by Shara Azod
Then Gray was there. His fists slammed into Taggard in quick succession. Two to the face, three to the gut. Taggard was stunned, but he managed to get off a kick to Gray’s thigh. Gray didn’t go down. His fist connected to Taggard’s face again, knocking the other man back. Taggard connected a fist to Gray’s face, but his other swings were wildly off.
Bobbi had to bite back a cry of dismay, when Taggard charged her man, knocking him off his feet. Both men went down in a wild tangle of arms and legs. Their punches were brutal, loud thunks echoing through the room. Bobbi had every confidence Gray would come out on top, but Taggard wasn’t sane. Insane people tended to withstand a hell of a lot of punishment, this psycho was no different.
Somehow Gray wound up on top of Taggard, his fists flying straight into the crazy man’s face. Bobbi couldn’t turn away from the bloody mess Taggard’s face was fast becoming. It was like watching a car crash, she was disgusted and fascinated all at once.
Not that she was disgusted at Gray. No, on the contrary, she felt…strangely elated. That bastard had been ready to kill her, and Gray was meeting out nothing short of justice. As long as he didn’t take it too far. And Bobbi was afraid Gray might do just that. However, while Taggard was fighting back, there was no way in the world Bobbi was going to distract Gray by doing something stupid like telling him to stop.
Taggard got off a lucky kick to Gray’s midsection, knocking her lover off him long enough to get away. But Taggard seemed confused. He looked back at her, then at the door.
“I’ll be back for you, bitch!” he screeched at her. “You’re nothing but a dirty –”
He had thought about his next move too long. Gray tackled him, bringing him to the ground. The fists flying at Taggard were almost too fast to catch. Gray was relentless. His face was a mask of something Bobbi had never seen before. She could believe he had been trained to kill, because murder was written all over him.
“Gray, he’s out,” Bobbi cried, tears streaming down her face. Gray wasn’t listening. “Gray! Gray, please stop!”
Gray stopped, looking dazed. His eyes were icy, his face grim. Bobbi couldn’t image what he was thinking. Was he mad at her for letting Taggard in? Would he blame her?
“It was him all along wasn’t it? The guy watching you from the empty apartment?”
“Yeah, it was him.” Bobbi hugged herself, trying frantically to hang on – not for herself, but for him. He would need her to be strong.
“Can you please go into the garage and get me some rope?” he changed the subject. “Hanging on the far left wall, all right, baby?”
In spite of the almost pleasant tone he took with her, he was still seething, his body rigid as he literally sat on Taggard. Bobbi scurried to bring him what he asked for, standing back as Gray hogtied Taggard with the rope. Taking out his cell, Gray made a call to someone named Master Chief Sheppard. The command, not the cops. Bobbi shivered at the implication. As scared as she had been, she didn’t want Gray doing anything that would get him in trouble.
“Gray?”
“Go upstairs, baby. Wait for me there.”
She had seen Gray annoyed, mildly pissed off, even furious, but she had never seen him murderous. His face was devoid of any emotion at all. Although his voice was soft and gentle to her, it wasn’t while he was on the phone. He stopped mid-sentence, looking right at her.
“Bobbi, baby, please. Go upstairs. It will be okay, I promise.”
Gray didn’t make promises lightly. She went upstairs.
It was less than ten minutes before there was a bustle of activity downstairs. Muted male voices drifted up to where she sat on the edge of the bed, biting her bottom lip. She rubbed her arms in a futile attempt to stop her shivers. She had never been so scared! The funny thing was, she hadn’t been nearly as scared for herself as she was for Gray. The look on his face when he came crashing in; it had been terrifying. The way he had hit Taggard…
A new surge of shivers wracked her. There would have been nothing she could say to stop him from killing the twisted man. She hadn’t even tried. Gray had gone from dangerous to deadly right before her eyes. She prayed he didn’t do something stupid.
Then it hit her – she could have died. Taggard was insane. For whatever reason he had fixated on her, and he had every intention of ridding himself of the obsession in the only way his diseased brain could figure out how.
And Gray had saved her. He had not only saved her, he had been beyond furious. The look on his face…
He loved her. It was clear as the nose on her face. Tears gathered and overflowed as the realization hit her. No one had ever loved her like that. Not her mother, who had disappeared before she could talk. Not her father, who had put his career before his child. Even her friends couldn’t say they loved her enough to kill for her. But Gray did.
“Aw, shit, baby, please don’t cry. We took care of it, I swear. Taggard will never be able to hurt you again where he’s going.”
Gray was surrounding her with his hard, safe body before she became conscious he was even in the room. Her body surrendered to his embrace immediately, but her brain was still boggled by her newfound knowledge.
“I’m not crying over him,” she sniffed, snuggling even closer into the security of her man. Her man. Who would have ever thought?
“I know you were scared. I am so sorry, baby, Next time I’ll call the command first –”
“No! That’s not why I’m crying either.”
No, she was crying because she was loved. Completely and unequivocally loved. How novel, how wonderful. It was the most precious thing he could have ever given her.
“Then what is it? Is it me? Did I scare you?”
He sounded so worried, she moved out of the comfort of his arms to turn to face him.
Pushing him back on the bed, she straddled his thighs so she could get face to face.
“You love me.” Saying it out loud was as much of a wonder as the thought. It made it more real somehow, and she said it with absolute conviction. “You really love me.”
Gray looked confused. It was so cute, she started giggling. The big strong SEAL-man was baffled.
“Of course, I love you. I think I loved you from the moment I saw you trying to escape from your friends. How could I not love you?”
That one threw her. Because, no one else had bothered to love her? Because she was just her.
“I don’t know. Because there is nothing special about me?”
“The only reason why I’m not going to spank your ass for that is because you have been through enough today. But if you ever say anything so asinine again I swear I might have to go buy a flogger. Bobbi you are an amazing woman. You are strong yet soft. You are loving and giving. You are smart and beautiful, not to mention sexy as hell. I am damn lucky you decided to give a slob like me the time of day.”
There wasn’t a response for all that, so she kissed him. She poured everything she couldn’t say, wasn’t ready to say into it, biting at his lower lip, battling his tongue with her own. He didn’t ask her to say it; he just accepted what she had to give. Holding her tight against his body, he didn’t take over or demand what she wasn’t ready to give. Gray was perfect like that.
“Bobbi?” he murmured against her lips.
“Hmm?”
“What’s that smell?”
“Oh shit! My cobbler!” She jumped up and ran down the stairs. She hoped it hadn’t burned.
“You made cobbler?” Gray asked following more slowly.
“And smothered pork chops, rice, macaroni and cheese, and cabbage. Oh, and some corn bread,” she answered absently, pulling the cobbler from the oven with a sigh of relief. Not burned, but perfectly golden brown with the juices bubbling over the edges of the crust. If Taggard had ruined her perfect dinner she would have had to let Gray kill him.
“Bobbi, you know I am never going to let you leave right? I mean, I hadn’t planned to anyway, but all this…Damn, woman!”
It was a good thing sh
e hadn’t planned on leaving. Gray had more than proved himself. Even if he hadn’t said anything, she was definitely moving in.
Chapter 15
Most commands had their own brig. Gray paced outside Taggard’s cell, waiting for the Senior Chief. He tried not to let the other man’s taunts get to him. He tried blocking out the sounds of the insane ranting. The guys standing post around him were visibly cringing. Gray grit his teeth, his hands clutched in fists by his sides.
“Such a sweet piece of ass you got yourself there, Gray!” Taggard screeched. “Did she tell you how she spread her legs for me before you got there? Did she tell you how I had her kneeling while I fed her my cock?” The mad man grabbed at his crotch as he taunted, jerking his hips back and forth in a sick parody of fucking. “I had her take all of this right up that chocolate ass. She was begging for it! She is nothing but a dirty, filthy whore – just like the rest of them!”
“The rest of them?” Senior Chief Hensen asked as if he was uninterested, walking into the holding area with a stack of manila folders. “Like Trisha Greene, Monica Bedford and Laticia Morgan? Were they all dirty whores too?”
Gray paled. He remembered each one of those names. He had slept with each one, more than once. A few times when Taggard had been hanging out at the cottage he had recently rented out.
“Did he…?” Gray couldn’t get the words out. Had he been responsible for those women’s deaths by bringing them to Taggard’s notice?
“He didn’t kill them. But each one had extensive stays in the hospital. Each one refused to give any testimony on who had messed them up,” Senior Chief replied, looking at Taggard with raw, undisguised disgust.
“I purified them!” Taggard screamed. “I saved them from becoming dirty whores! They were lost, I helped them. I still help them.”
“Seems they were scared because the bastard kept showing up, even in the hospital. What he did to them,” Senior shook his head opening one of the folders for Gray.
What he saw made him want to vomit. It was some of the sickest shit he had ever seen. He had seen the worst of war, the most twisted of criminals, but never had he seen anything like that. It was beyond animalistic. The monster had sewn up their labia, then burned it closed. He had taken a hot poker to their breasts, and the rest. And this is what he had wanted to do to Bobbi?
“Please let me in the cell,” Gray pleaded to the Senior Chief.
“I might have a hard time explaining a banged up defendant at his court martial.”
“Senior, I will write the accident report myself. Please.”
Senior Chief Hensen nodded to the guards, who moved to unlock the cell. Taggard didn’t even try to get out; he just crouched low in a defensive mode, waiting for Gray.
Gray didn’t go charging in. The fury that had shaken his body settled, replaced by cold hard determination. He walked into cell calmly and stood there in the middle, waiting.
“What are you waiting for lover-boy? Make your move!” Taggard taunted.
There was no way Gray was falling for it. Tag fought dirty. He was probably waiting for a charge. Gray wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. Rolling his shoulders he loosened his body, flexing his muscles.
“Maybe that black bitch isn’t worth fighting for!” Taggard sneered.
“You certainly thought she was worth it.” It was killing him to be so nonchalant when he felt anything but. “How long have you been watching her Tag? And she never noticed you. Must have driven you crazy.”
That did it.
Taggard charged, allowing Gray to kick him on the chin, knocking him back. Tag recovered quickly, trying to tackle Gray around the midsection. Gray caught one of his arms, twisting it back until he heard the joint snap. To his credit, Tag didn’t scream. He had been trained not to after all.
Tag tried to sweep Gray’s feet out from under him, but he was moving too slow, too erratic. One punch to the diaphragm and Tag was on his knees. Gray squatted to get right in his face.
“Say another word about her. I dare you.”
Most men would immediately see the dead serious intensity in his eyes, hear the warning in his voice – Tag didn’t. But then, Tag was insane.
“Was that ass as juicy as it looked? I am still going to get a piece of it you know. As soon as I…”
Gray cut off any further words with his hand firmly around his throat.
“If you don’t stop, I will kill you,” he warned. It was a wasted warning.
“I am going to find her,” Taggard croaked. “And I am going to…”
Gray surged to his feet, Taggard still tightly in his grip. He slammed the other man against the wall.
“I will never stop,” Taggard insisted.
Gray knew he was trying to get him to kill him. He wanted death over the very long sentence that awaited him.
Gray let go, stepping back.
“Not gonna do it, Tag.” The man looked pathetic, slumped against the wall. Gray had no pity to offer him.
With one final kick to the side of his head, Gray gave Tag the ultimate insult. He turned his back on him.
“Thank you for showing restraint, Gray,” Senior Chief nodded as the guards let him out of the cell, both of them went in. “I’m not so sure the guards here will be so kind.
*****
One Year Later…
It was a beautiful summer day. The sun glistened off the Pacific’s sapphire surface, making it appear like millions of diamonds decorated the surface. Bobbi stretched on her lounger, loving the way the sun heated her skin.
“You should really put some clothes on.”
Bobbi shuddered just a little as Gray ran his fingers down her exposed back, stopping at the base of her spine and pausing.
“And if I don’t,” she teased, knowing damn well the last thing he wanted was for her to put her bathing suit back on. Not after he had torn it off of her in the first place.
“If you don’t, I’m going to fuck you.”
Damn, she would never get used to that authoritarian tone of his. It was sinfully delectable. She tried to roll over to, but Gray moved, quick as a cat, straddling her legs.
“Oh no you don’t, you bad girl. This is exactly where I want you.”
Bobbi moaned as frissons of tingly expectation coursed through her. Gray had taught her so many things over the past year, one of them was what she suspected he was about to do right now.
“On your knees.”
Bobbi didn’t have to be told twice. Crawling to her knees, she waited impatiently, biting her lip when she heard the sound of the small bottle resting next to his lounge chair being flipped open.
“Lean forward, baby. Put your chest flat on the chair.” His voice was deeper now, his hands kneading the cheeks of her ass.
The feel of his hand gently worked the lubricant first around her rosette, then deeper. She felt the now familiar stretch and burn, then the delicious feeling of fullness. It wasn’t enough. While she appreciated the careful preparation and all, she was more than ready for the main course.
“Gray, please?” she pleaded prettily. She knew he loved that. “I want you so bad.”
With a tortured groan, he began to work inside her. She bore down, relaxing her muscles to allow him inside. She tried to rock back to force him in, but Gray was going to take his own sweet time no matter what she did.
“Easy baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”
It was maddening. He would never hurt her. He had proved it over and over again. It seemed to take forever before he was fully inside her, completing her.
“Gray, it’s too good,” she gasped, finally able to move against him.
The pleasure on the edge of pain was so intense she had to gulp to breathe. He pulled her up, anchoring her in his strong arms. He worked in slow, smooth strokes, stoking her smolder into a four alarm fire.
“You feel so good, sugar,” Gray groaned in her ear, pinching down on her clit. The sensations sent minor quakes through her. “Yeah, baby, just like that.
Fuck me back, just like that.”
Bobbi gyrated helplessly, her world bursting into a kaleidoscope of bright colors. As close as she was, he seemed to know just when she was about to crash over the edge. He would stop, sucking on the most sensitive part of her neck. Her body was drawn so tightly she thought for sure she would break at any second.
“Gray, you have to let me come. Please!”
“Soon, baby, soon.”
He waited until she settled down a bit, and then started his special brand of torture all over again. Instead of pinching her clit he began to rub in languid circles. He moved a little faster, stretching, burning, fulfilling.
“You are so beautiful like this,” Gray whispered fervently. “Come for me, Bobbi.”
Finally! Her body flew apart at his command, shaking so fiercely she fell forward, with Gray coming down right after her.
“You are going to kill me,” Gray groaned, easing off her only to gather her up in his arms and lay her on top of him. “Man, but what a way to go.”
“Are you complaining?” she teased, running her hand over his chest. She loved his chest. He had just a light sprinkling of hair and; perfect pecs. All well defined and broad.
“Hell, no! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
They lay in peaceful silence for a while, enjoying the perfect afternoon.
It seemed so unreal to Bobbi. One year, one psycho, and a lot of adjustments, but she felt truly complete. Poor Taggard had been court marshaled. It had taken Gray a while to get over the caveman-like overprotective routine, but they were working it out. She couldn’t imagine her life without Gray. It was nice to have someone to come home to every night. Only one thing was missing. The words she had not yet managed to bring herself to say.
“I love you, Grayson.”
She felt rather than heard the sharp inhale of breath. He had said it to her, many times, but she had never said it back. She knew he had been waiting.
“Oh, baby, I love you so much.” He crushed her to him, holding her so tight. Marry me. I would have brought the ring, but I didn’t think you would ever say it.”
