A Chance Encounter (12 page)

By now, though, Katie would have eaten. She would have taken her lilac-scented bath and would be playing the piano—as she did every evening after work. And Lord—could she play! How many times had Taylor sat there in the evening, herbal tea in hand—instead of coffee—listening to her play classics from memory! He and Katie had grown incredibly close. And it took every shred of Taylor’s control not to move beyond that barrier he had placed between them.

Sitting back down, Taylor stared at the screen. To hell with it! He wanted to go home to Katie. He printed out a copy of his article. He wanted her to read it. He picked up a set of photos, then stopped to stare at one of them, an odd smile on his face. The cat with the head injury had lived. In another week, he’d be going home to the little blind boy who waited anxiously for his friend. Taylor made a mental note to have Barry go over to the boy’s home and take photographs of the reunion.

Katie flew to the door as Taylor closed it behind him. His exhaustion disappeared at the sound of her throaty laugh. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. He juggled his briefcase and camera, then took a step back to steady both of them.

“Hey…what’s this for?” he asked, sliding his free arm around her to hold her tight against him. She felt good! So alive…Taylor closed his eyes, burying his face in the fragrant mass of her newly washed hair.

“I missed you!”

“Made two of us.”

“I was worried.”

“I wanted to finish the article about you, Katie.” He released her, shutting the door. Glancing at the phone he asked, “Any more calls?”

She stepped away, dressed in a pale lavender granny gown sprigged with tiny violets. “There were only two today.”

“Did he say the same thing?”

“Same thing,” she said, watching as he put his jacket in the closet. Usually, Taylor would come and have lunch with her. Today he hadn’t, and Katie had missed his company even more than usual. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved. What kind of rabbit food do you have in store for today?” he teased, taking her into his arms and lifting her off her bare feet.

Katie clung to him, her laughter childlike as he whirled her around three times. Every day, Taylor was allowing her to see more and more of his real self. No longer was he her brooding, dark knight. He smiled often, and she melted beneath his gray gaze that smoldered with raw hunger for her. She kissed his nose, his eyes and finally molded her lips to his strong male mouth, finding utter pleasure there.

“Mmm,” she whispered, “you’re my advance dessert.”

Taylor stared into her lustrous blue eyes and swallowed hard, wildly aware of her slender body pressed close to him. “Just being around you is my dessert.” How he wanted her! Taylor gently let her down and kept his arm around her as she led him to the kitchen.

Katie curled up on the settee with his article while he ate a late makeshift lunch. A softened smile touched her lips, and she returned her attention to his story. Finally she had finished it and allowed her hands to rest on the sheaf of papers.

“Well? What do you think?”

“I think it’s terribly one-sided.”

“Slanted,” he corrected. “Why not? The first story was slanted, too.”

“But is that good journalism?”

“This is a human-interest piece. It’s okay to editorialize in such cases. I make it quite clear to the reader where I’m coming from. It’s fine, sweetheart.”

Her eyes grew warm. “I like it. I can feel the emotions coming through in your words.” Katie picked up the printed-out color photos. “And these show great care and sensitivity on your part.”

Taylor rose and came to sit down beside her, his face grave as he studied her. “You do like it, then?”

“Of course I do. I love it. Maybe now people won’t be so afraid of me and what I do.”

He took an ebony curl and wound it gently around his finger. “There were a lot of things I wanted to put in that article but didn’t, Katie.”

She lifted her eyes to meet his, yearning to move into his arms, to love him. “Like what?” She gave Taylor an impish smile.

“Such as, she’s a scatterbrain who can’t walk three feet without bumping into something. She’s terrible at math and even worse at inventory. She can never find her keys.”

Katie grinned. “Did you want to say that if you hadn’t helped me with the account books, and found a three-thousand-dollar error in my favor, I’d have missed a mortgage payment?”

Taylor smiled slightly, inhaling her special fragrance, entranced by her lips as they formed the words. “No,” he said quietly, leaning over to place a feathery kiss on the velvet slope of her cheek. “I wanted to tell the world how you’ve changed me in the past three weeks. That healing is more than just the laying on of hands. You’ve transformed my life, too.”

Katie quivered beneath the gentle assault of his kisses, her eyes closing, a sigh escaping as she leaned back, allowing him to continue his foray down her neck. Automatically, she placed her hands against his chest, feeling the beat of his heart beneath her palm. His moist breath trailed along the open V of her dress, and she felt her nipples grow taut.

“I wanted to tell them how you brought sunlight back into my gloomy existence, how you made me smile again,” Taylor went on, sliding his fingers into her wealth of hair. Gently he massaged her scalp. Katie’s moan of pleasure went through him like molten lava as she gave herself to his ministrations. “And that your laughter lifts me, your smile melts me and your touch…” He ran his tongue across her exposed collarbone. “Your touch,” he breathed thickly, “makes me starve for you.”

Taylor sat up, allowing her time to assimilate what he had said, aware that her half-closed eyes were aroused with pleasure. It made him feel good to know he could please her. He had never known how to please Mary Ann. Katie responded to each caress, to each minute touch he bestowed. He was in awe of their chemistry—the way it exploded into a raging fire each time they came close to each other.

Taylor held his breath. He watched Katie languish in the passion that spun between them like gold eiderdown. He wondered if she knew what he was asking of her. He wanted to take her to bed tonight. To love her. Make her his…share the magic that always simmered around them. Marry her. Fear clashed with need. Would she reject him? Mary Ann had…Taylor froze inwardly, afraid of what her answer would be.

Katie slid her fingers around Taylor’s neck, following his hairline. There was invitation in her lapis eyes. “I’d like to add a few things to your article, too,” she began, her voice tremulous. “That you’ve given me sunlit days—” —she drew him forward, placing her lips against his mouth —”—and rainbow nights. Take me to our bed, Taylor darling. Love me? Let me share with you?”

She no longer cared that Taylor might leave her life just as abruptly as he had entered it. She knew he had been deeply wounded by Mary Ann. Perhaps he would never truly recover. But she wanted to reach out, touch and become a part of whatever was left within Taylor. And as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the darkness of the bedroom, Katie wanted nothing more of life than this exquisite moment with him.

Taylor couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t even had to ask!

There were thirty tiny pearl buttons on her gown, and he sat, his fingers trembling, as he patiently freed each one. He never once allowed his gaze to leave hers. Katie reached up to unbutton his shirt.

“I’m shaking,” she said.

“Me, too.”

With a laugh, she cradled Taylor’s face between her hands, savoring the sandpaper quality of his evening beard. “I know it’s not out of fear.”

“Need,” he said thickly. “I need you, Katie, like I’ve never needed another woman.” The last button gave way. Taylor took her hands, kissing each palm, running his tongue across the small calluses there. “Are you protected?”

Katie nodded. “I am.” She saw his gray eyes grow stormy and he barely nodded.

Jolts of pleasure sped through Katie. Taylor released her hands, and she took a shaky breath. His fingers moved, scaldingly hot, across her collarbones, sliding the thin cotton from her shoulders and urging the sleeves from her arms.

“Beautiful,” he said hoarsely, cupping her small breasts, “you’re perfect, Katie, perfect for me…” He bent to sample the rose-pink nipples that hardened as he caressed her breasts….

Katie lay back, liquid fire radiating from throbbing nipples that begged to be captured and seduced by his knowing tongue. Each gentle tug made her moan, and instinctively she arched toward him, wanting him to join her on the bed. Her breath came in shallow gasps as Taylor reluctantly left her side. Barely raising her lashes, she watched as he undressed. Light from the living room spilled through the open door, and she marveled at the hard, unforgiving planes of his body. He was ruggedly beautiful, and she longed to run her hands over him, worship him and tell him how beautiful he was, in her eyes and heart…. Katie opened her arms to receive him. His chest was warm and hard as she ran her fingers across the expanse, the hair a soft, wiry carpet beneath her palm. Katie looked up into Taylor’s hooded eyes, her lips parting with invitation.

“I wonder if anyone has told you how beautiful you are,” she whispered faintly, her voice growing husky as he trailed his hand lightly across her thigh and hip. “My beautiful dark knight, who bears a wounded heart.” And she rose on one elbow, pressing small kisses upon his chest. A groan reverberated through him, and Katie thrilled to his response. Emboldened, she gently guided him to his back and continued to kiss him, caressing each nipple. He gripped her hard by the shoulders, his breath escaping through clenched teeth.

Suddenly Katie found herself lying beneath Taylor, staring up into stormy eyes fraught with desire, burning with fierce intensity. “I want to please you,” she murmured, running her fingers across his powerful shoulders.

“You do. Always,” he rasped. “Let me please you now, Katie. Let me show you how much you mean to me, how much you’ve given me already.”

She smiled. “Show me, beloved dark knight.” And she closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss that came seconds later. His mouth radiated sensual power, cajoling her to return the passion that inflamed her senses. As his hands followed the curve of her breasts, she arched against him, whispering his name, begging him, needing him. Taylor tore his mouth from hers, teasing her nipples with his tongue. He suckled her until she writhed with mindless pleasure beneath him. An ache, centered in her lower body, her womb contracted and turned into raw hunger. She sobbed his name as his he opened her thighs, his fingers seeking her wet entrance, sliding one finger inside her liquid center. Dazed with the onslaught of his fiery kisses and touch, lifted on a shimmering veil of exquisite need, Katie moaned as he slid two fingers inside her.

Taylor felt her so close to orgasm. His fingers slipped out of her and he moved between her thighs, easing himself inside her. She was a tight glove surrounding him, drowning him in her hot sweetness.

Her breathing was uneven, her fingers digging into his bunched shoulder muscles. He pressed further into her, feeling her grip him. Katie suddenly keened, her hips bucking against his, her back arched. He felt the tunneling, fiery liquid enclose him as she orgasmed. Sliding his hand beneath her hips, he angled her, increasing her pleasure, hearing her cry out as her body gave him the gift of her love.

Prolonging her orgasm, she came again, two more times before Taylor knew he was unable to control himself any longer. A groan tore from deep within him. He gritted his teeth, straining forward, feeling the burning explosion racing out of him. He held Katie tightly, afraid in his hunger that he had hurt her. Sweat rolled off his brow, trailing down the line of his clenched jaw. He was wildly aware of her feminine scent, her responsiveness, her hips moving hungrily beneath him, inviting him to share the love they had withheld from each other for too long. Afterward, Taylor kissed her damp brow, her long lashes and finally her parted lips. She tasted like wildflower honey, and he moved his hips, listening to the sigh of pleasure that rose from her slender throat.

Katie felt him still erect within her. She met and matched his mounting rhythm. She wasn’t fragile. She was a woman who loved him without reserve, and she allowed her desire to flare to life within her as she gently assaulted him with kisses meant to shatter the last of his control. Taylor’s mouth was strong and male, and she nipped and soothed his lower lip with her tongue. He quivered, and she smiled to herself, deepening the kiss, thrusting her tongue between his teeth. A shudder wound through him, and she relaxed as he gripped her hips, drawing her roughly against him. An orgasm exploded within her, uncoiling throughout Katie and she arched like a taut bow as heat melded with spark, splintering into million dancing, dappled lights across the surface of the universe he had just given her.

Moments later, Katie felt Taylor tense. A growl, fierce and low, tore through him. She moved with him, giving him pleasure as he had given pleasure to her. Taylor fell beside her, breathing heavily, his arm wrapped protectively around her, pulling her close, never letting her go. She kissed his glistening face, tasting the salt of his perspiration, feeling the spikiness of his lashes beneath her lips and the maleness of his mouth. Weakly, he opened his eyes, staring darkly up at her.

“You’re a figment of my imagination,” Taylor groaned, his hand coming to rest on her cheek. “You’ve got to be.”

Katie rested her head on his chest. His heart pounded hard beneath her ear. She smiled as his arms went around her. “Why do you say that?” she asked in a broken whisper, still panting from the orgasm.

Taylor managed a halflaugh, consumed with the languor that only good loving could bring. “You felt so damn good. I feel amazing.”

Katie laughed with him, joy surrounding her. “Flight of the unicorn,” she murmured, sliding her hand across his chest.

“Unicorn? What does the unicorn have to do with any of this?” Taylor teased, stroking her curly, ebony hair.

“Unicorns stay only if there is love given.” Katie gave Taylor a tender look and closed her eyes. “What you just gave me made me feel as if I had been flung into a universe of exploding stars. I felt so light, so wonderfully fulfilled. Just like a unicorn would…”

“That’s just one more thing I love about you, Katie,” Taylor murmured. “Your wild, unfettered imagination. To you, nothing is impossible. To me, little is possible. Or was. You’ve changed all that.” He ran his hand lightly across the curve of her delicate back, drying it with the palm of his hand. “You’re the unicorn, Katie. You’re love. Don’t you know that?”

Tears pricked her eyes. She put her hands on his chest and studied him in the darkness. “No less than you are, Taylor. Why do you think you have no love to give in return? Look at what you just gave me. I’ve never felt so happy. Or so complete.”

Taylor saw the glimmer of tears in her luminous eyes. “Crystal tears from sapphire eyes. Tell me, princess. Are they tears of pity for me?”

She kissed him tenderly. “I’d never pity you, Taylor. In my heart, I feel the pain you carry.” She stroked his chest where his heart lay. “I only want to dissolve some of that pain from you and replace it with good feelings.”

He framed her face with his hands, drowning in her innocent, vulnerable eyes. He was shaken by her trust in him; she gave him everything, without reserve. “I don’t feel pain anymore, Katie. Just the happiness we created.”

She sniffed, and the tears spilled down her cheeks. “That’s more than I ever dreamed of.”

Taylor kissed her longingly, wanting to absorb her completely into his heart and soul. “And you’re the one who said dreams always come true,” he murmured against her lips, “I dared to dream even beyond my limits, when it came to you and me,” she admitted in a whisper, caressing his mouth tenderly.

He inhaled her feminine fragrance, content to lie with her on top of him, their mouths touching. “Keep dreaming for both of us, then, Katie. Because I’m beyond anything I’d ever imagined for us. And believe me, I imagined plenty.”

She smiled and nuzzled his jaw, content. “The flight of the unicorn infuses you with love. And then it laps outward like waves on an ever-widening cosmic ocean,” she murmured. “That’s what we shared, my beautiful dark knight with the soul of poet and the heart of a unicorn.” Her lashes drooped closed and in moments, Katie spiraled into a dream world of brilliant colors—with Taylor at her side.

Taylor jerked awake. It was still dark. His heart was beating hard, as though he were in danger. What had wakened him? Worried, he glanced at Katie who slept soundly at his side, her arm across his belly. He lay still, realizing he was drenched in cold sweat. Why? He switched his attention to his ears. Had a sound jarred him out of sleep? Only the faint hum of the clock on his nightstand could be heard. He twisted his head to look at it: 2:00 a.m.

Must have been a bad dream, Taylor thought, relaxing. He drew Katie closer and pulled up the sheet to cover them. She snuggled next to him, and he smiled, a ribbon of happiness threading through him, dissolving the fear he had felt earlier. Still…he lay for a long time, just listening. Could the intruder be back? Was he trying to jimmy the downstairs lock? Had he sneaked up the stairs to force the lock on the apartment door? All manner of ugly possibilities haunted him. Were the intruder and her caller one and the same man? He didn’t know and the fear and frustration ate at Taylor. Why couldn’t the police pin down that damn caller? Partly because he never stayed on the phone long enough to be traced.

The longer he stayed awake, the harder Taylor found it to focus on the problem. Katie was in his arms; she was his, and the knowledge made him feel whole. He was needed and wanted. And Taylor had to laugh at himself, because he had always thought himself so self-sufficient. With Katie, every day was a living miracle. Instead of the sullen fights with Mary Ann, he had Katie’s effervescent self, her goofy yet endearing moods, the unique way in which she saw the world. It made him feel like living once again. He turned to kiss her forehead, inhaling her special lilac scent. “I love you,” he told her softly, and the darkness surrounding them absorbed his words.

The phone was ringing. Taylor mumbled an oath. Katie stirred. Faint sunlight lanced through the sheer green panels that hung over the bed. She didn’t want to leave Taylor’s arms. But the phone wouldn’t quit ringing, and finally Katie forced open her eyes and threw off the sheet.

“Damn reporters,” Taylor growled.

“I’ll get it,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. What time was it? Only six-thirty in the morning? They could have had another hour of sleep! Katie stumbled out into the living room.

“Hello?” she said, her voice sleepy.

“Three days and you’re dead.”

Katie froze. The phone line clicked and then began to hum. It was the same man. Before, he had only threatened. Now he was setting a deadline. A chill knifed through Katie; her hands went clammy.

“Katie?” Taylor called. “Who is it?”

Three days and you’re dead.

“Katie?” Taylor staggered out of bed, sensing something was wrong. He brushed the hair from his brow and moved into the living room. His brain was barely functioning; instinct took over. She stood with her back to him, the phone in her hand. In four strides he was at her side.

“The threatening caller?” he demanded thickly, taking the phone from her and replacing the receiver. Her fingers were icy, and he spun her around. Taylor was unprepared for the naked fear in her expression.

“What did he say? Katie? Talk to me.”

“H-he said I had three days, and then I’d die,” she choked out, blindly moving into his arms.

He wanted to curse. But that wouldn’t help Katie as she trembled in his embrace. “Was it the same man?”

“Yes. Taylor, he’s so evil. I—I could feel his hatred over the phone. Why does he hate me so much? I don’t understand….”

“I don’t, either, princess. Come on, let’s get some clothes on. Will you make me some coffee so I can wake up?”

“Yes.”

Taylor squeezed her and kissed her tousled hair. “I’m going down to the police station. There’s no excuse for their inaction. Why haven’t they found that jerk by now? This is the first time he’s threatened something that specific. Or that sinister.” Taylor tried to minimize his own fear, to mask his anger. There was no need to upset Katie any more than she already was. The flow of adrenaline had dispelled his grogginess, and Taylor made a mental list of things to do today. He’d call Dean Gerus and tell him that until this crisis was resolved and Katie’s pursuer was caught, he was on leave from his job. The editor in chief might fire him, but Taylor didn’t give a damn at this point. If the cops wouldn’t give Katie the help she deserved, he damn well would provide it.