Haynes, K. R. - The Light in Her Eyes [In Her Eyes] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by K. R. Haynes

  Hearing Randall curse a blue streak at her retreating ass didn’t stop her from running down the hall to the bedroom they both shared. Closing and locking the door behind her, she then dashed into the adjoining bathroom. She closed herself inside the compact room by flicking the lock on the door. Collapsing to the floor and drawing her knees up to her chest, Chloe let go of the sobs and tears wanting out. Her whole body shook from the force of her cries. Somehow, someway, she needed to find the strength, the courage to fight against this bastard. But those thoughts, those horrible thoughts and the vivid pictures of what that bastard could do to her were too crude to speak out loud. Too vile to mention, let alone think of. What if she said what was in her head right now to Randall, only for them to come true? Oh god, she couldn’t think that way. She couldn’t allow herself to think that way either.

  She had to be strong and believe in Randall to keep her safe. But Chloe knew she could never be safe until the bastard after her was either dead or behind bars where he belonged.

  Her sobs came out even harsher hearing Randall pound on the bedroom door, demanding her to open it and let him in. She couldn’t. She couldn’t let him see her like this. Couldn’t let him see the defeat she felt to her very soul. Chloe loathed the idea that this creep stalking her made her feel this way. It repulsed her that he had this much control over her own thoughts.

  How much more did the sick fuck want to control? He already tormented her thoughts, threatened her life and made her grieve for a life she would never have with Randall.

  It made her damn mad, having to put two rooms between the man she loved and her own self. Chloe hated the distance she put between herself and Jon. She needed the breathing space though, even when every cell of her body cried out for him to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. That she would survive this, hell, they both would survive this.

  However, right now she needed the distance, needed the space.

  Inside she hurt too much from the fear of losing what really mattered most to her. Randall. The fear of losing her heart to the only person who meant the world to her had become too much for her to handle on her own. She didn’t need Randall’s sympathy or his concern right now. She just needed him. Her man, her Dom whom she loved more than life itself.

  The sobs raking her body became agonisingly harder only because Randall would never know how much she loved him. Curling her body into a foetal position on the bathroom floor, Chloe tried to find a way to ease the ache inside her. The emptiness she felt ran deep into her soul.

  She felt lifeless.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Jon stared at the closed bedroom door separating him from Chloe. Damn it to hell. She was shutting him out. He could hear her heart-wrenching sobs echoing from the bathroom, and if she thought putting two rooms between them would somehow stop him from hearing her, well she was dead wrong. With a clenched fist he hammered on the locked door again. “Damn it, Chloe, open the goddamn door.”

  His patience was running out. He knew it. Just as he was about to pound the living crap out of the bedroom door again and demand she open it at once, Mick’s heavy hand gripped his arm, preventing him from moving it. Clenching and unclenching his fists, Randall turned to face his friend only to hear Mick caution him.

  “Stop, mate. Let her be for now.”

  “I can’t bloody well stop, mate,” Randall gritted out to him. “Not when she’s bawling her fucking eyes out in there.”

  “You have to. Chloe needs some time and space to figure this shit out on her own. You saw the fear in her eyes, heard the fear in her scream. She’s running scared, Randall. What she needs from you right now is space, so she can figure this out. Then when she’s done she’ll come to you. Then you can spank her ass from not coming to you in the first place.”

  Randall grunted at his mate’s last comment, knowing damn well Chloe’s ass would be his after he first listened to her. Cursing out loud, he turned away from the bedroom door and stalked into the kitchen. He needed a beer to drown out the pain coursing through him.

  Shit, he couldn’t be drunk when Chloe finally came out of the bedroom seeking his reassurance.

  Switching the coffee machine on instead and grabbing a couple of cups from the shelf above him, Randall glanced over his shoulder at Mick. “You want coffee?”

  “Yeah, sure. Got any cookies to go with it, or has your sweet thing eaten them all?”

  “Nuh, I think she might have left a couple in the jar. Damn, my woman has one hell of a sweet tooth on her.” Turning to face his old friend, Randall scrubbed a hand down his face, suddenly feeling more exhausted than he had before. “Do you know how many packs of those damn cookies we go through in a week?”

  “Nope, but I could hazard a guess though,” Mick said with a laugh.

  “Too many,” Randall muttered under his breath. Handing Mick over his cup of coffee, he said, “You know where to find the cookies, right?”

  “Sure do, thanks.”

  “Good. And for god’s sake don’t tell Chloe you ate some of her cookies if you want to keep your balls intact.”

  Taking a seat at the breakfast bar, Mick stuffed a cookie in his gob while uttering, “So what’s our next step in catching this bastard?”

  “Well, for one thing, Chloe doesn’t spend one minute by herself ever. That’s a given.” Mick just nodded his head at that. Chloe would hate it but too bad. “I also want her all phones tapped. Maybe we’ll strike it lucky and get a trace on where the calls are coming from. Even though the messages are never long enough it’s worth a shot.”

  “I’ll make a few calls to make it happen for you, bro.”

  “Thanks, Mick, I appreciate that. Also, I think you’re right.”

  Mick raised an eyebrow at him then. “Really, mate, that coming from you must’ve been difficult to say.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get to used to it, fucker. This is the one and only time I’ll admit out loud you’re right.” Mick held his hands up in mock surrender. “It’s time for you to call that PI you know so damn well and see what he can find out for us. I want the details of this case to be on a need-to-know basis still though, Mick.”

  “Don’t worry, bro, I’ll make sure it stays that way. I’ll make a few calls and see what can be arranged.”

  “I also want the PI to check out some of the suspects the Bomb Squad has been investigating recently, too.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Call it a hunch.”

  “Well, I hope your hunch is wrong this time, because if you’re right, Randall, and this bastard stalking Chloe is going after the women linked to the Bomb Squad, we could have a big fucking problem on our hands.”

  “I know, that’s why I want the PI to check it out. Do you want to stay for dinner? At the rate today is going it will probably be pizza.”

  “Nuh, thanks for the offer but I think you and gorgeous need the space more than a third wheel tonight.” Clapping Randall on the back, Mick added, “I’ll skate on out of here and make those calls. I’ll be in touch as soon as I know anything.”

  “No worries. Thanks again for coming over.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I know you’d do the same for me if I was in your shoes.”

  “Damn straight I would.” Walking his mate out, Randall stuck out his right hand for Mick to shake. “Thanks again, Mick.”

  “No worries, mate. I’ll talk to you later. You take care of gorgeous in there. And go easy on her, mate. Remember she’s fragile. She’s a delicate little thing. She’s nothing like us tough asses.”

  Randall nodded his in agreement. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

  “Never doubted for a minute you wouldn’t. Catch ya later, Randall.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Being locked in the bathroom for hours on her own brought forth an exhaustion that weighed heavily on her shoulders. Her eyes were swollen from the amount of tears shed, and her throat was dry and sore from the sobs wrenched from what felt like the de
pths of her soul. Unsteadily rising to her feet, Chloe stumbled her way over to the shower and turned it on. Ditching her clothes, she stepped underneath the spray of warm water. She moaned in relief as the warmth of the water cascaded down her naked form.

  Washing her hair and body thoroughly, Chloe realised she missed the feel of Randall’s hands in her hair and on her body. She missed the way his hands would worship her as he soaped her diligently. “What have I done?” she whispered quietly to herself. She knew the answer to that question. She had shut Randall out when she should have let him in.

  With a towel wrapped around her, Chloe padded quietly over to the bathroom door on bare feet. She half expected to find Randall standing behind the closed door when she flung it open. To her disappointment he wasn’t there. Stepping further into the bedroom, Chloe realised Randall wasn’t in there either. In fact the bedroom door was still locked.

  Leaning an ear up against the painted wood, Chloe tried to hear if Randall was out there waiting for her to let him into the room they shared and loved each other in.

  Flicking the lock and opening the door ever so quietly, she peeked out through the small opening to see if he was there. The hallway was empty. No one was there. Randall wasn’t waiting for her. The hallway had darkened from the day passing into night. A soft glow flickered from the archway leading into the lounge room.

  She ditched the towel wrapped around her and pulled on one of his shirts. She managed to do up the buttons on the front of the shirt while making her way down the hall to where the light was coming from.

  Standing at the threshold of the lounge room, Chloe looked over to where Randall lay fast asleep on the sofa. The TV was still on with the volume turned down low. An empty bottle of beer and a plate sat in the middle of the low end table in front of the sofa. A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she moved toward him.

  Randall. He meant everything to her. Yet somehow she had managed shut him out, when she should have let him in. She had disappointed him yet again with her own actions. All Randall had ever asked of her was her complete submission on every level. It was the one thing Chloe could give to him, and yet she had failed to do it on this very occasion when it had mattered most.

  Sighing, Chloe knew then that she had made a few wrong choices today. She didn’t even have that many choices to make at the moment. So when given a chance to make a choice what did she go and do with it? She stuffed it up royally, that’s what she did with it.

  Dropping to her knees in front of the sofa, she gently swept back the strands of dark-blond hair from his face. Leaning down, she brushed her lips lightly across his cheek.

  “I’m sorry, Jon. I never meant to shut you out the way I did,” she murmured softly to him.

  Seeing his eyelids flicker, Chloe leaned back so she wasn’t crowding him. His bright, sky-blue gaze latched onto hers. Her breathing hitched when he reached up to trace a fingertip over her lips. This was the man behind the voice she craved to hear, the man behind the most tender words she had ever heard in her life.

  He was the only man to own her heart and capture her very soul. He had made a claim to own them both a long time ago.

  Jon Randall would forever have her heart.

  He would forever own her.

  Her love for him might be an unspoken one, but it was a true one.

  In the short time they’d reconnected with each other, Randall had become her whole life.

  Gazing down at him now, Chloe knew Randall could see all this and more in her eyes. He would see her crippling fear and the uncertainty of what the future had in store for them. But most importantly, the man who held both her heart and soul in his hands would see the unsaid love held deep within her for him and him alone. Randall would always be her everything. He owned every part of her, just like she owned every part of him.

  Pushing back on the sting of new tears threatening to fall, her voice wavered from the emotion rolling through her as she tried to apologise to him. “I’m so sorry, Jon. I never…”

  He laid a finger against her lips, quelling the rest of her words. Words that would express her deep sorrow for shutting him out, instead of letting him embrace her fears with her. But none of them mattered now. None of her words mattered. All that mattered, all that was important, was that he was there for her now. That was what mattered most to her.

  The two of them were in this together for the long haul, no matter how ugly things got. They both had to learn to lean on each other when times were tough. It was a lesson, and a hard one at that, that Chloe had learnt tonight.

  Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he kept his voice low and even as he spoke to her, “I know what you want to say, precious. I can see it in your eyes. I’m sorry, too, lover. I wasn’t the man or the Dom you needed this afternoon and for that I apologise.”

  “Jon…”

  “Shh, no more words tonight. Enough has been said already today.” Rising from the sofa, Randall pulled her up close to him and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “Come, precious. Let’s go to bed. I promise in the morning we can talk more, but right now all I want to do is hold you while we sleep.”

  Nodding her head, Chloe allowed Jon to usher her down the hall to their bedroom. Standing near the bed, he reached up and unbuttoned her shirt then let it flutter to the floor. Moving around her, he pulled the covers back off the bed then gestured with his hand for her to get in. As promised, no more words were to be spoken tonight, and he was living up to that promise he made to her. Tucking her in, Randall leaned down, touching her lips tenderly with his. Her heart clenched from the love she felt from his kiss alone.

  He pulled away from his kiss moments later, to strip.

  Her eyes were glued to him, eagerly taking him in as he stripped the denim jeans from his body. Strolling naked around to the other side of the bed, her eyes watched as his cock stirred to life. Randall ignored her eyes on him and slipped effortlessly underneath the covers to lie down beside her. Curling her naked body up against his, Chloe rested her head on his chest. Hearing the soothing beat of his heart was enough to lull her to sleep.

  Randall rested a hand on her hip in a possessive hold, his other arm draped around her shoulders, holding her closer to him. Chloe loved sleeping in his arms like this at night. Here in his arms she was safe and loved. She found herself protected from everything including the one targeting her.

  Life felt right when in his arms. More than right. It was perfect.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Three days later, Randall found himself back at the station. Mick was covering him on the home front. Going by the conversation he had just had with his old mate, Chloe was giving him all kinds of hell. His sassy little sub was in a mood and she wasn’t giving Mick an easy ride, that was for sure. They had half expected it, though perhaps not to the degree she was giving Mick right now.

  The last couple days Randall had spent with Chloe, before starting his next block of shifts down at the station. She had been the perfect little sub. They had talked a lot. Chloe had even opened up about her fears of the stalker getting his hands on her, possibly even raping and torturing her. Upon hearing her fears, Randall had to push back his own rage against the bastard targeting her.

  When she uttered those thoughts to him though, Randall found himself at a loss as to how to help Chloe move past them. He wasn’t sure how to ease her mind of her fears. Her fears were valid after all. He wasn’t about to dismiss them. However, he didn’t want Chloe focusing all her thoughts on what might or might not happen if the bastard acted on his threats. So Randall made damn sure Chloe never left his side. Wherever she went, he did, too. Not one minute was she left alone with her own thoughts.

  There were, however, pluses in spending every waking moment with each other. The long moments spent curled up on the sofa together, watching one chick flick after another, were the sweetest torture ever. Action movies with lots of fistfights or even some blood and guts would have been preferable. Nevertheless, Randall had given permiss
ion for Chloe to choose the movies they watched. Over those last couple of days, he swore they had watched every damn movie Hugh Grant starred in.

  Watching sappy romantic shit together seemed to do the trick in easing the tension within Chloe enough for her to finally relax. Plus it had its perks in having her draped all over him, especially when he ordered her to lie naked across his lap. He’d spent hours skimming his fingertips lightly over her naked flesh. There was nothing better than feeling Chloe shudder slightly from his feather-like touch. Or squeezing her taut little nipples with his fingertips and hearing the soft, delicate moans escaping past her lips.

  They had made love so many times during his time off, he was amazed she wasn’t sore or sick to death of him coming to her. Now, Randall couldn’t wait to see Chloe again. Even if it was to simply talk to her while he held her in his arms. Hell, he’d be quite content to simply to lose himself in that sweet, fresh scent of hers. Feel her bare skin rubbing up against his.

  Or to hear her soft little moans and whimpers when she begged him for release. His lips curved at the thought of making them both hold off their impending orgasm until it was no longer humanly possible next time he took her. The wave after wave of euphoria would be unbelievable, he’d bet.

  Everything Randall had commanded of Chloe over the last few days, she had obeyed with barely a grumble. Now, though, it appeared she had her rebel boots on and was raising all kinds of hell on the home front. Maybe she just missed him and hated having a babysitter do his job. Who knew with his Chloe? Hell, it could even be that time of the month again. Chloe tended to be hell on wheels during that time. Randall shuddered at that thought. Poor Mick. “Sorry, buddy.”

  He had to laugh though when his old mate muttered something about Chloe hiding the damn bloody cookies from him. You never came between his woman and her cookies. Hell, Randall had to make sure there was a spare packet hidden from her. God forbid they ever run out one day because she ate them all. There was no way he would tell Mick where he could find the spare packet, because if Chloe ever found out where he kept his secret stash there would be nothing left of it. And that certainly wasn’t happening. A man needed his own secret sweet stash for himself and to provide for the needs of his woman.