Through Her Eyes (4 page)

Chapter Four

She snapped back into her body, thrashing and
screaming in the water, hammering on the tank's lid. It popped open and Dom was
there, lifting her out of the tank, his arms solid and strong. He sank to the
floor and held her against his chest, murmuring things she couldn't quite make
out, but it was comforting nonetheless. She clung to him, quaking.

"What happened?" Simon asked, closing the
tank and kneeling down next to them. There was concern in his voice, but more
curiosity, a scientific sharpness that she didn't like.

She couldn't answer at first. Her throat was too dry,
the fear still too vivid. He'd seen her, he'd bloody seen her. It shouldn't
have happened, shouldn’t be possible, according to Simon.

She forced herself to speak for Dom's benefit more
than Simon's. "I think I found the Slasher."

"Tell me what happened." Dom eased them both
upright, still holding onto her, stroking her wet hair. "Take your
time."

She was hotly aware of their bodies pressed together,
of the fact that she was soaking wet and dressed only in a swimming costume. He
stroked her back with one hand, playing with her sopping wet hair with the
other. The only man she'd been close to in recent years was Dylan, and the
feeling of Dom's hands on her was a revelation.

 
A thin,
inappropriate thread of arousal ran through her, her nipples hardening against
his chest, and she was torn between clinging tighter to him and moving away.

The sexual reaction was a convenient distraction from
her panic, and she focused on quelling it, shifting away from Dom with an
apology for getting him wet. Simon offered her a towel and once she was wrapped
in that, shivering from cold and missing Dom's embrace, she explained,
describing the man and his house as well as she could. "I know it was
Shoreditch," she said, "but I've no idea where."

"And you say he saw you?" Simon asked.
"Can you be certain of that?"

She nodded. There was no mistaking it. "He looked
right at me – he tried to grab me."

"Keira," Dom said carefully, "are you
sure?"

"It was him, Dom. I know it. He knew I was there
somehow. I don't know how." She glanced at Simon. "After he attacked
me, it formed this bond between us, didn't it? That's what started my OBEs.
Well, doesn't it make sense that the connection would run both ways? That he's
tied to me as much as I'm tied to him?"

Simon spread his hands. "That's outside my area
of expertise," he confessed, "but I can't say it's impossible. We
still know so little about how the human mind works."

Dom released her with a sigh. "I need to get down
to the police station," he said, "see if I can do anything with this
information. Keira, what do you want to do?"

She knew what she should do – go home and try once
again to put all this behind her. Remove
herself
from
all this weirdness and potential danger. Mark her essays, plan her lessons, and
get on with her life. She stared at Dom, already missing the warmth and comfort
of his embrace, missing what might happen between them if she stayed.

"I'll head back to my hotel," she said.
"I could do with a nap after all that excitement." She managed a
feeble smile.

Dom shook his head. "You can stay at my place.
I'll feel better knowing you're somewhere safe."
           
She shivered, not from cold
now. "The hotel's safe," she said in objection.

"Humor me, Keira, okay?"

She gave in without a fight.

Chapter Five

Dom's house was a proper bachelor pad – cupboard full
of instant noodles and microwave meals, living room full of boys' toys –
hi-tech entertainment system, lots of DVDs on sports, crime, and cars. Keira
wandered around, feeling slightly guilty at her unabashed nosiness, but
enjoying herself nonetheless. She should call Dylan, she knew. She should
assure him she was okay and coming home soon. They'd spoken briefly last night,
but it seemed like a long time ago now.

On the other hand, he had her number. He could ring
her if he wanted. In the meantime, she was happy to sit in Dom's house, drink
his coffee, and wait for him to come home. She had no idea if he'd be able to
use the information she'd given him. The police couldn't just go door-to-door
looking for the man she'd seen – they needed probable cause, forensic evidence,
something to tie him to the deaths. The likelihood was that she hadn't helped
at all. The knowledge made her gloomy.

She wondered if Dom had brought other women here since
his divorce. It was an uncomfortable thought. She'd met his wife – ex-wife –
just once, and instinctively disliked her. But that was surely because of her
own barely-hidden attraction to Dom, rather than because Angie deserved to be
disliked. Keira had known she was in danger of being
that woman
back
then. But now there were no barriers. If they wanted to kiss – if they wanted
to do more than kiss – there was nobody to answer to, nobody to hurt.

She wanted very badly to kiss Dom. But she hadn't been
intimate with anyone since her attack. She wasn't sure she knew how to initiate
intimacy anymore. And Dom was too much of a gentleman to risk stepping where he
wasn't wanted.

The day dragged by. She had no idea when Dom would be
back, and there wasn’t much to do to fill the time in until he did. She watched
TV, flipping listlessly through the channels. She sent Dylan a text, but didn't
get a reply. He'd be busy working on a website, lost in HTML and CSS, ignoring
everything else. She smiled wistfully, curling up on Dom's battered old sofa.
She loved the passion Dylan had for his job, loved and envied it. She'd never
particularly wanted to be a teacher; it had just seemed a sensible option.
Teachers were always in demand and the money was good, so why not?

 
The front door
banged open, shattering her reverie. Keira squeaked in surprise, hating herself
for it. She leapt off the sofa, peering into the hall. Relief suffused her when
Dom grinned at her, holding up a pizza box.
 
"Knocked off early," he said.
"You
hungry?"

"Starving."
She took the box, relishing the
smell of cheese and pepperoni. "Any luck today?"

He shrugged. "I've been combing the files,
looking at the evidence gathered from last night, trying to fit your guy into
it. But there's not a whole lot I can do as it is."

"I wish I'd found out more." She took up her
place on the sofa again and opened the pizza box, snatching a slice. "A
name, a house number... I could try again—

Dom shook his head, slumping down beside her and
setting the box between them. "I don't want to risk it, sweetheart. If
this guy is the Slasher and he can see you during your OBEs, it's too
dangerous."

"If he kills again—"

"Eat your pizza," he said firmly. "I'm
sure your evidence will help somewhere down the line, Keira, and I'm bloody
grateful you did what you did today, but I won't have you doing it again,
alright? I didn't realize you'd be at risk."

They ate in silence then, companionable, as if they'd
been doing it for years. Keira dozed off on the sofa afterwards, until Dom
shook her awake and told her to go sleep in his bed. "I'll take the
sofa," he said.
"Won't be the first time."
He pulled her to her feet and hugged her goodnight. She let the embrace linger,
relishing the feel of his arms around her. He smelt of old books and tobacco.
She wanted to wrap the scent around herself, make it part of her.

He nuzzled her hair and mumbled her name, fingers
creeping under her shirt. His fingertips grazed her bare skin, sending sweet
shivers through her. Maybe he wasn't as gentlemanly as she'd thought. She hoped
not. Almost shyly, she lifted her head, hoping to meet his eyes and figure out
what he was thinking.

His intentions were fiercely clear when he kissed her.

She gasped into his mouth, thrilled by the heat of his
kiss. He knotted one hand in her hair, forcing her head back. At the same time,
he backed her against the wall, pinning her in place while he devoured her
mouth with his, forceful and almost painfully demanding. She
moaned,
a mixture of pleasure and pain. His touch, his kiss, his hands... It was all
exquisite, but this position – forced against the wall, held firm by a powerful
man... It stirred dark memories.

Dom must have sensed her inner turmoil, because he
broke the kiss, stepping back with a groan. "Dammit, Keira—"

"I don't want you to stop," she said
quickly, afraid he'd end things before they'd even begun.

"I'm not bloody stopping." He gripped her
shoulders, pulling her in close. "Believe me, I'm not. But all the times I
imagined fucking you, Keira Swanson, I never once imagined doing it in my front
room with a half-eaten pizza at our feet."

She laughed, heart hammering and making her feel bold
and reckless. "How did you imagine it?"

"All kinds of ways."
He traced her lips with his
finger. "Rough, slow, in silk sheets, in the shower, with blindfolds,
strawberries, ice cubes, handcuffs..." He ground against her and nipped
her earlobe. Keira shivered in delight, pressing back against him. "Drove
myself mad imagining all the things we could do. But pizza boxes were
definitely never involved."

She shivered pleasurably, electricity seeming to zip
between her clit and her nipples at his words and his touch. She'd imagined it
too – all those scenarios and countless more, and the thought of actually doing
it was as surreal as any outer-body experience. It made her fears about
initiating intimacy fall away. Dom wanted her. It was plain in every line of
his body, in the way he pushed his hips against her, the way he stared at her
so hungrily. She didn't need to wonder how to do this. It would be as natural
as breathing.

"So how shall we start?" she asked him,
brushing her lips along his jaw.

He swung her up in his arms effortlessly and carried
her up to the bedroom. It was as Spartan and masculine as the rest of the
house, but she liked that. She liked the idea of being the first woman here in
a long time.

He laid her down on the bed gently, settling down
beside her and curling a lock of her hair round his fingers. She watched, heart
fluttering. Part of her wanted to drag him on top of her, tell him to take her
hard and fast. But another part wanted to stretch out this moment forever,
memorize every second, every glance and caress. She slid her hand under his
shirt, running her fingers up and down his chest, loving the feeling of the
slight dusting of his chest hair. His breath hitched as if she'd touched him
far more intimately.

"Keira."
He kissed her throat, fingers
working on unbuttoning her blouse. When his fingertips skimmed her breasts,
even
through
the simple cotton bra she wore, Keira
felt a surge of need that made her forget slow and lingering.

"I want you," she gasped, grabbing his
shoulders and pushing him onto his back. "I want you, Dom. I want you
inside me." She kissed him greedily and he met her with equal passion,
rolling her so she was on top of him. He shoved her blouse off roughly, tossing
it aside before capturing her breasts in his hands and kneading them. That
electricity raced through her again, sparking a rush of liquid in her cunt. She
wrestled with his jeans, relishing the sight of his cock springing free. She
wrapped her hand around it, felt it twitch in response, and smiled down at Dom.

He gazed up at her as if rapt, as if she was the only,
the most beautiful, woman in the world. "What are you waiting for?"
he asked, voice rough.

She stripped off her own jeans and was about to take
off her bra too, but he caught her hands. "Leave it on.
Looks
good."
He wet his lips.

She left it and straddled him again, pushing her hips
down against his so his cock throbbed against her clit. He moaned and thrust
up, seeking her entrance. Keira drew her finger along the tip of his cock and
came away with a smear of pre-cum. He thrust against her again, an impatient
growl in his throat.

"You just going to look at it all day?" he
asked.

She smiled. She liked his impatience and she liked
this position, her on top, in control. It banished that last trace of
uncertainty that had gripped her when they first kissed. No, she definitely
wasn't going to just look. She'd waited years for this. The lure of his ready
body, close, hot, and ready for her, was far too much temptation. She guided
him into her slick channel, sighing as he stretched her. The sensation of
weight and fullness inside her was delicious, and for a second she held still,
memorizing exactly how this felt. Dom inside her, poised to please her.

She rested her hands on his chest at the same moment
he gripped her thighs. He circled her hips at the same time he thrust his up,
creating a deep, aching bliss inside Keira. She flexed her fingernails against
his chest, scratching up and down. Dom thrust harder as she did, encouraging
her. She leaned down to kiss him again, and he speared his hands in her hair,
holding her in place while he moved faster and harder, so she wildly slid up
and down his cock. The pressure and friction had her head spinning, had her
moaning and whimpering her excitement into his mouth as they kissed.

He swept his hands through her hair and down to her
hips again. He held her firm, suddenly stopping her increasingly frantic movements.
She gasped in protest.

"You keep this up, I'm going to come," he
said.

"Isn't that the point?"

"Yeah, but I'm not done with you yet." He
lifted her up and rolled them over so he was on top of her. He kissed her but
didn't linger on her lips, instead swiftly moving down to run his tongue over
the tops of her breasts while he brushed her nipples with his fingers. She
writhed against his hands, wanting the bra gone. She wanted skin on skin.

As if sensing her needs, he pulled down the cups of
her bra and traced circles around her nipples, teasing them until they were so
hard it was almost painful. Then he took his mouth to them,
laving
each in turn with rough, firm strokes of his tongue. Keira closed her eyes,
lost in pleasure. When he bit down on one nipple, the gesture sent jolts of
shivery heat straight down to her clit, as if he tugged on some invisible wire.

"Please," she whispered, not sure what she
was asking for. "Please, please..."

"Please what?" He kissed his way down her
stomach, quick, light kisses that were almost frustrating. He even kissed her
scars, something she'd never imagined letting anyone do. But Dom made her feel
beautiful, not damaged.

"Fuck me." She felt daring. Dirty talk had
never been her style. But it was what she wanted, for Dom to fuck her, claim
her. They could do slow and tender later. Right now, she needed his cock back
in her cunt with a desperation that shocked her. "Fuck me, Dom – Oh!"
She twisted in surprise when he swept his tongue over her clit. She propped herself
up on her elbows to watch him go down on her.

He looked primal. All that roughness she loved about
him, all that strength and masculine warmth, unleashed for her.
On her.
It was as intoxicating as the heat of his mouth on
her clit, and she felt her climax building rapidly. As his tongue worked, he
slipped his fingers inside her. She bucked her hips, words falling from her
mouth. Begging, demanding, entreating... She didn't know what she said, but she
couldn't stop. His tongue and fingers were clever, but she needed more.

And just when she thought she'd come, he stopped
again. He knelt on the bed, grabbing her ankles and tugging her down until her
legs were flush against his chest. He leaned down so she could wrap her legs
round his shoulders and then he guided himself back inside her.

He pumped in and out of her with slow, smooth strokes,
but quickly building back to a faster pace. She could see on his face that his
control was slipping and the knowledge spurred her on too. She rocked with him,
pushing her hips up to meet his thrusts, drawing his cock deeper inside her.
She sank her nails into his shoulders, urging him on. Everything now was a
stimulant, pushing her closer and closer to orgasm. The scent of sweat and
musk, the smack of flesh on flesh...it was overwhelming her. When Dom gasped
her name, Keira's entire body convulsed with pleasure, her climax hitting her
like a hot wave. She cried out and her release seemed to trigger his as he gave
one last thrust, hard enough it was almost painful.

He slumped over her, burying his head in the curve of
her neck and peppering her throat with kisses. "Keira, Keira, fuck
me..."