Make Me Yours (20 page)

With sweaty palms and a nauseous stomach, she slit open the envelope and withdrew a single sheet of paper. The message from cut up newspaper was similar to ones she had received while still living in Omaha. YOU ARE MINE COME BACK TO ME BEFORE YOU GET HURT Those words jumped out at her, and for the first time, she actually feared her unknown admirer. She hadn’t gotten any notes from him in the two months prior to her moving to Colorado and she had thought whoever it was had lost interest in her. How he knew she moved and how he found her had her worried, and she definitely wasn’t one of those women who could run a successful business while taking down a bad guy single handedly without even breaking a fingernail. She needed, wanted advice and the closest, most qualified person was the Sheriff.

Grabbing the note, Cassie locked the bakery and walked the short distance down Main Street to the Sheriff’s office. To her relief, Sheriff Scott Tyler was in his office and the attractive dispatcher and receptionist sent her right in to see him.

“Cassie, come in. Is everything all right?” he asked as he rose to greet her and wave her towards a chair.

His friendly smile went a long way towards calming her nerves and Cassie took a seat hoping she wasn’t wasting his time by over reacting.

“I’m sorry to just drop in on you, Sheriff.”

“Scott. We don’t stand on formalities around here.”

“Okay, Scott.” Handing him the letter, she said, “I was wondering if there was a way to find out where, or who this came from.”

Scott took the letter, his eyes turning flint grey as he read it. “When did you get this?” he asked brusquely.

“Just now, in today’s mail. About six months ago, I got a couple of similar notes in the mail, but none of them were threatening. They were more like love notes and I really didn’t think anything of them, especially when they stopped over two months ago.”

“Did you go to the police, tell anyone about them?”

Cassie just shook her head feeling like an idiot for not getting some advice back when the notes first started.

“I don’t suppose you still have them?” Scott asked dryly, noting the pallor of her face and the clenched hands in her lap. She was trying to hide it, but the note shook her up, as it was meant to.

“No. When I moved, I threw them away.”

“I’ll try to get fingerprints off it, but odds are whoever it is used gloves. I’ll make sure my deputies are aware of this and between us we’ll keep an eye on the bakery and around town for anything suspicious. But, Cassie, this is a tourist area and strangers are the norm here. Have you told Marc about this?” Scott knew Marc was struggling with his feelings for Cassie and the best way to proceed with her. This incident may have just settled that dilemma for him.

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t bother him with this, especially when he made it clear that he’s none too happy that I’m here.” That Scott was aware of her and Marc’s past made her uncomfortable, but she needed to put that aside and concentrate on the present.

“You did come as a surprise, sweetheart, give him a little slack.” Rising, Scott came around his desk and took her elbow. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to the bakery and check out your locks for you. For right now, that’s all I can do other than keep an eye out. Make sure you keep your phone on you at all times. I’ll give you my office number and my cell number and you can enter them on speed dial.”

Cassie felt better already. Scott obviously took his job seriously. Walking beside him, she felt as small as she did next to Marc. Both men were a little over six foot and leanly built. Both had coal black hair, worn collar length, and both had a way of looking at a woman that made her cream her pants and her pulse accelerate. But it was still only Marc that Cassie had any desire to give in to. She was just sorry it had taken her so long to come to that realization. After Scott checked her locks and promised to return with better ones, Cassie started her baking for the weekend rush and tried to put her stalker out of her mind.

Marc parked in front of the bakery and took a moment to try to get his anger under control. When Scott had called him thirty minutes ago and told him about the threatening note Cassie had received, his first reaction was anger that she had gone to Scott and not him with her fears. Scott had wasted no time in reminding him that he had sent her away with no hint of how he felt or of her welcome at the lodge. Guilt had replaced anger, but the anger had returned on his drive into town. Damn it, she should have known he’d help her, she should have known he’d want to help her.

Waiting until he saw the last of the late afternoon customers leave the bakery, he quickly entered and turned the sign to closed before shutting the door behind him and locking it.

“Cassie, where are you?” he called out when he didn’t see her behind the counter.

“Marc?! I’m back here.”

Marc went down the short hallway that led to a small office, the large kitchen and a storeroom. Hearing cursing, he found her in the storeroom standing on a stool and attempting to lift down a large bag of flour. Striding up to her, he reached past her, grabbed the bag and hauled it down before turning to glare at her.

“Get down from there,” he ordered in a controlled voice. She had her hair pulled up in a pony tail, wore no make up and had a streak of flour across her cheek and his cock stiffened against his zipper, which just pissed him off. He hadn’t seen her all week, and there hadn’t been a moment when she wasn’t on his mind. He wanted her, which he freely acknowledged, but still hadn’t decided where he wanted to go from here.

Cassie took one look at his angry face and stepped off the stool. She had had an awful scare today, had gotten behind in her orders and now she was going to have to work late to get caught up. She absolutely did not want to get into anything with him right now, no matter how delighted she was at seeing him again.

“I’m down. What are you so pissed about?” Moving around him, she attempted to lift the bag of flour, but he stepped in her way.

“Pack some things. You’re coming back to the lodge with me.”

“What are you talking about? I have work to do, I haven’t heard from you all week and you think you can just storm in here and snap your fingers and I’ll come crawling? Think again.” Cassie wanted more than anything to go to the lodge with him, but she had a feeling his offer wasn’t coming from any strong desire to pick up where they left off. “Scott called you, didn’t he?” she sighed, disappointed that he wasn’t here for her but more out of some misplaced notion she needed his protection.

“Yes, but you should’ve called me, Cassie. You had to know I’d be willing to help you until this asshole is caught.”

“Scott replaced my locks with some really sturdy deadbolts and he and his deputies are going to keep an eye on the bakery. I have his numbers programmed into my phone. I’ll be careful. There’s nothing else that can be done.”

“I don’t want you staying alone here, especially at night. Come stay at the lodge. Between Jack and I, you’ll be safer there than upstairs.”

Cassie quickly changed her mind about accompanying him. Maybe this was the only chance she was going to get to be close to him, to show him how much she wanted another chance with him. Gearing up her nerve, she asked blatantly, “And where will I sleep, Marc?”

Marc hadn’t thought that far ahead. His only thought had been to get her out there where he knew she was safe. Until he decided for sure about whether or not he was willing to pick up their relationship, he decided it would be best to still keep her at arms length.

“We have a guest room with its own bath. You’ll be comfortable there.”

Disappointment swamped her, but she held to her resolve. “No, thanks, then. I’ll stay here.” She turned to leave, but he clasped her arm and swung her back around to face his thunderous expression.

“Why not? What do you want, damn it.”

“You. I want to sleep in your bed, with you. I want what I came here for. For seven years I’ve regretted running away from you and cutting off all communication with you so I could marry a man I didn’t love. I want a chance to not only make it up to you, but I want to see if there’s a chance we can make it work this time.”

There was no way he could leave her here alone. He’d never be able to sleep at night worrying about her. Her ultimatum did nothing to calm him down and only added to his irritation over this whole situation. The Cassie he remembered never would have had the nerve to challenge him the way she had done tonight, which made him wonder how far she was willing to go to get back into his good graces.

“Are you sure you want to submit to me again, Cassie? Do you know what that even means?” he asked her and was surprised when her nipples puckered under her tee shirt, their pointed nubs made more obvious because she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“I remember those nights at the club very well, Sir,” she answered, both excited and wary by the look of lust in his eyes.

“But, we’re not in that club and you’re not a young, naïve college girl anymore. Are you really ready and willing to give me what I want, darlin’?”

His soft voice sent shivers down her spine, but not from fear. Marc wouldn’t hurt her, she was convinced of that. “What do you want?” she asked, wishing he’d take her against the wall again, she wanted him so badly.

Marc grabbed the stool she had been standing on and sat down. “Pull down your shorts and bend over,” he instructed, almost hoping she would refuse. To his surprise, she didn’t hesitate in unbuttoning her shorts, pushing them down and lowering herself over his lap. He had dreamed of having her ass under his hand again, but his memories and dreams didn’t compare to the reality.

“God, Cassie, you’ve got a gorgeous ass.”

Cassie kept her head lowered and bit her lip when his hand caressed her buttocks softly. She had never felt so exposed, as vulnerable as she did now, not even when she was in a club completely naked. She couldn’t keep from clenching her cheeks when he kneaded them, nor moaning as his hand excited her so much she could feel her juices seeping from swollen lips.

“Master, please,” she whispered, ashamed of her need, but craving something more so bad she couldn’t help but beg.

“You beg beautifully, darlin’. Is this what you need?” Marc slapped her right cheek hard, raising a bright red spot that made his cock harden even more.

“Yes,” she cried, lifting for the next swat and almost weeping with the pleasure she felt at feeling his hand on her again. His swats sped up, got harder, until he had covered her ass completely. Pausing only long enough to shove her shorts further down, he then aimed for her thighs, raising a burning heat along the tops before returning to her buttocks.

“I don’t like ultimatums, Cassie,” he said, his hand smacking her again, the heat of her flesh reminding him of the warmth of her pussy when it was clamped around him. “But I like less the worry I’ll have to live with each night if you’re here alone.” He spanked her twice right in the middle of her ass before dipping between her legs and running his fingers over drenched, swollen folds.

“Sir,” she whined, arching into his hand, her legs spreading further even though they were hampered by her shorts.

“I don’t think so.” Though he was tempted to give her an orgasm, pleasing her would not suit his purposes right now. Lifting her up, he stood and undid his jeans. With a sigh of relief, he released his aching cock and wrapped his hand around it.

Cassie had never seen anything as erotic as Marc slowly stroking his hard cock, the purple, plum head seeping slightly, indicating his pleasure. Her buttocks felt hot and swollen, as did her pussy, and she really wanted a climax, but not nearly as much as she wanted to feel his cock. In her pussy, her hand or her mouth, she didn’t care.

Those bright blue eyes filled with awe and unfulfilled desire were nearly his undoing, but Marc managed by sheer will power to hold back. “On your knees, Cassie.” When she slowly lowered in front of him, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he was pushing her, but she had to learn she couldn’t push him around without consequences. “Put your hands behind your back and use only your mouth on me.”

Cassie did as instructed and opened her mouth eagerly. She closed her eyes, savoring his taste as she sucked him eagerly. With her lips clasped tightly around his hard width, she stroked him with her tongue, feeling every ridge and tasting his pre-come. When his hands clasped her head, she groaned and took him deep, hollowing her cheeks and sucking hard. His own groan told her she was pleasing him, which added to her pleasure. Even though it was an awkward endeavor with her hands behind her, his hands guiding her head helped steady her, enabling her to concentrate solely on pleasing him.

With her shorts still down around her knees, her ass bare and red and her mouth filled with his cock, Marc thought she was a beautiful sight. Unable to hold back any longer, he thrust into her once, twice, three more times before exploding, his release shooting down her throat as a storm of sensations erupted from his balls and left him panting.

Cassie released him with a plop and slowly licked her lips while she looked up at him with a pleased smile. “Did I pass your test, Master?”

“With an A plus, darlin’, as you well know. Let’s pack a few of your things and finish this in my bed.”

Cassie’s face fell as he helped her up and pulled up her shorts. “I can’t leave yet. I still have some baking to do tonight. It’ll take me about two more hours. I can meet you there when I’m done.”

“No, I’ll wait for you.” Marc wasn’t sure how much of his need not to let her out of his sight came from his need to be sure her stalker wasn’t anywhere around or his need just to keep her close for his own selfish purposes. Either way, he was staying until she was ready.

Cassie had never enjoyed her job more than she did over the next two hours. She thought putting Marc to work would speed things up, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. His sweet tooth took precedence over everything else and she spent more time trying to keep his hand from reaching his mouth and laughing than she did baking. Finally, the last of the cream puffs were going into the refrigerator and the donuts into the display case for the early morning customers. Her two custom ordered cakes were done and all that was left was the clean up, something that took longer since in her struggles to keep Marc from eating all her hard work, they had both made a mess of her kitchen.