Hide and Seek (9 page)

“If you come back to the house with me, I can whip up even more delicious meals. I leave a lot of my stuff up there simply because I rarely have the time to cook properly down here. I can make you cheesecakes and soufflés so light and delicate they melt like butter on your tongue. I’ve even perfected my own chocolate soufflé recipe—and I remember how
very
much you love chocolate.”

William grinned as Josephine’s eyes glazed over at the memory. Back when they had first met, she had simply appeared on his doorstep one night at the stroke of midnight. She had worn a long trench coat, a pair of black stiletto heels so high they almost saw eye to eye. In one hand she held a slim, delicate paintbrush, in the other she held a bottle of what looked like chocolate syrup.

His cock had hardened immediately upon seeing her—he led her inside and the instant the door shut she dropped the coat. She wore a black bustier, laced up the front and back and so tight her already abundant breasts threatened to spill out of the lacy, stretchy material with every breath. The skimpiest pair of matching black lace thong panties and a garter belt holding up the thigh-high stockings completed the wet-dream get-up.

That night had been so long, and so sensual he still got an instant hard-on when he thought of all they had done. He eventually decided to throw out the sheets. The chocolate “war-paint” had been a total pain in the ass to get rid of. Josie had insisted laundry stain remover would get the chocolate out, but he had sprayed so much on all the different spots they left funny markings on the sheets. It had simply been too much hassle for him, and so he threw them away and had bought a new pair of sheets.

They had taken turns tying one another up with a couple of silk ties he found somehow with no blood in his brain—it had all headed much further south and settled there for the night.

Shifting uncomfortably with an incredibly hard cock in the pants he had found in the laundry pile, he wished he hadn’t teased her by invoking those memories. Months ago he had bought his own paintbrush and giant man-sized bottle of the hard-to-find chocolate body paint, and he fully intended to return the surprise to Josephine. Right now, however, he needed to talk to her about why she had run from him, and why there was a warrant out for her in Seattle.

“It’s a damn pity I never went back to that little shop and bought another bottle of that paint. The shop assistant had assured me one bottle would be plenty for a night—I never realized you were a chocoholic as well—or I’d have bought two bottles.”

William grinned as he collected their dishes, rinsed them and put them in the sink.

“Never mind, we have years now. I fully intend to go back to that fantasy. It’s been driving me nuts ever since we did it. As you can see, I
still
get hard merely thinking of it. I was about to suggest we get one of my brothers to mind the kids one night so we can rent a motel room and play all night—but on second thought, the more I look at that belly of yours the more I enjoy the thought of having so much more skin to paint as you are right now.”

Grinning at her blush, William crossed back over to the small kitchen table and pulled out his chair. Sitting down then drawing Josephine onto his lap, he rested both his hands on her stomach and nuzzled her neck. She squirmed adorably, easing and increasing the ache in his cock simultaneously.

After playing for a moment or two, they both finally settled into a comfortable position.

Josephine sighed. “Now that you’ve fed and watered me, you’re going to make me talk, aren’t you?”

William tried to hide his snort of laughter in her back. When Josephine wriggled again, he knew he failed. “That was the general idea. You’ve really put this off as long as you can, haven’t you?”

He reluctantly released her as she crossed back to the counter and made herself a steaming mug of herbal tea. Sipping it, she grimaced, and then sipped again.

“Much like this tea, I hate it—but as I know it’s really what’s best for the babies, I have to agree with you. Let’s go sit on the couch and I’ll tell you a little story.”

* * * * *

Josephine told her story with no fumbling halts, and for the most part refusing to meet William’s eyes. She stared at his half bare bookshelf, out his apartment window to the cold but sunny day outside, at his furniture—anywhere except in his eyes.

She briefly but succinctly told him how she tried to impress her boss by doing the preliminary checks for the yearly audit—and how she found the factory front and then went to her superior.

She heard his indrawn breath at the tale of that last fateful night in Seattle, and glanced at him as he stood to pace restlessly across the room. Quickly averting her eyes, not wanting to see the anger and disgust that would obviously be on his much-loved features, she stared more forcefully out the window and finished her recital.

She had thought through that last night, replayed each and every second, looking for different things she could have done, so many times over the last ten months of hiding that the story flowed easily from her lips. It was old news to her now.

She finished by explaining how she had hidden the original CDs and photocopies of her evidence in a safe place, drained her savings account, packed the small bag of belongings she couldn’t live without with her own burnt copies of the CDs, and left town that very night. Her words ground to a halt and she stopped, waited for the recriminations and accusations she fully expected from this honorable police officer.

“That doesn’t explain why you left me four months later without saying goodbye and without even giving me, giving
us
, a chance.”

For the first time, Josephine looked back at William. He stood rigidly straight and proud, as if expecting her to stand up and hit him. He looked directly at her, daring her to break their eye contact first. Josephine squelched the urge to squirm.

“You’re an honorable man, William. You’re a cop, first and foremost. Even after the physical relationship we had back then, even though we both tried to keep it as a no-strings-attached affair, we both learned fundamental things about each other. I
know
you always do what’s best, what’s right. Do you really think I could have told you all this—confessed about this dirty cop—and not expect you to take his side? I was just this piece of ass you were currently screwing. Can you honestly say you’d have taken my side of the story and back me, even against this fellow man in uniform?”

Josephine stood up, getting into the swing of her argument. The fact that William merely stood there, looking at her as if trying to read answers written on her face, just made her angrier.

“Come on! Everyone knows how the worst offense anyone can do is hurt a fellow officer, physically or verbally. What chance did I—a mere glorified gofer—have against the word of the son of the CEO and a police officer? I could have handed them my evidence, sure! And have it conveniently disappear when Petrelli confiscated it late one night. Then it would literally be my word against his. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out who would win in that battle!”

“I would have believed you. I might have searched for both sides of the story, but I certainly wouldn’t have handed you over to the police until I knew for certain what you were up against. You were never just a piece of ass to me. I think that’s your view on the matter though.”

Josephine felt her anger and outrage simmer down at the pain in his quiet statement. Neither of them said anything as William quietly crossed over to the telephone. Pressing one of the speed dial buttons, he turned his back to her.

“Yo, Sammy baby, get your ass out of bed. I have some work for you… Yeah I know it’s early, but this is Class A important… Yeah I found her, she was sitting on my doorstep last night… Yeah, yeah, laugh your ass off later, bro. I need you to run as much info as possible on one Petrelli, he’s that Seattle cop you mentioned, probably in charge of that warrant, my guess would be… Yeah, I know. Get Dom to start hacking if need be, but be careful, this is serious shit here… Yeah, yeah, I know I owe you, just get on it pronto. We’ll be out at the house.”

Josephine watched William hang up the phone and turn back to her, his eyes remote.

“You’d better get packed. We have a car trip to make. I’m taking you back to my family’s home. That way I can dig a bit deeper into this mess and not worry about you.”

Josephine couldn’t move, her brain being bombarded with information.

Firstly, she realized she had truly offended William, which was ironic, as it had never been her intention.

Secondly, she now fully understood the depth of her idiotic worries, as she had always known how deeply set his honor was. She should have known that with such an intense personal code of honor that he would have searched the full depth of her side of the story before condemning her—pregnant or not.

Thirdly, the final insult to her intelligence was the knowledge that she loved this man. Seeing the remote, hurt look in his eyes really hit home to her how much she cared about William, how she loved his teasing, his taunting. He wasn’t simply a stud in bed, making her body flare to life and driving her wild. She really cared for him, truly deep down. Knowing she had insulted him and hurt him created this awful hole in her chest and stomach.

Knowing her eyes would reflect the huge ramifications of her thoughts, she looked over to catch William’s eye, hoping to figure out something intelligent to say.

Before she could even think of a word, William turned from her and stalked into his bedroom.

Josephine sighed. And to think she had wondered if she should berate him for calmly announcing her as his fiancée last night without a word to her. She laughed sadly. Well, there was nothing from that department to worry about now!

Well, it was all too late now. She had never run before in her life, and this fiasco was proof positive that she should never run again! Look at all the problems she had created from running and hiding! She was pregnant and had just mortally insulted the man she loved and the father of her children.

Stuff this!
her brain argued.
No more running and no more hiding!
She would apologize, and truly mean it from her heart. If William acted too pigheaded and stubborn to forgive her for her fears and insecurities, then she would just have to work something else out. No longer would Josephine Lomax run
or
hide.

If William thought he was going to take her away from here and hide her in his family home he had another think coming. She wasn’t some stupidly naïve teenager, she could help herself and him in some ways. Most importantly of all, she felt an overwhelming urge to prove to William that she did trust him.
First things first
had been a favorite saying of her mother’s. Before she could begin to patch the bridge back with William, maybe she should prove a few home truths to him first.

Making up her mind in an instant, swearing curses about the male population in general under her breath, Josephine stomped into the bathroom. She washed her face and patted herself dry. Carefully so she didn’t lose her balance, she knelt down onto the floor and opened the cupboard under the sink.

Rummaging around amongst all the assorted paraphernalia that lived and grew under there, she finally found the old paintbrush she had been looking for. Picking it up reverently, she pushed aside the memories it invoked. She also removed the two CDs of burnt information she had hidden with it so many months ago.

Slipping the slim CDs into the enormous pockets of her maternity dress, Josephine checked her reflection one last time and went back into the bedroom where William was still grumpily packing.

Josephine stood silently in the doorway a moment. Even though she had kept one of the copies with her all through her disaster of hiding, Josephine knew she must have trusted William to have left her two spare copies back here with him. Maybe even a tiny part of her had hoped he would find them and come to get her.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Josephine hoped to hell that hadn’t been the case. She much preferred to think she simply cared about this man and trusted him subconsciously, even when her head had told her to run and hide.

Wondering how to use the CDs to convey these new thoughts and feelings to the big oaf, Josephine bit her lip and pondered her strange situation. She watched William throw jeans and sweaters into a small backpack, along with a clean change of briefs. Josephine felt her now-always volatile emotions start to bubble over.

“Look. I’m sorry, okay? I’ve been scared for so long now it’s like I can’t breathe. I didn’t want to drag you into this mess. I was scared to tell you and scared not to tell you. I somehow thought this would all blow over really quickly—only it didn’t, it just got worse.”

Sighing, running a hand through her now messy hair, Josephine searched for words. Magnificent, poetic words eluded her, only the bubbling cauldron of fear, anger and worry burned inside her.

William paused in his packing. He looked at her, but remained silent.

“Once I started running and hiding, everything just snowballed. Running made me look guiltier, and I didn’t know any cops I could trust. I didn’t have anyone to whom I could give the damned things to and trust not to make them disappear. It’s like quicksand; the more I struggled the further I sank. Then I met you, and the last thing I wanted was to drag you into this. If you took my side, you’d have to break your own morals to help me, and I couldn’t bear to think you wouldn’t believe me and simply turn me in anyway. Either choice seemed bad, so leaving was the perfect solution.”