by Jenny Lyn
There was a person standing near the front of her car—a man, she guessed by his build—in a dark hoodie and jeans. Gooseflesh rose on her arms. Panic flooded through her in such a rush she felt light-headed. Her hand curled around her keys in one of those self-defense measures ingrained in girls since high school gym class. Go for the eyes, the nose, the balls.
“Can I help you?” she said loudly enough it echoed off the surrounding concrete. Dammit, where was Pete?
The man stepped closer, his face partially shielded by the hood of his sweatshirt, hands shoved inside its pockets. “I was wondering if I could borrow a pair of jumper cables.”
“I don’t have any,” she lied. “And this parking area is for doctors only. You sh—”
He grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him, forcing her to drop her backpack. “Hey!” Erin screeched, trying to free herself from his tight grip. Her sneakers skidded across the concrete as he dragged her away from the safety of her car. She still held her keys in her hand, and she jabbed blindly at him, hoping she’d hit something that would force him to release her.
A black car slid to a stop behind hers, and Pete jumped out, drawing his weapon. Her attacker wrapped his arm around her neck, turning her to face Pete, using her like a shield. Pete approached them slowly, but for every forward step he made, her attacker took another one backward.
“Stop right there,” Pete said. The gun pointed her direction was worrisome too. Surely he wouldn’t shoot at the guy with Erin between them. “Let her go, man, and no one gets hurt.”
The arm around her throat pressed hard against her windpipe, making it difficult to breathe. She clawed at his forearm, but the sweatshirt he wore prevented any direct contact with skin. Her keys hit the ground in the process.
Pete kept advancing while they kept retreating, farther into the darkened recesses of the garage. Erin continued to struggle, but keeping her feet under her took some concentration. Then suddenly she was free and stumbling off balance toward Pete as her attacker ran away.
Pete’s big body kept her from falling. The second she was steady on her feet, he took off after the guy, their footfalls heavy and loud inside the concrete structure. Erin quickly scoured the ground for her keys. When she found them, she ran back to her car, scooping up her backpack. Once inside the car, she locked the doors, cranked the engine, and took a few deep breaths. Her mind raced as hard as her heart. Should she be doing something? Calling Sean or 911?
She fumbled through her backpack for her phone, but just as she started to dial Sean’s number, Pete appeared through the forest of concrete pillars. As he neared her car, she could tell by his dejected posture and the scowl on his face that her attacker had gotten away. He holstered his weapon when he reached the front bumper.
Erin rolled down the window.
“Are you okay?” he asked her as he tried to get his breathing under control.
Mentally, no, but physically…maybe. “Yeah,” she said. “He got away?”
Pete nodded, his mouth a grim line of frustration. “Lost him in that maze of office buildings behind the hospital.”
“I’m sorry, Pete.”
“Not your fault,” he said. “You good to drive?”
“I think so.” Even though she knew her hands were shaking and her mind wasn’t where it needed to be.
He patted the door twice. “Buckle up and take your time. I’ll phone Sean on the way back and tell him what happened.”
Pete followed closely as she drove home. Keeping her hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel was imperative. It was the only way they wouldn’t tremble.
She wanted to call Sean, but didn’t for three reasons.
First, Pete had called him the instant his ass hit the car seat, if not sooner, so why did she need to bother other than to hear his calming voice. But that was tempting.
Second, the closer she got to her apartment, the harder it rained. She’d seen too many sad results of mixing cell phones and driving. She didn’t want to become a statistic. And wouldn’t that just add insult to injury, so to speak, winding up in her ER as a patient.
Third—and this was by far the strongest reason—if he was even the slightest bit sweet to her, she would lose it. All it would take was one caring word, and she’d shatter into a thousand jagged pieces. Besides, the size of the lump in her throat might make speaking impossible.
Her second-floor apartment was dark when she pulled into her parking spot, but then Sean wouldn’t turn on any additional lights other than the lamp she normally left on in the living room. They’d gone over things like her routines before she’d left him earlier. He’d stay away from the windows, anything to keep from drawing attention to his presence.
Rain pounded the roof of the car, sheeting down the windshield almost faster than the wipers could clear it away, distorting shapes and shadows and fueling the fear the encounter in the garage had spawned. Intermittent thunder rumbled across the sky and lightning flashed, illuminating the thick gray clouds, chasing away the blackness for a few seconds.
Erin sat staring at the darkened areas around the front of the building while the leather of her steering wheel bit into her sweaty palms. It was just a few steps from her car to the bottom of the stairs, then twenty treads up to her front door, tucked beneath a little shadowy alcove. Less than a minute, and she’d be inside the safety of her apartment.
She glanced in the rearview mirror for what felt like the hundredth time since she’d left the hospital. Pete was parked nearby. Luke was too, somewhere. Sean was inside. There was no reason for her to be afraid now that she was home, safe, and away from what had happened back at the hospital, was there?
Despite the mental pep talk, when her phone vibrated from the pocket of her scrub top, she almost jumped out of her skin.
“HI, SEAN,” ERIN murmured into the phone.
He watched her through a crack in the curtains over the dining room window. He’d been waiting there since Pete called, anxious with worry and frustrated that he hadn’t been there to protect her.
“Hey, you coming inside?” Sure, it was raining pretty hard, but he would’ve thought she’d make a mad dash to the door as soon as she parked.
She made a small squeak into the phone, blew out a ragged breath. “Yeah, I, um…I was…” He heard her sniff and realized she was crying. Between swipes of her windshield wipers, he saw her brush her hand across her cheeks. He gripped his phone tighter, wanting to tear apart the fucker responsible for all this.
“I’m right here. Luke is a few spots down, watching you from an old carpet van that smells like glue and formaldehyde.”
She laughed tremulously. “Okay.”
“Come inside.”
“’Kay,” she repeated.
The car’s headlights died when she switched off the engine. Sean watched her exit her car and rush toward the stairs. He was at the door, unlocking it, then pulling it open. He closed it behind her and flipped the bolt before resetting the silent alarm he’d rigged up earlier.
Erin dropped her backpack to the floor, burying her face in her hands. Sean pulled her close, letting her cry softly against his chest. It was killing him, seeing her so upset and frightened this way, but there was nothing he could do except reassure her with his presence and his words. Promise he wouldn’t leave her alone, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
He scooped her up and carried her to the couch before gently placing her on the cushions. In the kitchen, he rummaged through cabinets until he found a bottle of bourbon and a tumbler. Sean poured a generous splash over a few cubes of ice and sat down beside her.
“Here, honey.” He pushed the glass into her hand. “Drink.”
She sat back and sipped, wiping at her wet cheeks while he picked up each foot to slide off her sneakers and socks. He gave each sole a firm massage before drawing her legs across his lap.
“I guess Pete called and told you what happened in the parking garage.”
Sean nodded. “Are yo
u sure you’re okay? He didn’t hurt you in any way?”
She rubbed her throat. “Nothing serious. It could’ve been a lot worse if Pete hadn’t been there.”
“Did you get a look at his face?”
“Not really. It all happened so fast. He had on a dark hoodie. It looked black, but I suppose it could’ve been navy blue, with something written across the front of it in faded yellow letters.” She frowned, spacing out on him a second while she tried to remember details. “I want to think it said Navy, but I can’t be sure. The lighting’s not the best inside there, and that was made worse by the storm.”
“Can you guess at his height and weight?”
“About your size, maybe a little smaller.”
Sean hummed in acknowledgment, processing what she’d told him. Her ID badges from the hospital had been stolen with her purse. Would the guy be so bold as to try to grab her in public?
“You think it was him, don’t you?” she asked.
The short answer was yes. He didn’t want to shake her up even more, but she didn’t deserve to be lied to. “It doesn’t fit his pattern, but I don’t think we can accept that it was some random event either.” He rubbed her shin reassuringly, though he wasn’t feeling it himself. “We’ll tighten up the security detail when you’re outside your apartment.”
“That might not be necessary now. Courtney Meldon died tonight. My boss all but ordered me to take time off.”
They’d already gotten word of Courtney’s death. “I’m sorry. I know how much you love your job, and how important it is to you.”
She sucked in a deep breath through her nose, then blew it out slow through her mouth, blinking back more tears as she worked to get her emotions under control.
“I thought I could handle it. Then we had a sexual assault case, and I almost lost it right there in the exam room, staring at her battered face. She looked so empty and broken, just…gone. My hands started shaking so badly I hid in a fucking closet. I hate being afraid. I hate not knowing what’s going to happen or what to do with myself.”
She tossed back the rest of the bourbon, set the glass down on the end table. “Explain what you’ve done today while I’ve been gone. I need to hear a plan. Not in excruciating detail, but an outline.”
Sean pointed toward the door. “I installed silent alarms on the front door and the slider, so don’t open them until I show you how to switch it on or off. Luke, Tony, or Pete will come running, guns drawn, if they don’t hear otherwise from me. There will be at least one officer stationed outside your apartment at all times, if not two, and I’ll be inside.”
“Won’t you get claustrophobic, being cooped up inside without any fresh air? What about clean clothes or personal errands?”
“If I need a break, Luke will come in dressed as a pizza delivery man and we’ll switch places for a bit.” Yeah, like that was going to happen. “We’re close enough in build and looks to pass for the same person with a hat and a pair of sunglasses.”
She gave him a weak smile. “Smart. I like it, and I like pizza, so it’s perfect.”
Thunder rumbled outside, rattling the windows in their frames. The storm was settling in for the remainder of the evening, and it wasn’t expected to clear out until midday tomorrow.
“As far as communication goes, I’ve got my phone, a radio, and an earpiece for when I’m asleep.” Sean tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. “We’re covered, honey. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Until he breaks in and tries to rape and kill me. What then? Will you be hiding behind a door or in a closet? What if we’re sound asleep? What if he has a weapon?” Tears pooled in her eyes again. Sean pulled her across his lap.
“First of all, we’ll know he’s coming in because one of the other officers will see him at your door. In the off chance that he was to get past them without being seen, the alarm will let me know via the earpiece when the door’s been opened. I’ll take him down before he ever gets to you.”
He prayed he wasn’t making promises he couldn’t keep. In theory, their plan was foolproof, but he knew in reality things sometimes didn’t go according to plan.
She snuggled against his chest. Other than what fell under the umbrella of his badge, Sean had never felt this protective of someone before, besides the members of his immediate family. He’d never felt so helpless as when Pete called to tell him what had happened. Had he already become that attached to her?
“Promise?” she asked.
He squeezed her tight, ignoring the matching tightness in his chest. “I promise, sweetheart.”
She felt so good in his arms, warm and soft. He could feel the tension seeping from her body, bit by bit. Her fingertips drew lazy circles on his chest, as if her mind was still chewing away at her fears. What she could use was a distraction.
Sean brushed his lips across her cheek, tasting the remnants of her tears, until his mouth found hers. She opened sweetly for him, meeting his questing tongue with hers. It didn’t take long for the fire to catch hot between them.
Erin readjusted, propping her hands on the back of the couch as she straddled his thighs. “Did you sleep at all today?” she murmured against his neck.
He gripped her hips to pull her against his swelling cock. “Couple hours. I took a nap after you left for work.” She raised her arms for him to strip her scrub top off. Underneath she wore a plain white T-shirt over her bra. “You have on too many clothes.”
“The hospital’s always cold.” Erin buried her hands in his hair and tugged, tilting his head back so she could kiss him. Her tongue caressed, explored. Deep, hot, wet. When she sucked on his bottom lip, Sean groaned.
As she broke the kiss, he reached up to slide the elastic from her ponytail. That glorious mane of silky blonde hair tumbled down around her cheeks and shoulders. He wanted to feel it caressing his bare skin, draped across his stomach, brushing over his dick.
Her hands found the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossed it on the couch beside them. “Do you have a condom close?”
Sean withdrew the one from his back pocket and offered it to her. She tucked it between the couch cushions near her knee, eased back, and worried her bottom lip with her teeth, thinking still.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She shook her head without answering. Coasting her palms down his chest, her hands stopped on his belt buckle. Her fingertips traced the tarnished brass, the dark leather, before she unbuckled it. He watched as she slowly slid it from his belt loops, the worn leather making a steady hissing sound as it slid across denim. Sean was certain he’d never be able to hear that sound again without thinking of her, of this moment. Every damned time he took off his jeans he’d think of Erin, which wasn’t a bad thing.
Rather than drop his belt to the floor, she held it in her hands, staring at it as she curled the supple length around her palms.
“Erin, look at me.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want…” She swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling with her sharp, panting breaths. The pink tip of her tongue touched her top teeth. “Can I restrain you?”
Chapter Seven
Holy fuck.
He’d played around with light bondage on occasion, especially when women found out he had a pair of real handcuffs at his disposal, but Sean had never been on the receiving end of the restraints, never wanted to be. Until now. He understood why Erin had to do this, why she needed it. It would give her back a measure of control over something.
He’d sensed her need for this last night when she’d held his hands down on the couch to keep him from touching her until she could voice her thoughts. If it helped her stay calm and centered, then he could give her that.
“Whatever you need,” he said, carefully choosing his words and their inflection, not wanting to embarrass her in any way. He wanted her to know he took the request as seriously as she did.
She seemed so fragile to him right now, like
she might crumble to pieces if he tapped her with a blunt object. And he knew she hated the feeling of being weak or needy. He already missed her spirit—that confident, brave woman he’d met in the bar. The one who’d later told him about what she thought he couldn’t handle, then burned as hot as the sun when he made love to her.
Sean leaned forward on the couch, placing his hands in the small of his back. Erin wound the belt around his wrists and tucked the end through the buckle. It wasn’t tight, but then it didn’t need to be. It was more an act of submission on his part. He could get free at any time if he needed to. His eyes made a quick sweep, checking for his radio, his phone, his gun—all within arm’s reach. The tiny red light was blinking steadily on the device above the door. His willingness to let her do this would also demonstrate how much faith he had in his team outside and their equipment.
“That okay?” she asked.
“It’s fine.” He relaxed back into the thick padded cushions of her couch. Lucky for him it was by far the most comfortable couch he’d ever been on.
Erin slid off his lap and stripped her blue scrub pants down her legs. Her T-shirt followed, then her bra and panties. The first real pangs of frustration hit him hard at not being able to put his hands on her incredible body. To mollify the need, he focused on satisfying some of his other senses—sight, smell, taste.
He could smell the rain on her hair, mingling with the warm, honeyed scent of her skin. There were still traces of her flavor lingering on his tongue and lips. The sight of her lush breasts, nipples pale and puckered, shut his brain down, leaving only a heavy pulse of desire humming through his veins. It almost drowned out the sounds of the storm raging outside. Rain coursed down the clear glass of the slider, rippling the moonlight that coated her body, making her look almost ethereal.
There were so many things he wanted to do to her, experience with her. Every single inch of her smooth skin needed to be touched and memorized. At some point in the future, when this nightmare was over and behind them, he would reciprocate—have her tied up and at his mercy to explore at his leisure. But for now, he was all hers to do with as she pleased.