Open Wounds (13 page)

Chapter 21

Alec Harris finished his glass of Scotch as he sat in the dark, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the front door, waiting for his daughter to come home. He ground his teeth in frustration. Sophie was already three hours past her curfew.

He knew she did it purposely to piss him off. But he wasn’t in the mood for it, not tonight—not any night. He was already on edge after the assault on the LAC. The last thing he wanted was a battle of wills against his own daughter.

Sophie was headstrong, stubborn, and wilful and knew how to push him to the limit in a matter of seconds. She had also inherited more than her fair share of sass from her mother. The things he loved about his wife he hated in his daughter and it was just his luck to have passed on his shortcomings to Sophie.

He glanced at the small illuminated clock on the DVD player nearby and his blood boiled. If she had been a few years younger he would’ve tanned her hide for such insolence. She knew he wouldn’t tolerate her being late home. The cop in him only enforced the insecurities of the father.

He knew full well what went on after dark and had no desire to see Sophie caught up in it. Why couldn’t she just see that he was doing his best to protect her by asking her to follow such simple rules as being home at ten o’clock?

He’d sent Caitlyn to bed an hour and a half ago and his heart ached at the worried look on her face. She was always concerned when he and Sophie argued and knew without a doubt they would argue tonight. Neither of them were able to give an inch and both of them always stood toe to toe. He had a temper and Sophie was a match to his fuel.

If only he could assure Caitlyn he wouldn’t lose his cool, but the honest man in him knew it was more than likely he would be lying. Just one more year and she’d be eighteen. She’d already told him she couldn’t wait to escape his rules, and that she wouldn’t heed them anymore.

Alec knew she planned on leaving home the moment she became an adult. It was his fault. It irked him that even when he tried to meet her half-way she pushed him into grounding her for weeks
—
hell, even months.

He would always worry about his daughter, no matter how old she got, no matter how capable she was. She was his little girl. Nothing could change that.

The lock clicked nearby and he instantly became alert. His stomach twisted in knowledge of the confrontation about to take place.

Sophie, the spitting image of her mother at the same age
—
all blue eyes and blonde hair
—
came through the front door, her hair cut severely at the shoulders on a jagged angle. She held her shoes in her hands and was trying not to make any noise.

“A bit late, isn’t it?” Alec asked from the shadows.

Sophie jumped. “I thought it was early, actually,” she countered and his restraint slipped.

She always seemed to have a quip at the ready and always had to have the last word.

“Don’t push me, girl,” he warned. “One of these days I’m going to bug your phone with my own GPS and show up wherever the hell you are and drag you home kicking and screaming.”

She squared her shoulders, preparing herself for battle, and Alec inwardly sighed.

“I’m not a child,” she declared defiantly.

“You’re my child. You think I like waiting up for you? Do you think I love our little wars each night? Because I don’t, Sophie. I’m damn well tired of them.”

“Well then, go to bed,” she said, as if that was the ultimate answer.

“I wish I could. But as a parent I wouldn’t be able to relax until I knew you were home safe. Don’t you have any regard for me at all? Do you like knowing I’m worried about you?”

“Of course not!” Sophie yelled and crossed her arms under her breasts in a defensive gesture. “But I can take care of myself. I’m not stupid and I’m always careful. I never accepts drinks or lifts from strangers. I never go out alone but God, Dad, you smother me with your rules.”

“You’ve been drinking?”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s all you heard. Not alcohol, Dad, just soft drinks.”

“You don’t know what it’s like for me, Soph. I’m a cop. I know what goes on out there. I’ve seen too many little girls never return home from a night out, too many parents broken hearted at having to identify their child’s remains at the morgue. Hell, even Harbour Bay isn’t safe anymore.”

Why couldn’t he have had a nice, non-troublesome daughter like his goddaughter? The daughter of Caitlyn’s childhood friend, Bethany Bennett, was a few years older than Sophie and never gave her father grey hairs or mini heart-attacks. Not that her father would notice if she did. Bethany was very low on Dirk Bennett’s list of priorities.

Poor kid. Alec had been surprised she had grown up in to the wonderful well-adjusted woman she was and not into some raging lunatic, or one of those girls who pierced everything in sight and had multi-coloured punk hair. While some might see her life as gifted, he knew it hadn’t always been pleasant.

But Bethany was not his problem. Sophie was.

“Many people go through life untouched,” she told him.

“And many don’t.”

“I wasn’t alone, okay? Colin was with me. I was perfectly safe.”

“Colin? You’re still hanging around that lowlife, Soph? I thought you were smarter than that. That guy spells nothing but trouble and he’s far too old for you,” he lectured, knowing it would do no good and more than likely add to the damage.

“He’s not too old for me. He’s only twenty-four.”

“That’s too old,” Alec thundered and moved towards her with intent. “He hasn’t touched you has he? If he has
—
”

“You’ll what? Put him up on statutory rape charges?”

“Don’t test me, girl,” he snarled. Where she’d gotten her two-pronged tongue, he didn’t know. Not from him and certainly not from her mother.

Tears burned in her eyes and Alec wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hug her like he had when she was a little girl. They had been so happy then. But she wasn’t a little girl anymore and that was the problem.

“God, I hate you. You’re such a
—
”

“A bastard, I know, but I’m a bastard who loves you,” he said simply, and watched as the fight went out of her, leaving her limp.

It was hard to fight someone who told you that they loved you. Tears leaked over onto her cheeks and she refused to look at him.

“I love him, Daddy, and nothing you say will stop me. You can’t control me forever.”

Alec shook his head, suddenly very weary. Discussions with Sophie always sapped his strength. “I don’t want to control you, sweetie, I just want to protect you.”

She gave him a glare. “Well, I can’t tell the difference with you. I’m not a little girl. I’m almost an adult and you should trust me.”

“You’re my daughter. I can’t help but worry about you. It’s part of my job, and I’m sorry, but I just don’t like Colin. There’s a quality about him that tells me he’s no good.”

“You’ve only met him once.”

“Once was enough, believe me. I have a sixth sense about men like that. He’s going to break your heart, sweetie, I just know it. What’s wrong with the guys I’ve introduced you to?”

“What, those
boys
?” Sophie sneered. “The ones like Cade Watson who are too afraid to anger you by doing something you might not approve of? I don’t want boys, Daddy, I want a man who isn’t afraid of showing me a good time.”

“They’re good kids. Kids I can trust my daughter with.”

“Kids you can intimidate.” She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Daddy, but I’m not sorry for staying out so late. I hate your restrictions and some days I really hate you. Some days I wish you weren’t my father.” She stormed up the stairs of their old Victorian home, leaving the knife twisting in his heart. A moment later, he heard her bedroom door slam shut.

Alec sank down into his chair, feeling the fine trembling of his hands. It wasn’t anger that had elicited this response but a dead sense of grief. He had lost his daughter, had pushed her over the edge one too many times.

“Alec?” Caitlyn’s sweet voice came to him in the darkness. He watched as her silhouette approached and he held out his hand. Caitlyn took it and allowed him to pull her into his lap.

Alec hugged his wife tightly, pressing his face into her soft hair.

“Is everything all right?” she asked softly, as she gently stroked his face.

“No,” he replied, swallowing at the large lump in his throat. “I’ve messed up, Cait. She’s really lost to us. I tried to keep her safe but all I did was push her away.”

Caitlyn’s arm wound around his neck and she planted a kiss on his forehead. “You did what you had to, Alec. No parent has this easy, and one day Sophie will realise we did what was best for her. We’re all too aware of what goes on after dark.”

“I miss our little girl, Cait. The one who met me at the door with a smile on her face and her newest artwork creation. Now she can barely look at me and when she does it’s full of resentment and hate.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Caitlyn told him soothingly.

“Yes, she does. She told me so tonight.”

“She didn’t mean it. You remember when I was a teenager, I said all kinds of things.”

He suddenly smiled at the memory. “You were a handful. But at least your sassiness was cute,” he agreed, falling silent for a minute. “How is it that we gave her the worst of both of us?”

“I don’t really see my sassiness as being bad. It’s served me well from time to time.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “It got you into trouble more often than not, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes, but it was also the very trait that made you look at me
—
really look at me. I can’t imagine my life without you and Sophie in it. I’m glad you were hard on me in the beginning. I can tell you I didn’t appreciate it at the time but I do now.” She stared him in the eye. “And mark my words, one day Sophie will too.”

Alec didn’t dare to hope. His daughter was more like him than her mother, and he knew exactly how he’d feel if someone tried to rule his life, make his decisions for him. There was no way in hell he would ever forgive them.

Maybe Sophie would be different. He sent up a silent prayer. It couldn’t hurt. He would need all the help he could get. He loved his daughter more than life itself, and wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

“I hope you’re right, honey. I really do.”

Chapter 22

Kellie stretched her body out beside Darryl. The early morning sunlight peeked through the slit in the curtains. She blinked at the brightness and tried to push the sleep from her mind. This was the first time she had ever let a man stay the night.

It was a turning point in her life. One she could get used to, she reflected. She ran her hand down his chest until she found her prize just below his naval. His morning erection was just beginning to show, and by the time she had explored him, it was fully awake and demanding satisfaction.

She hadn’t told many people about her past, only a few within the LAC knew, which was why they had worked around her handicap. Then there was her rape, which even fewer people knew about. Amelia knew, of course. Those who knew included the detective who worked the case, the rapist himself, the psychologist she’d been assigned to, and her boss, Lewis Carlisle.

Now Darryl knew. What had possessed her to tell him the truth?

She had no answer. Temporary brain dysfunction due to sexual arousal, she assumed. He was certainly detrimental to her mental health. She’d thought one or even a handful of nights with Darryl would suffice. Now she wasn’t so sure.

She rolled onto her side and placed a kiss on his chest as her hand began exploring his body. Her lips moved against his skin as she descended, taking pleasure in the soft sounds he made as her fingernails scraped lightly across his abs. She wrapped her fist around his arousal and pumped lightly, feeling him harden further from her ministrations. His hips rose and a guttural moan escaped his lips. Kellie leaned down and placed a kiss on the tip before taking him into his mouth. She relaxed her throat to take him deep, her tongue sliding along the sensitive underside of his cock.

Darryl held her head in place as she lathered attention on him. He tensed beneath her hand and knew he was close. She reached between his legs and cupped him, squeezing him lightly. He caught hold of her shoulders and pulled her up his body. She let out a frustrated breath and fought against him, annoyed that he was denying her.

Her nipples tingled as they rubbed against the hairs on his chest and she groaned, her excitement heightened.

“Next time, I promise,” Darryl said, his voice husky. “Right now, I need
to be inside you.”

She practically purred at the admission and forgave him, then reached into the drawer of her bedside table and extracted a condom. Straddling him, she took her time to roll the latex sheath over his length, feeling the pulse throb beneath her fingertips before impaling herself on him, feeling him deep inside, stretching her. She moved slowly at first, making sure she felt him every bit of the way up and down before moving faster and faster as her own body demanded release. She moaned his name as she climaxed, her body going into spasms as she collapsed on top of him.

Darryl kissed her sweaty forehead and mumbled
good morning
in her ear. She smiled and kissed his chest, catching her breath before lifting herself off him, almost orgasming a second time as her sensitised nerves reacted with the friction.

She flopped without grace back onto the mattress, her body sated. Darryl reached over and pulled her into his body and his heat had her snuggling in close to him. The blissful world of sleep enveloped her again as her heavy eyelids closed. 

***

Kellie awoke an hour later to Darryl watching her sleeping, and she grumbled. Hopefully, she hadn’t snored or drooled. It had been a long time since she’d slept
—
actually slept
—
with another person. She blinked to clear the cobwebs from her mind. Maybe when she was more awake she would appreciate the gorgeously naked man beside her.

“You’re staring,” she complained, around an unladylike yawn. She glanced over at him. The ivory sheet was pooled around his waist, highlighting the golden glow of his skin. She swallowed hard as desire flowed through her and pooled between her legs. She shifted to ease the throb.

His liquid chocolate gaze washed over her and her nipples tightened into hard buds. Darryl noticed and his attention zeroed in on them, burning her with the heat of his gaze. The sheet covering him tented in the most delicious fashion that had her unconsciously wetting her lips. After last night
—
and this morning
—
she thought she’d finally been sated.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Kellie snorted. She knew the truth of how she looked in the morning, complete with bed hair and morning breath. “I doubt it.”

“You’ll always be beautiful to me,” he said, stroking her hair gently. His eyes told her more than his words. He believed what he was saying.

“You know the right thing to say.”

She shifted closer to him and kissed him softly, tasting him. The fire built slowly and she moaned. Darryl pulled back and dropped a kiss on her nose.

“A good morning to you too.”

She smiled and stroked her hand down his chest. She couldn’t seem to stop herself from touching him. He was all hard where she was soft and the differences between their bodies fuelled her arousal.

“I like the way you feel,” she told him huskily.

Darryl chuckled. “I can tell.”

Kellie slid closer so that their bodies were touching and pressed against him. Darryl held her close and she snuggled against him, feeling cherished and safe. She settled her head in the crook of his arm and took a deep breath, enjoying his unique scent. She closed her eyes and savoured the moment. Too soon, they would need to get up and go to work.

Darryl stroked her back with his hand and kissed her forehead. Despite their many couplings over the past few hours, to Kellie this moment was far more intimate. They lay, their bodies entwined on the bed and listened to each other’s breathing. She could get used to this.

Kellie suddenly stiffened. Could she even dare to hope that there would be a repeat? She knew she wasn’t the best in bed. There was always a level of control she needed to exert at all times which made letting go out of the question. Her previous partners had given her pleasure but they’d had to work hard for her to achieve it. She figured she wasn’t cut out for pleasure so intense she almost blacked out. Last night had proved her wrong.

Could she allow Darryl to slip past her barriers and into her heart? Could she permit herself to love and need him, to rely on him? He was one of the best men she’d ever met and her fear was debilitating. Trust had never come easy for her and she was afraid to give him any power over her.

Intimacy was a new thing for her. She liked her space. Which was why no one ever stayed the night. Not to mention she was prone to nightmares. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to scare the crap out of some unsuspecting guy or attack him in her sleep. She was afraid it would only be a matter of time before he thought her too high maintenance, and she couldn’t blame him if he chose to take back the words uttered during passion last night.

“Where did you go in your mind just now?” he asked, seeming to notice her distraction.

“Nowhere.”

“Liar.” He took her hand and linked his fingers with hers. “Do you still see a therapist?”

His perceptiveness amazed her. “Sometimes when the nightmares become debilitating. Not so often nowadays, but they sneak up on me.”

“When was the last time?”

“Yesterday morning.”

He nodded. He must have figured that was why she’d been at the LAC so early.

“The doctor says it’s due to the lack of closure in my case. That they’d probably go away once he’s caught.”

Even to this day, she could still smell him. Sometimes feel him on top of her, inside her. She could see his face when she closed her eyes and often had nightmares about that night. He’d been so strong she hadn’t been able to fight him.

“I try not to dwell on it. It only gives him more power.”

Darryl pulled her tighter against him and she kissed his chest, feeling the small hairs tickle her lips and chin.

“Tell me. How did Donovan react all those years ago?”

She smiled. “In typical Donovan Style. She huffed and puffed and harassed the detective. He pulled her aside one day and said, ‘it’s not as easy as it looks kid. If you think you have what it takes, why don’t you give it a go?’”

“I guess I know how that ended.”

Tears gathered. She blinked them away. At least something good came out of that horrible night. Amelia had fallen in love with the work just like Kellie had with Internal Affairs.

“How did you two drift apart?” he asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

Kellie stared up at her ceiling. If she looked into his eyes, she would have refused to speak. She didn’t want to see whatever he might be thinking or feeling.

“I wanted to forget. But every time I looked at Mia I saw how much she thought about it. She blamed herself for not being able to save me. As hard as I tried, it was always between us. She would never forget.”

Back then, talking about it hadn't been an option. Her friend may have known all that had happened but not how deeply they'd affected her and she'd been unable to voice them. Until the end.

She hadn't meant to toss a friendship that meant so much to her aside, but by the time she’d come good it’s been too late.

She'd not fought and that was her worst mistake. It was something she'd agonised over and until the other night hadn’t thought she'd get the chance to explain and perhaps move on and start fresh. She was hopeful she can repair what she'd destroyed.

“In the end I left. I never meant to hurt her. I was selfish.”

He rolled them to the side until she lay beneath him. He leaned down and brushed his lips lightly over hers at first, then applied more pressure. His lips moved seductively and a moan caught in her throat. Kellie clung to him as wave after wave of pleasure threatened to pull her overboard into the swirling abyss. Her toes curled and she arched into him.

“You are the bravest, strongest woman I have ever met. I am in awe of you,” Darryl said when he finally broke the kiss, his voice ragged.

She blushed at his words and at the sincerity in his voice, then lifted her head and kissed him again. Her alarm sounded, startling them both. They chuckled at the reaction. He groaned and thwacked a hand over the incessant shrilling, effectively shutting it off. He stared back at her with eyes filled equally with promise and regret.

He ran a hand over his whiskered face. “I’d better go home and change.”

She didn’t want that morning to end. She didn’t want the day to intrude on this magic, and she had a suspicion she might never experience it again. Her bottom lip protruded as she sulked and he took advantage of it and nipped on her soft flesh. Heat infused her, but he rolled out of bed before she could retaliate.

She watched with pleasure as he strode about the bedroom collecting his clothes before winking at her. He slipped inside the bathroom and closed the door, leaving her alone in bed.

Kellie collapsed against the mattress, aware of her pounding heart and the huge smile on her face.