Conflicting Interests (22 page)

“I don’t mind. They deserve some explanation as to why I’m
crashing the party.”

Dillon’s jaw tensed instantly but he regained his composure
quickly. He started explaining the events of the past month and a half. He gave
the watered-down version of the telephone messages but aside from that he held
very little back.

His family listened intently, his mother’s gaze moving back
and forth from Katrina to her son, occasionally shaking her head. Molly was
equally enraptured with the story and her mouth hung open the vast majority of
the time. When he got to the past week Molly cringed as he related the fire and
his mother’s eyes instantly teared.

His father listened intently as he spoke and when Dillon
stopped talking, his father continued to study them both. “And no evidence ever
turned up at Katrina’s house, nothing on the phone calls, no sightings near her
home of anything suspicious? I mean it’s just odd that he could go so
unnoticed.” Katrina sat quietly at Dillon’s side, listening.

“I know. But the thing is this man isn’t careless. He’s
cautious and he’s patient. I’m not sure I can even say he’s a smart criminal. He’s
just good at…well, hell, pacing himself for lack of a better word. It would be
one thing if this perp was so overzealously interested in Kat that he was
simply compelled to act, but he’s patient. He waits, oftentimes weeks, before
reaching out again and doing something and those actions are often calculated.”

“Why burn down her home? When you think about it, it forces
her to move away and if she’s away she’s likely more cognizant of her safety,
wherever that might be. In some respects she was more vulnerable in her home.
Now she’s not nearly so out in the open.”

“I don’t know. Anger, I wonder. After the failed abduction
in the parking garage only days before, maybe he lost control for once. There’s
evidence suggesting this person has been in Kat’s home before.”

“An acquaintance?” Molly piped up.

“I don’t think so. Her friends and acquaintances have all
been looked at, but there have been several contractors and workmen in over the
past year or so working on various projects. That’s being looked into.”

“What makes you think this man has been in her home?” Dillon’s
father had a stern look on his face, much like Dillon’s own expression.

“Umm, certain familiarity with the layout of her home that
the perp wouldn’t have with an outside-in perspective only.”

“Such as?” It was Molly again.

“Such as personal information I’m not going to discuss, but
which makes it clear this man was intimately familiar with her home.”

“Hmm.” His father was steepling his fingers against his
chin—again it was a striking similarity to Dillon. “Well, Katrina, I have to
say you are about the last person in the world to deserve something like this,
not that anyone does and I’m so sorry you’re having to endure it.”

“Thank you.” Dillon reached for her hand again and his
expression was as solemn as his father’s.

“Now if you don’t mind my asking, what of your removal from
her case, Dillon?”

He stiffened beside her. “What about it?” He sounded mildly
defensive.

“Do you have reason to think there could be disciplinary
action or dismissal?”

“I don’t know, Dad.” She suddenly felt guilty again. She
felt like the center of attention all of a sudden—which was odd considering the
past thirty minutes was all about her—and now she felt more under the
microscope than any moment of that time.

She couldn’t seem to pull her eyes up from the table in
front of her and she could feel her brow furrowed with stress but for the life
of her she couldn’t release the tension.

“And you didn’t meet Mom on the job?” She couldn’t help but
look up then. She had no idea Dillon’s father had been in law enforcement.

Michael chuckled for a moment. “That was a routine traffic
stop when I was still a patrol officer. Three traffic stops in a month. It was
bound to happen—the woman couldn’t seem to stop speeding.” He smirked. “She’s a
hell of a bad driver, Katrina. Don’t ever get in the car with her if you can
help it.” She smiled but she was having a hard time with this conversation.

Dillon’s grip on her hand squeezed gently. “I can’t say I’m
not worried but what I will say is this. I’ll never regret my relationship with
Kat. I’m in love with her. It’s just that simple.”

If Katrina thought her eyes were glued to the table before,
now they were literally cemented in place. What the hell was she supposed to do
in front of his family with that? She loved him. Of course she did but did it
mean she had any idea how not to act like a maniac in front of his family? Hell
no. Fortunately Seth and Jake decided now would be a grand time to arrive on
scene.

“Dad! Ms. Page! Aunt Molly said you were coming. We got to
go to Alcatraz the other day, Dad! And we went to a Giants game!” Katrina
risked a look up to see Seth and Jake standing in the doorway. Dillon stood and
when he met Seth coming off the steps he hugged him. Molly clasped Katrina’s
hand quickly and she took over where Dillon left off. It didn’t escape her
attention too that Del was smiling warmly at her. But none of it saved her from
the burning hot tears that were pricking the back of her eyes. She didn’t want
to be responsible for him losing his job or for any other awful thing happening
to any one of them. And yet she was the center of it all.

“Hey, bud. You guys go in and wash up. You smell like a
locker room and Grandma’s making dinner.”

“Okay. Can we go to a drag show before we leave?”

“Umm. No. That’s actually not going to happen at all. Definitely
no. Big no on that one.”

She laughed even as a tear escaped her eye. She was going to
ruin this man with her drama. She was being selfish. Why was she continuing to
set her own needs above his? She’d already lost this argument with him once but
if seeing him with his family weren’t argument enough that what she was doing
was selfish she didn’t know what was.

“Kat?”

“Hmm?” She turned to his voice. He was sitting beside her
again and she could feel the warm tears in her eyes. “Baby, why are you upset?”
She shook her head. His family was walking inside and she angled her head
toward him to hide the tears in her eyes. “Don’t hide from me.”

She met his eyes but the second she saw the worry she shook
her head again. He sighed. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room, which is sadly
not mine thanks to that Amish conservative move you pulled when we got here.”
He smirked and she sniffed her nose.

“Kat, look at me.” His voice was suddenly serious and when she
met his eyes they were too. “You know I love you.” She nodded. “And do you love
me too?” She nodded again. “Everything else will fall into place. Trust me?”
She nodded again. She was starting to feel like a puppet with her head on a
string. He was so good at getting inside her. “Come with me.”

She stood, feeling his hand clasp hers as they moved back
into the house, through the kitchen and back into the large living room. Their
bags were where they’d left them on the landing and he carried both upstairs as
she followed him.

He left his in the second-floor hallway and then he walked
with her up to the third floor with her bag. The bedroom was beautiful and
cozy. The bed was wrought iron and the quilt on top was an antique floral
pattern. There was a down comforter at the foot of the bed. The room had its
own bathroom with a clawfoot tub. She couldn’t imagine a more quaint and
comfortable room.

Dillon opened the short French doors out onto a small deck
that overlooked the backyard and patio far below and when he turned to her as
she stared out at the harbor in the distance he smiled. “My mother was an
interior designer before she retired. Could you guess?”

She smiled. She was struggling to stifle the emotion that
had crept up on her and, as Dillon’s face fell for a moment, she was smacked
with more guilt. “Molly’s across the hall. The boys are sharing a room on the
second floor and my room is there as well. My parents’ master bedroom is on the
ground floor. Will you be okay here alone?”

She nodded and he approached her. “You know this is entirely
your fault?” She cocked her head to the side. “They wouldn’t have cared if we
stayed together.”

“But perhaps Seth would have.” He watched her closely for a
moment before nodding subtly.

“Perhaps. I’ll see you downstairs shortly.” He kissed her
and she was so tempted to close the door to the room and sink into his body for
a while. He was all man and that most manly part of him was hard and rigid
against her body at the moment. His body taunted her—it told her he could make
her worry disappear for a while if she’d only let him. It promised a
distraction, a reprieve, a break from the ugly things in her mind.

It guaranteed her ecstasy and hedonism that would leave her
complete and whole again but she let him step back from her. He watched her
carefully. He wasn’t buying her mood in the least. The suspicion in his eyes
was pinning her to the spot, charging her with it.

When he turned from her, she shut the door and retreated to
the bathroom. She washed her face, flushing it with cool water she hoped
desperately would clear her head. They were lovely. Every last one of them was
precious, sweet and decent.

She couldn’t hurt that—even if it wasn’t her fault. It
wasn’t
her fault! It was an infuriating truth knowing this was being done to her and outside
her control and it could hurt the man she loved and everything in the world he
cared for.

Seeing his family was an amazing thing. She was happy, she
was jealous, she felt guilty and she just wanted to be one of them in a very
immature pathetic sort of way. When there was a knock on the door, she grabbed
the hand towel and dried her face quickly as she pulled the door open.

“Hi.” Molly looked nervous.

“Hi.”

“You’re okay, aren’t you?” Katrina nodded. “It must be a
lot. All of us at once. What about your own family? I mean, are you close?”

“No. My mother left my father and me when I was still in
diapers and my father passed away a few years ago.”

“Oh, Katrina. I’m so sorry. You’re completely alone in all
this. I mean…you’ll never be alone with Dillon, or with us for that matter, but
you know what I mean.” She winked at Katrina. “He loves you.” She shook her
head as a smile crept across her face. “Wow. I wasn’t sure I’d see that again
but he does. Something fierce too. Do you love him as well?”

“Yes I do.” There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in her voice.

“Then why do you look so sad?” Molly studied her.

Katrina stared at the floor for a moment. She had no idea
how to answer this. “
Because
I love him.” Molly cocked her head to the
side in confusion. “I don’t want any part of this mess to touch him—to touch
Seth. I’m worried all the time the people I care about are going to be hurt
because of me and I’m just not sure I could handle that.”

Molly’s eyes closed slowly as she soaked in Katrina’s worry.
But when they opened again it was with resolve. “And if the situation were
reversed? If Dillon’s life were in danger? Would you leave him just because he
was afraid of the effect it might have on you?”

“No.”

“Then why should you expect anything less from him?” She
watched Katrina for a moment before she spoke again. “I’ll see you downstairs.”
Then she was gone.

Dillon watched her from across the table at dinner. She was
having a hard time shaking her funk. She understood it. She was tired of her
life being a drama-fest. She wanted to be normal, plain, boring and just
ordinary again. The compassionate eyes that watched her now made it clear she
was none of those things. They were kind, generous and when Dillon’s father had
rubbed her shoulder as she’d entered the kitchen, it was made clear they
weren’t the least bit resentful. But the suspicious eyes that watched her
across the table said Dillon wasn’t buying it.

She tried to smile at him but he just watched her. He
watched her, knowing she was trying to hide the ugliness from him. And he said
nothing.

It wasn’t difficult to put himself in her position. He knew
she carried a load of guilt around most of the time these days. His only real
hope was ending this thing, keeping her safe and giving her what she needed to
move forward with him. He needed to take away the guilt she felt and he knew an
end to this nightmare was the only thing that would. Ironically her guilt was a
wedge that threatened to pull them apart and yet it was owed entirely to the
fact she cared for him—heartwarming and terrifying all in one breath.

Molly asked her to take a walk after dinner was finished and
she agreed. He watched her leave with Molly. He’d seen few real smiles from her
since they’d arrived. She showed his family what she thought they wanted to
see. She flashed a quick completely contrived smile when they looked at her but
he always saw it drop from her face quickly when they looked away.

He saw it, he studied it, he hated it. She should at least
be able to relax here. She was safe—it was supposed to be a reprieve but her
expression said she’d carried every ounce of her worry with her. Of course she
had. She was going through hell at the moment and that wasn’t something so
easily forgotten.

“She’s really lovely, Dillon.” His mom squeezed his arm as
she moved past him in the kitchen.

“Yes she is. I’m worried about her though.”

“How so?” His father had joined them at the kitchen island.

“She’s just so worried about everything. So am I, but I hate
that she is.”

“Seems understandable that she’d worry. She must be
terrified.” Del commiserated with a slight shake of her head.

“Of course, but it’s not just that. It’s us. It’s
everything. She worries I could be hurt. She worries Seth could be hurt. She
worries I’m going to lose my job. She holds herself so responsible for
everything and none of it is her fault.”

“I shouldn’t have asked you about your job in front of her
this afternoon. I wasn’t thinking. I should have known she’d feel bad about
that.” His father looked guilty.

“It’s okay. It’s just taking its toll on her. She’s been
dealing with this for a while now. She’s been attacked, terrorized, tormented
and we haven’t been able to do a damn thing about it. Her entire life has been
turned upside down. Everything she’s ever known has been threatened or
destroyed and everything she cares about has been jeopardized. I get it. I just
hate that she has to deal with it.”

“Can’t be easy considering you two haven’t been together
long.” He wasn’t entirely sure what his mother’s point was, but if she was
going to suggest they’d not been together long enough, it wasn’t going to go
over well.

“Meaning?” He tried not to sound defensive.

“Meaning that neither of you should have to spend your time
focusing on this instead of your relationship. I wasn’t suggesting anything
other than that, so just wipe that look off your face.” Well, she’d put him in
his spot. “You love her. It’s obvious. And you’ll never hear a peep out of me
about it. I understand. And she loves you too. That’s obvious as well, by the
way.”

“Yeah, well sometimes I’m not sure that’s enough for her. Or
if it’s enough to make her walk away, thinking she’s doing me some favor.”

His mother pursed her lips. “You’re going to have to talk to
Seth about this. He’s worried about her. He’s a smart kid and he knows
something is going on with her.”

“I’m going to talk to him tomorrow.”

Molly and Katrina returned a short while later and the
moment she walked in she smiled sheepishly at him. He didn’t approach her, but
waited to see if she would approach him instead. She did, hesitantly looking up
at him when she stepped up beside him. He kissed her on the top of her head and
she leaned into his side.

The boys had gone back to the park and they wouldn’t see
them again until dark, so they settled into the living room. Katrina sat close
at his side and she made small talk for a while before excusing herself to bed.
She kissed him quickly before wishing everyone good night and then she was gone
and he wasn’t sure what to do with himself.

He followed the boys up to bed a few hours later and he
spent the next couple hours tossing and turning until he finally fell asleep.
He woke in a start shortly thereafter and as he gasped into the darkness, he
had to reassure himself she was okay just to keep from panicking. He wasn’t
sure what the dream had been about but he knew it was about her and it wasn’t
good.

He stumbled up the flight of stairs to her room and he
silently crawled in next to her. Her body was warm and he instantly started to
drift back to sleep.

“I love you.” He’d not realized she was awake until her
quiet voice brought him back from sleep.

“I love you too.” He was hugging her body from behind and he
let his fingers slowly brush up her leg and under the gown she was wearing.
When he reached her waist, he slid his hand back down under her underwear,
rubbing down the round cheek of her bottom. He slid his finger between the back
of her legs, finding her warm and wet.

“I can’t do this here. Not in your parents’ house.”

He groaned. “You’re killing me.” He took her hand, guiding
it to his hard arousal. “I need you. Now.”

She moaned. “You know I want to.”

“Yes I do. Your pussy is drenched. You’re ready.” He was
nuzzling against the back of her neck and she was sighing and moaning quietly.
“Come with me.”

He rolled from bed and held his hand out to her. It was dark
but the moon was nearly full and shining in through the French doors. He walked
with her to the doors, grabbing a wooden chair sitting beside a small desk. The
chair was antique and he was hoping for the sake of his ass and his dignity
that it was not just decorative and would hold together.

When he opened the doors, she stilled by his side. “Dillon,
this wasn’t quite what I meant when I said not in their house.”

“I’m well aware of what you meant.” He pulled her out onto
the small balcony and set the chair down. “Now this chair is old as hell and
you’re going to have to be gentle with me if there’s much hope we won’t destroy
it. And this is your bedroom so you’ll be the one explaining to my mother why
her antique is in pieces on the balcony. Nervous yet?”

“Dillon…”

“Unless you’re moaning my name when I’m inside you, stop saying
my name like I’m an insolent child.”

“I’m not sure that’s far from the truth.” He chuckled. It
was a spark of her humor—just a spark but it was enough to light a fire in his
gut.

He stepped up close to her, inching the hem of her nightgown
up along her legs. Her breathing was ragged and nervous and when he finally
raised the hem above her panty line, he slipped his fingers under the waist and
slid them down her hips. His dick was hard as hell. He wasn’t lying when he’d
said he needed her. He needed her to give herself to him. She could be
terrified or worried but she couldn’t keep herself from him.

He pulled down the front of his flannel pants, tucking the
elastic under his testicles, tightening the building tension in his sac all the
more. His cock was touching her stomach and her hands instantly moved to his
length.

He moaned as her fingers moved down. She grazed her soft
touch over his tight balls. She toyed with his skin, trailing the lightest
touch along his shaft just to tickle her way over his testicles again. She
pushed the elastic down farther, cupping him in her hand. She squeezed and his
head dropped back as he fought the moan.

He was no more interested in waking the house than she was,
but she tended to drive him over his edge of reason quickly, and her hands were
doing a great job of reminding him just how easy he could succumb to her.

He let her hands squeeze, glide, grip and torment him for as
long as he could handle before he stilled her and dropped his pants to his
feet. He reached up under her gown to glide his fingers between her lips. She
was silky wet and he could already imagine sliding his dick through her
moisture. He loved the feel of her come on his skin and his cock was twitching
for it.

She gripped his biceps as he slid up and down her cleft.
Every time his finger passed over her clit, she cried out quietly and her
fingers gripped tighter on his arm. It was with intense difficulty that he
pulled his fingers from her body but he wasn’t going to last much longer like
this. He really was a bit leery about the chair that must surely be over a
hundred years old but it gave barely a creak as he sat. Whether he would end up
with splinters in his ass was another question entirely.

He guided her body to straddle him and she sank down to sit on
his thighs. She kissed him, pushing her tongue into his mouth and her hands
found his erection again. His hands found her hips, lifting her and positioning
her over the head of his cock. He was slow as he lowered her and she used her
fingers to guide him into her body.

She stilled as he passed between her lips and the tightness
caused a groan to escape her. He gripped her hips, pulling her slowly but
steadily down to his lap. He could feel her warmth accepting him but the
tightness was intense. When she was seated on his lap, he pulled her gown off
over her head.

“I didn’t appreciate it when you told my family the only
reason you were here was your case.” He held her hips firmly over his cock,
keeping himself buried inside her body as he chastised her. “Do you know why
you’re here?”

Her lips were parted and her breath was coming in short
quiet gasps. Her sheath was gripping and quivering around him. It was damn hard
not to lift her and sink her pussy right back down over his erection again. He
was ready to feel the movement of her slick warm skin against his length but
he’d been waiting to call her out on her insensitive comment for a few hours
now.

“Because you’re worried about me.” Her voice was breathy as
she responded and his dick twitched inside her at the sound of her desperate
need.

“You’re here because I’m in love with you. You’re here
because I want my family to know you. You’re here because my son needs to
understand us. Don’t forget there is far more between us than one pathetic
lunatic. It isn’t why I asked you to come at all.”

She was quiet but eventually she nodded and he kissed her.
When he released his tight grip on her hips, she rocked and dropped her head to
his shoulder, moaning quietly against his skin.

The movement of her hips was intoxicating. She rolled
against him, taking him deeper and when she rolled back it only released the
slightest depth before she grinded into him again. He let her move on his lap
and he listened to the quiet mewling whimpers coming from her mouth.

She sat up, leaning back from his body and bracing her hands
on his knees. And he watched her slowly humping him. When he touched her
exposed clit she hissed and her nails dug into his legs as he groaned.

He stroked over the tight swollen peak of her clit and she
started panting. The moon was nearly full and bright and he watched her stomach
muscles contract as her body tried to curl in and capture her release. When she
finally came, he could feel her buttocks tightening against his thighs as she
pushed her pelvis up. She couldn’t stop the cry and he leaned swiftly to her
mouth, thrusting his tongue into her warmth as she moaned around him.

He didn’t let up the pressure on her clit until she was
trembling and gasping for breath and only then did he pull her body back close
to his and let her settle her head on his shoulder. He gave her little rest
before he clutched her hips in his hands, held her hard to his body and started
clenching his buttocks, driving himself deep into her.

“Dillon!” She gasped his name against his neck.

“Tell me you love me.” He whispered in her ear as he drove
to her core.

“I love you.” She could barely get the words out as he
continued driving into her.

“Say it again.”

“I love you.”

He was thrusting hard and fast, holding her hips as tight as
he could to his lap. “Don’t stop. Say it again. I want to hear it when I come
inside you.”

She murmured it against his ear again and again, crying out
quietly as he pierced her body. She didn’t stop saying what he needed to hear and
when he thrust one final time, clutching hard on her hips and pushing his hips
up into her, she started kissing his neck and murmuring the words against his
skin.

He was spilling himself deep inside her body and he listened
to her voice as he pulsed within her. He was left panting against her neck as
his body took its time relaxing again.

It was many minutes later that he found his voice again.
“Lucky girl, keeping this chair in one piece.”

He pulled her body to his, feeling her taut nipples against
his pecs. He didn’t let go of her body until he felt like his ass might fall
asleep and when he lifted her from his lap she led him into the bathroom and
pulled him into the shower with her. He kissed her back slowly moving down to
her bottom as the warm water cascaded over them. He lifted her foot to the side
of the tub and he slid two fingers into her pussy.

He could feel his semen and her wetness around his fingers
and he plunged while he sucked gentle kisses on the cheeks of her bottom. Her
pussy was quivering around his fingers and his dick was already waking up
again. He stood behind her, nuzzling against her neck. “I think I’ve gotten a
bit too used to having you in my bed. Sleeping alone just doesn’t quite do it
for me anymore.”

She turned to him, wrapping her arms around him. “I know.”

After she was back in her gown and she’d toweled her hair as
dry as she could get it, he led her to bed and sat at her hip, watching as she
snuggled down under the blankets. He was tempted to crawl in with her, but he
was quite certain he’d never leave if he did.