Dangerously in Love (7 page)

Hill jumped up, trying to wake Caitlin but unable to. Her arms flailed as she screamed and kicked. He grabbed her arms, but she kicked him in the groin. He bent over, writhing in pain. It took a moment for the aching to pass. She popped up, sweating, breathing heavily. Her face went red, a vein protruding prominently from her forehead. Hill got her some water, and she guzzled it down, choking a little towards the end. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Are you okay?” Hill asked.

“That nightmare. It had stopped for a while. Since I’ve been with you, I hadn’t had the bad dreams. But now they’re back.”

He sat beside her and held her close. Her body trembled. She rubbed her hands over her face and sighed with her hands in her lap, chin to her chest. He caressed her arms, trying to calm her. She was clearly unnerved. She couldn’t stop shaking. Her heart raced, body quaked, and hands trembled. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. But it didn’t help—it only served to bring forth a vision of those raisin-like eyes staring at her.

Caitlin pushed her hair behind her ears. Then without a word, she leaned into Hill’s arms, tears spilling onto his bare chest. He held her so close he thought he’d squeeze the life right out of her. Her voice, tremulous, uttered, “Hill, I love . . . how safe I feel with you.”

“I’ll protect you, baby. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“Hill?”

“Yes?” he said, caressing her back, comforting her.

She kissed him tenderly and laid her head against his chest again. “Is it possible to love someone so deeply so quickly?”

Of course it was possible, but she had admitted before that she didn’t even know what love was. So how could she possibly know if she loved him? He wasn’t sure how to answer her. I love you, too?
Did
he love her? He remained silent, holding her close, feeling her body finally relax. She hadn’t told him anything about what had her so frightened, but now that she was calm, he didn’t want to bring it up and cause her to think about it or relive it.

“Hill?” She stood in front of him.

“Yes, baby?”

“Make love to me.”

She let the robe he’d given her fall to the floor, revealing her nakedness. Hill licked his lips, imagining the things he would do to her. Before he could respond, she’d removed his robe, dropped to her knees, and had taken him into her mouth. He groaned, his hands cupping her head.

***

A gruesome haze hovered, still, lifeless. Caitlin sat quietly at the kitchen table, sipping coffee across from Hill. She tried not to get lost in his eyes. The way he looked at her, even his voice, relaxed and soothed her. There was something about how he held her hand with such gentleness that calmed her anxiety.

She looked into Hill’s thoughtful eyes. He reached out to her, caressing her arm.

“I don’t know why anybody would have wanted to kill him. He was a good guy. A regular Joe,” she emoted.

“Who? Who was killed?” Hill asked, confused, baffled by her random statement.

“He’d asked me to take him to the airport,” she said. “He forgot his briefcase in my car.” She hadn’t meant to be so forthcoming, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Who did? Are you telling me about your dream?”

“No. David—my cousin. He left his briefcase in my car, so I was trying to . . .” she swallowed hard, trying to control the emotion that had resurfaced. She took a deep breath then continued. “When I tried to return his briefcase, I saw . . . I—I, uh. . .” she sniffed and wiped away the tears that fell. “It was so terrifying, Hill.”

He placed his other hand on top of hers. His hands were soft against them. He moved and sat beside her.

“I hid,” she continued.

“So no one saw you?”

She thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think so. Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“One of them looked at me and told me I’d picked a bad day to drop by. But I’m not sure if he was talking to me or David’s ex-wife.”

Hill raised an eyebrow, trying his best to follow what she was telling him, but he was lost. “What do you mean? His wife was alive, and one of the men was talking to her?”

“No. She was dead. I hid behind her dead body, between the wooden slats . . . you know, the unfinished part of the basement where the insulation goes. I was wedged in there, and I used her body to shield mine. But to me, it seemed like that man looked me dead in the eyes when he said what he said. Then he reached for Beth’s hair and touched her face, but he was looking me right in the eyes. But I’m not sure whether he actually saw me.”

“Would you be able to describe him?”

She shook her head slowly. “I only remember his eyes.”

“You said ‘one of the men.’ How many were there?”

She shrugged.

“Two, three, four?”

She shrugged again. “Why are you asking me so many questions?” Caitlin asked.

“I’m just trying to figure out what happened to you, that’s all.”

“I don’t know why anybody would want to kill him. He was a good guy, trying to work things out with his ex-wife.”

“How do you know that?”

“He was my cousin. They killed my cousin, his ex-wife, and his father.”

“His father? Your uncle? The uncle you said I remind you of?”

She nodded.

“So this happened three years ago?”

She nodded again. “It keeps replaying in my mind over and over and over again. Then it shows up in my dreams. Just the one man with the beady eyes and bad breath. Him . . . he frightens me.”

He pulled her into a hug. “What did the police say?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t talk to the police about it. I didn’t talk to anybody about it. All I wanted to do was disappear and fall off the face of the earth, never to be found.”

She reflected on that moment when she’d fled. She’d needed to hurry out of there. What if the men came back? Would they kill her if they found her there? She hadn’t wanted to stick around to find out. She had twenty dollars in her glove compartment, a half tank of gas, a dead cell phone, and dangerous people most likely following her. How far could she go with twenty dollars and a half tank of gas? She’d watched enough TV to know she couldn’t use her debit cards, even if she had them. She could be tracked that way.

She’d driven to Midway Airport and parked in the hourly parking, figuring she could park there for a couple of hours just to figure things out. She’d found a space all the way in the back row where there wouldn’t be a lot of foot traffic, but she was still surrounded by other cars. She reclined her seat a little bit, remembering the man with the beady eyes and work boots.

Then she realized that they might have thought Beth was her. If so, then they must think she’s dead—and if she was thought to be dead, then no one would be following her. Nobody’d be tracking her. Nobody’d be looking for her. She laughed gleefully at the thought of it.

She wanted to take an assessment of what she had—decide what her next move should be. She figured parking would cost four dollars, which would leave her sixteen. She’d grab something to eat, and that would leave her with about ten. Where could she go with only ten dollars and a little less than a half tank of gas?

She got out of the car and opened her trunk, periodically looking around to see if anyone was watching or walking by. She kept a gym bag there with clothes and running shoes. And cash.
Hallelujah!
She tore out of the parking garage, filled up the gas tank, and grabbed something to eat from a drive-thru. Next stop, Miami, and then to Spain.

“But you were the next of kin. Wouldn’t you have been contacted and questioned?” Hill asked, jarring Caitlin from her thoughts.

“They may have tried to contact me. I’ll never know. I left the country. When I finally did come back, I met Adam. The rest is history.” She looked at the time. “Speaking of Adam, I should be going. I love you, Hill. I hate leaving you. I wish we could be together forever.”

“We could. Divorce Adam, and all our problems would be solved.”

“I’ve thought about that. But I’d get nothing if I divorced him now. I have to wait until we’ve been married five years to get even just a little bit.”

“Pre-nup?”

She nodded. “It was the only way he’d believe I wasn’t after his money.”

“Were you?”

“Was I what?”

“After his money?”

“Of course not! I didn’t even know he had money until he proposed to me.”

“Okay. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Would it bother you, Hill? I mean, if I divorced him now, would it bother you that I’d have nothing?”

“No. I don’t care about that. Of course, it would be nice if you were loaded. But it’s not a deal breaker if that’s what you’re worried about.”

She looked relieved. “I love you,” she said again and kissed him. “Shower with me.”

“Okay,” he said, happy to oblige.

At Caitlin’s request, Hill arrived at the rear edge of the Church property at nightfall. Caitlin had left the golf cart for him so he could drive it to the bungalow unseen. As he approached, he saw her standing in the cabana, looking up to the sky, perhaps star gazing. He parked the cart and crept up behind her, startling her.

“It’s okay, it’s just me,” Hill whispered as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck.

Her fragrance was different, bolder, more seductive. He ran his hands along the front of her pelvis, inching her skirt up until her panties were exposed. The warm breeze caught her breath as his fingers roamed beneath the elastic band of her panties, pressing against her sex. Rubbing. Taunting. Feeling her wet response to his touch. Her moans were heavier than before, more alluring. She leaned back, her head against his chest, caressing his strong thighs as he grew longer, harder—desiring her, pressing himself against her.

“Hill?” Caitlin’s voice called out from behind him.

He glanced back and saw Caitlin standing there, a baffled expression on her face. Shocked, he yanked his hands from the woman he’d been unknowingly violating and turned toward Caitlin.

“Cate? I—I thought . . .” He looked at the woman, who finally turned around to face him. “Oh, shit. I’m—I . . .” He ran his hand through his hair. “Shit.”

“Aw, does that mean you don’t wanna play with me anymore?” the woman asked with a pout. “You were so scrumptious,” she said.

For a second, Hill felt a strong desire for her, but he forced that urge out of his mind. He looked at Caitlin, her bewilderment transforming into a grin, as if she were unaffected by all of this.

“Hill, this is my dear friend, Amelia Morales.”

He extended his hand to shake hers. She smiled at him in a seductive way.

“Nice to meet you, Hill,” Amelia said, staring up into Hill’s eyes, smiling seductively as she gripped his extended hand and took his finger into her mouth—the one that had rubbed her—rolling her tongue around it, smiling devilishly. “Mmm. Tasty.”

His mind had wandered to the land of ménage a trois. He found it hard to pull away from her hypnotic gaze. “Amelia, I’m so sorry,” he apologized.

“I’m not,” Amelia said, grabbing his face and cradling his chin in the web of her hand. She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him, tracing the outline of his lips with her tongue. “Delicious.”

“Amelia is passing through on her way to Spain,” Caitlin explained.

Amelia took the envelope Caitlin handed her and sighed loudly in an exaggerated fashion. “Too bad. It could’ve been
so
much fun.”

Hill nodded, not sure what to say. He noticed that Amelia didn’t have an accent like Caitlin. Actually, she had that very distinctive drawl of native Chicagoans.

“Amelia, Hill is the man I told you about.”

“I see what you mean, Cate. He
is
quite handsome.”

Was he actually blushing? What the hell?

“Well, I should get going,” Amelia said.

“It was nice to meet you, Amelia,” he said.

“The pleasure was
all
mine.” Amelia grinned widely.

The women hugged, kissing each other on the cheek. Hill watched Amelia saunter away, waving goodbye with the envelope.

“I’m sorry, Cate. I thought she was you. Dammit, I’ve got to be more careful.”

“Don’t worry about it. Amelia wants me to be happy. From the looks of things, she wants you to be happy, too,” she winked. “Come inside.”

“When will Adam be back?” he asked as he followed her into the bungalow.

“Tomorrow afternoon. We have all night,” she smiled. “Looks like Amelia got things started for us,” she said, glancing at the swelling in his jeans.

***

“What do you dream of, Hill?” Caitlin asked.

What
did
he dream of? It was an innocent question that would reveal more than he was willing to share. He hadn’t thought about his dreams since his mother died when he was sixteen. Not really. He wanted to be like his father—rich, powerful, respected . . . perhaps feared. But when his mother died, his dreams had died with her.

“I dream of you,” he said instead.

She smiled and shook her head at the same time. “No, what do you
really
dream of? What makes you happy?”

“I’m
really
happy when I don’t have to answer a lot of questions,” he said, tickling her. She laughed and flailed her legs, trying to avoid his fingers.

“Stop being silly. I’m serious, Hill. I want to know more about you. I know you’re good with your hands—in every way,” she smirked. “But what else?”

“I’m just a simple guy. I work outdoors, I drink beer, I watch sports . . . and lately, I’ve been having sex with a beautiful woman. Not really much to tell.”

She sucked her teeth. “You sound like a caveman. I know there’s more to you, but I guess I’ll have to settle for learning more as time passes.”

He was relieved. He really didn’t want to talk about himself. Actually, he didn’t want to talk at all. He just wanted to relax. One thing that being with Caitlin did for him was relax him—until she started asking questions, making him think and dig deep into himself. He didn’t want to do that. Digging deep meant opening wounds and remembering things he had worked hard to forget. It meant feeling stuff he didn’t want to feel and expressing emotions he didn’t want to deal with.

Caitlin climbed on top of him as he lay with his hands behind his head, propped up on a pillow. Her body was tight, firm, and youthful. His bottom lip between his teeth, Hill’s eyes roamed along the curves and contours of her body as if he’d just scored an original masterpiece.

“Tell me, Hill,” she said, gathering her hair into her hand and raising it off of her neck. “You look at me as if I’m the first woman you’ve ever seen. What is it that you see when you look at me? I mean. . .” she contemplated how she’d frame the question, “we all come with the same stuff. You’ve seen one of us, you’ve seen us all, right?”

“That’s a lot of questions, sweetheart.” He paused to consider if he wanted to indulge her with the answers. He ran his finger around the outline of her areola then down her stomach to her navel, watching her body shudder. He continued, “In my view, every woman is different. A woman is not just a body. I see everything you are—your scent, your crooked smile, the way you walk, the way you talk, your accent, which is very sexy to me, by the way. It’s all of that. And then, when I unwrap the package and see what lies beneath, it’s like Christmas morning,” he said, grinning from ear-to-ear, resting his hands on her waist.

“What about Amelia? You thought she was me. If we’re so different, how could you have mistaken us?”

“Is that what this is all about? You’re worried I’m attracted to your friend?”

She chuckled. “No. I’m not insecure. I’m curious. I ask a lot of questions, I know. So just answer me.”

“Answer you. Hmm . . . I was expecting
you
, Cate. I expected that she was you, and so I didn’t pay attention to the differences. And, by the way, you two could pass for twins.”

“Yes, we hear that a lot.” She leaned down and kissed him. “Would you like us both, Hill? Me
and
Amelia? At the same time?”

Hill’s eyes widened. A million images of that threesome played through his mind in fast-forward. He was sure his mouth had dropped open. What was she trying to do to him? Was this some sort of test to find out how attracted to Amelia he was? Or maybe she was into threesomes. She did seem awfully comfortable with Amelia’s advances toward him.

“I’m here with
you
, Cate.
You’re
all I want. I don’t want images of other women in my mind right now,” he said, quite pleased with his response.

And so was she.

But it was too late. The seed had already been planted, and Hill’s thoughts took over. Images of Amelia invaded his mind. Amelia
and
Caitlin. And as Caitlin kissed and teased him, something primal emerged from him. His eyes grew feral. His desire, base. He tossed the condom wrapper on the floor and grabbed Caitlin with an aggression she hadn’t expected, pulling her body against his. Knowing he should temper his strength, he was instead unrestrained, allowing the primal, untamed part of him to take control until he was slick and wet with her desire—feeling the sensations of her yearning drawing him into her, tightening around him, not letting go. His powerful thrusts pressed deep inside of her, gyrating, rolling, grinding—pushing until the pressure was all-consuming. He couldn’t get enough, desiring all of her.

Caitlin’s muscles tensed around him, tight and unrelenting. He bit down on her bottom lip. And when her mouth opened to his, he sucked her tongue, and then her neck, her breasts. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto her stomach as he rolled her over and rose to his knees, grabbing her, pulling her into him. She pressed her hips toward him, swerving as he thrashed his body against hers, begging him not to stop. And as her body quivered, he finally let go—his sweet release overcame him. His feral eyes tamed. His primal desire, satiated. His strength, expelled. He lay on top of her, drenched in sweat, completely drained.