by Reina Torres
When she was younger and going through the worst years of her schooling, there were whole hours, classes, even days when she’d felt ‘off.’ As if the world she was walking through was just a bad dream.
It had been years since that had happened to her.
And suddenly, it was back.
Rhett barely managed a smile when she told him he would have made a superior vampire. She could see the tension in his shoulders and the clench of his jaw.
“I’m sorry that we called you so late.”
“Don’t.” She could see him fighting to keep his tone and expression calm. “It could be the middle of the night after an ass-kicking shift and I’d come to you. I’ll take your samples to the hospital for testing. Don’t ever apologize for needing help. We’re family.”
She nodded and blinked back the tears knowing that Rhett would likely be even more upset if he saw her cry.
When he brought out the specimen jar, she didn’t have to worry about tears, she thought she’d die of embarrassment until Hayden offered to help her. Maybe it was silly, but having a guy help her with a pee sample was just too much, especially after what she’d been through.
Hayden took it all in stride.
The statement was a bare bones affair, with the Deputy taking down the name, and information necessary to get a search warrant and an impound order for the convertible. Aylin knew she’d have to go into the station to fill out the full report and statement in the morning, but at least they could start with what they had.
Hayden even made Aylin feel some semblance of normality as she collected Aylin’s clothes, in case there was something left behind.
But then nothing was right as soon as Aylin looked in the mirror to take off her jewelry and saw that her necklace was gone.
The soft gasp of dismay passed her lips and her hands flew to her neck. “My necklace.”
“Aylin?” Hayden moved closer. “What’s wrong?”
“My dad... Ethan. He gave me a necklace tonight to match my earrings that he gave me at their wedding.”
“Can you describe it?”
“I’ll... I’ll get you a picture. My mom can send me one, but right now...”
Her legs buckled and she leaned heavily on the sink.
“Get this dress off of me, Hayden. Please.”
Hayden touched her shoulder and it would have given her comfort if Aylin hadn’t felt like the whole night had been torn to shreds and burned in lye.
“Hayden! Please, get this dress off!”
Hayden didn’t hesitate again, helping her pull down the zipper in the back and lowered the dress so that Aylin could step out of it. With her gloved fingers, she helped remove the amethyst earrings and put them into a separate evidence pouch.
“Do you,” Aylin was suddenly fighting back tears again, her emotions still riding the rollercoaster she thought she’d gotten off several times already, “do you need my underwear?”
She was beyond her own shame at this point.
Crossing over the line of innocence and firmly into disgrace. It wasn’t what she’d wanted from this grand Cinderella night, but it’s what she had left.
Hayden caught her eye with the shake of her head. “As long as he didn’t force himself on you, I don’t need your underwear.”
Oh joy.
Well, wasn’t that just perfect?
With a scream she flung everything off the sink and onto the floor. Reaching up into her hair she tore out the jeweled clip and flung it against the tiles.
“Aylin,” Hayden reached out to her, “what can I do? Please-”
“Please, go.”
At first, she was afraid Hayden would fight her on it.
“Hayden, I promise, I’m not losing it. Not really. I just need... I need to decompress. Okay? Please just go. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Gathering her in a hug, Hayden placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll expect you and hopefully we’ll have some news on our end.”
Aylin shook her head. “Don’t give me hope, Hayden. I can take this. I can hold it together, but not with false promises.”
“Okay,” Hayden looked her in the eye, “but I think with what you’ve given me to work with and your statement, it’s strong, Aylin. Just like you.”
Every kind word.
Every gentle look.
It tore her down, breaking her into pieces.
“Please, Hayden-”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
And with that.
She was gone.
Stillman felt like he was going stir-crazy. He heard the clatter of things hitting the floor. Heard Aylin’s rage in her voice.
Then it was the soft murmur in Hayden’s contralto.
He thought that maybe Hayden could comfort her, but when the deputy walked out a few moments later he saw the pain on her face.
“Rook, I’ll see her tomorrow. Know that I’ll be working on this all night, but you need to be here for her. And I’m not saying in the apartment, I mean ‘here.’”
“Hayden,” he reached out and grasped her arm, giving her a squeeze, “thank you for coming to help.”
“No thanks needed.” She blinked back her own tears. “Just take care of her. She’s stronger than she knows, but that doesn’t mean she can’t break.”
“I’ll hold her together if it’s the last thing I do.”
She smiled at him and gave his cheek a gentle pat. “You’re a good man, Rook, and she deserves a good man. Just like you deserve a woman as good as she is. Keep that in mind and you’ll both be okay.”
“Thanks.” He meant it, from deep down inside of his soul.
“Good Night.” She left with a quiet click of the door.
The shower in the bathroom turned on and he could tell by the sound of the water against the porcelain tub that she had it on full blast.
Hot.
Pelting.
Punishing.
Stepping inside the door, he watched as she stepped into the tub and let the searing hot water pelt her body behind the clear curtain. Dropping the clean clothes on top of the toilet’s tank, he knew he should walk out and give her privacy.
He saw that she was wearing just her underwear beneath the water, but he wasn’t looking at her in desire.
Stillman wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her until she’d cried all of her tears.
Just as he’d finished the thought, she looked up at him and the look in her eyes wasn’t pain or sorrow.
She looked at him-
No, her eyes demanded that he move closer.
What else could he do after denying them both for so long.
She saw him standing in the middle of his bathroom, still dressed in his workout clothes. A bright white long-sleeved t-shirt and black and red chevrons on his pants. The effect was singularly sexy and athletic and the steam that the shower was releasing into the room was slowly turning his white shirt into a thin, sheen of white over the dark perfection of his mahogany skin.
If she could make a wish to change this night, change this moment into one of gentle intimacy instead of the tail end of frustration and rage, she would.
Being in Stillman’s apartment, standing in his shower with him just on the other side of the curtain, would be a dream come true. But standing before him in that moment, she felt naked in a way that had nothing to do with love.
Sean had stripped away her trust.
Looking down at the floor she saw the scattered items that had been on his sink just moments before. “I’m sorry for the mess.”
“I’ll fix it.”
She shook her head and folded her arms around her body, her eyes never leaving his through the sheeting water. “I don’t want you to fix it, Still. I can do it,” her breath came in short, punctuate gasps. “I’m so sorry about tonight.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for. You did the right thing.” He set towels down on the closed lid of the toilet and moved closer.
She shook her head
and heard the stuttering impact of the drops of water off her hair. “I shouldn’t have taken that drink.”
“You trusted the wrong person, Aylin. We've all done that.”
“But I bet you didn’t end up left on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.”
“No, but that’s his fault.”
She looked at him, her eyes watering, and her lips quivering. “Could you hold me, Still?”
“Whatever you need.”
He knew her request had nothing to do with sex or desire. He saw the sadness in her eyes and felt the pain that colored the sound of her voice. Aylin needed comfort and he had it to give.
He’d give her anything, including the shirt off his back.
And that’s what he did. Reaching his arms up over his head, he pulled the long sleeve shirt off in one long pull, dropping it on the floor next to the closed hamper.
A step away from the tub, he knew he’d have to take off his workout pants or they’d be impossible to remove after, but he didn’t want her to think he was angling for something more.
Reaching out, he flicked the toggle that dropped the stopper into the drain and left the shower on so that she wouldn’t be chilled.
“Go ahead,” he urged her gently, “sit down.”
Aylin hesitated. “If I sit, you won’t have any room.” Her hands touched her hips, her palms flat against her warm honey-tanned skin. “These hips-”
“Give me a second.”
She stood silent, watching him in the room filling with steam.
“Turn that way,” he gave her a soft smile, almost self-conscious before her.
With a curious look, she turned, and he had to ignore the full curve of her backside and the near-translucent fabric lovingly wrapped around her body.
One last touch to the controls and the shower shut off, sending the water coursing from the faucet.
He pulled back the curtain and saw the slight wince in her shoulders. He murmured an apology to her, but she shook her head. “It’s okay.”
He pushed his leggings down and stepped on each leg to pull them free of his feet before he stepped into the tub behind her.
A hand on one shoulder held her still. He didn’t want her to slip.
He sat down behind her in the water and she saw his legs spread around her on either side of the tub. Self-conscious for a moment, once she felt his hands on her hips, drawing her down into the water, she gave in. In moments, she found herself fitted between his long athletic legs and once she turned the water off entirely, Aylin leaned back against him.
The water rose up, displaced by their bodies, the surface cradling the undersides of her breasts, and she could imagine what it would feel like to have Stillman’s hands in its place.
Almost as if he read her mind, she felt his cheek against hers and the hard plane of his chest against her back. His breath teased her skin and his words threatened to set her imagination on fire.
“Can I touch you? Can I hold you in my arms?”
There was no other answer to his questions than the one that fell from her lips.
“Yes,” she sighed, and let him fold his arms around her.
The heat.
The gentle wavelike movement of the water surrounding them had almost lulled her to sleep when she felt the soft brush of a towel against her hand.
Her eyes fluttered open and she could see their reflection in the metallic fixtures of the tub. He washed the back of her hand and then the palm, venturing over her wrist and up both sides to her elbow.
Stillman took such gentle care of her body that she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else except the man holding her, bathing her.
Arms, shoulders, neck, it was a lesson in care and yes, sensuality. This is how a man touched a woman, with respect and a good, gentle heart. It made her even more upset at Sean. Even more angry at how he’d treated her.
He didn’t seem to care about her at all!
Had it all been a show? A... a trick? Had he waited until the party to tell his dad knowing that he’d ask her to leave?
The touch of Stillman’s lips on her temple turned her head.
“I can almost hear you thinking. What’s going on in there?”
“I feel like he got inside my head, Still. It may not be as bad as if he’d been inside my body, but I’m not sure I can get him out. I need him out of my head.”
He let go of the cloth and it sank into the water, but his arms wrapped around her again, this time laying her cheek against his shoulder as he gathered her on his lap to hold her close.
“People like Sean,” he spoke softly to her as his thumb smoothed back and forth over her upper arm, “they’re like a fire. They leave damage in their wake, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.”
She took in a deep breath and felt the way her shoulder moved against his chest, their bare flesh warming to the other.
“And you have help. People who support you. People who fight for you. What he tried to do, the damage he caused, you’ll get past that. It might take a while, but you’ll always have people on your side.”
He pressed a kiss on her forehead.
“You’ll always have me by your side.”
She tensed for a moment. “As my friend.”
The silence between them seemed to confirm her words, but he gathered her closer against his body and spoke to her in a tone that brooked no argument.
“I was too stupid for my own good, Aylin. I pushed you away so you could have everything you deserved from this world.”
“Then yes,” she laid her palm over his chest and felt the thunder of his heart against her skin, “you were stupid, Still. But I’m a forgiving woman.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” she sighed and stifled a yawn.
“Let’s get you out of the tub and into bed. I don’t want you to get sick from the water as it cools.”
She didn’t know what else to expect from that night, but the tender and gentle way he helped her dry off and get into some of his clothes made her feel the true power of love for this man and from him.
The way he held her against him in bed.
The way his fingers combed through her hair.
And yes, the way his voice lulled her to sleep, made her feel protected and cherished.
Life had been a trial sometimes, but loving Stillman Rook made them all worthwhile.
Chapter 12
The next morning, Stillman woke her up just after dawn. Aylin sat up and struggled to wipe the sleep from her eyes when he handed her his phone. “It’s Hayden.”
Hayden’s first words to her made Aylin feel defeated.
“I’m so sorry for waking you up this early.”
“No, it’s fine.” Aylin said the words and tried to mean them. No matter what happened, the fact that Hayden had been working on her case all night long meant the world to her.
“I was wondering if you’d be able to come down to the station and identify something for us.”
“Sure, sure...” She knew that Stillman had heard Hayden’s question when she saw him reaching for his keys on the ground beside his bed. “I don’t have anything to wear, do I need to stop somewhere so I’ll look presentable?”
As soon as the question was out of her mouth, she knew how stupid she sounded, but she just didn’t know what to do.
“If you need to, but I’m sure Rook will lend you a shirt and shorts.”
Aylin looked down at the shirt she was wearing. She was already dressed in his clothes. Nodding at her own thoughts she spoke into the phone. “I just want to do this as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” there was a lift in Hayden’s tone and Aylin held onto it like a ray of hope, “I’ll be ready for you.”
When Hayden said she’d be ready, she meant it. As soon as Rook’s car pulled into the parking lot a uniformed officer directed them around to the back.
The hooded sweatshirt that she’d borrowed from Rook was just big enough to wrap around her and hide the fact th
at the pants she borrowed from Rook had been belted at the waist. There was nothing to hide the fact that the shoes on her feet stayed on because she shuffled her way into the station and into a conference room.
Hayden sat her down at the table to write her statement and had Rook wait for Aylin at a desk outside. When that was over, Hayden took her into a section of the parking lot reserved for vehicles associated with active investigations. Aylin found herself standing a few feet away from the Jaguar convertible that she’d seen speeding away from her less than twelve hours before.
Hayden stopped her a few feet away. “I need to keep you far enough away that someone can’t say that you could have had contact with the vehicle after we seized it.”
Seized it.
The words left a frisson of worry and excitement in her chest.
“What I wanted to point out to you are a few things we found when we searched the vehicle here at the station.” Hayden gestured over to a table just inside the doors. The fluorescent lighting overhead showed everything in stark contrast to the bright white table.
Hayden turned her head toward the doors at the other end of the room when another uniformed officer came in. “Aylin, we need to get your fingerprints.” As the other officer set up at the other end of the table, Hayden explained what they’d recovered. “I don’t know if Sean cleans his own cars or if he waits for someone else to do it, but either way, his neglect did wonders for us. Two bottles, both with his fingerprints on it, a second bottle which have a second set of prints that we’ll compare to yours. And that bottle has residue inside of it,” Hayden picked up a paper and read off of it, “that is an identical match to the drugs that we found in both your blood sample and... both of your samples.”
What was left unsaid rankled. Yes. Her urine sample.
As if someone drugging you to try and have their way with you wasn’t bad enough. You had to give your blood, pee in a cup, and hand them your clothes...