Chapter 14
Delaney ‘Laney’
A phone call from Vance after dinner gave us more information on Allen. I escaped to the bathroom and I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I’m tired. So very tired. My head and hip are hurting, not from the love Hawke and I have made, but from the weight of my mistakes.
How could I have been so naive to have trusted Allen? How did I miss the evil behind his gaze?
With a better idea of what to look for, Vance’s team have identified several more women who fit the same type of profile of what Allen went after with me.
Single women, with little or no family, who were passionate about their work and generous with others. Programmers, accountants, and investors. Jobs where they worked independently from home.
Could I have saved the other women? Two of the missing girls were after he first injured me.
He was so brazen, so sure he’d never be caught, he kept using variations of the name he gave me. The bastard.
“Laney, you okay?”
I sniff back the tears.
“Yes. I-I’ll be right there.”
“Laney, honey. Can I come in?”
“Hawke...” My voice cracks.
The door pushes open and he wraps me in his arms. The tears flow down my cheek soaking his shirt.
“Talk to me, babe.”
“If I’d have realized how evil he was, I may have been able to save them.”
“Babe, that’s not how it works. You save who you can, that’s all you can do. You can’t beat yourself up for not being everywhere at once. You almost died twice and you’re doing what you can now to stop him. To save any future victims.”
He lifts me into his arms and carries me to the couch where he just holds me as the tears fall.
“Damn, I love you, sweet girl. You are everything the world needs. Kind. Considerate. Brave. Don’t forget all that you are. Don’t let him take that away, too.”
“We have to stop him.”
“We will, babe. We will.”
When he brings me a bowl of ice cream, I can barely eat, so I push the melting mass from side to side in my bowl.
Soon, Hawke carries me to the bed and hands me a book.
I stare at the pages as he cleans the kitchen and checks all our security.
I vaguely hear him mumbling to someone but don’t have the energy to even try to make out their words.
Next thing I notice is the lights are low and he’s carrying me to the bathroom. When I finish, he’s waiting outside the door and carries me back to bed, climbing in after me. I roll to my side half on, half off him, head on his shoulder.
I run my fingers over his eight-pack and through the light dusting of hair on his chest that I’ve always found so very manly. A few scars here and there, testament that he’s a survivor. Thinking of my own trials, I guess we both are.
I don’t want to just survive. I want to live and love. I want a life with friends and family, joy and laughter. I want the ice cream.
Leaning up on one forearm, I cup his cheek and press my lips to his. Minty and warm, he opens for me and I savor his taste. He’s right. This is my here and now and I’m going to grab hold with both hands and enjoy.
Brushing my fingertips over every dip and hollow, every scar, I follow with a trail of kisses down his chest. Pushing his sleep pants lower I release his throbbing cock and wrap my palm around his girth.
Warm and almost silky to the touch, I stroke from head to base, then cup his sac and do it again.
And again. I wish, I was healed enough to straddle him to take his warmth deep inside me.
To be the giver, not just the taker of our love making.
As if sensing my desire, he sits up and repositions us on the edge of the bed, my back to his chest in a slightly modified reverse cowgirl and slowly eases me down on his cock until I’m seated. Damn, he feels amazing filling me.
After kissing a path along my shoulder, he nibbles my earlobe. “You okay babe? How’s your hip?”
“Good. So good. I love how you fill me. Help me fuck you. Let us both come.” I’m not sure how he does it, but he manages to thrust into me hard and deep, again and again, until I explode crying his name. He follows after a few more pumps.
When reality returns, he carries me to the bathroom, and we clean each other before he carries me back to bed. He snuggles me against him instinctively knowing how to shift me to protect my injured hip.
“Sleep, my love. I’m here. I’ve got you.” My last thought is that he forgot a condom again. I smile.
I wake to the smell of coffee, warmed maple syrup, and a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“Wake up, sleepy head. Time to rise and shine.”
“No one says that anymore.”
“Would you rather I play reveille?”
“Oh god, no. Rise and shine is perfect.”
“Breakfast is almost ready.”
He hands me my crutch and goes back to the kitchen. By the time I’m finished he has plates dished up for both of us. I sit in my chair at the breakfast bar and he joins me. Leaning over, he kisses me. “Good morning, Laney. I love you.”
My eyes fill with tears, and I meet his gaze. “Good morning, Hawke. I love you.”
It feels a little strange but for a moment I’m almost thankful for Allen. Without him, would Hawke and I ever have gotten past the chasm keeping us apart?
Breakfast is delicious. He even sliced strawberries and sprinkled them on the top of the pancakes like my mom use to do for me.
“You remember everything.”
Sheepishly he looks my way. “Everything about you. I fell the first time we met, and I gathered all the information and memories I could. Those memories kept me sane and saved me in more than one war zone.”
“We’ve wasted so much time, Hawke.”
He shakes his head. “No. We let our love grow and ripen like fine wine. We’re right where we’re supposed to be.”
His phone lights up on the counter. “It’s Vance.” He taps the screen. “You’re on speaker.”
“He took the bait and he’s on his way. His uncle is with him. Our team will drop in about fifteen minutes and will take up position in the parameter and inside. I want one in the panic room with Laney.”
“I’m not going to the panic room. I told you I need to see him and tell him to go to hell. Besides, if he thinks he’s got me alone he’ll want to brag about how smart he is. You said you wanted recordings. Let’s get the evidence to send him to the electric chair.”
“Laney...”
“Hawke. You know I’m right.”