Feel the Heat (11 page)

“Troy?” She blinked. “What—How—” She looked at herself and realized she’d wound the top bedsheet around herself, trapping her body in its folds. She tried to unwind herself from it but only made it worse. She realized she was shivering yet her body was covered with a thin sheen of perspiration and she had trouble catching her breath.

Another damn nightmare.

She hadn’t had them for a long time. Hoped, in fact, that they were finally a thing of the past.

Apparently not.

“Easy, baby.” Troy’s hands were steady on her shoulders. “Jesus, Lauren, you scared the crap out of me. Take a deep breath and let me help you.”

Lauren’s stomach was pitching like the deck of a ship in a storm, but she did her best to remain still while Troy carefully undid the sheet that she’d somehow wrapped around herself like a mummy. When the air cooled by the fan overhead hit her bare skin, goose bumps popped out everywhere.

“Everything’s okay,” Troy murmured as he eased her back down onto her pillow. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

“Are you sure no one can get into the house?” That had always been her greatest fear. It was the reason for all the deadbolts and the safety locks on the windows. For the alarm system, which until Mark looked at it she hadn’t realized was inadequate.

“Positive. The house is safer than a bank vault.”

Sliding back in beside her, he pulled the covers up and curled his body around hers, wrapping her in his warmth.

“Bad dream?” he asked, stroking her hair, holding her tightly against his body.

“Yes.” Bits and pieces of it came back to her. “It was terrible.”

“Tell me about it.” His hand moved from her hair to caress her body, a soothing rather than a sexual touch.

“I’d rather just forget it.” A shudder sliced over her as the memory of it came back sharp and vivid.

“I think you’d feel better if you got it off your mind. Come on, Lauren. Let it loose.”

Eyes closed, her head pressed against his shoulder, her hands resting on his chest, she gave him the bits and pieces of the dream that had nearly—and almost literally—strangled her. His hand never stopped stroking her, touching her, giving her a contact point of safety. Settling her nerves.

“You know I’ll never let that happen,” he assured her.

“I do.” And she meant it. “But what if you’re not here? What if—“

But he pressed two fingers against her mouth. “No what-ifs. I will be here with you. Count on it. I think what you need to do is something to take your mind off the dream. Think you can manage that?”

The tension eased from her body replaced by a slowly rising need.

She smiled, “Maybe. What do you suggest?”

“How about this for starters?”

He rolled her to her back and bent his head over her, his kiss a gentle touch, his tongue tracing the outline of her mouth. The light caress sent tremors of anticipation racing over her skin. He kept the kiss light and gentle, teasing and tempting, until her arms came up to wrap around his neck. When she opened her mouth slightly his tongue swept in possessively, licking and tasting and coaxing.

He explored every inch of her mouth before moving to her cheek and then that tender spot behind her ear. His mouth trailed down her neck with little nips and licks, while one warm palm cradled a breast. Using his thumb and forefinger, he lightly squeezed the already hardened nipple, drawing another soft sound of pleasure from her. She arched into his touch, eyes closed, feeling desire spread slowly through her, flooding her pussy.

He took his time, working the one breast until she whimpered for more, then paying as much attention to the other. When he took her nipples into his hot mouth, each in turn, pulling hard on them, the pulse in her womb beat heavily. She squeezed her legs together against the need throbbing there.

Troy was a careful, sensitive lover, both highly passionate and considerate, attending to her needs while making his own well-known. His mouth never left hers, kissing and nibbling even as his hands moved farther down her body. One finger traced the line of the crease between hip and thigh while the hot, hard length of his cock imprinted itself against her body.

His mouth slid over her cheek, his teeth tugging at her earlobe, his tongue tracing a line along the side of her neck. His fingertips drifted in a soft line across her body, just above the nest of pubic curls. He sifted lightly through the curls themselves. Eased over the surface of her cunt. She rocked her hips at him, silently urging him to touch more. Touch deeper. She parted her legs and he opened her wet lips, humming as he touched the slickness of them. His busy thumb rasped over her clit as he slipped two fingers inside her waiting cunt. Her muscles gripped around him, her hips moving as she rode him.

As he shifted his body, his cock pressed harder against her. She wanted to wrap her fingers around it, slide them along its length. Take him into her mouth. At the same time, she didn’t want him to stop the clever and wonderful things he was doing. The tips of his curled fingers scraped her hot spot again and again, each time sending heat through her body and making the muscles of her pussy tighten.

The nightmare, the fear, the shivering all slipped away as he fed her arousal. Lust coiled low in her belly, unwinding slowly as his fingers thrust in and out of her. She felt liquid, pliable, yet at the same time taut as a well-strung bow. Troy put his mouth to one nipple, sucking it deeply into his mouth and swirling the tip of his tongue around the hardened bud.

But as she clung to him more tightly, her body reaching for the peak, his lips moved to hers. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, capturing her cries as she flew over the top and tumbled into a space of erotic fireworks.

She barely had time to catch her breath before he rolled on a condom, hooked one leg over his arm to open her to him and slid into her with one smooth thrust. He filled her so completely it took her breath away. He held himself still, his gaze locked on hers.

“Trust me, Lauren. I‘ll keep you safe. Always.”

Then he began to move, slow, languid strokes at first that brought a surge of heat sweeping through her. His eyes never left hers as he rocked into her, the head of his cock dragging against her sensitive hot spot. She gripped his shoulders, her body moving in rhythm with his. Everything fell away—the dream, the danger—and nothing existed except her and this incredible man.

The orgasm came over her so slowly, she was caught in the force of it before she even realized it. Her body shook with the force of it yet her gaze never left Troy’s. Her eyes never left his face. As the spasms swept through her, muscles clenching over and over, she had the sensation of falling into those astonishing eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. Then he stiffened and in moments he was pulsing inside her, filling the condom, filling her body.

Afterward he held her, his touch a soothing caress, his mouth brushing lightly over hers with incredible tenderness.

“Think that chased the bad dreams away?” His breath was a warm breeze against her cheek.

“Yes.” She sighed. “Most definitely.”

“Good. Be right back.”

He left her only long enough to dispose of the condom then slipped back under the covers and curled his body around her. Lauren closed her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she was sure no dreams would come to disturb her sleep.

* * * * *

Kurt Olberman stood on the balcony outside his bedroom and contemplated the clear Colorado night and the vastness of the sky. He never tired of the view. Every day he congratulated himself on the decision to build his fortress here. To breach that security someone would have to drop in out of the sky, and the men who stood watch at night would spot them and kill them before they reached the ground. This was the only place in the world where he felt truly safe.

He’d done a lot of thinking since Reid McFadden’s earlier call. He had to work to tamp down the thread of excitement working its way through him. The calls he’d made to prospective clients checking on members of their families who were devastatingly ill had only reinforced his belief. These people would pay any sum of money for a cure.

Olberman had already moved forward with the decorating of a suite for Lauren Cahill. He’d had Vivian research every personal scrap of information about her so he knew she liked soothing colors like earth tones and pale sea colors. He would have McFadden or Bonner trail her on her next trip to the grocery store to see what kind of food she bought. While one of them tailed her, the other would get inside her house and take shots of her bookshelves and the interiors of her rooms. He wanted her to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

He knew what the drawbacks would be. She’d resist him. Insist on being returned to her home. Refuse to do as he asked. But he knew she was close to her family—at least her brother and his wife—and she would not want any harm to come to them. As long as she did his bidding, they would be safe.

Of course he expected a furor when she disappeared. There would be a hunt on for her. The FBI would be called in. But his fortress was impenetrable. They might trace her here, but they’d never be able to retrieve her.

He was always jazzed at the beginning of a new venture. He thrived on new experiences and new opportunities to increase his already vast fortune. This would be the icing on the cake.

All in all, he was pretty pleased with himself.

* * * * *

The Cleaner paced his small apartment, really just two tiny rooms with the kitchen stuff along one wall. Pacing was a habit he’d picked up in
that place
where
they’d
sent him to stay when he wouldn’t buckle under to their rules and demands. But he’d shown them all. He’d fooled everyone and when he was back home again, he’d flown just far enough under the radar that they left him alone, besides, they had their precious patient to deal with. Even when she was no longer ill, she was still the focus of their attention. As long as he didn’t do anything outrageous, they pretty much ignored him.

Were they looking for him now? Did they worry where he’d disappeared to? Or had they breathed a collective sigh of relief that he was out of their orbit? He supposed as long as he didn’t create embarrassing headlines for them, they’d be more than happy to pretend he didn’t exist.

Why was he thinking about them now, anyway? He’d finally realized how much they hated him so he couldn’t waste time letting them into his brain. It was Lauren Cahill who needed to be at the center of his thoughts. If only his head would stop pounding. He wouldn’t be surprised if somehow she’d caused that too, devil that she was. Hadn’t she brushed up against him that one time he’d been in her presence? Maybe she had cast one of her evil spells on him and his brain was now disintegrating.

He knew one thing. It was time to take the final step. He knew as soon as the current furor died down another patient would come that she-devil’s way and someone else would be a victim of her spells. No, he’d have to finish his campaign now.

Swallowing a handful of acetaminophen, he lay down on the sagging couch and began to run ideas and possibilities through his head.

* * * * *

Dan Romeo sat with his laptop open, listening to Andy on his Bluetooth cell phone and typing on his laptop.

“This is still a lot of people,” he told his very talented computer programmer.

“We narrowed the patient list down,” Andy reminded him, “but you wanted me to check for immediate family members, close friends, anyone in the so-called immediate circle.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He was just irritated that the list of people didn’t seem to shrink significantly.

“So what’s next, Big Dan?”

“Let’s do this one group at a time. We won’t go beyond the definition of each group unless we start hitting dead ends. Jesus. I hope we hit it soon, because I have a feeling this guy is rapidly escalating.”

“I sent you all the files so you can review them yourself. I’ll get to work refining the groups right away. See ya later.”

Dan opened the email and watched the files download on his secure laptop. Then he opened the first one and scanned it. The patient’s name was Jenny Hardin. Both parents were living and she had a sister, brother and a fiancée. Her brother was married, sister single. Two very close friends who had spent hours with her during her illness. Both married. So at the very least there were ten people in Jenny’s circle to check out. Not all of them would be candidates. The parents had called Lauren in, so it wouldn’t be either of them. Not with the success of the healing.

Was there jealousy in the family? With the friends? Or the friends’ husbands? Did they resent the time their wives spent with a critically ill woman? He checked their addresses on Google maps. All lived in nice middle-class neighborhoods, most of which he was familiar with. He could do a drive-by, scope out the locations himself. But that wouldn’t tell him if anyone harbored resentments or downright anger. Yes, the anger was the key. This was more than just sibling rivalry or irritated husbands.

Well, Andy would do an in-depth on everyone and see what was out there.

He’d just opened the second file when Mia came into the room, carrying two glasses of wine.

“I think you need to take a minute to unwind.” She handed him one of the glasses. “You’ve been at the computer or on the phone with Andy since you came home today. I didn’t think this was such a complicated case.”

“Neither did I.” He swallowed some of the wine, enjoying the pleasant taste of it. “I figured it was just a friend of Mark’s getting hassled a little by the media. But she’s got real problems over there.”

He described the situation with the media, which made her frown, but when he got to the telephone calls from the stalker her expression changed.

“Dan, that’s a dangerous situation. I’m sure you and Mark have done everything and I’m glad Troy’s staying there, but I’m afraid for her.”

Dan felt a prickle on his neck. “You’d tell me if you had any visions that you thought related to this, right?”