She jumped off the bed and ran to the bedroom door, intent on closing it. The yelling in the hallway was louder and just as she got there they slammed into her front door again. She could see it bulging with their weight and thought it was going to give. She knew there was no sense in closing her bedroom door—if they wanted to get through it, they would.
Frozen in place, she stood there not knowing what to do. She wanted to get out of there, but they were blocking her only way out. It wasn’t as if she could say, “Um, excuse me, boys, do you mind stopping fighting until I slip past you?” She needed to tune out the profanities coming from the hallway and think. She couldn’t be trapped. There had to be another way out. What if it was a fire? That was when it dawned on her that there was a fire exit out of the living room window. If it got to the point where she really didn’t feel safe in the apartment, she could get out that way.
It took about five seconds before she threw open the curtains and opened the window. They had struck her door again and it was cracked. She was outside and down the rickety metal steps without a conscious decision. She felt like a rabbit running away from a fox and didn’t stop until her feet were on the sidewalk.
There wasn’t anyone else around as she watched the retractable steps pull back up out of her reach. That was when she realized she had rushed out of her apartment without grabbing anything. She didn’t have a phone to call for help or money to get a cab. She didn’t even have shoes on her feet. She looked down at what she was wearing and for the first time she was grateful that she was too cheap to buy pajamas.
She was shivering and she didn’t know if it was because of the cold or the fact that she was scared. She looked around one last time just to make sure there wasn’t anyone around. Then she looked up into Collin’s windows. At least there was somewhere she could go to get off the street.
She knocked on his door and waited, with her hands fidgeting at her side. She could hear his treadmill. Why wasn’t he turning it off and coming to the door? She knocked again, this time not even lowering her hand. She took in a breath and exhaled, telling herself to be patient. He would come to the door. Except she could still hear the exercise equipment going. She knocked again. By the time she stopped banging her knuckles on his door, the room on the other side was quiet. She was leaning forward, straining to hear him coming toward the door, when it suddenly opened.
“Oh, hey,” he said with a tentative smile. “Didn’t expect to see you back.”
She didn’t say anything to him, just pushed past him and into the apartment. A shudder went through her and she realized it was relief. She wasn’t alone anymore and she was safe. Her heart might not be safe, but at least her body was.
“I need your phone,” she finally said. “I need to call the police.”
She saw the recognition on his face that it wasn’t a social visit. He pointed to the phone on the counter top, then walked out of the room. She crawled up onto one of the barstools and dialed 9-1-1. She was on hold when he came back into the room using a towel to wipe the sweat from his body.
She closed her eyes and propped her head up with an elbow on the counter. When the operator came on the line, she rehashed what she had just been through, hoping they would help her to figure out what to do. She didn’t open her eyes until the phone conversation was over. A police officer was on his way and she was told to stay where she was until the cops told her it was okay to go back to her apartment.
When she looked up, it was right into his eyes and she couldn’t mistake the concern. He had obviously heard what she had told the dispatcher, so he knew exactly what was going on. She batted her eyelashes to hold back the tears.
The sound of sirens had her turning around to look out the window. He took the empty seat next to her and didn’t say anything while she watched what was going on across the street. At first there was nothing but dark windows, but then the beam of a flash light cut through the black. Then the overhead light in her apartment was turned on. She could see the cop was alone. Everything seemed to be just as she’d left it, so apparently the fighting hadn’t made it through her door. She couldn’t see the door to see what kind of condition it was in.
She glanced over at Collin, who was like a statue next to her. He seemed deep in thought, as if he was putting everything together. Does he think she’d intentionally gone out to pick him up that night? He’d never even known that she lived just across the street. Was this going to make a difference to their relationship? Did he think it was just a great one-night stand, or was he going to want something more? She started to panic as her brain jumped from question to question. She needed to stop thinking about that and focus on one problem at a time. First things first, there was a cop in her apartment and she wasn’t going to know if it was safe until they called her back.
She turned her attention back to the window just as the phone in her hand rang. She jumped, not having realized that she was still holding it. She hit the talk button without thinking that it wasn’t her phone to answer. It was the police officer standing in her apartment. She hadn’t known it was possible, but the 9-1-1 operator had connected him to the number she had called from. It all felt like a dream.
“Well…?” Collin asked.
His voice startled her and she looked from the phone to him. She had no idea how long it had been since she had hung up. She realized that he hadn’t been able to get anything from her side of the conversation with the cop because all she had said was “yes” and “no”.
“They made an arrest,” she said. “My apartment is fine. There is some damage to my door that the landlord is going to have to fix. He said that my deadbolt wasn’t locked and that as soon as the landlord braces up the door, they’ll be able to lock it.”
The tears she had been holding back flooded out. Her whole body shook with the sobs. He stood up, closed the space between them and pulled her tight into his arms.
“He made it sound like it was a good thing that I didn’t have my deadbolt engaged,” she said. “I’m running out the window when I don’t even have the locks set.”
“It was a good thing,” Collin reassured her. “I wouldn’t recommend it for most nights, but it wouldn’t have held any better than the other lock did. Only you wouldn’t have any way to secure your door now. Do you want me to go back with you?”
The thought of going back to her apartment filled her with fear. Of course she was going to go back. Just as soon as the cops told her it was safe to. Only she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to be back in that place and she didn’t want to be alone.
“No. Um, I mean I just can’t do it right now,” she said. “Can I stay here just a little longer?”
“That’s fine,” he said. “You don’t have to go anywhere. I just want to jump in the shower, get rid of this nasty sweat, and then we can figure out what we’re going to do.”
She nodded that that would be okay, but didn’t take her eyes off him as he left the room. She liked that he’d said “we”—it made her feel not so alone. As if she didn’t have to deal with everything by herself. Because if he weren’t around that was exactly how she would feel—utterly alone.
When Anne had moved out, she hadn’t thought it would be that big a deal. She’d actually been looking forward to some time by herself. She had always preferred solitude, though now she understood that up until the last couple of months she had never really been alone. She’d gone directly from living with her family to sharing an apartment with Anne. There had always been someone there when she needed them. Now she was running across the street to a stranger.
Tori got up and started pacing. Her thoughts kept returning to the sound of the shower, as if she had to have a constant reminder that she wasn’t the only one there. She was trying not to cry again. She had already done that once, to her embarrassment, and it wouldn’t help to resort to it again. What she needed was something to drive out the cold feeling that cut to her very core. She stopped and looked at the doorway Collin had just exited
through. She needed something like a hot shower…or warm, inviting arms.
Hearing the door close was the first indication that he wasn’t alone anymore. Could the timing get any worse—right when he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair? If it had been only a couple of seconds later, he would be done. Instead he was scrambling to get the soap to stop running down into his face so he could stick his head out and find out what was wrong.
He never got the chance. The curtain opened and she stepped in…completely naked. He used two hands to push the flow of water away from his face and down the back of his neck. Finally he could see her just as she pressed tight up against him, sandwiching his erection between them.
He took a deep breath and looked down into her eyes. The face looking up at him was scared and his stomach tied in a knot. She needed him. She was frightened and needed the reassurance of someone close. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.
She tilted her head back and rose up on her toes to bring her lips to his. He focused on keeping the kiss gentle—just another way to let her know that everything would be okay. Then her tongue was running over his lips. When they parted, she dove right into his mouth. There was nothing gentle about the way she was kissing him.
She slid her leg up between his. Her skin was so soft rubbing the inside of his thigh—a place that rarely got touched. He told himself that they were just kissing and rubbing their legs together. It didn’t mean they were going to have sex.
Then her fingers wrapped around his cock. Her steely grip pushed the denial out of his mind. She wanted to have sex and if she kept touching him like that, he would too. Unfortunately, he doubted that it was anything more than frayed nerves. Obviously she’d had second thoughts about the last time they had sex, or she would have come to see him sooner. He didn’t want to give her something else to regret.
He picked her up until she was standing on the built-in seat he used to hold his shampoo. Her hands were out of reach of his genitals, so he could think. He had to slow her down until she could see that she really didn’t want to do this. Now her hands were on his shoulders and her focus was on his face—much safer.
They resumed kissing. It was odd to lean his face up into a kiss and that was enough of distraction to keep him from ravishing her. He focused on the subtle changes the new angle brought and tried once again to convey reassurance through his lips.
As if she were intentionally pushing him to give in, she used her legs to caress him. Only this time it was his side that was being touched. Her legs were in the exact same spot as when they’d had sex. He couldn’t stop the flood of images of being on top of her. His plan to keep from getting turned on had backfired.
He pulled away from her, taking in deep breaths. From her perch, she looked down at him with lost eyes and a scared expression. His knee-jerk reaction was to pull her back into his arms, but he didn’t. He needed a few minutes without her overriding his brain with stimulation. But he was going to have to do something to keep her from staring at him with that hurt look.
He dipped his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He hoped this would give him time to sort out his thoughts. She was forced to keep her distance from him and her hands stayed on his shoulders. He relaxed and let his other hand come up and knead her other breast.
Her grip on his neck tightened and she moaned. Yes, he though, let her be the one overwhelmed by this. He had no problem driving her over the edge of the cliff she insisted on dancing next to, but he wasn’t going to join her. He wasn’t going to be the guy that took advantage of her.
With his free hand, he cupped her mound. He wanted it to be a gentle touch, just letting her feel the heat. But she flexed her hips, grinding into his hand. His middle finger slid inside her while she continued to press her clit into his hand.
He kissed his way over to the other nipple, not wanting it to feel neglected. He rolled it back and forth between his lips before drawing it into his mouth. She made little noises letting him know that she liked it, and the volume was rising.
His ring finger slipped inside her too, stretching her out. He had forgotten how tight she was. Her whole body undulated with the rhythm as she fucked his hand. He loved to see her like this—so primal. He wanted it to last for hours, but reminded himself that she had been through a trauma. As soon as her head was clear, she would just want him to hold her.
The pace quickened. He could hear his palm slapping against her cunt. Even her breath was faster as she rode his hand. Her body was moving so much, he had to give up on using his teeth on her nipple, scared he might hurt her. He drew it deeper into his mouth, suckling it instead.
Her voice thundered as she convulsed around his fingers. The pounding come slowly to a stop. He slid his fingers out as a shudder traveled down the length of her body.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Now that she was sated, he could just comfort her. Her fingers tangled with his hair and ran back and forth across his scalp.
One foot at a time, she stepped down, all the while touching him. Her wet body slid over his penis. By gritting his teeth, he was able to get through it until she was once again on solid ground. He took deep breaths, reminding him that it had been a casual touch. There was something more important he need to keep his mind on here—building a relationship with her outside the bedroom. She was smiling up at him, and that was all he needed.
Suddenly he cried out as the water turned cold. He whipped around, turning the faucets as fast as he could. Even after the flow of water had stopped, it still took a couple of seconds to get over the shock. When he turned back around, her serene expression was gone.
“Sorry it ended so abruptly,” he said.
“Ended?” she asked. “I thought you were going to fuck me.”
Her eyes darted to the floor and her cheeks turned pink. He loved it when she talked like that, but only because he knew it wasn’t her normal behavior. She had been prim and proper, even while sitting in a bar. It wasn’t until they were alone that she would say what she really wanted. She was his quiet little mouse that only roared for him.
All he could think about was making her roar again. One short sentence had done away with all his restraint. She had blatantly told him that she wanted to have sex… with him. She had made the decision and it wasn’t his place to tell her no. He grabbed two towels and pushed one at her.
“Give me just a second,” he said, then took off out of the room.
Tori stood there holding the towel as she watched him run out of the room, but it wasn’t until she heard the cursing that she went to the door to see what he was doing. He was wrestling with the blinds. They were almost down and so was his towel. It had slid low enough to reveal the tight curve of his ass.
She smiled and watched him struggle one handed, trying to put the towel back in place, only to be disappointed that he was able to keep more of his body from being exposed. She liked the view. Broad shoulders tapered down to a slender waist, then curved out over his butt. Every inch of him was firm and defined. Cords of muscles could be seen under the tan flesh. He did have tan lines, but it looked as if he spent a lot of time outdoors without a shirt on.
“Are you just going to stand there staring at me, or are you going to get in here?” he asked. The blinds were down and he was facing her. From his casual stance, she didn’t think he was in a rush.
“Why don’t you drop that towel so I can decide?” she responded.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to believe she had actually said that. Was she ever going to get control over her outbursts when she was around him? She was just thankful he didn’t seem to mind.
His fingers relaxed and the towel dropped to the floor. This view was even better than his back side had been. She couldn’t pry her eyes away from the taut lines where his stomach came down to his groin. His cock was great and everything she remembered it to be, but it was the incredible details of his body that left her in awe.
“You ca
n see better if you come closer,” he said.
Her feet seemed to think that was a good idea and the next thing she knew she was halfway across the room. She had a mild sense of deja vu and a shiver went up her spine as she realized she was in the same spot they had been in the last time she’d been in his bedroom. Her cunt clenched down in a spasm as she remembered the way he’d pounded into her the last time they had been on the bed and knew it was about to happen again. Her eyes never left his as he made his way around the bed to meet her at the foot.
“You’re still wet,” he said.
Until he took the towel from her, she hadn’t even realized she was still carrying it. Then the terry cloth was being run over her skin. It didn’t seem as if he was missing a single spot as he circled around her, rubbing her with the soft material. Enjoying the warmth of the cloth sliding over her skin, she closed her eyes and just relished the sensations of being dried off. It wasn’t something she had ever thought could be sensual before.
The next thing she knew the material was gone and it was just his hands touching her—perusing every inch he had just touched with the towel. Her breasts were firm and aching, but he only occasionally skimmed over them. Her groin was contracting and relaxing, anxious to be the center of attention.
She thought she was going to scream, this time in frustration instead of satisfaction. His comment that she could have had more last time, if she had been patient, echoed in her head. She wasn’t going to rush him, even if it was driving her insane. Then she realized that she was just being silly holding in her reaction to him. She had tried that before and all she had achieved was him holding back too. It had only been after she had come to life that he had. She wasn’t going to miss out on that again.
His lips were on her shoulder blade, causing a shudder to go through her. His hands gripped her hips as his mouth traveled down her back. His mouth was hot, in contrast to the slight chill in the room. He came around her slowly, tasting everything as he did. She exhaled through pursed lips, anxious to see what part he was going to kiss next.
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