She felt the press of his lips over each one of her scars until tears came from so deep she couldn’t stand anymore. He was there though, taking her weight into his arms, pulling her into the shower with him.
She clung to him as he shampooed her hair and soaped her up the best he could with her arms wrapped around him. “Come on, darlin’. Let’s get you out of here and dried off.” He helped her out of the shower and toweled her off after he’d wrapped up her hair. Leading her into his bedroom he had her sit on his bed. “I’ll be right back. I’m guessing Penny has been by and left your clothes downstairs.”
And she had. Left a bag just inside his screen door without disturbing them further. There was a note that Cassie’s keys were at Penny’s house when she needed them.
He stood in his living room, a towel wrapped around his waist, thinking about her scars. Out of Cassie’s presence he let the rage take him. The rage at seeing the pink skin of fourteen scars on her back and neck. Of knowing the man who’d done it to her was still out there, keeping her so afraid she didn’t sleep at night. That the sick fuck had taken away her career and nearly killed her—all because she wanted a divorce. Took away her name and her home.
He needed to let it wash through him because the last thing Cassie needed was a pissed off man. He knew right then that he would track Terry Sunderland down and turn him over to the courts or kill him himself. Shane Chase was a man who lived by law and order, believed in the power of justice. But at the moment, he wanted to kill another man. Wanted it with a power he’d never felt before.
Forcibly unclenching his fists, he took several deep breaths and let it go. He picked up the bag to bring Cassie her clothes.
Cassie lay on his bed quietly, her hands folded over her abdomen. Totally naked. The shock of her beauty hit him in the gut like it always did but this time with greater force because she wasn’t covering up. She was totally exposed to him emotionally as well as physically.
“Darlin’? I’ve got your clothes here.” “Do you want me to cover up? Do the scars creep you out?” She sat up, the wet strands of her hair moving over her shoulders and chest. Putting the bag near the door he pulled off the towel and stood there, naked and hard. “Does it look like your scars creep me out, Cassie?”
She shook her head. “Shane?” “Yes, darlin’?” “Do you have condoms?” “Yes.” “Will you come here and make love to me please?”
He froze a moment. “Are you sure, baby? I’d like nothing more to do that but I don’t want you to do it if you don’t feel up to it. It’s been a trying day for you.”
“It has.” She nodded. “But I…I need to feel alive and you make me feel alive. When you’re inside me, with your hands on me, I feel alive and vibrant.”
He crawled across the bed to get to her. “You…Cassie, you make me feel so much. I love you. I’ve said it to another woman but I didn’t even know what love was until I met you.”
She moved to her knees and touched his chest and encircled his neck with her arms. “I love you too.” Her voice was small but he heard it and his heart skipped a beat. “I love you but I’m scared.”
“Let’s work on that, okay? Because I’d give my life for you, to protect you. I love you and that means you’re mine. And not in the way he meant it. You’re not a
thing
to me. You’re
everything
to me. I want you to be free from fear. Happy. You deserve that. Let’s work to make sure I can help protect you.”
She pushed him back on the bed and scrambled to straddle his body. “I love that you asked to protect me.”
“I love this position.” He grinned lasciviously. “And I’m trying. God knows I want to hide you and go to war for you, but I know that’s not what you need so I’m trying to find a middle ground. Because I have to tell you, I want to find this bastard so you can live freely. I want you to be able to choose to be Carly or Cassie. As long as you’re with me, I don’t care what you call yourself.”
Leaning down, she kissed his lips and then the cleft on his chin. Her hands skimmed over the hard, tight flesh of his shoulders and chest. Through the hair there and over the coppery nipples, his gasp of pleasure bringing her a smile.
“I like that you have hair on your chest. It makes you even more masculine. And my goodness are you masculine. It makes me all shivery.”
His hands slid up her thighs and came to rest at her waist. “I’m glad. I like that I’m not the only one shivery all the time.”
She brought her lips to the hollow of his throat and swirled her tongue there, tasting the salt of his skin. Over his collarbone and down, teeth grazing over each nipple. Scooting back, her ass rested on his thighs as her hands traveled over the flat muscle of his belly until she finally reached his cock.
“I like this too.”
“I’m
really
glad. It likes you as well.” His voice was strangled. “We can get to the making love stage soon, right? Because I really need to be inside you.”
“In due time, Sheriff.” With that, she bent down and took him into her mouth, bringing him off the bed with a hiss of pleasure.
She explored him slowly with her mouth, with lips and tongue. Around the head, tasting him, and then slowly taking him as far as she could before nearly pulling off him.
His hands gripped the sheets so tight she was surprised he didn’t rip them. But his control, all for her, to make sure he didn’t spook her, touched her. And she yearned for a time when he’d take her wild and hot, when she could be taken without fear. A time she felt would come someday.
Shane looked down his body at Cassie. Her dark hair, slowly drying, played peek-a-boo with her face so he got carnal glimpses of her sucking his cock. What he didn’t see was just as hot as what he did see. One of her hands wrapped around the base of his cock and the other did something naughty and really good with his balls.
The hot, wet of her mouth surrounded him and he was awash in pleasure. He knew he had to stop her soon or he’d come and he’d already discovered just how much he liked being inside her when that happened.
“Baby? Cassie, honey? Stop now, I’m getting close.”
She pulled off him with a slight pop and looked up. She looked so wicked and sexy at that moment his cock jumped in response. Her lips were wet and swollen, eyes half lidded, hair tousled.
“That’s the point, Shane.” He laughed. “Ride me, Cassie. I’ll come, but I want to be deep inside you when I do.”
Pouting, she took the condom from him and rolled it on. He was fairly sure he’d never want to put his own condom on again, the way she did it, slow and precise, was damned sexy.
Crawling forward, she reached around her body to open herself and guide him to her gate. He took it all in as she slowly sank back onto his cock.
Hot. Fuck, she was hot and tight as her pussy took him in. Welcomed him. Each time she pulled her body up, he watched the flex of her thighs and her breasts swayed forward.
“You’re amazing, Cassie. So pretty up there I don’t have words. I could look at you for days.” A crooked smile slid over her mouth and she rolled her eyes. “I love that you’re so full of shit.” “You know, you’re snarky when you get warmed up.” “Ha! You should see me when I’ve known you a while.”
And that little comeback settled around his heart. “Yeah.” He smiled a moment, drawing a fingertip around her nipple, delighting in her pause and the way her lip caught between her teeth. “I can’t wait.”
She took a deep breath and added a swivel when she came back down on him. “That was very nice,” he said, voice strained. “I got the mad skills. I haven’t used them in a few years, but I got ‘em.” She tapped her temple and he laughed.
It was important to her that he realize she was more than the sum of those years with Terry. There was a time when she’d loved sex and she was quickly back there. Something about the way he looked at her, touched her, made her whole, enabled her to think about a future.
“You got ‘em all right.” He continued to circle her nipple with one finger and drew another down her stomach, finding her clit. Gasping, she rolled her hips forward. At first it was a slow stroke, building the fire of her pleasure.
“Cassie, give it to me. Let me feel you come around my cock.” She shivered at his words and arched, putting her hands on his thighs. “Oh that’s a sight. I love the way that looks. Almost as good as how it feels.”
His voice was strained as the new angle of entry dragged the head of his cock over her sweet spot. That, along with his finger slowly sliding back and forth over her clit, brought orgasm over her with a sharp shock.
Shane looked up at her, watched the arch of her beautiful body. As her pussy clutched and clasped around his cock, he pulled her down on him and came, her name a hoarse whisper on his lips.
Boneless, she fell to a sated heap on the bed. He murmured that he’d be right back, checked the house to be sure it was locked up and lay beside her, his arms around her body, until she was deeply asleep.
Tucking blankets around her body, he set the air conditioner to keep the room nice and cool and grabbed some shorts before heading downstairs.
In his weight room, he worked out for well over an hour, hitting the bag, imagining it was Cassie’s ex. He pushed every last bit of his anger and grief for her through his fists until he was so exhausted he trembled.
He heard a tapping on the door and got rid of the gloves before going out to see who it was.
Matt stood there and held up a six pack and a bag of pretzels. Kyle held up a dish of chicken and Marc held a cobbler. Shane let them in and put his finger to his lips.
“Cassie is sleeping. Come on through.”
They followed him into the television room and flopped down on the couch. No one said a word until beers were cracked open and the pretzels passed around and chicken tasted. Shane put the cobbler aside for Cassie.
“How is she?” Matt asked.
“She’s exhausted but sleeping. I thought the nightmares were just about the abuse. Shit, he broke in while she was sleeping. It’s a wonder she slept at all.” Shane ran a hand through his hair.
“You’ll find him, Shane. Tell us what we can do to help.” Kyle sighed and sat back. “I will. Now that I’ve got a name that’s a start. I’ll call the officer in charge of her case tomorrow and see what he’ll tell me.” “How are
you
?” Marc asked. “I can’t imagine it’s easy for you to know the woman you love has gone through something so awful.”
“I’m better now. I punched the bag for a while, did some judo. I’ll get down to the range tomorrow and I want her to come too. She’s a strong woman, I’m betting she’ll feel even better with some basic proficiency with a weapon. She’ll feel in charge and I’ll be helping her. God knows how touchy she’d be if I just did it all for her.”
“You really love her, don’t you?” Kyle smiled. “I’m sorry she had to endure all of that. But she’s a damned strong woman and she’s good for you. Maggie wanted to come over but she’s with Momma, holding her back.”
Shane nodded, understanding. “Momma must be like a bumblebee in a jar right now.” The brothers laughed, thinking about their mother in protective mode but being unable to leave to come and comfort Cassie and her son. “Thank you.” Shane looked to each of his brothers, jerking his chin at the food on the table. “You love her. She loves you. That makes her one of us now.” Matt shrugged his shoulders matter-of-factly.
Chapter Twelve
The next week went by in a blur. Shane spent every moment he could with Cassie, getting to know her better, falling in love with her a bit more every day.
Holding a bag of sandwiches and cream sodas, he headed up the stairs to her apartment and froze as he saw her on the landing, hugging another man. She clung to him tightly, her face buried in his neck.
Shane saw red and then his heart broke into a million pieces. It was Sandra all over again. He’d fallen in love after so many years and it happened to him again. He wanted to fall to his knees and howl at the unfairness of losing a woman he’d thought cared about him as much as he did her.
“Fuck all if you didn’t totally fool me with your act. I’m as damned as you’re faithless apparently. If you’re going to cheat on me, Cassie, you should do it out of the public eye.”
Cassie froze and looked around the man. And when the man turned Shane saw three things. The look of horror and pain on Cassie’s face; his brother Matt standing in the doorway of her apartment behind them and that the man looked a lot like Cassie.
Shit.
He moved quickly toward her but she pulled back into the apartment and shoved the man inside who looked about ready to punch Shane. Of course, judging from the look on Matt’s face, he’d have to stand in line.
“Cassie, I’m…”
“Let me guess, you’re sorry? Shane Chase, this is my brother Brian. He’s here to meet the man I fell in love with and to tell me that Terry has been sighted.” She tried to slam the door but he put a hand out.
“Cassie, I’m sorry. I thought…when I saw you with another man…it just…I’m sorry. Please. Can’t we talk about it?”
“No, I don’t think we can.” She put a hand on his chest, shoving him back and slammed the door in his face. He leaned his forehead against the frame and let out a ragged breath.