Dark and Stormy: Sacred Hearts Coven (9 page)

Her umbrella was up and she was holding it, fighting against the wind. Reddick knew the danger an umbrella could bring when lightning was about to strike. He was mad she was making stupid decisions. It was very out of character for her.

He reached out a hand to grab her. At the same time, a loud crack struck down at the tree beside the lot. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her hard and close to him.

Reddick was strong, stronger than he realized. The thrust of the momentum had them both flying backward to the ground. Just as they hit the pavement, the top half of the tree came crashing down in front of them.

Regina was lucky Reddick took the brunt of the fall. She lay on top of his chest, his arms still wrapped around her. The umbrella had long since blown away to who knows where. Her bags were still attached to her arm just at the elbow.

Regina pushed up on his chest. Much of her hair had fallen out of the twist and was hanging down, dripping with cold water. Reddick didn't seem to notice or mind the drips on his face as he’d adjusted to the rain that was now coming down harder.

He reached up a hand to her face and pushed her hair to the side and tucked it behind her ear. The color had drained from her skin. Her doe eyes looked almost black against the sudden paleness of her cheeks. He could feel her trembling and knew he needed to get her back inside.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She was cold and soaking wet. Her heart pounded hard against her chest. She knew it was beating hard enough that Reddick had to feel it. She was so scared she didn't dare move. His strong arms around her gave her a moment of security. Not to mention the heat he exuded felt good warming the front of her body.

Regina just shook her head and looked back at the large tree blocking the path to her car. She knew if he hadn’t grabbed her, the tree most likely would have taken her out. She could smell the scorched wood in the air, but knew there was no way a fire could be burning in that rain. The familiar smell only made her fears rise to the surface.

“I don't know where you think you’re going, but we need to get back inside. It isn't safe out here.” He took her face in both of his hands and spoke softly to her. “I know you’re scared. It's okay; you're not alone. But we can’t stay out here.”

She wrapped her arms around him for a quick hug and he held her tight and lifted them both to their feet. He could feel her wanting to turn toward the tree again, but gently guided her in the direction of the old house. He took her purse and computer bag from her.

“You sure did pick the fanciest pair of shoes to wear for the harshest weather we’ve had in years.” He looked down at her shiny red pumps that were almost glowing in the dark.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Wet and Cold

REDDICK WALKED REGINA to the conference room. They were both soaked to the bone. Reddick was a little taken aback by her reaction to the storm. He had never seen her let her guard down like that. She normally exuded a fearless attitude to the world.

“Stay here. I am going to lock up and bring you a hot drink.”

Regina just sat there staring off into space. She didn’t acknowledge him.

“Hey.” He lifted her chin. “I’ll be right back. I’m g
oing to go grab a few things.”

Reddick went back out to the parking lot and ran to his car. He prayed the reward would be worth the risk. He wanted to grab his gym bag before the storm got worse.

He hurried back inside and locked up. He rushed back to the kitchen and made two hot cups of tea. He also grabbed a roll of paper towels.

When he got back to the conference room, Regina was still frozen in the same position.

“Here, drink this.” He put the cup of tea down on the table in front of her. “I’m going to turn the heat on and pump it up pretty high. You’re freezing and the temperature is dropping fast out there.”

Reddick tossed a duffle bag and the paper towels on the table. He pulled out a towel.

Reddick swiveled her chair to face him. He could see how cold she was. He felt a little guilty for enjoying what the rain had done to her mostly white dress. The fabric was thin enough that the rain made it transparent. He could see the curves of her full breasts and where the lace V’d out across her cleavage that was usually hidden away.

Her nipples were dark enough that he could see the perfect-shaped disks tightened and erect. He wanted to be able to cause the same effect for her under better circu
mstances. He imagined the hard tips entering his mouth as the softness of her breast pressed on his lips.

He, for the second, maybe third time that day, felt his balls tingling and his underwear getting tighter as he grew. He tried to remember how much he hated the Green Bay Packers and squatted down in front of her, trying to clear his mind.

Reddick hoped she hadn’t noticed his arousal before he lowered himself to eye level with her. He reached over and grabbed the towel from the table.

“Here, it’s a little damp, but it’ll be better than nothing.” He wrapped it around her and rubbed both of her arms, trying to create enough friction to warm her up.

“You need to get out of those wet clothes. You can use the paper towels to dry yourself. I’m going to double-check and see if anyone has a sweater or something at their desk. We can hang our clothes by the heating vents to dry.”

“Okay,” Regina whispered back.

“I’ll be back in minute. I’m going to go assess the heat and get out of these wet clothes too.” He stood up and grabbed a pair of basketball shorts from his bag. “I’ll give you some privacy and knock when I come back.”

“Thanks,” she said softly.

Regina sat there staring into the cup of tea. She wanted to pick it up and drink it, but she was still in shock from what just happened outside. Her legs were shaking. She told herself it was from her dress being soaked with cold rainwater. Even though she knew better, she wasn’t going to let herself be consumed by her thoughts. The memories that haunted her all these years had just almost come to life again. She knew her sister escaped the ultimate wrath of a storm, and now she too was just nearly pinned by a fallen tree.

She worked to suppress the negative thoughts and tried to focus on the moment and what
she would need to do to get through the storm.

Reddick left the conference room and closed the door behind him. Regina knew he would have to go upstairs to turn on the heat, so she had a few minutes before he would return.

It was nice to have the towel around her, but it was damp and on the cold side from being outside in the car. She wished she had something dry and warm to put on. Maybe Reddick would find something around the office. It’s not like she could sit there in her panties. They were soaked too. She wasn't sure she could warm up enough with the towel.

Cold as the towel might have been, she was enjoying the internal warmth she felt from the way it smelled. She was encased in Reddick’s scent. Lifting the towel to her nose, she breathed in his clean, earthy scent from the towel and sighed.

She turned back to the table and took a few sips of the tea. It helped to ease her chill. She really didn't want to be alone so she knew she would need to get undressed quickly. She stood up and put the towel as close to the heating vent as she could in the hopes that it would at least be warmed a little before she needed it to cover her body.

Just as she was about to remove her dress, she remembered her conversation with Serena in the par
king lot. Regina had tossed Serena’s bag of lingerie in her office yesterday. She wondered if Serena thought to take it with her when she left for the day.

Regina made a quick dash for Serena’s office to investigate the possibility of at least a dry pair of panties. She and Serena were close to the same size so whatever she had would fit her well enough.

As soon as Regina got into the office, she spotted the big, black bag sitting on the floor in the corner behind Serena’s desk. She ran over and picked it up, dumping the contents out on the desk.

She laughed quietly at what was before her. She certainly had quite a few things to choose from. Nothing quite as simple as a pair of panties, though. She held up the bodysuit that was made out of string and lace that Serena showed her yesterday. It wasn’t going to be enough to cover her or keep her warm. There were a few things in there that covered more skin, but not the most private of areas.

There was so much to choose from, she wondered how Serena would ever even have time to wear all that stuff. Finally she found something with sleeves. She lifted it up to the light. It had a multi-colored striped pattern on it, but it was sheer nonetheless. Regina put it aside and found another skimpy black lace thing.

She knew if she layered them, she would have a tiny bit of warmth from the long sleeves, and the black piece of lace would cover her enough to not show everything. Of course she still planned to keep that towel around her, but it was better than nothing or her ice-cold, drenched clothes.

UPSTAIRS REDDICK WENT to the thermostat and set it to ninety. He was concerned about losing power, and it was going to get cold. There was no chance at that point that they would be going anywhere. The safest thing for them to do would be to ride out the storm at the office.

They would have trouble getting out of the parking lot with the downed tree. Reddick worried it was possible if the tree came down, so could the power lines. Where would they go at that point anyway? He wasn’t about to let Regina out of his sight or get behind the wheel of a car in a storm like that.

He hurried over to his desk. Reddick was glad it was late enough in the day that he had removed his jacket. It was sitting on the back of his seat. He could bring it down for Regina. One problem solved, no searching necessary.

He wasn’t thrilled about putting on his dirty gym shorts. At least he didn’t do any cardio. He only had enough time to do some weight lifting. Otherwise, his shorts may have been soaked with sweat. He gave them a quick sniff and was glad they still smelled like dryer sheets.

He removed his shirt, slacks, and his red briefs. He couldn't help himself that morning. The red underwear beckoned to him. He pulled on his dark-grey shorts and tied the drawstring at his waist.

He grabbed two chairs and put them in front of heating vents on the second floor. He laid his pants over the top of one chair and he hugged the other with his tailored shirt. He threw his red briefs on the seat and hoped they would dry quickly.

He wanted to get back down to check on Regina. He also wanted to take an inventory of what kind of supplies they might have in the office. He made a mental list of things they always tell you to have on hand. Water, check. There were large jugs of water for the water cooler, no problem there. Flashlights and batteries, maybe in the kitchen or basement. Candles were good too, but what was the chance there would be any in an office? He knew they had their salads in the fridge so they had enough to eat for the night, but he wanted to see what else was there and turn the temperature down in the refrigerator.

A light bulb went off. There was a fireplace behind Alita’s desk. He never thought much of it. They certainly never used it. Hopefully the flue was working in case they needed to start a fire. Serena kept a rack of firewood on the front porch for decoration. Maybe it was dry enough to use if they needed it. The odds were in his favor since the porch was covered.

That meant he was going to need to run back outside. He looked out the window and noticed the rain had eased up quite a bit. He considered putting his wet pants back on, but thought if he moved fast enough grabbing the wood, his shorts would dry fast. That is what they were designed to do.

Reddick started to head back downstairs. He was g
oing to ask Regina to give Serena or Alita a call to see about the flashlight situation. This time he took the steps one at a time. He always thought it was strange that the steps were carpeted, but beneath his bare feet, he enjoyed the softness. They also kept the steps from creaking as he walked down.

As he started to turn the corner from the staircase, he saw that the door to the conference room was open and the light was on in Serena’s office. The doors were closed slightly, but he could see Regina standing there through the glass panes.

Her hair was down. The rain had caused her hair to curl and it was still wet, but he was surprised at how long it actually was. He thought back for a minute, trying to remember if he’d ever seen her hair down. He decided not. She always came to work with her hair up or back. The waves now cascaded over her shoulders and obstructed his view of her dark-pink nipples.

It mattered not because she was unbuttoning the front of her blouse. She looked down and took care sliding each button through its hole. As she made her way down the front of the dress, her cleavage b
ecame more prominent.

After Regina relinquished the last button, she tossed her hair back over her shoulder to expose the front of her dress. She used opposing hands to slide the top of her dress off of each shoulder.

Reddick knew it was wrong to stand there and watch her, but he couldn't help himself. He liked what he saw, and in that moment he realized he knew what he wanted. He never took what wasn’t offered to him, but Reddick was a man who knew how to get what he desired.

Regina slipped off her dress and let it hit the floor. She stood there for a split second, and he admired the soft curves of her body. He wanted to go to her and tear the white lace from her breasts.

She lowered herself behind Serena’s desk to pick up her dress. Reddick took this opportunity to head out the front door to the porch.