26.
There was a good way to take their minds off the waiting.
Mark and Avery ended up in the shower together. Avery was starting to wind down Way down. The sleepless night she'd had was coming back to bite her on the rear. The plan had been for a hot shower and bed.
The shower ended up being hot all right. Instead of just watching, Mark had stripped and had gotten into the shower with her. Avery let herself be turned and then his mouth was on hers, tongue probing her parted lips as his hands slid easily against her wet skin. Avery moaned into his mouth at the feel of his body against hers. When they finally pulled apart, Mark was looking at her with an intensity that send pleasurable shivers down her back. Instead of capitalizing on her willingness to share the shower, he reached past her and picked up the soap and used it to lather his hands. Then he started stroking his slippery fingers and palms against her body, starting at her shoulders, working his way down.
Avery practically purred under his hands. He kept his touch light, letting his fingertips skim over her breasts, her stomach, down her hips and legs then back up. He turned her and repeated the same slow massage down her back. When he stroked his way back up, he moved closer to press against her backside, his hands sliding around to pull her back against his chest as the water rinsed the soap from her. His big hands cupped her breasts and squeezed gently, making her arch into his palms. One of his hands slid down her belly, fingers sliding easy against her wet skin. Avery moaned louder as his fingers found her clit and he started stroking her slowly.
Mark ducked his head and sucked on the skin where her her shoulder met her neck. Avery had to brace a hand against the wall to hold herself up against all the sensations that ran through her body. She closed her eyes, trying not to focus on just one thing. Just enjoying how it felt to be stroked and held. Avery reached back with her free hand let it rest against the side of Mark's thigh, shuddering at the feel of hard muscle under smooth skin. Powerful feelings of possessiveness went through her. That was something new as well. Mark belonged to her just as she belonged to him. Maybe it was just stronger because she knew she would have to give him up again soon.
Avery refused to think about that. She pushed it away and just focused on his hands, his mouth, the feel of his body pressed up behind her, the spray of water on both of them. She could have stayed like that forever, but it did not take long for the sensation to spiral out of control as she cried out and shook in his arms.
Her legs were still shaking a few minutes later when Mark carefully pulled his hand away from her center and held her in a loose hug. "Go on to bed. I'll be there in a minute." He whispered that close to her ear before dropping another kiss on her neck.
Avery wasn't going to argue with that. She was still tired but not as exhausted as she had been. Maybe because she was anticipating what was going to happen when he joined her in the bed. She dried off and combed her haid, not bothering with pajamas. She had a feeling she wasn't going to need them.
Hours later, Avery was pulled from a deep sleep. She turned, smiling when Mark's arm tightened around her stomach, and figured she'd drop back off. But something was weird in the room. It was oddly...dark. She blinked a few times at the bedside table and finally realized that her alarm clock, which usually glowed a dull red, was dark. The house was strangely quiet. She expected to at least hear rain against the window. It didn't happen often but every now and then a storm could knock out the power for a bit.
She was on the verge of falling back to sleep when she heard it. A creak. The house was old, and it made all sorts of settling noises. But Avery had lived there her entire life and she knew the noises as well as she knew the sound of her child's voice. Someone had stepped on the floorboard between the kitchen and living rom. The creak and pop was distinctive.
She sat up slowly, wide awake now. Another pop and soft scrape. Step one on the staircase. Someone was definitely in the house. Avery reached over and shook Mark's shoulder. He made a low noise and pushed her hand away.
"Mark..." She hissed his name out in a whisper, not wanting to be heard. Avery leaned over, right next to his ear. "Somebody's in the house."
She felt him move. "What..." His voice was low too but he stopped after the first word as what she said sank into his tired brain. Avery felt him groping for her hand in the darkness and she took his fingers and squeezed. "Gun is in my bag..." His voice was lower than a whisper but since his mouth was against her ear, Avery heard just fine. She slid to the edge of the bed, careful to keep the silence as another stairtread creaked. Whoever it was, they were halfway to the top.
Avery avoided the worst of the noisy flooring and made her way to the dresser as quick as she dared. Mark's bag was beside the dresser. Avery fumbled for a moment and finally felt her fingers brush against cold metal. She wasn't afraid of guns, and her dad had taught her to shoot, but the thought of actually having to use one against a person made her shudder internally.
She hurried back to the bed. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to make out Mark's shadow as he sat on the end of the bed with his head cocked to the side, listening. He jumped when she touched his shoulder. Avery would have laughed any other time. Instead she reached for his hand and gave him the gun.
That done, she pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself, suddenly mindful of how undressed they both were. Mark either didn't notice or didn't care. Maybe a little of both. From the end of the bed, he had a clear sightline to the doorway even in the darkness. Avery felt him shift and move until he was holding the gun pointed firmly at the doorway. Waiting. Not moving.
Time seemed to stop while they waited. And finally another board creaked in the upstairs hall. Whoever it was, they had figured out not to walk in the center of the stairs and walkways, where it was noisiest. They were also going in the wrong direction, toward Emily's room at the other end of the hallway. So it was definitely someone not familiar with their house.
Which, in Avery's opinion, could have been anyone.
Mark took the opportunity to lean toward her so that his mouth was against her ear. "You're gonna wanna cover your ears. And shut your eyes." He didn't have to say why. He meant to shoot whoever it was as soon as they came to the door, not giving the person a chance to do anything to them. And then a sobering thought hit Avery.
"What if it's more than one person?" She spoke in the same manner he had, lips to his ear, voice low.
She felt him shrug. Least of his worries. She got it.
Another creaking noise. The footsteps were finally getting closer. Avery scooted onto the bed behind Mark, and squeezed her eyes shut. Even though she was braced for it, and had her hands blocking her hears, the boom of the gun still made her jump and cry out when it came. There was a thud from the hallway. Her ears were still ringing from the shot fired in the enclosed space, but Mark never wavered. He sat still for a few minutes, waiting to see if someone else wanted to jump out.
"You have a flashlight?" He asked. Although he kept his voice low, it was at a normal whisper level. "They probably cut the power. Or threw a breaker. Where's the box?"
"Laundry room off the kitchen." She couldn't believe they were having what would amount to a normal conversation under other circumstances. Someone had just broken into her house. Maybe had been looking to hurt them. And Mark had shot whoever it was.
Avery scooted to the bedside table and pulled open the bottom drawer. All the way in the back was a flashlight. She couldn't remember the last time she'd changed the batteries in it, but when she pushed the button it came on and glowed bright. She handed it to Mark and watched as he went to the dresser and pulled a pair of jeans out of his bag. Once he had them on, he headed for the doorway and cautiously poked his head out.
"Son of a bitch..." He was shining the light on the body at his feet. Avery got up and walked over, shaking her head in annoyance when Mark moved to block her view. "Darlin', you don't need to see this." His voice was all concern.
"Like hell I don't. My house. Remember? Who is it?"
"Williams." Mark almost spat the name out. Avery raised an eyebrow. And gently pushed Mark until he moved out of her way. Enough light spilled from where he was aiming the flashlight for her to see Rob Williams, his blank eyes staring up at her ceiling. He'd fallen at a weird angle so his neck was crooked to the side where his head had hit the wall.
Mark had nailed him dead center in the chest. She remembered her neighbor and his utter detachment when he'd said that Williams was probably going to die. And now she understood how he felt. Holding the sheet, Avery bent down. She grimaced in distaste as she touched Williams's body and pulled at his shirt.
"What are you doin'?" Mark asked, using the flashlight more judiciously so he could see what Avery was up to.
"Just curious." The shirt was up to the chest. She stopped before she got to the bullet wound Mark had caused. She pointed at the man's stomach. He was overweight from a lifetime of abusing alcohol and sitting around. "His gut shot magically healed."
"What the fuck." It wasn't a question. Mark gently moved her aside and checked Williams's body carefully. "He wasn't shot. They lied about it."
"Trying to set you up? Or plotting to finally get you?" Avery caught the direction of his thoughts. She also spied something else. She reached over and covered the hand Mark was using to hold the flashlight and turned it. On the floor was a gun. Not like the one Mark had. This one was fitting with somethig on the end.
"Silencer." Mark supplied. He looked from it, back to the body. "I don't think he was comin' for me. That wouldn't have been necessary. I think he meant to get you while you were sleepin' next to me. So I'd wake up to it." As he spoke, his hand tightened so much around the flashlight that his knuckles were white. Avery reached out and tried to get him to relax his fingers before he cracked the cheap plastic.
"But he didn't." Avery reminded him. "You weren't joking. One shot."
"Yeah." Mark sighed. "Let's get the lights on and call...fuck. Who do we call?"
"State cops." Avery didn't hesitate. Nobody local would be of any help at all. "Call Leah, let her know too." She had called earlier to tell them that she'd made it to Jack's. "I can get the lights."
"No." Mark rubbed a hand down his face. "We'll both go down. They're desparate. Let's not make it easy for them."
