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Risen To The Top CHAPTER 120
Tori’s heart felt like lead as she heard the sputter of Sean’s scooter fade down the tree-lined street. Her soul was bleeding from the inside out. She wondered if she would ever see the soldier again.And then the horrible thought hit her. Was this just an elaborate way to get into her pants? Could this man be trusted?She thought about how quickly he’d had his way with her. This had never happened before. Here she was, having sex with a virtual stranger. For all she knew, he wasn’t a soldier at all, but a wannabe. She’d heard they were out there. But then she wondered how he would know about her uncle Will.Was she substituting the loss of her mentor’s care for something else? Reminding herself that she was the world’s worst when it came to reading people correctly, she decided to err on the side of caution. After all, she’d decided to study psychology partly to learn about her own hangups. It was easier studying others than study
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 121
Part of him wanted to spend the night with Tori again. He couldn’t get their lovemaking out of his mind. How her body responded to his, how he felt like part of his hard shell was cracking, softening to her touch. And he was filled with the growing need to protect her, like she belonged to him already.But that was a stupid thought for a guy in his position. He couldn’t offer any chance of a long-term relationship. All he could do was become a wedge between a father and his daughter. And for what?He knew relationships were detrimental to his occupation. He needed his focus. The Navy was his life now, even more so since the loss of his family. He suddenly wanted to go back to work in the worst way. He didn’t need to be reminded of what he no longer had.But he knew Marshall wouldn’t allow it.How would he spend the next few days without her? Even surfing, lying around on the beach, or working out at Gunny’s, weren’t a
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 122
Rachel padded out to the mailbox in her flip-flops. It was nearly nine o’clock Monday morning, and the mailman had just made his rounds.Mrs. Hoades was wearing the expensive silk robe her husband had brought back from Japan years ago. The smooth fabric caressed her bare skin underneath. She loved the feel of the sash as it cinched her waistline.She and Aaron had been experiencing an on-again-off-again married couple affair, between bouts of Aaron’s foul moods. On a warm sunny morning, as most days in New York were, she was grateful for the rise and fall of their shared emotions. Passion was strong in their family—all sorts of passions.He’d taken off for an early appointment at the office. But not before he said he was sorry for several things yesterday, stopping short of apologizing for his tone with the soldier. He finally admitted that perhaps he was overreacting about the cat incident. She was relieved he agreed that they’d s
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 123
Aaron Hoades arrived the same time Detective Ryan Dole did. Tori directed her dad upstairs. Dole eyed her, nervously hitched his pants up by the waist and sighed.“You got any ideas who could have done this? See anyone?” he asked.Tori shook her head. No.Dole poked the letter with the end of his pen. “You use these to open it?” He pointed to her crumpled pile of rubber gloves.Tori nodded. Yes.“You see anyone outside last night or this morning?” he asked.“Nope. But around midnight I thought I heard the mouth of the mailbox open. Thought maybe my Dad put something in there.”“Your Dad put something in?” Dole was frowning, alert with concern.“No. Didn’t see him. Just heard the flap squeak. It was too dark to see who it was.”“What made you think it was your dad?” Dole wanted to know.“Who else would put something in there or take som
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 124
“Sean.” Tori worked not to sound too needy, but her knees were shaking. She bit her lip.“Tori, I’m sorry about last night. Maybe—”“Ah, I’m in the middle of—”“Sure. I can call back later.”“No.” Was that a plea? She looked to the faces of her father and Detective Dole, who stopped their conspiratorial whispering to watch her.“Tori, what’s wrong?” he asked.“Can you come over? The police are here.”Dole put his finger to his lips and her dad frowned.“What’s happened?” Sean asked.“Just—I can’t go into it on the phone. Can you get over here?”“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Is someone hurt? Did someone hurt you?”“No, I’m fine. Everyone’s fine.” It was a lie and a gross misstatement, but it hopefully gave Sean enough of an excuse to come to the house. Besides, the blood in the mailbox didn’t belong to—
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 125
He recalled Tori’s tale about the cat. How angry he felt as she was telling him. Bad guys were one thing. He could deal with those, no problem. But he was not trained to deal with a sick, twisted individual, a crazy person who hurt animals. He knew about zealots, evil men who knew only death and destruction. It was easy to send them back to the source as they called it. But someone with his own private war against a family, against Tori? He felt ill prepared. But he damn well had to try, even if it wasn’t wise.Dr. Hoades was at the opened front doorway. “Sean. The detectives here need to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”“No, sir. I don’t mind. Someone going to tell me what’s going on?” Instinct made him take Tori’s hand as he followed the doctor into the house. He smelled coffee. Rachel called to him from the kitchen and, yes, he certainly did want a steaming cup. Black.He was led to the living room, where he took a s
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 126
He could recognize certain signs of battle stress, what it does to a man. This guy who left the letters and killed Tori’s cat, whoever the hell he was, had made close friends with Dr. Death. Almost like the cretin didn’t have anything left to lose.Driving up and over the New York Bridge, he remembered back to the day he got his first tattoo. The artist at Monique’s shop gleefully palmed his flesh, like Sean was a virgin canvas. Well, he had been. The owner sent Monique over to shave Sean’s leg before the old fart could begin. And that was a real nice treat. Sean knew next time he’d ask for her. She had the softest hands and biggest tits…He glanced over at Tori and she smiled back at him. He felt like a heel. But he could see in her eyes she trusted him. Thing was, did he trust himself? Was he taking her home to protect her or for the fantastic sex?The crusty old guy with rough hands had talked to Sean that day while drawing the
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 127
Tori woke up in Sean’s motor home hearing the gentle roll of the waves in the distance. She could feel the soldier was in a deep sleep. She remained nestled in his warm embrace; her body spooned in front of him, her back resting against his chest. Air whistled through his teeth. She turned to look at him over her shoulder. His deep rose-colored lips were smooth and just waiting to be kissed. She squirmed to roll over and face him and his arms tightened around her waist at first, then his hands lowered to the cheeks of her ass as he allowed her to turn in the bed. The sheets were musty, pulling up from Sean’s corner, exposing the mattress underneath.He pressed her to him, his large hands on the back side of her waist, pulling her toward him. She felt his hardness as she played with the hair around his ears and kissed him. Several kisses later, he adroitly encased himself in a condom, moved on top of her, on his hands and knees, making entry into her swollen s