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CHAPTER FOUR
Cace gave up his bed for Frankie when she moved in. His spare room was still full of boxes; a bed was being delivered later in the week. He still needed to buy more furniture. Other than the bed Frankie slept in, all he had had were two sofas, his game consoles and a large flatscreen TV. Not that either of them had done much sleeping. They spent most nights staying up late talking or watching old movies until they both eventually fell asleep together on the sofa. Neither said anything to each other when they woke, other than good morning. They still hadn’t had the conversation about why she’d stopped returning his calls and emails, but they’d get to that.
The bruising on her face and body had begun to go down and she had insisted on exercising. The most he would let her do was some Tai Chi with him, which wasn’t her usual workout, but it helped her to stay focused. Tonight, she’d fallen asleep on the sofa, while he'd been at Michael’s, working on the video footage they’d obtained.
Cace took her e-reader from her lap and placed it on the end table. He looked at the cover on the home screen to see a variation of a Jane Austin classic with zombies on the front. He shook his head laughing. He picked her up and carried her through to his bedroom. She cuddled closer into him as he held her. Without waking, she rubbed her face against his beard as she murmured to herself. He was slowly wearing her down. As each day passed, she gave him a little more of herself and was getting used to his touch again. He would sneak kisses on her cheek or shoulder if her top allowed. She would lay with her head in his lap or on his chest when they talked late into the night. He wasn’t sure she realised he was gathering information, as he tried to find out why she’d lied about her job and what she’d been doing.
He breathed in her scent; her hair was still a little damp and he could smell the body cream she loved to use with a hint of vanilla after she bathed. It made him hard. His sweet tooth itched for a taste of her. She mumbled something again that he couldn’t make out. He laid her gently on the bed, trying not to wake her. Cace watched as she pulled his pillow towards her before he covered her with the quilt.
Cace left the bedroom door open and returned to the living room. He looked around and saw that Frankie had already left her mark in little ways. She’d insisted on helping him furnish the place. They’d shopped online and each day furniture and other items had arrived, from cushions to throws, a big dining table and chairs that could seat eight was now placed between the kitchen and living room. Her favourite coffee machine was her moving in gift to him. His blank canvas of an apartment now looked a lot homier rather than what she imagined a glorified barrack looked like. He knew Frankie had been surprised to see pictures of herself included on the wall of his living room. The first thing he’d done when he had come home was hang pictures as a reminder as to why he was here.
Not being able to sleep, he started unpacking the few boxes that were left. Placing books and CDs on the shelves, he reached into the last box and found the wooden box of letters Frankie had sent him when he’d been stationed overseas with her care packages. He’d kept every one of them. He was relieved that she hadn’t found someone else. Now all he had to do was convince her he was serious.
She had been the only woman he had ever loved, even if he’d never told her. He put the letters back in the box and locked them away in his safe, hidden behind a family picture.
Cace switched off the main lights, stretched out on the sofa and tried to get comfortable as he listened for the sounds of the night. He couldn’t hear anything, and the silence made him feel at peace, glad that costly soundproofing and triple glazed windows had been a good investment. He’d enjoyed their time together, whether it was sharing or cooking a meal together or just relaxing and catching up. Glancing at his watch, he realised he only had a few hours to catch some sleep. Michael would be coming over for breakfast. He’d been doing a background check on Frankie. Cace wasn’t happy about it, but it was something they needed to do when they had gone through some of the camera footage Michael had obtained.
He would have shown her tonight had she been awake. Frankie had wanted to see anything they found first before they handed anything over to the Police, but they hadn’t even been asked for it. The community on her beat had got word of her injuries and when Michael had asked for any phone or security footage, it was handed over willingly. Her body camera had been taken into evidence immediately and she’d given a statement. She was now on medical leave until she was fit to return to work. Both suspects had been arrested and released on bail, but something still felt wrong to all of them as they hadn’t given up the third man. They seemed more scared of this person than of going to prison. Cace undressed down to his boxers and pulled a throw from the back of the sofa and threw it over him as he drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
As Cace woke, he laid still as he heard Frankie cry out. He ran to his bedroom, switching on the bedside light before trying to gently wake her, leaning over to touch her shoulder. She kicked off the covers as she thrashed about fighting an invisible attacker. “Frankie, honey it’s Cace, wake up.” Frankie reached out in her sleep grabbing his hand, still in whatever nightmare had made her cry out. She threw him off balance and took him onto his back on the bed.
As she opened her eyes, ready to strike out, Cace snapped her out of it by shouting, “Frankie it’s me, stand down!”
She opened her eyes and with a panicked look around the room, she picked out items to bring her brain into focus. “Chair, lamp, window, blind, table.” She repeated the words as a mantra several times as her erratic heartbeat slowed.
Cace laid still as Frankie croaked, “I’m so sorry, are you ok?” She removed her hand from his throat and ran her hands across his chest trying to climb off. Cace just pulled her closer, and tears filled her eyes, as she thought of the man who had plagued her nightmares for the last five years. She let the tears fall.
He pulled her down, rolled her to his side and held her in place, stroking her back until he could feel her calm, and the tears subside. “Baby, who did you think I was? The person who caused the scars you try to hide from me?”
“I’m sorry, sometimes the nightmares seem real, and he’s in the room kneeling over me.” Cace reluctantly let her go. He knew it was wrong to be getting an erection at a time like this, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her as he watched her climb off the bed and move to the window in her little shorts and matching camisole. Her bum swayed slightly as she walked away; it was round like a peach. He didn’t know what he wanted to do more; bite it or throw her across his lap and spank her until she told him what he needed to know. He knew he needed to be patient because this was about her. He could wait a little longer.
She looked back at him, wiping her eyes. Cace remade the bed and laid down. Tonight he’d stay with her. “You’ve not slept properly since you stopped taking the medication the doctor gave you, and you’re wound tighter than a Swiss clock. Come lay down and I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”
Frankie looked at him as he stretched out. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with him lying next to her. She wanted him. All the little touches and sneaked kisses hadn’t gone a miss. He was slowly getting through the walls she had rebuilt around her heart. She knew if she laid next to him in bed, and he held her, the floodgate to the emotions she had held in for so long would burst open. She’d pushed him away five years ago for a reason. She’d fallen in love with him and couldn’t continue their friends with benefits relationship anymore. Even though it had been her idea, it was breaking her heart to be with him when he wasn’t truly hers. She wanted to be someone’s everything and she knew she hadn’t been his then.
Frankie bit her lip as she thought about her choices. If she stayed, she wouldn’t want to leave. That would be bad for her. Even though she was older now, she had baggage that he didn’t know about and she wouldn’t be able to handle leaving him a second time.
She moved back to the bed and as Cace patted the empty side of the bed, she looked at him and climbed in beside him. He pulled the covers over them both and wrapped his arms around her, and tried to hide his erection. He held her close and kissed her shoulder. Frankie wiggled as she tried to get comfortable and he groaned.
“Baby, if you want to go on believing I wasn’t going to come and find you, or that I’m just flirting to make you feel better, stop wiggling your cute little bum.” Frankie felt her stomach somersault. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
Unsure if she was brave enough to go after what she wanted, she leaned over and turned on the bedside light. She turned to face him. “What do you mean Cace? Spell it out.” She waited with bated breath.
“Honey I am not going to lie, I haven’t been a monk in the last five years, since you ended things, but I want you back in my life. Not friends with benefits, not just for tonight; I want you. I loved you before but knew we both weren’t ready for more, but I should have told you how I felt. I still love you; I was going to get Michael to work his magic when the building was finished and try to find you as I hadn’t been able to. He can get into places I can’t on the internet.”
Cace waited; the decision had to be hers. He watched a range of emotions flit across her face, from wariness to surprise and then she smiled, the smile that stopped his heart.
Frankie laid back down and turned to face him. Her fingers moved slowly down the side of his face before she ran her thumb across his lower lip. He took it gently in his mouth. Frankie loved his eyes; they were a deep brown and they were looking at her with hunger.
She leaned over and kissed him. “Baby, are you sure? I won’t stop unless you say no.”
Frankie ran her tongue along the seam of his lips and kissed him again as she reached for his cock. “Yes, Cace. I love you.” It was all he needed to hear.
He pulled her closer, so she was practically under him. He’d kissed a lot of women in his thirty years, but none were Frankie. He gently took her bottom lip between his teeth to get her attention. The way she stroked him; if he didn’t stop her he was going to come and he didn’t want that yet because this was all about her.
He rolled her beneath him and held her arms above her head before he lifted her camisole over her head. “Leave your hands where they are, no touching. I want to feast on you.” He removed his boxers and moved back to her. As she laid with her arms stretched above her head, Cace placed feather-like kisses on her neck. He waited to see if she would listen to his demands. She opened her mouth to say something but no words would come out so she just smiled.
