Never Let Me Go (Welcome To Redemption) (21 page)

She studied him for a brief moment, her concern evident in the tilt of her head. “Of course not. I just need one minute.” She turned back to Hutch. “Miles and I will be fine tomorrow, but if you insist on coming in, you have to promise to take it easy. And get plenty of rest tonight.”

“Heaven help me, missy, you’re starting to make Rosalee seem like Mary Poppins.”

Lauren and Tara both attempted to hide a grin.

“Rosalee wouldn’t have let you step foot inside the diner for at least another week, and you know it.”

Hannah matched his scowl before enfolding the old guy in a gentle embrace. She hugged both Lauren and Tara as well, then she and Chase made the rounds to say their goodbyes. Both breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were in the privacy of his truck.

“Do you know not one person mentioned the accusations against me?” Hannah revealed as she buckled her seatbelt. “I sort of expected to be bombarded with questions, but nope. Not a single one.”

“I’m sure everyone knows you’re innocent and didn’t want to ruin your day by bringing it up.”

“Maybe.”

They drove to Hannah’s house in silence. Chase escorted her inside and locked the door behind them. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured herself some ice water. Leaning against the sink facing the window, she appeared lost in thought—though Chase could hazard a guess as to what was responsible for the haunted look in her eyes.

He moved up behind her and gripped her shoulders. Hannah turned into his arms with a speed that surprised him. Apparently, her need for comfort was every bit as powerful as his own. She looked up, searching his face before dropping her gaze to his lips, her desire clear. He required no further invitation.

Chase wrapped his arms around her and claimed her mouth; softly at first, unwilling to take advantage of her vulnerability no matter the depth of his own need. He shook with the effort to hold himself back, wanting nothing more than to strip her naked and bury himself so deep inside her the outside world would cease to exist.

Hannah put his doubt to rest when she broke the kiss to whisper, “Want to go upstairs?”

“You can’t imagine how much,” he whispered back. He was about to whisk her into his arms, make some big romantic gesture, when Hannah grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the staircase.

“Oh, I think I can.”

They ran up the stairs and straight into her bedroom. Chase closed the door behind him and eagerly watched as Hannah unbuttoned her blouse and shimmied it off her shoulders, then quickly wiggled out of her pants. Standing before him in nothing but her lacy black bra and panties, her eyes dark with desire and the corner of her bottom lip caught between her teeth, she was, without a doubt, the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

“This only works if we’re both naked,” she teased in a seductive purr.

Chase grasped the hem of his shirt and whipped it over his head so fast she giggled in response. She sauntered up to him with a sexy sway of her hips and grasped him by the front of his jeans, her fingers grazing the head of his cock. She unbuttoned his fly, and then, with slow precision, drew the zipper down his throbbing erection. His eyes grew heavy as her intent became clear.

Sweet reciprocation.

She leaned in and kissed his chest, then licked it, trailing a slow path of fire around first one flat nipple, then the other. She slowly dropped to her knees, gazing up at him with sensual promise as she grasped his jeans and slowly worked them down his muscular thighs until they dropped to his feet. The entire head of his sex strained above the waistband of his boxer briefs. Chase tensed as she lightly stroked him through the fabric, her fingertips moving up to trace small circles over the bare tip.

“Hannah…” Was that dry pathetic rasp his voice?

She gazed up at him, those hypnotic blue eyes smoldering, her lids heavy with desire. “Relax, Sheriff. I’m about to fulfill one of
my
fantasies.”

He swallowed, struggling to hold eye contact. “One of mine, too. Just…take it easy this time. I don’t know how much I can handle at the moment.”

“Are you afraid to find out?”

“I’m afraid to embarrass myself.”

With a sultry chuckle, she tugged his boxer briefs down until they joined his jeans and wrapped her fingers around his throbbing shaft. Teasing the head first, she ran the tip of her tongue over his sensitive flesh, slowly working her way down his hard length, laving a hot wet path back up again using only her tongue. After playing with him for almost a full minute, she glanced up coyly from beneath her lashes, then drew him deeply into her sexy mouth.

A sharp breath hissed through his clenched teeth. God, how he loved her boldness—and her confidence. She cupped his balls with gentle pressure while working her way up and down the length of his cock, worshiping him with that luscious hot mouth and silky tongue.

His knees grew weak. He braced himself against the door and cupped her head, urging her on with gentle pressure. She loved him with absolute thoroughness, and no doubt would have brought him to orgasm if Chase had let her. But what he needed—what he craved—was the soul-satisfying comfort of being buried deep inside her when he came.

He somehow found the strength to pull free of her delectable mouth and haul her to her feet. Their gazes locked, and he nearly lost it as she licked the taste of him from her lips, staring at him with raw carnal hunger.

Wild with his own need, he wanted to say something, tried to say something, but words failed him. Instead, he kicked free of his jeans, clapped her against his chest, and carried her backward to the bed. He laid her down with a quick kiss, his pulse thrumming in his veins. With a come-hither smile, Hannah brought her knees up and spread her thighs in blatant invitation.

Heart pounding, he knelt between her legs and slid her panties aside. Chase stroked her glistening folds, awed by her innate sensuality as she arched against him in silent plea. He leaned across her to snatch a condom off the nightstand, quickly sheathed himself, then, without even removing her panties, he flexed his hips and sank into her welcoming heat with one hard thrust.

With a guttural moan, Hannah wrapped her arms and legs around him, hooking her calves over the backs of his thighs with lusty greed. They came together hard and fast, their hunger building as their hips surged together with desperate need. Mutual groans of satisfaction filled the room, growing louder with each loving thrust. Hannah stiffened and cried out, her nails digging into the back of his neck as she reached climax. Chase pushed up on his palms and arched his neck as he soared toward his own release.

He registered Hannah’s sudden scream of horror at the exact moment a sharp pain exploded across the back of his skull.

Then the world went black.

Chapter 16

“You
whore
…I knew it was true!”

Hannah scrambled off the bed as Jimmy dragged Chase’s inert body off her. She dropped to her knees, crying as she found a huge knot on the back of his head.

“What the hell did you do?” she screamed, borderline hysterical. The heavy ceramic dish she kept on her dresser lay in shattered shards on the floor. “Chase?” She frantically smacked his cheek. “Chase, please wake up!”

Jimmy grabbed her upper arm and hauled her to her feet. Too angry to be concerned by her near nakedness, she spit in his face.

He slapped her hard on the cheek. “Calm the fuck down before I do a lot worse. Officer Dumbshit will be fine. He’ll just have a helluva headache when he wakes up. Now let’s go.”

Jimmy tried to drag her along with him, but Hannah dug in her heels and tried to jerk her arm free. “Are you crazy? I’m not going anywhere with you! I hate you, do you hear me? You’re every foul thing they say you are and more.”

“You’re really trying my patience, you filthy…” He clenched his fists and got himself under control. “I had to watch you go down on him. I had to watch you screw his brains out, you—”

She grew faint. “Oh, my God…you
watched
us? How sick are you?”

He scowled. “I came here to talk to you, to see if we could work things out. I’m waiting in the closet when I hear you two run up here and start tearing your clothes off like dogs in heat!”

She gaped at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. Before she could gather a coherent thought, he twisted his fingers in the back of her hair and forced her to follow along as he hurried through the house and out into the garage. He shoved her in her car and crammed in beside her. Hannah scooted backward on the cold vinyl, stunned when her hand brushed something cold and familiar—her phone! She clutched it in her fingers as she curled into a ball. Screaming and crying to distract him, she clicked several buttons until the tiny familiar red light signaled the video camera was in record mode.

Cursing a blue streak, Jimmy leaned over and tried to clamp his hand over her mouth. “Settle the hell down, will ya? I don’t want to hurt you, baby. I want us to be right again, before that fuckin’ cop came between us.”

She balanced the phone on the seat behind her, then leaned forward and swiped at her eyes. Jimmy reached out and captured one of her tears. He suddenly scowled and grasped her chin with slight pressure. “How could you hook up with that no mind cop?”

Anger bubbled up. “Are you kidding me? You cheated on me almost from our first date. And like an idiot, I kept taking you back, hoping you’d change.”

“Or hoping Sheriff Dumbshit would get jealous and finally notice you?”

She could only stare as the truth of his statement settled between them and sucked all the air from the small vehicle. He’d known. Not that she gave a damn how he felt anymore after all the horrific things he’d done.

Including set her up for a felony theft charge.

“Chase had nothing to do with us. I…loved you, and I was always faithful. You’re the one who destroyed our relationship. You made a fool out of me over and over and
over
again.”

He leaned back and smacked the dash, an almost believable look of contrition twisting his features. He settled his head against the driver’s side window and rubbed his temples with circular strokes. Hannah repositioned herself on the seat, using the distraction to peek at the phone and make sure it was still recording. With a silent sigh of relief, she knew she’d better get a confession out of him now since it was likely to be her last chance to have him in such a vulnerable state.

“If you care like you say you do, Jimmy, how come all you ever do is hurt me?”

“I never wanted to hurt you, baby, I swear. I always knew you had a thing for that cop, but I figured it was just a crush and you’d get over it. Only you didn’t. I saw the way you always looked at him…you were pining for him and I knew it. So I turned to someone else for comfort.”

“You turned to every mall rat who glanced your damn way. And I never cheated on you, which makes this whole speech of yours bullshit. I also never ratted you out to the cops. In fact, I
defended
you, like an idiot. And how do you repay me? By planting Lindy’s bracelet in my bedroom and feeding a false tip to the police. You knew Chase was staying at the house with me while Dad and Drew were gone, so you knew he’d have no choice but to search the house or your lawyer would cry ‘conflict of interest.’”

“I had no choice, baby. I needed insurance, and to be honest I never thought you’d turn on me. You were always loyal to a fault.” His smile faded. “But when the cops hauled me in for questioning, I knew you must have opened that pretty mouth of yours.”

“Opened my mouth about what?” she demanded to know. “I had no idea you’d stolen that bracelet or planned to rob Lindy’s house.” Her eyes narrowed with disgust. “Or that you could do something as reprehensible as rape a woman.”

“Are you jealous? Is that what this is about? I never wanted that skinny rich bitch, Dillon did. I only planned to watch, not participate.”

She shook her head, her brow furrowed in disbelief. “You were going to help that pig
rape
someone, you just admitted it.” She stared at him, incredulous, silently hoping he’d say something—anything—to explain such appalling behavior. “How could you possibly think I’d want anything to do with you after that?”

He sneered. “As if you have reason to act all high and mighty after what I just witnessed. You always claimed I was your first, but you sure were a fast learner, weren’t you? Watching you go at it with the sheriff was like watching a porno. You sucked him off so good I almost came myself. And you were never that hot in bed with me, so you must have been practicing with someone.”

“You’re disgusting. But you are right about one thing: It was always about Chase. I love him; I always have and I always will. And he loves me.”

Jimmy’s face grew red as her hurtful admission hit home. Growling a curse, he lunged forward and slapped her across the face with the swiftness of a striking rattler.

Fresh tears stung her eyes as flames licked at her throbbing cheek. Panicked, she tried to scooch back, but accidentally smacked her cell phone with her palm and it slipped to the floor. Her heart stopped as Jimmy’s eyes followed its decent.

Hannah dove over and grabbed it, slinging it under her seat before he could react. Enraged, he lunged on top of her and clamped his hand over her mouth. He twisted her hair around his other hand and used it to hold her down.