CHAPTER TWO
Sinner
MY EYES WERE burning and my skin was itching, but I couldn’t regret what had happened. When I saw Cara in the diner, I knew she was panicking and needed an escape, but I didn’t get to her in time. When she finally opened those gorgeous grey eyes, I was captivated. I could see the fear, but I also saw a woman that was fighting to survive. I had heard a little about what Cara had been through, but it was never really discussed.
The only reason I knew about her was because Sebastian, the owner of Reed Security, was friends with her brother, Sean. Sebastian’s buddy, Cole, was protecting Alex, a woman that had escaped the same psycho that had taken Cara. I saw what kind of man we were dealing with and it was horrifying. While Cara hadn’t been kept as long, I was sure that the nightmares were still just as terrifying.
“What were you doing in the diner earlier?” I asked her.
“What do people normally do in a diner?” I had to admit, it was a turn on that the woman was so snarky. She didn’t just lay down and take shit. She might be suffering from an acute anxiety disorder, but there was still a spark in there.
“Well, they normally eat, but I’m guessing you like to spill water on people and pass out.”
“My therapist is trying to get me to break out of my habits so that I can become a functioning member of society again.”
“And did your therapist recommend that you test this out on your own?”
“At first, no, but I didn’t want to go with my family, so he recommended I go on my own so there would be less pressure.”
“I guess you’ll have something to talk about at your next appointment.”
“Yeah, passing out is a new one.”
“What usually happens?”
“Oh, you know, the usual. Chills, trouble breathing, my body overheating, and running to the bathroom to throw up. You’re lucky you already got to witness that,” she said with a grin in her voice.
“Personally, I think passing out is the way to go. It draws attention, but not the mess.”
“You forget that I knocked over a waitress carrying a tray of food before I passed out. I was still able to achieve my goals for the day.”
“So, when are you doing this again?”
“What? Going out to a restaurant?” I nodded. “Not anytime soon, though my therapist is going to push me to keep trying.”
“Well, I’m usually pretty busy with work, so I probably won’t be around to catch you next time.”
“I’ll do my best to schedule my next panic attack for when you’re around.”
“In that case, you’re going to need my number.”
She laughed and eased the car to a stop. “We’re at your building. At least, I hope it’s your building. I would hate to drop you off at the wrong apartment.”
“I guess we’ll find out when we get upstairs.”
“What? I’m not going up there with you!”
The panic in her voice was evident.
“Why not?”
“How would I get back down here? Sorry to point this out, but your apartment building has seen better days. I’d be lucky to not run into a drug dealer on my way out.”
I guess I’d never worried about it before. I’d worked for Sebastian since getting out of the military and I worked so much that I never really worried about where I lived. I didn’t have much, so I didn’t really care if my place was secure.
“You’re not planning on leaving right away, are you?”
“Um, yeah? I brought you home and now I’m going home to throw myself a pity party.”
“We can’t have you doing that. Besides, how am I supposed to see to climb the stairs or put my key in the door now that you’ve blinded me?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You were able to somehow dial Hunter after you’d been blinded, so I think you’ll be just fine walking up the stairs and opening your door.”
I sighed. This was going to take some effort. I wanted to see if I could bring the girl out of her shell a little, but more than that, I wanted her in my bed. Yeah, she was a little messed up with everything that had happened to her and that should be a huge red flag to stay away, but those beautiful, stormy eyes drew me in.
“Fine. I’ll get myself up to my apartment and somehow get the door open. Then, I’ll wash my face with soap and hope I don’t burn my eyes even more.”
“You’re supposed to use baby shampoo.”
“Do I look like the type of man that uses baby shampoo?”
“You’ll be fine.”
I opened the door and pretended to not know how to get to my apartment. I could vaguely see, but I could tell where she pulled in because I had done it so many times before. I stumbled a few times, hoping to catch her attention, but when I heard her motor shift and the car pull away I started walking normally and made my way inside. I opened the door to my apartment and flung myself on the couch. I could have sworn I was going to persuade her to come up here with me.
I could still see her panicked face as she stared up at me on the restaurant floor. Damn, she was beautiful, probably the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. But those eyes, her eyes were what I kept coming back to. I could swear I saw storm clouds moving through them.
A knock at the door brought me out of my thoughts. Pulling open the door, I was about to ask what the hell the person wanted, but it was her. I couldn’t see her clearly, but it was definitely her shape.
“Okay,” She pushed past me and walked into my apartment. “so I really didn’t want to come up here, but since I’m responsible for making your eyes burn, I went into a drugstore, against every instinct in my body. I almost had a panic attack and I didn’t have any more pepper spray, but I got your baby shampoo and made it up here without throwing up. I think that earns me a pizza from Tony’s Pizza, and you’re buying.”
I grinned at her attitude. “Can we wash my eyes out first? I’ve seen your beautiful face, but I haven’t had nearly enough time to check out that gorgeous body.”
I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at me. “Now I can see why they call you Sinner. I swear, it’s like every other word out of your mouth is a come on.”
“Only around beautiful women.”
She grabbed my hand and started pulling me. “Come on, let’s wash your eyes.” She stopped and held her nose. “On second thought, why don’t you change your clothes. You smell like vomit.”
“I don’t know that I’ll be able to see. I think you’re going to need to help me get out of these pants.”
“Your arms aren’t broken.”
“No, but I could fall and hurt myself. Then who would protect all those women out there in desperate need of my services?”
“You are so full of yourself.”
“I could make you full of me, if you prefer,” I grinned.
“Uh. You’re too much. Here are some pants.” A pair of sweatpants hit me in the face.
“Either help me out of my boxers or turn around.”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll judge your girth?”
“No, I’m afraid that you’ll fall on your knees and suck my cock. I wouldn’t be able to defend myself against a wild cat like you.”
“I’m not watching. Just change so that we can get this over with.”
I was behind her in a second, pressing my back and my cock against her ass. “Baby, those are words you would never say to me if I was inside you.”
I nipped at her ear and then stepped back and quickly changed into my sweatpants, trying to tone down my erection in the process.
“Finished?”
“Not even close,” I grumbled as my erection continued to stand proud.
I followed her to the bathroom and let her shove me none too gently onto the toilet seat. She wanted me to know that she was in charge and I was fine with that for now. She quickly got to work washing my face and after a few minutes, I could feel the relief of the oily substance being washed off.
“Okay, I’m going to wash your eyes now. Tell me if this burns.”
She stepped between my legs and started dabbing at my eyes. Yeah, it still burned, but what had my attention was the fact that I could feel her tits brushing against me. I slid my hands to her waist and gripped the soft curves of her body. I groaned at how perfectly she fit in my hands.
I opened my eyes and could finally make out her features again. She had long, light brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, which showed off her flawless skin. She had high cheekbones and cute nose that was perfectly straight. My eyes zeroed in on her plump lips and I longed to feel them against mine.
She stilled as I ran my hands up her waist and brushed the sides of her breasts. Her heart was thumping loudly, but she wasn’t panicking. She moved slightly toward me and I took that as a sign that she wanted me too. I ran my hands back down her waist and hooked my thumbs in the waistline of her pants.
“When’s the last time you let a man touch you?”
“Uh..before..”
“Before you were taken.”
“Yes,” she breathed out shakily.
I pulled her to me and pulled one of her legs over mine. She got the hint and threw her other leg over mine so she was straddling me. I nipped at the delicate skin of her neck as warm puffs of hair fell against my neck. I could feel her shaking a little and if I had to guess, this was difficult for her.
She trembled as she ran her hands over my shoulders, but she slowly wrapped her arms around me and ran her fingers along the back of my neck. I slipped my hands around either sides of her waist and ran one hand up under her shirt. Her skin was soft against my roughened hand. She jerked back suddenly and scrambled off my lap.
“Sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I need to go.”
“Wait!” I grabbed her wrist, but that just freaked her out and had her flinging herself against the opposite wall.
“Thank you for helping me today, but I have to go.”
She flew out of the bathroom and quickly grabbed her purse.
“Wait, I’ll walk you down.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Really? How many times did you panic when you were coming up here?”
She stayed silent and I knew she didn’t want to admit that it had happened more than it should.
“Come on. I swear I won’t maul you in the parking lot.”
“I thought you couldn’t see?”
“Well, I may have exaggerated to get you up here.”
“So, not quite the saint you make yourself out to be.”
I gave her a devilish grin and could see a smile through my burning eyes. I took that to mean that she was calming down about her earlier panic. I grabbed her hand and held it tight in mine as I walked her down to her car. After she was inside, I waited for her to drive away so she didn’t worry about being in the parking lot alone. That could have gone better. I probably shouldn’t have pulled her into me and started kissing her, but I wanted her.
✯✯✯✯✯
Today was a training day and though I was still having trouble seeing clearly, I was mostly fine and could run the course like any other day. I arrived at the Reed Security training center with a few minutes to spare and quickly changed into my training gear.
“Hey, Sinner. Heard you got taken out by a girl half your size yesterday,” Sam “Cazzo” Galmacci, my team leader said as he walked into the locker room.
I flipped him off and finished tying my shoes. “She had military grade pepper spray. That shit burns.”
“You mean there are still women out there that aren’t pulled in by your charms?”
“Stay away from her.” Sebastian was standing in the doorway of the locker room with his arms crossed over his chest. “She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need to have her mind fucked with.”
“Hate to break it to you, Cap, but her mind has already been fucked with.”
I walked to the door, but Cap stood in front of me and narrowed his eyes. “Stay away from her. Her brother is a good friend of mine and I don’t want to explain to him why one of my guys would fuck with his sister.”
“Seriously? I may fuck around, but I’m not stupid enough to fuck with her head. I was in the restaurant when she was having a panic attack and I tried to help her. When she was leaving, she didn’t know I was there and she freaked out.”
“Mark, we all know your reputation. I’m glad you were there to help her, but leave it at that.”
I glared at him a moment before pushing past him. “Sure thing, Cap.”
I may fuck around, but whoever I’m with always knows the score. I never stick my dick in someone that would expect more from me. Granted, I wasn’t exactly thinking yesterday when she was in my arms. All I could think about was how much I wanted her. I knew there was a bit of hellcat in her and I was desperate to have her take it out on me in the bedroom.
I got up to the starting line of the course and took off when the timer sounded. I pushed myself harder than usual and made sure to get ahead of the others. When I got to the shooting portion of the course, I easily took out the intended targets. I saw Cap on the course next to me, so I turned and shot him with a paintball on his shoulder. He turned and glared at me.
“You got a problem, Sinner?”
“Sorry, still got a little gunk in my eyes from yesterday.”
He was breathing heavily, trying not to go off on me. “Have Hunter check you out again. We don’t need anyone else getting shot because you can’t see.”
“Will do.”
I walked off the course and headed for the locker room. I felt marginally better now that I had worked my frustrations out on my boss, but I was still pissed at the implication that I would take advantage of a woman. I met Hunter in the medical room and had him look at my eyes that were pretty much fine, which he ascertained after the exam.
“Looks like it’ll be fine. You might want to stay away from the boss man though. He’s not finding your stunt all that funny.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t. Just stay away from that spitfire if you want to keep your job. He’s still pissed about what happened with Maggie. Both times. Well, all the times.”
“There’s nothing going on with Maggie. He’s too uptight about his woman. If he looked at it logically, he would see that it’s better to work alongside Maggie than to have her go off on her own.”
“Still, you took her to a gun range behind his back for weeks.”
“And it’s a good thing I did or she’d be dead right now.”
Hunter shook his head at me. “One of these days, you’re going to run out of second chances with that man.”
“Look, I get it. I’m not his favorite employee. I’ll be sure to watch my step.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the room. Enough of this shit.