by Opal Carew
“Come on, honey,” the new man said impatiently. “You’re obviously playing coy. We’ve got a room at the Savoy Inn a few doors down. Let’s go.”
He wrapped his hand around her arm and panic surged through her. She froze, unable to speak, or even tear her arm away. He jerked her to her feet.
Tal pulled open the door to Satan’s Brigg and stepped inside. It took a moment to adjust to the dim lighting after the bright sunshine outside, but when he did, he noticed the sparkling glasses hanging over the bar, the decorative liqueur bottles displayed on the top shelf behind it, regular liquor bottles below.
The place wasn’t busy, but the clients he saw wore dressy clothes. Not like his jeans and casual button-down shirt.
Like the two men at one of the bar tables talking to a woman.
What the fuck?
That was Sonny and one of the guys had his hand firmly around her arm.
“Get your hand off her.”
Sonny started at the dangerous tone of the male voice behind her.
“What the fuck, man? Mind your own business,” said the man tightly grasping her arm.
But as his gaze turned to the voice, his eyes widened and his hold on her loosened.
“I said let her go.”
She sucked in a breath. It was Tal. She hadn’t recognized his voice at first, because of the gruff anger, but this time, the soft tone, even laced with a dangerous masculine authority, gave him away.
She glanced around and was taken aback at the threatening gleam in his eyes.
The man holding her arm released it and took a step back.
“Fuck, we didn’t know she was with you,” he said.
“Just get the hell out of here,” Tal said with a dangerous edge to his voice.
“Yeah, whatever. We were just leaving.”
Tal watched the two men turn and walk away. He would love to take them out back and show them the pavement face first, but he resisted the urge.
As they left, he heard one of them grumbling that he’d have the hotel concierge’s job and Tal realized they’d been told this was a place to pick up a prostitute.
He turned to Sonny. “Sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”
She wrapped her hand around his wrist.
“Can we please get out of here?” she asked tightly.
“Yeah, of course.” He let her lead him across the room, but instead of heading to the front door, she pulled him to a side entrance.
They stepped outside onto a quiet side street, but she led him around a corner, to a narrow alleyway.
Then to his total surprise, she surged against him, her arms wrapping around him.
He embraced her, drawing her close. The feel of her soft body against him, her face pressed tight to his chest, knocked him off kilter. All his protective urges, which were already triggered by seeing that jerk manhandling her, kicked in.
Then he felt wetness on his shirt and he glanced down. He could feel her trembling in his arms.
He pressed his lips to the top of her head and kissed her soft, blonde hair.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay.” He tightened his embrace. “You’re okay.”
She drew in a deep breath and nodded her head. Then she drew back, just a little, and gazed up at him.
The pain and fear still swirling through her brown eyes made his chest clench.
Then she surged upward as she pushed herself on her tiptoes and their lips met.
Ah, fuck, it was heaven. He glided his fingers through her hair, cupping her face gently, and deepened the kiss.
She melted into him, allowing his tongue to nudge her lips, then gently press inside. She welcomed him, swirling her tongue over his, then followed his lead as they curled together and undulated.
Then he felt her stiffen again and she slowly drew back.
She didn’t apologize for the kiss, like he was afraid she would. But she bit her lip, her teeth pulling on the soft flesh that had just been pressed against his.
“Can we go somewhere else?” she asked.
“Of course. Anywhere you want.”
“We could have a drink at my place.”
His heart stuttered.
She took his hand and turned toward the street. He walked beside her, then slid his arm around her, feeling very protective. She glanced up, but didn’t pull away.
“I just mean a drink,” she said. “And we can talk. That’s all.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Tal followed Sonny into her apartment. It was decorated in soft neutral tones, with dashes of color here and there. An area carpet on the floor with a pattern in rich burgundy and purple tones. Matching purple cushions on the couch. A burgundy blanket, soft and fleecy looking, draped over the arm of a chair.
“Nice place,” he said.
“Thanks.” When she noticed him gazing at the blanket, she seemed to get more nervous.
A thump drew his attention to the window, then he saw Mia walking toward him from a carpeted cat tree.
“Well, hello there, Mia.” He picked her up and stroked behind her ear. The little creature’s rumbling purr filled the room.
“She really likes you,” Sonny said.
He smiled. “The feeling is mutual.”
“Is wine okay?” Sonny asked. “Or a hard lemonade?”
“Sure. Wine would be great.”
Sonny disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with an open bottle of wine and two glasses. She sat down on the chair. He sat on the couch as she poured the glasses.
Mia jumped from his arms and leaped onto the cat tree again, then curled up.
Sonny handed him a full glass, then sipped her own. He watched her as she stared at her glass, clearly uncomfortable.
He knew she’d need coaxing to start talking.
“Sonny, I’d really like to know your story. Just whatever you’re comfortable sharing.”
Her gaze darted to his, then she frowned and nodded. She set her glass on the coffee table and rested her hands on her knees. She sat stiffly on the chair, her denim-clad legs tightly pressed together.
“So I told you I recognized your voice from your recording,” she began. “That’s why I avoided you. I was afraid whenever I talked to you that… I don’t know, maybe you’d read it in my face. Somehow know that I was thinking about the recording… and what you say in it.”
Which meant that the recording turned her on. Maybe she even got off listening to it. The thought excited him intensely. So much that his cock started to swell.
“Well, you’ve told me now,” he said, ignoring his lustful stirrings, “and I don’t want you to be embarrassed about any of that.”
Her gaze was fixed on her hands.
“That boat has sailed,” she said. “But at least it’s out in the open between us now.”
He leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs.
“So it’s clear that you’ve been through something. It might help to talk about it.” He smiled warmly. “I’m a good listener.”
Her eyes clouded and he could feel her withdrawing. Everything about her seemed to tighten up.
“I…” She drew in a deep breath and then sipped her wine. Then she shook her head.
“I meant it when I said I wouldn’t pressure you,” he said. “But I really do think it could help you to open up. You said you liked my voice. That it helped you imagine what it would be like if a man cared about a woman. Well, I do care about what happened to you.”
She turned her gaze to him and the vulnerability gleaming in her brown eyes tore at his heart.
“I was raped,” she said baldly. “Not just once, but over and over again.”
His chest clenched so tightly he could barely breathe.
She dropped her gaze to her glass and swirled the white wine around and around.
“It was this rich guy who was used to getting what he wanted. I don’t know why he picked me. All I know is that I was snatched from the street as I was walking home from the bus stop
after staying at campus to work on a project. It was back when I was in college. I was drugged and taken to his house in the country. Not that I knew that at the time. For the first few weeks, all I saw was a dark room. He called it a dungeon. There was a metal collar locked around my neck and he kept me chained up like a dog.”
Horror gnawed through him. Not only at what she was describing, but also because of the dead look in her eyes as she talked about it.
“You said weeks? How long were your there?”
“It was about three months in all. After about two months, he tired of me, so he started sharing me with friends. He’d drag me up from the dungeon and watch them as they…”
But her voice broke. A tear glittered in her eye, but she wiped it away.
Anger and disgust at her captor tore through him.
“How did you finally get away?” he asked softly
She shook her head. “I didn’t. One day, he blindfolded me then injected me with some kind of drug. I woke up later, lying in a field on the side of the road.”
The adrenaline rushing through him made him want to do something. Help her somehow.
“They never caught him. I wasn’t able to tell the police where he’d taken me. And with his money, I doubt he’d ever be convicted even if they did find him.”
He rested his hand on hers, at the same time wondering if he was an idiot to touch her.
Instead of pulling away, she curled her fingers around his. They felt so small and delicate.
She gazed at him, her eyes filled with pain.
“I’m so sorry, Sonny,” he said softly.
She just stared at him, and he realized her whole body was trembling.
“Is there anything I can do?”
She drew in a deep breath, then tears streamed from her eyes.
“I want…”
Her voice broke and she bit her lip.
The need in her eyes was heartbreaking. For closeness. For comfort.
He squeezed her hand and she pulled on it.
He pushed himself forward and knelt on the floor in front of her.
“I’m here for you. Whatever you need,” he said.
She hesitated for an instant, her eyes shimmering with her tears.
Then she surged into his embrace. He tightened his arms around her and held her close.
“Baby, I wish I could have been there to protect you. To beat his fucking brains in.”
She sobbed against his chest and he held her closer. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. The floral scent of her soft, silky hair coiled through him.
He couldn’t believe the horror she’d endured. He’d do anything to be able to take her pain away.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. No wonder you’ve been so afraid.”
She lifted her head and gazed at him. The intensity of her eyes burrowed through him.
“I don’t want to be afraid anymore,” she whispered, her voice coarse with emotion.
He cupped her cheek. “That’s good, sweetheart. I want to help you. What can I do?”
“I want to get past this debilitating fear of being with a man. But I can’t just…” She bit her lip.
He kissed her forehead. “I know, sweetheart. You have to move slowly.”
She took his hand and squeezed, her brown eyes wide as she stared into his.
“We have to move slowly,” she said softly.
His heartbeat increased. He stroked his fingers through her soft, blonde hair.
“We?”
She nodded. “I’m usually afraid of men. But with you, it’s different.”
His chest tightened. “I’m glad.”
She rested her hand on his jaw. “I’m actually very attracted to you.” Her wide brown eyes gazed deeply into his. “I’m hoping you feel the same.”
“Oh, sweetheart. You have no idea.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. At the first delicate touch, his breath caught, then he drew her closer. Holding himself in tight control so he didn’t move too fast. But she leaned into the kiss, her soft, feminine lips caressing his.
His hand slid behind her head and, keeping their mouths merged, he shifted onto the couch beside her, then pulled her deeper into the kiss.
Sonny’s chest compressed as his big, masculine hand closed around her head and drew her forward.
She pushed back the panic reaction, knowing she wanted this. She needed this.
The kiss turned more passionate and her body quaked with need.
She trusted him. And she wanted to be with him. To be touched by him.
He eased her back until she was lying on the couch, her head resting on the pillow. His body hovered over her as his mouth moved on hers. His big, masculine body. His chest broad and hard. His muscles rippling.
She found it hard to breathe, her chest constricting.
He was so much bigger than her. He could so easily overpower her. Anxiety swelled through her and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She pressed her hand to his chest and pushed, even though she knew she’d never be able to budge him.
But at the slightest pressure, he eased back. His lips parted from hers and his blue eyes fixed on her, concern glowing warmly.
“It’s all right, baby. Whatever you need.” He drew her up with him as he sat up. “We can stop right now.”
“I… don’t know. I don’t want to stop, but…” She shook her head, helpless against the dread burrowing deep into her stomach.
She ran her hand along his cheek, the rough, dense whiskers coarse against her fingertips.
He covered her hand with his and brought it to his lips. The feel of his mouth against her palm as he kissed it sent tingles through her.
“Why did you decide you want to try this with me?” he asked gently.
She nibbled her lip. “I find you attractive and…I’ve listened to your voice so many times. I’ve learned to trust that voice.” Her cheeks heated. “In my mind, I’ve let the owner of that voice watch me do intimate things.” Her gaze turned downward. “When I met you… when I realized you were him… I didn’t know what to do. I was embarrassed and…” She drew in a breath. “Afraid of my reactions to you.”
She forced her gaze back to his.
“And now I realize I reacted that way,” she pressed on, “because I know deep inside that I can trust you. That the quality in your voice that drew me in the first place… that called me back again and again… is a part of who you are as a man. A tender, caring man.”
He smiled gently and the glow in his eyes warmed her.
“Okay, so you don’t want to stop. But you’re afraid to move forward.”
She nodded.
He released her hand and eased away. She felt her heart thump loudly when he stood up.
“Are you leaving?” she asked.
He turned and sat down in the chair across from her.
“No. Not by a long shot. Why don’t we just talk?”
“Talk?”
He smiled. “More to the point, why don’t I just talk?”
Her eyes widened. “You mean like… in the recording?”
He shrugged. “We can turn the lights down and I’ll just talk to you. Try to relax you. And we’ll see where things go. We don’t have to touch at all.”
“But how does that help me move ahead?”
“One step at a time. You said you trust my voice. You like listening to it. You can just close your eyes and imagine you’re hearing a recording of my voice. At any time, if you want to stop, just say so. Okay?”
She bit her lip as she stared at him. He was such a big man. A good head taller than her. His body so massive that when she stood near him, it was like standing near a brick wall. Yet she had never felt fear around him. Just a disturbing craving.
He oozed masculine sex-appeal and she longed to be in his arms again. To feel his hands glide over her body.
But he was right. She had to go slowly.
“Okay.”
He stood
up and grabbed the blanket from the easy chair and draped it over her. He had to know she probably burrowed under this blanket when she listened to him. Just like he instructed in his recording.
She wrapped her fingers around the soft fabric and drew it close around her, feeling protected, like in a cocoon.
He dimmed the lights and sat down in the chair across from her. It was so dark she could barely make out his shape across the short distance. But his presence was unmistakable.
“I want you to just relax and listen to my voice,” he began.
She drew in a deep breath and stretched her legs out on the ottoman.
“Know that you’re safe. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
In the darkness, his words burrowed through her. Her jaw relaxed and slowly the tightness in the muscles throughout her body eased, a little at a time.
“I think we should start where we left off last time. So draw in a deep breath and close your eyes. Then I’ll start.”
Last time? Then she realized he meant in the recording.
She closed her eyes. It was pitch black.
It was so quiet, she could hear her heartbeat. The only other sound in the room seemed to be her breathing. She waited for him to start, but the silence hung between them… until finally she wondered if he’d left.
Hello, baby. I’m glad to see you’re here waiting for me again. Curled up under that blanket. So cozy.
She shivered at the sound of his voice. It was like she was listening to a recording, but she knew he was across the room from her.
I’ve been longing to be here with you again. To bring you pleasure.
Was he going to instruct her to take off her clothes? If he did… would she do it?
Let me look at you. Mmm. You’re so sexy. So beautiful.
I’ve been imagining you here. Wanting me. Longing for me as much as I long for you. I’ve been dreaming of touching you. Of running my fingers through your beautiful, silky hair. Nuzzling it as I breathe in the floral scent. Mmm.
She remembered him doing that moments ago. His fingers gliding through her hair. His lips on hers. Coaxing. Drawing out her passion.