The sound of the gun was louder than she'd expected, almost deafening. The recoil pushed her backwards, but Jack kept going. She'd missed. Tara took aim a second time and squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit Jack in the shoulder and he spun, hitting the doorway and sliding to the floor. The gun slipped from Tara's shaking hands. She stared at him for a moment, registering the pain and anger on his face, then gathered herself and bent down to press on the towel again. She'd just shot a man. She felt sick to her stomach. Even if it meant he left she wasn't doing that again. Her primary emotion when she realized she'd shot him hadn't been triumph, like she'd expected, but fear: fear that she'd killed him.
“This is the police,” someone yelled down the hallway. “Please come out with your hands up.”
“I can't,” Tara yelled. “My boyfriend's been shot. I'm applying pressure.”
“Are the two of you alone?” the officer asked.
“No,” Tara said. “The guy that shot him is in the doorway. I just shot him.”
“So you're armed?” the officer asked.
“No,” Tara said, her voice shaking. “Well, I dropped the gun, but he can't reach it. You can come in.”
“She's crazy,” Jack said, scooting into the hallway. “Don't listen to her; she shot both of us. Help me.”
Tara didn't contradict him. She wasn't going to get into a back and forth with Jack in this situation. She heard footsteps down the hall and then Jack was dragged out of her line of sight. A police officer came into the room, gun first. She met his eyes evenly, gesturing with her head towards the gun on the floor. In minutes the apartment was swarming with police and paramedics. Tara couldn't stop shaking. One of the officers took her aside and asked for her statement. She didn't know what she said. All she could think about she was Mark. They'd taken him away, but he'd been so pale, so still. The only way she knew he was alive was the bleeding. She tried to ask if he was okay, but they didn't have any answers for her. All she know was that he couldn't die. If he did it would be all her fault and she couldn't live with that. It would be more than she could bear.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tara looked down at Mark's beloved face, scratched, but no longer pale. He was lying in a hospital bed, his chest bandaged. His parents hadn't wanted to let her see him at first, but Mark's heroism had won Sarah over and she'd gone to war for Tara, insisting that Mark would want her there, would want to see her.
Tara touched his face. She smiled at the rough stubble on his jaw. He was warm and beautiful. Her heart skipped a beat when he turned his head and nuzzled his cheek into her palm. She couldn't resist dropping a kiss onto his lips. She felt him smiling. He opened his eyes, his hand coming up to touch her face.
“You're okay,” he said, huskily. Tara wanted to cry. She had been so worried she would never hear his voice again, never feel him touch her. A wave of feeling passed through her. She loved him so much it hurt.
“I'm okay,” Tara said. She kissed him again, enjoying the warmth, the gentleness of his touch.
“Jack?” Mark asked.
“He's been arrested. He's here in the hospital, under guard.”
“I didn't think I hit him that hard,” Mark said, stroking her hair.
“You didn't,” Tara said. “I shot him.”
“You shot him?” Mark grinned. Tara loved that little hook at the side of his mouth.
“He was trying to leave. The police were on their way, but there was no way I was going to let him get another shot at us. No pun intended.”
“Is he hurt bad?” Mark asked.
“No worse than you,” Tara said. “And from what the doctor said it's not that bad. The bullet went almost all the way through. They did some minor surgery to get it out. You lost a lot of blood, but it didn't hit anything vital. They think you'll be okay in a couple weeks.”
“I felt so weak,” Mark confessed. “I thought I was...”
“That's because someone shot you,” Tara said, “and then you engaged in hand to hand combat. Next time, you might try reversing the order.”
“Or,” Mark said, brushing her lips with his thumb, “I could just not get shot.”
Tara smiled, tears pricking her eyes. “I'm so sorry, Mark. It's my fault he was there in the first place. This wasn't your fight.”
“Don't say that,” Mark said. “He's the one responsible for all of this, not you. You didn't do anything wrong. And for the record, if it's your fight it's my fight.”
“Mark...”
“I love you, Tara,” he said. “I would put myself in danger for you any time, anywhere. It sucks that I got shot, but if he'd gotten away, if he'd hurt you, I couldn't have survived that.”
“You love me?” Tara asked. She could hardly believe he was saying it, so calmly, as if it wasn't the most incredible thing he'd ever said.
“I love you,” he said, again.
“I love you too,” Tara said. She kissed him again, feeling as light as air. He loved her.
“Excuse me,” the nurse said, pointedly. Tara flushed. She pulled away from him, regretfully. The sinful smile on his face tempted her to ignore the nurse.
“I think he's had enough excitement for one night, don't you,” the nurse said. “Shoo.”
Mark's rakish smile promised a million kisses to come. Tara gave a little wave and left to find her mother. They loved each other. Everything was going to be okay.
Enjoy more great books by Stacy Turner
Fast Friends: Threeplay
When lovers Jesse and Todd return from their vacation a day early, they expect to find their friend Abbie asleep. But in their bed? Naked? The sexy reading material on the bedside table gives them a good idea of how Abbie likes to get herself to sleep. But how will Abbie feel about the hunky duo turning her fantasies into reality – times two?
MMF, threesome, oral, spanking
Fast Friends: Three of Hearts
Abbie is having the hottest sex of her life with her two friends Todd and Jesse but even as they take her, and each other, to the heights of ecstasy Abbie can't help but be jealous of their love. She has been half in love with both men since she first met them years ago, but sleeping with them has pushed her over the edge. Is this threesome about more than just having fun? Is Abbie risking her heart or could it be that there are three hearts at play?
MM, MF, MMF, threesome, oral, anal, BDSM, romance
Enjoy a free excerpt from Fast Friends: Threeplay, Book 1 in the Fast Friends series
Jesse flipped on the light. Peeking above the top of the blanket he could see Abbie's bare shoulders. Was she naked? He was positive she supposed to be sleeping in the guest room. And he would never in a million years have imagined that she slept naked. His eyes met Todd's on the other side of the bed and saw the same curiosity he was feeling displayed there.
“Abbie,” he said softly, leaning over to touch her shoulder. She shot bolt upright in the bed, glancing from one of them to the other. She blinked for a moment as if confused. Or maybe she couldn't see. It was no wonder with the sudden bright light and without her glasses. Jesse could see very well, however. She was topless, her perfect round tits on display for his lustful eyes and Todd's? He was a little surprised to see see Todd giving her soft body the same lascivious once over that he was. He knew Todd had been with women in the past, but he had no idea Todd found Abbie as delicious as he did. He guessed both of them had holding something back where Abbie was concerned.
They only got to enjoy the sight of her pretty tits and rosy nipples for a few seconds before she realized the show she was putting on and yanked the blanket up. Todd was still leaning over her, and he could smell the unmistakable odor of sex. Specifically female sex. He took a deep breath of it before he eased back a few inches. One glance at the bed side table told him what she'd been doing in their bed. Laying open, covers up, was a popular erotic novel. That told him what she'd been doing, but not why she'd been doing it in their bed and not her own.
“Oh my god,” Abbie said, blushing cri
mson. “What are you guys doing here?”
Showing his usual good humor, Todd laughed. “What are we doing here? Shouldn't it be what are you doing here?”
Abbie, grimaced. “Nothing...” she said softly.
“Naked nothing, by the looks of it,” Jessie said, just as softly. He sat down on the bed, six inches from her, and gestured at Todd with a slight tilt of his head. His boyfriend got the message and clambered up on the other side of the bed, flanking Abbie. Always a good sport, Todd handed her the glasses that were lying on top of the book.
“I'm sorry,” she said, putting them on. She seemed to relax when she saw that they were smiling. Jesse liked her better without the glasses, but he had to admit it was cute the way they perched on her pert little nose, and they made her soft brown eyes enormous. She didn't seem to notice that the blanket had slipped down a bit when she let go one side of it and now the upper swell of her right breast was showing again.
“What are you sorry about,” Todd asked, teasingly. “Being naked in our bed or getting caught.”
Abbie colored again, adjusting the blanket. Her back was naked and both men could see the smooth, pale skin of her back right down to the deep cleft of her full ass. Too soft not to touch, but Jesse didn't want to scare her.
“I was just...” she faltered. Obviously she didn't have a good explanation. In his usual mischievous manner, Todd picked up the book and glanced at the page she'd been reading.
“Do you think she needs to be punished,” he asked, cocking his eyebrow at Jesse. “Based on her choice of reading material she might even enjoy it.”
Abbie snatched the book away from Todd, dropping the blanket in the process, and closed it before tossing it off the end of the bed. Both men stopped breathing when her perfect chest and soft stomach came into view again. Jesse's thick cock, already half-hard from anticipation of being alone with Todd, got heavier in his jeans. Man, did he hope this would lead somewhere.
For the first time Abbie seemed to notice the way they were staring at her. Her breathing sped up. Ignoring the blanket, she crossed her arms over her breasts, her eyes wide. A slight frown marred her cute face.
“What are you guys doing?” she asked, puzzled. “You're gay.”
“Sexuality is a spectrum, darling,” Todd said, brushing the back of one strong hand down her upper arm.
Abbie shivered, looking at Jesse for help, but he wasn't exactly on her side, not the way she was expecting, anyway.
“Why don't you turn over and take your punishment like a good girl,” he said. He used the tone he knew would tell her where he expected to be – on top. The slight lowering of her head told him she was willing to submit.
Impulsively, before either of them could change their minds, he gripped her by the shoulders and turned her onto her stomach.
Fast Friends: Reunion Page 22
