ChasingShadows (14 page)

“Insanely,” he mocked.

Juliana swatted his arm playfully and gazed in the direction
of the guesthouse.

A forest of cedars, spruce and various bushes nearly
obscured the structure. Beyond the fertile landscape, a tall stone wall covered
by thick, leafy ivy separated the dwelling from the estate grounds.

As they continued along the stone pathway, the fountain’s
glassy tinkle drifted away. Leaves and pine needles rustled in the breeze. The
call of magpies joined the flirtatious cackle of the blue jays darting through
the trees.

The path ended, and they passed beneath an arbor mantled by
a creeping wisteria bush. The blooms were long gone, but Juliana imagined how
beautiful the purple mass would be in the spring.

They crossed under the archway to the other side. A mini
rendition of the main house appeared before them. Juliana felt as if they were
in a private slice of paradise.

As they entered the luxurious guesthouse, pleasure coursed
through Juliana to see that the cottage replicated the décor of the main
house’s family room.

“Well, here goes nothing.” She walked to the coffee table
and picked up a TV remote. The moment she held it, terrible dread suffused her.
Blood rushed from her face, and she recoiled.

The plush taupe carpet rushed to meet her and the world
around her blackened.

* * * * *

“Jasmine, take Lisette to the house.” He stared at the
beautiful woman kneeling on the other side of the coffee table. A sharp
stirring in his loins prompted the lustful look he threw her way. Anticipation
fueled his need.

Lisette’s blonde head was bent over a coloring book on
the coffee table. “Say goodbye, Lisette.” Jasmine grinned at him from across
the table.

“But I wanna finish my picture,” Lisette pleaded. “Please?”

Jasmine stood. “Nana wants to read you your story. Don’t
you want to hear how
Charlotte’s Web
ends?”

Lisette jumped up in her excitement, scattering her
crayons across the table. She skipped into his outstretched arms.

“Eskimo kiss,” he said, and her petite nose rubbed
against his until she giggled uncontrollably.

“Bye.” Lisette jumped back and ran to the door. “Hurry,
Jasmine, before Nana’s too tired!”

“Lisette? Remember our secret.” He brought his thumb and
forefinger to his lips and pulled an imaginary zipper.

She mimicked him in the perfect manner he’d taught her
and shot out the door.

Lisette was too damn gullible. But she was his perfect
ticket out of hell.

* * * * *

“Jaz, will you shut her up? You told me she’d be as
docile as a lamb.” His anger floated to the surface. “Why don’t you put your
stupid child psychology class to use?”

“Baby.” Jasmine reached for him. “She’s just a child.”

“Give her another fucking sedative! How can I concentrate
with her crying?”

“It’s too soon. I’ll take her outside.”

Fear flowed off her as she shied away from him. Good, let
her fear him.

His anger fired his lust. He could have any woman in the
world. Yet, for the moment, he wanted the twenty-year-old goddess. She’d do
anything for him without using her tiny brain cells to think about it first. He
had her so wrapped around his dick, she wouldn’t know what sucker-punched her
when the time came for him to leave—without her.

Lisette’s crying ceased, spinning his thoughts back to
his desperate need.

“Shut the door and come here.”

Jasmine nearly danced to him. His mouth found hers in a
brutal kiss, his tongue lashing against hers while they scrambled to stand
upright. She stroked his bare chest, his nipples hardening under her hot palms.

His fingers trembled as they released the buttons on her
shorts. He pushed them to her slim ankles while she worked at releasing his
throbbing erection.

Their mouths pulled apart. Air was in short supply.

“Now!” she screamed, panting. “Now!”

No time or ability to leave the hallway, he hoisted her
in his arms and her long, lithe legs wrapped around his waist. He plunged into
her with enough force to split open a watermelon. She reared her head back, and
her scream of pure ecstasy pulsed through his body.

He pumped in and out, each brutal thrust probing deeper. He
dug his fingers into her sweet, perfect ass. Slamming Jasmine against the wall,
his control shattered, and his strokes became frenzied, brutal.

“You’re hurting me.” Jasmine gasped for air. She tried to
push him off, but his hands pinned her hips against him.

Her legs loosened, and a deep growl emerged in him. He
thrust faster, harder, feeling her core. Feeling her body slam against the wall,
the sounds added fuel to his raging desire.

She began to cry, and he crushed her mouth with his. He
shoved his tongue against hers, and she bit down. The metallic taste of blood
filled his mouth, causing an unparalleled fury to boil inside him. Rage
amplified his lust, and he thought he’d tumble over the edge before he was
ready.

Cruelly, he forced his mouth off hers and spat in her
face, gloating when she cringed. Hot pleasure crested as she continued to
struggle against him, sobbing.

He buried himself in her deeply, her sobs egging him on. One
final hammering thrust and his release came, tearing through him, one ecstatic
wave after another. “God damn,” he gasped.

He almost dropped her as he stumbled into the master
bedroom. In utter exhaustion, he fell on the bed, landing on his back, Jasmine
in his arms. Her struggles ceased, and her tears dried on her cheeks as she
tried to catch her breath.

Hoisting her off him, his hand butted against a small
square object on the bed. “What the hell?” His hand curled around the compact,
and he lifted it up to his face.

Glancing into the small mirror, he noticed his smoldering
eyes. As always, it amazed him how dilated they became after sex and how the
color blackened.

Sudden apprehension startled him. The hair on his arms
stood as erect as his dick had been a few minutes ago. Gooseflesh spread over
his slick skin. Intrusive eyes pierced him and probed his mind. His head
flailed on the bed, scanning the room. Looking for someone with eyes like green
glass.

Disconcerted, angry, he glared at Jasmine and threw the
compact at her. “I told you to quit leaving your shit around.” He leaned over
and landed a brutal kiss on her lips before rising off the bed.

His meal ticket waited in the next room. It was time to
prepare his ransom note.

* * * * *

Sheer black fright swept through Juliana as she fought the
darkened void. Part of her sought an elusive entity. The other part wanted to
escape it. Her eyes locked on another pair.

Eyes the color of charcoal.

She yanked her gaze away, and the foreign entity followed. Darkened
gray eyes penetrated all thought.

Her mind fluctuated and refused to settle on any lucid
thought. From a distant place, a familiar voice called to her. A driving need
guided her closer to the voice, knowing she’d find comfort when she reached her
destination.

The strange eyes in her head vanished.

Juliana woke frantic, bound in Alex’s arms. He cradled her
on an unfamiliar sage-colored couch, whispering words she could hear but not
comprehend. Horror and disgust built, pyramid-style, inside her.

“No,” she moaned. “Not one of these connections.” Her
stomach heaved. “Oh, God.” Juliana cupped her hand to her mouth and struggled
out of Alex’s arms. “I’m gonna be sick.”

* * * * *

Alex carried her away from the sink, out onto the patio. He
gently set her on a lounge chair, and the fragrant shadowed garden filled her
with renewal.

To stop the world from revolving around her, she dropped her
head between her knees. “See if there’s a soda in the fridge. It’ll settle my
stomach.” She had to concentrate to drag her head back down to Earth, to keep
her stomach in place.

Alex sprinted away and returned in a flash. “Here,
sweetheart.”

He squatted in front of her, smoothing her hair tenderly. Front
to back, front to back. The motion lulled her, and his touch continued to
revive her. She raised her head, heedless of the tears dripping from her eyes.

Alex brought the can of soda to her lips and she drank
several sips before surfacing for air.

“How long was I out?” The sudden change in her ESP freaked
her out. Twice in two days. Both times, Alex was there to catch her before she
kissed the floor.

“A few minutes. How do you feel?” He pulled her into his arms
and wrapped his muscular body around her like a down comforter on a stormy
night.

“Better.” She leaned her head on his chest, closed her eyes.

Her head throbbed. She pressed her fingertips to her temples
and massaged them.

The visions emerged in a gush.
Oh, my God!
“Jasmine!”
Juliana said in a strangled voice and bolted upright. “She isimplicated.
He’s
been here with her
and
Lisette!”

Alex disentangled from her and rose from the lounge, his
eyes dark and dangerous. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Was it Bremley?” he demanded, hands clenching and
unclenching.

Juliana shook her head. “I don’t think so.” A shudder
convulsed her. “God, Alex, I don’t know.” She dropped her face in her hands and
rubbed her forehead.

An instant later, Alex was on his cell phone to James. “Get
over to Jasmine Webley’s house. She’s an accomplice. Bring her in for
questioning. I’ll explain later.”

He clicked off the phone and clasped Juliana’s hand. “You
okay?”

“Give me a minute.” She managed a wan smile. Leaning back,
she savored the aromatic roses fringing the patio.

Twilight gray eyes haunted her. Why did she have the
inescapable sense of eyes following her? She had never experienced such a
phenomenon in her life.

With worry etching his face, Alex knelt level with her. “Is
this normal?”

Juliana sighed. “Not these day visions or the fainting.”
Juliana
Westwood calling Doc Brian. Beam me up.

A pair of chattering squirrels scrambled up a pine tree,
startling the blue jays into flight. She watched the carefree play, wishing she
could fly away on the wind. “Headaches and nausea are normal after an intense
dream.”

Alex stroked her hair. “Damn. How can you stand it?”

“It doesn’t get easier.” His concern was sweet.

God, how she loved him. Needed him. Wanted him.

You never stopped loving him, you fool.
The
undeniable truth remained, and she didn’t know if she could let him go when the
time came.

Think about Alex the cop
, she admonished herself.

Anxiety carved every square inch of his face. His hand fell
away from her cheek and rested heavily on her thigh. He waited while she
gathered her thoughts.

“What’s weird is that I saw two distinct visions. One
occurred here in the past, and the other appeared real-time, at what’s probably
the kidnapper’s current location.”

She gave Alex the gist of the visions. Well, most of it—she
still couldn’t figure out how she saw the eyes in her head. Alex most certainly
wouldn’t understand.

“Now we have a little more to go on.” His eyes were grimly
determined.

“These day visions are different from my usual night dreams,
where my mind opens and lets the dreams in and out.” Tilting her head, she squinted
at Alex. “These were more intense. My mind was forced open and yanked into his
head against my will.”

“They’re real, right?” Not a hint of skepticism appeared in
his voice. He’d come a long way in a couple of days.

“Without a doubt.” She met his intense gaze.

His shoulders dropped a fraction in relief. It was hard on
him to hear that Lisette had fostered a friendly relationship with the
kidnapper prior to her abduction.

As much as Juliana softened the words, she wondered if he’d
implode at the implication that the kidnapper may have touched Lisette in an
inappropriate manner. But the kidnapper’s thoughts didn’t stray in that
direction.

Juliana was positive.

She had recognized the kidnapper’s intent as unmistakably as
she’d felt him buried deep inside Jasmine.

His lust and anger coursed like ice through her intestines. She
rocked back and forth, fighting the nausea that threatened her again.

“Jewel?” Alarm tinged Alex’s voice. “Is there more?”

Would he believe her if she told him? Or would he treat her
like a pariah?

She looked away, shielding her eyes from the sun filtering
through the trees. “It’s not important.”

“I want to know
everything
,” he demanded. “We’re in
this together. You’re not suffering alone any longer.” His voice cracked. Alex
pulled her into a tight embrace, his face buried in her hair. “Tell me.”

The afternoon sun shifted behind the trees, lengthening the
shadows on the patio, stretching the moment.

“Alex, it’s—” It didn’t matter what he thought. It would
simply make life easier to walk away once they solved the case.

Silently, she counted to ten and the words tumbled out in a
low voice. “I felt everything he did. As if I were him.”

Alex’s body went rigid. His head tipped back sharply,
confusion playing havoc on his face. “I don’t understand.”

“His anger, his lust, every thrust.” Tears renewed their
assault on her face. She couldn’t bear to see the shock on his face. If he
doubted what kind of freak she was, he knew for sure now.

He hid his face in her neck as his arms tightened around
her.

The birds and the squirrels frolicked and chatted merrily
around them, as if all were right in the world.