It didn’t take long for me to get caught up in her soft tugs on my ear. If it wasn’t calming her mind down, it sure was quieting mine.

~~~~~~~

Something pushed off my chest and I grunted from the pressure. When my eyes slowly peeked open, light from the windows blinded me and I immediately slammed them shut. Kate’s body slid off of mine and I heard the thump when her feet hit the ground. She called out Braden’s name and I listened as she skipped out of the room.

Damn, it was morning already.

“She got you with the ear tug, huh?” Raegan’s voice startled me. I opened my eyes again to see her still tucked under the covers on the opposite side of the bed. The white quilt was pulled high up to her chin, and her eyes looked as if she had just opened them not even moments ago.

“I think she drugged me. I only came in here to lay with her until she fell asleep,” I croaked out while stretching my good arm in front of me.

“Yeah, she uses that tug as a weapon now. She used to put herself to sleep doing it, and now she’s realized she can put others to sleep.” Raegan chuckled lightly and I smiled warmly at her.

I slipped down from my upright position against the headboard and my back and shoulders protested from the movement. I had been sitting up all night and now my muscles were cramped. I let out a loud groan as I lay flat on my back. I couldn’t believe I had slept so hard, all while leaning against the headboard.

“Want me to rub it out?” Raegan asked as she propped herself up. Shocked at her words, my mouth fell open wide. Did she really just say that?

“Okay, get your mind out of the gutter!” She laughed out loud. A light dusting of pink hit her tanned cheeks. She was blushing! How damn adorable was that?

“My mind is always in the gutter, babe. Especially when I wake up next to a beautiful girl,” I said with a wink.

“You know what I meant…”

“I do. And while I would love that, it’s probably best you didn’t rub anything on me at the moment.” I tried to keep my tone light, but just the thought of her hands was not boding well for the growing problem in my lap.

“Roll,” she snapped. With a twirl of her finger, she gestured for me to do just that. Great. Just what every guy wants to do—crush his hard-on beneath his body.

I rolled slowly, trying to keep my arm tucked so I wouldn’t pull my shoulder. I also tried to position myself in the most comfortable way I could possibly get in this situation. I closed my eyes and faced away from her. I wouldn’t be able to look at her and feel her hands on my body.

I felt her legs bump into my side as she scooted closer. Her hands were like ice cubes the instant they touched my body, and I jolted as air whistled past my teeth.

Her hands pulled away immediately and she was silent, as if she were waiting to see what the problem was.

“Cold hands,” I rasped.

“Sorry!” she whispered. I heard her rub her hands together vigorously, I’m assuming to try and get some blood flow to those frozen appendages.

When they returned, her hands were a fraction warmer but not by much. I held still and tried to let my body heat warm up her hands. It didn’t take long, or maybe it was just the amazing feeling of her hands rubbing my muscles. Holding my arm against my body for days on end had really done a number on me. Getting back into the gym would be a real bitch, but I was craving the burn. It had already been way too long.

“What kind of pressure do you like?” she asked quietly.

I turned my face into the pillow and groaned loudly. Was everything she said today going to go straight to my dick? “Hard. I like it hard,” I said into the pillow. She pinched my side lightly, letting me know she hadn’t missed the double entendre. “Sorry,” I chuckled.

Her strokes were slow and firm as she worked around my injury, her thumbs running along my shoulder blades. She found a knot under my left shoulder and slowly worked out the muscle until I felt the knot dissolve under her pressure. Like a heat-seeking missile, she discovered all of the knots in my back, and each time they melted away, I let out a relieved moan.

Her fingers grazed lightly over an area of my neck and I realized she was tracing my tattoo—the only one I had. The only thing I cared enough about to brand myself with.

“The script is cool. Not something I would have expected to see on your skin,” she said.

“It’s Ash’s handwriting,” I explained. “Seemed right, at the time. Having Kate’s mom write on her dad.” I shrugged uncomfortably.

“That’s really sweet. Kate will love to hear that some day.”

We began to have a safe, non-sexual conversation and I’ll admit it was nice. She asked me what I did now and I explained my job in Texas. She was surprised to hear that I didn’t live in California anymore. I told her how I enjoyed boxing and having a beer with friends. I kept it short though, because I didn’t want to rub my good times in her face. To my surprise, she took everything in stride and wanted to hear more.

“We never chatted like this before,” I said.

“We never really talked at all. I usually only spoke to Ash,” she responded.

“I was afraid of you,” I divulged.

“Afraid?” she laughed as if my words were outrageous.

“The guys at work always harped on me about having a hot nanny.” I heard her chuckle at my words. “I’m serious,” I laughed. “I didn’t want to cause any confusion for anyone. I knew we paid you like shit, but that was all I could afford. I also knew I was a lucky bastard to have you working for such a small amount. But I couldn’t rock the boat in any way. If Ash got any rash ideas or people got suspicious of anything, I would lose the one steady thing Kate had going for her at the moment—you. I stayed my distance because once people started constantly talking about you, I was afraid it would only be a matter of time before rumors started flying.”

“Wow… I had no idea.” Her hands continued pressing. “That was actually very courteous of you. I could not afford to lose that job. Thank you for never hitting on me then. I worked for a man like that previously; it wasn’t pleasant.”

“Did he touch you?” I growled. The idea of any man touching her inappropriately made my hackles rise. And I was sure I could still find this so-called man. She soothingly ran her fingers down my spine and told me that he hadn’t. I tried to get back to my previous thoughts. “Anyway, I was a married man. It was out of the question.”

I swore I heard her whisper the word ‘was,’ but I didn’t ask her to repeat herself. Instead, I enjoyed the feel of her fingers and the release of tension she was removing from my back.

“How the hell do you know how to give a massage like this?” I croaked.

She laughed and said, “It’s actually working?”

“Let’s just say I’ve never paid for a massage this good.”

“That’s nice to hear.” She still hadn’t answered my question so I waited patiently, relaxing into her warm touch. Down the hall, I could hear Braden and Kate playing a game enthusiastically, which also calmed the tightness in my muscles. If they were happy, I was happy.

“We were kept in this big room,” she began. “It had a lot of stuff for us in it, but we couldn’t leave the room—ever. In the room, there was this large bookshelf. It had the most random assortment of books. Like How to Master Chess, which, by the way, I will warn you now to never challenge your daughter in a game.” I chuckled at that tidbit, soaking in every last morsel of information like a thirsty man in the desert. I wanted it all.

My inner cop wanted to question her further; I still needed to know why they were taken. Why Raegan and Braden? Why my daughter? But I realized that getting Raegan to talk had to happen naturally or she clammed up.

Raegan continued, “There were some really nice cookbooks, but we were never able to cook. Food was just brought to us. There was also a Massage Techniques book. I liked that one… a lot.”

Something in her tone piqued my attention. “A lot?”

“It had pictures.”

I was still puzzled by her odd reaction to a massage therapy book with pictures, and then it hit me. A woman trapped, kept away from adult interaction, looking at a book that taught how to massage people.

“Rae, are you telling me that you liked looking at the bodies? Male bodies?” I asked in a rough voice.

“Yours is much better than any of those pictures.” The sound of desire and wanting in her voice could not be mistaken as her fingers began heating my skin.

The sound of the kids’ voices down the hall reminded me that pursuing anything physical with Raegan would be inappropriate at this very moment. But fuck if I didn’t want to turn and see that yearning in her eyes. With a strangled groan, I scooted myself off the bed.

“Now I need a cold shower,” I grumbled and made my way toward the bathroom, not even looking back. I swore I heard her giggle as I retreated.

That girl was a temptress. I couldn’t tell if she was actually trying to lure me in or if she was always this candid. We had never spoken enough before now for me to know. Either way, I was going to fucking need an ice cold shower.



- TEN -

RAEGAN –

I felt them hovering over my sleeping body and their hands scooping me up out of my slumber. I tried to make sense of my odd surroundings. What had happened to my warm sheets? Why were my feet dangling in the air? A pressure in my ribs became overwhelmingly painful.

A hand pushed into my mouth, while more hands quickly secured a piece of cloth around my eyes. The darkened bedroom was entirely masked and the feeling was suffocating. I distinctly felt a hand slide tightly around my stomach and I jolted, finally realizing that I wasn’t in my bed anymore. This wasn’t right.

I sucked in a lungful of air so I could let it go in an ear-splitting scream, but then I felt a soft touch brush down the side of my face.

“Rae,” I heard a deep voice whisper. “Rae, you’re having a nightmare.”

I jerked away, but then a warm body slid in behind mine and I recognized that my body was still safely in bed. I wasn’t being taken. They weren’t back for us. It was just a dream. I had to repeat all of these phrases over and over until my brain believed them to be true.

Lane’s body wrapped around me from behind, every inch of my back molded to his front. Our legs entwined, allowing us to be as close as possible. His hand threaded through my hair and my rapid heartbeats began to slow down.

“Sleep, Rae, I’m right here. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. Sleep baby, I’ve got you now,” he whispered.

A protest was on my lips. I couldn’t help but think about the children lying next to us, but his warm, comforting arms squelched any thoughts of leaving. So I slept, knowing my body was safe. It was my heart I was beginning to worry about.

~~~~~~~

We had been in the New York apartment for two weeks and we still hadn’t spoken about where we were going from here. Or even if we would go together. I knew that neither Lane nor I wanted to stay in this apartment, but it was convenient. And I didn’t think that either of us wanted to face the real world just yet.

A week into our stay, Lane finally started working again. He logged in remotely from the computer and made phone calls a couple of hours a day. He informed me that his boss, Jace, would be okay with him taking off as much time as he needed, but he hated the idea of not doing his part.

Apparently, Jace had really helped him out and they seemed to have a mutual respect for each other. I assumed Lane valued Jace for being a good husband to his friend, Audrey. I couldn’t explain my jealousy over a girl I had never met, but it made me feel a smidge better to hear that she was married. Quite happily married, at that. I had to admit though that I still wondered about Lane and Audrey, because they spoke on the phone more than any “friends” I had ever been around.

I was beginning to think that I had been the only one feeling the pull between the two of us—that maybe it was just all in my head. Every day it seemed to get a little bit stronger for me. A smile here. A brief touch there. But Lane never made any advances nor did he say anything, so I constantly questioned what I was feeling.

Could it just be that I hadn’t had any attention for the past four years and now even the smallest amount felt like the greatest thing in the world? Could I be imagining the sensations that shot straight between my thighs when he winked at me from across the living room? Or the thrill I felt when I saw that smile he gave me every time we woke up early in the morning.