Chapter Four #3
"You're killing me," she whispered.
"Good." I peeled the blouse off completely, tossed it aside. "Because you've been killing me for years."
The emergency lighting cast strange shadows across her skin, turning the moment dreamlike. But Rainey was real—warm and soft and trembling beneath me. Her bra was simple, white cotton, and when I reached behind her to unhook it, my hands were steadier than they had any right to be.
I pulled the covering away and just looked at her for a moment. "God, you're beautiful."
She reached for my shirt, tugging it up. "You too. Off."
I stripped it over my head, then went back to worshipping her. Her breasts fit perfectly in my palms, her nipples hardening under my thumbs. When I took one into my mouth, she arched up with a sound that made me painfully hard.
"Ransom—oh God—"
I worked her with my mouth and tongue, paying attention to what made her gasp, what made her arch, what made her grip my hair and pull. I moved to her other breast, giving it the same treatment while my hand slid down her stomach to the waistband of her skirt.
"Can I?" I asked against her skin.
"Yes. God yes. Please."
I made quick work of the skirt and her panties, tossing them aside. Then I sat back on my heels and just looked at her—spread out on the old sofa, wearing nothing but dancing shadows and a smile.
"You have any idea how long I've wanted to see you like this?" My voice came out rough.
"Show me." Her eyes were dark with want. "Show me what you've been thinking about."
I kissed my way down her body, taking my time. Her ribs. The dip of her navel. The jut of her hipbone. Lower, spreading her thighs, settling my shoulders between them.
She was already wet, already ready for me. The sight made my cock throb painfully against my jeans.
"Oh God," she breathed when she realized my intention. "You don't have to—"
I looked up at her through the dimness. "I want to. Been dreaming about this. About how you taste. How you sound. How you feel when you come on my tongue." I dragged one finger through her wetness, making her hips jerk. "Tell me you want this too."
"Yes." Her voice broke. "God yes. I want—I need—"
I put my mouth on her.
She cried out, her hands immediately fisting in my hair, her whole body going taut. I started slow—long, broad strokes of my tongue, re-learning the taste of her. Salt and musk and pure arousal. She tasted better than I'd imagined, and I'd imagined it plenty.
"Ransom—" Her words dissolved into a moan as I focused on her clit, circling it with the tip of my tongue.
I varied the pressure, the speed, paying attention to her reactions. When I sucked gently, her hips lifted off the settee. When I flicked my tongue fast and light, she whimpered. When I went back to those long, slow licks, she pulled my hair hard enough to hurt.
"More," she breathed. "Please, I need—"
I slid one finger inside her, groaning at how tight she was, how wet. Her inner walls clenched around me immediately.
"Like that?" I asked against her.
"Yes, yes, but more—need more—"
I added a second finger, curling them to find that spot inside that made her see stars. When I found it, she arched up with a cry that echoed through the empty theater.
"There," she moaned. "Right there, don't stop—"
I didn't. I worked her with my fingers and my mouth, building her up, feeling her get closer with every stroke. Her thighs started trembling on either side of my head. Her grip in my hair tightened. Her breathing turned to desperate pants.
"Ransom, I'm—I'm so close—"
I doubled my efforts, sucking her clit while I pumped my fingers faster, hitting that spot with every thrust. Her hips started moving with me, chasing the pleasure, riding my hand and my mouth.
"That's it, baby," I murmured against her. "Let go. Come for me. Want to feel you, taste you—"
She came apart beautifully.
Her whole body went rigid for a heartbeat, then convulsed with the force of her orgasm.
She cried out my name—loud and unrestrained—her inner walls clamping down on my fingers in rhythmic pulses.
I worked her through it, gentling my touch as the waves rolled through her, lapping at her softly as the aftershocks made her twitch and gasp.
When she finally went limp, I kissed my way back up her body. She looked thoroughly wrecked—hair wild, skin flushed, eyes glazed with satisfaction. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath.
"Oh my God," she whispered. "That was—I can't—"
"Beautiful." I kissed her, letting her taste herself on my lips. "You're beautiful when you come."
She reached for my belt with shaking hands. "Your turn."
"Rainey—"
"Fair is fair." She had my belt undone, my jeans open, her hand wrapping around my cock through my boxers. "I've wanted to touch you for so long."
She freed me from my boxers, and I groaned at the first touch of her hand on my bare skin. Soft, warm, perfect. She stroked me slowly at first, base to tip, her grip firm.
"God, you feel good," she whispered, watching my face. "So hard. Is this all for me?"
"All for you," I gritted out. "Always for you."
She stroked me faster, her other hand coming up to cup me, and I had to grab her wrist. "Stop. You gotta stop or this is over before it starts."
"I want to make you feel good," she protested.
"You will." I kicked off my jeans and boxers, positioning myself between her thighs. "Inside you. Now."
I ran my cock through her wetness, coating myself, the head catching on her entrance and making us both groan. She was so wet, so ready, her body opening for me.
"Please," she breathed. "Please, Ransom, I need you inside me—"
I pushed in slowly, savoring every inch. Her heat, her tightness, the way her body stretched to accommodate me. She inhaled sharply, her hands clutching at my shoulders, her eyes locked on mine.
"Okay?" I managed when I was halfway in.
"Don't stop. Don't you dare stop."
I pushed deeper, and deeper still, until I was fully seated inside her. We both froze, breathing hard, staring at each other in the greenish emergency lighting.
"Fuck, you feel—" I couldn't finish the sentence. Nothing I said would be adequate.
"I know." Her legs wrapped around my hips, pulling me even deeper. "I know. Move. Please move."
I did. Slow, deep strokes at first, pulling almost all the way out before sliding back in. She was so tight, so wet, her body gripping me like she never wanted to let go. The angle was perfect, letting me hit deep, and every thrust made her cry out.
"Faster," she demanded, her nails digging into my back. "Harder. I need—"
"Tell me what you need, baby."
"You. Just you. More of you. All of you."
I gave her what she wanted. Drove into her harder, faster, the settee creaking beneath us with every thrust. Outside, the storm raged—thunder and rain and wind battering the building. Inside, there was only us. Only the sound of our bodies coming together, the gasps and moans we couldn't contain.
"Yes," she breathed. "Yes, like that, just like that—"
"You feel so good," I said against her throat. "So perfect. Like you were made for me."
"I was." She pulled my mouth to hers, kissing me deep. "I was made for you."
The words undid something in my chest. "I love you," I said. "Always have. Always will."
"I love you too." Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. "Don't ever leave me again."
"Never." I kissed the tears away, adjusted my angle, and she cried out. "You're mine now. Mine forever. Tell me you're mine."
"Yours," she moaned. "Always yours—oh God—"
The angle on the narrow settee wasn't quite right, so I shifted, pulling out and turning her.
"Hands on the armrest," I said.
She obeyed immediately, presenting herself to me on her hands and knees. The sight nearly made me come right there—her back arched, her ass in the air, her body open and ready for me.
I ran my hands over the curves of her hips, her waist, the line of her spine. "You're so beautiful like this."
"Ransom, please—"
I pushed back inside her in one smooth thrust, and she cried out, her back arching more. This angle was deeper, tighter, hitting spots that made her shake.
She moaned with pleasure. "Right there, just like that—"
I gripped her hips and set a rhythm—hard, deep, relentless. The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the empty theater, mixing with our gasps and moans and the storm outside.
"Touch yourself," I said. "I want to feel you come around me."
She slid one hand between her legs, and I felt it immediately—the way her inner walls tightened, the way her body started to climb.
"That's it. Make yourself come on my cock. Want to feel it, want to feel you—"
"I'm close," she whimpered. "So close, just don't stop, please don't stop—"
"Not stopping. Never stopping." I reached around, covered her hand with mine, helping her circle her clit. "Come for me, Rainey. Let go."
She came with a scream, her whole body convulsing again, her inner walls clamping down on me so hard I saw stars.
The sensation pushed me right over the edge.
I followed her into oblivion, my own orgasm tearing through me with an intensity that bordered on pain.
I came hard, pulsing inside her, my vision going white at the edges as pleasure rolled through me in waves.
I caught us before we collapsed, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her upright against my chest, both of us still joined and kneeling, trembling with aftershocks. I held her tight, my face buried in her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin mixed with sweat and sex.
"I love you," I whispered against her skin. "I love you so much."
"I love you too." Her voice was wrecked, barely audible. "So much."
We stayed like that for a long moment, catching our breath, hearts gradually slowing. When I finally pulled out, she made a small sound of loss. I lowered her gently onto the settee, found that dusty blanket draped over one of the chairs, and pulled it over us both.
She curled into my side immediately, head on my chest, one leg thrown over mine. I could feel her heart still racing against my ribs, her breath warm on my skin. I held her close, running my fingers through her tangled hair, tracing patterns on her bare shoulder.
"That was—" she started.
"Yeah."
"Worth the wait?"
I tilted her face up, kissed her softly. "Worth everything."
Rain still hammered the roof, but the thunder was moving away. The worst of the storm passing. We lay tangled together under that blanket, whispering promises, stealing kisses, touching each other with gentle reverence as our bodies slowly recovered.
"Think we can do that again?" she asked after a while.
I laughed, low and rough. "Give me ten minutes and I'll show you exactly what we can do again."
She smiled against my chest. "I'll hold you to that."
We stayed like that—touching, kissing, reconnecting—until the storm finally passed and the main lights flickered back on.
Rainey blinked in the sudden brightness. Then froze.
"Ransom." Her voice had gone strange. "Look."
I followed her gaze.
There, sitting on the saloon bar across the stage, was a wrapped package. Black paper, blood-red ribbon tied in an elaborate bow. Definitely hadn't been there before.
My gut clenched.
Reality came crashing back. We weren't alone in this. Someone had threatened her. Someone was still threatening her.
"Stay here," I said, untangling myself from her.
"Ransom—"
"Please." I grabbed my jeans, yanked them on. "Just let me check it out first."
I approached the package carefully. No name, no tag. Just that black paper and red ribbon, sitting in plain view where anyone could see it.
Where we would definitely see it.
My hands were steady as I unwrapped it, but my stomach churned.
Inside was a locket on a tarnished silver chain. I opened it with my thumbnail.
One side held a photo of Rainey—recent, candid, taken without her knowledge. Maybe from rehearsal, based on the lighting. The other side held an image of the grim reaper, skeletal face grinning beneath a black hood.
"What is it?" Rainey had gotten dressed, was moving closer despite my earlier order.
I showed her.
She went pale. "Oh my God."
"Has anything else happened?" I asked, my voice coming out harder than I meant. "Anything besides the mirror message the other night?"
She bit her lip. "Dead roses. On the doorstep of Midnight Curiosities Saturday morning. With a note saying I looked beautiful in red."
Rage burned through me, hot and violent. Someone was watching her. Following her. Threatening her. Someone had been in this theater while we were trapped by the storm.
Someone had left this while we were—
The thought made my hands curl into fists.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded.
"Because it's not your problem—"
"Like hell it isn't." I caught her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "You're mine, Rainey. Which makes your problems my problems. Your safety my responsibility. Whoever's doing this, I'm going to find them. And when I do—"
"Ransom—"
"I almost lost you once." My grip tightened.
"I'm not losing you again. Not to some psycho with a sick sense of drama and too much time on their hands.
We're going to Sheriff Turley first thing tomorrow.
We're telling Vivian. And until we figure out who's behind this, you're not going anywhere alone. Understood?"
She opened her mouth to argue, saw something in my expression that made her reconsider. She nodded.
"Good." I pulled her against me, needing to feel her safe in my arms. "Now let's get you home. And I'm following you inside to check every room before I leave."
"That's not necessary—"
"It absolutely is." I kissed her hard, possessive. "Get used to it, baby. Because I'm not going anywhere. Someone wants to scare you? They'll have to go through me first."
Outside, the storm had passed, leaving the October night cold and dripping. The fog had thickened, rolling across the square in waves, turning the festive décor into ghostly shapes. Water dripped from awnings and cornices, puddling on the sidewalks below.
As we walked to our vehicles, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
Someone out there had left that locket. Had been in the theater while we were trapped, had crept close enough to leave their sick gift, had maybe seen everything.
The thought sent ice through my veins. But I pushed it aside, focused on Rainey. On keeping her safe. On making sure whoever was doing this learned a very painful lesson about threatening the woman I loved.
Because one thing was certain—I'd walked away from her once to protect my brother.
I'd be damned if I'd let anyone make me lose her again. Not this time. Not ever.