Page 48 of Special Agent Raven
Before stepping out into the kitchen where Cane sat waiting, Raven circled through many emotions… mostly arguments as to why she shouldn’t put herself through more confusion and pain. Unable to stop herself, she dropped her brush and stood to face the mirror.
You know you want him to say he’s sorry for the way he’s behaved recently. In fact, you’ve been sick at heart thinking he doesn’t care. Or worse, that he believes he made love to his wife and not you. How could you build dreams around a man this flawed… stupid girl? You’ve waited an eternity to find the right guy to be invested in, and this is who gets chosen? Damn, Raven. Are you sure?
Problem was… she had no choice. Her head told her to dump his ass, but her heart fought hard for her to give the guy a chance to explain. Taking the bull by the horn, Raven decided she needed to hear the truth about the night he’d spent with her and what it meant to him. Then she’d decide if Cane could ever be the man she’d wrapped all her dreams around.
Thank God, she’d followed her heart.
Once she’d listened to his explanations about his marriage, his wife Chloe’s lack of empathy in dealing with others, about how much they’d both loved their boy, she had a better understanding of why he behaved the way he did. Though it had been hard for him to discuss his earlier marriage, he’d been open and honest, and she appreciated knowing the facts.
When she brought up their night of lovemaking, he told her the truth. “At first, I thought I was dreaming, but I soon realized the truth. Chloe never responded to me in the way you did. In all the years we were married, we’d never enjoyed that same kind of… of passion.”
“Then you knew it was me in your arms.”
“Like I said, not at first. But yes. It had to be you.” He didn’t elaborate further. Only stared deeply into her eyes, which gave more credit to his solemn declaration.
As their numerous discoveries of each other continued, all her doubts fled. And when he promised he’d be returning after he’d given his notice, she felt like she could reach the stars.
Finding the soft core in him, she knew she’d made the right choice in leading him back to her room, helping him take off their clothes, and sinking into a world of passionate lovemaking that a girl could only dream about.
His kisses left her breathless… his lips tender on her skin. Slowly moving from her mouth to worship her neck before searching for her breasts where his warm palms had helped engorge them with anticipation. She arched her body to give him full access and took the time to worship him too…caressing the hard muscles of his back to his loins, and the soft skin near his shoulders and neck. Every spot she could reach felt the touch of her lips.
Rubbing against each other’s nakedness, their bodies in tune, they panted and moaned with every scintillating burst of desire. Their kisses grew randy as their passions ignited. Every inch of her body screamed for release from this ignited fever.
As if he knew he’d hurt her during their last time together, Cane said her name like a litany. That way she’d know he had no doubts about who he was making love to this time. When he rose to sink himself into her hot, wet, and oh so willing body, he groaned first her name and added three words that took her soaring to heaven.
Chapter Thirty-seven
The scowling man watched her enter the Houston Bureau from across the street. Raven… the woman he’d conjured in his mind’s eye as his nemesis. His soon to be victim… kidnapped and kept for his pleasure only. He craved to thrash her into submission like he’d done to the noisy dog who’d driven him crazy in the trailer next door when he was a teenager.
He’d fantasized about her ever since she’d beaten him off in the woods. And left him like a wounded animal, hiding in the muck of a riverbank being hunted by men with guns and dogs. Hatred for her grew from then on, and he nourished it continuously. It’s what kept him alive.
His body thrummed with the vindictive imaginings of when he’d be in charge… her subduer. The one with the gun held in her face. He slunk away this time, pulling his hoody further to cover his pock-marked face. Soon, he’d be making his move.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Raven walked on air from the moment she’d arrived back at work in the city, gave her two-week notice, and counted the hours until she could return to Carlton Place. Each evening, she had two phone calls to keep her grounded. On the first call, she’d get the update from her nana of how everyone was making out in her absence. Those daily visits made her long for the time to move even faster.
She’d found out that Noah and the kids were now settled in their new home, and Val and Bonnie were hanging back with Winona until the carpenters Noah hired finished the construction on their bedrooms. Since Palmer was a bachelor, only one bedroom had been set up on the second floor. Gladly, Nana had offered them the use of the bunkbeds they’d been using from her upstairs suite, and Noah had organized a second room next to his for Josh and Ami. Since both had refused to sleep alone because of the nightmares, Noah created a doorwayfrom his room to theirs that they left open, satisfying them for now.
On the first floor of the house, an empty area that Palmer closed off and used mostly for storage had been planned for Val and Bonnie. Each day the workers plastered and painted, making two nice sized bedrooms, one being a nursery that Raven had suggested. And every moment the women had free, they were there helping to turn the very basic bachelor house into a family home.
Of course, Raven yearned to be there with them, helping, being a part of the community. So much was going on for all the families she knew, and she missed out on all of it. When she broke down to admit this to Winona, her nana spoke the truth back to her. “There’s so much to be done, my love. Don’t you worry, they’ll still be lots waiting for you when you get back.”
“Truthfully… I can’t wait.”
Facing reality, she admitted it was the later phone calls that kept her grounded and able to wake up each morning to slash a black mark through that day on her calendar. Of course, these were from Cane. The last one still rang in her mind, making her blush at the remembered phone sex they’d shared. His husky “I miss you so much” had become a litany of what he imagined doing to her once they were together and had her hand reaching to where she could relieve herself of the building passion his dizzying, intoxicating, inciting words provoked.
During those long hours on the phone, they talked about everything from their years growing up, special times in their lives, and people who mattered most. And how they felt about everything from politics, to religion, to having babies. Thrilled that he wanted children with her, she walked around often with dreams of a future family rattling around in her head. What she liked best were the final minutes of each long conversation filled with promises of undying love and a life together soon.
The one problem in her happy world was her job. Recently, using their undercover techniques, she’d lured a sex offender (CSO) into long phone conversations where the pervert believed her to be a disgruntled fourteen-year-old girl sick of living with a drunk for a mom.
This man, who wanted her to call him Sweet Daddy, had been using every trick in the book to build their relationship to one of trust. Trust so she’d send him nude photos of herself doing all kinds of sick things to keep him satisfied. AI images their group had put together as a dossier for this type of perversion were the ones they utilized. After days of constant buttering and confidence building, his interest grew. Now he wanted them to meet in person.
Having to keep the disgust for this pedophile out of her voice while retaining his interest had been part of her job… but no less the worst part. These calls made her skin crawl from the depths of depravity these people would go to so their sick fantasies could be reenacted. They’d finally reached the point with him where he’d been willing to meet with her… the goal everyone in her department worked towards in order to actually catch the slimeballs and bring them to justice.
This day, she prepared herself for the final act. “Sweet Daddy, I can’t stand my life. You’re the only one who cares about whether I live or die. I want to run away for good. Can I come and stay with you?”
“Baby, you know I’d like nothing better. But you can’t come here. The heartless bitch I live with wouldn’t understand why we mean so much to each other. She’d make your life a living hell.”