Page 98 of Lead Me On
“Yes,” she breathed, repeating it over and over like a prayer. He felt her tighten around him, but she shook her head, holding back, one hand digging into the back of the couch. “No,” she moaned, but it was too late. Her hips jerked and she screamed.
He managed to hold on long enough to watch her as she came, but the sight sent him quickly over the edge, plunging into his own world of painful pleasure.
Jane collapsed onto him, and he gladly wrapped his arms around her sweat-dampened body. “Jane,” he whispered. “I love you.”
She didn’t object this time, though her breath hitched a little.
“I love you,” he repeated, “but that’s the last time I’ll let you use me.”
The muscles of her back stiffened. “What?”
“If you want me, Jane, you have to take all of me, even the parts that complicate your life. Even the parts that make you self-conscious.”
Chase’s legs worked a bit unreliably, but he had no choice but to get up and make good on his words. This time when he came out of the bathroom, Jane wasn’t pacing and glaring. She sat on the couch, head in her hands.
He watched her for a long moment, but when she didn’t look up, he grabbed his shirt and shoved his feet into his boots. “We’ll talk later, all right?”
Jane didn’t respond, so Chase kissed the crown of her head and walked out without saying goodbye.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
HER EYES FELT GRITTYand swollen before she even opened them. Not a good sign. And she felt as if she’d been asleep for only an hour.
Jane cracked one eyelid open and looked at the clock.
No wonder she was exhausted. It was only 1:00 a.m.
She was letting her head sink back to the pillow when she caught a glow of blue light at the edge of her vision. The numbers on her clock were red and she didn’t leave any lights on at night, so what could it be? Jane frowned into her pillow for a sleepy moment, then shifted to her side to look.
For a moment it was just the blue light. Then she saw the shape of her cell phone and the lower half of a man’s face illuminated by the glow.
Someone was in her room! She gulped down a gasp as she watched a hand rise into the light to push a button. She couldn’t see anything else, not even the arm that must be holding the phone.
It was a man, but who? Her heart forced blood to race too fast to her brain, mixing her thoughts into a jumble. Should she jump up and run or stay quiet? Her lungs screamed for air, but she tried to keep her breathing slow.
Was it the killer? Was he disabling her phone so he could take his time without worrying about the police?
She couldn’t just lie there. There was another bedroom on the other side of her wall, but she couldn’t remember now if the owner had rented it out for the year or just for ski season. Regardless, Jane had to take a chance. The man stood between her and the door. Running was not the best option.
Opening her mouth, she drew in a deep breath and watched the man’s face shift toward her.
“Help!” she screamed as loudly as she could. “Help!”
“Oh, shit,” the man barked, lunging toward her. The voice was familiar, but Jane screamed again.
A hand slapped over her mouth, cutting off her cry.
“Shut up,” the man growled. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Greg? Jane snapped at his hand, trying to bite him, but she didn’t catch any skin between her teeth.
“Calm down.”
She shook her head and grabbed for his arms, but Greg let his weight fall on top of her, trapping her hands.
“Anh!” she screamed against his hold.
“Shut up. Don’t scream and I won’t hurt you. Are you going to scream?”
