Predator - A Stand Alone Suspense Romance (21 page)

I brush a hand through my hair, feeling all hot and bothered.

I decide to take a cold shower, certain that the water will wash some sense into me.

I strip out of the clothes and only open the cold faucet. I step under the water and let it wash over me, but it’s doing nothing to smother the unwelcome lust and heat I feel for Damian.

I grab the washcloth and I start to wash my body. I’m so freaking horny that when my hand slips between my legs, my hips jerk in search of more friction.

I’ve given myself an orgasm before but this time it’s different. The other times the guy was always faceless, and to be honest, I haven’t masturbated since I was raped. But this time it’s Damian’s eyes I see.

I feel his rock hard body brush against mine. I feel his fingers brush over my jaw, down my neck. I trail my fingers over my breast imagining that it’s his fingers making their way down to the sensitive spot between my legs.

I start to rub the washcloth faster, and as I picture his mouth, curving into a slow smile, I come.

Instantly my mind clears of the lust induced state it was stuck in. “Fuck, Cara!” I snap at myself. “You have to live with the guy. You can’t masturbate like a pervert. Get control over yourself.”

I turn the faucet off and quickly dry myself. I get back into my clothes and then check my face in the mirror. Shit, my cheeks are flushed and there’s a damn sparkle in my eye. I’m so busted.

Damian~

Cara’s been weird around me. She hardly makes eye contact. She almost seems shy, which I don’t understand.

I walk out onto the porch and search the surrounding area. She went for a walk quite a while ago.

I start to walk in the direction I saw her heading in. After a while, the trees start to thin out and about ten minutes later I reach the beach.

I scan the stretch of sand until I see her lone figure, sitting with her knees drawn up against her chest.

I slowly make my way over to her and when I’m close, I stop and just watch her. She’s staring out over the ocean and then a sigh escapes her lips. She gets up, dusts some sand from her ass and then turns around. When her eyes fall on me, shock registers on her face.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asks, dropping her eyes to the sand.

I walk right up to her, and taking hold of her chin, I lift her face to mine. I wait for her eyes to meet mine before I say, “What’s going on? I get the feeling you’re hiding from me?”

She pulls her chin from my fingers and looks back out over the ocean. “Remember you told me not to ask you questions unless you were prepared to hear the truth?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, my eyes constantly searching her face. She’s been doing so well, I don’t want a relapse.

“The same counts for you, Damian. Don’t ask me something unless you’re sure you can handle the truth.”

She starts to walk away but I grab hold of her hand and hold her back. “What’s that supposed to mean? You can’t tell me why you’re acting so weird around me?”

She looks at our joined hands and then her eyes slowly drift up the length of my body until they rest on my eyes.

She clears her throat and then squares her shoulders, raising her chin an inch. “I’ll make you a deal, Damian. I’ll answer that question if you answer one of mine.”

I look for any sign of what might be going on in that head of hers, and then I whisper, “Deal.”

She nods and takes a step closer to me. She looks up at me, her eyes dancing over my face. “I’m confused about us.” She nervously licks at her lips and then drops her eyes to my chest. “I … I feel something for you, and I don’t know what to do with it. I’m scared to death of it. I don’t understand how I can feel attracted to you after what happened. Any other man …” she shakes her head slowly and lifts her eyes back to mine, “I’m repulsed by any other man. I mean, I hate them with this burning rage that keeps flowing through me like lava. I just…” she drops her eyes again and then whispers, “I don’t understand why I … why I’m feeling this way.”

Her shoulders slump and I watch as she sucks in a deep breath. This … whatever it is that’s happening between us is scaring the living hell out of her.

I pull her closer and slip my arms around her. At first she tenses and tries to pull back, mumbling, “I don’t need your pity.”

I pull her back against me and lock her in my arms. I place a kiss to the side of her head and another just above her ear, and then I whisper, “I’m not sure what’s happening between us, and I understand that you’re scared.”

I pull back slightly, and, keeping one arm around her, I use my other hand to brush her hair away from her face. She peeks up at me and I smile, trying to set her at ease. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Cara. Any man with warm blood pumping through his veins would be crazy not to want you.” I see panic flare in her eyes at the mention of other men. “Maybe you’re okay with me because I was the one who helped you, and if that’s the case, we’ll just let the feelings pass. Feeling grateful is not a reason to want someone, and we’d be stupid to act on it.”

She turns her face away from me and I can see hurt flash over her face. She thinks I’m rejecting her. Fuck, this is hard. I just want to do what’s right by her.

“If you really feel something for me then only time will tell, Cara. It’s not something we can force or make disappear. We just have to let whatever’s meant to be happen.”

She nods, still looking dejected. I brush my fingers over the curve of her cheek and her eyes jump to mine. “I’ll understand if you don’t want me,” she squeezes the words out. Tears brim in her eyes, making them sparkle in the morning sun. “I mean … it’s okay. I just wanted to tell you how I feel so you don’t think I’m psycho.”

“Why would you think I won’t want you?” I move closer until our bodies brush. I watch her cheeks grow pink and it stirs something inside of me.

“Because of what happened,” she whispers. “Because a man like you wouldn’t want something that’s been used.”

A hot flare of anger surges through me. “That’s what you’ve been thinking?”

“It’s okay,” she whispers again, and this time, a tear sneaks down her cheek.

I frame her face with my hands so she can’t look away and I press my forehead to hers. “Don’t think that, Cara. You’re not used. Fuck.” I pull slightly back and lock eyes with her. “Don’t let them make you feel worthless, because you’re fucking priceless.”

She’s so beautiful as her eyes light up and a slow smile pulls at her lips. “You think I’m priceless?” she whispers.

“I risked my life twice for you, Cara. I’ll keep risking my life until I die, if it means I can keep you safe, because you are priceless.” She brings her hands to my chest, and then slides them up to my shoulders. She lifts herself to the tip of her toes and then presses a soft kiss to my lips.

For a moment I stand still and just as she’s about to pull back, I can’t fight it anymore. I slip my hand around the back of her neck and pull her closer. I tilt my head and brush my tongue against the seam of her lips. Her lips part and a breath she’s been holding escapes. I let my tongue slip into her mouth and then everything around us fades to background noise.

I brush my tongue over hers, and her body leans heavier into mine. Her fingers weave into my hair and then a soft moan drifts into my mouth. I want to devour it, devour her … but holding onto my last bit of common sense, I slowly pull back. I press one last kiss to her wet lips and then whisper, “Be careful what you ask of me. I fuck the way I kill - hard and fast.”

I expect her to flinch away from the harsh words but instead heat flares in her eyes, and it almost makes me take her right here in the open.

Cara~

I’m having a sensory overload. I can still taste him and, shit, he tastes like sex. I can still smell him, and just that alone is enough to make me want to drag him down to the ground.

I take a step closer to him but then he takes one backwards … away from me. He shakes his head, and it confuses me, because I can see the lust in his eyes. Am I reading him wrong?

“Don’t fuck with me,” he growls. But that’s just it! I want to fuck him so badly, my insides quiver at the thought.

He groans and then moves fast. His one hand slips behind my neck again and he pulls me right up against him. Instead of kissing me, he hisses, “I want you so fucking bad, Cara, but we can’t.”

I feel his hard-on pressing against my stomach and it makes fear bleed into my soul.

“See, you’re not ready. You still have so much healing to do. The day we fuck, you’ll want it as much as I do.”

Frustration washes over me, dousing the heat that was flowing through my veins. I want Damian. I mean who wouldn’t want him? He’s all man, hard and rough, and … those eyes. I let my eyes caress his face, taking in the rugged beauty of the man in front of me.

I’m not sure my want for him is stronger than my fear of being intimate again. He’s right.

“You had a question,” he says, taking a step away from me.

“Yeah, I did.” I clear my throat, tucking my hair behind my ears. I start to walk back to the cabin. “I was wondering, since you’re Alex Jackson now, is Damian Weston your real name or just another alias?”

He walks next to me, and for a moment I wonder if he’s actually going to answer me, but then he starts to talk. “After Leah died, and I killed my father, I had to disappear. Jeff is retired FBI and Leah’s father. I did him a favor by taking out my dad so he did me one by getting me a new identity. The only reason I’ve been able to get away with my job as a cleaner is because of Jeff. He just keeps covering our tracks. It’s weird, because he didn’t like the fact that Leah and I were dating. He didn’t trust me one bit. But after she died and I killed my father, he stepped right in to help me.” He glances at me and then says, “I was Sam Rees but that person died a long time ago.”

Sam Rees.

Such a normal name for such an extraordinary man.

I stop and reach my hand out to him. “Hi, Sam.”

He takes my hand and smiles as he whispers, “Hi, Cara.”

Damian~

Since our kiss on the beach it’s been getting harder every day. Keeping my hands off her is fucking hard.

Everything is harder.

And then there’s the constant semi I’m walking around with. I’ve been waking up with a raging hard-on every morning since the kiss. And just like every other morning I grab clean clothes and go to the shower.

The first two days I felt guilty for picturing Cara while I jerked off, but not anymore. I open the faucets, strip the slacks from my body and step into the bath. I grip my cock hard and bring up the image of Cara’s breasts and pussy that’s been fucking engraved in my mind since I bathed her.

I imagine taking bites of her soft flesh, and when I let myself picture how I want to slam my cock inside her, my hips start to jerk, and I come hard.

Not even five fucking minutes and I come like a teenager!

I quickly wash, dry and get dressed.

Yeah, my morning routine now revolves around jerking off to the image of Cara’s tits and pussy. I’m so fucked.

When I come out of the bathroom, I hear her in the kitchen. When I see her ass in those tight slacks, I keep a safe distance. I’ll fuck her right through those pants, that’s how badly I crave her.

“I advertised in the local newspaper,” I say, my voice gruff with unadulterated lust. “I need to keep busy so I’m going to do odd jobs, helping people repair whatever they need fixed.”

She takes a sip of coffee and then smiles over the cup. “Always the fixer.”

“Yeah.” I force a smile to my face. “I have a job today. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

She places the cup on the counter and walks closer to me. “Does that mean I can go look for a job too?”

“Sure,” I say and my voice goes all gruff again as she moves into my personal space. “Just remember to go by Nina Jackson. If we’re going into town more, we’re going to have to start calling each other Alex and Nina.”

“Sure, Alex,” she says and a smile plays along her lips which makes me stare at her mouth for a moment too long. “Are you leaving now?”

I nod like an idiot. How’s it possible that this woman has reduced me to a walking hard-on? The predator has become the prey. Jeff is going to have a field day when we get together again.

“I am. I’ve made an extra set of keys so if you do decide to go somewhere, just lock the door. Oh yeah,” I move around her and open the one kitchen cupboard that’s become a little storage space for my stuff. I take the cheap phone out and hold it out to her. “Same thing as before. You use it only to phone me. Don’t give the number out to anyone.”

“But…” She takes the phone from me and our fingers brush, sending electric pulses straight to my cock. “What if I need to give a number to an employer?”

“Shit, you’re right. I don’t like the idea one bit but you can give it to an employer. Just don’t go giving it to everyone.”

She glares at me and it makes her look cute. “I’m not stupid, Mr. Jackson. Go work.” She starts to walk towards the bedroom but then stops and turns back to me. “It has your number on it, right?”

“Yeah.” I can’t keep from smiling. “Phone me if you need anything.”

She smiles and nods. “Great, thanks.” She walks into the bedroom and then calls out, “Have a nice day, hubby.”

I grin like an idiot. Yeah, I’m so pussy-whipped and I haven’t even had her yet.

Cara~

After Damian leaves, I quickly shower and get ready to head out myself. I’ll go crazy if I just sit around every day. I need something to keep myself busy with.

When I’m ready, I make sure all the appliances are off and all the windows are closed. I lock up behind me and then walk in the direction of town.

I love walking around here. Everything is so pretty and the fresh ocean air is calming.

My thoughts turn back to this morning when I walked past the bathroom, on my way to make some coffee. I could swear I heard Damian groan, as if he was having an orgasm. Just the thought of his strong hand stroking himself makes my body grow hot and bothered, but there’s a pang of sadness at the same time. It’s something I can’t give him. Sure, I masturbate quite a lot more than I normally did, but I just don’t know if I’ll be able to have actual sex with him.

We haven’t talked about us or what we are since the kiss. We also haven’t kissed again. He’s actually more careful around me, not touching me unless he has to – which sucks.

Maybe I scared him off?

Who does he think of when he’s making himself come?

Ugh … I’d die if he was thinking of someone else. I’m so screwed. I want him all to myself but I can’t give him all of me. How fucked up is that?

When I reach town there’s not many job prospects. I try Pete’s Place first, the local diner, but there are no jobs. This is going to be harder than I thought. I try the grocery and the cashier there tells me to try the hardware.

I cross the road and walk into the small hardware store. It’s hot and stuffy inside. I go over to the huge dark wooden counter. There’s a bell on top of the counter and I hesitate to ring it. I tap it quickly and the soft ping makes me cringe. Shit, I hope I didn’t bother anyone.

“Can I help you?” someone asks from the back of the store.

I walk closer and stop when I see a middle aged man sitting on a crate. He’s busy stocking the shelves.

“Yeah … uhm.” I clear my throat. “I was wondering if you have any jobs? For me? I mean I’m looking for any kind of job.”

He gets up and looks me up and down. I take a step back just to be safe.

“I have an opening but not for someone like you,” he says almost rudely.

I lift an eyebrow and cross my arms over my chest. “Someone like me?”

“Yeah.” He waves a hand at me. “You’re too small. I need someone with muscle. You’ll have to carry heavy boxes, stock the shelves, sign for stock as it’s delivered and carry it to the store room. You’re too small, and you’re a woman.”

My mouth drops open in surprise that he’s discriminating against me just because I have boobs! Is this man from the middle-ages?

“I’m strong,” I snap at him. “I’m a hard worker, too. What would you rather have, some wimp who hasn’t worked an honest day in his life, or a woman who doesn’t have a lazy bone in her body?”

The man stares at me and it looks like my smart mouth just lost me any chance of getting the job. I turn around to walk away when he says, “Fine, I’ll give you a week. The pay’s not great, but it’s money. There are no benefits. You work from eight a.m. until five p.m., and you get an hour’s lunch.” He points to the box he was busy unpacking. “You can start with that. You’ll find more boxes in the back. Keep the shelves well stocked. I don’t want to lose a sale because you didn’t have it on the shelves. Also, make sure we have stock in the backroom. If we run low on something, then you come tell me, and I’ll place an order.”

He starts to walk by me and I quickly give way. “I’m Nina Jackson. Don’t you need any of my information?”

He keeps walking. “I have your name. I’ll be paying cash so I don’t want to know any of your shit.”

I frown at his rudeness. I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him and go sit on the crate. I continue putting the tiny packs of nails, screws and bolts where they belong.

Right now I’m so damn thankful that I’ve worked in a hardware store before. I’m going to make this man eat every one of his words.

Damian~

I drive away from Mrs. Perry’s house after fixing her fish tank. She got new lights but they didn’t work. The problem was with the switch. A wire came loose and it only took a minute to fix so I didn’t charge her.

I think about the other job I have. It will take up most of my time for the next week. Mr. Taylor is wheelchair bound so they want me to add a ramp for him to the new gazebo they just got. I also have to maintain the other ramps around and inside the house, so at least it will keep me busy for a while.

I stop at the hardware store so I can order some lumber and get some other supplies. Walking in I see Joshua behind the counter.

“Hi, Joshua,” I greet as I take the measurements out of my pocket. “I just need a few things.”

“Sure,” he smiles at me.

“I’ll need these measurements in treated lumber for a wheelchair ramp over at Mr. Taylor’s place.”

Joshua takes the piece of paper I wrote all the measurements on and checks it all over. “I’d suggest you use screws. Nails will come undone.”

That makes sense. I nod at him. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go with screws.”

“I have some medium length boards in the back, two by four. They should work well.” He starts to walk to the back and then asks, “What are you going to use to make it non-slippery?”

“I was thinking grit tape. You have some?”

“I don’t have enough for this size ramp. I’ll have to order some.” He stops in the back of the store looking at the lumber. “You’re going to need some thinner ones for hand and guard rails.”

“Yes, you think you can get it all ready for me? Just give me a call and I’ll swing by to get it.”

“Sure thing,” he grumbles, walking back to the counter. “Just write your number here. Nina!” he yells suddenly.

I write down my new name and number and push the piece of paper back to him.

“Yes,” I hear a familiar voice behind me. I turn around and frown when I see Cara. What is she doing here?

“Go check how many packs of screws we have,” he barks at her.

Her eyes dart from Joshua to me, and then she quickly disappears into the back.

“So,” I turn back to Joshua, “she’s working for you?”

“Who?” he asks looking confused for a second. “Oh, you mean the woman? Nah, not for long. She came in here earlier asking for a job, said she could do anything a man could.” He chuckles and I don’t like the sound of it. “We’ll see how long she lasts.”

I don’t want to mess up her first day at a job, but I want to give Joshua a subtle warning. He better not mess with her.

Cara comes back. She looks nervous and she stays a safe distance from the counter. “Fourteen,” she says, trying to sound sure of herself, but the uncertain look in her eyes doesn’t escape my watchful eyes.

“Get back to work,” he barks at her again.

“Nina,” I say before she can dart to the back of the store. I walk right up to her and taking her face in my hands, I watch her eyes widen. I press a kiss to her lips and then smile at her. “What time do you get off?”