Thrill of the Chase (Dangerous Love) (3 page)

“Pot calling the kettle black, my friend. You can count on one hand the number of times I have been black-out drunk. Don’t even get me started on your own track record.”

“Yes, there aren’t enough minutes in the day…” Josh looked away, smiling to himself. His cell phone chirped in his pocket. Josh retrieved his phone and read the incoming message.

“Another one of your ‘friends’ in need of your attention tonight?” Erin asked. Though Josh was a perfect gentleman, he had more women and more opportunities than anyone she knew.

“She’ll never hold a candle to you, sweetheart,” he said, flashing her a smile that could truly melt a woman.

Erin rolled her eyes. “Just text me when you get in tonight.” Erin gave him a squeeze and he reciprocated with a kiss to the forehead.

Josh looked at her. “Hey, I don’t mind waiting around. Let me walk you home.”

“And leave your ‘friend’ waiting? Absolutely not,” she said. She was tired of the escorts, the universal belief that Erin Whitley was incapable of making it from point A to point B all by herself.

“My ‘friend’ can wait,” Josh said. His tone had changed from playful to serious. Erin knew the reason for the sudden shift, and she softened instantly. She wasn’t the only one that was haunted by the past.

“I have no doubt, but I’ll be fine,” she said. Erin kissed him on the cheek and gave him a gentle push toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He turned around and gave her a disbelieving glance. Erin folded her arms across her chest and gave him a look that told him not to doubt her. Josh sighed but complied.

Erin watched Josh leave the auditorium and then turned to see Dr. Farrell collect the last of the exams. He shuffled them into a neat pile and placed them in his leather briefcase. Only when the room was completely clear of students did he speak.

“So are you ready to close this chapter of your life and start a new one in New York?”

“Are you trying to tell me that Penn hasn’t prepared me for med school?” she teased, trying to keep the conversation light.

“Quite the contrary, young lady,” he answered in an equally sarcastic tone. He cleared his throat and diverted his eyes from hers. He mumbled, “You’re the most prepared premed I’ve ever met. I just wish Penn’s medical program had been able to woo you into staying here.” They must have had this conversation over a hundred times.

Erin couldn’t help but laugh at her professor. She knew the program at Penn would give her as good an education as NYU School of Medicine but if she was determined to start her future she needed to do it in a place that wasn’t haunted by memories of her past. Her smile faded. “You know why I’m going.”

Dr. Farrell looked her in the eyes and sighed. “I’m just being selfish; I’m going to miss you, you know?”

Erin was going to miss him too. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug that said it all. Thank you, I’ll miss you, I love you. She sighed. “Paul is going to be there so we will have each other and take on that big, bad city together, just like we promised each other after our parents died. I’m going to be fine. You know how protective Paul is.”

“Yes, and rightfully so.”

Which reminded her that she had forgotten to text her brother when the exam ended.

Erin took one final look around the classroom. She could feel the tears begin to form, signaling that it was time for her to leave. She reached for her book bag and slung it over her shoulder. She turned to say one last goodbye to Dr. Farrell, expecting to see melancholy and, she hoped, pride, but instead his eyes wandered past her, staring suspiciously out the door.

“Everything okay?” she asked. Erin instantly followed his gaze, but there was no one there.

Dr. Farrell shook his head and replaced his glasses in the proper position on his nose. “It’s nothing, Erin. An old man’s tired eyes playing tricks on him.”

“Okay, old man. I’m heading home, but only if you promise that I can stop over this weekend, maybe have some tea before I leave?”

“Promise, but only if you bring those cookies I like.” Dr. Farrell was a sophisticated and well-bred gentleman with more letters after his name than anyone Erin knew, yet he was highly addicted to Thin Mints.

“You got it.”

“Very well.” He snapped the gold-plated buckles on his briefcase shut and started for the back door. “Erin, would you like a lift home tonight? It’s dark and I’m not comfortable with you walking home alone.”

She turned and gave him a stern look, though he knew it was all a farce. “You sound like Paul.” His expression was of fatherly concern, and Erin was touched that he cared about her. “No thank you, professor. I’m a big girl and I’ll be careful.”

Dr. Farrell waited a moment and again said, “Very well.” His favorite saying, she had concluded over the years. He smiled once more and then left the auditorium.

Erin shot her brother a quick text, assuring him that she was on her way home. Paul responded immediately in caps that she was to stay where she was and that he would come and walk her home from class. Frustrated by his hovering, the years of not believing she could take care of herself, Erin texted back:
“I THINK THIS POOR, HELPLESS LITTLE GIRL CAN WALK HOME ALL BY HERSELF!”

He didn’t respond. Erin instantly felt badly. Paul was just being himself, his overbearing but big-hearted self.

The building was quiet, lifeless in the barely lit hallway. Erin found herself oddly relieved as she exited the building and felt a warm May breeze wash over her face. It was a beautiful night. She smiled as she thought about the next chapter of her life. Her dream of becoming a doctor was that much closer. She crossed the cobblestone street and stepped onto the sidewalk.

The first thing Erin felt was his hand covering her mouth from behind. He pulled her into his body and it was then she felt a cold steel blade pierce her flesh. He muffled her screams and twisted his knife further into her side. She gasped for air, but nothing except his scent, a mixture of soap and mint, entered her nostrils. She kicked and thrashed her arms, but that knife turned once more and she suddenly felt warm liquid trickle down past her hip. She froze.

He hustled her into what appeared to be one of the oldest cemeteries in the nation and lifted her onto a three-foot stone wall encircling the eighteenth-century tombstones. She looked up and stared at her living nightmare.

He wore a black ski mask, though his mouth remained completely uncovered. He loomed over her and she estimated him to be close to a buck eighty and over six feet. His hand still covered her mouth, the knife still warning Erin not to scream. She felt his muscular legs spread her dangling ones apart and instantly found his mouth on her neck. She jerked away, but that fucking blade paralyzed her and she winced in pain. She whimpered into his laundry-fresh gloved hand. Though her body seemed to be frozen in time, her mind was racing. Please, please don’t do this. Please! He didn’t kiss her, but caressed the space below her right earlobe to the spaghetti strap of her sundress with his warm lips. His breath felt hot against her skin, and as he navigated upward, Erin knew that she was not dealing with just a horny asshole who enjoyed taking advantage of women. He was controlled. And he didn’t seem to worry that he could be caught at any moment.

“I’m going to take my hand away, but do not scream, Angel. Though I cherish your body, I will not hesitate to silence it if the need arises,” he whispered. He removed his hand from her mouth and she sat there on that wall, her lips quivering, the tears already falling. “Shh, don’t cry, Erin.”

Erin’s eyes widened at the sound of her name. The bastard knew her. This wasn’t a random attack. She stared back into brown, feverous eyes. The control she saw there only moments ago was starting to wane. She felt the cool blade slide out of her. But this movement did not quell her fear. He was morphing into the animal that she knew he was. With his hands at his sides, he watched her, as if waiting for her to make the next move. She leapt off the wall and started running. With tears streaming down her face, she screamed for help, for anyone to save her from this living hell. Disoriented and clutching her side, she ran deeper into the cemetery and tripped over a partially submerged tombstone. He was upon her in moments. He grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her across the grass. He flipped her to her back and pinned both her hands over her head.

“I love that spirit, that strength. You’re perfect, Erin. But I will kill you if you leave me again.” He secured both her hands with one of his and again the knife found its resting place at her side. He didn’t pierce her skin this time, but he didn’t have to. Begrudgingly, she heeded his warning. He had the eyes of a killer, a doll’s eyes, lifeless and cold. He reached under Erin’s dress and tore her panties down, ripping them in the process. Erin wanted to escape her body, just jump out of it for a few minutes. Her begging only aroused him more, making his erection through his black jeans even more pronounced.

“I’ve waited for you, Angel. I had to make sure you were pure, that you waited for me as well.” He unzipped his pants and exposed his pulsating cock. “You are such a good girl.” He reached into his back pocket and withdrew a condom. “Put it on me, Angel.” His voice was gentle and almost loving. She wanted to be sick. Erin tore open the foil packet and slid the slimy ring around the wide girth of his penis. He closed his eyes as she sheathed him. This was it. She wasn’t going to get another chance. She felt it in her soul. With one hand still on his cock, she squeezed and yanked at his balls, hopefully hard enough to rip them from his sack.

“Fuck!” he screamed. The knife dug into her, much deeper than before, and she released him. The pain radiated through her and she screamed. His hand swallowed her cries as he attempted to catch his breath. She knew she’d hurt him, but was it enough to make him incapable of finishing this?

“I know you are clean, my love, as am I, but I suspect you are not on birth control.” His breathing steadied, and she felt her fight leave her, like the blood that was seeping from her side. “I need to get inside you.”

Erin felt the bile rise in her throat.

He wasted no time and plunged into her. His hand at her hip tightened, but the knife-toting hand slacked somewhat. That fire, that fight she believed had been extinguished, awakened, and she took that opportunity and screamed bloody fucking murder. He either didn’t realize that he had dropped the knife or didn’t care because he was having too much fun violating her in every way possible. Erin thought it was the latter.

Two hands grabbed her attacker from behind and threw him to the ground. Erin heard punches thrown and the unmistakable thud of rock hitting bone. It was all a blur and she took those few seconds to cover up what would be forever tainted. It was at that moment that Erin saw blood flowing down her leg and staining her yellow sundress. Erin hugged her legs to her chest, laid her forehead on her knees and sat there in silence. She felt numb and more than willing to escape from reality.

“Miss, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

His voice was gentle and way too familiar.

Erin looked up feeling several emotions at once. Pain bled into anger…but it was the embarrassment that overtook her. Paul rushed to her side, his voice cracking as he said her name. His eyes found the blood and she cried into his embrace. “I’ll be okay, Paul.”

Paul stood and moved with purpose. He stood over her attacker, who was now quivering and moaning in pain, and smiled with a hatred that would bring anyone to his knees. Paul kicked the bastard in the stomach to rouse him. It was as if he wanted the asshole to be aware, cognizant of his surroundings and the beat down that would ensue. Erin watched her brother smash the man’s head repeatedly against the same tombstone she had tripped over and then follow it up with blows to every inch of his now bloodied body. Paul was screaming and cursing, and Erin just looked on, wishing that she had the strength to join him in the massacre.

Paul threw her attacker to the ground. “Who are you? Show your fucking face!” Paul screamed.

“No!” Erin yelled. The sound of her voice, her raspy and tired plea, seemed foreign to her. “I want to be the one to remove his mask.” Clenching her side, she stood up and instantly regretted her decision. The cemetery and all those goddamn stones started to spin, and she fought for balance. Paul ran over and caught her. His eyes grew wide as he found the wound. Despite the beautiful spring temperature, she felt cold and clammy…and eager to close her eyes.

“Stay with me, honey,” Paul begged as he gathered her into his arms. “There’s a hospital right around the corner.”

Her eyes grew heavy and she disobeyed her brother. And as she let herself slip away, she heard Paul’s footsteps quicken, carrying her farther and farther away from what could have been her final resting place.

E
rin’s usual Saturday morning routine consisted of a seven o’clock start, a workout at the gym and a skinny Frappuccino at Starbucks as her reward. Today, she decided to bypass it all and sleep in. She also felt the need to stew over what had transpired last night in her former boss’s office. The full implications of her actions hadn’t hit her until now. Erin closed her eyes, rolled onto her side and played the scene over and over in her mind.

Although her encounter with Chase had been brief, she had experienced more human emotion in those five minutes than in the past eleven months combined. Yes, she unloaded frequently on her therapist, but that was a controlled setting and therefore didn’t count. Last night, she had not had a safety net. And she had survived. Maybe her fingers had shaken a bit, and she’d panicked when she realized that Lydia had left and she was completely alone with Chase, out of earshot for even the most piercing of screams, but she had stood her ground. And it wasn’t just fear that she was presented with in Chase’s office, but also good, old-fashioned desire. The lust in his eyes, the way he had looked at her as a woman, not a victim, not damaged goods, made her feel alive and wanted. It didn’t take long for Erin to notice the first effects of her thoughts. Her hand wandered to her thighs. She hadn’t even touched herself yet and she was already wet with need, her panties soaked through due to her thoughts of
him
.

Erin imagined his full lips on hers, his hands cupping her breasts and plumping them until they formed easy-to-suck-on points. Her fingers found her clit, and it took only a moment to establish a rhythm that had her gasping and moaning his name. With her other hand, she inserted two fingers. She knew that it wouldn’t take much to get there. It had been close to a year since she had taken the time to enjoy herself. God, she’d missed this! Just letting go and feeling her blood pumping through her veins. She felt every stroke, the palm of her hand delivering that perfect amount of friction to a part of her body that had been numb for too long. In her mind’s eye, she could see Chase Montclair raise the skirt she wore last night and prepare her with his tongue. Her body shuddered and arched as her orgasm took hold, subsiding only after the third wave released her from its grip. Fully satisfied, Erin pulled the covers to her chin and fell back asleep.

She awoke an hour later to knocking on her bedroom door. “Er, you up?” Paul asked from the hall.

Erin looked over and checked the clock. Knowing Paul, he had probably been up for hours and had already been to the gym. Erin instantly felt like a slug for staying in bed and pleasuring herself. But then she remembered just how good it was and who the inspiration to send her way over the edge had been, and her guilt faded completely.

“Yeah, come in,” she said. With water bottle in hand and dressed in full workout getup, he entered her room and sat on her bed.

“You feeling okay?” He put his hand to her forehead. Satisfied that she didn’t have a fever, he continued, “Don’t even try to get out of tonight.”

Erin groaned and buried her head under her pillow. She had no desire to go clubbing with Josh and her brother. But before she could bask in further self-loathing, Paul grabbed her by the arm, ripped her out of bed and pushed her toward the bathroom. “Get showered, Sleeping Beauty, and make it fast. You’re booked solid for the rest of the day.”

“What?” She rubbed her eyes, shedding the remaining effects of sleep.

“You’ll see.”

Erin gave her brother the evil eye and disappeared into the bathroom. Wincing at her reflection in the mirror, Erin decided that she would be in need of more than a simple shower to look at all presentable tonight—she needed full pregame prep. After showering and shaving every part of her body, she returned to her room where she changed into black yoga pants and a fitted gray t-shirt. Paul called for her from the kitchen and when she finally emerged, a plate of eggs, bacon and home fries was laid before her.

“What’s the occasion? Why are you making me breakfast?” Skeptical of his motives but ravenous nonetheless, Erin dug into her home fries.

“Why must I have a motive to make my sister breakfast?” His brows were raised and his eyes were wide, feigning innocence. She glared at him, but all that did was make him chuckle. He turned toward the stove and flipped his own over-easy egg from the pan to the plate in his hand.

“Oh please. You’re just guilting me into not cancelling our plans tonight with Josh. Bailing out on you after you’ve made me breakfast would make me look like a real ass.”

“Correct. And not just breakfast, my dear. A day of pampering and shopping awaits you. Cancelling on me after all that would indeed make you look and feel like a real asshole. Mission accomplished.”

Paul poured her a cup of coffee and slid it across the counter in her direction. She shook her head at him and his smile grew. He could be arrogant, demanding and straight-up obnoxious at times. But she loved him dearly. And she had no desire to disappoint him and ruin all the plans he had made for her today. He was being incredibly sweet. But he was also putting himself out there, leaving himself vulnerable and attempting to let her go, even if it was just for one night. She didn’t need Dr. Cahil to tell her that tonight was not just a big night for her, but for Paul as well. Erin sighed and sipped her coffee. Did he have any idea how much he meant to her? She had told him many times that she loved him, but did he have the slightest clue how much she cherished their relationship? Erin took another sip, set her mug on the counter and smiled. “You look quite pleased with yourself.”

Paul sat down on a bar stool and pulled his plate of steaming eggs and potatoes closer to him. He was beaming and looking proud and content. She hadn’t seen him like that in ages. He didn’t respond. Instead he took a bite of his eggs and smiled, all the while chewing. She had missed this, how relaxed they could be together, when he wasn’t checking locks and sweeping each room. She would agree to pampering and shopping every weekend if it brought him the peace he truly deserved. Tonight, they would have fun and laugh and attempt to resurrect two people that needed to start living.