7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) (62 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Serenity’s new routine included a massage from Craig before he left to go across the lake and workout. Today, they would have to go into town. She needed more food because she had been feeding two. He needed to buy more wine and condoms. She had finished her morning nap and read Craig’s latest note. He’d told her to soak for a while in the Jacuzzi before getting dressed for a trip into town. Never one to turn down sound advice, she made herself some fluffy eggs and a huge mug of chai tea. The eggs were digesting and the tea was in hand to keep her company in the Jacuzzi. She pressed a couple buttons to start the bubbling effects in the warm water. Craig had thoughtfully turned the warmer on before he left.

Chris watched, embraced by woods and hidden from view. He waited to watch her get into the tub.

Serenity untied and shrugged off her robe. A few seconds later, she entered the water and her muscles began to relax as she became engrossed in her book of the day.

Chris looked at her surprisingly generous bosom and petite milk chocolate frame. He drank in the sight of her deep brown pebbled nipples and the neat little landing strip on her mound like a water-starved horse.

He started walking toward the cabin. He had no idea what he was going to say. All he knew was he had to get his hands on her without delay.

Craig boarded his boat with his duffle bag. He also had groceries he had pulled from his own supply. He would cook for her today. He sniffed the air and noticed the foul odor that had again been present this morning had faded. It was very early in the afternoon, and the day wasn’t exactly warm. But it wasn’t cold either. The sun was shining. The air was still. The lake was calm. Still, he felt tense. It was more than just yesterday’s intruder. His inner alarm was sounding off.

He started across the lake. He thought she would enjoy boating around the bend in the lake and docking behind the locally owned general store. It was a scenic route. He hurried, though he couldn’t figure out why. Something urged him on to Serenity.

Anthony sat in the window and watched Craig making his way back to the cabin. Looking around at Melvin, who was sitting with his feet propped up and sipping on his second vodka, he said, “Look. Chris has been gone a while. I’m going to go look for him.”

“Yeah, you do that. Make sure he isn’t somewhere fucking up the game plan. You know how he is when he gets in his feelings,” Melvin said without making eye contact.

Choosing not to follow that up with a rebuttal, Ant went out the back. Faintly, he made the call of a whippoorwill. They had learned to do that in Scouts many summers ago. He and the guys had used it often over the years. He listened, but heard no answering call. Walking further into the woods, he continued calling for Chris.

Chris was leering at Serenity. He couldn’t hear anything. His feet were already carrying him to his destiny.

Craig was only about a third of the way across the lake.

Anthony walked, looking for Chris, but not with any real urgency.

Serenity looked up because she
felt
Chris more than she heard his approach. She looked over toward the unknown lurking man and thought,
Is this the weekend of the giants?

Sliding down further under the bubbles to conceal her nakedness, she waited for him to say something.

Standing there in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt with a hooded jacket, he almost looked like a big kid. His eyes did not look young, though. They looked
greedy
. His orbs shined with lust.

“Good afternoon, Miss Lady,” he said in a quiet voice, almost whispering.

It sent chills through Serenity’s body as she soaked in the warm, bubbling water.
This is bad
, she thought.
Don’t antagonize him
, she silently advised herself.

“I hope I haven’t startled you,” he said.

“Well, I can’t say I was expecting you, but I imagine lots of people from the other cabins are having a nice walk in the woods today. It’s nice out,” she said, calmly.

“No, I don’t think there are any other people out around here today. Seems like it’s just you, me, and your boyfriend.”

“Yes, well, I’m expecting him to join me in just a second. Are you here with your family?” she asked, wondering how this man knew about Craig and how soon she could expect him to return. She didn’t like the look in his eyes. She felt hyperaware. The trees seemed to be enormous and standing in stark contrast to the earth and sky. She felt the very light breeze and heard birds calling; they both seemed loud in her ear. Her heart was racing, and she felt short of breath.

“Well,” the man said as he peeled off his jacket. “How about I join you in the Jacuzzi until your boyfriend arrives? Do you think he would mind?”

Smiling, she said in the sweetest tone possible, “I apologize.  You probably can’t see from where you are standing, but I’m not in a position to share the water with neighbors. I’m sure you understand.”

Craig was piloting the boat more than halfway across the lake.

Anthony was still walking through the woods, nowhere near close enough to stop Chris.

Chris paused while shrugging off his shirt. He smiled at her pretty face and her sweet tone of voice. For a moment, he thought she’d granted him permission to join her in the water. Then the words penetrated and all he heard was, “
No
.”

Narrowing his eyes, he said, “I would think you wanted to be neighborly.”

Still trying to delay what seemed to be inevitably approaching, Serenity continued in her sweet tone. “If you come back about five, we can have a little cookout. Bring some wine, and I’ll cook. Craig caught some fish.  We’ll have a nice dinner.” Now, scooting to the far side of the hot tub, Serenity watched as Chris continued his approach.

Anthony was doing the bird call. He said aloud, to himself, “Where is Chris?”

Chris rested his elbows on the ledge of the Jacuzzi. He flicked water with his fingertips toward Serenity.

“Why did you move over there so far away from me?” Chris asked.

The question was clearly a rhetorical one, so Serenity held her tongue and wished for Craig. She thought she could faintly hear a boat’s motor. She didn’t know what to do. She was afraid if she tried to make a run for the house, he would easily catch her. There were a couple of problems; the first one being she was wet and naked. Then there was the concern that trying to hurriedly get out of the water would cause her to fall and injure herself. It was a big step down from the wooden block on the side.  It hadn’t been designed with short-legged folks in mind. She decided the only thing that would make her leave the water would be if he got in with her or dragged her out. She just needed to keep a safe distance between them.

Chris started walking around the Jacuzzi toward Serenity. She kept sliding around, staying out of his reach. They weren’t talking now.  She was just looking at him, watching the expression on his face grow meaner and meaner.

Both of them knew what was coming next. The only question was how he was going to get his hands on her.

Anthony jogged through the woods, motivated by a mounting sense of urgency. He was afraid that he knew exactly where Chris was, but he hoped that he was wrong. Surely he wasn’t that stupid.

Craig idled near the shore to avoid hitting the dock.

Chris lunged across the expanse of water and tried to grab Serenity by the arm.

She screamed.

Anthony broke into a full sprint when he heard the scream. “You muhfucker,” he hissed. “You stupid muhfucker.”

All of Craig’s muscles tightened when he heard Serenity. She sounded terrified. He couldn’t throttle up because he was too close to the dock. Crashing the boat wouldn’t solve any problems. He forced himself to be patient and eased up to the dock. He tied on, grabbed his duffle bag, and was in a full run when he heard her scream again.

Chris jumped in the Jacuzzi and held Serenity by both arms before she could scramble out. “Come on now, be nice,” he said.

Serenity struggled to understand how her morning had gone from bliss to shit so quickly. She jerked as hard as she could and was able to slip away from his grip. Holding on to wet skin was tricky.

Before he knew what to expect, she rolled over the lip of the Jacuzzi and bolted for the door. Chris jumped out of the water and got there just before she did.

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her over to the Jacuzzi. He pressed her tummy against the edge. Chris leaned over her back and said, “I told you to be nice.”

Tears pooled in her eyes, her scalp stung, and it seemed it was all happening to someone else. She couldn’t be naked and moments from being raped at her vacation cabin. Gasping for breath from his weight on her back and the pressure on her tummy, she pleaded, “Please. Stop. I won’t tell. I won’t tell.” She felt him kick her legs apart. He leaned her further over the edge. She kept talking. “Don’t do this. Don’t do this. Don’t do this.” She wanted to scream it, but she didn’t have the breath.

Chris bit her shoulder and Serenity found that she c
ould
scream. She felt him fumbling with his jeans and attempted to reach behind her and push him away, even as she heard his zipper.

Then it seemed to her that God in heaven had paused from his busy schedule to check out her situation, and sent an angel because she heard Craig roar, “Get your hands off of her
now
!

Immediately, she was free. The man with the mean face let her go and turned around to face Craig.

Serenity had no time to feel relieved. Before she could gather her wits enough to think about anything, Craig
literally
flew past her with one leg in the air! He performed some type of martial arts-style kick that landed square in mean face’s chest, knocking him into the Jacuzzi.

Mean Face recovered and after jumping out of the water, he rushed at Craig with a side kick and punch before dropping into a fighting stance of some sort. Craig smiled and swiftly pivoted on his back foot, kicking his opponent in the face. He followed up with several body blows that were only partially blocked. That kick to the face had stunned Chris. He hadn’t anticipated that move at all.

Stunned, Serenity wanted to stare, but she knew she needed to make herself useful. The first thing she needed was clothes so she ran inside the cabin and threw on a t-shirt, shorts and some loafers. She grabbed a rope she had seen under the kitchen cabinet and raced back outside.

Craig was holding Mean Face under the water.

Gasping, she stopped in her tracks and opted for a question rather than running up to the fight. “Are you going to drown him?”

“No,” Craig answered without taking his eyes away from Chris. “I’m going to hold him under until he stops fighting and then I’m going to count to three.  After I count to three, I will haul him out and tie him up with that rope you’re holding in your hand.” He looked up at her and dropped the most scandalous wink at her that she had ever seen in her life.

“Oh…okay,” she said. What else could one say? She wasn’t going to disagree. Mean Face had been about to rape her. He had been lowering his zipper when Craig appeared. She really didn’t feel particularly forgiving at the moment. It could wait until Sunday. By then, she would have had a few baths, a few nights sleep and perhaps have begun to force the memory to the furthest corner of her mind. ‘Til then, she would allow her fury full reign. Asshole rapist!

A short time later, the thrashing stopped. Craig waited a few more seconds and then hauled her attacker out of the water. He immediately checked for a pulse. Looking at Serenity he said, “Its faint, but he’s alive.”

Turning the nearly-drowned man over on his side, Craig whacked his back a few times and seconds later, up gushed a lot of water. Mean Face had a coughing fit while Serenity tossed Craig the rope and watched him hogtie her now subdued attacker.

“So, what now?” Serenity asked.

Craig stood and said, “Now, we call the law and let them deal with him. We’re isolated, but not so far out that it’ll take more than twenty minutes for them to arrive.”

Serenity thought that was a great idea. She was turning to head into the house when another man stepped out of the woods, panting.

              “I heard screaming. Is everybody okay?” he asked. “I’m staying down the way and was out for a walk when I heard the lady.”

Craig turned and said, “We’ve got it managed so far. We’re just waiting on the police to arrive.”

“Do you want me to stick around and help?”

“No,” Serenity answered before Craig could. “I’m just not up for any more strange men. Thank you for your willingness to come when I was in dire need.”

The young man didn’t come any closer. “I’m glad you aren’t hurt. I’ll just make my way on back to my place,” he said, intentionally avoiding looking at Chris who was lying trussed on the ground. He sank back into the woods.

“Go ahead and make the call quickly,” Craig said.

“There are too many men wandering around these woods for my comfort,” Serenity said. She ran in and snatched her cell phone off the charger and powered it on. Walking back outside, she was looking down at the phone saying, “I’m waiting on a signal.”