Callahan's Fate

by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

  He shot her a glance and shook his head. “I’m asking, aren’t I? Of course I don’t mind. So if you want, this weekend we’ll move all your stuff. Tell me your place is furnished, please.”

  Raine laughed. “Yes, it is.”

  “Thank God. Are you finished eating? Yeah? Then let’s go.”

  Two hours later, after Callahan splurged on a taxi, they carried her suitcases up the stairs to his apartment. He made space in his closet for her things and rearranged his dresser so they could share. Raine put her toiletries in the bathroom and plugged her cell phone charger into a kitchen outlet. When she started to take off her shoes, he put out one hand. “Wait a minute. I know its kinda cold, but would you like to go up on the roof for a few minutes?”

  “I’d like nothing better.”

  They stood together on the rooftop, dwarfed by the surrounding buildings. The city stretched in every direction around them, illuminated and almost magical. The skyscrapers reminded her of a fortress, and despite the threat they faced, Raine relaxed.

  Callahan took her in his arms and held her tight. “You okay with all this?”

  A nervous laugh climbed out of her throat. “Do I have a choice?” she said. “Yes, I suppose I am, as much as I can be. Just tell me it’s going to be all right, Callahan.”

  “It will, doll,” he told her. “I’ll make sure you’re safe. You’re the one thing that matters, Raine. I’ve never said this to any other woman, but I love you.”

  Her arms circled his neck and she clung to him. “I love you, too, Cal. Let’s go to bed.”

  His eyebrow lifted in query. “It’s only a little after eight. Are you tired, baby?”

  “No,” Raine told him. “I need you.”

  This time, Callahan took his time, slow and deliberate. Raine gloried in every caress and each kiss. His mouth burned hers with unquenchable fire, and his hands as they moved over every bit of her body, were tender yet tantalizing. Long before he entered her, she ached for him, and when he thrust his cock within her space, she locked her legs tight around his torso. Callahan rode her, and she yielded to his mastery with wonder. His nimble fingers brought her nipples rock hard and he suckled on them, one at a time, while he used his dick to turn her insides into mush. Raine moaned with delight, and when she reached climax, they came together in a dizzying swirl of sensual sensations. She died and came back to life, sated and sweaty, locked in his arms.

  She had never known such intense lovemaking, an act which went far beyond the physical and made them one, not just in body but in spirit. Callahan had entered whatever inner sanctuary she might own and blended his soul with hers. The sex leached away her fears for the moment, and she lay drowsy in his arms until she slept.

  When she woke once, deep in the dark reaches of the night, Raine occupied the bed alone, and she propped up on one elbow to find Callahan. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw him standing at the kitchen window, staring outside. In the dimness, his nude body shone as white as a marble statue. Her breath caught, concerned he might be ill again or consumed with tension, but as she watched for some minutes, she realized how calm he stood.

  “Callahan?”

  He turned toward her, then approached the bed. “What is it?”

  “Come back to bed,” she said. “I’m cold.”

  Once they snuggled together, he ran one hand down her back. “Are you warm enough?”

  Raine nodded. “Yes. I wasn’t too cold, just lonely.”

  “And now?”

  “I’m content.”

  “You’re home,” he whispered. “And you’re safe.”

  There was no place she would rather be in those moments but here, in Callahan’s bed and arms. No matter what happened, she had now.

  Maybe it would be enough. Maybe they would be lucky.

  God, she hoped so.

  Chapter Eleven

  Saturday dawned overcast and cold. Tonight, the city would teem with wee ghosts and goblins, cowboys, and clowns, as kids marked the age-old observance of Halloween. Callahan had been assigned a later shift than usual, so he had promised Raine they would collect the rest of her belongings early. Although she’d shared his space for a few short days, he didn’t want to contemplate life without her. She brought positive energy into his few rooms and enriched his existence in ways he never imagined. Sometimes, she drove him a little crazy, but he loved her enough not to mind. Her long strands of golden hair tended to detach and end up on his shirts, in his boxers, and on the windowsills like fine cobwebs.

  Once in a while, she took what seemed to be an ungodly time in the bathroom, and she showered until she used most if not all of the hot water. But she cooked delicious meals, far more nutritious fare than he’d eaten in years, and her smiles were worth a little aggravation. When they made love, she gave him everything, and when he came home tired or bummed out, she always managed a cheerful word of encouragement. Hell, the woman even rubbed his back for an hour one night when he bitched how much it hurt. Life was good and would be damn close to perfect if the threat of Snake Marsh and company didn’t hang over him like a thundercloud.

  “What time do you want to go fetch my things?” Raine asked. She curled into one corner of the couch, feet tucked under, with a cup of coffee between her hands. With her hair still sleep-tousled, he found her strikingly beautiful.

  “Nine,” he said. “I told Jim we’d be at the firehouse at nine to get the truck.”

  She lifted one eyebrow. “We’re using a fire truck to bring the rest of my stuff?”

  He laughed. “Naw, I guess I forgot to mention we’re borrowing their pickup. I didn’t think lugging your boxes on the subway would work very well. We could, I guess, but it’d be a real pain.”

  “I suppose it would. There shouldn’t be a whole lot more, though.”

  Callahan resisted an urge to roll his eyes. “What’s left?”

  Raine cocked her head, thinking. “Well, the rest of my clothes, my pillows, sheets, and blankets, my knickknacks and pictures, plus the kitchen stuff. There’s not too much of that, though—a couple of pans, a skillet, two plates, silverware, some utensils, my coffeepot, and some cups. Oh, and what little bit of food I had on hand.”

  It sounded like a lot to him, and he tried to imagine blending all of it into his compact apartment. We’ll manage, though, he thought. “All right, we’ll get your stuff. It’s almost eight-thirty, and it’s gonna take a few minutes to walk to the fire station…”

  “All I have to do is fix my hair and put on shoes,” Raine said. The way she stretched tempted him to forget the truck and take her to bed, but he couldn’t. “It won’t take me long.”

  At straight up nine o’clock, his buddy Jim handed him the keys to a bright red pickup truck. “Be careful with it, all right? I shouldn’t even let you borrow it, but I trust you.”

  “I promise not to crash it,” Callahan told him. “You know I’m a good driver.”

  Jim erupted in laughter. “I remember that huge boat of a Chrysler your grandma drove,” he cried. “And you were piloting it around Brooklyn like it was the fucking Queen Mary.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember. We gotta go ‘cause I work second shift today, but thanks, man.”

  “Anytime, buddy,” Jim said. They fist-bumped and then Callahan grabbed Raine’s hand.

  “Let’s go, doll.”

  Although Callahan didn’t own a car anymore, he loved to drive. Sitting behind the wheel of the powerful pickup gave him a buzz. “C’mon, Raine, scoot over here,” he told her. “I want my woman beside me as we travel the streets of the Big Apple.”

  Her giggle pleased him. “I didn’t even know you drove, Callahan.”

  He pretended to be wounded. “I can’t believe you didn’t know,” he said. “You took me for a New York native who depends on the subway and bus and my feet.”

  “Don’t you?”

  Callahan laughed. “Well, yeah, you know I do. But I can drive and I enjoy it. I’d have a car, but there’s no pl
ace to park it, not where I live. It sounds fun ,but it would wind up being a pain in the ass. I suppose you drive back home.”

  “Of course,” she said. “Everyone except a few ninety-year-old ladies does, and kids who are too young. I liked my last car, too, a Nissan Altima.”

  “Whaddya do, sell it?”

  She nodded. “I did, to have a little more money to make the move here. I miss it but I can’t see myself driving in this traffic.”

  “Aw, you could, I bet.” Callahan navigated around a pair of taxis and a delivery van with skill. “It just takes practice.”

  A long, sleek limousine shot out of a cross street into his path, but he hit the horn and changed course. When he glanced at Raine, she had her hands clasped tight, eyes shut. “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, but that was close!”

  “Not really.”

  “I’m still shaking!”

  “Then come here,” he said. At the next traffic light, he kissed her long and deep. “Better?”

  Raine purred like a contented cat. “Much, thanks.”

  If she rubbed against him any harder, he might have to rethink this moving thing and go back to his apartment. His cock twitched with interest about the same time Raine cried out, “Oh, look, how cute!”

  He glanced over and grinned. A middle-aged couple dressed in matching clown costumes marched their two dogs on leashes down the street. Each of the pups wore a pointed clown hat. “Yeah, it takes all kinds. You’ll probably see a lot of people dressed up. If I didn’t have to work, maybe we’d go out or something. Or just stay in, order a pizza, and watch a scary movie. It’s not my favorite night.”

  She put her hand on his thigh. “Don’t you like Halloween? I do. We always went trick-or-treating back home.”

  “It’s all right. I know it’s a lot of fun for kids, still, but it’s a night when a lot of mean things go down, too. I’ve worked too many Halloweens as a cop to think otherwise. Somewhere between the bobbing for apples and the candy, there’s always a few violent crimes and dark stuff. There’s usually a call or two about a ‘real’ vampire or someone says they saw a werewolf or something. And the vandals get out in force. I liked it fine as a kid, though, especially in Brooklyn.”

  “Why there?”

  Callahan watched the traffic with one eye and looked at her with affection. “We could go trick-or-treating to a few houses. Over here, in most of the city, kids just go door to door in their apartment building, or to a few of the shops. Or these days, they go to parties or events like that Pumpkin Fest thing in Central Park.”

  “That’s different,” Raine said. “So, will I need to pass out candy to kids in your building?”

  Damn me and my big mouth. “No, I’d rather you don’t. I work three to eleven, remember? So I won’t be home and I don’t want anyone harassing you.”

  “You mean Spike, Bull, or Shoe?” Her soft voice cut right to the heart of his fears.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “We haven’t seen them since I moved in with you,” Raine told him.

  “I know, but we gotta be careful. I wish I didn’t have to work tonight, doll.”

  “But you do.”

  “That’s right, but I’m off tomorrow and Monday,” he said. “Hey, we’re here.”

  Callahan maneuvered the truck into a spot down the block. Earlier in the week, he’d delivered some boxes and a big plastic tote so it shouldn’t take long to pack up her remaining possessions. He got antsy being in the neighborhood because the last sighting of the bastards had been here. If they might turn up anywhere, he figured it would be in the vicinity.

  Raine climbed out of the truck, and he caught up with her. “Stay close, you hear me? And let’s make it as quick as we can.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed them as if she were cold, but he had a feeling fear, not a chill, fueled the gesture. “Okay, it shouldn’t take too long.”

  An hour later, they had stripped her two rooms of anything personal. They hadn’t dallied, not even to linger over her framed photographs of family and friends back home. Callahan did a walk-through, checking for anything that might have been forgotten, but found nothing. “Do you see anything else?” he asked.

  “No, I’m sure we have it all. All I need to do is drop off the key to my landlady downstairs.”

  He nodded. “I’ll carry down the last of the stuff while you do.”

  Once he wound his way back toward midtown, Callahan relaxed. The imminent possibility of Bull or Snake popping up into view diminished with each mile he put behind them. By the time they carried Raine’s possessions into his apartment, Callahan was giddy enough to dance, if there had been any space. With her boxes and totes scattered across his kitchen floor, there wasn’t much. He nudged one of the crates with one toe. “Jeez, I don’t know if there’s room for all this stuff.”

  Although he made his tone teasing, Raine glanced up at him with a sober expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it all put away in no time. I’ll do it tonight while you’re working your shift. I’m sorry for the mess. It must look like I’ve invaded your space.”

  Callahan grinned. “Baby, I’m glad you’re here, and I’m kidding. I’ll help you until I go if you want. Just let me take the truck back to Jim and bring us a sandwich or something from the deli. Whaddya want?”

  She smiled back. “An Italian, I guess. Thanks, Callahan.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t hurry,” she told him. “Maybe I can get everything put up and back in order.”

  He laughed. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes, tops.”

  An hour later, Callahan opened the door to his apartment and grinned. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee filled his nose, along with a hint of Raine’s fragrance. If he’d been blindfolded, he would have known a woman was present. After the chill walk, the heat emanating from the radiator enveloped him like an embrace, and for the first time ever since he had moved in, he felt like he was home.

  In his absence, Raine had reduced the mess scattered across the floor by at least a third, and she glanced up with a smile. “You’re back,” she told him.

  “I am.” He maneuvered around her stuff and put the bags from the deli on the table. “Sorry it took longer than I expected, but Jim got to talking and there was a line at the deli.”

  “That’s okay,” she told him. “I’ve been busy.”

  “I’ll say! You’re a fast worker, doll.”

  Her face lit up. “If I am, I learned it from you.”

  “Meaning?” Callahan thought he knew but he wanted to hear it straight out.

  “We’ve known each other, what, not quite a month?” she said. “But we’re together, we’re a couple, and I love you. I don’t know what to call what we have, but it’s there and it’s real. A lot of people would think it’s happening too fast, but not me. I take it for the miracle it is.”

  He liked what she said. “Me, too, honey. Let’s eat. Are you hungry?”

  Raine stood up and came to him. She put one hand on his chest, the other rested on his shoulder. “I am, for food,” she said. “But I’m hungrier for you.”

  Callahan forgot the food, his looming shift, and everything else when she spoke. He took her mouth with his and teased his lips over hers with finesse. Exquisite chills shuddered down his spine as all the heat in his body descended into his dick. It hardened as he kissed her, and as his desire increased, his reason vanished. He managed to navigate through the stacked boxes and totes without stubbing a toe without ever releasing his grip on Raine. She hadn’t folded it into a sofa yet, and he pushed her back onto it. By then, she had her blouse half off and wiggled out of her jeans.

  He removed his shirt and ripped off his pants in record time. Callahan finished fast enough to remove her panties. He cupped one of her breasts in his hand, savoring the weight of it, and bent down to suck the nipple. At first, he was a gentle as a newborn, but then he used his teeth to nibble and she squealed. “You wa
nt me to stop?”

  “Never,” she gasped. “Don’t.”

  So he continued, then switched to the other nipple. She moaned with pleasure and managed to reach down to grasp his cock in her hand. As Raine wrapped her fingers around it, she ran them up and down in a way that brought an intense, almost painful, sensual delight. In response, Callahan went a little wild. He buried his face between her breasts and kissed her there. Then he went on a kissing frenzy, beginning at the soft hollow at the base of her throat, expanding to both sides of her neck, and over her titties. He kissed, he licked, and he nibbled. He left love bites in several places as he moved downward.

  Raine clutched him, her fingers tight against his skin. She extended one hand and used her nails to rake down his back. He enjoyed it and knew what he would do to pleasure her. Callahan spread her legs with haste, but instead of entering her with his cock, he lowered his head and extended his tongue. He used it to enter her pulsating wet passage and stretched until he touched the end to her clit. Her body convulsed around it and he tasted her musky woman flavor. His dick hardened more with every whimper, each gasp that she made, and when he figured she couldn’t take anymore, he reared back and then plunged into her.

  Sweet Jesus, she fit his cock like a custom-made sheath to a sword. The walls of her pussy clenched tight around him, and when she tightened her ass muscles, Callahan thought he’d die a glorious, pleasant death. His bones melted as his flesh yielded. The tension built until it became almost unbearable, the sensations so intense the pleasure bordered on pain. He needed release, but he wanted to take Raine with him for the ride so he pumped harder. As he watched her face turn crimson, he knew she was about to come so he penetrated deeper, and when she shuddered, he let go.

  They came together in a wild, wicked rush of delight. His limbs shuddered and body convulsed until he thought he might pass out. The climax satisfied and sated him. Callahan rode the spirals of pleasure until the last made him blind for a few seconds. Then he collapsed beside her on the bed, panting hard, sweat-soaked but happy.