by Carol Lynne
"Oh, baby, I missed you both so much.” Damon ran his foot up the inside of Shane's calf. “You just wait until I get you home."
"Find out anything on the sicko pervert back home?” Shane asked.
"Naw. The police can't seem to catch him. I figure we can stay down here for the next couple of weeks at least. We'll have to get back though for the Christmas party. Rachel's worked too hard on getting everything perfect for it. We can't ask her to skip it."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right.” Shane thanked the waitress for his beer. He took a drink and looked back towards the restrooms. “You suppose she's getting herself off again?"
Damon smiled and stood, “Why don't I just go and find out.” He walked back towards the restrooms and knocked on the door. “Rachel? You okay in there?"
When he didn't get a reply, Damon slowly opened the door and peered inside. There were two stalls, surprising for a place like this. “Rachel?” he called again, stepping inside. Sure his girl was playing with her new toy, he grinned and looked under the stalls.
What he saw, sent a zing of alarm down his spine. Rachel was on the dirty floor, curled up between the wall and the toilet. “Open the door, sweetheart."
Several seconds went by before Rachel finally looked at him. “I don't know if I can,” she mumbled.
Damon stood and grabbed the top of the door. He gave the flimsy piece of a metal a good yank, breaking the lock. Once inside, he knelt down. “Did something happen?” Hell, he knew it had. Rachel didn't even look this bad after her attempted rape.
"Rachel! Did someone hurt you?” he asked.
Rachel crawled forward and buried her head in Damon's chest. “Take me home."
"I will, but first you need to tell me what happened."
With her face still buried against his chest, Rachel started to cry. “I don't now. I came back to use the restroom, and there was a man in the hall. When I went to pass him, he grabbed my arm and made a pass at me."
Rachel shook her head. “It shouldn't have been a big deal. I mean, I've been hit on plenty of times, but for some reason, I freaked out. I ran in here and locked the door."
Scooping her up into his arms, Damon carried her out of the room. Shane spotted them coming and jumped up from the table full of food. “What the hell happened?"
"Grab the food and let's get out of here.” A waitress came running over and Shane threw some bills on the table. He picked up the large box of food and followed Damon out of the bar.
Getting his keys out, Shane balanced the box on his hip and unlocked the car doors. He set the box in the front passenger seat, while Damon tucked Rachel under his arm and climbed into the backseat. As Shane pulled away from the bar, he looked in the mirror at Rachel. “Would someone please tell me what the hell went on back there?"
Still cradling a crying Rachel, Damon looked up at Shane. “Some man hit on her, and I think our girl had some kind of flashback.” Damon looked Shane in the eyes. “I found her curled in a ball on the restroom floor unable to move."
As soon as Shane hit the city limit, he pulled the car to the side of the road and got out. He walked back and forth in front of the car for a few minutes, cursing and kicking at the dirt. Once he'd finally calmed down, he opened the rear passenger door and slipped in beside Damon.
Bending over, he kissed Rachel's forehead. “Are you okay? Should we take you to the hospital or the police station?"
Rachel shook her head and burrowed further into Damon's already tight embrace. “I'll be fine. Please, just take me home."
Shane looked into Damon's eyes as he bent down to kiss Rachel once more. “All right. I'll get you home.” He gave Damon a quick kiss and a look that told Damon he wasn't finished with his line of questioning. Getting back behind the wheel, he started the car and pulled back on the road.
They were almost home when Rachel lifted her head enough to look around. “No. No. I thought you were taking me home? I want to go home."
Smoothing his hand down her back, Damon tried to soothe her. “Sweetheart, we are going home. Only about five more minutes, and we'll be there."
Rachel shook her head. “No. I want to go back to New York. Back home.” She looked pleadingly from Damon to Shane. “Please take me home."
Running his hand over his face, Shane sighed. “Okay. Let's get our stuff together and we'll head right back to the airport. We'll be home tonight."
* * * *
When they reached the hacienda, Shane pulled the car up to the front door and jumped out. Opening the back door, he took Rachel out of Damon's arms and headed for the house.
Damon must've read his mind, because his lover walked straight to the large master bath. Damon turned on the water, and Shane got Rachel undressed.
"I'll go call the airport,” Damon said and left the room.
Unlike last time, Shane had no intentions of leaving her alone in the shower. Shane quickly undressed and helped Rachel into the shower with him. He set down on the tiled bench under the spray with Rachel on his lap.
Slowly, with soothing words, Shane began to wash Rachel with her favourite shower gel. Ten minutes later, Shane wasn't surprised when the door slid open, and a large naked Damon stepped into the shower. Damon sat beside Shane and Rachel on the bench and silently began washing her hair.
It all must have been too much for Rachel because somehow she managed to fall asleep in Shane's arms. Damon rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and stepped out of the shower long enough to retrieve four towels. He quickly dried himself and wrapped the towel around his waist. Winding one of the towels around Rachel's wet hair, he dried her body.
Shane reached between her legs and withdrew the anal jewellery, as Damon took Rachel from his arms. Damon left the bathroom and carried her into the bedroom, while Shane rinsed off the silver plug and dried it to a bright shine before putting it back in the carved wooden box on the dresser. When he turned around, Damon was sitting on the side of the bed watching Rachel sleep. He waved to get his attention and motioned towards the living room.
Damon nodded his head and followed. As soon as they were in the living room, Damon took Shane into his arms. “We need to talk about what happened. First, I need to tell you that I called, and there aren't any more flights out today. Second, I don't like the idea of taking Rachel back to New York. The police still haven't caught the ass-wipe, and I'm not about to take yet another chance of him getting his hands on her."
Shane finally managed to shut him up by pressing their lips together. Their tongues twined and danced as their moans of hunger and frustration filled the room. Pulling back Shane licked his lips. “I'll call and make arrangements for a private jet to get us home. At this point, I'd carry her back to New York if I had to."
When Damon started to argue, Shane put his fingers over his lips. “For some reason, our home seems like the safest place to her. Our home. Do you understand the significance of that? I think we need to follow her lead on this one, darlin'."
Damon looked over Shane's head at the ocean view. “We were twenty yards away from her today, and she still freaked out."
Leading Damon over to the sofa, Shane sat down and pulled Damon in beside him. “Talk to me. Tell me what you saw, and tell me all of it."
Running his hands over his face, Damon sighed. Shane listened as Damon told him about Rachel's inability to focus or move when he asked her to. Shane swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Why don't you start packing Rachel's clothes. I'll call and see if I can get us a ride out of here.” He looked around the hacienda. “It's our fault, you know? We tried to take Rachel's mind off the attack instead of making her deal with it. Now it's come back to bite all of us in the ass."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Eight
After her shower, Rachel went and stood in front of her closet. It was her first day back to work and nothing in her closet felt right to her. She finally settled on a long, black pencil skirt and a light blue turtleneck. Laying the clothes out on th
e bed, she was suddenly glad Damon and Shane had had an early meeting this morning. She went back into the bathroom to do her makeup and hair.
Rachel applied very little makeup and blow-dried her hair. She studied herself in the mirror. Something about her lured these strange men to her. The best she'd come up with was the provocative way she'd been dressed on both occasions.
As she started getting her clothes on, Rachel decided to ask Shane and Damon to take her shopping after work. The wardrobe she'd always been so proud of, suddenly left her feeling cold and cheap. If she was going to remain safe, she needed to start dressing more conservatively. Besides, she needed a new dress anyway. The one she'd already bought for the corporate Christmas party would never do now.
Zipping her knee length black boots, Rachel checked herself in the mirror once more. With the addition of a slightly padded bra you couldn't even see the nipple rings she still wore. She'd told Damon and Shane that she thought she should take them out, but they both begged her to wait a while before doing it. Rachel had to admit they were both crazy about them, just as much as she was crazy about theirs.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her purse and headed for the elevator. Shane and Damon had hired three more guards per shift to help keep the building as safe as possible, but Rachel still couldn't help feeling uneasy as the doors opened. After making sure the elevator was empty, she stepped inside. She wondered how long this constant state of fear would last. The only time she felt truly safe was in the arms of Damon or Shane or both. Knowing she couldn't hang on them every minute of the day, she tried to convince them she'd be fine by herself in the penthouse.
The elevator doors closed, and she took the short ride down to the executive floor. The hall was empty as she quickly made her way to her office with key in hand. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and locked it behind her. Damon's only stipulation in letting her go to work while they were in an all-morning meeting, was to make sure the door was securely locked. She smiled when she'd read the memo put out by Damon to the rest of the corporation.
Damon had instructed that absolutely no one would be admitted into the executive offices of the President and Vice-President without a scheduled appointment. Rachel looked at the key in her hand. Locked doors were the norm from now on, or at least until they found the rapist, who was still running loose in Manhattan.
Rachel sat behind her desk and flipped on her computer. If she was going to be here, she might as well get busy. The more she immersed herself in the work, the faster the time would pass until Damon and Shane were back in her sight.
* * * *
Shane excused himself from the meeting and walked to the corner of the room, flipping open his cell phone. He'd called to check on Rachel every hour since she'd started work that morning. Every time he called, she said she was fine, but the relief in her voice told him she needed the calls as much as he needed to make them.
"Shane Brassil and Damon Johnson's office."
"Hi, Red. How's everything going?"
"Better now that you've called. How much longer?"
Lifting his arm, Shane looked at his watch. “Only about another forty minutes or so. Damon and I thought maybe you'd feel like going out for lunch somewhere."
"Um. Maybe you two could pick something up, and we can eat in the office or go upstairs for lunch."
With his jaws clenched, Shane closed his eyes. “You haven't been out of the building since we've been back from Mexico. We thought it would be good for you to get out for a while."
"As a matter of fact, I was going to ask the two of you if you'd take me shopping after work. I need some new work clothes, and I'll need another dress for the Christmas party."
"I thought you already had a dress for the party?” Shane felt eyes on him and glanced over at Damon. Sure enough Damon was staring holes into him with those intense, pale green eyes of his.
"We can talk about the dress later. Will you take me shopping or not?"
He could tell Rachel was starting to get defensive, so he backed off for now. “Sure. We'll go shopping with you, but only if you let us buy you dinner afterward."
Silence. Finally Rachel spoke in a soft, insecure voice. “You'll stay with me the whole time, won't you?"
"Oh, love. Of course we will.” Damon must have sensed the sadness overwhelming Shane right then, because he excused himself and headed towards him. All Shane wanted to do was pull Damon into his arms and break down. Not exactly the corporate image he was going for, however. He held up his hand to stop Damon before he got too close. “I need to get back to the meeting, but we'll try to cut it short. Why don't you call and have some Chinese delivered. Just tell them to leave it at the front desk, and we'll pick it up on our way to the office."
"Okay."
"I love you, Red."
"Love you, too."
Closing his cell phone, Shane looked at Damon. “We need to talk about Rachel. Let's cut this meeting short. I've heard all I need to hear anyway."
* * * *
After talking about Rachel's odd, but predictable, behaviour, Damon and Shane let themselves into their office suite. When Shane unlocked and opened the door, the first thing Damon saw was a wide-eyed Rachel with her hand over her heart.
"I'm sorry. I guess I should have called to let you know we were coming.” Shane walked towards her as Damon closed and locked the door.
Damon set the take-out bags on Rachel's desk. Shane already had Rachel in his arms, but by the look of her, Damon decided she could use another pair around her. He walked over and wrapped both his loves in his embrace. “This is my kind of lunch.” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “Are we eating in here or in Shane's office?"
Taking a deep breath, Rachel kissed him. “Shane's please."
Damon broke away, picked up the bags and carried them to the other room. He set them on the small conference table and began pulling out cartons. He looked up when Shane walked in with his arm still wrapped around Rachel.
"Have a seat you two, before this food gets cold.” Damon sat down and motioned towards two other chairs. Shane gave Rachel one last kiss before pulling her chair out for her.
As they ate, Damon couldn't help but to notice the change in Rachel's appearance. She looked almost like a schoolmarm. He didn't think he'd ever seen her in anything but low-cut blouses and sweaters. “So what are we going shopping for, sweetheart?"
Wiping her mouth, Rachel took a drink of her diet cola. “Just some new work clothes and a dress for the party.” She looked at Shane as she mentioned buying a new dress.
Shane took her hand in his. “I'm not sure what's going on, but the dress I saw hanging in your closet is breathtaking. Tell me why you don't want to wear it, all of a sudden?"
Rachel bit her lip and looked down at their clasped hands. “Because it's too revealing."
Shane shot a look at Damon. Damon rose and stood behind Rachel's chair. Bending over, he whispered in her ear. “Would you sit with us on the sofa?"
Without looking up, Rachel nodded as Damon pulled her chair back from the table. Shane held on to her hand and led her over to the big leather couch. Damon sat Rachel on his lap, and Shane curled up around them. Shane softly kissed her lips. “Why do you think it's wrong to dress in sexy clothes?"
"I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I think, if I dress more conservatively, I won't be such a target for men."
Taking her chin in his hand, Shane lifted her face back up to his. “I don't know how to tell you this, but you look damn hot in anything you wear. You're a gorgeous woman, and short of growing a moustache, clothes aren't going to make you any less appealing to the men of the world."
Chewing her lip, Rachel seemed to think about what Shane said. “Are you telling me there's nothing I can do to keep myself from becoming a target for another sicko?” She twisted her hands in her lap and sighed.
"How about we sign you up for some martial arts classes?” Damon untwisted her hands and ran his fingertip in circles on her
palm. “We could do it as a family if you're interested."
A light sparked in her eyes as she looked over at Damon. “Really? You guys would do that for me?"
"Oh, sweetheart. We'd do anything for you. If we thought taking you out of the city forever would keep you safe, we would. But as we found out down in Mexico, you need to deal with what happened to you."
Rachel nodded her head. “Let's do it. Sign us up today. I'm tired of being a victim. This is the day I take charge of my own safety.” With another quick nod of her head, she looked at the two men.
Smiling, Damon leaned over and kissed her nose. “I'll make some calls this afternoon, but don't forget you also have two fairly strong men who love you and will be there to try and protect you. You're not in this alone, sweetheart."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Nine
Throwing her gym bag at the foot of the bed, Rachel stripped off her clothes and walked into the bathroom. She turned the water on and pinned her hair on top of her head in a haphazard bun.
As she began soaping her body, she couldn't help noticing the toned muscles in her abdomen. Working out in the corporate gym daily along with the martial arts training three nights a week was definitely having an effect on her body. Rachel smiled and realised it wasn't only her body that was changing but her self-confidence as well.
She'd begun venturing out of the building on her own in the last ten days. She'd even taken Dot to her favourite restaurant several times for lunch.
When the shower door slid open to emit a grinning pair of naked men, she didn't even jump. That in itself was a vast improvement. “Hey, you two. I thought you had a business dinner?"
Wrapping his arms around her from behind, Damon kissed her neck. “We do. We came to pick up our favourite girl and take her to dinner.” He ran his hands over Shane's taught butt as Shane pressed himself to the front of Rachel.
"Okay I'm lost. How are you two going to concentrate on business with me there? I haven't gone to a business dinner since the time Damon fingered me under the table, all while poor Shane was trying to talk business."
