Aftershock (4 page)

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Chapter Six

Caitlyn’s eyes opened just as the
amber emergency lights flickered back on.

Reality hit her like a slap to
the face. She had lost herself in the fantasy of her dream man after her
meltdown and had let him guide her through the darkness to a place filled with
passion instead of fear. But now, she felt awkward and unsure of herself. Her
teeth clenched as she slowly pulled off his lap, letting the still semi-hard
stalk of his cock leave the haven of her body. She immediately felt empty
without him inside her and the silent way he was watching her was making her
even more nervous.

She looked down at herself and
winced. Dear god, she looked thoroughly debauched. Mostly naked, the only covering
she had was the skirt bunched up around her waist and one lone red shoe on her
right foot. She could feel Tag’s seed dripping down her thighs and had to hold
back a shiver as she remembered the feeling of him coming in her. She’d loved
it. Perhaps too much. Hell, she didn’t even know him and she had taken more
risks in the last hour than she had in her entire life.

Clearly, she had lost her mind.

She dressed in silence, needing
to distance herself a little from what had happened. Acutely aware he was doing
the same, she could feel his dark penetrating gaze on her even though she
refused to look at him. The phone rang in the panel and he walked over to
answer it.

“We’re fine. Yes, that’s good to
know.” He gave a little chuckle. “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll be here.”

“The guard said they think the
quakes are over. They should have us out of here in a little while.”

“Oh, okay. Good.”

When she was mostly put together
again she felt rather than saw him move to her. His muscular arms wrapped
around her gently, holding her to him as if she belonged there.

“Please don’t regret what we did,
Caitlyn. I’m sorry I pushed you, but I don’t want you to pull away from me
now.”

Caitlyn sighed as she laid her
head against his chest. She knew it wasn’t fair to freeze him out now, but
having never done anything remotely like this, she wasn’t sure how to act. “I
don’t know what to do now,” she whispered, deciding for honesty.

Panic racing through him as he felt
her pulling away. They’d just had the most incredible sex of his life, and he
knew he would want her again and again.

Today.

Tomorrow.

Forever.

He needed to seal the deal
somehow. To tell her what he was feeling to counter the awkwardness he could
sense she was feeling.

Come on Tag, think!

He pulled back, taking a small
step back to give her some room. Looking at her beautiful face solemnly, he
held one of his large hands out to her. “All you have to do is meet me halfway.
Can you do that, baby?”

Tag waited, holding his breath
until she placed her small hand in his. A sigh of relief escaped as he pulled
her back into his arms. “I know we’ve kind of started this backwards, but we
can make this work. Since we’re going to be in here for a while, why don’t we
get to know each other more?”

A slight blush crossed her cheeks
as she looked away from him, pulling at the fabric of her skirt. “Isn’t it a
bit late for that?” 

“Not at all, sweetheart. We’re
just getting started.” Tag’s face took on a determined look. “I was serious
when I said I didn’t want this to be a one-time thing, Caitlyn.”

She looked back at him, searching
his face for a moment in silence before nodding slowly. “Then that might be a
good idea.”

Smiling, Tag lowered them back
down so they were both sitting on the floor again, this time side-by-side. He leaned
back against the wall, bracing one of his knees up, keeping her small hand in
his as he angled his body toward her.  He felt a surge of contentment as he
looked down at her fingers entwined with his.  Knowing he was making her
nervous, he had to figure out a way to make her feel comfortable with him. 

“I know you’ve had a pretty
shitty day so far, but I’m hoping that meeting me isn’t part of that. What I
said before stands true. I’ve wanted to meet you for awhile and I’m glad we got
stuck in here together. Hell, I don’t mean I’m glad we got stuck, I just mean
that I’m glad it was with you. I just don’t like that it frightened you.”

She winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean
to go off like that. But no, meeting you has actually been the best part of my
day,” Caitlyn said softly.

 Tag flashed her a brilliant
smile, pulling her close to him. “Let’s play the question game.”

“The question game?”

Tag settled her against him, her
head resting against his shoulder. “Yeah, you get to ask a question, I have to
answer it, whatever it is. Then I get to ask one, then you.”

“Hmm, okay.  I get to go first?” Caitlyn
asked, playing with a button on his shirt.

“Go ahead.”

“Have you, umm…have you ever done
something like this before?”

“You mean have I ever had mind
blowing sex in an elevator with someone I just met?”

She coughed delicately. “Yeah.”

Tag pushed her chin up with his
finger until she was looking at him. He leaned down and brushed his lips softly
against hers. “No Caitlyn. I’ve never done this before. But I’m really glad we
did.”

He nearly groaned as she smiled
at him again. A dimple formed in one of her cheeks making him want to lick it.
He tried to contain a shudder as he told his dick to behave. She already
thought he was a sex-starved manic, now he needed to show her there was more to
him than that. “My turn. Have you always had a fear of the dark?”

Tag silently cursed himself as
Caitlyn tensed up. He was pushing too fast.

She frowned at him. “Just because
I’m don’t like the dark that doesn’t make me weak.”

Confused, Tag nodded slowly. “I
know. Caitlyn, we all have things we’re afraid of. I just want to get to know
you, baby. Tell me, I promise your secrets are safe with me.”

She took a deep breath, releasing
it on a sigh. “Long story short, yes I have always been afraid of the dark.”

“I think there is more to that
story, sweetheart. You have to answer honestly and completely or the game
doesn’t work.”

Caitlyn turned so she could look
at him. She pushed a few tendrils of hair out of her face as her piercing crystal
eyes searched his. 

“You want the whole story?” At
his nod she continued. “Alright, but I’m not telling you this for you to feel
sorry for me.  I just want to say that up front. I don’t want your pity.”

“No pity, got it.”

Caitlyn sat back so they both
faced the closed door of the elevator.  It would be easier to say without
looking at him.

“I grew up in the suburbs right
outside of Chicago. I lived in a nice house, had lots of friends, went to a
good school, but… Both of my parents are doctors. No, not just doctors, they’re
gifted surgeons. They thought it was their duty to pass on their brilliant
brains by having a child…only, they ended up with me. They were never around
much, and most of the time I was fine with that. I had some really nice housekeepers
that also looked after me.”

She took a deep breath before
continuing. “There was this one time, when I was about five or six… The
housekeeper at the time had to leave due to a family emergency. She left a
message for my parents, but they were both busy at the hospital. We got hit
will a massive snowstorm that night and I was left alone for three days.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“I had food and stuff, so it
wasn’t that bad, but the electricity blew so there were no lights or heat. I
made a fort of all the blankets in the house, so I was warm enough. When my
parents came home it was like they were surprised to see me there. Later, I got
grounded for going into their room and taking their bedding. I wasn’t allowed
in their room. So, that’s why I hate the dark, it reminds me of that time.” Caitlyn
spoke so matter of fact, no emotions and she just shrugged at the end of her
explanation. 

Rage unlike any he had ever felt
overwhelmed Tag for the child that she had been.  He wanted to go back in time
and rip her parents apart limb from limb with his bare hands. Hell, he’d still
like to do it.

 Caitlyn glanced up at Tag to see
a fierce frown on his face. “No pity, Tag.”

“Fuck. This isn’t pity, Caitlyn.
Fuck that, I’m furious. Goddamn it, no one,
no one
has a right to treat
a child like that.” Tag spit out. He hugged her too him. Needing to comfort
her, needing that comfort himself. “God baby, I’m sorry you had to go through
that.”

“It’s okay, really.” She patted
his thigh, trying to sooth him as he gathered her close as if she were still
that cold child in need of warmth and care.

“Do you…are you close to your
parents still?” he asked hesitantly.

She sighed. “Nope. They sort of
disowned me when I turned eighteen. Their job was done, so to speak.”

“Fucking bastards.”

“I’m fine. Really. I have a good
life without them. I just don’t like the dark now. I don’t think I ever will. I
freak out sometimes, but I can live with that. So, now you’ve seen me at my
worst.” Wanting to change the subject badly, she asked her question. “Tell me
something you’re afraid of. What’s your greatest fear?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “If
I tell you this, you’ll be the keeper of a secret I’ve never told anyone.”

Caitlyn smiled and returned his
earlier words back to him. “I promise your secrets are safe with me.”

 “Alright. I don’t like heights.
I’m terrified of them.”

“Really?”

 “Yeah. It’s not exactly
something I have a reason for either. I’ve just never liked them. Not roller
coasters, not flying. Hell, I once almost puked my guts out on a family
vacation to the Grand Canyon. I could never show it or tell anyone about it,
because my family would have been ruthless. I get all cold and sweaty and it,
well, it freaks me out. So there. High places. I’m afraid of heights.”

Caitlyn tried to hide the smile
that wanted to break out but she wasn’t very successful. “So, you hate heights,
but you work in one of the tallest buildings in all of San Francisco?”

“My office is on the seventh
floor.”

“Of course.”

She let a little chuckle slip
free and Tag frowned. “Fine, laugh at my pain.”

“I’m sorry. I guess we aren’t
going on vacation anytime soon.” Caitlyn laughed and hung on to his arm as he tried
to push her away. “I’m kidding! Geez! Tag, you have nothing to be ashamed of,
it’s just that you don’t seem like someone who would be afraid of anything.”

Tag grumbled for a moment before
he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side again. “Okay,
you’re forgiven for laughing at me. It’s my turn now. How old are you?”

“Twenty-five. Well, twenty-six tomorrow.
How ‘bout you?”

“Thirty-four. And happy birthday
baby. We’ll have to celebrate tonight when we get out of here. What do you want
to do? Dinner? Dancing? Hot monkey sex? I think I can arrange all three.”

Caitlyn chuckled. “That counts as
your question, you know. Birthday’s have never really been a big thing for me. It’s
no big deal, but dinner would be nice.”

“Well, we’ll celebrate over
dinner tonight. Birthdays should be special.”

Caitlyn gave him a placating
smile that had him frowning at her. “So, it’s my turn now. Tell me about your
family.”

The easy smile returned to his
face. Stretching his legs out, he pulled her onto his lap quickly before she
knew what he was doing. “Settle down, I’m answering your question. I grew up
with a big family, well, a big extended family at least. My parents are still
married. Actually, I think they are more in love everyday. It’s a difficult
relationship to live up to, seeing them together, wanting that kind of love. I
took over the family business when my dad decided to retire. They do a lot of
traveling now.”

“That sounds nice,” Caitlyn said
with a sigh as she fit her head into the crook of his neck.

 “I have two brothers, but I’m
the middle child. We get along, although we fight. I think fighting with them
is an entertaining hobby that we just seem to do when we’re together rather
than for an actual reason. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, though.
Lucian, my oldest brother, used to work for the government doing…something he
couldn’t tell us. He says he’s in private security now, but I think he still
might be doing some secret spy stuff. Whatever it is, we never really know what
he is up to, he just seems to pop up whenever we need him.”

“That must be difficult, him
having such a dangerous job.”

“It is, but trust me, he can
handle himself. Marcus is the baby and still lives in New York. He runs things
for the family business from there. Besides that, I have aunts, uncles, and
cousins scattered all over the place. Growing up, it seemed as if we never really
had any privacy. Someone was always around, sticking their nose in your
business.”