I Know What You Read (8 page)

Once the water reached the right temperature, she put in the plug, added her fragrant pomegranate bubble bath then headed for the kitchen. Hell, she thought as she looked at the half bottle of Cabernet in her fridge, I’ll just take the whole thing!  She grabbed a glass and the bottle and headed for her slowly filling tub.

She needed a long, hot soak to unwind her nerves before bed, and hopefully her brain would stop going over their expressions as she made her confession.  What was funny was that it didn’t seem to bother Ethan; she seemed to think that he found it a turn-on.  Julian, on the other hand, appeared to be genuinely upset, but she could tell he was trying to hide those feelings.

After a forty-five minute soak, and two glasses of wine downed, she pulled her drowsy self from the comfortable bath. She dried and slipped on her silk night top and shorts and headed for bed.  She was chuckling as she considered the fact that Noah had a ‘prettier’ bedroom set than she did.  Not that she cared; her bed was comfortable and that was all that mattered, but it was still funny—or maybe it was the wine that made it so laughable—nah, it was funny. She turned off her bedroom light and crawled beneath the comforter and drifted into oblivion. 

Something disturbed her sleep around two a.m., but not enough to wake her completely.  Her mind dismissed the odd noise and wandered back trying to recapture the dream she’d been having about finding a kitten in the oak tree in her front yard.  She felt something cold against her wrists and then a metallic sound so close and loud that she instantly woke.

Shocked, terrified, and panicked didn’t come close to describing what she felt as she realized there was a dark, ski-masked figure kneeling beside her bed.  She opened her mouth to scream, but she barely made a squeak before a gloved hand covered her mouth.  Handcuffs were around her slender wrists and her arms were being brought over her head to be clipped to the wrought iron in her headboard.

She was screaming, “No, no, no,” beneath the hand, as she struggled.

She could hear this person shushing her.  He wasn’t saying more than, “Shhh, shhh,” at first as she continued to fight against him, but then he said something that froze her in place.

He placed his mouth near her ear and whispered, “I—know—what—you—read.”

The whisper had been incredibly quiet, practically no more than a breath. 

She swallowed hard, “Noah?  Please, please, Noah, don’t do this.”

He didn’t respond as he lifted what appeared to be a silky, padded sleep mask to place over her eyes.  Just as he was sliding it in place, and utter blackness was descending, she saw his sleeve slide back exposing several inches of his wrist.

‘Oh my God!’
was her only thought as she realized this man didn’t have a tattoo
—it’s not Noah!

She began sobbing uncontrollably as he gently lifted her head and slipped the band over her hair to secure the covering.

He continued with his soft shushing sound, intermingled with the breathless whispers that he wasn’t going to hurt her. 

She was trying to force herself to be quiet so she could identify him by his voice, but he simply spoke too softly.  Once she was secured and utterly helpless, everything stilled.

“What do you want?” she choked.  She could tell by the soft sounds that he was removing his gloves and ski mask.

“Sex,” he whispered.

She panicked again, trying to scream ‘No!’, but this time she felt his bare hand cover her mouth.

“Okay—shhh—okay,” he said with a slight increase in volume.

She felt as if she could almost make out the voice.  She needed him to say more.

“Please,” she continued begging, “don’t do this, please.”

“Okay,” he said again, back into a sub-low range.

“You—you won’t force me to have sex?” she asked with a shaky voice.

“No.”

“Then why are you doing this to me?  Do I know you?”

No reply.

She felt his hand come to rest against her ribcage as if he was preparing to draw her toward himself; his thumb gently brushing back and forth against the side of her breast.  “Please stop!  I said, no.  I don’t want to have sex with you.”

“Touch?”

She swallowed, “No.  If you start feeling me up, you won’t stop.”

“Look?” he continued.

She could feel his hands poised to unbutton her top.

“NO!” she snapped.

Once again everything became quiet and utterly still.  Her refusal appeared to have him baffled.  She listened as he moved away.  She heard soft footfalls leaving her bedroom.  She was scared to think of being left this way.  How long would it be before someone came out to her house to check on her?  That was when she heard the sound of him in her kitchen.  He was opening cabinets and drawers, and even the refrigerator.  The next sound she heard caused her heart to faint in her chest.  She didn’t know that a knife being removed from the butcher block could make a distinguishable noise, but she knew without a doubt he grabbed a knife.

She wanted to scream, but all she could imagine was having her throat slit when he reached her.  She heard the footfalls again.  Whoever this was, he was light on his feet.  She quickly eliminated Hiram.  He had a shuffling gait she would recognize anywhere; this man seemed to be youthful, nimble, and quick.  The tiny amount of wrist she had been able to see appeared muscular, not fat.  The wrist had also been white, which eliminated Dontrell and Carlos.

“Taste,” came the voice.

She smelled the strawberry, mingled with another scent before it reached her lips.  Before she could say, “No,” the piece of fruit with something smooth and sweet touched her mouth.  She hesitated, but then bit into the offered morsel.  It was chocolate syrup on the berry.  Next was a maraschino cherry dipped in Cool Whip, and then a green seedless grape with honey on it.

“Please tell me who you are?” she requested again.

“Touch?”

“No, I told you, you’ll—”

His hand began to gently massage her forearm.  “Touch?” he repeated.

“Nothing sexual?”

“No.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked as the massage continued, now with both of his hands.  She couldn’t deny that it felt wonderful.

“I—know—what—you—read.”

She still couldn’t get him to speak loud enough for her to figure out who he was, but one thing was certain, she was starting to get into the caress of this stranger.  He would pause the massage long enough to put other small morsels of food in her mouth, but he was now alternating sweet items with things like sharp cheddar cheese, some of the roast beef lunchmeat from her crisper with mild horseradish sauce.  Since he used items from her refrigerator and cupboards, she felt comfortable enough to keep accepting the tidbits.  He moved to the end of the bed and the massage continued with her lower thighs, calves, and feet.

When his hands moved to her abs, his thumbs dipped dangerously low toward her bikini line.

“Touch?” he whispered so soft she almost didn’t hear him.

This time she hesitated.  “Take off my blindfold,” she requested.

“No. Touch?”

“No,” she stubbornly refused, even though she was so moist and ready to let him touch her
there
.  That was when she detected a quiet buzzing and felt a small vibrator against her thigh.  She inhaled; only this time she was hoping he wouldn’t ask permission.

“Touch?”

“I—I don’t know you,” she tearfully replied.  It wasn’t a ‘no’ but it wasn’t a yes either.

The buzzing stopped and the vibrator was taken away from her skin. 

“Goodbye.”

“Wait!  You can’t leave me like this!”

She heard the key go into the handcuff lock, but then he paused.

“Kiss?”

Her heart was slamming against her ribs as she considered kissing this stranger.

“Kiss?” he repeated

“All right—one kiss.”

He lowered himself beside her on the bed and then cupped her face in his warm hands.  The first brush of his lips against hers scared her and she flinched; she felt him pull away.  “No.  Please, I didn’t mean to jump.  Kiss me again.”

She could feel his clean, warm breath as he neared for a second kiss.  She didn’t flinch this time as his lips covered hers.  God, what a sensual kiss!  One of his hands had slipped behind her head and lifted her eager mouth to meet his while his other arm reached around her and pulled her body in securely.  Oh, his kiss was spectacular as his tongue caressed against hers!!

“Don’t stop,” she whimpered as he pulled away.

“Touch?” came his hot breath with a little more force than his previous requests.

“Yes.  Touch me, kiss me, just don’t stop.”  She was ready to experience this stranger.  His mouth came down again—this time the kiss was powerful and demanding, showing an alpha side that he had kept restrained during their earlier encounter.  He was musk and male, sweet and hot, completely delicious just like all the items he’d tempted her with tonight.  One strong hand gripped her breast and rolled her hard nipple under the silk as she cried out for more.  Then his hand went lower to her silk bottoms, but instead of going under the waistband and putting his hand where her heat and need were about to explode, he stayed on top of the silk and rubbed against her pleasure.  She could feel how wet she was; her bottoms were soaked at the crotch; she knew he felt it, too.  His breathing had become hard and rapid, giving her the distinct feeling her clothes were about to be torn off.

“No,” he whispered, “too soon.”  And he pulled away.

“I changed my mind!” she cried, her body on the edge, ready to orgasm at his command.  “Do what you want with me.”

Everything stilled to the point that her own breathing was all she heard, but then she heard him putting back on his gloves and mask.

“Don’t go,” she begged.  “Stay with me tonight.”

“Can’t,” came a choked reply.

She heard the click of a key and felt one side of the handcuffs loosen.  Before she could pull her arm free and rip the mask off, he was down the hallway and almost to the backdoor.

She struggled to get her other arm free, but by the time she did it was too late—he was gone.

She wasn’t sure what to do at this point.  She thought about calling the police, but what was she going to tell them: “Some guy broke in and fed me and then kissed me—and the only thing I want you to do is find him and bring him back!”  That wouldn’t work.

She checked her backdoor trying to figure out how he had gotten into her house.  She was certain the backdoor had been locked, but she didn’t see any signs of forced entry.  She went around double-checking all the windows and doors.  How did this guy get in her house?  That was scary—not him, but the fact that if he was able to get in, perhaps someone else could as well.  It was four a.m. and there was no way she could fall back to sleep.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“I love a cheap date.”

She wasn’t scheduled to go into work on Friday, but, for the first time in her life, she didn’t feel safe in her home.  She called an alarm company, but they said they wouldn’t be able to get to her until Monday.  The strange part was that she didn’t feel safe at the office either.  It was someone in this building, and although at the last moment she wanted to become intimate with this person, the unknown was still scary—especially since Noah was officially off the hook.

She was sitting at her desk wondering if she looked as disheveled as she felt when Noah and Ethan walked by.  Both of them stopped, backed up, and peered into her office.

“What are you doing here?” Ethan asked, clearly surprised to see her.  “You said you had today off.”

“I do.  I just had a bad night.”

“Are you okay?” Noah stated sounding truly concerned.  “You look like hell.”

“Thanks,” she laughed insincerely.

“No, I mean, you’ve got some major baggage under those eyes, girl.  Couldn’t you sleep?”

She just couldn’t kill her suspicions about him, even if she didn’t see a tattoo on the guy’s arm—the muscles had been right.  “What do you think?!” she snapped.

“Do you need someone to talk to?” Ethan asked.  “I was going to the Trop with Noah, but Angie could take my place if you—”

“I’ll be okay,” she stated unconvincingly, letting her temper drop from boiling to a slow simmer.

“Do you have a story to work on?”

“No, but I’ll find something to do.”

“I’ll be back in an hour and I’m taking you to brunch.”

She wanted to tell Ethan that it was okay, but she needed a friend.  She nodded.

The hour passed slowly as she cleaned her desk and discarded old files out of her computer.  When he returned, she was ready to get out of the office—it felt as if everyone was staring.

“Where’s Julian?” she asked as she opened the passenger’s door to his Focus.

“Honestly, I don’t know.  He was gone before I got up this morning.  Where do you want to go?  My treat.”

“You guys treated me to dinner last night,” she rebutted.

He gave her the so-what look and repeated his question, “Where do you want to go?”

She sighed, “How about Burger King and we just sit in the parking lot?”

He had a big smile, “I love a cheap date.”

She finally laughed—and it felt so good. 

He didn’t question her on the short trip to Burger King; she was grateful.  Ethan was a very intuitive guy and she had the feeling he realized she needed the silence.

They each ordered a croissant and a coffee then parked under an oak tree on the far end of the lot. 

“You seemed fine when we left you last night,” Ethan began.  “What happened?”

Her bite of croissant refused to go down. 

He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

That didn’t help her emotions at all.  She wanted to crumble and ball her eyes out like a baby, but she didn’t like losing control.  “Have you ever been really confused?”

“I have a boyfriend and you want to know if
I’ve
ever been confused?” he chuckled.

She laughed despite the tears that were now overflowing her lashes, “I love you, Ethan.” She watched the surprised expression on his face. “You can always make me laugh even when I don’t want to.”