against her stomach. He growled deep in his throat as though he was hungry for her. She knew exactly how he felt.
Her own hands came up to brush through his sandy hair, and he pulled her closer than ever. Their bodies melded to each other as Darren placed his hands on her hips and gyrated against her. Desire burned in her stomach and she bit his lip hard enough to make his breath catch in his throat. His eyes flashed with desire as she released him, and his hands came up to cup her bare breasts.
For the first time, she realized that they were both naked. His skin brushed hers, and she felt every hair on her body stand on end. She could feel the pulse of his desire in every inch of her body, and she wanted him to touch her everywhere. She wanted to feel his hands on every inch of her body, feel him tickle down her spine and cup her buttocks. She wanted him to kiss her skin so softly that she screamed with desire.
Her hand came down between his legs, and she cupped him gently. His eyes flashed, and he growled with pleasure as she gently squeezed and released to squeeze again. His eyes remained on hers as he brought his own hand up her thigh, tickling her so deliciously that she bit her own lip as he cupped her sex and began to rub her gently with his fingers.
He was gentle and teasing as he dipped his finger inside her to the first knuckle before pulling it away again. She bit her lip harder. He did the same three times before slipping his finger all the way inside. Her head tilted back, and she let out a long gasp of pleasure as he pulled his finger from her and slipped it in again. He touched every nerve of her sex as he moved slowly and gently, causing a knot of pleasure to tighten in her stomach. Before long, she began to feel as though she might explode.
