Long, Lonely Nights (22 page)

“I’ll do that. You go relax for a while, and finish your wine. I’ll take care of it.”

Tina shrugged and left him to it. She settled on the sofa with her feet curled under her. The wine had made her sleepy. She could probably go to sleep now without any trouble. She would be up at dawn if she went to bed this early. Still she found herself nodding when Logan sat down on the other end of the couch and turned on the TV.

“How about watching something on The Discovery Channel,” he said.

“Sure.” Was all she could manage.

Sometime later, Logan woke her up.

“Time for bed I think.” He nudged her arm

Tina yawned and stretched her legs out in front of her before standing up. She was a bit unbalanced. He caught her when she nearly fell. His arms felt so warm and safe she decided. Logan held her for a minute, then pushed her back to a standing position.

“Upstairs. You need to get ready for bed.” He marched her to the foot of the stairs and popped her on the rear. “Up you go.”

“Ouch. I’m awake already.” She pouted and climbed the stairs. It did take some effort on her part though.

“I’m down here if you need anything. No one is going to get through me to you.” Logan assured her.

“Okay.” Tina yawned again and continued up the stairs.

“Oh, Riley will probably come inside in a little bit. If you hear the alarm deactivate, it will be me letting him in,” he called up after her.

“Fine. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Tina checked the French doors and the windows again before she even began undressing. Then she took her shower and dressed for bed. Tonight, she wore a baby blue camisole with matching panties to bed. She left the light on in the bathroom with the door cracked to allow some light to spill into her room. She wasn’t normally afraid of the dark, but lately, everything frightened her.

The clock on the bedside table said nine fifteen. It seemed so much later than that, she remembered thinking as she climbed into bed. It was the last thing she remembered until the dream started.

She knew it was a dream. She never had it before, but this time she knew she was dreaming. It didn’t make it any less frightening though. She heard the creak of the stairs as the intruder climbed them. She wanted to move, wanted to cry out but couldn’t. She could only lay and wait for him to open her bedroom door. She stared at the door willing it to remain closed.

Another sound from outside it, and then the doorknob turned. She felt her heart pound inside her chest as the door swung open. There he stood at the door. He had no face, just a black empty place where it should have been. He walked towards her, while laughter came from the black hole.

“You belong to me. I told you I would come for you, but you didn’t believe me.”

He stood over her now, looking down. Now she could make out green eyes and smell the subtle scent of Old Spice on him. She had smelled it somewhere else, too. Where was it? Why did it matter? He was there now. He was going to kill her.

“Not right away though. We are going to have so much fun first.” He reached for her.

Chapter Eleven

Logan let Riley in about thirty minutes after Tina went upstairs. He’d heard the shower shut off just a few minutes before.

“How is she holding up?” Riley asked.

“I had her drink wine for dinner. She should sleep fine tonight. She needs the rest.” Logan poured a cup of coffee for Riley.

“I haven’t seen anything. He seems to have only attacked on Friday nights so far. We may have a long week ahead of us.”

“Yeah, I thought of that,” he said. “I don’t want to take the chance that we are wrong though.”

“Neither do I. Morgan said other than the mail man, a UPS guy, and the other residents, no one drove around the area while he was here yesterday.” Riley sipped the coffee while he leaned back against the bar. “Oh and did you know your neighbor on the other side of you is stealing your paper?”

“I wondered who it was. I haven’t really had time to devote to that lately.” He laughed. “What is so bad about that is he already gets a paper.”

Riley nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s what Morgan said.”

They discussed strategies on when they did get a chance at the stalker and how to handle it. Riley was all for eliminating him and making him disappear, but Logan knew that would only cause more trouble for Tina. The man needed to go to jail so she knew he was gone.

“Time for me to go. I’ll check in with you in the morning.” Riley slipped out the door. Logan relocked and set everything.

He walked around downstairs checking all the windows again and turning off all the lights. Then he stripped down to his boxers before donning a pair of running shorts. He checked his 9mm and made himself as comfortable on the couch as he could. It would help keep him alert though.

Sometime later, something woke him up. He lay very still and strained to hear it again. There was nothing for a while, then a soft moan. Tina. Logan sat up and listened again. Again, a soft moan came from upstairs. He stood up and padded towards the stairs. He heard her say “no.” He climbed the stairs as quietly as he could and stood outside her bedroom door listening.

At first, there was no other sound. Then a soft groan and the rustle of sheets. Then she cried out again, “no.” Logan opened the door and after his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the bathroom door being ajar, he saw her tossing and turning on the bed. She was in the throes of a nightmare. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Tina,” he whispered. “Wake up, honey. It’s just a dream.”

She didn’t respond other than to moan again.

“Tina, wake up,” he said louder this time. He touched her shoulder and tried shaking her, but it only seemed to make things worse.

“No!” She yelled.

“Easy, baby. Wake up. You’re dreaming.” Logan tried soothing her now. He ran a hand lightly up and down her arms. “It’s only a dream. Wake up.”

She squirmed and shook her head from side to side. “No, no more. No.” Her voice grew louder.

Logan climbed into bed with her and tried pulling her into his lap. She fought.

“Tina, wake up. It’s me, Logan. Wake up, dammit!”

She stilled, and then her eyes flew open. “Logan? Is it really you?”

He squeezed her. “Yes, it’s me. You were dreaming.” He moved to get out of the bed, but she stopped him.

“No, don’t go yet. Please, just hold me.” She snuggled up into his arms and laid her head against his shoulder.

“It’s okay now. Nothing is going to hurt you.” He ran a hand up and down her back in an effort to sooth her.

“When is it going to all be over? I’m so scared now.”

“You don’t have to be scared. I’m going to take care of you. Everything will be all right, Tina.”

She buried her face against his neck and sighed. Her arms went around him and held him tight against her. Logan could feel breasts against his chest, and her ass was snuggled tight against his growing cock. Fuck! He was in trouble.

“Tina. Everything is fine now. I’m going to go back downstairs.”

She tightened her arms around his neck. “No, don’t leave me. I’m scared. Just sit with me for a little while.”

Logan groaned, but stayed where he was. “For a little while,” he said.

She snuggled closer and ran a hand up his neck. She brushed her mouth against the pulse in his neck causing it to jump. How was he going to get out of this? His cock was throbbing. She wiggled on his lap making it even harder if that were possible. It was his turn to groan. “Baby, you’ve got to stop moving around.”

“Kiss me, Logan. Make it all go away.”

She couldn’t know what she did to him. Did she know what she was doing at all? He wondered.

She pulled his head down to her and took his lips in a soft kiss. He could do gentle. He tried. Dear God, he tried. He slowly took control of the kiss and deepened it. He drew in her lower lip and sucked until she opened her mouth to him. He delved inside to tease and suck on her tongue until she moaned for him this time. He swallowed her moans and stroked the inside of her mouth with his tongue.

She ran her hands over his head pulling him down to her. He let her. Let her hold him as he held her. Everything went away with that kiss. He thought only of her mouth and her lips. He felt her hands on his skin and in his hair. He pulled her closer and devoured her from the inside out. Her lips were so soft, and he nibbled on them down to her chin. He nipped and kissed around her jaw to the shell of her ear. All the while, his arms held her tight against him.

He released her only to lay her back on the bed, so he could cover her with his body. He wanted her beneath him. He wanted to keep her safe. He would be the one to torture her. He would tease her mercilessly with his tongue and teeth. The delicate shell of her ear fascinated him. He licked and kissed her there until she squirmed beneath him. Then he crossed over to the other one, treating it to the same devilment. He sucked in the lobe and nipped at it with his teeth.

Her hands began exploring his body. She ran them up and down his chest, teasing his nipples with her fingernails. He groaned and nipped at her neck in protest. She only squirmed closer to him. He moved his mouth south until it came into contact with her camisole. His fingers moved the straps to the side and traced a pattern across the tops of the swell of her breasts just above the silky material.

He sat back to watch as he ran his hands beneath her camisole and ease it up over her breasts. His mouth watered at the sight of them. He drew the material over her head and off her arms letting it pool on the floor beside the bed. Logan reached out and mounded her breasts with his hands. Then he bent forward and flicked each nipple with his tongue. He sucked one in and took in as much of her breast as he could manage while pinching the nipple of the other one. She hissed out a breath and pressed her breasts up into his face.

Tina’s nipples were distended and large. He tugged on them enjoying the moans and groans it elicited. They were the prettiest shade of dusky pink. His tongue teased them endlessly until she grabbed his head and held him in one place. He laughed and pulled back long enough to look into her eyes. They were heavy lidded and dark with passion. He knew that feeling. His cock was fighting the constrictive clothes he had on, but he couldn’t remove them or he would be inside her in an instant. He wanted more of her first. More of her moans and cries of passion.

He slipped his hands down into her panties to pull them down her legs until he could remove them all together. They joined her camisole on the floor by the bed. He felt her fingers grab hold of his chest hair and tug at him. He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. She tried to take over by flipping him on his back, but he just rolled with her until she was once again on the bottom. Her squeals of frustration were music to his ears. He laughed and swatted the side of her thigh.

Logan ran his hands down her sides until he could hold her hips with each hand. He kissed his way down her abdomen until he reached her neatly trimmed pussy. He breathed in the scent of her arousal. She was wet. Her glistening curls shimmered with that desire. He ran his tongue down the center of her and listened to her moans of delight. He spread her legs apart with his hands until his shoulders fit and could keep her spread for his pleasure. He licked up and down her sweet lips until she squirmed to get closer to his tongue. He ignored her silent pleas and used his fingers to spread her lips so he could reach deeper for her honey.

He teased her with his tongue at her clit until she grabbed at his head to force him where she wanted him. He laughed when she couldn’t get a grip on his hair, since it was so short, but then changed his tune when she reached his ears and held on. He pried her fingers from his ears and gave her what she wanted. He flicked his tongue over and over on her clit until she was near the verge of coming. Then he backed off and entered her with a finger. He added another finger and fucked her with them.