by Maddie Wade
“What’s your take on him?” Lucy asked
“I think he is what he says. He seems a little immature in some ways, but in others, I think he is old beyond his years. I also think he’s had a lot of shit to deal with that he will need to get his head round, but I actually think he is quite genuine. That’s just my initial opinion though, I would have to be around him more to say for sure.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I feel sorry for him, he seems a little lost. He is very bright though if his exam results and college results are any indication. I think maybe he’s never been allowed to be a kid and maybe that’s why he comes across not so much immature as naive, he doesn’t seem to know how to react to us and it’s making him seem shifty.”
“Well, if what he said is true, then he’s had it pretty tough and facing us couldn’t have been easy for him. I guess time will tell. We just need to keep a close eye on him. Want some help?” Nate asked, indicating the monitors and Lucy agreed, glad of the company.
“Yeah, sure you can help me start cross referencing these companies that have known ties to The Divine Watchers.
They worked in a comfortable silence.
Chapter Eleven
Dane woke at six o’clock the next morning as he always did. The first thing he noticed was that he had a leg thrown over him and her hand on his chest. He was surprised he’d slept so well and felt strangely content waking up with her in his arms. She felt like she belonged there.
Lauren let out a breathy little sigh in her sleep that had his body waking up and taking note. He lay perfectly still and hoped his morning wood would just disappear, but no such luck. He extricated himself from under her so that she wouldn’t be embarrassed when she woke.
Dane knew that this had been a big step for her, yes, she wanted him, but he knew gaining her absolute trust would take time. Something had happened to her and he needed to find out what it was that had put the uncertainty in her eyes. That was what it was he now realised, uncertainty.
She seemed uncertain of people and situations as if she didn’t quite trust her own judgment. She tried to hide it and did most of the time, which is why it had taken him this long to figure it out.
Quietly, he slipped from the bed and made his way to the bathroom. He freshened up as best he could, he had no clean clothes here, but he had spare clothes at Fortis, he could just grab a shower there later. Coffee-he needed coffee. Dane set about making it and then settled in to wait for her to wake.
~~~
Lauren had been having the most wonderful dream. She had dreamt that she had been laid in Dane’s arms, their bodies pressed together. She stretched her body and couldn’t believe how good she felt, she hadn’t slept that well since before Claire had died.
She loved to sleep, it was one of her favourite things and she was not usually so good-tempered when she woke. But this morning she felt okay.
She sat up and noticed that the other side of the bed was rumpled. She remembered telling him he could sleep in her bed, but she couldn’t remember him coming in. Oh, please don’t tell her that one of her favourite dreams had come true and Dane had been in her bed and she had slept through it. Bloody typical! For once, she was pissed that she was so good at sleeping.
She sat up and stretched again as she looked at the clock. God, it was only seven in the morning? She never woke up at this time on the weekend.
Lauren grabbed some clothes and dashed for the bathroom. She spotted Dane in the living room doing something on his phone. He looked up and she mumbled a quick “Hi” before diving into the bathroom. She knew it was silly, but she felt shy around him sometimes.
She had a quick shower, threw on some clothes, and tidied her hair so it hung down her back.
When she walked into the kitchen, the smell of coffee hit her senses and made her mouth water for that wonderful first fix of the day. She noticed Dane sitting on the couch-he was watching her intently.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” he asked.
“Good morning. Yes I slept wonderfully, which I didn’t think I would after the day I had yesterday.”
“Your bed is incredibly comfortable,” he commented, and looked back down at his phone.
So he had slept beside her and she had missed it. Shit shit shit. The image of him in her bed made her blush and her tummy flipped in excitement. Hopefully next time, if there was a next time, she would be awake for it. The time for fear and uncertainty ruling her life was over; it was time to be brave. With that thought, she asked,
“So what’s the plan for today?” she tried not to show any of her thoughts in her expression.
“Well, Nate texted me and as far as we can tell, everything Drew said checks out. It seems like he really is trying to help and escape his father at the same time.”
Lauren poured herself some coffee and came and sat next to him on the couch, she tucked her legs up underneath her and relaxed against the cushions, her shoulder pressed to his.
“I’m glad and relieved,” she said, “I kinda thought that he was. But it’s nice to have it confirmed, my instincts haven’t always served me correctly.”
“What does that mean?” he asked, looking at her patiently and with no expectation on his face. She couldn’t believe she had been so foolish as to say that. She knew she needed to tell Dane about what had happened with Jeff if they were to have any hope of having a relationship. It was just so hard and she was so ashamed.
Her logical brain knew it wasn’t her fault, but her emotional side still struggled to catch up. Lauren got up and started pacing around the room, she loved that it was all open, but now she realised she had nowhere to hide. She held her hand up in front of her and took a deep breath.
“Do you remember me telling you about Jeff in our emails?” She saw Dane tense and then visibly force himself to relax.
“Yes, I do,” he said, through gritted teeth.
“Well, I met Jeff when I bought this flat. He seemed nice enough and friendly, good looking in a forgettable way. Well about four months after you deployed, Jeff started asking me out. I didn’t like him that way, but he was persistent and sweet and he made me laugh. You and I had been emailing and things had gotten more intense between us, but neither one of us had come out and said anything.”
Lauren kept pacing knowing that this had to be said and not wanting to look at him when she did it. “I had started to develop strong feelings for you, Dane, but your job was so dangerous and it scared me. I was still getting over the loss of my mum and couldn’t handle it, so the next time Jeff asked me out I said yes. We went out a few times and he was nice, there was no spark, but it was safe and I needed safe. God, what a fool I was.”
She seemed lost in thought and Dane sat still knowing that if he went to her, as he wanted that she would clam up, so he just waited quietly, hardly moving a muscle, for her to continue.
“After a few months,” she continued, “Jeff started to change, he was staying here, mostly and he started to get obsessive over the tiniest things, like the jars in the fridge facing the same way and the towels hanging the same length, he started to criticise what I wore, what I ate-everything.
I didn’t realise how much it was changing me, but Claire did and she begged me to end things with him. I knew deep down that she was right, but I didn’t want to hurt him. I don’t enjoy conflict and I guess I just put it off.
One day I came home to find him deleting all the emails you had sent me. He went nuts shouting and screaming that I was a slut and I was cheating and that I was to never to contact you again. He said he had friends in the forces and it would be a shame if you were to get injured by friendly fire.”
Dane snorted at that, but didn’t say anything.
“That was the first time he hit me.” Lauren looked down, so ashamed that she had been so weak. She forced herself to look up at Dane and all she saw was compassion and understanding. “I didn’t tell anyone, I was so embarrassed. It continued for six more months. I wanted to leave, I
just didn’t see a way out without angering him and I was afraid. I’m not proud of that, but it is the truth.
“One day I’d met with Claire and she’d convinced me that he was going to kill me if I didn’t get out. She was right and I knew it. I told her that I was going to do it as soon as I got home. Claire wanted Daniel and her to be with me, but I knew I had to do this on my own. I came home to end it with him and tell him to leave.
“He wouldn’t go. He said I was his ticket to easy street and he wasn’t giving it up. I own this house outright, after my mum left me money from her life insurance,” she explained. “He wasn’t even making any pretence of caring for me by then. Jeff said that he had been swapping my pill out for dummies and that I could be carrying his child. I told him I didn’t care, and that I would raise it alone.
“For the first time in months, the old me was back and I was seeing clearly for the first time in ages. Jeff said that no whore like me deserved his child and then he beat me. I won’t go into details, but when I came round in hospital, Claire was there. She and Daniel had found me. I had a concussion, a ruptured spleen, and four broken ribs, and luckily I hadn’t been pregnant.
“Daniel had Jeff arrested and I’m not sure what happened, but he was murdered by another inmate while on remand in prison.” Lauren stopped then and took a breath. Her hands were shaking slightly so she put them behind her back. She watched from underneath her lashes, feeling uncertain as Dane stood and came towards her. She dropped her eyes, not wanting to see the disgust in his.
He gently tilted her chin so that she had to look in his eyes.
“You are one of the bravest, most courageous people I have ever had the privilege to know. You didn’t let that scumbag beat you, you picked up your life and carried on. If that isn’t a sign of strength, I don’t know what is. You could easily have given in and retreated into yourself, but look at what you have achieved.
“You have a great job that you love, your own home, and friends that love you, and make no mistake, they do love you Lauren, and I think you’re pretty special too.” He slowly leaned down, then, and kissed her gently, while fitting her body to his. It was not a kiss of passion, but of promise. He leaned back and he could see the relief in her eyes. “Thank you for telling me, honey.”
“Thank you for not judging me,” she replied quietly.
“How could anyone judge you? You’re a survivor and a warrior and I’m proud of you for it.”
She put her arms around him and leaned into his warmth. She felt strong around him-not weak or scared. Oh, she was a lot better these days.
Dane’s phone buzzed a text alert, breaking the spell. He pulled back to look at his phone.
Lauren stood and walked over to look at the picture of her mother on the wall behind the table, She’d had the picture put on canvas shortly after her mother had died. She would have loved Dane. Her mum had been a sucker for a white knight and he certainly fit the bill. She thought she would feel sad after telling her sordid story to Dane, but she didn’t, she felt empowered by his reaction to her afterwards. Somehow, she felt free and ready to move on, and hopefully it would be with him.
He was everything she wanted in a partner. Sexy, kind, strong, brave, loyal, funny. He made her feel all those things, too.
~~~
Dane looked at the text from Lucy without really seeing it. His emotions were all over the place. He felt so much anger and hatred for Jeff the jerk that he wished he were still alive so he could kill the bastard.
Seeing Lauren opening herself to him and making herself vulnerable to him had humbled him in a way nothing else ever had. She was so brave and strong and if he hadn’t been falling for her before, he certainly was now.
He hated that he hadn’t been here to stop her from getting hurt and thanked God that she’d had Claire and Daniel. He was angry that Daniel hadn’t told, him, but at the same time respected that he had kept her confidence. He would be talking to him about it though.
He tried to give himself a minute to calm the rage that was trying to break free. Him losing his cool was the last thing she needed right now. He had meant every word he had said to her. She was a warrior, and he was going to make sure she believed it.
He tried again to read the text. Lucy was running late and wanted to push the meeting back 30 minutes. That was fine; he could do with the extra time to get his head straight.
Dane looked over at Lauren, who was lost in thought looking at a picture on the wall, he wanted to hold her so badly, but after she bared her soul, he didn’t want to spook her. He walked up behind her, making enough noise that she knew he was coming. She hadn’t seemed jumpy in the past, but he was worried talking about it had opened up old wounds for her and he was going to do everything he could not to cause her any more pain.
“Is that your Mum?”
“Yes, it is,” she sounded proud.
“She was beautiful, just like you,” Dane said into her ear, causing goose bumps to spread out all over her skin. “And just as brave, it must be a family thing.” He could feel the pulse in her neck quicken as he kissed her there. He looped his arms around her waist and pulled her back towards his body.
The air in the room suddenly seemed charged. His body started to react instantly and he heard Lauren suck in a breath, as she felt his hard length against her bottom. He could see a pulse start to flicker even faster in her neck and knew it wasn’t from fear but from desire. He couldn’t stop himself, slowly he bent his head and sweeping her hair aside, brushed tender open-mouthed kisses along her neck to her collarbone, She sighed in response and let her head fall to the side.
Running his hands from her shoulders down the soft toned skin of her bare arms, he clasped her hands in his and raised them to the table in front of her, “keep your hands there,” he said in a gruff tone. She complied without hesitation and he felt his heart swell with pride for the trust she had in him.
Grinding his now painfully hard erection into the softness of her ass, he drew his hands up her rib cage and slowly cupped her heavy breasts, gently caressing them. She jumped when he pinched and rolled her nipples between his fingers and she pushed back against his hardness. “Do you like that?” He whispered so close to her ear that she felt his warm breath.
“Ye,.” she said on a breathy exhale.
“Turn around Lauren,” he said in a commandingly erotic voice. She turned to face him and slowly raised her eyes to meet his. The desire and trust he saw there nearly un-manned him. She was so beautiful to him and in that, moment he knew that he would never get tired of that look on her face, and he would never give her a reason to ever feel differently.
“Keep your eyes open, I want to see everything you’re feeling, you’re so beautiful.”
She looked up him and her face was flushed with desire, her eyes dark and cloudy like a stormy sky. She raised herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, it started out as a gentle meeting. She ran her tongue over his lips and suddenly it became an all-out war as his control snapped. Lips met and tongues battled for dominance. Hands were everywhere.
Dane cupped her ass and lifted her onto the table as he stepped between her open thighs and ground his erection into her core. Lauren was grabbing at his shirt, popping buttons as she fought to touch his heated skin. She ran her hands over the hard ridges of his abs.
He was fighting to stay in control. She was so responsive. Running his tongue down her neck, he pushed her body back so that she was laid on the table with him pinning her with his body. He kissed the deep vee between her bra-clad breasts, but it wasn’t nearly enough-he needed more.
He needed to taste her. Pulling the front of her t-shirt up, he pulled the cups of her bra down, exposing the beautiful mounds of her breasts with their perfect pink nipples, just waiting for his touch.
“Please Dane,” she said.
He bent his head swirling his tongue around her nipple before sucking it deep into his mouth and suckling hard.
“Oh my god, that
is so good,” she said, clutching his head to her. He gave the other breast the same treatment before trailing hot kisses down her belly. Reaching into her shorts he could smell her arousal. Unbuttoning them, he eased them down her long toned legs. He couldn’t wait to have them wrapped around him, but that would have to wait.
Using his index finger, he pushed the material of her hot pink underwear aside and slipped his middle finger into her hot, soaking, tight channel. God, she was perfect.
Lauren arched off the counter and pushed back towards him.
“God you’re so wet, I need to taste you.” Removing his finger, which caused her to whimper, he used his hot tongue to stroke along her labia and then licked up all the gorgeous essence of her. Moving up, he swiped his tongue around her clit, making her buck against his mouth.
“Oh god Dane, I’m so close, please!”
Sucking her clit into his mouth, he suckled hard, while thrusting two fingers up into her tight, wet channel and curling them forward to hit her sweet spot, while bringing his hand up and pinching her nipple.
She thrashed and bucked as her orgasm hit and her body clenched around his fingers. She rocked and undulated until finally her body went limp in his arms. Withdrawing his finger, he kissed his way back up her body and looked down at her. His heart jumped-he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
“I never knew it could be like that,” she said softly.
~~~
She became aware of where they were and that he still had a rock hard erection pressed against her core. As far as she had come, her inexperience with men wouldn’t allow her to be so forward as to initiate the next step. She desperately wanted to feel him inside her, but just couldn’t say it.
Lauren was saved from making the decision by Dane’s ringing phone. Dropping his head to her chest, he groaned.
“We could maybe finish this later,” she said shyly, deciding to be brave.
“You can count on it, honey,” he said, sounding slightly strained. Lowering her shaky legs to the floor, Dane bent and pulled her shorts up while she rearranged her top. Standing up, he kissed her gently. Lauren could taste herself on his lips and it made her body heat with renewed desire. He left his arms around her and buried his head into her neck, gently kissing it. He lifted his head.
