Free Precious Embrace (Embrace Series) by Dana Mason Page B

more of his touch.
    “That’s right…sweet, goddamn, beautiful person and a mother to be envied. Every single person in your life is blessed to have you…I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”
    He kissed her again as she squirmed under him, pushing against him. When she tensed and shuddered, he slipped inside her. She clenched his shoulders, her nails piercing his skin, as her body lifted higher, meeting his and taking more of him.

Chapter Eight

    Johnny woke up to the sound of a blaring alarm that made him jump out of his skin. He looked around to Ali, who sat up too, with stark fear on her face.
    “Is that the fire alarm?” Johnny shouted.
    “The burglar alarm.” 
    “Oh shit!” He vaulted out of bed and grabbed his jeans, his eyes scanning the room, from the window, to closet, to closed door. “Do you have a gun?”
    Ali scrambled out of bed, not bothering to throw any clothes on. She rushed into her closet and came out a moment later carrying a snubnose .38 revolver.
    “Is it loaded?”
    “Yes, full round.”
    “What’s the code for the alarm?”
    “Zero four zero eight,” she said loud in his ear.
    “Keep that, close the door and lock it behind me.” He turned and walked out of the bedroom, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
    “No! You take the gun.”
    He shook his head and reached for the door handle. “Lock this, okay.”
    Ali thrust the gun into his hand, pushed him out and closed the door before he could hand it back. Johnny cursed under his breath and tried the knob.
    “Ali?” She didn’t answer. “Damn it to hell, woman.” He turned and went from room to room, checking one at a time, keeping an eye on her bedroom door. He didn’t like leaving her unprotected.
    When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and held the gun pointed and steady. The front door was ajar.
    His eyes darted from the front door, to the living room entry, to the dining room. There were no signs of movement. He stepped to the alarm pad and punched in the code. The blaring, high pitch screech stopped and he held still, listening for noise. When the phone rang, he shifted and pointed the gun toward the living room.

    Ali dove across the bed to reach the phone. “Seth,” she shouted it just as the alarm went silent.
    “Password?” Seth said through the line.
    “Seth, I think someone is in the house.” Now she was trying to whisper.
    “Safe password, Ali!”
    “Monopoly,” she said.
    “Are you okay?”
    “I don’t know. I was sleeping when the alarm sounded.”
    “Where are you?”
    “Locked in my bedroom”
    “I’ve called the police. They’ll be there in a few minutes. Do you have a weapon?”
    “I’m not alone. Johnny Bennett is here with me, he’s downstairs with my gun, checking out the house.”
    “Hold the line, I have to let the cops know someone is with you—don’t hang up.”
    Ali waited for a few seconds and she could hear the police sirens as they approached the house.
    “Ali?”
    “Yes,”
    “You still okay?” Seth said coming back on the line.
    “Yeah, fine.”
    “Okay, don’t hang up until I tell you, hold the line,” Seth said.
    The flashing lights from the police cruisers glared into her bedroom window, blinking red and blue like a strobe against her half open curtains. She quickly pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt while she waited for Seth.
    “The cops are outside talking to Bennett. You should stay locked in your room until they check out the house or until he comes to get you. Where are the kids? Are they locked in the room with you?”
    “No, Jamie went with Mark and Sarah, Micah is at my mother’s.” When a knock sounded at the door, she stiffened and whispered, “Someone’s knocking on the door.”
    “Don’t move until they identify themselves. It’s Officer Reed or Bailey.”
    “Ali…” Johnny called through the door crack. “Are you okay in there?”
    “It’s Johnny,” she said into the phone, moving toward the