Graced

Chapter 23

Nightmare

“Hey! Heyyy!”

He was coming after her. The look on the man’s face frightened her. And when he smiled, it sickened her to the core. Sheer terror was all she had, but it gave her the ability to run away.

She felt the cold metal door handle in her palm when a hand clamped down on her arm. She was jerked around so hard, it nearly pulled it from the socket. She cried out from the excruciating pain.

“Shut up, bitch!”

She tried to push him away, but his hands were everywhere—punching, squeezing, grabbing. All the while he laughed at her weakness. When she tried to hit him, he sneered.

She kept fighting him. She couldn’t stop because she feared what he’d do to her. What he’d do to her. A scream welled up in her throat.

“Stop! Help! Someone help! Marcia! Susan! Call security! Ca—”

He clubbed her in the mouth. Pain and blood erupted as her lip split open and she bit down hard on her tongue.

“Scream again, and I’ll break your fucking neck.”

No, he wouldn’t, she told herself. He wanted her blood, and that meant keeping her alive.

But he wouldn’t be nice about it. He’d make her suffer just so he could get off on it.

He wanted to punish her. He wanted to make her regret rejecting his advances.

He wanted her to serve his every need. She was frozen with fear, unable to move, unable to think.

She was the deer in the headlights. The prey incapable of fleeing.

She was barely aware of someone leaping into the air and landing on top of him, across his back.

She caught sight of a white-clad arm coming down hard behind his neck and shoulders.

The blow caused Welsh to release her and turn on the person attacking him from the rear.

He shoved the guy, sending him flying backwards toward the front desk.

It wasn’t until the guy staggered to his feet and came after Welsh again that she recognized who it was. “Grace, run!” Norris had appeared from out of nowhere like a superhero in a movie to save her. To protect her.

She knew whatever he’d done to Welsh wasn’t enough to stop the man, until she saw something wiggling. She recognized a syringe was embedded in Welsh’s neck just before the man reached behind him to grab it and jerk it out.

She scrambled backwards, trying to get far enough away so she could get back on her feet when she saw Norris charge the man. Welsh’s arm made a wind-up motion like a baseball pitcher, bringing his fist upward until it connected with Norris’s chin.

Grace screamed when she heard the muffled snap of bones breaking. The lab tech’s body dropped into a heap on the linoleum floor. Not done with him, Welsh dropped to one knee and rammed the syringe into the man’s eye.

In full panic mode, Grace sprinted for the rear exit again. This time she slammed down the levered handle, opening the door, and raced for the parking lot.

Welsh grabbed for her hair as she exited the building and managed to snag a bit of it. Sheer terror gave her the strength to resist the hard backwards jerk. It was followed by the sting of pain as the portion ripped from her scalp, but she kept running.

She kept running, unable to see where she was going because of the tears blurring her vision. She prayed for help to arrive. She prayed for someone to stop the man coming after her.

“Nooo! Help! Heeelp!”

Someone grabbed her by the arms. Frantic, she tried to scratch his face, to fight him off, to get him to release her.

“Grace! Grace, wake up! You’re having a bad dream! Grace!”

The voice wasn’t Welsh’s. This one was filled with worry and caring.

Lowering her hands, she shuddered in his grasp and opened her eyes to find his concerned gaze watching her. “Rhyne?”

“Yeah, honey. You were having a nightmare, but it’s over. You’re safe now. You’re here with me, and I swear I’ll do everything I can to protect you,” he whispered.

“Rhyne.”

She acted on impulse. Her nerves were raw and bleeding. She needed comforting. She needed to know, beyond any doubt, that Welsh would never get his hands on her again.

She needed Rhyne, and she needed him as more than her protector.

Grace threw her arms around his neck and clung to him. Her body fed on his warmth and the solid strength of his muscles she felt beneath his t-shirt.

Something papery was shoved against her chin.

“Here. Blow your nose and wipe your eyes with this.”

Releasing him, she did as she was told. Lifting her face, she remembered where she was, where they were. She turned to look at him. At his intense gaze searching hers for signs of sanity returning. It felt perfectly natural for her to take his cheeks between her hands and lean in to kiss him.

She felt his initial hesitation, but when she released his face and slid her arms around his neck, he succumbed to the moment. His hands pressed against her back as he pushed her closer to him. His mouth took hers, and his kiss erased the last shreds of the nightmare from her sleep-addled brain.

He overwhelmed her, dominated her, and she didn’t care. She didn’t fear him. She didn’t fear him hurting her.

There was an instant when he unexpectedly pulled away from her, leaving her confused. She opened her eyes to stare into his, and she got the impression he was…embarrassed?

“What? Did I do—”

He quickly cut her off. “No. You’ve done nothing wrong, if that’s what you were going to ask. In fact…” Taking a deep breath, he ran a hand through his hair. “Grace, one of us has to pull the plug on this, or else…”

“Or else what? Rhyne, if I wasn’t sure of what I was doing, I wouldn’t be kissing you.

” She ran her fingertips over his scruffy beard.

“I want you. I want to make love with you. Damn it, Rhyne, I need to feel safe and wanted. Can’t you understand that?

” She paused as another reason took shape.

“Oh! Oh, no. I’m sorry.” She started to pull away but he stopped her.

“Wait. What are you sorry for?” he asked.

“I never considered you wouldn’t have the same feelings for me. I never thought that you might not want to get involved with me.”

She was puzzled when he started chuckling.

“You mean you couldn’t tell from the way I kissed you back?

” he lightly teased. “Yes, I want you. Yes, I want to make love to you. Yes, I want to get involved with you. Hell, if I didn’t care, do you think I would’ve gone after Welsh the way I did?

Do you think we’d be here right now if I didn’t want to keep you safe?

” He caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “There is one small problem, though.”

Grace gave him a wide-eyed look as she waited.

“I don’t have any sleeves with me.”

“Sleeves? Oh! You mean condoms?” Smiling, she blushed slightly. “Rhyne, I can’t get pregnant while I’m on my period.”

His nostrils flared, and she knew he was sniffing her.

“You can’t?”

“Rhyne… What’s your last name?”

“Castille.”

“Rhyne Castille, you’re how old? And you don’t know that simple biological fact?” she teased. Before he could respond, she slid her hand behind his neck and pulled his face toward hers.

* * *

Rhyne found himself in unfamiliar territory. In some ways it frightened him. In others, it left him feeling and rethinking emotions he’d never experienced before.

He froze, his eyes locking on hers. Time ceased to pass as their gazes remained on each other.

Their breathing synced, and unspoken answers passed between them.

There would be no need for a condom. Not now, not ever, and they silently understood why.

Even after her period ended, they wouldn’t use one.

Once this whole ordeal was over, if they both survived, she’d remain with him.

She’d stay with him as long as she could, as long as he was able to have her. Time or circumstance would eventually separate them, but until then, he would cherish her.

So when she drew his mouth back down to take hers, he allowed himself the chance to take what she was offering without guilt.

Her scent was intoxicating. The smell of her blood wafted into his sinuses like the sweetest perfume.

With his arms around her, he lay down on the bed, taking her with him.

She snuggled closer to his body as he explored her neck.

Sniffing it, rubbing his beard over the sensitive area, tonguing her sweat.

Grace arched her back, exposing her throat and upper chest for his licks and nuzzles. Her actions made him chuckle.

“I don’t bite,” he murmured against her soft skin.

“I don’t care.”

When she lifted her arms, he knew that was his cue to pull her blouse over her head. As he tossed it onto the other bed, she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. It quickly followed the blouse.

She held her breasts out to him, nipples already taut with expectation.

Clamping his lips around one of them, he suckled it long and hard until she moaned.

His other hand grasped her other breast and rolled that nipple between his fingers.

He felt her legs part, and she hooked her heels in the back of his knees.

She tried to press her breasts together, silently urging him to suckle the other nipple as well.

Instead, he grabbed one of her hands and slapped it against his groin.

Grace took the hint and grasped his thickened erection.

She gave it a playful tug, then another, eliciting a groan of enjoyment from him.

To his delight, she slid her fingers inside the waistband of his jeans and lightly skimmed her nails over the sensitive skin.

By this time, he was swimming in a fog of her pheromones.

It was overwhelming his senses and giving him a high he hadn’t experienced in ages.

It took everything in him not to shred her clothing from her flesh and indulge himself, gorging on her sex, until he was sated to the point of blacking out.

Another hard pinch to her nipples made her shudder against him.

Rolling on top of her, he snagged the sides of her pants and carefully peeled them down her legs.

As soon as the bare wisp of her panties came into view, her bloody aroma struck him full force.

Unable to stop himself, he buried his nose in the juncture between her thighs and inhaled.

“Rhyne?” Her voice sounded far away.

“I gotta…” His throat was parched. Every word he spoke was guttural. “Grace, I need… I need… Please… Let me…”

She understood what he meant. What he needed. Without saying a word, she slipped out of her underwear to reveal a bloodied string plastered to her mons. Taking the string between her finger, she pulled out the tampon and spread her thighs.

Rhyne dove into her, lapping her blood as it slowly oozed from her channel. He lost himself in her, his head swimming. He couldn’t begin to describe the taste. Warm. Fresh. Thick and salty. He didn’t need much. A few sips, and he felt revitalized. More clear-headed than he’d felt in days.

He teased her clit to increase the flow, eliciting loud gasps from her. The sound made him stiffer, forcing him to rub his erection against the bedspread in anticipation. He knew she was ready, and he could no longer deny himself.

It didn't take long for her bloody juices to smooth his entry. She smiled up at him as he buried himself all the way to the root.

“That feels so good,” she murmured, brushing back his hair from his forehead. “Take me, Rhyne.”

Bowing his head, he fulfilled her wish. The bed creaked with every thrust. Their grunts became moans, and soon Grace was begging for him to dominate her.

Pulling out, he grabbed her by the legs and flipped her onto her belly.

Lifting her by the waist, he kicked her thighs apart with his knees, rose up behind her, and shoved himself long and deep into her channel.

She called out at the thick invasion burrowing into her, but she delighted in it.

Soon, they were thrusting lustily, lost in each other's bodies, lost in the absolute pleasure they were creating.

He came first to a ragged and jerky conclusion. Bending over her, he ran his fingers between her lower lips until he found her button. Still pushing himself into her, he manipulated her clit until she threw back her head and cried out her release.

They both paused as their bodies quivered in the aftermath.

Rhyne bowed his face and wiped the blood from his mouth and cheeks onto her back.

Finally withdrawing from her channel, they simultaneously rolled onto their sides and spooned as he felt his erection gradually diminish.

After another moment or two, Rhyne cupped her breasts, playfully pinching the nipples, and kissed the back of her head.

Although they knew they should be getting up and dressed, they remained locked together for a few minutes more, savoring the nearness. Enjoying each other's warmth and presence. Eventually, and with great reluctance, they disengaged themselves and rolled out of bed.