9781618850676UnchainedMelodyHunter (8 page)

* * * *

From the first time she had seen Ethan Stewart she
had been totally smitten. Annalise recalled it in those quaint terms, because
she had been so innocent and naive. She had come to UT from a small, East
Texas, sawmill town—the oldest daughter of a laborer who thought taking his
family to church was all the social excitement they needed. When she had come
to Austin, she tried hard to fit in. No one was overtly cruel to her, but she
had been relegated to her proper place by the more beautiful, more popular,
ruling set of social butterflies. Being smart had been her key to fame at the
small high school she had come from, but here everybody was smart.

UT had earned the label of being a public, ivy-league
school that attracted the cosmopolitan, the self-assured and the physically
perfect. It wasn’t the comfortable, homey-type school like its country cousin,
Texas A&M. Here, at The University of Texas, you walked next to the
brightest and the best the world had to offer.

She had seen Ethan Stewart around campus. He, on
the other hand, had not noticed her. Ethan was always in the company of Tri-
Delts
or Thetas, tall, thin, elegant women who drove small,
expensive sports cars and wore designer clothes to class.

When she had applied to be an Orientation Adviser,
Annalise had been totally surprised to find Ethan was the senior sponsor. He
was kind and supportive of everyone and showed no favoritism. Annalise had
worked her heart out for him, never questioning a directive or a request.
Several times she had met his eye and it seemed the glances she intercepted
were admiring ones. Nothing probably would have materialized had it not been
for the incident on the pier when Annalise pushed Ethan to safety after he had
nearly been hit in the face by a sharp fishing hook. She had not been so lucky,
but the experience of Ethan caring for her as he removed the sharp hooks had
been more than worth all of the pain. Never had she dreamed she could feel such
intense desire for a man.

That one tender night with Ethan had awoken a
passion within her only he could answer. After that night, they had been
constantly aware of one another. Keeping their distance during the day had been
torture and as soon as they could get behind closed doors, they had been in
each other’s arms. Annalise remembered the night of the bonfire…

Since Ethan had been in charge, he had to stay
until everyone else retired and the fire was put out safely. Annalise remained
behind to assist him because there was nowhere else she’d rather be. After the
last ember had died, he took her by the hand and led her back to his cabin. As
soon as the door was shut, he pulled her to him. His kisses were like a drug to
her. She clung to him, their tongues mating in the age-old ritual of seduction.
Shaking with anticipation, they had undressed one another, flinging aside their
clothes in fevered excitement.

Ethan took control, laying her on the bed and
kneeling at her feet. “I want to look at you.” Pushing her hair from her
shoulders, he bent and kissed each eyelid. “I don’t have to ask if you want me,
it’s written all over your face.” He lightly grazed her shoulders with his
fingertips and then cupped both breasts, gently molding them, letting the
hardened nipples graze his palm. The heat began to build.

He trailed kisses from between her breasts down the
center line of her body until he brushed the soft, tender skin just above the
apex of her womanhood. Sitting back, he lifted both of her knees and spread her
legs so he could see what lay between them. Annalise closed her eyes, relishing
the knowledge of what was to come.

“You are so beautiful.” He touched her sex,
caressing the folds of her labia, opening her vulva and tracing its shape. “It’s
like an orchid, tender and fragile.” Bending over, he began to kiss her creamy
thighs, coming—oh so close—yet not quite touching the petals yearning for his
attention. In supplication, she raised her hips, offering him access. His own
control quickly slipping he gave her what she wanted.

His tongue entered her, thrusting and licking.
While he pleasured her, his hands clasped both breasts, rubbing the nipples
into submission. Annalise couldn’t be still, she wanted to move. She wanted him
inside of her. Ethan pushed her to the limit,
laving
her swollen clit until she screamed with joy. He ate at her, plunging his
tongue deep within her vagina, setting up a rhythm designed to drive her
insane. Just before she would have shattered into a million pieces, he
retreated, licking a pathway around her labia, teasing her unbearably.

“Ethan, my God. Please, let me come,” she begged.
With a wicked little smile, he lowered himself to her and carefully took her
whole nubbin into his mouth. Annalise gasped her appreciation. He set himself
on a course specifically designed to drive them both mad. With lips and tongue,
he massaged her swollen pearl until she literally screamed and sobbed with
delight. Pushing her to experience every drop of delicious sensation, he
retained a hold on her sweet spot, lapping and sucking until she was delirious
with pleasure. Then he rose and pushed his thick staff deep within her, causing
them both to gasp their joy.

Annalise marveled at the sheer ecstasy of being
completely and utterly filled. Too excited to take it slow, Ethan pounded her
to another climax. Her moans of rapture pushed him over the edge and they both
felt the world tilt precariously on its axis.

* * * *

No
more would she see his eyes grow dark with desire as he looked upon the
perfection of her body. It was no longer perfect. To firm her resolve, she
forced herself to remember Jeff’s face as he had undressed her. He had been
adamant they have no sexual contact until their wedding night. As youth
minister of her parent’s church, he had preached abstinence and the benefits of
sexual purity. Annalise knew why she married him; she had been so lonely and
his attention a welcome change to the self-inflicted months of isolation. Her
parents pushed for the wedding with every ounce of influence they had. Her dad,
especially; it was as if he had a vested interest in seeing her tied to the
serious young man. Her writing hadn’t been an issue with Jeff—that was one part
of herself she kept hidden from him—he didn’t find out about that until after
she broke off ties with him.

He
had courted her with purpose, promising her a life of spiritual union and
delight in the marriage bed. But his pretty words had not been based in any
sort of reality. On their wedding night, he had taken her to a nearby motel and
hurriedly peeled her clothes off. At first, he had been fascinated by her
breasts. Annalise realized she was likely the first woman he had ever been
naked with. But instead of loving her, coaxing her or cherishing her in any way,
he had pinched her breasts and twisted her nipples. She hadn’t known what to
think; Jeff’s rough handling was so unlike Ethan’s tender, loving touch.

Annalise
endured his painful manhandling; thinking he would settle down and it would get
better. Then, he had pushed her on her back and opened her legs in order to get
a better look at what he’d acquired. The scars were healing, the doctor said
her progress had been monumental. But Jeffrey recoiled in horror. “My God,
what’s wrong with you?”

She
had not hid the rape, but his only question to her had been “Was there sexual
penetration by the attacker?” Ashamed, she had tried to explain she’d been
raped with an object and not a male penis. This had seemed to satisfy Jeffrey’s
sense of misplaced decency. Later, she wondered what he would have done if she had
told him of the nights of passion she had shared with Ethan and the countless
times he had brought her to earth-shattering orgasms. If he had known that,
Jeffrey would have never married her.

Annalise
wished a thousand times she had been honest. For when Jeffrey had seen her
ruined body; the scars on her thighs, the remnants of the evidence of the
surgical reconstruction of her vulva, he had thrown up violently over the side
of the bed. After he’d recovered from his nausea, he had told her to get
dressed. Jeffrey had driven her back to her parents’ house and left her there. He
had assured her their marriage would be annulled as soon as possible.

Despite
the humiliation, Annalise had counted it as a valuable lesson learned. Far
better to see those looks of revulsion on the face of someone she had little or
no feelings for, than to see them on the face of someone she adored, namely
Ethan.

Annalise
rolled to one side and buried her head in the pillow. The wonderful memories of
Ethan were all she would ever have. She considered the endless years of
celibacy that loomed ahead of her and knew she would live vicariously in the
pages of her own books, writing of love she would never know again.

* * * *

Jeff
Ramsey crept around the lake house hoping to find an unlocked door. He didn’t
know what he was going to say to the bitch, but he was determined to make her
pay for all of the shit she had put him through. He needed money and she had
it. Prison had taken away a lot of his choices. No other church was going to
hire him and being a youth director and song leader was all he knew. On top of that,
he had developed a nasty habit: gambling. He was in so much trouble. If he
didn’t get his hands on some dough soon he might not have any hands at all.

His
slut of a wife with her Frankenstein scars had more money than she could count.
And she owed him big time. Glancing through the garage window, he was surprised
to find her car gone. The bitch wasn’t here! He had to find her; Sebastian had
given him a firm deadline. He had thirty days to come up with the cash or there
would be hell to pay. Maybe if he could get in there would be some clue as to
where she was. Perhaps he would just wait on her. Yeah!

Cursing,
he realized there wasn’t an unlocked window or door on the place. Coming around
to the front porch, he saw a couple of newspapers laying there, untouched. What
if she was planning to be gone for a while? What would he do then? If he could
just get in maybe he could find some clue as to where she was, he doubted she left
cash just laying around. Seeing an overturned flowerpot, he realized Annalise
may have picked up her mother’s habit of hiding a key in what he always
considered an obvious place. Flipping the terracotta container over, sure
enough there it was.

Jeff
hastily unlocked the door. Opening it a crack, he slipped in. Damn! He realized
there was an alarm panel.
Shit!
He
hadn’t seen the security decal on any window, but apparently his porn-writing
wife had more sense than he gave her credit for. He knew he only had a few
seconds before the alarm went off. Hell! He didn’t even know her birth date, so
there was no reason to start punching in random numbers to disable the alarm.

About
that time the phone rang, the answering machine picked it up after one ring and
Jeff was able to hear the caller. “Ms. Ramsey, this is Rayburn Security. We are
calling to let you know we have been alerted that someone has entered your home
and neglected to disable the security system. Pick up if you can hear me.” Jeff
just stood there and listened. After a few moments, the voice resumed talking. “Ms.
Ramsey, we will be sending someone shortly to check things out.” The call
disconnected. Jeff knew he had a few minutes to play with. After all
Annalise’s
house was in the middle of nowhere. He walked to
the phone, planning to delete the message. Hitting the wrong button, the device
began to play the previous message.

“Annalise,
this is Cecile. I guess you’ve already left. I’m praying you’ll have fun. There
is no one that deserves happiness more than you. I don’t tell you this very
often, but I value our friendship. Our association is about more than those
great books you write. Remember that, will you? You’re going to find out
quickly that I helped fate along just a bit. I knew who owned
Lost Maple
when I urged you to go
there. I stayed there the last time I went to the Hill Country. It didn’t take
me long to realize the Ethan Stewart that you’ve immortalized in your books was
the same gorgeous man that runs the best B&B in the state. I know you’re
going to be there at least two weeks, so I’m praying for a miracle. Regardless,
I know the words are going to come flowing out of that sensually fertile mind
of yours. Call me when you get this message, so I can apologize. Lord, I hope
you’re not mad at me.”

Jeff
smiled. He knew where to find her now. It was time to pay his wife a little
visit.

* * * *

 
When the numbers on the digital clock read
seven pm, Annalise checked on Tiny, locked the door of her cabin and walked the
few steps to the main house. Before she took three steps, her cell phone rang. “Hello,
Annalise Ramsey speaking.” She expected it to be Cecile. She was wrong.

“Ms.
Ramsey, this is Rayburn Security. The alarm at your home was set off. A message
was sent to the local law enforcement agency. They went and checked everything
and found the home locked and no evidence of a break-in. This is just a
courtesy call to inform you of the malfunction. We think the alarm could have
been set off due to a power surge.”