Guarding Light (12 page)

   "Catlyn?"

   She turned to look at Jack his tone was serious. "Yes?"

   He looked at her then looked down. He swallowed a couple of times before continuing. "Where'd you go?"

   Catlyn didn't pretend to not know what he was talking about. He wanted to know where she went after the rape. Losing her appetite she balled up her meal, putting it in the bag for the trash.

   "Mama had relatives in Virginia, a great-uncle on her mother's side. W-when he heard what had happened to me he told Mama to come to Virginia." Her voice was low. Jack had to lean forward to catch every word.

   "During graduation they mentioned that although you were not able to attend you had graduated with honors." Jack's voice was just as solemn. "God, I felt so horrible. They had listed you with all the kids that had died in car accidents before graduation."

   Catlyn turned away from him, looking out the window at the activity in the mall parking lot across from McDonald's. "You felt horrible? Why? For lying?" Pain and betrayal laced her words.

   Catlyn startled. She turned at the loud crashing sound. There was a splintered crack in the windshield starting just below the rearview mirror to about midway, tiny spidery cracks forming around a centered crack about the size of a fist. Catlyn looked at Jack's hand. His right hand was still in a fist, the knuckles raw and bleeding.

   "Jack-"

   "Don't!" Emerald green eyes flashed at her, very angry green eyes. He started the truck, slamming it into gear.

   The ride to her cover-apartment was done in complete silence. Jack parked expertly in front of her building. She figured he knew her address from Jose just as he knew where to find her that morning.

   It was late afternoon and unseasonably warm for February. Jack got out of the truck, opening the back he said in a clipped tone. "I will unload the truck and set up your bed while you get ready for work, first floor, right?"

   Jack already had several of the bags from Wal Mart in his hands when Catlyn got the outside security door open and then her apartment. It wasn't a bad apartment. Just in a bad part of town.

   Catlyn went to her bedroom and opened the duffle bag she had left earlier. Grabbing the required black skirt and white blouse for her job and underthings, she headed to the shower. She already had toiletries unpacked in the small bathroom. She took a quick shower, thankful for the hot water relaxing her body. It was one state her body could not accomplish while in Jack's company.

   She was feeling a little guilty about ruining the friendly atmosphere that had been between them all day. But what did he expect from her? He had betrayed her, lying for one friend while destroying another. After he had made her feel so safe and secure with him, after she trusted him above all others. She had even believed herself in love with him. With hindsight she knew it was just silly puppy love or some sort of hero worship. Because that is what Jack had been to her, her own personal hero, he slayed her dragons, protected her from her tormentor and then had cruelly crushed it all.

   Catlyn heard thumps, bumps and grunts coming from outside the bathroom door. Jack moving things around, she thought about him doing the heavy lifting with his bruised hand. Remembering the first-aid kit under the sink she grabbed it after she finished putting her hair up in tight bun at her nape.

   Catlyn was brought up short at the sight of a tall, muscular, black man standing in the middle of her living room. He seemed to be circling the room as though he were taking in his handy work. He gave a nod of his head and turned. He showed surprise when he found her watching him. "Hi, you must be Supervisory Special Agent Catlyn Lyte?"

   He offered his hand. Catlyn took his hand in a quick handshake. He had pleasant laughing eyes, a deep brown, almost black. He was broad, almost as broad as Jack and just as tall. His dark skin glowed with good health of an outdoorsman.

   "I'm Detective Tyron Anderson."

   "Hello." Catlyn indicated the living room, its neatly placed sofa, loveseat, end tables and coffee table. "Thanks for helping out."

   "No problem. I was just about to head down to the waterfront when Jag called."

   "Jag?" Catlyn asked with raised brows.

   "Yea, Jack Anthony Gard. None of the guys in his special ops unit ever called him Jack."

   Catlyn wasn't aware Jack had been part of a special ops team. "Was that during Desert Storm?"

   "Yes. Jag did a couple tours but that first one was enough for me. I can get killed right here in my city instead of thousands of miles away, might as well be protecting my family and friends rather than a bunch of strangers."

   Catlyn nodded at his reasoning. "Any kind of protecting is good."

   His smile was megawatt. "Yes, I agree. Although, if I knew there were agents who look like you in the FBI, I might have chosen a different career path."

   Catlyn was stunned. She never knew what to do with such blatant compliments. "Uh, thank you, Detective Anderson."

   "It's Ty, please."

"Uh, ok, Ty it is."

He stepped closer. "And can I call you Catlyn?"

   Catlyn suddenly felt that closed-in feeling she used to get when she was first recovering from the rape and she had started to be around males who weren't related to her. She could feel the panic attack start in the pit of her stomach. The roaring in her ears drowned out what the detective was saying.

   Catlyn started to back away. She didn't want to be embarrassed in front of one of her potential colleagues while on this job. She stumbled into a solid wall that hadn't been there on her way into the living room. Then strong arms came around her, pulling her against the solid wall.

   "You can call her Agent Lyte or mine, your pick." Jack's voice held warning.

   "Oh, man, it's like that?" Tyron laughingly said.

   "Yeah, it's exactly like that." Jack's voice held no laughter.

   Detective Anderson frowned. "Hey, Jag, I wasn't trying anything with your lady. You can get rid of the tone."

   "I just want to be clear detective."

   "Crystal, Chief Gard." Ty did everything but salute.

   "You better head down to the waterfront. Agent Lyte will be down in less than an hour and I want to make sure all her back up is in place."

   Ty gave Jack a look and then he did salute. "Yes, sir". He left quietly.

   Jack turned Catlyn in his arms. "Kitten, are you ok?"

   She was trembling and starting to hyperventilate. It was so embarrassing. He led her to her bedroom. He had put together the queen size bed, as well as making the bed with the new linens she had purchased. He also hung the curtains.

   He gently sat her on the bed, caressing her arm soothingly. "Is there anything I can get you? Water? Aspirin?"

   Catlyn shook her head. "No, I am ok." She smiled ruefully when he frowned with obvious disbelief. "Well, I will be ok in a couple of minutes."

   Jack nodded and continued to touch her. "Take your time."

   "You know, I really am not a basket case. I swear to you I am a capable and an accomplished agent." She gave him a self-loathing grimace. "I don't know what's wrong with me today."

   "Perhaps it's being back in your hometown that you haven't seen in twenty-five years. Maybe it's supposed to be just a tad traumatic." He continued to caress her. "Give yourself a break."

   "I was actually coming to help you." She held up the first-aid kit that was still in her hands. "And here you are comforting me."

   "Does it happen a lot?" He asked.

   She gave him a quick look before looking down again. "You mean the episode I had in the living room?"

   "Yes."

   "It used to happen all the time when I-I f-first got out of the hospital and started my recovery. Being near a male that was much bigger than me and I wasn't related to use to make me physically ill. But, I haven't had one in a very long time. I mean it's been years."

   "Maybe you are having a triggered episode, like with PTSD. When I came back state-side, I use to have the most God-awful nightmares and woke with the shakes."

   "Jack you've been to war. I was assaulted, hardly the same thing." Needing to do something constructive, Catlyn opened the first-aid kit, reaching for his hand.

   Complying with her silent request for his hand, Jack swore. "That's bullshit. You fought for your life, received life threatening injuries, had surgery and survived; sounds a hell of a lot like PTSD to me!"

   Catlyn didn't say anything more, instead, keeping her attention on cleaning the open skin across his knuckles, putting Neosporin on and then putting on Band-Aids specifically for the knuckles. It helped ease her tremble to have her mind focused on Jack.

   She gathered the discarded gauze and paper from the BandAids, put the Neosporin back in the first-aid kit and closed it all up. She tossed the trash in the little can by the side of her bed.

   She turned to find Jack regarding her with an appraising once over. "What?" She asked

   "You forgot the kiss-to-make-it-better." Jack's eyes went to her mouth.

   Catlyn was instantly reminded of his long ago first-aid in the school's parking lot. She sat back down and gently took his hand, brought it to her lips and sweetly pressed a kiss to his newly bandaged knuckles.

   "There, is that better?" She looked up at him with a small smile.

   His beautiful eyes had gone dark green. He whispered, "No, I need more." He slowly advanced towards her until his mouth was just a hair's breath away from hers. He stopped and held in that position. They exchanged breaths while he waited to see her reaction. When her lashes flutter closed, hiding eyes that had gone dark with arousal, he moaned and finished closing the miniscule gap between their lips.

   Heat was instant. He slowly took her lips in nibbling tastes until she gasped, opening her mouth for the masterful stroke of his tongue pass her teeth, gliding playfully along her tongue, engaging it in a molten swirl of trading strokes.

"Jack." Catlyn moaned.

   He answered her moan with a grunt, taking her down to the bed. He pulled her close as he started to caress her bare thigh. Jack parted their kiss to whisper, "You aren't wearing any stockings?"

   Breathless she answered, "N-no."

   He smiled. "Good." He then continued their kisses. He stroked her from knee to mid-thigh, pushing the black skirt up as he went, getting ever closer to the apex between her legs.

   Catlyn put her arms around Jack's neck, pulling him closer. She couldn't get close enough. Her body craved the contact of his much bigger, muscular body, its heat and strength. She rubbed his shoulder with one hand as the other threaded her fingers through his hair.

   Breaking their kiss to give her lingering pecks along her neck, Jack pushed her skirt up pass her hips, revealing white lace panties. He lifted to see what he uncovered.

   "Beautiful. So very beautiful." He hooked a finger in the thin band of her panties, quirked a questioning brow at Catlyn. She hesitated, going still with indecision. Closing her eyes tightly, she nodded her consent. She was beyond nervous and quaking uncontrollably but she was curious and wanted to know if she could do more than respond to Jack's kisses. In twenty-five years she hadn't been able to respond to any man physically, either to their kisses or their touch. Perhaps Jack would be the exception to the rule.

   Jack touching her legs and thighs with a guiding hand positioned himself between her legs, eye level with her pussy. "Mmmm, someone has a Brazilian Wax. The last time I was this close to your sexy pussy you had a full, thick bush going on down here." He whispered the words as he gave little kisses at the top of her groin, trying to relax her fierce trembling.

   Catlyn was scared and not scared. She wanted to know so much if she could be normal but she was also petrified that she wouldn't be able to 'perform' like a normal woman. His words help distract her from the very terrifying realization that Jack was between her thighs, his breath teasing her netherlips. "D-do yo-u not like the Brazilian?"

   He glanced up quickly, giving her a very male smile. "Sweetheart, I'd muff-dive you any way you give it to me, wild bush, landing strip, bald, I don't care." Catlyn kept her eyes closed.

   His words were creating a pleasant tingle on her pussy lips. She couldn't keep still, squirming, moving her pelvis closer to the enjoyable source of the tingle, which was Jack's mouth.

   "Ooo baby, move just like that when my tongue is so deep inside you." He groaned, pushing her legs even wider he placed the bottoms of her feet on the top of his shoulders. "That's it Kitten, nice and wide so I can see all that lovely pink."

   It surprised him again, like the first time. She was chocolatybrown on the outside but once he parted her pussy she was bright pink. She was like a chocolate-covered strawberry. It drove him wild. At the sight, his cock pushed insistently against his jeans. But he put aside his arousal. He wanted to make Catlyn come again just like he did when she was 15 and he had been 18. She had been so sweet then.

   Jack took his time. Very much like when he kissed the lips on her mouth. He gave her soft nibbles along her slit before giving it a hot stroke. Catlyn cried out and arched off the bed. Jack paused to look at her face, making sure all the sounds she emitted were from pleasure and not pain or fear. Her head was thrown back against the mattress. He couldn't see her face.

   "You ok, baby?" The scent of her arousal was heavenly. He wanted to bury his face in her pussy and not come up until she begged him to stop. She gave a slight moan but no words. "Kitten, I am going to need more than those sexy little sounds if you want me to continue." He gave her another lick, swirling his tongue around her clit. "I need to hear you say you're ok. Give me your words or I stop."

   Jack didn't know if he'd really be able to actually stop. But, he would not contribute to any pain or bad memories for her. When he thought she wasn't going to answer and he would have to find the strength to leave her, words came shakily but clearly. "D-don't stop. I-I- am ok. I-if y-you stop, I am going to get my Glock from the gun safe and shoot you."