Captured Innocence (CSA Case Files) (16 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Connor knocked on Lauren’s door, pretending not to notice the shadow that blocked Ms. Finch’s peep hole.  He was tempted to look over and wink, but the sound of Lauren sliding her deadbolt grabbed his attention. 
Lauren swung it open, which prompted him to want to chastise her for not checking to see who it was, but she looked so damned good that he kept his mouth closed.  What the hell had caused him to wait four days before seeing her again?

Stepping inside without a word,
Connor pulled her to him and claimed her lush lips, which were covered in gloss.  He didn’t miss the black wrap-around sweater that molded over her breasts or the cream corduroys that ran down her legs, but they weren’t where he wanted his attention. 

He kicked the door shut behind him
, spinning her so that her back was against the wood.  Lauren responded in kind, taking his face in her warm hands.  He unzipped his jacket as her fingers ran up the back of his head and sliding under his cap and making it fall to the floor.  He had every intention of taking her up against the door when a knock vibrated against them.  Connor dragged his lips away from hers, opening his eyes to see her stunning green ones staring back at him, sparkling in amusement.

“Pizza, right on time.”

“Your timing sucks,” Connor murmured, leaning in to steal one more kiss.  “But since I’m starving, I’ll let you off the hook.”

Lauren gave his chest a little push, giving her room to spin around and open the door.  Again, Connor felt irritation over the fact that she hadn’
t verified who was at the door.  Standing behind her, he made sure that it was the pizza delivery person, not caring that the man kept looking over her shoulder at him.  The delivery guy handed over the box, took the money, murmured his thanks, and scurried on down the hallway.

“Did you have to make him so nervous?” Lauren asked, stepping back and bumping into him.  She slammed the door shut and turned around. 
She looked exasperated.  “He was just doing his job.”

“You’ve not been checking to see who’s at the door lately,” Connor said, making his irritation known.  He pulled his jacket down his sleeves, hanging it up on her coat rack.  “
Last Monday, and twice today in a matter of minutes.”

“Did you ever think it’s because the guard downstairs
called to let me know?”

“Did he?” Connor asked, following her to the kitchen.

“No, but that’s beside the point,” Lauren said, setting the large box down on the counter.  “It’s my apartment, and besides, Ms. Finch is constantly monitoring the hallway.  She’s better than any security guard.”

Connor felt his frustration mount, but knew that there were limitations within their newfound liaison.  Although temporary, he was still used to having a certain amount of control over the submissives he partnered with.  As a matter of fact, it had probably been over a year since he’d been with someone
not
in the lifestyle.

“I’m asking,” Connor said, although he couldn’t prevent grinding his teeth together, “that you check to see who’s at your door before answering it.  Especially with the events that have occurred.”

Lauren was grabbing some plates and napkins when she stopped and looked up at him.  He wasn’t sure that she knew how much control it took him not to just order her to do it, but her face softened and nodded.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I usually do.”  Lauren walked over and handed him a plate
with the napkin underneath.  “Why don’t we eat and watch the news.  See how bad things are about to get.  It’s been years since we’ve had a storm of this nature.”

Connor nodded, knowing they didn’t need to rush although his cock was telling him something different.  He reached for a couple slices of pizza, hoping like hell she had an extra toothbrush handy.  He hadn’t exactly planned this, but didn’t want to take the time to head to his place for an overnight bag.  Plus, he planned to be in bed for the majority of his time here, so why bother with clothes? 

A thought slammed into him that caused him a momentary panic, but he immediately remembered seeing a box in her nightstand when he’d been looking for a piece of paper to write on.  She had a dozen unopened condoms stashed in there.  As they walked over to the couch with their food, he had a feeling she would be out of them by the time Sunday rolled around.

* * * *

They’d managed to eat half the pizza before ending up in bed.  The wind rattled the windows and the blinds had been left open, giving them a glimpse of the snow that was falling at an enormous rate.  The flakes seemed to dance underneath the streetlight, as if fighting gravity.  They were losing. 

Lauren was tucked in close to his side, her cheek against his warm chest.  She snuggled closer, closing her eyes and willing sleep to come.  She could tell that Connor wanted to talk and had no doubt what it was about.  Why did men inherently need to fix something they thought was broken?
  She tried to look upon this like her sister did in every facet of life…with humor.

“I was thinking about what you said in the beginning of the week…about your phobia,” Connor said, his chest vibrating. 

Her eyes grudgingly opened.  Okay, maybe humor was a little overboard.  Her sister always had been the optimist, while she was a realist.  She’d known he wouldn’t be able to leave it alone.  He ran his hand up her forearm, coming to stop only when he reached her wrist, which was lying next to her cheek. 

“Have you tried
—”

“I really don’t want to talk about this,” Lauren said, hoping that he’d leave well enough alone.  She felt his finger envelope her wrist. 

“A lot of people within the life —”

“
Have claustrophobia?” Lauren asked, sliding her wrist from his hold.  She turned over and sat up on the edge of the bed.  Grabbing a hair band off of the nightstand, she went about pulling her curls back.  “Have worked their way through their fear?”

Lauren didn’t give him time to answer, as she stood and reached for her robe draped over the chair.  She purposefully put it on slowly, not wanting him to get the idea that she was angry.  She wasn’t.  But that didn’t mean she would allow him to control the conversation.  He knew that wasn’t the type of relationship they’d entered.

“I’m sure they have,” Lauren said, responding to her own question.  “That doesn’t mean I can or will.  Would you like something to drink?  I’m going to go into the kitchen for some water.”

Lauren had finally turned back to the bed to see that he was sitting up.  The b
lanket had fallen to his waist, covering up the one part she wouldn’t mind seeing at this point.  It was a good thing this was casual, because it looked like the only thing they had in common was the physical chemistry.

When he didn’t answer, but only continued to stare at her with those blue eyes of his, Lauren opted not to ask again.  She’d get her water and give herself some breathing space.  If he didn’t let the conversation go, she didn’t know what she’d do.  It wasn’t like she could kick him out in the snowstorm.

Lauren turned and walked through the bedroom door.  They’d left the lights on in the living room and kitchen, so she had no trouble navigating.  A look at the clock on the stove told her it was still early…only seven o’clock at night.  She decided to box up the rest of the pizza and put it into the refrigerator.  They could have it for lunch tomorrow.

“You’re awfully defensive,” Connor said, startling her. 
“Is it so bad to want to get to know the person I’m sleeping with?”

Lauren looked up to see him walk out into the living with nothing on.  The sight of his masculine, firm body had her thoughts jumbled
, and for a moment she forgot what he was talking about.  His cock was semi-hard and a thought struck her that she hadn’t tasted him yet.  Would he taste musky or salty?  Would his flavor be rich? 

“I truly didn’t mean to upset you.” 

Connor continued to walk across the floor.  She looked up into his face, noticing a light five o’clock shadow forming.  It made him all the more attractive, but now that his eyes held a hint of sympathy, it ground her the wrong way.

“You didn’t upset me,” Lauren replied, taking the box and turning away from the sight of him.  She opened the refrigerator door and made room for the big box.  “I shouldn’t have brought it up before.  It has no bearing on our…well, whatever this is.”

Lauren grabbed a bottle of water, almost afraid to turn around, but not wanting him to know that.  She shut the door and took a deep breath.  Spinning around in her bare feet, she was surprised to see him sitting at the island.  Naked.  She had a feeling she’d never look at that area the same again.

“
Even with a casual relationship, I like to know who I’m involved with,” Connor said, his eyes saying what he wasn’t.  “I think I will take a bottle of water, please.”

Connor wanted her to tell him about her past and really, if she put it in perspective and said it the right way, there was no reason she shouldn’t tell him.  She had enough wherewithal to turn down what he would try to propose.  Lauren handed him her bottle of water.

“Let’s make a deal,” Lauren said, turning to the refrigerator to grab another water.  “You don’t try to offer a suggestion on how to make my phobia disappear and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Can’t take that deal,” Connor said, after taking a swig of the cool liquid.  “I learned the hard way not to make promises I couldn’t keep.  But, if I make any suggestions, you have every right to turn them down.”

Lauren laughed, just like he probably knew she would.  His arrogance knew no bounds.  She left the kitchen and walked into the living room, taking a seat on the couch.  It was surreal to look back and see him follow.  He was so comfortable in his nudity.

“I think I’m being generous,” Connor said, getting the smile to remain on her face.  He sat down next to her, his warm thigh against hers.  “How old were you when this
event
happened?”

“I was eight
years old and my parents had taken my sister and me on vacation.”  Lauren took a shaky breath. However, it wasn’t from fear of remembering so much as it was opening herself up to another, regardless of the nature of their relationship.  “We went horseback riding and when everyone stopped to take a break, I wandered off.  There was this windmill with a couple vanes missing and a bunch of old rotten boards covering an old well.  I decided to climb on the windmill.  I wanted to see the farm from a little higher up.”

Connor surprised her by taking her water and placing both bottles on the floor.  Leaning back against the
armrest, he pulled her down beside him.  On one hand, it was easier to recall that time when she wasn’t looking at him, but on the other, she was afraid to take his comfort for fear of what it would mean.  She didn’t resist, wanting his warmth to soak into her skin.

“I take it something went wrong?”

“I fell through the boards covering the well,” Lauren said, and then chuckled as fonder memories surfaced from when she was younger.  “I wasn’t the most coordinated child.  And just so you know, I anticipate a story in return.”

“I wouldn’t have expected it any other way,
Red,” Connor replied, snickering at her attempt to finagle a childhood memory from him.  He turned his head, placing a kiss on her forehead.  “How bad were you hurt?”

“Believe it or not, I wasn’t.  I was wearing my riding gloves and
had grabbed ahold of the cable.  Since I didn’t weigh much, the speed at which I fell wasn’t as fast as it would have been otherwise.  The cable hanging down from the windmill was old and rusted…caked with dirt.”

“Did someone see you fall?”

“Yes, and my parents ran over immediately,” Lauren said, hearing her mother calling her name as if it were yesterday.  She kept her eyes open, not wanting to get drawn back in time.  “I remember being so scared.  It was dark, the water was cold, and there really wasn’t as much room as one would think down in that hole.  I didn’t know if I would drown or not.  I just knew I had to get back up to the top.”

“
You said you had grabbed the cable…were you able to pull yourself up enough to keep your head above the water?” Connor asked, his voice soft and his touch gentle.  He was lightly caressing her arm.

“Yes,” Lauren whispered, watching his bicep move with each stroke. 
She knew that he had the same innate gene that most men had when it came to protection.  “But it didn’t matter.  I panicked and started to push against the walls of the well.  I didn’t realize there were cracks and holes in the cement.  My left hand broke through a crevice and when I tried to pull free, I was trapped.”

* * * *

Connor could hear the fear and desperation of a little girl as if he’d been sucked back in time.  He tightened his hold on her, and for a brief moment thought of telling her to stop.  This was beyond sharing details of their lives to get a general knowledge of the person they were sleeping with.  Yet, he wanted to hear what she’d gone through.  The way she held her left wrist gave away that she never truly got over being trapped in that well.

“How long were you down there?” Connor asked, fearing the answer.