by Lynn LaFleur
“I was until you woke me up.”
“I’m sorry to wake you, but your Uncle Frank and I want to talk to you.”
Kelcey rubbed her eyes. “Can’t we talk in the morning? I’m sleepy.”
“No, we need to talk to you now.” He slid his hand over her hip and up her back. “Are you all ready for your birthday tomorrow?”
Kelcey nodded. “I’m gonna have a party.”
“You sure are. You’re all grown up, aren’t you? Eight years old and such a pretty girl.”
The cool air traveled farther up her legs. Kelcey looked down to see her uncle slowly pushing up her nightgown. A chill slithered up her spine. It felt different than one she had when she was cold. “Uncle Kirt, I want the covers back.”
“Are you cold?”
“Yeah.”
“You won’t be for long, baby. I promise you.”
This was wrong. Kelcey didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. She grasped the hem of her nightgown and tried to tug it back down her legs.
She gasped when Uncle Kirt grabbed her face. “You’re gonna lie still and be quiet, do you understand?” Tears filled her eyes when he squeezed her cheeks. “Do you understand, Kelcey?”
She nodded.
He smiled. “Now you be a good girl and let us do what we want. If you yell or try to get away, we’ll have to hurt you. Okay?”
She nodded again. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she lay still and silently cried while Uncle Kirt stripped off her panties.
* * * * *
“NO!”
Kelcey came awake with the scream still ringing in her ears. Heart pounding, she sat up in bed and frantically looked around the dark room for evidence of her uncles. Her body wilted in relief when she realized they weren’t there.
But they were there, in her mind. She would never be free of the memories.
Her chest ached, her throat burned. She covered her face as tears welled up in her eyes from pain and anger and the loss of a child’s innocence.
The door flew open. Kelcey jumped and jerked up her head as Dax hit the light switch to turn on the lamps. He ran to the bed and grabbed her upper arms.
“Are you all right?”
He looked like a wild man. His eyes were wide and full of fear. His loose hair fell around his shoulders. His chest heaved as if he’d run five miles instead of only a few yards.
Her gaze dropped a little lower. She swallowed when she saw he was naked.
Sitting beside her, he squeezed her arms. “Kelcey, answer me. Are you all right?”
She had to swallow again before her voice returned. “Yes, I’m fine. I just…” She stopped when she realized she didn’t know how he knew she was upset. “Why are you here?”
“Walker woke me. He was frantic that I follow him. Then I heard you scream.”
His statement made Kelcey realize that the dog no longer lay on her bed, but sat at Dax’s feet. “How did he get out of here?”
“He can push down on the lever and open the door.” He ran his hands slowly up and down her arms. “Bad dream?”
Kelcey nodded.
“I’m sorry. Can I get you anything?”
“No.” Her voice came out raspy from the lump of tears still in her throat…tears she didn’t want to shed in front of Dax.
“Are you sure I can’t get you a glass of water or something?”
His kindness and soft tone made the dam burst. Kelcey crossed her arms over her stomach and hung her head as her tears flowed.
“Hey.” Dax pulled her into his arms. “It was just a dream. You’re okay.”
I’m not okay! I’ll never be okay!
Now that the tears had started, Kelcey couldn’t stop them. She clutched Dax’s waist and laid her head on his shoulder. It felt so good to be held, to touch his warm skin with her palms. His hands slid over her back in a soothing caress.
“Shh. Don’t cry. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
His low voice seeped into her consciousness, easing her fear. Her tears slowed. She lifted her head and peered into his eyes. She saw kindness and concern.
“Better?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Dax smiled. “No problem.”
He drew her back into his arms and held her close. Kelcey enjoyed his body pressed to hers, his hair tickling the back of her fingers. She couldn’t resist rubbing a tendril between her thumb and forefinger. So soft and silky.
This time when he looked at her, the concern in his eyes had been replaced with desire. Her heart skittered in her chest, yet from a different emotion. Heat swirled low in her belly, the same way it had earlier when he’d stood so close to her while they’d admired his photographs on the walls. His hands still stroked her back, but slower now…exploring instead of comforting.
“Kelcey,” he whispered.
His head dipped closer. Kelcey parted her lips in anticipation of his kiss. He didn’t disappoint her. His lips touched hers in a fleeting caress, a gentle hello.
Kelcey dug her fingernails into his back. She thought she heard Dax groan, but she was too wrapped up in her feelings to be sure. She tilted her head when he deepened the kiss, parted her lips even more for the sweep of his tongue.
Other men had kissed her, touched her. Her fumbling attempts at sex had always ended with her in tears and the men getting away from her as quickly as possible.
Unfamiliar emotions swept through her body…feelings she had only imagined but never experienced. A liquid warmth seemed to flow through her veins. Her senses were heightened so she noticed everything more clearly. A hint of wine on Dax’s breath. The fresh fragrance of shampoo in his hair. The silky slide of his beard against her cheek. His warm lips beneath her jaw.
His lips covered hers again, no longer fleeting or gentle. His tongue flicked the corners of her mouth, then ventured inside. He kissed her with passion, with hunger. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she returned each kiss with just as much passion, just as much hunger.
She wanted to lick and bite every part of him.
Kelcey moaned low in her throat when Dax cradled one jersey-covered breast. She hated the bit of fabric that kept his hand from her bare flesh. Pulling his hand away from her, she guided it beneath her top until his hand covered her bare breast.
“Oh yeah.” His voice sounded guttural, almost feral. He squeezed her breast, ran his thumb over the hard nipple. “I’ve got to have more of you.”
The covers disappeared from her legs. Dax gripped Kelcey’s waist and tugged her to her back. Wedging his knees between her legs, he spread them wide and lay between them. The hard ridge of his cock pressed against her mound. She lifted her hips, wanting more of that enticing hardness.
Memories swamped her, mixing past with present.
“No! I don’t want to!”
Uncle Kirt slapped her. Tears quickly welled in her eyes and ran down her temples into her ears. “I don’t care what you don’t want. We’re gonna do what I want. Got that?”
Dax’s hair fell on either side of her face, making Kelcey feel smothered. She tore her mouth away from his and shoved on his shoulders. “Get off me!”
When he didn’t move as quickly as she thought he should, she screamed, “GET OFF ME!”
He lifted to his hands and knees, giving her enough room to scurry out from beneath him. She fell to the floor and scrambled to the corner. Pulling her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and buried her face against them.
She didn’t know how much time passed while she cried before she heard Dax say her name softly. Now that her initial terror had subsided, embarrassment welled up inside her. Dax would probably get away from her as quickly as all the other men she’d tried to sleep with.
“Kelcey,” he said, his tone still gentle, “please look at me.”
Several more seconds passed before she forced herself to lift her head. Dax squatted before her, a towel wrapped around his waist. Instead of seeing disgust in his eyes, she saw tenderness.
&n
bsp; “Want to talk about it?”
His obvious concern brought more tears to her eyes. How she’d love to tell him the agony she’d gone through at the hands of two men who were supposed to love and protect her. She’d told therapists what happened, hoping for relief from the horrible dreams, but had never shared her experience with anyone close to her.
She shook her head. “It isn’t important.”
“I’d argue that point since you’re so upset. Sometimes it helps to talk.”
“I can’t, Dax. Please don’t ask me.”
He looked like he might argue anyway, but then he nodded. “Okay. No talking. Would you like to go in the living room with me and watch some TV?”
She thought it sweet of him to offer when she had no doubt he’d rather get away from her. “No. I think I want to go back to bed.”
“Okay.”
He reached out as if to touch her face. Kelcey flinched, not yet ready for any physical contact. He dropped his hand back to his side.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
She nodded. Dax rose and walked to the door. Once there, he looked at her again over his shoulder. The sympathy in his eyes made fresh tears pool in hers.
He closed the door behind him. Kelcey covered her face with her hands. She hated that the past still haunted her. She longed to share her life with someone, to find a man who loved her as much as she loved him. She couldn’t do that when even a hint of closeness made the disgusting memories flare up in her mind.
She heard a soft whine before a cold nose bumped her hands. Moving them away from her face, she saw Walker sitting next to her. He leaned against her leg and touched her arm with his paw. More tears fell as she hugged the dog’s neck.
“Oh, Walker, what am I going to do?”
* * * * *
Dax had been angry many times in his life, but never enough to seriously think about hurting someone. That changed last night when he witnessed Kelcey’s pain.
A woman didn’t fall apart so completely because of a bad dream. She’d enjoyed his kisses and caresses. He didn’t doubt that. Her response had been real and very hot. Yet she’d gone crazy as soon as he lay on top of her.
Some asshole had raped her.
He watched the slow drip of coffee into the glass carafe. He’d never understand why a man did that, why he would want to hurt a woman so much. Especially a woman as sweet as Kelcey.
Rage boiled up inside him again. Oh yeah, he could definitely hurt the man who had hurt Kelcey.
Movement in the doorway drew his attention. Kelcey stepped into the room, looking pale and uncertain. He decided he wouldn’t mention last night since he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she said in barely above a whisper.
“Coffee’s almost done. Are you hungry?”
“Not really.” He saw her hands flex on the handles of her tote. He hadn’t noticed it on her shoulder until now. “I think I’ll walk back to Alaina’s.”
“You don’t have to walk. I’ll be happy to drive you.”
“I know you will, but I’d rather walk.”
“Sure. I have some to-go cups. I’ll fill a couple with coffee and we’ll walk.”
He saw her chest rise and fall with a sigh. “Dax, I’d…rather be alone. Okay?”
No, it wasn’t okay. He didn’t like the idea of her being alone. The urge to protect her had him struggling not to take her in his arms and hold her.
Walker chose that moment to come in the kitchen. He stopped next to Kelcey and leaned against her leg. Even his dog wanted to protect her.
“It’s cool this morning. I’ll get one of my zippered sweatshirts for you.”
“My jacket is enough. But thank you.”
He had no other excuse to keep her here any longer. “You know the way? The trail is clear, but I don’t want you to get lost.”
“I won’t have a problem.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you over there later.”
She headed for the mud room, Walker right beside her. She gave him one last pat before she stepped through the back door. “No, Walker. You can’t go with me.”
Walker whined and pawed at the closed door. He ran to Dax, barked, then ran back to the door.
“Sorry, fella. I don’t want her to go either, but we don’t have a choice.”
Chapter Four
Rye and Griff both groaned when the football sailed through the Cowboys wide receiver’s fingers. “How could he miss that?” Griff asked. “It was right in his hands!”
“I think the Cowboys should concentrate on getting a new wide receiver at the next draft,” Rye said. “What do you think, Dax?”
Normally as obsessed with football as his brothers, today Dax didn’t care about the game. He couldn’t get Kelcey out of his mind. She’d been in the kitchen with Alaina and Emma when he arrived. She gave him a fast glance, then quickly looked away, as if embarrassed for him to see her.
Rye nudged his arm. “Hey, Dax, where are you?”
“Sorry. Just thinking.”
“You look pretty serious,” Griff said. “What’s up?”
Dax didn’t know whether to confide in his brothers or not. He suspected Kelcey had been raped, yet couldn’t say that for sure. “Nothing worth talking about.”
Rye and Griff exchanged a look that clearly said they didn’t believe him. Before they could probe further, Dax stood. “I’m gonna get some air.”
He went out the front door to avoid running into Kelcey and wandered into the backyard. Clouds filled the sky, a preview of the rain expected tonight. The temperature had dropped twenty degrees from yesterday. While he liked the cooler weather, it made him feel restless, antsy to do something physical.
Sex would be his first choice. Since he didn’t want to call any of the women who would be willing to spend an hour or two with him, he’d have to settle for a second option.
Strolling over to the storage shed, he twisted the combination lock that matched the one on his and Griff’s sheds. He located the basketball and dribbled it over to the basketball hoop. He’d sunk two baskets when he saw his brothers walking toward him. It didn’t surprise him a bit that they’d followed him.
“Game still lousy?” he asked as he took another shot at the basket.
“Halftime.” Rye grabbed the ball when it bounced off the rim. He dribbled it in place while he looked at his brother. “You gonna tell us what’s wrong?”
Dax looked from Rye to Griff and back again. He still wasn’t sure if he had the right to tell them what happened with Kelcey last night.
“Did you make a pass at Kelcey and she turned you down?” Griff asked.
“Not exactly.”
“Then what, exactly?”
Dax motioned to Rye to throw him the ball. His brother tossed it to him and Dax made a jump shot. The ball sailed through the hoop to land in Griff’s hands.
Griff set the ball on the ground. “You’re stalling.”
“Big-time.”
Rye motioned toward the picnic table beneath the huge oak tree. “How about if we sit down?”
He led the way, Dax and Griff following closely behind him. Rye and Griff sat on one side, Dax on the other. He looked at his brothers, down at his hands, then back at them, unsure how to start. “Kelcey had a bad dream last night. Only I’m not sure if it was a dream or a memory.”
Neither brother spoke, but listened intently.
“Walker woke me. He was sleeping on the end of her bed.”
Rye’s eyebrows shot up. “Walker was on her bed?”
“Yeah. Crazy, huh? He took to Kelcey right away. He’s never done that with anyone.” He clasped his hands together on the table. “She was almost hysterical, she was crying so hard. I held her to comfort her and…it went a little beyond comforting.”
Dax ran a hand over his face. “We kissed and things started getting hot. Everything was great until I tugged her down on the bed and lay on top of her. That’s when she
went crazy. She screamed at me to get off her. And I mean screamed. When I moved, she almost fell off the bed in her hurry to get away from me. She crawled to the corner, drew her knees up to her chest and curled herself into a ball.”
The lump of emotion in Dax’s throat made it hard to talk. There had been so much fear in Kelcey’s eyes. “I’ve never seen anyone cry so hard. I think my lying on top of her brought back some horrible memories for her.” Again, he looked from one brother to the other. “I think she was raped.”
“Shit,” Griff muttered.
“Have Alaina or Emma ever said anything about that?”
“Alaina hasn’t,” Rye said. “I don’t think she knows.”
“I don’t think Emma knows either. She said she doesn’t understand why Kelcey doesn’t date. If she knew about a rape, then she’d understand Kelcey’s reluctance to get involved with a man.”
“Kelcey kissed me back. I could feel her heartbeat speed up and her breathing got heavier. Her nipples were hard. There’s no doubt she was turned on. I just…” He stopped and took a heavy breath. “I wish I knew what to do.”
“Do you care about Kelcey?”
Dax frowned at what he considered an inconsiderate question. “That’s a shitty thing to ask. Of course I care about her.”
“I mean care about her, Dax, the way I care about Alaina and Griff cares about Emma.”
His brother couldn’t possibly be asking if he loved Kelcey. He barely knew her. He thought her sweet and lovely and desirable, but love wasn’t even feasible. “I like her. I’m sorry some asshole hurt her. But no, I don’t love her. And I have no intention of falling in love with her or any other woman. I like my single life.”
“Sounds like what Emma said before she became involved with Griff.”
“Rye—”
“As a man who didn’t want to become involved with Alaina just because she’s Alesia’s sister, I know exactly what you mean. I also know you can’t fight love, no matter how hard you try. It knocks you over faster than a wrecking ball.”
“Amen to that,” Griff said.
“No,” Dax said adamantly. “Absolutely not. If Kelcey and I have a physical relationship, that’s cool. Anything other than that won’t happen. I won’t allow it to happen.”
