by J. M. Madden
They collapsed back onto the chair, panting. The brakes hummed beneath them as the train began to slow.
“Sounds like we’re coming to another station.” He dragged the blanket up over them and tugged her to lie back against him. There was something unbearably intimate about staying joined, naked, under a thin blanket as people flowed on the platform mere feet away. An older woman looked at them narrow-eyed, making them chuckle as the train pulled away from the station. Once they were running again, Brady urged her up, though he hated to disengage from her. “We’re only a few minutes from your stop. You’d better get ready.” He disappeared into the bathroom to dispose of the condom, then returned to the seat.
Lorna groaned, but did as she was told. At the door of the bathroom, she grinned at him over her shoulder. “You know, I wouldn’t mind being seen with you. You’re damn hot, and I have a feeling the rest of my vacation is going to be a letdown.”
Brady grinned, appreciating the ego-stroking. “Well, thank you. I have a feeling my week is going to be especially mundane after meeting you.”
Lorna grinned sweetly, and it took everything he had not to invite her to him once again.
They pulled into the Jacksonville station, north of Orlando.
Lorna stuck her head out of the miniscule bathroom and grinned at him. “Wish they had showers in these things. I don’t know that paper-towels are going to help me much.”
Brady chuckled as he buttoned his fly. “I’ll keep the bitch itch for a while. It’ll be a nice reminder when I’m at home in my shower.”
Sending him a smacking kiss, Lorna finished dressing in her barely-there bikini and tank. Brady snugged himself up behind her. “You know,” he told her thoughtfully, “if you get bored this week, I’m not very far away. Tampa is just a few hours to drive.” He ground himself into her as she paused. Her blue eyes flashed back to his.
“That wasn’t part of the bargain,” she murmured.
Brady shrugged and removed a business card from his wallet. “This is my company and cell. Call me.”
She folded the card into her hand, then tucked it into her bag.
Brady urged her to curl up in his lap for the few minutes before they pulled into the Orlando station. As the train rumbled to a stop, they both sighed, and separated.
Lorna gathered her bag, pressed a kiss to Brady’s lips, and another to his bruised jaw. “You know, I wasn’t even assigned to this cabin. I was supposed to be three cabins down. But when I saw you, I wanted you. I’ll call you in three days. You’d better be ready.”
With a swing of her hair, she left the cabin. Brady watched as she stepped onto the platform and turned to wave at him. Bemused, he waved back, and started to plan a road-trip to Orlando.
CHAPTER FIVE
‡
Lorna called him after only two days. He missed her call, but he listened to the message more times than he wanted to admit. ‘Hey, Brady. I’m bored out of my mind with these kids. I need some coherent conversation with an actual man. Any chance you can come up and steal me away? Or, I’ve got a fabulous room. We can takes turns counting tiles on the ceiling, depending upon who’s on top.’ She giggled then, and it made him think of sexy liaisons. ‘Text me and let me know when you’re coming.’
Not if you’re coming. When. Again, her confidence appealed to him as much as anything. She knew he would make the drive, because their sex had been some of the best he’d ever had. Just the thought of seeing her again made him swell against the zipper of his pants.
Brady tightened his hands on the steering wheel and fought the urge to press the gas pedal harder. Already running twenty over the speed limit, he didn’t need another ticket on his record.
Lorna would wait for him at the bar of her hotel, she had said when he’d called. When he asked what she would be wearing, she’d chuckled deep in her throat. ‘Maybe nothing’ she whispered.
Fuck! As if he wasn’t already hard just from talking to her, then she had to say that. In his mind he could already imagine her wearing something long and sexy, with her night-black hair hanging around her breasts. Or maybe she would be wearing that damn pink bikini again. He’d had fun taking it off her last time.
Brady shifted on the seat and tried to calm the raging erection he hadn’t been able to control since she’d gotten off the train. He’d jerked off more in the past two days than he had in the past two years, and it hadn’t been enough. As soon as the euphoria had faded, one thought of her would bring him back to aching hardness again almost immediately. Damn frustrating. What would he do when she actually left Florida? He assumed she had some kind of life in South Carolina to return to, and he would be just a pleasant reminder from her graduation bash.
That didn’t sit well with him.
He couldn’t get to Cocoa Beach soon enough. Nerves were needling him. Thirty-nine years old, and a little twenty-something co-ed had him off-kilter. Un-fucking-believable. He vowed to himself that he would work her out of his system this weekend. Or have a heart attack trying.
*
Lorna shifted on the barstool and looked out over the water, trying to calm her racing heart. The hotel was absolutely stunning. Although Cocoa Beach wasn’t a huge draw compared to some beaches nearby, it appealed to her. This laidback, decadent environment suited her. From where she sat she could see the infinity pool, then the beach beyond. Palm trees swayed in the breeze and she hoped she could talk Brady into walking on the beach with her.
He’d be here in ten minutes. Not soon enough. She straightened the new blue halter dress around her thighs and imagined him taking it off her. She shifted on the stool, feeling the arousal between her thighs.
“Isn’t it beautiful? At low tide you can find some fantastic shells.”
She glanced at the man beside her. What a buzz-kill. This guy had shown up about fifteen minutes ago and parked himself on the stool next to hers. He’d introduced himself, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember what he’d said his name was. He was persistent, she’d give him that, but she’d responded to his conversational gambits sparingly. When she told him she already had plans for the evening, he’d laughed it off and changed the subject, then done his damnedest to impress her. He made big movements to show off his fake gaudy watch and told her how fantastic he did his job as an executive for a big company. All things to guarantee her withdrawal.
The clock over the bar read seven-thirty. She stirred her fruity rum drink with her straw and tried not to stare at the entrance into the hotel. Her head ached, but she hoped it was just stress and anticipation.
The leach wrapped his palm over hers, pulling her hand away from her lap. She jerked in his hold, but he wouldn’t let her go, and for some reason, she couldn’t pull her hand away.
“Settle down, settle down.”
Lorna glared at him, ready to bitch him out, but she lost her train of thought. A chill slid over her as she realized she was in danger. “You mother-fucker. What did you do to me?”
“Oh, honey, I just gave you something to relax. Don’t worry, it’s harmless.” His thick lips spread in a smile. “Let’s go have some fun.”
Lorna blinked heavily and fought to stay focused. The guy tugged her elbow hard enough that she slid off the barstool and the room spun. When she couldn’t maintain her balance she fell into his arms. She tried to push against his chest, but he held her too strongly. Why wasn’t somebody helping her?
“Lorna.”
She looked up into Brady’s glowering expression. He stood a few feet away, arms folded over his broad chest. Tears came to her eyes when he didn’t step forward to pull her to safety. He didn’t understand what was happening. “Brady…”
“Excuse us, buddy. We were just leaving.”
The room spun as the schmuck whirled her around toward the door. “No.” She struggled weakly, but she couldn’t pull away. In desperation, she looked back at Brady, hoping for rescue.
But his feet were planted. He hadn’t moved.
Despera
tely, she tried to make her muscles respond, but they were like jelly. The leach was stronger than he looked and almost carried her at his side. She lost sight of Brady as they went through the doorway into the hotel, and her heart wept.
“Hold on a minute.”
The tears overflowed when she heard his deep voice.
The hand on her arm tightened enough to bruise. “Sorry buddy, my girl’s had a little too much to drink. Have to get her up to the room.”
Forward motion stopped and they were spun around to face Brady. “I need to hear from her lips that she’s leaving with you.”
Lorna concentrated every fiber of her being into shaking her dizzy head a few scant millimeters. “Drug,” she whispered.
Brady’s face contorted with rage, and he pulled her away from her assailant.
“Now wait…”
Brady drove his fist into the man’s face. There was a sickening crunch and the schmuck collapsed to the floor, unmoving. She would have laughed if she could have gathered the energy. Instead, she melted against her rescuer’s hard chest and gentle arms and slipped into oblivion.
CHAPTER SIX
‡
Brady had never felt as much rage as he did at that moment in time. He swung Lorna up into his arms and turned to face the hotel staff running toward him. A crowd had begun to gather. “That piece of shit just drugged this woman. You need to get the cops down here to haul his ass to jail. I’m in room 719. They can talk to me there. And call for paramedics.”
Men scrambled to do as they were told, and Brady left them to it. He strode to the elevator, peering down at Lorna every few feet, but her hair obscured her face. The doors slid open and he stepped inside. He pressed the seven and knelt to the floor so that he could check on her.
As beautiful as ever, but her eyes didn’t even flicker as he ran a finger down her cheek. She was totally unconscious. A cold chill chased down his spine, and he wondered how long it would take the squad to get there. He juggled to get them in the room, but he did it. Lorna didn’t move as he laid her on the bed.
She didn’t move when he called down to check on the progress of the squad. And she still hadn’t moved when the police came to his room and Brady reported what had happened. But thirty minutes later when the paramedics were checking her over, she began to rouse. She blinked up at them fearfully until Brady leaned into her line of sight. “You’re okay, Lorna. We’re just gonna let you sleep this off, alright?”
She nodded her dark head, closed her eyes and burrowed into the pillow. The medics were reassured by her brief consciousness and cautioned him to take her to the hospital if she didn’t rouse completely by morning.
He stood at the foot of the bed for a long time and watched her breathe. Something had felt off as soon as he’d seen her in the bar, but he wouldn’t have made a scene if she’d found somebody she wanted more. No matter how pissed it made him. The guy had been young and preppy, more her type than he would ever be.
But when she looked back at him with tears in her eyes, he had to do something. It had taken all the self-discipline he had not to beat that guy’s face in when he realized what the kid had done. Cameron House had a nasty broken nose and assault charges to deal with for drugging her. Not the first time he’d done the same thing the cops had told him. Brady wondered if he knew anybody at Cocoa Beach P.D. who could help him out with a nice welcome for Mr. House.
Lorna moaned in the bed, and he snorted. Not exactly the way he had planned the night. He eyed the expanse of mattress beside her and decided holding her in his arms would be the best way to keep an eye on her.
*
Somebody was tap-dancing on her eyeballs.
Lorna forced herself to roll away from the warmth behind her to sit on the edge of the bed. She glanced over her shoulder and froze. It had all been real. The scary, fuzzy dreams that had plagued her all night were proven factual by the presence of the man lying behind her.
Brady Frost looked as rumpled and delectable as he did two days ago when she’d left him on the train. Her heart stalled as she thought of his actions from the night before. He’d rescued her. Just when she’d almost given up hope, he’d stepped in to be her hero. If the guy at the bar had gotten her out of the room she had no doubt he would have raped her.
Lorna headed to the bathroom to try to clean up. She used the toilet and finger-combed her hair, then ripped open the complimentary toothbrush and paste to clean her fuzzy teeth. When she returned to the room, Brady had woken and leaned against the headboard. She stopped and let her eyes wander from his broad shoulders to the little wrinkles of skin at his lower belly. Abs like that needed to be on display for the world to see. The bottom half of him was covered by a sheet, but she could tell his legs were crossed. The pelt of mostly black hair that ran from nipple to nipple matched the rumpled hair on his head, a stark contrast to his tan skin. He smiled that lazy smile and her body responded.
Memories of being with him on the train bombarded her. They’d only had a few hours then. Now they had a couple of days. Her hungry libido cheered.
In spite of everything that had happened the night before she wanted to be close to him again. And she wanted to cry to the heavens that she’d lost so many hours with him. She crossed the room to stand beside the bed, and leaned down to rest her lips on his.
Oh, hell. The incident on the train hadn’t been a fluke. Warmth flowed through her, starting at her lips and winding down through her body to settle low. The man could kiss like nobody’s business. When he wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her to straddle his lap, she complied happily. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked, voice raspy from sleep.
She nodded. “Much better. I thought you were just going to let me walk away.”
He quirked a black brow at her and shrugged. “I had no idea what had happened at first, but I knew you weren’t acting right. And I didn’t like the way that guy hung onto you. I was happy to lay him out in the middle of the hotel.”
Lorna grinned and pressed another kiss to his lips, snuggling her bottom into his lap. Brady’s cock hardened beneath her and the knowledge of what she could do to him sent a heady thrill through her.
His fingers were rubbing little circles into the skin of her back, and he eyed the rumpled dress. “As beautiful as you are in that dress, I’d rather see you out of it.”
Grinning, she turned slightly so that he could reach the latch at the back of her neck while she held her hair away. When his skin brushed against hers, little sparks of awareness danced down her arms. The two pieces of the dress fell away, exposing her peaked breasts to the air, and she shivered in reaction. Brady grinned and palmed her left breast fully. “I’ve been dreaming of doing this for two, no, three days.”
And she’d been waiting for it. She’d tried to have fun. The group from school had welcomed her in Orlando. They’d marched through Universal Studios and then gone bar-hopping that night. Men had hit on her constantly, but none of them had interested her the way Brady Frost had, with his knowing looks and masterful hands. She’d wanted a man when she came to Florida, and the boys hanging around just didn’t do it for her.
Lorna ground her hips into his pelvis and felt the hard ridge of his arousal through the sheets and her dress. “I think we’re over-dressed.”
Feeling daring, she stood on the mattress above him, shimmied the dress over her head and tossed it away. Brady’s dark eyes followed her movements and he sat up beneath her. Running his hands up her calves and thighs, he cupped her ass, then dragged her panties down her thighs and held her steady as she stepped out of them. She shivered at the sensations dancing across her skin. He ran his palms up her legs again, but this time one circled around her front, and his thick middle finger slipped inside her slit.
She moaned and her legs twitched. One small touch and her body teetered on the cusp of meltdown. He pushed that finger deeper, and pressed his fist against her labia, then started to rock that fist backward and forward, as well as the finger inside. Lo
rna keened in her throat, and fought to control her quivering legs. She flung out her hands to brace against the wall and angled one knee out to give him better access. Brady took that access to fit his hot mouth to the top of her pussy, tonguing her deeply. All of the banked arousal from the night before rushed back. Even with everything that had happened, her body remembered being excited for him. The orgasm slammed into her and she screamed, shuddering and shaking, and collapsed on top of Brady. But he guided her to fall across the bed, and as soon as her back hit the mattress he wedged between her thighs and slammed as deep as her body would allow. Crying out, she arched hips against him.
Brady lunged into her hard. One arm wrapped behind her back to grasp her shoulder and the other glided down her front, shaping her breast in his hand before settling at her hip. He held her body tight against his as he surged into her. “I’ve been dying to do this for days.”
His mouth covered hers, swamping her with heat as he nibbled from one side to the other, then slid his tongue deep. They tangled and slid against each other, drinking deep of the other’s flavor. They were fused so deeply it was hard to gasp in breath, but she accepted and relished the onslaught.
Running her hands down his naked back, she cupped his ass. The muscles bunched and flexed as he pounded into her. She drew her mouth away to breathe and pressed kisses down his neck, biting gently here and there where she could reach. Brady groaned in her ear, cursed and suddenly pulled away.
Lorna was left bereft. Her body trembled with need. Brady sat back on his heels, glistening cock pointed straight to the ceiling. His dark-furred chest expanded and retracted quickly as he fought to suck in oxygen. He staggered off the bed to the pile of clothes on the opposite side, rummaging for something. With a hissed ‘yes’, he pulled out his wallet and the rubber inside. Lorna chewed her lip as she watched him roll the prophylactic on and reached a finger down to glide into her own moisture. Her swollen clit flexed with need when she brushed against it.