Jane Doe's Return

by Jen Talty

  A slight jolt of reality hit her when he pulled her jeans down over her hips, down her thighs and encouraged her to step out of them. “What are you doing?”

  Still on his knees, he looked up at her, his eyes hazed with passion, lust, desire, or all three. “Giving you pleasure.” He kissed her stomach, his fingers curling in the lace of her panties. His steamy breath moist against her sex, making her hotter than she thought was ever possible.

  Her body shuttered. He gave her pleasure all right.

  She brought her hands to his head, wanting to run her fingers through his hair.

  “Go ahead.” He looked up at her.

  Tentatively, she threaded her fingers through this thick dark hair. It was soft and full and perfect. She could feel him chuckle against her skin.

  “Oh, my. Ohhh. I—” Her head dropped back as he eased her panties down her legs. He kissed his way up her thigh, to her hipbone and then across her stomach. “I’m scared,” she said, barely audible.

  “Don’t be. If you don’t like this, tell me. I can stop anytime,” he said softly before she felt him kiss her in the most intimate way a man could.

  “You’re so beautiful.” He slipped his fingers between her legs, slowly entering her. When she looked down, she gasped, surprised to see him looking so intently at her, at what he was doing to her.

  Her breathing tightened and her pulse raced with need. Running her fingers through his hair, she encouraged him to kiss her again.

  “I want you to lie down.” He eased her back onto the bed, lifting her knees. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  “Relax.” His fingers glided inside her while he kissed her swollen nub. Afraid she might scream, she bit down on her lower lip. Her body tensed as she felt a wave of instant pleasure wash through her, but then it was gone.

  He looked up at her. “Shauna, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

  She breathed unevenly, but managed to nod again.

  “Do you like this?”

  “Yes.” She moaned. “Please,” she heard herself beg as her body began to shiver under his gentle touch. She relaxed and knew she would find heaven. It was right there for her to discover, seek and savor. She wanted it.

  He caressed and kissed her in ways no one could describe. His touch sent electric pulses to every inch of her body. “Oh, Travis,” she cried as her body reached its limit, convulsing with his movements.

  He stilled for a few moments before he lay next to her, studying her face.

  “Travis, I…I never… Oh, God, I had no idea.”

  “We’re not done yet.” He smiled, scooting from the bed and stood before her. “That was just a preview.”

  “It gets better?” She smiled.

  “God, I hope so.” He undid his belt buckle, sliding the long black belt from its loops.

  She watched him undress, amazed she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed, until he removed his boxers. Still, she wasn’t afraid, not with him. Her senses electrified in anticipation. Seeing him naked only made her want him more.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he said, tenderly.

  She moved to her knees, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “So are you.” She kissed him for the first time with feverish intent. She felt a sudden surge of empowerment.

  He cupped her face and looked deep into her eyes. “I saw your pills. If you want I can still use a condom, but I’d rather not.”

  “Do I need to be worried?” She knew all the dangers of sex. She also knew she hadn’t taken the last few pills in this current pack. She didn’t take them regularly. She didn’t know why she kept them.

  “It’s been a really long time, and, no. You don’t need to worry.” Just as the words left his mouth, his tongue sought hers cutting off her ability to speak, much less think.

  She had meant to tell him to use the condom, but she couldn’t. The heat his mouth offered was too sweet, and she wanted to feel him inside her, without any barriers.

  She had enough barriers in her life.

  He eased her onto her back, nudging her legs apart. She felt his hardness against her. “Anything you don’t like, or don’t want me to do, or if you want to stop, just tell me. Okay?” He kissed her nose.

  This man was just too good to be true. “Who are you? And where did you come from?” She cupped his face, searching for answers.

  “I’m just a man.” His words were soft and sensitive, but she somehow felt he wasn’t being humble. He didn’t see himself as anything out of the ordinary, but he was unique, special.

  “You’re more than a man, Travis. Make love to me.”

  “Not to you, with you.” He pushed down, slowly.

  Arching her back, she accepted his length inside her. “Travis,” she whispered.

  “Shauna,” he answered, moving in strong but gentle stokes inside her. He kissed her lips, her neck, her breasts.

  She wiggled underneath him. Her body now knew the pleasure he could bring her, and she demanded it.

  “It’s okay if it doesn’t happen again,” he said as if he could feel her frustration.

  “But, I want it to. I want to come with you,” she said boldly, cupping his face.

  “Roll over on top of me.” He gripped her hips and pushed them back and forth over him. He lifted his head and brought his tongue to her nipple.

  She felt closer, but it wasn’t until he touched her where their bodies were joined together she felt a second wave of passion, stronger than the first one, shocking her.

  Just when she thought her body was done, she felt his release deep inside her as he called out her name in a grunt.

  “Oh, God.” She ground her hips hard back and forth as her body quivered violently. The intensity of her emotions, coupled with the fierce physical contact sent her system into overdrive.

  No longer in control, she released the tears fighting to be free.

  “Shh. Its okay.” He gripped her hips, slowing her down, pulling her close to him. “Shh, sweetheart.” His fingers tangled through her hair as he soothed away the raw emotion that rocked her body.

  She didn’t know how long she cried, but when she took a big cleansing breath she was on her side, pulled close to him and he still whispered sweet loving words in her ears. “I had no idea.” She sighed.

  “I should’ve been more careful with you.”

  When she looked at him, his eyes looked so damned caring. She had to force the tears away since she didn’t want to start again. “You were wonderful.”

  “It was too intense. I should’ve known and been more gentle.” He propped up on one elbow, while his other hand rubbed up and down her arm.

  “If that wasn’t gentle, then I think I might like to see your idea of rough.”

  That caught a laugh.

  “Will you stay with me?” She closed her eyes, snuggling against his hard body.

  “Do you want me to?”

  She nodded.

  “Shauna, you understand that this can’t happen again. Even if we want it to. I don’t want to tarnish your reputation. You’re too good an agent to be tainted by something like this. Besides, I don’t want to lose my job. It’s my life, what I live for.”

  For the first time, his voice sounded almost demanding. He wasn’t giving her a choice. But she understood. While she didn’t regret making love with him, she did regret that it would never happen again. She regretted even more that someday he would hate her for lying to him.

  “Shauna?” He gave her a questioning glance.

  “I understand. I don’t want to lose my job either. Can we just have tonight? I don’t want to be alone right now.” She tried not to sound pleading. She would feel empty if he left her. Like it meant nothing to him.

  “If the circumstances were different, I would want to take you out to the movies, kiss you goodnight and pray like hell you would invite me into your room.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I mean—”

  She covered his mouth. She didn’t want t
o know if he really wanted more or not. He was willing to give her one night. That would have to be enough. “We could make love again.” She smiled, hopefully seductively.

  “God, you’re sexy.” He smiled, wickedly.

  It made her dizzy with anticipation.

  “Inviting me into your room?” he teased.

  “Just for tonight.” She would let him take her as many times as he wanted, tonight. She knew when she woke in the morning it would be over.

  “Maybe if we don’t sleep, tomorrow will never come,” he said, right before he kissed her passionately with a promise of pure pleasure.

  Afterward, when she curled up in his arms, she let herself, for the first time in her life, feel. She felt like a woman, a woman who loved and had loved back. She felt whole, and at the same time, empty. Empty because her secret would destroy her life, again.

  Chapter Nine

  Travis lay on his back, holding Shauna as close as he could. Even with the sun trying to push its way into the bedroom, he wanted to savor the feeling her body gave to him for as long as he could. Being with her made him realize he hadn’t been living at all, but merely existing. The tenderness of her soul had awakened him.

  Sex hadn’t meant much to him, just a need that he satisfied, on occasion. It was like wine. He could take it or leave it. Until now. He had made love to her more times last night than he’d had sex over the last two years.

  The connection he had with her was so strong that breaking it would be like losing another part of himself. Turning to look at the angel who lay beside him, his heart pounded in pain. He hadn’t wanted to care again.

  At first, he thought it was because he had given her body satisfaction. He made her feel desirable, like a woman should, but she was more than just desirable. She was damn likable, too. When he made love with her the second time, she gave her whole self. There was no hesitation, no fear of the unknown, just pure, uninhibited lovemaking that sucked up his senses. He had to make love with her again. If only to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

  She stirred.

  She stirred him.

  “Hi.” She cleared her throat, running her

  fingers across his chest.

  Taking her hand, kissing her palm, he tried to ease the tightness in his throat. She smiled at him with a morning glow that sucker punched his ability to think.

  “Screw it,” he muttered, taking her mouth with his. It was Saturday, and while they were still technically on the job, it was the weekend. Unless they got called, they weren’t punching a time clock. Therefore, he would take the weekend.

  The whole damned weekend.

  “What are you doing?” He tugged a little too harshly at her hair while she gently nipped at his nipples. She stroked him, teasing him, slowly pushing him over the edge.

  “Giving you pleasure.” Her voice was as alluring as her smile. She nipped at his nipple again.

  Closing his eyes, he grunted. She gripped him and he groaned again. She was going to kill him.

  Then she tortured him by taking her bites down his stomach. He sucked in a sharp breath. She hadn’t done this last night and he would never ask. Had she not been so damn good at touching him, he would have felt like a guinea pig.

  She held him in her hands, admiring him, stroking him, basically, driving him insane. He could feel her breath on him. All he wanted to do was reach down and push himself into the warmth of her mouth, but he gripped the sheets instead, forcing his body to stay in control.

  First, her tongue flicked out and touched him. He hissed, looking at the erotic position she was in, hovering over him. Dizzy, he dropped his head back on the pillow as she took him in her hot mouth.

  Not having much control left, he reached down and ran his fingers through her hair, trying desperately not to lose it. “Come here,” he demanded, pulling her by the hair. “Sorry.” He blinked, forcing himself to calm.

  She sat next to him on her heels, smiling. “Don’t be. You’ve held back every time. I don’t want you to.”

  He sat up cupping her face, kissing her swollen lips.

  “Tell me how you want me.” Her eyes told him she wanted it all.

  God, he wanted her so much it hurt.

  “Like this.” He placed her hands on the bed, turning her, lifting her hips to him as he stood. He rubbed her behind, her back, then frowned as his finger glided across a scar. Feeling the need to soothe her skin with his touch, he bent over and kissed the whitish line across the arch of her back, then his fingers found her wetness and her legs spread in acceptance.

  She looked over her shoulder. Her gaze blazed, like a passionate woman wanting to give her lover everything he gave to her.

  Slowly, he entered her, feeling her tightness around him. He wouldn’t last but a few minutes. He held her still, leaning over her and wrapping his arms around her. He pulled at her aroused nipples as she tried to move him inside her. He couldn’t, not yet.

  He wanted to give first. “Stay still.” He bit down on her back.

  “I can’t,” she cried, still wiggling.

  He chuckled. She was so close. Giving up trying to make it last, he caressed her where their bodies merged while his other hand reached across her chest, managing to excite both nipples at the same time. He still didn’t drive himself inside her. He wanted to feel her release around him.

  “Oh, God,” she cried out, pushing against him.

  “Shauna.” He grunted. Her orgasm rushed over him again and again. Seconds later, he pushed her hips hard against his and held her there. Neither one breathed for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, gliding her down on her stomach when he could finally breathe. He lay next to her, propped up on his elbow.

  Her smile said it all.

  Her kiss said it better. “Always the gentleman,” she teased him.

  He cocked a brow. “That wasn’t very gentlemanlike.”

  “It wasn’t very ladylike either.” Her smile turned wicked.

  He frowned, rubbing her back. He had one question that had to be answered. “What happened here?” The scar looked almost like a whip’s mark, but at the end, it appeared to be indented, almost like a chunk had been taken from her side about the size of a half dollar.

  He shifted his gaze from her scar to her face. “The rape?”

  “No.”

  “Then who did this to you?” He tried to keep his voice even. It hadn’t occurred to him until just that moment that someone did this intentionally. “Tell me.” He felt his control snap.

  ****

  Shauna took a deep breath, knowing that this conversation had been inevitable. “My stepmother pushed me through a glass window. It was a clean cut for the most part. She kicked me here.” She reached to her side and rubbed the knotted scar. “A piece of glass was lodged there. It was hours before my father got me to a hospital and it had already gotten infected.” All this was true, but she left out that it was a scar on top of a scar. What her stepmother had done had been a blessing in disguise. The branding would now forever be gone.

  Shauna saw the tension in his face. She could feel his contempt. “Where’s your stepmother now?” His jaw grew rigid, but his touch across her back felt tender and soothed her pain.

  “I don’t know and I don’t give a shit.” Oh, she knew, but she didn’t care.

  “I give a shit.”

  “Let it go. She’s an unhappy woman, living a nightmare. She’s getting worse than what she deserves. Last I heard, she was dying.” She stood, taking his boxers and pulling his shirt over her head. She needed to end the conversation. She didn’t want to think about Roxanne or her father. She never wanted to see either one again.

  “How can you just forgive them?”

  “It’s not worth carrying anger and sadness like that around. It just bogs you down. I don’t want to live in the past. Can you understand? I need to keep moving forward. I’ve got a lot going for me.” She meant every word that spewed from her mouth. It wasn’t just fluff
, but it had taken her years to believe the words. She knew it wouldn’t take much to bring her confidence down, which is why she chose to focus her energies on her career.

  “Those belong to me.” He tugged at the boxers, trying to pull them down and redirect the conversation.

  She pushed him back on the bed, shaking her finger at him. “I earned the right to wear these this morning.” She laughed. “Want coffee?” She turned, hearing him grunt a yes as she headed out of the bedroom to find the coffeemaker, but just as she turned the corner, she came in contact with a large moving object.

  “Oh, crud! Sorry.” Shauna put her hand on the back of Travis’s brother, Bill. He hunched over, not breathing all too well from the belt she had given to his stomach. “I didn’t know who you were. It was a knee-jerk reaction.” She shook out her hand. “Damn, you’re built like a tree trunk.”

  “Damn good reaction.” Bill coughed. “Mac truck, actually.”

  Shauna glanced over her shoulder and saw Travis hiking up his zipper. She glanced back at Bill, who arched a brow. She knew her perfect night had to come to end, but she hadn’t expected it to come to an end by getting caught.

  “Jess is—”

  “Standing right behind you, Dad. Real smooth, Uncle Trav. Nice hit, Miss Morgan.” The teenager giggled.

  Shauna looked over Bill’s shoulder. Jessica had turned and headed back down the hallway.

  “Great. Another conversation in sex ed,” Bill said.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Travis asked.

  “Watering Mother’s plants.” Bill glared at Travis. “Hi, Shauna.”

  “Hi.”

  “Didn’t Mom tell you I was coming?”

  Bill shook his head.

  “What? Missed the truck parked in the driveway?” Travis raked his hand through his hair.

  “Boat.”

  “Excuse me.” Shauna dodged Bill and eased her way toward the kitchen. She could still hear their muffled voices, each sounding angry at the other. She really didn’t feel like standing in the middle of it, since she seemed to be the cause it. Jessica followed.

  “You made coffee.” Shauna smelled the hint of hazelnut in the air, before she heard the coffeemaker gurgle. She watched it drip, hoping that it would go faster with an audience. It seemed to go slower.