Dead Man Living (4 page)

She felt Joe’s spine stiffen under her hands and looked up at him. Moving his hand to her cheek, he looked deeply into her eyes. “Have you been hurt before?”

“By one of my resident’s ex’s? No. But I’ve been one of them before.”

Joe’s hand slid to the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. The first brush of his mouth was electric. His probing tongue parted her lips and thrust inside.

Beth eagerly opened further, allowing Joe to take the kiss deeper. He moulded his powerful body against her, and Beth felt the proof of his desire. Afraid of getting lost in him,  she broke the kiss. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” she asked.

Joe grinned and gave her another quick kiss. “I don’t plan on going anywhere without you until Billy’s behind bars.”

“Billy,” she sighed, resting her head on his chest again. For a brief moment, she’d forgotten about Lavette’s murder, Billy and the shelter. For the first time in a very long time, she’d been just a woman, wanting a man.

As she stepped back, she gestured towards the kitchen. “Would you like to talk while I cut up a leftover roast? I’d planned on making vegetable stew?”

Joe nodded. Beth knew he wanted to ask her about her earlier statement. She decided to make it easy on him. “You like stew?”

“Fine, sounds good.” Joe took a seat on one end of the kitchen counter while she worked beside him.

She started talking as she took the roast out of the refrigerator and set it on the cutting board. “I was married right out of college,” she began. “Everything was idealic for the first year, then the arguments began. Of course, it wasn’t long before the arguments turned physical, but by then he’d managed to allienate me from my friends and family.”

Beth finished shredding the roast and began to cut the potatoes and carrots into bite-sized pieces. “He was smart. He took the time to learn everything there was to know about me—my dreams, my fears and my past, and he used them all against me.”

She felt the memories begin to take over. As a psychologist, she knew what it was—post-traumatic stress disorder. She took several deep breaths, trying to focus on making dinner. If she let herself get lost…

“Hey,” Joe said hopping off the counter. He put his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes I do. I just need you to help me stay in the moment.” She leant back against him.

“I think I can do that.”

“It started slow and just progressed from there.”

Joe slipped her jacket off her shoulders as she spoke. His touches were gentle but enough to keep her grounded.

With everything cut up, Beth broke away from Joe’s reassuring touch long enough to remove a measuring cup full of stock from the refrigerator. She dumped the stock into a deep skillet and turned on the burner.

“Have you had enough for one day?” Joe asked, carrying the cut vegetables and meat to the stove.

Beth glanced over her shoulder. “It takes a lot these days for me to give up on anything.” She selected her favourite whisk out of the drawer and began to slowly stir the melting stock along with a cup of water.

“After my first trip to the emergency room, I swore I’d had enough, but he begged me to stay, said no one would ever love me like he did. I know you won’t understand, but I believed him. Little things began to set him off, but he made sure to tell me every day that he was the only one who truly loved me. By the time the really bad beatings began, I was already under his spell.”

Joe moved to lean against the counter, his arms crossed against his chest. “Did you go to the police?”

She bit her bottom lip and looked over at Joe. “This is the part where most people get lost. I’ve heard comments like, how could anyone let a man do that to them, or why didn’t she just leave.” Beth chuckled and shook her head. “What people don’t understand is that when it gets to that point, you’re already brainwashed. You honestly think this person loves you like no other. You’ve been alienated from everyone but your abuser.”

“How did you gather the strength to leave?” Joe asked.

“I didn’t. Fate stepped in on my behalf and Kenny was killed in an automobile accident on his way home from work. I was devastated at the time. My family flew out to help me with the arrangements and discovered the new and old bruises colouring my skin. They knew enough to get me help. I went through intense counselling for about three years. I still go once a week.”

Beth reached for the roast and vegetables then added them to the stock.

Beth looked at Joe, trying to see if he felt disgust or pity for the person she once was. “Pretty pathetic, huh? Anyway, that’s why I do what I do. I understand what these women have gone through, and I’m in awe of their strength.”

Joe reached out and brushed Beth’s cheek. “Do you know what I see when I look at you?”

She looked down and shook her head. “I’m afraid to ask.”

“No, I meant literally. Part of my curse is that I see auras, but the ones I see aren’t filled with colours of the rainbow. They’re shades of grey and black, I relate them to good and evil. Yours is as close to white as I’ve ever seen.”

Joe put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. “You’ve taught me something about my ability that I never knew. I’m as guilty as everyone else. If I saw a person with a dark aura I immediately came to the conclusion they were bad people.”

He shook his head. “Earlier in the week at Lavette’s house, and then again while you were telling me your story, your aura darkened. I think emotions must play a large part in a person’s colour. You felt guilty at Lavette’s, and I think shame while you were reliving your past.”

Joe suddenly released her chin and spun around. He rubbed his hands over his face and began to pace. “I’ve been so wrong,” he said. “I think what I’m seeing isn’t good and evil. I think its emotions. The more a person feels, the darker the aura.”

Something flickered in his eyes. “When I first met you, your colour was so pale. You had cut off your emotions, hadn’t you?”

“It sounds cold, but I really tried. Too many women go back to their abuser or end up like Lavette. I try to distance myself while still helping them.”

“And it worked until you stepped foot in her house. Maybe some of the people I’ve judged as bad, were simply madly in love, or extremely sad.” Joe closed his eyes. “I can’t believe I missed it.”

While the stew simmered, Beth led Joe into the living room. Other than her therapist, she had never felt comfortable enough with someone to tell them what she just had. The fact that he’d shared in return was completely foreign to her. If only more men were as honest.

Joe sat on the couch. “Did I freak you out?”

Beth shook her head and sat beside him. She took a chance and kissed his jaw.

Joe turned his head and captured her lips with his. The moment was everything she’d hoped it would be. Each sweep of Joe’s tongue against hers drove her need higher. Before she could crawl onto his lap, he pulled back, breaking the kiss. “I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.”

“Please don’t apologise for that.” Beth felt her face heat in embarrassment. “And, I don’t blame you for isolating yourself the way you have, but your
gift
has been shut away long enough.”

“My visions aren’t a gift, and what good is my ability to see emotions? There has to be a reason why I came back this way.”

Beth shook her head. “I don’t know why you can read emotions, but your visions were definitely given to you for a reason.”

“Like what?”

“To save lives,” she whispered.

Chapter Five

Joe was in heaven. It felt so freeing to have his feelings returned. He pulled Beth’s shirt out of the waistband of her skirt and skimmed his hands underneath the silky material to her breasts.

So perfect.
What had he done to deserve a moment like this? Beth moaned, and Joe felt his hands begin to shake at the intensity of his arousal. “I want to make love to you,” he whispered in her ear.

“Yes, please,” she answered.

Holding Beth tighter against his chest, he rose from the couch and carried her into the bedroom. The room was small but the bed looked even smaller. “A full?” he questioned. He didn’t know many people who still had full sized beds.

Beth giggled and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s usually just me.”

“Good answer.” He grinned. Joe stood her on her feet and pulled her blouse over her head before tossing it on a nearby chair.

As Beth rid him of his T-shirt, he went to work on her button and zipper at the back of her skirt. As the zipper went down, so did the skirt. Joe exhaled as he felt the silky skin of her thighs.

Falling to his knees, he took in the pale pink panties and thigh high stockings. Looking up his eyebrows rose. “Do you always dress like this for the office?”

“Only when I want to feel sexy,” she answered and spread her legs for his exploring touch.

Her panties were almost transparent with the moisture of her desire as he leant forward and placed a kiss on her stomach. “You are so incredibly sexy,” he groaned. He swirled his tongue around her belly button before laving a path up her abdomen to her breasts. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to her bra.

“By all means,” she answered.

Releasing the clasp, Beth’s full breasts were bared for his viewing pleasure. Biting the soft skin playfully, he ran his tongue around her pebbled areola before latching on to the begging nipple.

He felt Beth’s hands on his shoulders as she struggled to remain standing. “Please,” she pleaded.

Joe picked her up and carried her to the bed. After setting her on the edge of the mattress, he quickly divested himself of the rest of his clothes. Kneeling in front of her, he licked her still-covered folds, tasting her juices through the now transparent silk.

Beth reached down and tried to push the lingerie off. “More.”

Grinning, Joe took over and soon the undergarments were thrown over his shoulder. He pushed Beth to the centre of the mattress and moved to the foot of the bed, between her spread thighs. He lowered his mouth to her pussy and ran his tongue through her creamy folds. Beth’s taste exploded in his mouth, sending his body into overdrive.

“I can’t wait. I’m sorry, but I have to have you,” he growled, crawling up the bed to share her flavours in a kiss. Beth moaned as the kiss continued.

Breaking away, Joe reached over the side and retrieved his jeans. He dug in his wallet and pulled out a single foil wrapper. “I was a Boy Scout,” he said with a wink while sheathing his aching erection.

“Take me,” she whispered and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Gladly,” he answered and gathered her in his arms. Penetrating her tight pussy almost tipped him over the edge. “So good,” he moaned as he buried his cock inside her. It had been too long since he’d made love to a woman.

After a few calming breaths, he pulled out before plunging back in again. “Yes,” Beth cried.

He couldn’t have agreed more. The faster the rhythm the deeper he sank into her hot depths. The sounds of their flesh slapping against each other repeatedly filled the small room with the perfect musical background to their moans.

Knowing he was on the edge, Joe reached between them and massaged her clit, taking it between thumb and forefinger.

“Joe!” she shouted as her body tensed with the force of her orgasm.

He didn’t think he’d ever forget Beth’s beauty in that moment. His orgasm rocketed through his body, her pussy milking him, wanting more. He tried to fuck through his climax, but the force was too much and he finally stilled after burying his cock as deep as it would go.

Beth pulled him down into her embrace. “That was… Wow,” she panted.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

* * * *

When he woke, Joe felt Beth’s side of the bed. It was still warm. Glancing over at the bedside clock he grinned. It was almost eight o’clock at night.

The smell of stew and cornbread filled the small apartment, and his stomach grumbled. He reached for his jeans and pulled them on. “Beth?” he called walking into the living room.

When he didn’t hear an answer, he checked the entire apartment. “Beth!” He flew to the front door and swung it open. “Beth!”

Joe finally spotted her digging in her back seat. He jogged over and wrapped his arms around her. “What’re you doing out here alone?”

“I forgot I had some work in the car that I could do. I didn’t know how long you’d sleep,” she answered with a grin.

“Come on, let’s get back inside.” As Beth was gathering the loose files from the box in her back seat, Joe heard a familiar buzzing sound. Turning, he saw the broken security light. His head spun as he noticed his surroundings. “Get in the house. Now,” he commanded and all but dragged her into her apartment.

“What’s gotten into you?”

Joe locked the door and picked up the phone. “My vision. It wasn’t the parking lot at the shelter. It was the one right outside.”

He waited for Brian to answer his phone. “What’s up,” Brian answered.

“I was wrong. The parking lot in my vision is the one in front of Beth’s apartment. I need you over here.”

“I’ll leave now,” Brian answered before hanging up.

Joe set the phone down and turned to Beth. “Feel like a change of scenery for a few days?”

“What’s going on?”

“I’d feel better if you’d come back to my place with me,” he said before kissing her forehead. “My old partner, Brian Peters, is on his way over. As soon as he gets here, we’ll get you out of here.”

“Can I take the stew?” she asked, seeming a little stunned.

Joe laughed and hugged her tighter. “Sure, bring the stew. It smells too good to waste.”

Beth nuzzled his neck for a few more moments before pulling away. “I’ll pack a bag.”

Watching Beth move about the room, Joe knew he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. Hell, he’d done a lot more for a complete stranger.
No.
That wasn’t fair and he knew it. He had loved his job, and he’d been good at it. “Can I ask you a question? It’s kind of off-topic, but its something that’s bothered me since the shooting.”