by Ivy Nelson
Bradley had given her free use of his study, so she settled into his comfy office chair and opened her laptop. She needed to make another blog post and write up a report for work. Between that and some music, she might get her mind off the storm. It would be fine if the power didn’t go out.
The storm raged on outside while she tried to get lost in her work. It was hard to focus though because every few minutes a loud crack of thunder would jar her, causing her to tense. A glance at her phone told her it was eight-thirty. Hopefully he would be home soon.
Knots were forming in her neck and shoulders, and she needed to stretch so she stood and headed for the kitchen. A loud boom of thunder shook the windows, and half a second later the apartment went dark.
Fuck, Darci thought and tried to push back the panic welling up inside of her. Maybe it wouldn’t stay out long. She ran to the bedroom and curled up on the bed trying to stifle the tears welling up in her eyes. It was irrational to still feel so much fear. A moment later her phone rang, causing her heart to leap into her throat. She relaxed a little when she saw Bradley’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hello,” she answered quietly.
“Hey, baby. Are you OK over there?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice was strained. She hoped he didn’t notice.
“I got a strange call from Michael. He said I should check on you but wouldn’t tell me why. I’m on my way home. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”
Darci rolled her eyes. Leave it to Michael to interfere.
“I’m glad you’re coming home. I don’t like storms,” she whispered into the phone.
“Hang tight, baby. I’ll be there soon.”
She ended the call and tried to focus on the fact that he was almost home. Security knocked on the door to make sure she was OK. The flashlight on her phone lit the room but she still trembled. Darci told the guard she was fine, and he returned to his post. She wasn’t OK though. Why wasn’t the power back on yet? Ten minutes seemed like forever. Her phone rang again. This time it was Michael. She smiled when she answered.
“Hello, Michael.”
“Hey, Darci, I know the power is out in your part of town. Are you OK?”
“I’m better now. Thank you for checking on me, but I don’t appreciate you calling Bradley.”
“Is he there?”
“Not yet. Should be any second now. I’m just trying to keep the panic at bay. Talking to you helps.”
“That’s why I called, sweetie. I take it you haven’t told him then?”
“No, I haven’t told him.”
“Told me what?” Darci screamed and nearly jumped off the bed at the sound of Bradley’s voice from the doorway.
“Fuck. I didn’t hear you come in.” He rushed to the bed and sat down next to her.
“Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. What haven’t you told me?”
Michael was still on the phone. “Tell him, Darci. It will do you good to have someone else to talk to. I’m gonna let you go. Call me if you need to.”
She ended the call without saying goodbye. Damn him for pressing the issue.
She set the phone aside and curled up next to Bradley.
“What haven’t you told me?” he asked again. This time he sounded a little more irritated. She knew he hated repeating himself.
“Can we wait a minute to get into that, please? I just need to calm down, and I really need the power to come back on.” Her voice sounded whiny and she kicked herself. If she hadn’t been skipping sessions with Dr. Martin this might not be affecting her so badly. She had just been so distracted lately.
“Hold on.” Bradley stood and moved toward the door.
“Wait. Don’t leave me, please.” It came out as a whimper much to Darci’s chagrin.
“I’m just going to get a lantern, baby. So we can see better. Don’t want your phone to die using the flashlight.”
He kissed the top of her head and left the room. She could hear him rummaging in the hall closet. He came back a moment later with a bright camping lantern.
“Do you want to talk in here or in the living room?”
“Um, can we talk in the kitchen, actually? I could use a glass of wine for this.”
His smile was tense. “Sure, baby. Just talk to me please.”
She stood, and he grasped her hand. His eyes flew to hers. “Darci, you’re freezing.”
“It’s part of my panic attacks. I’ll be OK. I promise.”
He regarded her intently for a moment before giving her a nod. He led her to the kitchen and calmly settled her onto a barstool before pouring them both a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Placing the glass on the counter in front of her he turned her barstool to face his.
“Talk to me, baby. Why was Michael so intent on me checking on you and what does he want you to tell me?”
She took a deep breath, a long drink, and closed her eyes. “I need to tell you how I met Michael Silas.”
Bradley didn’t say anything, just made eye contact and let her know he was listening intently.
“He’s a few years older than me and had already graduated by the time I got to college. He was working for the campus police department. I’m pretty sure it was his first job. It’s impressive really that he’s already made detective here in D.C.
“Anyway, my freshmen year I was still pretty upset about my parents dying in a car accident, and I had no friends, so I set out to make some in a big hurry. I was going to any party I could get an invitation to; everything from frat parties to kink parties. The way everyone talks you would think the most danger would be at the kink parties but turns out that’s not the case.” She took another long drink of her wine.
She hated talking about this. He picked up her hand and squeezed. “Take all the time you need, baby.”
“The short version of the story is I was at a frat party on campus one night. There was a lot of alcohol, and I’m sure some drugs but I wasn’t really drinking that night. I think I’d had a half a beer—if that. It was storming badly outside. I’ve always hated storms.
“I had been warding off the advances of an older student all night. He was a rich kid who thought a woman would suck his dick just because he had a trust fund. I wasn’t interested. The building we were in lost power, and I couldn’t see anything. All the girls were screaming. People tend to get stupid when the power goes out. Anyway, I felt someone grab me, and they dragged me into the bedroom that was off the main living area. I screamed, but everyone just thought I was another drunk college girl freaking out about the power outage.”
She could see the realization in his eyes. He knew what she was about to tell him, but it didn’t make saying it any easier.
“It’s OK. You don’t have to tell me details.”
“I need to get this out. Just give me a minute.”
He nodded and refilled her glass.
When she was ready, she took a deep breath and spoke again. “I tried to fight him off. I really did, but he was bigger than me. So yes, he raped me. I can still smell him sometimes, and it’s revolting. In the struggle, he slammed my head against the wall. I must have blacked out because when I came to again, he was gone, and I was alone in the dark. I wanted so bad to get up and run out of that house, but I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn’t stop shaking. I was so fucking cold. I heard a lot of commotion out front.” With a shaky hand, she took a drink of her wine. Bradley kept his gaze fixed on her and she found the strength to continue. The hard part was out.
“Alcohol wasn’t allowed on campus, and anytime the power went out the police would come through all the campus buildings to make sure everyone was OK. Of course, they discovered the booze, and I think there were a few high school girls there too. They rounded people up, but I was still too paralyzed to move.”
Bradley gripped her hand. “Baby,” he whispered. Darci squeezed his hand and offered a wry smile.
“Michael is the one that found me, and he knew instantly what had happened. I'm not
sure why he did it, but he took me straight to the hospital himself instead of calling the ambulance—which was completely against protocol. I think he had a crush on me for a little while after that, but now we’re just like brother and sister. Only he’s bossier than a big brother.” Darci threw in the last line, hoping to lighten the mood for a minute.
“He took my statement when I was ready to talk. We never could prove who did it. But even when the school tried to get me to not file an official report because cases like these rarely see justice, he pushed me to file anyway. We may not have been able to prove it, but I knew who it was, and I could name him in an official investigation. I did. It ruined his reputation on campus, and he ended up dropping out and leaving town. I haven’t heard anything else about him since.”
Bradley brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Taking a deep breath, Darci decided to correct a mistake she had made in withholding information from him about their current situation.
“There’s one more thing you should know, and you might be mad at me. If you are, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t ready for any of this to come up, so I didn’t tell you.”
“Darci, what is it?”
“My attacker had a fiancé at the time. She tried to cause trouble for me on campus after he left town. I didn’t think it was that serious, we were only ever in the same room together once, but her name has come up in Michael’s investigation. I don’t know what it means and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“Given the situation, baby, I think I understand why you didn’t tell me. I’m not mad.”
Sometimes when a man found out she’d been raped, they looked at her differently, but not Bradley. He was concerned, but he wasn’t looking at her like she had grown a horn.
“So that’s my story. Now, anytime the power goes out there’s a chance I’ll have a panic attack. Sometimes it’s worse than others, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t made it to my therapy sessions lately.”
Bradley frowned. “That’s my fault. I’m so sorry, Darci. I had no idea.”
She shook her head. “No. It’s my fault. It’s my responsibility. Michael always calls me if he knows the power is out. He usually doesn’t tell my boyfriends about this little fear of mine though. I’m kind of mad at him for that.”
Bradley laughed. “Don’t be mad at him, baby. I think he loves you almost as much as I do. Just not the same way.” Darci’s eyes grew wide. This was the first time he’d ever used the L word.
“That’s right, I said it. I love you baby girl. I’m glad he called me. I want to know everything about you, and I want to take care of you.” As if on cue, the power came back on, and Darci breathed a sigh of relief. She had to look like hell.
“Thank you for listening, Bradley. I’m glad you love me. I’m pretty sure I love you too. I’m sorry I’m still scared of everything that entails.”
“I’m going to ask a question and there is no wrong answer.”
She nodded for him to continue. “Can I help you remember your therapy sessions? I understand that’s a private thing and I will never force the issue, but I know I’m the one that’s been keeping you occupied these last few weeks. I don’t want to be the reason you’re having panic attacks.”
She smiled. He was so thoughtful. “You’re not the reason for my panic attacks, but I am OK with you helping me remember to make time for myself. I’m sure Dr. Martin has tried to call me several times.”
He smiled at her. It was a tender-hearted smile, and it made Darci want to curl up in his arms.
“Come on,” he said, rising from the barstool and taking her hand. “You look like you could use a bath and a good night’s sleep. I’ll fill the tub.”
37
♥♥♥
Bradley walked into the bathroom and filled the tub for Darci, making sure it was nice and warm. There was a bottle of lavender bath oil on the shelf, so he grabbed some and poured it in. Recounting the nightmare of her past had taken its toll on Darci, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and love away the pain he saw in her eyes.
It wasn’t fair that someone so good and kind had had to endure so much tragedy. It made him angry. He wanted to hunt the bastard down and kill him. Reaching forward, he brushed a wayward curl behind Darci’s ear. She sighed as his fingers grazed her cheek and some of his anger faded into arousal.
“Don’t do that,” he whispered.
“Do what?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
“Sigh like that. Otherwise, I’ll have to take you here on the bathroom floor, and you really need rest.”
Her blush made him smile. After he reached around her and turned the faucet off, he pulled her into his arms. As usual, she smelled incredible. He let himself get lost in their embrace for a moment before pulling away and tenderly undressing her. It was difficult not to make good on his threat to make love to her right here and now. His pants were getting uncomfortably tight, but he forced himself to focus on taking care of her.
Holding her hand, he helped her step into the tub. As she sank into the hot water, she groaned. Leaning down he kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back to dry you off in a little while, baby. I need to make a couple of calls.” She nodded and sank deeper into the water, closing her eyes as she did.
Once in his office, the rage came back full force. Before he realized what he was doing, he picked up an empty coffee mug from his desk and hurled it at the wall. It shattered, and he winced. Darci was sure to have heard it. He made his way to the kitchen and got a broom and dustpan. After he cleaned up his mess, he sat at the desk willing himself to calm down. She was strong, she had survived so much. His anger over something that had happened in her past wasn’t something she needed. It wasn’t helpful, he told himself.
Now someone else was after her. It seemed cruel. He vowed again to do whatever he had to, to keep her safe.
When he was calmer, he made the work calls he needed to make, then he dialed Michael Silas’ number.
“Hey Michael, thanks for the heads up about Darci.”
“No problem, I’m glad you’re with her. She can be stubborn about letting people take care of her.”
“Lucky for us, I’m just as stubborn as she is.”
“I bet you guys will have epic fights someday.”
He chatted with Michael for a few more minutes and then asked, “Have you got any new leads on this guy taunting her?”
“Not yet. I’ve looked closer at the names you guys gave me, but so far, I’m coming up empty. I hate to say it, but we may have to wait until he strikes again. If he is after Darci and he can’t get to her because of the security we have around her, my gut is telling me he will get angry and strike someone else. The thing is if he’s mad, he may make mistakes. I don’t want anyone else to die, but we’ve got to catch this bastard. I’m looking into Theresa Holden but so far I’m coming up empty.”
Bradley hated the idea of the killer striking again, but he was determined to make sure Darci stayed safe. He finished up his phone call and went to check on Darci. She looked relaxed in the water. Her eyes were still closed, so he leaned against the door frame and watched her for a while. “You’re so beautiful,” he said. Her eyes opened halfway, and she smiled.
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Sir. Especially with your sleeves rolled up and your top button undone like that.”
Chuckling, he crossed the spacious bathroom to the garden tub and sank to the floor next to her. They didn’t speak for a while, but he picked up the hand she had rested on the edge of the tub and grazed his thumb across her fingers. He periodically brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
Finally, he said, “Thanks for trusting me enough to share with me tonight, baby. I know it’s difficult to talk about.”
“You’re easy to talk to. Even about the hard stuff. Besides, if we’re going to be in any kind of long-term relationship, it’s something you needed to know.”
She shifted in the bathtub and change
d the subject. “Now that I’m more relaxed, I wanted to run something by you.”
“What is it, baby?”
“Peter and Carrie would like to visit Exposure while they’re here. I know you have to be careful, but I wondered if maybe we could all go together tomorrow night.”
A frown formed as he considered her request. The danger she was in seemed to stem from her involvement in the kink scene, so he hesitated to take her to the club. On the other hand, the thought of taking Darci there for some fun was appealing.
“I’m concerned about how safe it is for us to go because of whoever is after you. I know security can’t come with us, but we can make it work. Let me make sure my schedule will let me get away tomorrow night.” The smile she flashed him made it worth it.
They continued to talk quietly until she shivered.
“The water getting cold?” When she nodded, he hopped up off the floor and grabbed a fluffy dark towel from the nearby shelf.
“Stand up and rinse off,” he commanded.
She did as he asked pulling the plug on the bathwater as she did. When she finished rinsing to his satisfaction, he held out the towel for her to step into. He wrapped her in it and pulled her close for a moment. Kissing her forehead, he set to work drying her off. She giggled when he would hit a sensitive spot that tickled.
“Quiet,” he said with a playful growl as he tickled her ribs.
“Hey,” she squealed. “Be nice.”
“Oh, I’m being very nice,” he said with a gleam in his eye. She giggled again, and he scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Dumping her on the bed, he trapped both of her hands above her head in one of his and tickled her mercilessly with his free hand while straddling her. She squealed and squirmed, desperate to get away, but he was too strong for her.
“You might as well just lay still and take it, baby, you’ll never escape.”
Darci groaned trying even harder to get away. Suddenly he stopped and swooped down to kiss her.