Brack took a long shower before bed. I knew exactly what he was doing in there. It was extremely sad that I was so dependent on my vibrator. There had to be something seriously wrong with me because I couldn't get myself off without it. It was so damn simple for men. I thought about telling Brack to sleep on the floor if sex wasn't on the menu. It truly sucked that I wanted the comfort of having him in bed beside me. He didn't think I allowed fear to rule me, but he was wrong. I was scared to death to be alone right now.He wore a pair of boxers when he came out of the bathroom. He climbed onto his side of the bed without a word. His breathing deepened within minutes and I knew he was asleep. I'm sure his soapy hand during his shower helped. And why did I go there? My fantasies kept me awake for hours. Brack woke up with the sunrise. I rolled over with a grumble and closed my eyes until the scent of bacon had my stomach growling. I went into the bathroom and put on a swimsuit. I wal
After pulling a t-shirt over my swimsuit, I placed a bottle of water on the table for each of us. We sat down.Mack barely glanced at me before turning to Brack. "There's been no change. I've run extensive computer searches on all her friends. Nothing out of the ordinary pops up. We know he's close to someone connected to her inner circle and-"I cut him off. "I'm right here, you know? I'm a person and you're talking about me."His eyes flashed to mine and his cheeks went pink. "Sorry.""Go on," Brack said to Mack as he cast an irritated look my way."The senator-" Mack looked at me. "Your father is not making things easy." His gaze returned to Brack. "I need you to call and talk him down."Brack didn't blink. "Sure. What else?"Sure. What the fuck? No one talked my father down when he was on a roll. I couldn't believe Mack and Brack thought it would be so easy. I held back a giggle over their rhyming names. I'd save that for a time I needed a good insult."We're monitoring her
"Hey," Brack's warm hand rubbed my shoulder.I cried harder. "You don't understand.""I think I do."I was too upset to respond. He let me cry for several minutes, making slow circles on my back. When he spoke, his voice was low and soothing, "When we're faced with death, it's a normal reaction to reaffirm life. Sex is the best way to do that. There isn't a Marine out there who will tell you differently."He had my full attention now. "You were a Marine?" I sniffed."Yes, and then a cop," he said as he pulled a few strands of hair from my face."You're too young.""And you're too young to be the reigning world singles champion. I joined the Marines at eighteen and went to the police academy at twenty-two."I sniffed again. "Why did you quit?"He hesitated a moment and I thought he wouldn't answer. "I spent my military enlistment in the Middle East and saw some very bad things. My Marine brothers died. Women and children died and I never suffered an injury. Three years after jo
With Brack's new glasses, I was back to not seeing his eyes again. I'm not sure why he wanted them covered all the time. I wondered if children teased him when he was young. Kids could be awful. I'm sure they didn't appreciate the beauty and only noticed his eyes were different.I kicked his ass in racquetball and he kicked mine on the mat. This was not self-defense. Brack truly wanted me to kill this guy. I'm not sure why it was so important to him. I also understood on a deeper level that I was scared shitless. The thought of going toe to toe with a killer froze my insides.Fight or flight, Brack called it. I didn't tell him how terrified I was, but he knew. Brack was trying to train the flight instinct out of me."There's a time to run and there's a time to kill this motherfucker. That's what you're training for."I grumbled as Brack continued to pummel me with his tough-love techniques. I swam, ran, played racquetball, and picked myself up off the mat more times than I could co
There's always another crazy motherfucker out there. That thought ran repeatedly through my mind. Brack said not to allow fear to rule me, but it was hard. My stalker made me afraid of everything. I was not the same person I was a year ago. Back then, my middle name was, "Take on the world." Today it was, "Just survive until tomorrow."Later that morning, Brack played two racquetball games against me and I felt a great deal of satisfaction when his frustration finally showed. "Do you ever lose?" he asked while fighting for breath.I used Brack's favorite comebackkeep it frustratingly simple. "No.""You know I didn't think you had a chance of beating me that first day."I could only shake my head. "Even knowing what I could do on a tennis court?"Brack, who had bent double because he still wouldn't listen to me about opening his lungs, stood up. "The YouTube videos didn't do you justice."I laughed. "So which match did you watch?""Several, but my favorite was you and that Crosby
We cleaned up the kitchen together, which was another nightly routine we'd fallen into. When finished, Brack had me sit back in a chair while he removed my stitches. The wound itched, but didn't hurt at all. I skimmed my fingers over the short stubble of hair and sighed. I had survived with a small scar when another man gave his life."You make a good doctor. Maybe we can role play a doctor-nurse fantasy someday," I said to take me out of my morose thoughts. I expected a flip retort from Brack. Instead, he quietly placed his supplies back in the med kit and carried it into the bathroom.In complete exasperation, I waited for him to come out. "Can we go for a walk?" I asked as I headed to the door expecting Brack to follow."Not tonight."I turned. Putting my hands on my hips, I tried reining in my building temper. "Suppose you tell me why not."He looked away for a minute before removing his aviators and setting them on the table. At the removal of his glasses, dread filled me. I
I placed my hands against Brack's chest and gripped his shirt tightly in desperation. He surprised me by unsnapping my bra through the back of my t-shirt. He pulled on my lower lip with his teeth before his lips left mine long enough to tear my shirt over my head. My bra went with it. His mouth came back home. I needed this and I needed his skin against mine. I wrenched his shirt upward. There was nothing graceful about our sexual dance. Hot skin met hot skin. My nipples went hard. My breath came in short pants. His mouth ate them. Within seconds, our skin dampened with sweat from sliding against each other. The kiss was tongue, lips, and teeth. Nothing gentle. I unsnapped his jeans. Before I could work the zipper, he picked me up and carried me to the bed.My back hit the comforter and he whipped my shorts and panties off in one quick move. He didn't take time to look at my body, his eyes stayed on mine. The eyes that burned me from the inside out. He lowered his zipper and stepped o
I continued resting on my stomach with Brack splayed half over my back. He'd pulled my legs down to make me more comfortable but at the same time, he was heavy, and I loved it. His breath feathered through my hair and his palm made soothing motions on my thigh. We'd been this way for maybe ten minutes. Brack wasn't in a hurry to move, which was nice for a change. I was like most other women on the planet and enjoyed cuddling after sex."You awake?" he finally whispered."No," I immediately replied. That earned me a stinging pinch to my backside. "I don't think I can move," I added with a giggle."Mmm, me either."He made me smile. "You mind if I roll over?"He shifted and helped me resituate myself so I faced him with both of us on our sides. I think I could look into his unique eyes every day for the rest of my life. His fingers trailed down my cheek before placing a section of hair behind my ear.I had to ask, "So why now?"His eyes left mine for a split second before returnin