Her breathing grew more erratic, and she moaned. Then she cried out sharply, as if she were hurt.
He shook her more forcefully. “Beth, wake up!”
She shot up into a sitting position, gasping for air, her hands raising as if she were warding off an assailant.
“Beth!”
She looked at him, her eyes wide and unfocused. “What?” She glanced around the room and got her bearings. “It was just a dream,” she sighed.
Shane sat up and took hold of her arms, turning her to face him. “Sweetheart, enough!” he said. “You have to tell me.”
Chapter 29
Shane felt, as well as heard, the sob that came out of Beth as she lay back down. She was breathing erratically, in short gasping breaths.
“Do you need your inhaler?” he said, already reaching across her for the nightstand drawer.
“No. I’m okay,” she said, clutching at him, as if he was her lifeline and she was holding on for dear life.
“No, you’re not okay, Beth.” His voice came out harsh, tinged with frustration. To soften the blow, he leaned down and gently kissed her. “I need you to tell me, baby.”
Beth sighed and pulled Shane down beside her, turning into him. She wrapped one arm around his waist and snuggled into his warm body, and immediately she felt the fear begin to dissipate. Lying with him like this soothed her more than anything else ever had.
“Beth.”
She buried her face against his chest. “You’re using your bossy tone again,” she grumbled. The one that made her insides melt.
“You haven’t heard bossy yet, Beth, but you’re about to if you don’t start talking.”
“I know,” she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.
“I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me,” he said, making her look at him. “Who hurt you, Beth?”
She looked into his eyes, those steely blue orbs that looked rather impatient at the moment. She hated talking about it.
Once more, she stepped off that high-dive platform, trusting that he would catch her. She took deep breath, filling her starved lungs with air, then released it all as she blurted it out. “When I was six years old, I was kidnapped.”
Shane made a rough sound as he tightened his hold on her, simultaneously relieved and pained. He’d been prepared for those words; he’d known they were coming. But for some reason hearing it from her hit him unexpectedly hard, leaving a sick knot in his gut. He cleared his throat. “Go on.”
“I was playing in my front yard, riding my bike on the sidewalk. My mom was inside cooking dinner.”
When she stopped talking, Shane found one of her hands buried under the bedding and linked their fingers, squeezing her hand for encouragement.
“Someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me off my bike. He threw me into the back of a van, then climbed in behind me and shut the doors. It was dark in the van – there weren’t any windows. He used tape to bind my wrists and ankles so I couldn’t move.”
She fell silent again.
“Then what happened?” Shane’s heart was hammering in his chest, but he had to keep her talking. They were finally getting somewhere.
She cleared her throat. “The man who kidnapped me – his name is Howard Kline – lived in a rural area south of us, on a farm. There was an old cellar on the farm, just a big hole dug deep into the earth, with wooden steps and a metal trap door. There were no windows and no electricity; it was pitch black down there. That’s where he put me, in that cellar. My wrists and my ankles were taped together, so I couldn’t stand. He cut my clothes off, then left me there lying on the dirt floor in the dark. I was so scared I couldn’t stop shaking, and I was too afraid to sleep. I just lay there crying all night.”
“The next morning, the trap door opened. I remember the sunlight hurt my eyes. My eyes were tearing from the bright light, but I could see the police officers coming down the stairs, holding guns and flashlights. Tyler was the first one down the steps. He cut the tape from my wrists and ankles, and then he wrapped me in his jacket and carried me up the stairs to an ambulance.”
As he kissed Beth’s forehead, he thought about how easy it would be to simply end Howard Kline’s life. A simple shot to the head, and it would all be over. He’d never in his life been so tempted to take matters into his own hands – to play the vigilante – and seek retribution where it was due. He fairly shook at that moment with the need to do just that. It was a line he’d never crossed, but this situation... Beth’s situation really tested him.
“So, what happened to the kidnapper?” Shane said, to keep her talking.
“There was a trial, and he was convicted on all charges. The judge sentenced him to 30 years.”
“Besides terrorizing you and imprisoning you, did he hurt you? Did he sexually molest you?” Shane had to ask her that, even though he was loathe to even say the words. The thought of what Kline could have done to her made him physically ill. He knew from the police report that Kline hadn’t molested her, but he needed to hear her say it.
She shuddered, and he tightened his arms around her. “No,” she said. “He hardly touched me. Once he put me in that cellar, I never saw him again.”
“You must have been terrified,” Shane said. He had a feeling she was more than ready to be done with this conversation, but he wasn’t. This was just the first step.
She didn’t say anything more, and he felt her body growing heavy against his as she started to relax back into sleep.
“I just want to sleep, Shane,” she said, her voice weary. “Please.”
He heard in her voice an echo of the pain she must have suffered as a child, and it tore at him. “Okay, sweetheart.”
He knew she was using sleep to avoid the topic, but it was the middle of the night, and she did have to go to work in the morning. So he let her sleep. There would be time for further conversation, for there certainly was a lot more to be said.
* * *
When Beth’s alarm clock went off at 6:15, she groaned as she hit the snooze button.
Shane stirred beside her and stretched. “What time do you have to be at work?”
“I usually leave at seven-thirty to get there by eight,” she said, pressing against him. She rubbed her nose against his shoulder and inhaled, relishing the scent of his warm, male skin. “It’s a half-hour walk.”
“I’ll drive you,” he said, brushing back her hair. “I’d like to see where you work.”
“You want to come in?”
“Yes. If that’s okay?”
“Of course it is,” she said. “I’d love for you to come to my office.”
Shane’s hands slipped beneath the covers and sought her soft, sleep-warmed body. He came up on one elbow and pushed the bedding down to her waist, uncovering her breasts and belly.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling down at her as he ran his hand down her abdomen to caress her belly.
“Good morning.”
He bent down and took one of her nipples into his mouth, suckling her. He laved the peak with his tongue, and when it puckered into a tight little knot, she shivered. Shane’s hand cupped her breast, plumping it for his mouth to feast on. Her hands clutched his arms, kneading the heavy muscles. His mouth released her nipple with a wet pop, then his mouth drifted to her other breast, and he treated that one with the same attention.
He released her breast and began to trail kisses down her torso to her belly button, which he nuzzled and kissed. She was squirming now, her legs moving restlessly. He chuckled, then moved lower still.
“Um, what are you doing?” she said.
“I’m saying ‘good morning,’” he said.
When his teeth nipped gently at her pelvic bone, she jumped. “Oh! I like how you say ‘good morning.’”
Then his mouth drifted farther down, to the nest of blond curls covering her sex. As his nose brushed her hair, he inhaled her scent and gave a little growl.
“Shane? Are you sure you want to do that now?”
/> He glanced up at her. “Yes. Why?”
“Look at the time. Besides, I should shower first.”
“I can be quick,” he said, shoving the bedding aside and scooting farther down the bed.
She chuckled as her hands fisted the sheet beneath her. “Maybe I don’t want you to be quick.”
“Then you can be late to work,” he said, nudging her legs open and sliding between them. “I can’t think of a better way to start our day.”
Beth’s fingers went to his hair, alternately stroking and tugging the strands.
“Gabrielle might hear me,” she said, as Shane pried open her folds with this thumbs, then tickled her clitoris with the tip of his tongue.
“Then be quiet,” he said against her warm, moist flesh. He began lapping at her clitoris with lazy strokes of his tongue. When he inserted one finger inside her core and began stroking her deep inside, she started squirming in earnest.
“Shane! I can’t be quiet!” she hissed, when he started tormenting her clit with rapid flicks his tongue.
He lifted his head and looked at her. “Do you really want me to stop?”
She made a face at him and then closed her eyes in embarrassment. “No.”
“Then use my pillow to muffle the noise.”
Beth grabbed the spare pillow and pressed it to her face just as Shane’s mouth returned to her sex. It was a wicked one-two punch, his long finger stroking her inside as his tongue battered her clitoris. Her hips lifted off the mattress as she pressed herself against his mouth. She held the pillow to her face, her loud whimpers only partially muffled.
Shane showed no mercy, using all of his considerable skill to drive her crazy. He assaulted her clitoris with delicious intent, while his finger stroked her mercilessly, driving her higher and higher. She was practically thrashing now as her orgasm loomed in front of her. She was close, so close, almost there, just a little more, when Shane’s tongue abruptly abandoned her and his finger withdrew from her wet, swollen channel.
“Shane!” she cried into the pillow, feeling desolate at his retreat.
When Shane’s slick finger slipped down to gently tease her anus, Beth made a choked sound behind the pillow – part surprise and part shock – and Shane chuckled.
“Beth, do you have any lube?”
She set the pillow aside and eyed him suspiciously. “Yes. Why?”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking up at the ceiling.
He grinned. “Is it in here?” He reached over and opened the top nightstand drawer.
Shane pulled out a small plastic bottle and squirted some of its contents onto his finger. “Has anyone touched you here before?” he said, the tip of his finger rimming the tightly puckered opening.
“No!” she said, half-heartedly attempting to roll away from him.
It wasn’t much of an attempt, and he held her in place easily. “Do you remember your word?”
“Yes!” she hissed.
“What is it?”
“Whiskey!”
The tip of his finger teased her hole. “Relax, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s just my finger. It’ll slip right in if you let it. It won’t hurt, I promise. In fact, I promise you’ll like it.”
Beth brought the pillow back over her face and produced a string of incomprehensible words.
He chuckled. “I didn’t understand one word of that. You’ll have to move the pillow.”
Beth lifted the pillow from her hot face and glared at him, gasping for breath. “Do you really have to do that?” she hissed.
Shane smiled. “Yes, I do. Now be quiet, or you’ll wake Gabrielle.” He glared back at her mulish expression, raising his eyebrow. “If you really want me to stop, just say the magic word.”
Beth scowled at him, and then laid her head back down and covered her face with the spare pillow. She didn’t want to use the damn word. What he was doing to her was alternately thrilling and terrifying, and she didn’t want him to stop. The bottom line was, she trusted him. He wouldn’t do anything that hurt her.
Shane chuckled. “Relax your bottom, sweetheart,” he coaxed. “Take a deep breath, then slowly let it out and relax. I promise this won’t hurt if you relax.”
Beth’s belly rose as she sucked in a lungful of air, then fell slowly as she exhaled.
“Now relax your muscles,” he instructed. “And push out a little bit.”
He chuckled at her muffled response from beneath the pillow. But she did what he said, and he slipped his finger inside her.
“Good. Now stay relaxed, and don’t be afraid.”
Once he’d slid his finger past her body’s tight ring of muscles, he gently glided his finger in deeper, stroking the interior lining of her body. As soon his finger was sliding easily in and out of her backside, his tongue resumed tormenting her clitoris. Her body had already been well primed for an orgasm, and the combination of his finger stroking her backside and his tongue battering her clitoris sent her immediately crashing right over the edge. She squirmed and bucked against his mouth, her limbs trembling as she whimpered and squealed into the pillow. When a devastating climax tore through her body, she screamed bloody murder into the pillow, her hands pressing it tightly to her face to muffle the sound.
As her keening wails subsided, Shane surged up and pulled the pillow from her face. He reached for another condom packet and ripped it open.. A moment later, his thick cock was sheathed, and his hips were between her thighs, pushing forward.
Beth was still reeling from the most tumultuous orgasm she’d ever had when Shane lodged the head of his cock inside her body and pressed deep inside. She was so wet and slick he had no trouble burying himself completely in one thrust. He covered her with his big body and leaned down to take her mouth with his. He kissed her voraciously, his greedy kisses matching the demanding thrusts of his cock. He slammed hard into her, over and over. Her hands came up to grasp his straining forearms as he held himself suspended above her. His mouth ate at hers, swallowing the exquisite sounds she made.
When his climax hit, he shouted to the rafters. A moment later, they heard a loud thud as something heavy hit the wall that Beth’s bedroom shared with Gabrielle’s.
“Do you mind!” came an annoyed shout from the other bedroom.
Beth shrieked with embarrassment, and Shane collapsed on Beth, breathing heavily. They both had to bite back their laughter.
“So much for not waking up Gabrielle,” Shane said.
It wasn’t until Shane had rolled off Beth and lay beside her, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, that he realized he’d been on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. And she hadn’t even seemed to notice. They were making progress.
He smiled.
Chapter 30
After a quick shower together, which they tried to accomplish as quietly as possible, they dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen for an even quick breakfast of coffee and bagels with cream cheese. They slipped out of the house without further arousing Gabrielle’s ire and headed for the Kingston campus.
Shane found a parking spot in a guest lot not far from the library.
“It’s a beautiful campus,” Shane said, as they strolled hand-in-hand to the library.
The weathered brick buildings were early twentieth century and covered with ivy. The lawns were well maintained, green and lush from the early summer rains.
Shane squeezed Beth’s hand, and she looked up at him. “If you see the student who harassed you yesterday after work, I want you to point him out to me.”
“All right,” Beth said. But, honestly, Andrew Morton was the last person she wanted to run into.
Shane opened one of the two large mahogany doors for Beth and followed her inside the library.
They were greeted immediately by a young woman at the front reception desk who waved at Beth. “Beth! Hi!”
“Hi, Devany,” Beth said, pulling Shane with her to the front desk.
De
vany eyed Beth’s hand linked with Shane’s. “Good morning, Beth,” Devany said, her curious eyes glued to Shane. “Who’s your friend?”
Before Beth could reply, Shane offered his hand to Devany. “Shane McIntyre,” he said, as he shook Devany’s hand. “I’m Beth’s boyfriend.”
Shane looked at Beth, assessing her reaction to his bald pronouncement. Her startled expression quickly morphed into a smile.
“This is my friend, Devany Ross,” Beth said to Shane. She made a nervous gesture with her hand to cover her reaction. Shane captured her hand and held it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Devany,” Shane said, smiling down at the young woman, whose dark eyes darted back and forth between Beth and Shane.
“I’m going to take Shane up to the Special Collections room,” Beth said. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Okay,” Devany said. “Beth, do you want to do lunch today?”
“Sure,” Beth said.
“It was nice to meet you, too!” Devany called, as Beth led Shane toward the staircase.
Shane followed Beth up the wide, curving staircase to the second floor. Now that he was inside the library, his brain instantly began scanning the environment, noting the entrances and exits, mentally mapping the locations of the stairs and elevators. Most importantly, he looked for visible signs of a security presence. So far, he was far from impressed.
Miguel had been in the library several times, going through the same process, and they had an accurate map of the building already on record. By Shane’s standards, though, the security was too lax. Granted, it was a library, not a bank. Libraries weren’t known to be targets of violent acts. Still, he thought they could do better than what they were doing now with just a few slight modifications.
Shane had made note of the security guard seated at the front entrance, near the reception desk where Beth’s friend Devany was seated. The guard had been playing a game on his phone and didn’t once look up as they’d entered the building. A second security guard was seated at a counter in the lobby, not far from the front reception desk, but he too had paid them no mind as they’d entered and approached the reception desk.
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