by Hélène Soper
Avery stiffened. “We can’t. Not here.”
“There’s no one here, beautiful girl, only us. Are you wet for me?”
Luc ran his hand behind her knee, under her skirt, and over her mound on top of her panties.
“You’re drenched, Avery. I haven’t been able to get your sweet taste out of my mind since the night at the casino.” He ground his rock-hard cock against her hip. “See what you do to me? Finally having you in my arms makes me feel like I can pound nails with my cock. Have you thought about me, Avery?”
Luc’s dirty words ratcheted up her already undeniable desire until it became a living, breathing thing.
“Every night.” Avery didn’t care that her words sounded more like breathy, wanton moans.
Her whole body stiffened.
“What’s wrong?” Concern blanketed Luc’s face.
“I thought I saw someone over there. Watching us, then they moved away.”
“Just your imagination, little one. Everyone’s gone home. It’s just us.”
Avery wasn’t so sure. Her senses went on full alert, determined to prove to Luc she knew what she thought she saw. She wasn’t about to explain to Luc that she had a sixth sense about her surroundings because her asshole ex-husband used to blindfold her and terrorize her. Nope, she also wasn’t going to tell Luc she possibly had a stalker that may or may not be her ex-husband who had recently been released from prison where he was serving time for what he did to her. Those little facts would douse any flames before they had a chance to figure out what this insane chemistry between them was all about. Of course, that was assuming she affected Luc the same way he affected her. Damn, those insecurities had just come back and bitch-slapped her right in the face.
Snick.
Avery practically jumped out of Luc’s arms.
“OK, I wasn’t imagining that.”
“Nope, you weren’t. I heard it too. I’m pretty sure it was just Gen or one of the staff heading out. Let me go look and I’ll be right back.”
Before Luc took more than two steps, the lights went out. The last of the day’s light had faded, so the tasting room was plunged into near darkness. Avery stilled, paralyzed with fear. Her thoughts swirled to those times when she was robbed of her ability to see her surroundings, waiting for the next blow to wrack her body in agony. But, that was in the past. Luc was with her now. She wasn’t in danger. Unfortunately, simple facts didn’t register in her body’s muscle memory to quell the tremors that overtook her limbs.
“Can I come with you?” Her voice was barely audible yet her fingers gripped his forearm so tightly she was certain they would leave bruises.
Luc’s head swiveled. Surprise registered on his face, but he quickly bundled her into his comforting embrace. “You’re shaking. Are you OK?”
“Um…I don’t like the dark. It kinda freaks me out a bit.”
“OK. Come with me.” Luc took her hand in his, and she grabbed it as if her life depended on it. She couldn’t help it.
“We have to go down to the cellar to check the main electrical panel. Stay close to me.”
Avery fought to contain a nervous chuckle. As if she would be anywhere but glued to Luc’s side.
9
Avery’s shaking hand felt child-like in his. The emergency lights had come on, though they were not all that reassuring. They just threw shadows under the stairs, between fermentation tanks and rows of barrels. Luc could see how that could frighten someone who was already teetering on the edge. Good thing he knew his way around the building with his eyes closed. He squeezed Avery’s hand tighter in an attempt to reassure her as they wound their way through the harvest room to the stairs leading to the cellar.
“You still with me, little one?”
“Yep.”
They made their way to the electrical room. Luc reached for the industrial flashlight hanging to the left of the door. He let go of her hand and opened the breaker panel to inspect all the fuses. Avery glued herself to his side like she couldn’t stand to be out of contact with him. What had happened to her to have her so frightened over a simple power outage? Gryff’s words about her being brave and resilient were incongruous to the woman clinging to him. The mystery of this woman intrigued him as much as her scent had his dick protesting to escape his jeans. Clearly, something was rooted deep in her psyche to cause this extreme reaction. The Dom in him couldn’t help but want to protect her, help her. But, Master Luc couldn’t be the Dom Avery needed to get to the core of her issues because trust was a two-way street. He couldn’t expect her to lay herself bare for him if he didn’t reciprocate. Opening the lid on his neatly sealed up emotions wasn’t an option.
Sydney was the only other woman who captured his imagination enough to want to peel back her layers, find out what gave her joy, what scared her silly, what made up her dreams. Guilt assailed him. It grabbed him by the throat and threatened to bring him to his knees. Yet, he couldn’t force Avery out of his brain — her taste when she came all over his tongue, the softness of her body when she melted against him, her beguiling scent as he nuzzled the side of her neck. Their few days apart only served to fuel his imagination as to how she would react when he got her alone.
But, he had more immediate concerns. He needed to focus on restoring the power to the building and attempt to extricate Avery from his side without adding to her mental anguish.
“Hmm, that’s odd. The main switch was pushed into the off position. Someone must have done that by mistake. I’ll talk with the staff tomorrow.”
He flipped the switch back and the building hummed back to life. “Everything’s OK now. All except my hand. You practically crushed it.” His joke didn’t have the desired effect. “Avery, you’re whiter than a ghost. Are you sure you’re OK?”
Luc placed both of his hands on her sagging shoulders, hoping a little of his strength would infuse into her. “Breathe with me, Avery. Everything is fine.”
When her breathing slowed to a more normal rate she looked up at him as if emerging from a foggy dream.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“That wasn’t very convincing. Look, I know you have had some…issues…in your past. Gryff didn’t betray your confidence. He just gave me a heads up to be gentle with you.”
Luc attempted to rub his hands up and down her arms to soothe her, but she jumped out of his reach, flames of anger shooting from her eyes. She put her hands on her hips, squared her shoulders, and leveled a glare at Luc.
“Damn him! Gryff had no right to say anything to you. I’m not some china doll that has to be handled with kid gloves. Yeah, I have a past that sometimes creeps into my present. Who doesn’t? Gahhh!”
She spun on her heels and stomped toward the door that led upstairs, shaking her head and muttering expletives like a sailor.
Luc lunged and grabbed her hand before she made it out of the electrical room. “Whoa there, little one.”
She stopped but wouldn’t face him.
“I wasn’t trying to embarrass you. You’re right, you don’t get to be our age and not have some baggage to contend with. I know you’re a beautiful, smart, confident woman. But, I just saw a frightened girl who went whiter than a sheet at a simple power outage. It’s my natural reaction to try to comfort and protect those I care about.”
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. And denying them was impossible. Her insightful questions during their discussion made her brain equally as attractive as her luscious curves. A piece of this woman lodged in his gut, refusing to let go of the stranglehold she had on his thoughts, his emotions, his fantasies.
Avery’s anger deflated as she looked to him. Luc opened his arms and she eagerly walked into his embrace. Thankfully. She sighed into his chest and the tension melted away. Luc felt like a hero to be able to soothe her anger and offer some comfort. But, he wasn’t about to drop his quest to uncover what triggered her fear.
“Come on. Let’s go get something to eat. I think we’ve had enough exc
itement for one night.” Luc tucked her into his side and they made their way back upstairs.
He left Avery at the door of the conference room where she’d left her purse and notes while he headed down the hall to his office to shut down his computer and clean his desk. Before he reached his office door a shriek echoed through the hall. He raced back to where he’d left her.
Barreling around the corner into the conference room, he dropped to the floor beside her. “Avery! What is it?”
She was sitting on the floor with her arms holding her bent legs to her body, rocking back and forth, shaking her head and whispering, “No, no, no.”
“Are you OK? Are you hurt? Avery, talk to me.”
Avery snapped her head up when he deepened his voice. All she could do was point.
He can’t stop me
“What the hell?”
Avery wouldn’t stop rocking, her eyes bugged out and stared off into nothing, tears streaming down her face.
“Why? Not again. Leave me alone. Can’t go through this again. Protect Cassie.”
Leaving the note on the floor where it fell, Luc scooped Avery up, sat in a chair, and settled her onto his lap, cradling her head against his chest. She sobbed uncontrollably. Soothing sounds rumbled from his chest as he stroked her hair.
“Talk to me, Avery. Let me help you. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Cal…it’s Cal…I know it is.”
She managed to get those few words out between the sobs and trying to catch her breath.
“Your ex-husband? I thought he was in jail?”
“Was. He was released last week.”
“What? Are you and Cassie safe?”
“Gryff thinks so but, after this note and the other one…”
“What other one?” Luc’s voice got deeper again. This time it was anger ripping through him at the notion of Avery and her daughter possibly being in danger.
Avery recounted to him about Cassie finding the first note. From what she described, this one had the same hallmarks — cut out newspaper letters forming the words, a personal message, and a strange illustration of a flower in the corner. He stroked circles on her back until her breathing synced with his and the tension in her muscles retreated.
Glancing down, something on the floor caught his attention. Avery stiffened again as she followed his line of sight. He used a pen from the conference table to reach down to flip over the paper without touching it or releasing Avery from his protective clasp.
“Sonofabitch.”
Avery gasped when she saw the photo. It was them in the tasting room less than an hour ago with Luc’s lips against her neck.
“How…could…he? Where?”
Avery was visibly shaking now. She couldn’t get out full sentences and tried to push away from his chest and slip off his lap.
“Where do you think you are going? Stay right where you are. I’ll call Gryff.” Luc pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed with one hand as his other arm tightened around her waist, pulling her back into him, not losing their connection.
Luc ended his call. “Gryff’s not far away. Let’s get out of this room. Leave everything where it is. We can wait for him in my office. He’ll call when he gets to the front door, so I can let him in.”
Avery nodded and looked up into his eyes. “Thank you.”
He looked down at her, imbuing as much protective strength to her as possible. He curved his palm to the side of her face and thumbed away a falling tear. She pressed her delicate cheek into his strong hand. Her show of trust humbled him.
He placed a warm, soulful kiss on her forehead. “Nothing to thank me for, beautiful girl. I meant what I said. I care about you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you or your precious daughter. Plus, you have big bad Detective Calder looking out for you.”
Luc’s cell phone rang, causing Avery to jump.
“Shh. It’s OK. Just Gryff at the front door.” He got up, placed Avery on her feet, and headed to the door. She was instantly by his side, slipping her hand into his. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed his heart.
Avery clung to Luc’s side as he opened the door. She couldn’t help but anchor herself to him as her world spun out of control. But, the moment Gryff stepped into the foyer she left Luc’s comforting arms and leapt into her friend’s familiar embrace. Gryff had been her safe haven for too many years. She didn’t have to explain any backstory, didn’t have to justify her feelings, she could just be herself with him.
“Come on, sweetheart. Tell me what happened.”
Gryff didn’t patronize her. He tucked her into his side and pressed them toward the conference room. As they walked the short distance, Avery recounted how she and Luc found the latest message. How she found her purse sitting on a chair in the conference room, right where she’d left it, but something was sticking out. The message.
“Was anything missing?” Gryff asked.
“What do you mean?” Panic edged Avery’s voice. “I don’t think so, but to tell you the truth, I didn’t check.”
Luc’s hand brushed up and down her back, reminding her he was also by her side. She did feel better when Luc was close. Strength and heat radiated off him and enveloped her. Her very own man-cocoon. But it was a double-edged sword. Luc and Gryff were wonderful, supportive friends who would no doubt defend her and Cassie, and for that she was grateful. But damn she wanted to, no, needed to stand on her own hind legs, to fend for herself, and to be the mother her daughter deserved. After all, look what happened the last time she let a man take care of her. Cal drew her in with all the right words and promises of ecstasy. Then, little by little, punishments became more frequent and more intense for nebulous infractions. She was no longer allowed to work. He dictated what she ate, what she wore, what she did. The insidious downward spiral eroded her sense of self-worth until she no longer trusted herself to make any decisions about her or her daughter’s life.
Gryff’s voice brought her back to her reality. Reality sucked ass.
“Well,” Gryff started, “the note’s not likely to be much help. The last one…” Gryff stopped short realizing what he said.
Avery gave him a nod to tell him he could continue.
“OK, the last one was clean. The newsprint used to cut out the letters was standard newsprint stock. Your paper uses it and so do the majority of dailies and weeklies in the region, not to mention a few in Toronto. The ink wasn’t any help either.”
“Have you found out more about Cal’s movements?” Avery had to force her vocal chords to work. They throttled every word, choking off her airway just as surely as if they were Cal’s miserable hands.
“He’s been a model parolee, checking in when he should. Other than last week. He claimed to have car trouble, though we haven’t been able to confirm that. Based on the approximate time the previous message was likely left for you to find, it could have been him. We can’t rule out that it was someone else or that Cal has an accomplice. We’ll add today’s incident to the mix, map out the timelines, and overlay his check-in times. Don’t worry Avery, we’ll find whoever is doing this.”
Avery was only half listening to Gryff. It was as if she were back in the middle of that destructive relationship. Frightened. Small. Humiliated. Not the strong, smart, capable woman who had risen from the wreckage that had been her marriage. Hell, she hadn’t even seen or spoken with Cal, yet he still had power over her, derailing her growing confidence.
She sunk into one of the chairs surrounding the conference table, propped her elbows on the table, and buried her face in her hands. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Just when she and Luc seemed to be reconnecting. Who wanted to be with a single mom with this kind of baggage?
She hated that Luc now knew about her crazy ex-husband and what was apparently a stalker. She needed to get out of here before he kicked her out. Oh, he would let her down easy, he wasn’t a total prick. Still, the humiliation was more than she could bear at the moment.
&nbs
p; “I need to get home. Cassie leaves for camp tomorrow and I’ve got a lot of prep to do.” Not waiting for either Gryff or Luc to approve or disapprove, she headed for the door. “Let me know if anything pops.”
Before she could take more than a couple of steps, a wall of muscle blocked her path. Both men stood in front of her, glaring down at her, shaking their heads in unison.
“Oh, no, you’re not. You are not going anywhere by yourself,” Luc growled at her with Gryff nodding in agreement.
Avery propped her hands on her hips, again. She was getting pretty tired of defending herself to a slab of testosterone. “Listen boys, I’ll be fine. I’m not going to let a couple of silly letters turn my life upside down. And…”
“And nothing. We don’t know how serious this threat is. It could be nothing, but we’re not going to take any chances with either you or Cassie. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to create these messages, put them in places for you to find yet not be seen, and not leave a trace of evidence. That sounds like a determined bastard to me. We don’t know what he’s planning next.”
Gryff’s cop voice was a hairsbreadth away from demolishing Avery’s last nerve. He must have seen her frustration because he took a deep breath and softened his approach.
“Look, I don’t want to scare you more than you already are, but I also don’t want to take any chances.”
She was so worn down from worrying about what Cal might be up to, and being hypervigilant every waking moment of the day, and most nights. Cassie’s safety was her primary concern. Avery knew she would survive if Cal got his hands on her again. But, if he hurt Cassie in any way, she would never forgive herself.
Gryff was her dearest friend. He knew what she had been through, and he would understand what she was feeling now. She trusted him with her safety as well as Cassie’s. He would see through her if she tried to pretend to be superwoman and blow them off, so why delay the inevitable. The sooner she accepted their help, the sooner she would be able to make sure Cassie was tucked away safe and sound in her bed at her grandmother’s unaware of the potential threat her father posed. She took a step back and huffed out a sigh.