Alla Kar - Stroke Of Fear

   He glances down at me, a smile tugging at his lip. “What’s. So. Funny?”

   I shake my head again and shrug.

   Stroking his jaw, he tugs at his camp shirt until he is crouching in front of me with a white undershirt on. “Well, we’ll just have to get you to talk, now won’t we?”

   Shivers attack my spine and work their way down to my toes. He eases toward me, and I lean back. He laughs, loud and deep. It’s so raw, it makes my thighs ache. He jumps down on top of me, sending my head back toward my pillow.

   “Ouch,” I mumble. “Something poked me.”

   “What is it?” he asks, helping me back up to a sitting position. Rubbing my head, I turn around and fumble across my pillow.

   I wrap my hand around something and bring it back up to my face. I blink once, twice. Blood rushes toward my head. No. It can’t be. No. Tanner wraps his hand around my trembling fingers. “Do you know what these are?” he asks.

   I nod. “It’s…It’s…” My voice cuts off with a sob.

   Tanner sits down beside me and brings me close to his chest. “Shhh, darlin’, What is it?”

   “Zip ties. The ones”—another sob—“the same ones he tied my feet and wrist with. Pink.” My voice cracks. Who would have done this? No one knows but Tanner. He was with me the entire time. “He’s here,” I manage to croak. Breathing in short gasps, I try to keep myself from hyperventilating.

   “Aubrey, listen. He isn’t here. This is a sick joke. Does anyone else know beside me?”

   “No, no, no,” I mumble against his chest.

   Tanner trails his fingers down my neck to grip my shoulder. His eyes are bright from the moonbeams shining through the roof. “You’re going to be fine, I promise you. He’s in jail, right?”

   I nod and sniffle into the air.

   “Okay, the police would call you if he escaped. He isn’t here. This is… I don’t know who put this in here but I’ll find out. Just relax. I want you to close your eyes, lay back.”

   Tanner guides me down toward my pillow and places his elbow beside my head to keep him up. “Close your eyes. I’m gonna be here. You’re safe, Aubrey. Get some sleep.”

   I listen to him coo into my ear and let my tears run their course. The memories are raging in my head, begging to be brought to the surface. I focus on Tanner’s face until the darkness consumes me.

* * *

   The bright sunlight wakes me. It’s warm and comfortable. Stretching, I glance up and screech.

   “What is it?” Tanner’s voice. Blinking I sit up in my sleeping bag. Underneath Tanner’s eyes are black. He smiles, bringing his hand to my cheek. “You okay?”

   “Yeah, I just forgot where I was for a minute. Did you get any sleep last night?”

   He shakes his head. “No, I wanted you to feel safe. I stayed up and made sure everything was all right.”

   Well, my insides just melted into goo. “Tanner, you’re gonna be so tired—”

   He gives me an easy grin. “I’m a big dog, darlin’. Big dogs don’t need sleep.”

   Of course, Aubrey, what were you thinking? “Okay.”

   We get the camp cleaned up and the kids in line. It takes forever just to get them up. Then we have to pack everyone’s tents back up. Kill me now. The woods seem scary—even in the daylight—since last night. I try not to think about it, but how can I not? Someone put those pink zip-ties in my tent. Out of everyone’s tent, why mine? It was deliberate. Someone did this to me on purpose. But why? Who?

   Tanner makes sure all of the kids are in their cabins before he comes to mine. I’m sitting on my bed, staring blankly at the wall. After asking me what was wrong eighty times, Cassie got the hint that I didn’t want to talk, and left.

   The door opens and shuts. Tanner walks in front of me and squats. He’s holding a plate of food. “You need to eat, Aubrey.”

   I nod and point for him to place it on my nightstand.

   “Are you okay? Do you want to lay down?”

   “You should lay down. You haven’t had any sleep.”

   He scratches his jaw. “Can I lay down with you?”

   I nod. He doesn’t say a word. He slips off his boots and slides under the covers with me. His warmth envelopes my entire body, a sense of safety crashing over me. I don’t know when, but I fall back to sleep.

Tanner

“We have soccer today.”

   Blinking through heavy eyes, I glance up at Eric. I sigh. Wait. What’s that beside me? Glancing down, I see Aubrey curled into a tight ball against me. Fuck, that’s why my dick’s hard.

   “Christ,” I snap through gritted teeth. “Why are you here?”

   “Like I said, we have soccer today.”

   “It’s Monday already?” I jump up and grab my boots. Aubrey grumbles underneath her breath. “Get up, darlin’.” I shake her until she flutters her eyes opened. “We have to get ready for work.”

   She bounces up in the bed. Her hair crazy wild over her head, her lips plump—kissable, fuckable—and her T-shirt fitting tightly to her tits. “I’m up.” She disappears into her bathroom.

   Eric is smiling down at me when I turn back to my boots. “What?” I growl.

   “Country has some game. Sleeping over already? Isn’t there a southern rule about that?”

   Standing up, I knock the sideways cap off his head.

* * *

   Aubrey’s hair blows in the wind as she leans her head back against the passenger side door. Her long, tanned legs rest in my lap. Her shorts don’t leave much to the imagination, and I’m glad. This is the best view I’ve ever had in my truck.

   She reaches her arms over her head. “Do you ever just wish you could drive forever? The weather just like this, the radio up.”

   “All the time. Riding in a truck with the windows down, radio up is one of the most relaxing things ever.”

   She smiles, closing her eyes. “Swimming used to do that for me. I would swim and swim. Never thinking twice, just diving in the darkness, the feel of it sliding over me, swallowing me into its depth. I used to love that. Now, I can’t make myself want it anymore.” She sits up to face me. “It’s right in front of my face. It taunts me. I think I want it deep down, but I’m too scared to take it again. Because, what if I’m right? What if it was him last night?” Her eyes shine with possible tears. “Then he could do the same thing—catch me off guard. And if I’m thinking about that, I feel like I’m drowning when I dive in, just like before. I felt like I was being dragged back to that night.”

   Reaching over, I grab her chin with my fingers. “I won’t let that happen to you. You understand?”

   She smiles and turns to nip my fingers. She had been so scared last night. I pictured the evening going a little differently. I hadn’t thought I’d be staying up to make sure we were safe. But, I had to. I knew she wouldn’t sleep. I wouldn’t either.

   I press hard on the gas and mud starts to sling all over the road toward the lake. Aubrey yells and roots me on until we get free of the mud. When we pull up, Aubrey gets quieter, her fingers interlaced and shaking.

   “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Aubrey.”

   “I want to.”

   I pull into the grass near the lake. It’s still early. The sun won’t be setting for a couple of more hours. The pink string of her bikini is sticking out of T-shirt. I wonder what she’s going to look like in it. I imagine it’s going to make it difficult for me to concentrate.

   We wade our way through the weeds and toward the pond. We’re not actually getting in the water today. We’re going to take a small fishing boat out in the middle. This way she can get used to the water again bit by bit.

   When we get there Aubrey stays several feet back from the water. I fist my shirt and tug it over my head. She’s checking me out. And goddamn if I don’t want her to ever stop. Tugging on her lip, she strips out of her shirt. Christ. She’s so much more composed than me. I’m sure it’s showing all over my face. And my shorts.

   The pink strings come down to perfect triangles, which barely cover her breasts. Tanned. Round. A flat stomach. My dick moves in my pants. Christ, this is going to be a long day.

   She tugs on her jeans shorts and kicks them out of the way. I cough; it’s the only thing I can think to do. If not, I’m going to rip every shred of clothing off her body and take her in the damned woods.

   “Ready?” she asks, a smile on her lips. She’s doing this on purpose. If my cheeks are red, I’m going to kick myself in the ass.

   Clearing my throat, I gesture for her to follow me. The fishing boat is tied to the dock. I tug on it till it’s close enough to get in.

   I glance back and offer my hand out to Aubrey. “Comin’?”

   She twists her hands together in front of her. “I—I’m not sure…”

   “It’s better to put one foot forward than to jump in all at once. Come on, darlin’. Trust me.”

   She slowly walks toward me. She’s staring into the water. She’s scared.

   Wrapping her shaky hand around mine, she steps into the swaying boat. Her knees tremble, but she finally sits on one of the seats. I get in after her, being sure not to sway the boat too much.

   “You okay?” I ask, unwinding the rope from the dock. She nods and glances around. It takes me a minute before I realize what she’s looking at. The woods. She’s really scared about last night. I don’t blame her. I am, too. If no one knows about it, I’m not sure who would have done it. Maybe it was an accident. But, it’s almost too coincidental.