Crystals (15 page)

“What’s the
matter?” Crystal asked as she continued to stroke his face.

He hesitated. When
he reopened his eyes, his expression had changed, and she knew the moment had
passed.

“If you’re asking
questions, I’m not doing this right.”

Undeterred by his
blatant attempt to distract her, she didn’t get the chance to probe further. He
silenced her with a punishing kiss. There was nothing affectionate about the
way his lips moved over hers. Pulling back, Crystal saw that the demands he
made through the bruising kiss were at odds with his expression. His eyes told
her he wanted something from her. She just didn’t know what.

“I don’t
understand what’s going on with you.”

“That makes two of
us. You’re here with me inside you and all I want to do is…”

“Tell me?”

“Did you ever love
me?”

“Of course I did,
how
can you
ask me that!”

“Because I don’t
know, that’s why!”

He was furious
with her. Their bodies remained joined, yet countless questions,
misunderstandings and feelings of uncertainty separated them.

“Is it too late
for us, Crys?”

“Yes, I think it
may be.” Feeling embarrassed at her answer, she looked away. She was so
confused. Maybe her unhesitating admission had been her inner voice of truth.

“You may think
it’s too late for us. But I know this much, you’re still here with me inside
you, and you’re not pushing me away. So, I’ll give you what you want, and leave
you to deal with everything else!”

He flipped her
onto her side. Expecting his anger to carry through into their lovemaking, she
detected nothing of his irritation in the way he held her. His touch
was filled
with such gentleness, she gasped.

Her confusion
remained, but all rational thoughts
were wiped
away
the moment he began to move inside her. Each stroke of his body was a memory of
the past. Of a time when they had loved each other with the abandon of youth.

The poignancy of
the memories he evoked were almost too much to bear. This would be the last
time they would be together like this. Therefore, while the night lasted, she
would take what he had to offer and give whatever he needed.

“I can feel you
pulling away from me. Tell me what you want, Crys. Do you want me harder,
deeper,
faster
—just tell me!”

The words
whispered in her ear, were almost as though the old Shane was back. He stroked
in and out of her with the finesse of a man who knew his way around a woman’s
body. His fingers on a constant quest to bring her pleasure.

Her heart began to
beat at a tempo that caused her breaths to leave her mouth in rapid puffs.
Everything within her tingled. Closing her eyes, Crystal reached up and drew
his head towards her. Their lips met in a kiss that was all that she
remembered. It was greedy and raw. It was as though they couldn’t get enough of
each other. Their tongues danced and stroked. His arm became a band of steel
surrounding her. Her hand fisted in his hair. He moved and found her clitoris
and stroked. Pressure built and rushed through her body.

He ripped his
mouth away. Without warning, he swung her around and onto her knees. Crystal
sensed that he no longer wanted their closeness. Now, his every thrust and
withdrawal was for one purpose only—to show his mastery of her body.

“You won’t tell me
what you want, so I’ll show you what
I
want!”

He gripped her hips
and
pistoned
into her. She fell forward, her fingers
clutching at the rug to absorb the force of his thrusts. The sting of a slap
against her flesh startled her and
was immediately followed
by the soothing rub of his palm. Then came another and another, until her skin
smarted from his onslaught. Although distracted by his actions, she couldn’t
ignore the way he worked her body. He was hard and sure and he was driving her
crazy.

“Do you like that,
Crys? I can tell you do, by the way your pussy jumps and clamps onto me. See
what you’ve been missing all this time!”

“For God’s sake,
Shane, I want to come!”

“I know you do, I
can tell. I remember all the little sounds you used to make when you wanted to
come all over me. But I’m in charge and I’m not ready for you to come.”

“Stop it, Shane!”

“I don’t believe
you. I don’t think you really want me to stop. You’re so wet I can hear you
sucking me in.”

It was as though
he was deliberately misunderstanding her words. Crystal wanted to say something
else, but he reached around and began to stroke her even as his body bent and
pushed her further into the thick rug. That was how he held her as he swarmed
her body and her senses.

He had turned into
a master of the craft of sex. He knew how many strokes to give before he
changed pattern and tempo. He knew how to take her to the edge and hold her
there until she wanted to scream. If she had known how, she would have denied
him.

“Now you can come.
Come all over me, Crys. Ya wouldn’t tell me, but I know this is what you want.
Give it to me. I want what’s mine!”

“Shane…”

“Give me what’s
mine, Crystal!”

Her climax hit
with such force, she pushed her fist into her mouth to stop the cry that tried
to force its way from her throat.

“Nah, that’s not
gonna work for me. I want to hear you.”

Her body shook and
rippled but he didn’t stop. His hands were everywhere, stroking, rubbing,
relentless in their knowing.

“Too much!”

“Nah, you can take
it. And that’s not what I want to hear.”

She was too
sensitized—it had to stop. Knowing it wouldn’t until he reached his climax,
Crystal took matters into her own hands. Without warning, she tightened her
inner muscles, released and squeezed for all she was worth. The suddenness of
the movement caught him unawares.

“Shit, Crystal. Do
that again!”

Pulsing along his
cock she did as he demanded. His hand and body moved against and within her as
another climax rushed through her body. She didn’t know how it was possible,
but its magnitude was even greater than the one before, and she screamed out
her pleasure.

This time he
joined her. His groan of fulfillment a deep sound that vibrated along her spine
as he slumped against her back.

Unable to hold
their weight, her arms and knees gave out. The only echoes in the room were the
pop and crackle of the fire and the harsh sounds of their breathing.

Chapter 12

“Where are you going?”

“To my room.”

“You’re joking
right. I
’m a bit worn out,
but nothing a shower and a
few hours shut eye won’t cure. Gonna take a shower with me?”

Crystal thought
she must be crazy to even contemplate his suggestion. But she wavered when she
saw him all stretched out looking like a shaggy bear waking from hibernation.
Recalling that she had given herself this one night, she relinquished all
doubts and followed him to his room.

Showered and lying
beside him, Crystal grew a little worried. She was a sloppy sleeper. In the
past, he hadn’t much cared that she frequently ended up on top of him. But
things were different now. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, she turned her
back and hugged the end of his big bed.

He wrapped an arm
around her and pulled her into the center of the bed. His touch was so
familiar, she couldn’t help but smile.

“This reminds me
of the old days.”

“Me too,” she agreed.

“We need to talk,
Crys. But not now. I’m too bloody tired.”

Burrowed under the
thick duvet, her senses picked up the sounds of the rain as it beat against the
windows. Behind that she heard the howl of the wind. But most of all, she was
aware of his hard body and the security of the arm wrapped around her. And
Crystal fell asleep on that lingering thought.

Her eyes popped
open. Something had disturbed her slumber. She heard it again. She tracked the
sound that drew ever nearer. Her heart began to pound in her chest. Crystal’s
nails sank into the arm that rested across her body.

Startled from his
sleep, Shane hissed and pulled away in pain. “What the…”

She transferred
her grip to his leg.

“Shit, Crys that’s
my bad leg!”

“It’s coming
closer. Do something before it gets us,” Crystal demanded in a faint voice
filled with terror.

Shane sat up and
turned on the bedside lamp. Crystal reached over and switched it off.

“Are you crazy?
Don’t turn on the lights. It’ll see us if you turn on the light!”

“It?” Shane
inquired without urgency.

“Yes… the…” She
only just managed to break off before her irrational thoughts caused her to say
the words
ghost
and
monster
in the same sentence. “You need to go
and sort this out.”

“Okay,” Shane said
with a small laugh that she missed in her apprehension.

The sound was now
directly outside the door. Crystal was terrified. What had she been thinking?
“No! Don’t go. Stay here. We should hide. Yes, that’s it. Let’s hide!”

By the time she
finished speaking, Shane was out of the bed and heading towards the door. He
pulled it open and Crystal emitted a blood-curdling scream. The sound exploded
into the room just as two shadows darted past him heading directly towards her.
Immobilized with terror, she could do nothing but clutch the covers and await
her fate.

“Heel!”

Nails rasped
against the wooden flooring as light bathed the room. Sitting beside the bed
with their tongues hanging out were two of the largest Rottweilers she’d ever
seen.

“Crys, I’d like
you to meet, Death and Kill,” Shane introduced the dogs as though he expected
them all to shake hands.

“Death and Kill!”
Crystal squealed her eyes fixed on the large hounds.

“What, I said,
Darth and Keel.”

“You did not, you
liar. I know exactly what you said!”

“I always thought
people got hard of hearing when they were much older. Is it hereditary… the
loss of hearing, I mean?”

Standing between
the dogs, Shane made no attempt to hide his laughter or his nakedness.

“This isn’t funny,
Shane.”

“Yeah, it is. What
did you think the sound was, a ghost?”

“No! And for the
record, I hate your bloody creepy house!”

Walking around the
bed he got back under the covers. The dogs had yet to move. They just sat
there, staring at her, looking goofy with their tongues hanging out.

“Nice doggies. You
both look like you need something to eat and it’s not going to be me. That’s
why your daddy is going to take you back to where you came from. Isn’t that
right, daddy?”

“You must be
bloody joking!”

“I beg your
pardon?”

“There’s no way on
earth I could produce such ugly kids.”

Crystal felt her
heart drop but did her best to ignore the feeling. “Shane, I’m not joking, get
those dogs out of here.”

With a loud sigh,
he pushed back the covers and got up. He sounded so put-upon she had to cover
her mouth to hold in her laughter. His reaction also brought back memories.
That was the same sigh he had always used when he didn’t want to do something
but knew it would make her happy.

While he was gone,
she made herself comfortable. A thought occurred to her—where did the dogs come
from? They had been nowhere in sight earlier in the evening. Wanting to ask him
the question, but secure in the knowledge the dogs wouldn’t disturb them again
for the rest of the night, she was asleep before he returned.

The next morning,
Crystal awoke to the touch of something against her forehead. Opening her eyes,
she was just in time to see Shane straighten from his position by the side of
the bed.

“I brought you
breakfast. Eat up, it’s time for that talk I mentioned last night.” He nodded
to a tray on the bedside table, turned and disappeared into the bathroom and
closed the door.

Crystal looked
around and noticed that the curtains were open. It was still gray outside and
raindrops continued to cling to the windows.

Everything still
seemed so surreal. Seeing him again after so long. Being in his house. Their
love making and now waking up in his bed. But what worried her the most was
that he had locked himself in the bathroom. Something didn’t feel right.
Suddenly uncomfortable with her nakedness, Crystal found and pulled on one of
his sweaters.

Unable to eat, she
helped herself to a cup of coffee and waited. The sound of the door opening
caught her attention. When he emerged, his face was clean shaven. The closer he
came the more confused she became.

His face carried a
long scar that his beard had concealed. Her first thought was that his driving
accident had done more damage than had been reported. At the culmination of her
thought, she remembered that all the time she had watched him race on the
circuit, he had worn a beard.

Crystal realized
his shaving carried some significance, but she didn’t know what it could be.

Shane sat beside
her, took the cup from her hand and placed it on the tray. Only then did he
give her his complete silent attention.

Unable to help
herself, Crystal ran her fingertips along the scar. It was long and pale and
traveled from his left ear to his throat. “It’s different from the one on your leg.
It almost looks as though someone tried to cut your
thr
–”

“They did. It
happened the night of your party.”

“My party… I don’t
understand,” Crystal moaned with genuine confusion and mounting distress. “How
could someone do that to you?” She pushed onto her knees to be closer to him,
an unrelenting stream of tears rolling down her cheeks at what he must have
suffered.

Unable to help
herself, she took his face between her hands and kissed her way along the
jagged edges of the scar that marred his handsomeness. A few moments passed
before she realized that he remained motionless at her touch. Pulling back, her
hands fell limply to her lap.

“Like I said, we
need to talk.”

Crystal remembered
something he had said the night before. It had troubled her at the time, but
things had been moving so quickly, she hadn’t questioned him. He had said, he
had nearly died—
twice
. She now realized he wasn’t only speaking about
his car crash.

“What happened
that night?”

Shane gave her the
abridged version and left out one important fact. That one of the men had
warned him to stay away from her.

“Do you think I
had something to do with this?” She asked with a catch in her voice.

“No. I never
thought that. But I don’t feel the same way about Gwendolyn.”

His conviction
sounded so strong it shocked her. If he really believed what he was saying
about her mother, she didn’t understand how he could even bear to be in the
same room as her.

“You’re wrong. My
mother had nothing to do with this. That you think she did is disgusting to
me!”

“Well, it’s not
disgusting to
me
! Your mother never liked me and she went out of her way
to make sure I knew it. I bet she never told you that she summoned me to a
meeting just before your birthday–”

“A meeting, what
are you talking about?” Neither Shane nor her mother had ever mentioned this to
her. Crystal’s mind was so bombarded she was having difficulty focusing on what
he was saying.

“It was at some
posh bar. She called me and asked… no demanded, I meet her. The meeting didn’t
last long. Mostly, she warned me to stay away from you, and not to turn up at
the party. I listened, did everything I could to get on her nerves, then I
left.

I wanted you to
have a good time, and that’s the only reason I even thought about staying away.
But I–”

“That’s it, a
meeting with my mother is your reason for thinking she’s responsible for your
attack?”

“Isn’t that
enough? If this had happened to you, wouldn’t you be thinking the same thing?”

“No, I wouldn’t
because my family is nothing like yours!” Crystal knew he might interpret her
words as a low blow, but they were the truth. “The life your father and brother
led was one surrounded by violence. My mother can be a complete nightmare, but
she would never do something so revolting. I may not have stuck up for her in
the past, and with good reason. But when I needed her she was there for me. So,
I don’t care what you think, I
know
, she’s
not
involved in this!”

“Thanks for that,
Crys. That’s just what I needed, your support or should I say—lack of it!”

Crystal heard the
hurt in his voice and for that she was sorry. But there was no way she would
allow him to think Gwendolyn capable of physically hurting him.

“I’m sorry you
feel that way. Honestly, I am. But I can’t have you saying or thinking that way
about my mother.”

“What changed?”

Such a simple
question, yet it caught her completely by surprise. It was also the opening she
had been waiting for, but the words wouldn’t come. It was too soon and she just
wasn’t ready. Nor was he. Crystal could feel a fresh onslaught of tears and
blinked rapidly to stop them from falling.

“What happened,
Crys?”

Yes, it was the
perfect opportunity. But before she went down that path, she needed time to
think—to formulate her thoughts. Unaware of what she was doing, she folded her
arms across her body and rocked backward and forwards in distress.

Crystal’s
awareness returned when Shane took her face between his hands. There was no way
he could know the reason for her sadness, but he was reacting to it all the
same.

“Are you sick,
Crys?”

“No, I’m not
sick.”

“Then what is it
because you’re scaring the shit out of me.”

The voice inside
her pushed and prodded her
. Do it now, Crystal. Tell him now
.

~~~

He had been
behaving like a total dick since he had first discovered her standing in his
house. He knew it but he couldn’t seem to stop. Shane wanted to punish her. But
hurting her with anything other than a few pointed comments didn’t sit well
with him.

He had convinced
himself that he had worked through her desertion and how it had made him feel
years ago. That belief had remained until he saw her in the restaurant with yet
another man.

Seeing her as she
was now made him uncomfortable. He didn’t understand what was going on. All he
knew was that there was a wall between them that went far deeper and higher
than their separation.

As he held her
face between his shaking hands, he could see she was scared. In fact, he’d
never seen anyone in so much pain that they exhibited their anguish through
this rocking motion.

“You need to tell
me what’s going on, Crys?”

His question only
made matters worse. Her silent tears suddenly burst out with so much force they
dislodged her face from between his hands. Climbing onto the bed, Shane wrapped
his arms and legs around her body and held on tight. She tried to push him
away, but he wouldn’t—couldn’t let her go.

Had he caused this
hurt with his leaving? As soon as the thought entered his head, he berated
himself for being a conceited egotist.