by Eve Gaddy
His hand slid down to her shorts. He cupped her, fondling her gently through the fabric. “Why don’t we get rid of these,” he murmured huskily. He un-buttoned, unzipped them and tugged both her panties and shorts down her legs. She had expected to feel vulnerable at this point, but she didn’t. He was looking at her and smiling.
He kissed her, his hand sliding down between her legs. He stroked her, slid a finger inside her. She tensed, she couldn’t help it. Because she knew this time it wouldn’t end until he was inside her. Making love to her. She wanted that, wanted him, but part of her was still anxious.
He kissed her mouth, petted her, caressed her, murmured sweet things to her as he patiently aroused her again. Gradually she relaxed, then tensed in a different way as her arousal grew. She slid her hand down to his jeans, feeling his erection through the denim. “Take these off,” she said.
“Whatever you want, darlin’.”
Soon he was as naked as she, lying on his back in the middle of her bed. She stroked him. She hadn’t seen a naked man in so long, she’d almost forgotten what a pleasure it could be. Especially when the man looked as good naked as Gabe did.
Gabe groaned and put his hand over hers. “You’re killing me, honey. I’m not going to last two minutes if you keep doing that.”
She smiled, enjoying the feeling of power. The knowledge that she could affect him so strongly. That he wanted her and she wanted him.
Indulging herself, she slipped her hands over solid muscles, rippling skin, then lay on top of him as she kissed him until she thought she’d die if he didn’t come inside her.
She helped him lift her up, straddling him, gasping in helpless desire as he filled her. It was a shock at first, but he didn’t move, letting her adjust. Their eyes locked, she could see the effort he was making to let her control the pace.
Soon, she grew accustomed to him, loving the feel of him inside her, and she started to move. She sat up and her head dropped forward and she closed her eyes in pleasure, in abandon. He cradled her breasts as she rocked against him, squeezing her muscles tight.
“Lana, open your eyes.” When she did, he looked deep into hers. “I want you,” he said. “So much.”
“I want you, too,” she gasped, barely able to think. His hands slipped lower to hold her hips, to move her as he moved, to hold her tight as he gently thrust against her. She gave herself up to the pleasure, sliding up and down, the friction growing stronger, the heat more intense. Endless moments later, she came in a long, shattering burst of joy, and felt him follow her with a last, deep thrust, a guttural moan.
LANA LAY beside Gabe with her head pillowed on his chest and his hand lazily stroking her back and hip. She wanted to cry but she knew Gabe wouldn’t understand, so she swallowed the lump in her throat.
He wouldn’t believe her tears were from happiness, not sorrow. Their lovemaking had been everything she’d been hoping for and never thought she’d find again. Tender, passionate. Loving.
There had been no failure, no recriminations. No feelings of inadequacy. No reminders of the brutal incident. No knowledge that she’d let him down because of a past she couldn’t control.
In fact, it had been perfect. At least, for her. She propped herself up on her arm and looked down at him. His eyes were closed and his mouth curved upward, as satisfied a look as she’d ever seen.
Relieved, she kissed his jaw. Moved to the corner of his mouth and kissed that, too. Then she traced a finger over his chest, down to the line of dark hair that bisected his abdomen and back up again.
“Gabe?”
“Hmm.” He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
“Making love with you was very special to me.”
“For me, too,” he said. He pulled her head down, kissed her, and soon they made love again.
Afterward, as she lay there spent and more replete than she could remember being in years, she accepted, silently, what she’d been denying because it scared the hell out of her.
She wasn’t unsure about her feelings. She had fallen in love with Gabe.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GOING BACK to work Monday morning was hard for Lana. It meant facing the real world after a weekend as idyllic as any she could remember. Still, she loved practicing medicine. How would she deal with it, if she suddenly couldn’t be a doctor anymore?
She didn’t even want to imagine it. She’d be miserable. Gabe was dealing with the loss of his career better than she would, she thought. If only he could find something else he could feel passionate about doing.
Over the next week they spent all their free time together. Gabe was working hard with his physical therapist, and Lana could see a lot of improvement in his range of motion. She wondered if and when he was scheduled for more surgery, but since he didn’t volunteer the information, she didn’t ask.
Lana was happier than she could remember being in years. She still hadn’t told Gabe she loved him, even though she was more sure of that every day. Something held her back.
Because you haven’t told him about your past. Why spoil everything? she rationalized. She knew Gabe had a good idea of what had happened to her, so why tell him the details? He didn’t need to know.
But the truth was, she was afraid to tell him.
“THE BAND IS GOOD,” Lana said to Gabe Friday night. They’d met at the Scarlet Parrot and after dinner had gone to sit in the bar to listen to the music.
“Every once in a while Cam gets a decent one. You look like you want to dance.”
“No, I don’t care.” She did, but she didn’t want Gabe to feel bad, so she denied it.
“I don’t dance much even without the bum leg.”
“I don’t, either,” she said.
“But you like it, don’t you?” he asked shrewdly.
She smiled. “Yes, but I haven’t danced in years, so don’t let it worry you.” Terence hadn’t liked to dance so she’d gotten out of the habit.
A man stopped by their table. “Hey, Randolph, how’s it going?”
Gabe looked up at him. His eyes narrowed and he frowned. “Can’t complain.”
The man was blond and good-looking, with a deep tan that implied he worked—or played—outside. But Lana didn’t care for the smirk on his face. “Heard you were selling your boat. Or trying. Tough break,” he said.
Gabe shrugged. He didn’t say anything, nor did he offer to introduce her.
The man turned to her with an appreciative look in his eyes and held out a hand. “Rod Winters.”
“Lana McCoy.” Not wanting to be rude, she shook hands, but he kept hold of it longer than she thought necessary.
“How about a dance?” he asked, adding, “Since Randolph’s out of commission.”
“Dream on,” Gabe said before she could speak. “Get lost, Winters.”
“Guess I’ll make that a rain check.” To Lana’s surprise, he moved on, but not before winking at her.
“What was that about?” she asked Gabe.
He shrugged. “We go way back. Never could stand each other. He runs a charter fishing service, too.”
“Why don’t you like each other?”
“It started in high school over some girl we both dated, I think.” He laughed. “It’s been so long I can’t really remember. Most recently he doesn’t like me because a couple of his clients dumped him and decided to become my clients. He wasn’t too happy about it.”
“You were rude to him.”
“He’ll live.” Gabe stared at her a minute. “What’s wrong, did you want to dance with him? I can get him back over here if you do.”
“No, of course not. But I would have turned him down more politely than you did.”
Gabe grinned. “Yeah? Like you did me the first time we met?”
Lana gave him a dirty look. She’d forgotten about that. “Your brother is waving at you,” she said. “I’m going to the ladies’ room.”
“I’ll meet you at the bar,” he said, wisely not adding anything to the grin he was
already wearing.
LANA CAME OUT of the ladies room and walked down the narrow hallway toward the main room. As she passed the pay phone a man hung up and stepped directly into her path. She ran into him before she could stop.
“Well, now, this must be my lucky day,” Rod Winters said. “Ready for that dance, gorgeous?”
“No, thanks.” She tried to move past him but he took her arm to stop her.
“Don’t run off, sweetheart. There’s no hurry.” His smile grew wider and he continued to hold her arm. “What’s a classy woman like you doing with a loser like Randolph?”
She wrinkled her nose. He’d obviously been drinking before he got to the bar. “We’re dating. Exclusively. So forget it,” she said, finally losing patience. She jerked out of his grasp to walk away. As she moved past him, he followed.
“Hey, don’t be so unfriendly. At least let me buy you a drink.”
“Not interested,” she said, continuing toward the bar.
“Don’t be like that.” He kept pace with her as she walked. “Come on, baby, we’ll get to know each other over a drink. You’re the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a month.”
She stopped a short distance away from the bar. “Are you deaf or just stupid? I said no, so back off.”
“Your loss. Bitch,” he added before he finally left her alone.
Bitch. Lana shuddered at the memories the word evoked. As she walked toward Gabe she fought for control. She didn’t want Gabe to see how upset that simple encounter had made her.
“Was Winters hassling you?” Gabe asked her when she reached his side.
“Yes. But I handled it. Hi, Cam.”
“Hey, Lana.” He jerked his head toward Winters and lifted an eyebrow. “Say the word and I’ll throw the turkey out. Never could stand the guy.”
She glanced at the man, barely controlling another shudder. “No, I think he got the picture.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Gabe said when Winters raised his glass to Lana and gave her a cocky salute. “He doesn’t give up easy.”
“Ignore him,” Lana said. “I plan to.” She wouldn’t let a drunk ruin her evening.
Cam left them to serve someone. Gabe was staring at the man, and he didn’t look happy.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He frowned, still looking at him. “I don’t like him hassling you. Not too long ago I would have let him know that. But now…” He shook his head. “Forget it. But I can still get Cam to throw him out.”
She looked at him a moment before it dawned on her. He wanted to protect her and it hurt his pride that he couldn’t. “Gabe, it’s not a big deal. But I appreciate the thought.”
He finally looked at her and smiled, cynically. “Yeah, I’m big on thought and a little lacking in the action department lately.”
She didn’t want to upset him further, so she made light of the situation. “It’s not a crime to try to pick someone up. And being a jerk is no crime, either.” She patted his arm, then leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the mouth. “It’s nothing, Gabe. Don’t let him get to you.” Like he’d gotten to her.
GABE AND LANA left the bar a while later. Winters, thank goodness, had left before them. As they walked through the lighted parking lot, Lana made a conscious effort not to put her hand in her pocket. It was habit, she knew, not real fear that had her always reaching for her pepper spray.
Someday, she thought, she might even be able to look at a parking lot like others did. To see it simply as a place to park a car and not a nightmare of fear and terror.
“It’s a beautiful night,” she said. It was clear and warm, not as humid as summer nights usually were in Aransas City.
“Yeah, there’s a breeze. Good fishing weather,” Gabe said.
“Did you fish a lot at night?”
“Sometimes. Cam and I used to go and spend the night out on the bay. Drink beer, catch fish.”
His voice didn’t sound any different, but she knew he was wondering if he’d ever fish at night again. She wished she hadn’t brought it up, especially when she heard his next words.
“Looks like the sale’s going to go through on the boat. Closing’s set for Tuesday morning.”
“Oh, Gabe. I’m not sure whether to say congratulations or I’m sorry.”
He stopped and took her hand, toyed with her fingers and smiled at her ruefully. “I’m not sure, either.”
A man stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of them, blocking their way.
“Well, well,” he drawled. “Fancy meeting you two here.” His words were slurred and she could smell whiskey from a distance.
“What do you want, Winters?” Gabe said, dropping her hand and turning to face him.
Winters looked Lana up and down in a way that made her uncomfortable. “Thought the lady here might want one last chance with a real man.”
Lana’s stomach sank as she shrank back against Gabe. She didn’t want another confrontation, but he seemed intent on forcing one. And she could feel the tension radiating from Gabe in waves.
“A real man? Give me a break. You’re drunk, Winters. Get lost. She’s not interested in anything you have to say.”
“I say she is. Aren’t you, darlin’? What do you say we get rid of the gimp and you and me will have us a good time.”
Gabe took a step forward. Winters lashed out with his fist and Gabe staggered and swore, nearly going to the ground. But he recovered and lunged for Winters. Lana watched horrified, as the two men struggled. And then she saw it. Winters had—oh, God, Winters had a knife. A knife he used to send Gabe to the ground.
The blood roared in her ears, her head spun as she tumbled headlong into the past…
LIGHTNING FLASHED in the still, hot night. Large, jagged tears of it, with thunder booming in sharp cracks. Eerie, because other than the thunder, the storm seemed subdued. It started to rain, lightly at first then growing heavier, raising the humidity to unbearable levels. She walked fast, because she’d forgotten to bring a rain jacket. It was dark, dark as pitch.
The lights were out in the lot again and Lana hurried, wishing she’d waited and asked a security guard to walk with her. She looked around but didn’t see a soul. She’d made this walk a thousand times. There was nothing to be nervous about.
The rain and lightning slacked off for a moment and she thought she heard the echo of footsteps behind her. She turned and looked around carefully, but still didn’t see anything. Yet she sensed something. A presence. A threatening presence. She tried to shake off the uneasiness, telling herself she was imagining the threat.
More than a little spooked now, she reached her car and breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled her key ring out of her pocket to unlock the door and something hit her hard on the arm. Dropping her keys, she cried out and spun around.
Lightning flashed again across the sky, illuminating the knife blade glinting in a man’s upraised hand. His smile glittering just as cruelly.
“Here, take my purse,” she said, yanking it off her shoulder and thrusting it toward him. “There’s not much in it but there’s a little cash—”
He laughed and the sound chilled her to the bone. “I’m not after your money, bitch.”
She knew what he wanted. Oh, God, she knew. And his hands reached for her, jerked her against him.
“Don’t fight me, bitch,” he whispered, his voice gleeful with malice. “I’ll carve that pretty face like a pumpkin if you fight me.”
My baby, she thought. Oh, God, don’t hurt my baby. Fear, for herself and more, for her unborn child, paralyzed her. He held the blade pressed against her throat, nicking the skin and releasing a satisfied grunt from him as he did it. Blood, warm and wet, trickled down her neck. She heard his voice again as he dragged her behind some bushes, whispering obscene things, amused…aroused. She smelled his fetid breath and her stomach rolled.
“Get on the ground.”
“No.”
“You wanna die, blondie?” He pressed the knife hard
er against her throat, tightened his arm around her until she could barely breathe. “I said, get on the ground.”
She twisted out of his grasp and stared at him, at the knife that was already wet with her blood.
FROM A DISTANCE she heard someone saying her name. Over and over, muffled then growing stronger. She blinked, shook herself. Gabe. What had happened to him? The man had used the knife on him. She’d seen him go down.
Then she saw Winters leering at her. He took a step toward her, his smile evil.
“No!” she shouted. She gave a bloodcurdling scream and sprang for him, going for his knife hand, raised and at the top of the arc.
The knife glinted cruelly, it was all she saw. She turned sideways, grabbing his arm and using his own momentum to bring that deadly hand down and drive the knife into his own leg. Jabbing an elbow into his nose, she twisted, levered him across her body and threw him on the ground.
Then she reached into her pocket to pull out her pepper spray, had it aimed and ready to shoot when she hesitated. Her attacker was on the ground whimpering, cursing, but unable to get up. The knife was nowhere in sight. He must have dropped it after she’d forced him to stab himself and he’d he hit the ground. She’d done it, she’d saved herself.
Then reaction set in. The attack had taken place in the space of seconds. She’d acted on the instincts that had been drilled into her in the self-defense classes she’d taken as soon as she was physically capable after the rape. Go on the offensive before he can get to you. Be quick and be deadly, don’t give him a chance to hurt you. Don’t give him the chance to rape, or worse, kill.
She sucked in a shaky breath, staring down at the man, willing herself to calm. Her heart rate sprinted madly, her breath came in shuddering gasps. She curved her arm around her stomach, striving not to be sick.
Again, she heard her name being called. She was safe. But Gabe wasn’t.
She whirled and rushed to him, where he sprawled on the ground, cursing. She meant to help him, but instead she sank in a heap down to the ground beside him. “Gabe, oh, God, are you all right? How badly did he cut you?”