“You left here. No message, no call. I get the not calling from your office, but you have a burner cell phone that I got for you and you left it here.”
Had she really? Yeah, maybe she had forgotten it. She couldn’t think right now. “Sweet Jesus,” she uttered the words near breathlessly. The man was perfection personified.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Was he still talking? She wouldn’t know because her mind was racing with things she wished he was doing right now and none of it involved talking…well, not in a conversational way anyway. God the man looked so deliciously good that she wanted to run her fingers slowly over every muscle in his body.
“Sheila,” he emitted her name with a lethal tone to his voice.
“Uh,” she shook her head no as she stood there open mouth looking at his chest and her eyes drifting lower and lower. “Deputy Sharron called in for approval.” She finally managed to say as her eyes widened and stayed glued to his body.
He sauntered toward her very angrily and caught hold of her arm pulling her close to his body, so close she could reach out and touch his six pack abs as much as she wanted, but she didn’t do it.
Her eyes were stuck on his lower regions when his fingers came beneath her chin and pushed it up until her eyes connected with his still angry eyes. “My eyes are up here, Sheila. Now answer me. I didn’t get a message that you weren’t going to be here until I called the station, frantic, and after several transfers found out you went to work. You went to work,” he said more angrily.
“Uh…huh…yeah,” her eyes darted back downward to his chest.
He growled which forced her attention back up temporarily.
“Um…the layout got messed up some more. Doesn’t look like it was hacked though so somebody probably just screwed up in the input and…something,” she breathed in the thick scent of his soap and his heavenly scent of man. “God, I just want to lick every inch of you.” She gasped that the words came out of her mouth. “I need a shower…a cold one.” She pulled away from him, marginally surprised that he let her escape him once again. She needed that shower or she was going to melt in a puddle of sexual frustration if she didn’t get away from the might as well be naked man right now.
She stripped off her clothes and was cognizant enough to lay them on the bench in the corner before turning on the water to a cool temperature. She looked up at the white and navy blue tile ceiling and closed her eyes. She couldn’t stand directly under the water spray and be comfortable so she stood just off from it so that water could cascade down her body without beating on it. She would admit that showerhead was worth coveting though. Nearly fifteen massage spraying option and a switch to shut off the water on the pump to conserve water without having to turn off the main handle and then wait for it to get back to temperature.
While she was standing there eyes closed she realized the water was suddenly getting warmer. Thinking about Takahiro was probably doing that, at least she thought it was until she turned and came face to lower chest with him. She took a step back and he put his hand around her arm and pulled her forward.
“The conversation wasn’t over yet, Sheila.”
And it wasn’t going to be over either as long as he stood there naked. Her eyes darted lower despite her mind telling her not to look.
“Seems naked is the only way you’re not going to run away from the conversation.”
Not run away? Yeah right, he was out of his mind if he thought she could speak and look at any part of his body naked. Of course right now she was mesmerized by the growing lower region.
“If touching it would make you concentrate on conversation more feel free to touch it if you want.”
She gasped. The dirty little…well no, there wasn’t anything little about that thing. She stepped back once again and forced her eyes to look upward. “I um…I have to go.”
She darted out the shower, catching herself on the wall to keep from falling, grabbed a towel and ran back to the bedroom portion of the guestroom. She pulled out her cream and oil. Maybe she could focus on her own skin instead of his. Maybe he could go put some clothes on and then come back to talk to her.
She heard the shower turn off and she worked hard trying to get started on putting the lotion on herself down. If she ignored him just maybe he might go away, she had told herself. But he didn’t go away. He padded his stark naked behind over to her and stood in front of her. Eyes on her own body went out the window then.
“Lay down. This is my job.”
She couldn’t fathom a protest even though she really did mean to. Instead, she lay down on the bed, turning over onto her stomach and turning her head away from his body. She heard him chuckle. This was so not good. She had been getting a little aroused lately when he did this for her, but knowing that he was naked and doing it too was going to push her over the edge of control. She bit her lip and tried to remind herself not to go all hormonal cave woman on him, but God if she didn’t want this man in every way imaginable.
She wanted his hands between her legs, not just putting the lotion on them, but feeling her up. She wanted his mouth conquering hers. She wanted his body on top of hers. And she wanted him inside of her. She was ready to push those thoughts out of her mind when he did exactly that—straddled her body and continued to lotion her back down with the lemon scented concoction.
“Hmm,” she moaned. “I um…I can’t…talk to you like this. I should get up.”
He laughed. “Nah; like this you can’t keep running away from me. Now let’s talk about why you should have called me before you left.” His hands kept working their magic on her spine. If he didn’t stop she wouldn’t even be able to think straight.
He leaned over her, his breath close to her ear. “Did you hear me, Sheila?”
“Huh,” she panted. She was too turned on to hear anything over the rapidity of her heart beating its way into some haze like funnel. The man had her wet, aroused and in need of more than just this touch.
“I said if it happens again you make sure you call me and leave a message if you don’t get me. You also take that phone with you.”
Yeah, okay, whatever he said. She couldn’t concentrate because while he was whispering in her ear he was also groping the sides of her breasts as he spread the cream oil blended lotion on to her body.
“I’m not sure you can hear me like this. Maybe I should get off and work on your legs instead.”
“Off…” she wasn’t sure what she was saying. Was she asking him to get off, or asking him to get her off the ledge of desire by taking her over to the other side of orgasmic bliss? She felt like a simmering firecracker with a fuse getting shorter and shorter with every second. Perhaps she should have tried to pay more attention because what he was saying was that he was going to un-straddle her body so he could work on her legs.
The man was a smooth operator. He knew exactly what he was doing to her as his hands worked up and down her leg to her thigh and inched dangerously close to her center. Her legs shifted open on their own accord. Her hands tangled in the pillows, fisting them as if that would give her some release.
“I was worried about you. God was I worried about you.”
The timbers of his voice were both arousing and comforting. She believed him He was worried when he didn’t see her here and didn’t see the deputy that was on guard. She could now imagine the things that must have gone through his mind. She could now see him calling to the station franticly trying to find out where she was and if the deputy had checked in. Yeah, she got it now. Because if the shoe were on the other foot she would have felt the same kind of fear.
“I’m sorry.” It wasn’t as if she meant for him to worry but she assumed the deputy had alerted everybody since he said he had gotten the okay to take her. She didn’t leave a note because why waste paper when Takahiro already knew where she was going. And the phone…well, she was the rare one in the world where she didn’t even own a cell phone until he got her that nift
y pay as you go phone for emergencies, so it’s not as if phones were on her list of things to always make sure she had. She messed up, and for that she was sorry.
She felt his forehead pressed against her spine just above her tailbone. “I kept thinking what if he got you again. I kept thinking of all the things I didn’t say to you, what I should have said to you.” The warmth of his breath fanned against her body so seductively she felt tears slithering across her soft skin. He had no idea how good it felt, not just to have such a gentle touch, but for her to also hear such love and concern in his voice, in his words. Not since her parents had she had anybody who cared this much, this genuinely, without wanting something in return. Her bosses were nice, but at the end of the day, even though they said they thought of her as family, she knew she was still just an employee. They had paid her medical and she appreciated that because the bill was far more than what she could handle, but she had walked into that office and neither Justin nor Eddie even bothered to ask how she was doing. If that was how they treated family then she was glad they weren’t really her family.
She was going to say something when she felt soft lips caress her tailbone as warm, strong, calloused with work, fingers brushed against her body. His lips moved up her spine and then over her body as if he were trying to kiss every wound away and all she could do was cry at the love in that touch. Unfortunately her sniffling made him give pause to his actions. She sat up and turned toward him and swiftly went into his arms. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his body as his arms anchored her to him.
When he started walking she didn’t need to ask where he was taking her because she knew. She just knew. And when he pulled back the covers and laid her down in his bed, pulled on a pair of sweat pants and crawled in beside her, she easily went into his embrace lying her head on his chest and letting her fingers trail over his muscular frame as tears seeped out the corners of her eyes.
His fingers brushed through her hair and stroked her upturned cheek. “It will get easier, Sheila. It will be okay.”
She inhaled softly and quietly. “I know,” she finally said on a sniffle. He was right; she would be okay. Eventually the memories would stop controlling her mind. Eventually she would stop being afraid at the crack of night. Eventually she would be able to see a belt around a man’s waist without remembering what happened to her and wondering if it would happen again. Eventually she wouldn’t feel broken, she wouldn’t feel like she was some glass window that everybody was fascinated to stare through. Eventually she would be able to sleep at night, go through the day, and live without feeling afraid and ashamed and broken. But right now what had the tears in her eyes was that she felt like with him, in this moment and in this place, he had given her a tiny slice of heaven in a world that felt like hell.
She knew he was right. She would be okay, not just because of him. Even without him she would survive this, a little more jaded, a little more scared, but she would survive—she always did.
“I think I can really start to put it all behind me,” she trailed her fingers over his pectoral muscle. “I think I can when they get the guy. Right now I’m afraid that he’ll come back for me. And you and I both know this protection detail won’t last forever. The media has already moved on to their next story so the politicians can stop digging for votes off my spine now. Things are going to go back to normal for everybody but me until they get this guy.”
“Yeah,” he spoke softly. “I know that. It’s already getting that way. The phone calls have stopped coming in. Deputy Sharron will probably be back on normal duty by next weekend. So yeah…I know. I’m going to take some time off work.”
“No you’re not,” she smiled crookedly as her fingers continued their exploration.
“Sheila, don’t you dare tell me what I’m going to do.” His voice was low but there was still anger in his tone.
“I will too. Because you see your job doesn’t leave room for detachment for as long as you would need to detach yourself just to watch over me. And if you got killed in the line of duty because you missed staying sharp because you were babysitting me I would never forgive myself for that. So no, you’re not taking time off work. I’ll be okay.”
“Sheila…”
“I want you to teach me how to shoot. I want to buy a gun. Not right now. I think I have to stop being scared of my own shadow before I carry one, but eventually. I want to learn. Can you teach me?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I can do that.”
“Great. I’ll hold you to that.” She chuckled as he brushed the remnants of her tears off her cheek.
“I’d prefer it if you hold me to you.”
“I thought I already was doing that. Silly me.” She untangled herself from his arms and climbed on top of him before laying her chest on top of his and her forearms on the bed like a sphinx. She looked in his eyes. “Is this better.”
His eyes searched hers, his fingers played in her silky hair. “Oh yeah, that’s better.”
“Good,” she got comfortable on top of him, placing her cheek on his chest. “It’s comfortable here, not because you rescued me, but because your body is comfortable to sleep on.” She yawned and her eyes watered this time not from tears but from sheer exhaustion. Takahiro was saying something but her brain was going into slumber mode and before she knew it, it was lights out Sheila.
Chapter Seven
“Good to know she’s back at work,” Dick flicked a card into the hat again. Perfect aim was always a plus when making a perfect kill. While he was gung-ho about the fun Ike was planning he still wanted to go after those SWAT men that killed his brother. He didn’t know exactly which ones it was since they all had on the full body gear. He snorted. Cowards that they were. Maybe he would just kill them all. Maybe he could just blow up the entire building. Nah, he wasn’t into bombs. He wanted to put bullets in them like they had done his brother. He was a man of skill. He would figure out who he needed to kill. He just had to be a little more patient.
“Cop in tow though. But I know you’ll find a way to make it happen. I might know how to cover it up, but you know how to find the target.”
“Yeah, I was good at that even before the Army screwed us over.” Dick flicked another card and then another. So the mark thought she was safe enough to return to work huh? Work with a police escort was not going to protect her. He could follow a car like no other. If he could get back to his place he could pick up a couple things to make it easier, but that was out of the question. That was okay because he was beyond good at what he did and he would make sure this mark went into the grave soon—real soon.
Takahiro felt her shifting and turning like she was trying to get away from something. This was the second night she had slept in his room with him, but the first where the nightmares seemed to be assaulting her without mercy. He was about to wake her when she awakened on a sharply yelled, “no”. She jerked sharply upright. She brought her head to her knees and cried. If he could kill the bastard again he would do that. It wasn’t his bullet that got the jerk, but he wished it had been. He wished he had pulled the trigger a thousand times.
Takahiro sat up and wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her onto his lap. “Shh…” he whispered. “You’re safe here. I’m right here with you.” Her tiny fingers pressed deeply into his biceps as she clutched him like he was the only thing holding her to this realm of existence. “You need to talk to someone about this.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I want to forget.”
Yeah, and how was that working out for her? It wasn’t. He wanted to forget the rage he felt when he found her bond and tortured, but he couldn’t.
“I’ll go first,” he decided one could not ask without giving a little of himself so he was going to give a little. “I wish I could resurrect the bastard so I could beat him like he beat you and then I could put a bullet in him.”
She lifted her head to kiss his cheek and then she returned her cheek to his shoulder. The position told him maybe sh
e wasn’t going to talk now so he kept going.
“In all my years on this job I have never seen anything so vicious, so utterly evil, that it turned my stomach and made my blood boil with the rage in my heart. I’m actually hoping that the other guy gets terminated too.” He ran his fingers up and down her spine. He didn’t need the lights on to know that some of the scars remained while the bruises had slowly faded away.
“I hate them both,” she said in a near whisper. “It just…it hurt so much.”
“I know.”
“I wanted to die. I wanted it to just end because I didn’t think anybody was coming for me. I think that makes a difference I think when you know you’re going to be rescued you try to hold on. But I didn’t know and I got tired of fighting to survive waiting for help. I just wanted it to be over. I just wanted to die.”
“I understand,” he spoke softly. He would imagine going through that kind of hell, not being trained to withstand such an assault, and not knowing if help would come, would break anybody.
“But then I saw you, and your team, and I silently thanked God and my ancestors for sending you. I realized I wanted to live. I hope,” she exhaled softly as her tears dripped onto his shoulder. “I hope they find him. I hope they catch him and I hope God will forgive me but I hope he dies. I hope they kill him.”
Yeah, he had the same kind of hopes, only difference was that he wasn’t asking any God for forgiveness now. “Me too, on the catch and kill thing that is.”
She gave a soft laugh before placing her lips on his shoulder. The woman had no idea what she was doing to him. She had no idea how hard it was for him not to take her in the way he wanted her.
She rested her forehead on his chest briefly before pulling herself off his lap and getting back on her side of the bed. He missed her connection to him so much that he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. One leg sandwiched between her thighs while his other one rested overtop the other.
“I wish it never happened,” she sighed. “But the past can’t be changed. Now I just wish the nightmares would stop.”
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