Haunt My Heart

by Medley, Lisa

  “Are you okay?” Sarah’s terrified eyes asked the real question.

  “I’m better than I’ve ever been.” It was the truth. And a miracle.

  “Do you think…?” she asked, but Tanner kissed her hard, shutting off her words.

  “Let’s not think any more tonight. Let’s make the most of this opportunity.”

  Sarah grasped his hand and pulled him toward the bed. Tanner followed.

  *

  Sarah was clearly out of her ever-loving mind. Bad enough she’d allowed a strange man into her apartment, but now she was unabashedly seducing a stalker at best, a potentially supernatural entity at worst. The problem was there was nothing unnatural about the man before her now. Something about Tanner made her more than willing to forget her caution. Suddenly, the world seemed brighter and full of possibilities. So many things had gone wrong and right since she’d found the ring. But this—with Tanner—felt very, very right.

  He shed his coat and shirt and stood before her as she sat on the edge of her bed. She couldn’t resist the urge to skim her hands up and across his strong chest. Tanner’s eyes closed as his skin warmed beneath her touch, and he sucked in a sharp breath. His erection pushed against the front of his trousers, and she reached for him, wrapping a hand around him and eliciting a groan.

  His blue eyes opened and brightened briefly before he reached for the hem of her shirt. Pulling the blouse up over her head, he bared her breasts. For the longest moment, he didn’t move and seemed transfixed, staring down at her like he was seeing a woman for the first time. His member throbbed beneath her hold. He lowered himself to her, his bare chest gliding against hers, pressing her back against her bed and sending a flood of warmth through her entire body to pool hot and low.

  Sarah urged his trousers lower on his hips and tried to push them off, but felt him pull back.

  “Sarah, are you sure you want this?”

  “Yes.”

  A nip on her neck was his response and shivers shimmered through her, bringing her flesh to goose bumps. She scanned her eyes up his torso as he rose to unlace his boots. After removing them, he lined them up neatly beside the bed. His trousers were next, and he unfastened them, then let them drop to the floor. As he stepped out of his pants, her eyes followed the transaction with acute awareness. He was taller than Jason; where Jason was soft, Tanner was hard and lean. Only his words were softer and his touch.

  When he ran his hands alongside her ribs, then down to pull her fleece pants free, her heartbeat picked up and hammered in her chest. This was happening. She was having sex with a stranger.

  Not a stranger.

  Not really. They’d corresponded, at least. Dozens of letters. Lots of girls her age brought real strangers home from bars and had sex. Ellie had been encouraging her for years to meet someone else. She would have been thrilled with the prospects of a one-night stand. Regardless, Sarah knew Tanner much more than any of those girls would have known their bar dates. Yet, she’d never had a one-night stand. And Jason was the only man she’d been with. Ever.

  His hands stopped their roaming, perhaps sensing the tension building in her.

  “Don’t stop,” she said.

  “You’re having second thoughts.”

  “I’m not. Please.”

  Tanner began to pull away, but she clasped her hands around the back of his neck and pulled him back down to her, kissing him until his body loosened, pressing back against hers like a missing puzzle piece.

  “You’re so lovely, dear one.”

  Sarah felt a blush sweep across her face. It wasn’t true, of course. She was average at best. How many times had Jason told her how lucky she was to have someone like him taking care of her, looking out for her? Otherwise, she’d be alone.

  Tanner was the lovely one. No, remarkable. Jason had stayed with her as a matter of comfort and necessity. His. Not hers. It occurred to her that perhaps Tanner was somehow bewitched, or he’d never have likely found her interesting at all. And after tonight, he’d probably be gone for good. Her confidence failed, and she pulled away.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I…this may be a mistake.” Her eyes burned and began to fill with tears. He’d hate her for sure now. Leading him on so far.

  Tanner stroked her hair. “Why do you say that? Now? What has changed your heart?”

  “It’s just…I haven’t been with anyone other than Jason.”

  Tanner laughed. “Dear one, I haven’t been with a woman in a hundred and fifty years. We’ll make do.”

  Sarah nodded and closed her eyes to avoid his concerned gaze.

  Tanner kissed the tears from the corner of one eye, and then the other. “Yes?”

  “Yes.”

  His erection pushed against her mound, and she gasped, pressing against him, rubbing her tender bits along his shaft and driving her doubt to the shadows once more. Tanner’s fingers wandered below and brushed her slickened opening. She pushed downward onto his hand, willing him to slide his fingers inside her. When he did, her back arched, and she gasped again.

  “Tanner.”

  Tanner trailed a row of kisses across her chest, then settled his cheek on her breast near her pearled nipple. His warm exhale nearly brought her to climax as he worked her below. Her stomach muscles tensed, and when he flicked his thumb across her nub, she cried out.

  It was more than she could endure. The tension built inside her, winding tighter and tighter, and stars burst beneath her closed eyelids, preceding the most intense release she’d ever experienced. Riding the wave, she clawed her hands, raking them across his back, digging into his skin as she held on to him.

  Her body shuddered and twitched beneath him until at last her muscles relaxed, leaving her a rag doll in his arms. Tanner administered soft kisses across her body as his sputtered breathing began to subside, his own release not yet relieved.

  “Don’t stop now.” Sarah parted her legs and his body aligned with hers. “I take birth control pills. I won’t get pregnant.”

  “There’s a pill for that now?” Tanner asked, incredulous.

  ‘Please, Tanner.”

  The head of his erection stroked her engorged nub as it slid past, eliciting another shudder from her over-sensitive body.

  Tanner cradled her head in his hands, and she watched his face change from concern to ecstasy when the head of his erection pressed against her opening. The fullness there demanded action, and she pushed her body onto him, insisting he fill her, truly and completely. His first penetration brought renewed tears to her eyes as she let go of years of not being enough. This moment alone proved she could be happy without Jason. Someone had cared about her enough to see to her needs first, not his own. It was the first time she’d been brought to climax without a battery-operated aid.

  Tanner rocked in and out of her, filling and retreating, until his rhythm became more frantic. The muscles in his neck tensed, and she felt his body stiffen beneath her hands. His face buried against her neck and into her hair, and she raised her hips, clenching her inner muscles around him.

  And that was it. He stilled and exploded inside her, his warm release filling her.

  Five years.

  And this was the first time she’d ever enjoyed sex.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Tanner knew there were words he should say. More explanations he should give, but none of them were enough to convey the warmth in his heart or his unbridled fear. He was so close to having everything or nothing at all. If he were to be returned to the ring or lose Sarah after tonight, he couldn’t bear one more day of his existence. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of and nothing he had ever encountered in his time.

  It had taken a hex and a hundred and fifty years to find true love. Now he feared true love might not be enough. Or returned. What if her feelings weren’t the same? What if feelings alone weren’t enough? What if there was no breaking of the hex and this was just the next phase of Sylvia’s everlasting Purgatory, a cruel reprieve to
make the next chapter more agonizing? His emotions were based on circumstances he could never expect Sarah to believe, yet she seemed… receptive, despite her understandable reservations.

  It was more than any reasonable person could or should be expected to accept. Yet, her warm, lush body filled his arms as she curled against him and the line between what was possible and what was not grew preciously thin. Within her hold, he found his own energy needs satiated for the moment and was at last able to relax. He reached down and pulled the blankets over them, basking in her afterglow, unsure now where her ecstasy ended and his began. The constant and intimate contact left him feeling like he could conquer any foe.

  Sarah strengthened him in ways that were both real and supernatural.

  She stirred in his arms, and then stilled. His heart stopped beating as he waited for her response. He prayed it would be positive and not filled with regret.

  “Hey,” she said, her face lit by the soft glow of the fire.

  The corner of his mouth hitched up in a slow smile. “Hello.”

  “I guess I dozed off.”

  “For a while.”

  Sarah smiled and blushed, but didn’t look away from him. She held his gaze for the longest moment, and he tried in vain to puzzle out the questions she wasn’t asking. Instead, she sighed and pushed the hair back from his forehead.

  Tanner savored every look and every touch, for he didn’t know when either might be his last. His stomach growled loudly, shocking him.

  “Hungry much?” Sarah teased.

  “Indeed.”

  Tanner eyed the box of half-eaten pizza on her desk, and Sarah tracked his gaze there. She frowned. “It’s been sitting out too long. We could drive to the all-night diner but—”

  Sarah froze.

  “What?”

  “Why is the webcam light activated on my computer?”

  Tanner looked at the contraption and did indeed see a white pinprick of light beaming from the top.

  Sarah was out of their warm bed and across the room in a heartbeat. She grabbed her robe from the end of the bed and put it on as she investigated. “My camera is on. How did my camera get turned on?” She manipulated the device, clicking away at the keys until the light extinguished, then she pulled the cord from the wall.

  “Dammit, that flash drive must have had a virus on it. No telling what’s infected my computer now. At least I wrote down most of the translations in my notebook too. I guess the FBI can have fun with this disease-ridden thing now. I’m supposed to turn it in tomorrow anyway.”

  She closed the lid down and folded the machine in half. “So? All-night diner?”

  Before Tanner could answer, three quick knocks rapped at the door and the inside of his chest grew cold. Sarah paused, looking at him. “I honestly don’t know who else it could be,” she said.

  She crossed to the door and hesitated, hanging her head and pulling in a deep breath. “Who is it?”

  “Agent Sykes and Agent Falkner of the NSA, ma’am. We need a word.”

  Sarah’s eyes grew large and round, and she mouthed the letters “NSA” to Tanner. He shrugged in reply. He had no idea what the NSA was or why they had ‘agents’ knocking on Sarah’s door at this hour.

  “Let me see your badges. Slide them under the door.”

  “We can’t relinquish control of our badges, ma’am, but if you’ll open the door, we’ll gladly let you inspect them.”

  Sarah pointed Tanner toward the bathroom and indicated he should hide. Perhaps wise, considering his unstable condition, but he didn’t like it. Not one bit. Something felt very wrong about this situation. For a wild moment, he wished he was invisible and intangible again and could pass through the door to scrutinize the visitors himself.

  Against his better judgment, he gathered his clothing and acquiesced. After slipping into his trousers and clothing, he carried his boots to the bathroom. If she needed aid, he was only steps away and still fully capable of bringing his wrath down upon anyone wishing to harm Sarah.

  *

  For the hundredth time in a week, Sarah wished for a peephole. How had her life spun so far out of control? There was no chain latch so the two options were open the door or not. As she debated, a third option popped into her head.

  “Give me your card or some sort of identification. I’m not opening the door until I see your badges, or I get some confirmation.”

  A long silence met her request, shuffling and then two business cards slid beneath the door, bearing Agent Jim Sykes and Agent Robert Falkner’s names, badge numbers, office phone, fax and an 800 number. “Call the 800 number and give them that badge ID. Someone there can verify us to you.”

  Sarah felt Tanner’s eyes on her as she dug her phone out from the pile on her desk. She Googled the office and number first. Finding the same 800 number as what appeared on the card, she dialed and waited. Maryland was in her time zone. She couldn’t imagine anyone would personally man the phones at this hour and was surprised when a live voice picked up.

  “NSA General Offices, how may I direct your call?”

  “I have two men outside my door who claim to be agents. I need to verify their credentials before I let them in.”

  She read off the names and badge numbers, then waited. Muzak filled her ear and her heart raced. Ellie had said the FBI would want her computer, but why was the NSA here? What in the world was Candace into? And had she somehow dragged Sarah into it as well? Cold dread began to flood through her body. She’d happily relinquish the laptop. She just prayed Candace hadn’t set her up somehow to take her fall.

  “Thank you for holding. Director Ferguson of the NSA speaking. I can verify that both men you inquired about are indeed agents in-good-standing with the NSA. This is a matter of national security. Your cooperation with them and this agency is imperative and expected. Is there anything else?”

  Sarah hated the way the director’s gruff voice and sharp verbal demeanor made her feel small and chastised. She had plenty of questions. All of which had dissolved under his bossy response.

  “I guess not.”

  “Good. Then let them in, Ms. Knight.”

  The connection severed—his doing, not hers—and her mind spun as she stared at the phone. She hadn’t told him her name.

  “What is it? Are they legitimate agents of this NSA? And what agency is it exactly?” Tanner whispered from the bathroom.

  Sarah crossed to him, scared. “Yes. They were verified. NSA is the National Security Agency. It’s a big government agency that basically spies on everyone for the defense of the nation. I don’t know what Candace did to garner their attention, but it looks like it’s spilled over.”

  “Are you going to let them in?” Tanner asked.

  “I don’t think we have a choice. But they don’t need to know about you. Stay in here. Maybe they’ve just come for the computer, and they’ll go.”

  Tanner took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll be right here. Do not fear.”

  “Ms. Knight?” one of the agents asked through the door. “Did you get what you needed? Or do we need to call for you?”

  “I got it. I need a minute to get dressed.” Sarah hurriedly dressed in her discarded clothes, then gave Tanner a warning look. “Hide in the shower and don’t say a word.”

  She crossed to the door and clicked open the deadbolt.

  Agent Number One, dressed in black jeans and a dark jacket under his black overcoat, reached inside his jacket and produced a badge. “I’m Agent Sykes,” he said, handing it to her for inspection.

  Sarah took the badge and studied it. “And you?” she asked Agent Number Two.

  He produced a duplicate badge, except for the name and photo. Despite the palpable gravity of the situation, she felt a smile creep across her face.

  “BOPD?” Sarah couldn’t suppress the nervous laugh that slipped out. “You work for bopped? As in Cyndi Lauper’s ‘She bop he bop a we bop’?”

  Agent Sykes’ eye twitched and the corner of h
is grim mouth ticked down a bit. “It’s a special division of the NSA, ma’am.”

  “Do we have permission to enter the apartment, Ms. Knight?”

  “I suppose,” Sarah answered. Saying no would only delay the inevitable.

  Seconds later, Agents Sykes and Falkner stood in her small apartment, sucking the air out of the room and making it seem much, much smaller.

  Agent Falkner began to wander toward her desk, and she shifted in front of him before he could get any closer. “Why are you here at three in the morning, and what do you want? Is it about Candace and my computer? I was under the impression the FBI wanted the computer. I have no idea about anything Candace was into or has done. I understood I could turn in the computer tomorrow. Do I need a lawyer here?”

  The agents exchanged a quick look. “Where’s your companion, Ms. Knight?”

  Sarah blanched. The unexpected question stole her bravado. Agent Falkner nodded toward the only interior door in the room, and reached into his jacket once again, this time producing a gun. He walked along the hall-side wall, then stood to the left of the bathroom door.

  “Come on out here, Mr. Dawson.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The two-hour car ride to Maryland was long and silent. The agents had confiscated her computer, all of the notes and papers littering her desk, and then stuffed her and Tanner into the backseat of a black Suburban. The doors only opened from the outside. She’d tried them. Both.

  A thick piece of protective glass separated her and Tanner from the agents. At least they hadn’t separated them from each other. Tanner held her hand, which did offer some comfort as she shuffled through the myriad of possibilities. The agents refused to discuss anything in her apartment but had promised full disclosure at a secured location.

  They’d made it clear that refusing wasn’t an option.