Monroe, Marla - Long, Lonely Nights [The Protectors 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Marla Monroe

  “I wondered who it was. I haven’t really had time to devote to that lately.” He laughed. “What is so bad about that is he already gets a paper.”

  Riley nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s what Morgan said.”

  They discussed strategies on when they did get a chance at the stalker and how to handle it. Riley was all for eliminating him and making him disappear, but Logan knew that would only cause more trouble for Tina. The man needed to go to jail so she knew he was gone.

  “Time for me to go. I’ll check in with you in the morning.” Riley slipped out the door. Logan relocked and set everything.

  He walked around downstairs checking all the windows again and turning off all the lights. Then he stripped down to his boxers before donning a pair of running shorts. He checked his 9mm and made himself as comfortable on the couch as he could. It would help keep him alert though.

  Sometime later, something woke him up. He lay very still and strained to hear it again. There was nothing for a while, then a soft moan. Tina. Logan sat up and listened again. Again, a soft moan came from upstairs. He stood up and padded towards the stairs. He heard her say “no.” He climbed the stairs as quietly as he could and stood outside her bedroom door listening.

  At first, there was no other sound. Then a soft groan and the rustle of sheets. Then she cried out again, “no.” Logan opened the door and after his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the bathroom door being ajar, he saw her tossing and turning on the bed. She was in the throes of a nightmare. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

  “Tina,” he whispered. “Wake up, honey. It’s just a dream.”

  She didn’t respond other than to moan again.

  “Tina, wake up,” he said louder this time. He touched her shoulder and tried shaking her, but it only seemed to make things worse.

  “No!” She yelled.

  “Easy, baby. Wake up. You’re dreaming.” Logan tried soothing her now. He ran a hand lightly up and down her arms. “It’s only a dream. Wake up.”

  She squirmed and shook her head from side to side. “No, no more. No.” Her voice grew louder.

  Logan climbed into bed with her and tried pulling her into his lap. She fought.

  “Tina, wake up. It’s me, Logan. Wake up, dammit!”

  She stilled, and then her eyes flew open. “Logan? Is it really you?”

  He squeezed her. “Yes, it’s me. You were dreaming.” He moved to get out of the bed, but she stopped him.

  “No, don’t go yet. Please, just hold me.” She snuggled up into his arms and laid her head against his shoulder.

  “It’s okay now. Nothing is going to hurt you.” He ran a hand up and down her back in an effort to sooth her.

  “When is it going to all be over? I’m so scared now.”

  “You don’t have to be scared. I’m going to take care of you. Everything will be all right, Tina.”

  She buried her face against his neck and sighed. Her arms went around him and held him tight against her. Logan could feel breasts against his chest, and her ass was snuggled tight against his growing cock. Fuck! He was in trouble.

  “Tina. Everything is fine now. I’m going to go back downstairs.”

  She tightened her arms around his neck. “No, don’t leave me. I’m scared. Just sit with me for a little while.”

  Logan groaned, but stayed where he was. “For a little while,” he said.

  She snuggled closer and ran a hand up his neck. She brushed her mouth against the pulse in his neck causing it to jump. How was he going to get out of this? His cock was throbbing. She wiggled on his lap making it even harder if that were possible. It was his turn to groan. “Baby, you’ve got to stop moving around.”

  “Kiss me, Logan. Make it all go away.”

  She couldn’t know what she did to him. Did she know what she was doing at all? He wondered.

  She pulled his head down to her and took his lips in a soft kiss. He could do gentle. He tried. Dear God, he tried. He slowly took control of the kiss and deepened it. He drew in her lower lip and sucked until she opened her mouth to him. He delved inside to tease and suck on her tongue until she moaned for him this time. He swallowed her moans and stroked the inside of her mouth with his tongue.

  She ran her hands over his head pulling him down to her. He let her. Let her hold him as he held her. Everything went away with that kiss. He thought only of her mouth and her lips. He felt her hands on his skin and in his hair. He pulled her closer and devoured her from the inside out. Her lips were so soft, and he nibbled on them down to her chin. He nipped and kissed around her jaw to the shell of her ear. All the while, his arms held her tight against him.

  He released her only to lay her back on the bed, so he could cover her with his body. He wanted her beneath him. He wanted to keep her safe. He would be the one to torture her. He would tease her mercilessly with his tongue and teeth. The delicate shell of her ear fascinated him. He licked and kissed her there until she squirmed beneath him. Then he crossed over to the other one, treating it to the same devilment. He sucked in the lobe and nipped at it with his teeth.

  Her hands began exploring his body. She ran them up and down his chest, teasing his nipples with her fingernails. He groaned and nipped at her neck in protest. She only squirmed closer to him. He moved his mouth south until it came into contact with her camisole. His fingers moved the straps to the side and traced a pattern across the tops of the swell of her breasts just above the silky material.

  He sat back to watch as he ran his hands beneath her camisole and ease it up over her breasts. His mouth watered at the sight of them. He drew the material over her head and off her arms letting it pool on the floor beside the bed. Logan reached out and mounded her breasts with his hands. Then he bent forward and flicked each nipple with his tongue. He sucked one in and took in as much of her breast as he could manage while pinching the nipple of the other one. She hissed out a breath and pressed her breasts up into his face.

  Tina’s nipples were distended and large. He tugged on them enjoying the moans and groans it elicited. They were the prettiest shade of dusky pink. His tongue teased them endlessly until she grabbed his head and held him in one place. He laughed and pulled back long enough to look into her eyes. They were heavy lidded and dark with passion. He knew that feeling. His cock was fighting the constrictive clothes he had on, but he couldn’t remove them or he would be inside her in an instant. He wanted more of her first. More of her moans and cries of passion.

  He slipped his hands down into her panties to pull them down her legs until he could remove them all together. They joined her camisole on the floor by the bed. He felt her fingers grab hold of his chest hair and tug at him. He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. She tried to take over by flipping him on his back, but he just rolled with her until she was once again on the bottom. Her squeals of frustration were music to his ears. He laughed and swatted the side of her thigh.

  Logan ran his hands down her sides until he could hold her hips with each hand. He kissed his way down her abdomen until he reached her neatly trimmed pussy. He breathed in the scent of her arousal. She was wet. Her glistening curls shimmered with that desire. He ran his tongue down the center of her and listened to her moans of delight. He spread her legs apart with his hands until his shoulders fit and could keep her spread for his pleasure. He licked up and down her sweet lips until she squirmed to get closer to his tongue. He ignored her silent pleas and used his fingers to spread her lips so he could reach deeper for her honey.

  He teased her with his tongue at her clit until she grabbed at his head to force him where she wanted him. He laughed when she couldn’t get a grip on his hair, since it was so short, but then changed his tune when she reached his ears and held on. He pried her fingers from his ears and gave her what she wanted. He flicked his tongue over and over on her clit until she was near the verge of coming. Then he backed off and entered her with a finger. He added another finger and fucked her with them.

 
; He searched until he found her G-spot and stroked it until she was wild with need. He licked and sucked at her clit until her pussy muscles contracted around his fingers. When he knew she was nearly there, he stroked her sweet spot and sucked hard on her clit until she exploded around him. She squeezed him with her pussy and her legs until he thought he might lose his breath. He barely managed to throw a pillow over her face to muffle her screams of ecstasy. All he needed was for Riley to come crashing inside with him between her legs. As it was, he had already screwed up by being here in the first place.

  She lay panting and spasming beneath him. He began to get up from the bed, but she sat up with him and grabbed the waistband of his shorts.

  “You’re not going anywhere yet. You aren’t finished,” she said.

  “Tina, I don’t think you realize what you’re saying.”

  “I know what I’m saying. I want you inside me. Now.”

  Logan groaned when she reached down and squeezed his cock. It jerked in her hand.

  “I don’t have a condom with me.”

  “There are condoms in the bedside table.” Tina wasn’t leaving him alone.

  She licked his nipple and then sucked on it never letting go of his cock the entire time. Logan wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted her. Fuck, did he want her, but he also knew she was probably going to regret this in the morning. When she nipped at his nipple, he couldn’t take it anymore. He reached across her and opened the drawer to find an unopened box of condoms. He tore it open and fished out one. He pulled away from her long enough to slip out of his shorts and boxers and slip on the condom. She immediately ran her tongue around the head of his sheathed cock and then sucked it down her throat until he nearly came right then and there.

  Tina’s tongue continued to play with him as her fingers raked gently around his balls. She alternated between squeezing them and rolling them in her hand. She set a rhythm that drove him higher and higher. He felt the burning in his balls and at the base of his spine. He was going to come and never get inside of her if he wasn’t careful. He pulled back from her and pushed her down on the bed. He shoved between her legs and entered her in one quick thrust. She hissed out a “yes” when he reached the end of her. She squeezed him inside her.

  When her hands came up to run along his chest, he grabbed her by the wrists and pinned them above her head. She raised questioning eyes to him, but he only shook his head and began a long slow rhythm designed to tease them both.

  * * * *

  Tina drew in a deep breath to slow her breathing down. He was killing her with his teasing. She tried to force him to increase the rhythm of his thrusts, but it didn’t work. Now she met each thrust with one of her own until their mutual pounding began to speed up. The ringing in her ears kept her on the edge of passing out. She needed him faster, harder. But, she couldn’t put it into words. He’d think she was some kind of freak. She wailed out her frustration and fought against his hold on her wrists.

  Logan’s hand held both of them pinned to the bed. The other hand held one leg back and up as he drilled into her with more and more force. She reveled at the strength he began to show in each thrust. She threw back her head trying to draw in more oxygen. She was so close. A few more thrusts and she would come. Just a few more, she kept thinking. When he pulled out and roller her over, she nearly screamed in frustration. Instead, he pulled her to all fours and entered her from behind.

  Logan went deeper this way, and she had more room to push back against him with each thrust. He reached around and pinched at her nipples. She groaned as she grew closer to her climax. She reached hard for it, and the harder she reached the farther it seemed to be. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and begged him to fuck her.

  “Please, harder! I need you harder.”

  He rewarded her with harder and faster and just as she began to feel the burn, he reached around beneath her and pinched her clit. She exploded around him and screamed into her pillow, remembering at the last minute that Riley would be outside somewhere watching for the intruder. A few strokes later, Logan spurted inside her. She squeezed at him with her pussy trying to squeeze every last drop from him. He groaned and collapsed against her. When she pushed with her elbows, he rolled to one side but carried her with him until she was lying on her back across his chest.

  “You okay?” he asked after awhile of panting.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  She struggled to catch her breath as well. Her heart beat hard in her chest. She was sure she could feel it with her hand.

  Logan carefully pulled out of her and rolled off the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned a few seconds later after disposing of the condom. He sat on the edge of the bed and started putting his boxers back on. Tina didn’t want him to go.

  “Wait. Do you have to go? I don’t want to sleep alone,” she said.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to sleep together.”

  “Just for now. Please.”

  Logan sighed and climbed into bed with her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against his body. She felt safe and cared for. It had been a long time since she felt this way. Even before the attack, she hadn’t found anyone she felt comfortable sleeping with on a routine basis. Sex was one thing, but the act of sleeping with someone was far more intimate as far as she was concerned.

  With Logan, the intimacy felt right. They fit together. And it was all wrong, too. For all the reasons she had already told herself and Jenna. They couldn’t mean anything to each other. She wasn’t the type of woman he was used to and probably needed. Plus, she had embarrassed herself by demanding what she needed from him. Men didn’t like to be told what to do, especially during sex. He wouldn’t be repeating anything with her. She was almost sure of that.

  After what seemed like minutes, she fell asleep in his arms.

  The next morning, she rose before the alarm to find him gone. All that was left was the indention of where his head had been. She rolled over and sniffed at the pillow. She could make out the scent of his shampoo and that earthy male scent that was just him. She lay there in it for a few minutes, then when the alarm went off. She got out of bed and turned it off. She made the bed and proceeded to get ready for work.

  When she made it downstairs, she found the living room and kitchen empty with coffee ready in the pot. There wasn’t even a note. She had her answer. He already regretted having had sex with her. It hurt worse than she thought it would. She swallowed and forced herself to drink her coffee. She would need it to get through work today. She wasn’t hungry and skipped breakfast. Instead, she gathered her things for work, locked up the house and drove to work. She was adult enough to handle the situation. She just needed some time to do it was all.

  By eight fifteen, she was well into her workflow when Jenna rapped on her door.

  “Hi, Tina. How are you doing this morning?”

  “Fine, fine. Just got an early start. How about you?” she asked.

  “I’m okay. It looks like you slept better. That’s good. Having someone watch out for you must have helped,” she said.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Tina nearly missed that Jenna was wearing long sleeves.

  “Jenna, come in and shut the door.”

  “What?” She asked and closed the door behind her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Let me see your arms, Jenna.”

  “Tina, it’s not bad. He caught me when I was going to the store last night.”

  “So show them to me.”

  Jenna sighed and rolled up one of the sleeves. There were several angry looking bruises on her lower arm and again on the upper flesh as well. Jenna rolled her sleeve back down and sank into the chair across the desk from Tina.

  “How did it happen?” Tina asked.

  “I needed milk for my coffee this morning. I forgot it earlier. I made it to the car, but he was there waiting for me, I guess. He grabbed me and asked me why I wouldn’t go out with him anymore. I didn’t want to make
him mad, so I just told him I didn’t feel like going out anymore right now.” She sighed and crossed her legs.

  “He didn’t believe me. He shook me by the arms, and I think he might have hit me, but my neighbor and his wife came out to get in their car to go somewhere. He let go of me, I jumped in the car, and left.”

  “Jenna, you’re getting a restraining order against him today. I mean it.”

  “I am. I’ve already left a message at my lawyer’s office for him to call me.”

  Tina relaxed. “Good.”

  “How did you get that red mark on your neck?” Jenna asked innocently.

  “Huh? What red mark?” Tina grabbed her purse off the floor and pulled out a mirror. She checked her neck, and sure enough, there was a small red mark on the side near her ear.

  “Um, I don’t know. Must have been how I slept.”

  “Uh huh. I’m buying that,” she said.

  “It’s nothing, Jenna. Don’t make it into something it isn’t.”

  “What isn’t it then?” she asked.

  “It was just sex. I had a nightmare. He came to see about me. That’s all. One thing led to another and…well. We had sex.” Tina huffed out a breath. “It didn’t mean anything.”

  “How do you know it didn’t?”

  “Because, he didn’t bother sticking around to talk about it this morning. He was gone when I got up,” Tina admitted.

  “Maybe he is just as confused about it as you are.”

  “I’m not confused. I know it didn’t mean anything. I just wish he’d been man enough to stick around, is all.”

  “Honey, he cares about you, or he wouldn’t be going to all this trouble to keep you safe.”

  “Caring about me doesn’t mean he had to have sex with me. He didn’t have to do that.” Tina slammed closed a book she had been reading.

  “Look, I need to get to work on a project I’m working on for research. We need to talk more about this. How about lunch today?” Jenna asked.