Beverly Barton 3 Book Bundle. BEVERLY BARTON

do, I will see it as a rejection and be forced to punish you.”

      Her hand shot up and into his of its own accord, prompted by her innate survival instincts. She had to do whatever was necessary in order to survive.

      He smiled. “Come with me.”

      She stood and followed him as he led her to the small bed in the corner. Please, God, help me. Help me!

      “Lie down,” he told her.

      She obeyed his command.

      You could fight him. You could hit him and scream and scratch him. You could hurt him. But you can’t stop him. He’s larger and stronger. And you have no weapon.

      And you can’t escape. There is no way out.

      Do as he says. Obey him. Pacify him. And maybe …

      “What did I tell you about hesitating?” He growled the words through clenched teeth.

      She hurriedly lay down on the bed.

      “You’re learning,” he told her. “But that’s twice you’ve hesitated.”

      Lying there, her mind crying out silently, her heart pleading for mercy, Thomasina closed her eyes and waited for her punishment. She heard him grunting, moving about, and wondered what he was doing, why he hadn’t acted immediately. She had expected a slap or even a hard punch of some kind.

      Then she felt the side of the bed give and sensed him hovering over her. He was going to rape her and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

      “Open your eyes, darling.”

      She opened her eyes instantly and stared up into the handsome face of a madman.

      With a swift, subtle survey, she scanned his body. He was naked, but not aroused. His penis hung limply, the tip brushing her left thigh.

      “I’m not quite ready,” he said. “But there’s no need for you to worry. I’ll be hard as a rock very soon.”

      She swallowed the knot of fear in her throat.

      His big hands roamed over her shoulders, her breasts, and her belly. Then he lowered his head and licked a trail from her navel to her throat. Her heartbeat accelerated. Sweat dotted her forehead.

      His mouth played with her breasts, tormenting her nipples. And suddenly, without warning, he bit the side of her breast. She cried out in pain. He bit her again and again, covering her right breast before pausing at the nipple.

      Weeping profusely, she tried to push his head away, but he captured her hands and held them over her head. With his powerful body holding her in place, she could barely breathe. His erect penis probed between her thighs. Then he bit down on her nipple and thrust into her simultaneously.

      Thomasina screamed with agony as he viciously raped her.

       Chapter 14

      “You really played basketball and softball and soccer?” Kevin stared at the framed photos on the walls and the shelves filled with trophies in Bernie’s small den. “You must have been really good to have won all those trophies.” Kevin turned and surveyed Bernie from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. “I guess you were good because you’re so big and tall. Not many girls are your size.”

      “Kevin, I don’t think—” Jim corrected his son.

      “No, no, it’s all right,” Bernie said. “I am bigger and taller than most women.” She smiled warmly at Kevin. “Yes, my size was definitely an asset when I played sports in school. And it works to my advantage as the sheriff. I’m as tall as many of my deputies, so I can look them right in the eye when I issue orders.”

      Kevin laughed. “You can’t look my dad in the eye. He’s taller than you.”

      “So he is.” When she glanced at Jim, he squared his shoulders and stood tall and straight. She chuckled at his antics.

      “My mom’s not very tall.” Kevin’s smile vanished. “I’m taller than she is. She told me just a couple of weeks ago that I wasn’t her little boy anymore, that I’m her—” Kevin’s voice cracked.

      “Hey, you two had better go check those steaks,” Bernie said. “You like yours medium well, right? Just like your dad does. We don’t want them to get overdone.” She nodded her head toward the door. “While y’all are doing that, I’ll put the salad together and set the table in the kitchen.”

      Jim laid his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “Come on, son.”

      “Wait up a minute,” Bernie called to them as they headed out of the den.

      Father and son paused in the hallway and glanced over their shoulders, their mannerisms identical. Not for the first time, Jim thought how much Kevin was like he’d been at that age. Minus the happy home life, with parents devoted to each other and a pesky little sister. Jim had wanted all those good things for his son, but had failed to give them to him.

      “I’m making homemade ice cream,” Bernie said. “Kevin, what’s your favorite flavor?”

      With unshed tears glistening in his eyes, Kevin swallowed and then said, “I like just plain old vanilla.”

      “So do I. And I use my mom’s recipe that calls for half a dozen eggs, so it’s super rich.”

      “Yum.” A fragile smile lifted the corners of Kevin’s mouth.

      Jim herded his son down the hall, through the kitchen and onto the open back porch. He lifted the lid on the barbeque grill, then picked up a two-pronged fork from the side shelf and quickly flipped the three T-bone steaks.

      “Five more minutes, tops,” Jim said.

      “What can I do to help?”

      “Go inside and get a platter from Bernie to put these beauties on.”

      “Okay.”

      “Kevin?”

      “Huh?”

      “It’s okay to be worried about your mother. And if you need to talk about her surgery or—”

      “I just want her to be all right. I don’t want her to die.”

      “I understand. I want that, too.”

      “Why did she have to get cancer? Why now, when she’s happy with Allen and—” Kevin clamped his teeth together tightly.

      Jim ached inside, his gut tightening painfully. He couldn’t bear to see his son suffering this way. As a parent, he had learned that nothing hurt you the way seeing your child in pain did, especially when you knew there wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it.

      “I don’t know why she got cancer or why it had to happen now. But you have to believe that she’ll be all right, that she’ll get well.”

      “Do you believe it?”

      Tell him what he needs to hear. “Yeah, I believe your mother will be all right.”

      Kevin sighed heavily. “Dad?”

      “Hmm …?”

      “I like Sheriff Granger. She’s a real nice person, just like her mom and dad are.”

      “You’re right, Bernie is a nice person, just like her folks.”

      “Do you like her, too?”

      Jim hesitated for a moment before replying, not quite sure if there was more than the obvious to his son’s question. “Yes, of course I like her.”

      “How much do you like her?” Kevin asked.

      Jim narrowed his gaze and studied his son’s expression. “I like her a lot,