by Alice Raine
Accepting the beer, I leant back on the counter. ‘You know when Jack called you earlier and asked you to get me to help Cait?’ Sean nodded. ‘She’d had a panic attack. Her ex was at the studios threatening her.’
‘What?’
‘Luckily Jack was there and interrupted them before anything could happen. Greg and Jack fought, then Greg made a run for it.’
‘Jesus. Jack was in a fight? Is everyone OK?’
‘More or less. Cait was a wreck, but Jack’s been amazing. They’ve been talking for two hours. We’ve had the police here too.’
Sean swigged on his beer, and had just opened his mouth to say something when the kitchen door swung open and Jack strode in. Both Sean and I turned to look at his tense frame as he paced then leant against the wall, his eyes flicking around in agitation.
Cait had been a wreck earlier, but now it was Jack who looked messed up. His face was pale, his eyes red, and his hair an absolute state.
‘Everything OK, mate?’ Sean asked cautiously. Without answering, Jack looked at Sean, then his gaze flicked to mine before he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths through his nose.
Anxiety settled in my stomach and then I noticed how the entire left-hand side of his shirt was soaked to the point where it had gone see-through.
Jack’s hand touched the wet cloth, causing my gaze to rise to his where I found him staring at me. ‘Caitlin told me about her ex,’ he murmured. ‘She cried. A lot.’
‘Oh God, is she OK?’ I asked around a loud swallow, relieved when Jack immediately nodded.
‘She was understandably upset, but she seemed to be really relieved once it was out. She’s dozing now. I think the anxiety attack exhausted her.’ Closing his eyes again, I watched as his fists repeatedly clenched and unclenched at his sides.
The tension in the room was palpable. ‘Are you OK?’ Sean asked Jack.
Gritting his teeth, Jack opened his eyes and turned towards the back door. ‘Not really. Excuse me,’ he muttered darkly. With that he practically ripped the back door from its hinges and took off down the steps to the beach.
Sean and I rushed to the windows and watched as Jack strode as far away from the house as he could before letting out the most pained, bellowed howl I think I’d ever heard in my life.
Holy cow. I gripped the kitchen surface, unable to look away as goose pimples flooded my skin. ‘Does he often lose it like this?’ I whispered.
‘Never. He’s the most laid-back guy I know,’ Sean replied. Unable to forget my concerns about Cait, I quickly left the kitchen and poked my head into the lounge to check on her. Just as Jack had said, Cait was fast asleep on the couch and covered carefully with a blanket, a gesture I suspected was Jack’s doing.
Dashing back to the kitchen I retook my position at Sean’s side, linking my arm through his for reassurance as we watched his friend through the window. Jack was now pacing near the surf, but stopped, tilting his head toward the sky before roaring out several swear words and collapsing onto his knees where he slapped his hands against the wet sand, sending it flying everywhere as he continued to howl like a complete mad man.
Ho-ly shit.
‘His arm!’ I squeaked as I watched the bandage covering his burnt arm turn brown from the wet sand staining it.
‘Fuck.’ Sean swore beside me before urgently taking hold of my arm and forcing me to tear my gaze away from the beach. ‘What exactly did Jack mean when he said Cait told him about her ex?’
Cait’s past still wasn’t my story to tell, but clearly Jack was having serious issues dealing with it and I needed to bring Sean up to date so he could help his friend.
‘Let’s just say that you were right when you thought Cait’s ex was the root of her problems. She had a really bad experience. It ended up with him and his friends attacking her. It sounds like she told Jack, and I’m guessing he isn’t coping very well with that news.’
‘No shit,’ Sean murmured as the sound of another wail resonated through the kitchen. Practically throwing his beer down, Sean headed toward the door. ‘Let me go and talk to him before someone calls the police.’
Twenty-six
Sean
Apprehension roiled in my gut as I jogged down the stairs toward the long strip of beach behind my apartment. In all the years I’d known Jack, I’d never seen him lose his cool. He was one of the most chilled-out guys I’d ever met. Apparently not today. My eyes fell on his knelt form just a few feet away, the back of his shirt soaked with sweat and his shoulders rapidly rising and falling. At least he’d stopped slapping the sand.
‘Jack?’ Dropping onto my haunches beside him, I placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to glance at me, his brown eyes now red and narrowed.
‘Three of them went at her. Three. Then her fucking ex chased her through a field, dragged her to the ground, and tried to rape her again,’ he growled.
I sucked in a sharp breath and felt my own anger rising. Who the fuck would ever treat a woman that way?
‘She’s so sweet and kind. How could someone do that?’ he asked me despairingly.
‘Fuck, Jack. I have no idea. Is she OK?’
Nodding, he closed his eyes and lifted one sand-covered hand to wipe his sweaty forehead, leaving a trail of dirt on his brow. ‘Yeah. As OK as she can be, anyway. I think she’s relieved she told me.’
Falling back, Jack lay in the wet sand, oblivious of the water lapping around his feet. He stared at the sky, looking dishevelled and a million miles away from his usual smart self. ‘It was a few years ago, but the fucker has been stalking her and finally found her.’
‘Stalking her?’ Goosebumps rose on my arms. God, this was so much more extreme than I’d ever imagined.
Crossing my legs, I ignored the water and sat beside him before absently picking at a shell. I couldn’t even imagine how I would feel if I found out that someone had hurt Allie that way. I would want to kill them.
As if reading my mind, Jack clenched his jaw and gave a tight nod. ‘I want to rip him to fucking pieces. I wouldn’t feel one shred of guilt.’ I nodded my understanding and then we both just sat there sharing a few minutes of silence.
‘Cait talked to you today, though, so that must show she trusts you?’
Sitting up, Jack turned to me, his face calmer now, more hopeful. ‘Yeah. She said I make her feel safe. I really care about her, Sean. I want to make this relationship work.’ Jack drew in a long breath as I nodded. ‘I just want to be with her.’ A short, dry laugh left his lips and he shot me a vaguely amused look, ‘I know that probably sounds soft as shit, so don’t take the piss, Sean.’
Relieved to see some of Jack’s usual humour returning, I gave him a smile. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it, mate, but it’s good to know you’ll be as under the thumb as me soon.’ Jack took it well, blowing out another breath before looking at the state of his ruined bandage with a grimace.
‘You OK now?’ I asked tentatively. ‘As OK as you can be given the circumstances, anyway.’
Nodding, Jack licked his lips. ‘Yeah, sorry. I’ve never felt rage like that, Sean. I just needed to vent before I saw Caitlin again.’ Chewing on his lip, Jack looked at me and I could still see some remnants of the anger swirling in his eyes. ‘I swear to God if that fucker had been in the room I would have crucified him.’ Jack was a big guy, strong, broad, and tall, but he was the least violent man I knew. Right now though, as I looked at his serious face, I knew he meant every single word.
‘But I’m OK. Caitlin has trusted me with her past and started to let me in, so I need to be calm and strong for her now. The police told me to leave it, but I’ve already called Flynn and asked him to start his own search for Lambert.’
Glancing at his wet, sandy clothes, Jack gave a sharp laugh. ‘I look like I’ve been in a fight with a swamp.’
Chuckling, I stood up and held out a hand to him. ‘Come inside. You can take a shower and borrow some clothes.’ Jack accepted my hand and got to his feet.
‘Thanks for the support
, mate. Sorry I lost it for a minute.’ We gave the torn-up section of beach a rueful glance before heading back inside.
Twenty-seven
Cait
Pulling in a deep breath, I yawned, stretched, and opened my eyes. It took a second to remember where I was, but as soon as I did, I sat bolt upright and quickly checked the room for Jack. Much to my disappointment it was empty, Jack had obviously left me to sleep. I was tucked under a warm, cosy blanket, so he must have covered me up after I drifted off. The idea of him pampering me brought a cheesy grin to my face that I simply couldn’t supress.
Rubbing at my tender eyes, I took a moment to go over all that had happened that day. Now that I’d let Jack in on my past, this morning’s traumatic run-in with Greg didn’t seem nearly as overwhelming. Perhaps it was sharing the burden of my troubles that made me feel a bit better.
I could hear voices in the kitchen, so I wandered in that direction, but as I entered the hallway I met Jack coming the other way. He looked weary and serious, but as soon as he saw me approaching his face immediately softened into a handsome smile.
‘Hey, sweetheart. I was just coming to wake you for dinner. How are you feeling?’ he asked.
I gave him a shy smile. ‘A lot better now I’ve had a power nap. Thank you for covering me up.’
As my eyes greedily soaked up his appearance, I noticed he’d changed his clothes. ‘You’ve changed,’ I stated, pointing at the checked shirt and jeans.
‘Oh...yeah. I uh, spilt a coffee over myself. Sean leant me some clothes and Allie redid my bandage for me.’
I looked to his arm in concern, seeing the bright new strapping. ‘You didn’t re-burn it, did you?’
‘Nah. It’s all good.’ He brushed off my concern with a shrug and jerked a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. ‘So, are you hungry? Allie’s made fajitas.’
Given today’s traumatic events, I was surprised to realise I was ravenous, and I giggled as my stomach gave a loud growl.
‘Let’s feed you before your stomach complains again.’ Jack replied with a chuckle. Reaching out for me, he slid one hand toward my hip, but accidentally brushed my lower back in the process, causing my teeth to clench.
He saw my reaction and immediately pulled his hand back with a grimace. Desperate to reassure him that it wasn’t his touch I was reacting to, I grabbed his hand and held it. ‘I ... I really like it when you touch me,’ I murmured. ‘But I...I have a real thing about my lower back. Greg used to...’ A huff left my lips. I wouldn’t use his name any more–he wasn’t worthy of my time. ‘...That was where he would grab me. Could you not touch me there? Anywhere else, just not my lower back,’ I asked in a croaky voice.
I watched Jack’s shoulders slump. ‘Shit, I didn’t mean to touch your back. I’m sorry, Caitlin.’ Raising a hand he ran it through his hair and gave me an apologetic smile. ‘It just feels natural for me to want to touch you.’
‘I...I feel the same. I’m hyper-aware every time you’re in the same room as me,’ I confessed, my tone almost as heated as his. ‘I want contact. I love the feel of it.’ He made a small noise that sounded almost disbelieving, so I cut off any reply he was about to make by plastering myself against him in a tight hug.
As I made contact, sparks seemed to fly across my skin, warming me from the inside out and causing a small gasp to slip from my lips. We’d already cuddled for over two hours, but touching him was just so new that I suspected I’d be gasping quite a bit from now on.
If I got this much of a reaction from just putting my arms around him, then letting him touch me in more intimate places could be incredible. Snorting an anxious laugh, I rolled my eyes–One step at a time, Cait, I reminded myself firmly.
When I risked a glance up at Jack, I saw that his lips were parted, cheeks flushed, and eyebrows raised. A small noise rumbled from his chest, one of appreciation, I think, and I felt him shift as he lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head.
‘Shall we join Allie and Sean for dinner? Or do you just want to snuggle me some more, because I have to say, this is pretty damn amazing.’ His question was jokey, but I could tell by the roughness of his voice that he was just as affected by my move as I was.
Clearing my throat, I avoided eye contact and stepped out of the hug. But I wasn’t ready to give up my new hold on him just yet, so I tucked myself close into Jack’s side, slipping an arm around his waist and guiding his hand to do the same, so it lay around me and rested on my hip. It felt good, really good. There was no fear, no flashbacks of him, just a lovely feeling of being wanted by this incredible man.
‘Let’s eat. I’m starving.’ We were at the point that many couples probably found a bit boring and normal–walking along with arms slung around each other–but to me, it felt wonderful. I was almost cocooned. Even through his clothing, he felt so warm, and despite the fact that his grip was gentle, I could feel his strength almost pulse between us.
I felt completely safe. It was reassuring, but more than that, it was actually arousing, which wasn’t a sensation that any man had managed to raise in me since before the attack.
As we walked into the kitchen, I noticed that both Sean and Allie did a double take when they saw the entwined position Jack and I were in, but he made me feel so good that I didn’t even bother to feel embarrassed.
As we sat at the table, Jack swapped our arm in arm embrace for a hand hold. It was stupid just how good the touch of his palm made me feel, and I couldn’t help giving his fingers a firm squeeze every few minutes as his thumb rubbed a gentle rhythm on the back of my hand.
It was just as well that Allie had pre-filled and rolled the fajitas, because as we started dinner it quickly became obvious that Jack wasn’t willing to give up our contact. I tried to pull my hand away to serve myself some food, but Jack merely tightened his grip, refusing to let me go. Giving him a curious look, he just squeezed my hand, grinned at me mischievously, and used his free hand to offer me the plate of fajitas.
So that was how this meal was going to proceed? Giggling, I moved two wraps onto my plate and began to eat one handed. We must have looked quite a sight. I know Allie spotted what was going on because she could barely keep a straight face as Jack struggled to eat with his bandaged arm.
By the time Allie had served coffee, Jack had shifted his chair closer to mine and draped his arm over my shoulder as if he couldn’t bear to be apart from me for a second longer. His fingers were gently trailing up and down my arm as he chatted with Sean, and I saw Allie watching his behaviour with a grin almost as big as mine.
It was silly, but the fact that Jack wanted the contact and was happy to eat and drink one handed in order to keep a hold of me actually made me feel pretty damn special.
Twenty-eight
Sean
‘So, seeing as I cooked, I think it’s only fair you boys wash up,’ Allie declared with a grin aimed at me. I narrowed my eyes, fairly sure her smile was because she loved having the power to make a film star get their hands soapy.
‘Yeah, I guess that’s fair,’ I agreed, standing up and clearing the dishes. Most of this would go in the dishwasher, anyway.
‘While the police look for Greg, it might be better if you stay here for a few days, Cait,’ I suggested as I put the salsa in the fridge. I didn’t want them staying on their own with Lambert on the loose.
‘Or you could stay with me?’ Jack suggested, in a tone that sounded decidedly hopeful.
‘But you’ll have to go to work during the day, Jack, it makes sense for Caitlin to stay here, then at least we’re together,’ Allie commented.
‘That’s true,’ Cait agreed. ‘Honestly though, our compound is pretty safe, I think we’d be fine to go back. I’ll stay here tonight and Allie and I can decide what to do in the morning.’
Forcing myself to nod pleasantly, I felt my fingers tighten around the glass in my hand. There was no way they were going to be alone in that house. I’d have to talk to Allie about it later.
‘Excuse me, I need the loo,’ Cait said, attempting to stand only to have Jack hold onto her with a grin.
‘Let the poor girl pee!’ Allie giggled. I’d noticed the way Jack had held onto Cait all through dinner–it had cracked me up and I couldn’t wait to rib him about it. Finally, after laying a kiss on her forehead, Jack released Cait and she practically skipped from the room, smiling like a lunatic.
It seemed that things were progressing well between them.
The door had barely shut when I turned to Jack, but he cut me off by standing up and giving me a wry shake of his head. ‘Don’t you dare say a word. Either of you,’ he warned. ‘I finally have her as my girlfriend and then I find out she had to endure all that traumatic shit. I can’t believe she went through all that. I don’t want to let her go for a second right now.’
OK, when he put it that way maybe he didn’t deserve the ribbing.
Seeing the turmoil Jack was dealing with, Allie immediately went to his side and gave his shoulder a reassuring rub. ‘I thought it was very sweet,’ she murmured.
Jack blushed and tried to shrug off Allie’s comment, but I could see the guy was clearly loved up. ‘I already got Flynn on the case putting together a team to search for Lambert, and I hope you don’t mind, but if Caitlin is going to be staying here, I’d like to get some extra security. I’ve even been considering getting Caitlin a bodyguard until he’s caught. Do you think she’ll go for it?’
‘A bodyguard?’ Allie squeaked, her eyebrows leaping up. I couldn’t see Cait being thrilled by someone trailing after her all the time, but maybe today’s encounter with Greg had scared her enough to make her consider it.
‘I won’t be able to concentrate unless I know she’s safe,’ Jack added as he carried the rest of the plates to me.
‘I dunno. Maybe?’ I offered, looking to Allie for insight.
‘She comes across as shy, but she’s stubborn and independent. Perhaps if you tell her it’s to put your mind at ease she might go for it?’ Allie suggested.
