OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES (26 page)

Mario took her in his arms laying her head on his
shoulder.  The hard tear jerking of her body sunk them both to the floor where
he held her and let her cry. “We’ll get through this, Taylor; we’ll get through
this together,” he said smoothing her hair.

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 26
           
 

Taylor stirred shifting to her left side to drape an arm
across Mario’s chest.  Her eyes cracked open to see him lying on his back with
an arm crossed under his head fast asleep.  She pulled the cover back and slid
out of bed to go to the bathroom.

The vanity lights atop the massive bathroom mirror showed
a reflection she no longer recognized.  She leaned into the mirror running an
index finger under her eye. You like hell, girl.

She got her toothbrush and toothpaste from the holder on
the sink.  Turning on the water in the basin, she began to brush the horrible
taste away in her mouth.  She had talked and cried herself to sleep last night
forgoing her normal nighttime routine.

After rinsing her mouth, she warmed the water in the
freestanding shower.  She loved Mario’s bathroom done in expensive European
black and white marble and polished tile.  She especially liked how she was
able to adjust powerful streams of water to jet from four different angles.

Dropping the silk white nightgown to her ankles, Taylor
kicked it next to the bench against the wall.  She stepped under the warm
pulsating water of the shower.  Pressing the button for the jets to spray water
on her lower body, she exhaled.

She rolled her neck as the water ran through her hair and
down her back.  She didn’t care her hair was getting wet; she would call
Sabrina later to get it fixed.  She had shed the tears now it was time to heal
the body and soul and try to move on with her life.  Filling a sponge with cucumber
aloe scented bath soap; she relaxed to enjoy her shower.

*****

The sound of the shower running woke Mario from a deep
sleep.  He pulled himself up to sit on the side of the bed and looked at the
clock; it was 7:30am.  Stretching to relieve the kinks in his back and neck, he
got up to relieve the other kink in his body, but Taylor was in the shower.

After using the bathroom down the hall, he returned to
the bedroom.  Taylor was sitting on the bed applying lotion to her body.  “Good
morning,” he said adjusting his towel around his waist.  His shower lasted ten
minutes while hers had gone on for about thirty minutes or longer.

Taylor lifted her head in his direction as she rubbed her
leg vigorously to blend the lotion into her skin. “Good morning.  I hope I
didn’t wake you with my shower.”

“I had to get up anyway,” he said using the smaller towel
to pat the water draining from his wet hair.

“Are you going to work?”

He went to the dresser getting his own toiletries. “Umm,
I don’t think so.”

Taylor massaged lotion between her hands applying it to
her arms and elbows eyeing him. “Mario, what’s going on?  You never miss this
much work, and don’t say it’s because of me, please.”

“Taylor, I resigned two days ago.”

Her eyes blinked to give him a surprised look.  “What? 
Wh—why did you quit?”

“Anderson and I had a difference of opinion.  My opinion
of him would not allow me to work for a piece of shit like him.”

“Baby,” she said walking over to him.  Stroking his wet
skin, the sent coming from him was fresh; a sandalwood scent left by his soap. 
“What are you going to do?  Will you rejoin your old firm?”

“Nope, that is not an option,” he answered removing
underwear from the drawer.

She grasped his head turning him to face her. “Mario,
seriously, did this have anything to do with me?”

“It had everything to do with you, but it was my decision
to quit.  Taylor, I cannot smile in the face of a person that doesn’t respect
the woman I love.  You are more important to me than some job.”

“God, I love you, but you are so strong-headed,” she said
embracing him.  The damp towel loosely wrapped around her chest fell to the
floor.

He let his eyes roam to her firm breasts pressed against
his bare chest.  His penis twitched as he breathed in her alluring scent. She
smelled like freshly sliced cucumbers, an enticing smell that made his mouth
water. He cursed his twitching penis as he held her pliant, soft body against
his.  Now was not the time to get a woody, but he wasn’t sure he could be
within a foot of Taylor, and not get a raging erection. A warm sigh left his
mouth, making a few wet tendrils of her hair flutter. “I will be okay.  I’m far
from being penniless.”

She moved away from him, covering what she could of her
ample breasts with folded arms.  He had to bite back a smile as her face
flashed an implacable expression. “I know that look.”

“You should.  You are relentless, Mario,” she said
dropping her arms, so her shape was free of obstructions.

If I don’t make love to her soon, I’m going to become
unhinged His erection strained against the soft cotton of the thick towel.  He
had been sympathetic of her plight and didn’t want to push sex on her.  He
wanted her to make the first move.  Deep in his own fantasy, he didn’t see it
coming.  Taylor sprang forward rushing into his arms. 

His arms tightened around her nude body to keep them from
tumbling to the floor and hurting themselves.

Taylor’s lid lowered as her mouth descended to his. 
Mario’s eyes closed, and his one hand traveled up to the back of her head, his
fingers sifted through her thick mass of wet dark hair. She tasted like woman
and need, and he responded with an uncontrolled desire that nearly pushed him
over the edge. Her tongue teased him between little nibbles on his lips, and it
made him want more. Putting pressure to the back of her head, he crushed her
mouth to his, wanting to plunder and explore every inch of the sweet mouth. His
hand on her waist slid down to cup the soft, firm mound of her butt cheek,
bringing her almost fully against him, making him groan into her mouth as their
tongues dueled and tasted. She too was responsive, so eager to reclaim what
they both had been without far too long.

She dragged her mouth away panting as she buried her face
in his neck.  Mario could feel her hot breath against his ear as she trailed
licks and nips down the side of his neck.  His penis was ready to explode from
the pent up pressure of lying next to her night after night and not touching
her soft body when she curled into him.

“Make love to me, Mario.  I want…no, I need you to make
love to me,” Her saying those words in a seductive voice, made him groan.

“Are you sure?  If you aren’t ready….”

She pulled back to look at him, her eyes burning with
need. “I’m ready.  I’m ready to put it all behind me and move forward with you
and only you.”

He picked her up carrying her to the bed. “I’m ready for
the same,” he said putting her in the middle of the unmade bed.

*****

Longing and apprehension warred in Taylor’s mind, as she
lay completely naked on the bed with him leaning over her. “It’s been a long
time since we’ve made love, Mario.”

“Too long, baby,” he growled his hand cupping her breast.

“That feels so good.”  Her breath hitching as he caressed
the tops of her breasts lightly making her shiver with desire.

“You are so incredibly beautiful; I don’t know where to
start,” he said in a hoarse voice.

Taylor’s brain screamed
just start anywhere….just
touch me now
. When his mouth covered hers, the kiss was voracious and
filled with longing.  While his marauding tongue claimed her, his hands
wandered her body, stroking her naked body.  Teasing her hardened nipples,
skilled fingers playing with the damp curls protecting her womanhood.

She arched her back releasing a moan into his mouth.  She
broke free of his kiss. “Now, baby, please,” she begged.

“Relax and enjoy, baby; we have all day,” he crooned as
he kissed down her chest to her stomach letting his tongue circle her belly
button, dipping inside.  His tongue traveled lower to bathe the lips hidden
within to delve into her slick folds to bring incoherent mumbles from her
throat.

 Circling his tongue around the fleshy nub, he nibbled
with his teeth, alternating with his thumb to stimulate her. He flicked his
tongue underneath her clit, darting his tongue inside her womanhood.  Taylor’s
fingers dug in Mario’s shoulders while pushing her hips upward for his tongue
to devour ever bit of her.

He did things to her no man had ever done. Clutching a
fistful of his hair an orgasm took over her body as he mouth closed in on her
clit again.  He manipulated his tongue harder on her clit until her body
quivered, levitating her from the bed. “Oh, my lord!” She grunted trying to
push his head away.

Mario patted her thighs smiling.  “The best is yet to
come,” he said lying on top of her.

He smothered her mouth with a kiss and Taylor tasted her
essences on his lips. The hardness of his penis pressed against her womanhood
as he cradled her beneath him.  Sliding her hand between their bodies, she
stroked him, raking her long fingers along his sensitive flesh.

He rolled slightly removing her hand and placing her arm
over her head. “Don’t push too much foreplay, baby,” he said positioning his
hips between her thighs.

Slowly, with unbelievable restraint, he eased into her.
Just the tip of his penis, then an inch more, and even more after that. Until,
finally, he plunged deep, drawing a deep, guttural gasp from both of them.

Taylor’s muscles reacted by squeezing him, milking him
deep inside.  She whimpered moving under him, loving the feeling of him inside
her again.

“Wait, don’t move,” he whispered.

“I’m not.”

“Damn, baby, its’ been too long, you’re going to make me
lose it.”

Her hands roamed his back. Tracing a light finger from
the base of his spine to the nape of his neck.  His breath on her neck was hot
as his body started to move with small thrusts. Within minutes, he picked up
the tempo deepening his thrust until they were rocking together.

He placed his hands on Taylor’s hips to keep her steady.
Her legs closed around his waist squeezing him like a boa trapping its prey. 
“Yes, baby, that’s it…don’t stop,” she moaned.

Mario complied, maintaining the motion of his penis on
the sensitive area of her clit.  Taylor’s body tensed and erupted.  He
quickened his pace to reach an orgasm with her.

He lifted his weight to rest on his forearms.  Kissing
the damp skin of her shoulder, he asked with a smile on his face. “Do you still
want to go home?”

She smiled wiping sweat from his brows and answered,
“Eventually, but not today.  I do need to check the mail and make sure the
house is still standing.”

“We can do that together.  I think Detective Diego is
done processing the house and it’s safe for us to go inside.”

“I have a lot of my family’s history in my house. 
Generations of photographs and items, that can’t be replaced.  As long as those
were not damaged, I can move somewhere else and I probably will.”

“You can move in with me, Taylor.  I have plenty of
room.”

“Baby, do you think we are ready for that?  I mean this
isn’t over yet.  There is the trial unless Kelly waives and agrees to a plea
deal, and Dillon.  I can’t just walk out on him.”

Mario lifted his hips to withdraw from inside. “We will
deal with it.  Until Dillon recovers, we’ll help him.  As for Kelly, are you
ready to face her?”

Taylor nodded. “Yes I am.  I have to know why…that will
be my only closure to this ordeal.”

He rolled off her to his side of the bed. “What about the
exposure from the kidnapping?  The media is fighting to get your story?”

“Well, I’ll retain you as my lawyer and you can deal with
the media.”

“I stepped right into that didn’t I,” he said with a
laugh.

“Yes you did.  And as my first official duty, I will
write a statement for you to give to them.  What I do not want is a book deal
or any talk shows.  I want to put it behind me and not profit from it.  What
those other women do is on them, but I want no part of anything.”

Mario traced a finger down her chin. “What you are doing
is exactly what I expected you would do.  I will get the statement to the media
when you are ready, and ask that you not be contacted with any other offers. 
Now that we have that business out of the way, how about a hot shower then
breakfast? I’m starving.”

She patted her stomach.  “I am hungry.  We can go
somewhere to eat but not IHOP; my last experience there was not good.”  Her
cell phone vibrated on the night table. “I wonder who is calling this early,”
she said reaching for it.

“I’ll start the shower while you answer,” Mario said
getting out of bed.

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 27
           
 

Detective Diego stood in the corner with his arms crossed
and his legs slightly apart while Taylor sat at the table.  Across from her,
Kelly sat quietly in an orange jumpsuit, and her hands cuffed together.  With
no makeup on and her long dark hair divided into pigtail braids to rest on her
shoulders, she looked older than thirty years of age.

Taylor cleared her throat breaking the silence. “I’m sure
you didn’t ask me to come here just to look at you.  What do you want to see me
about?”

The tears ran down Kelly’s face without her making any
sobbing noises. “I asked you to come so I could apologize to you in person.  My
attorney advised me to use the guilty plea and let the judge sentence me
instead of a jury of my peers.”

“That might be wise.  But, as far as the apology, I don’t
know if I can accept it.  Why, Kelly?  Why did you go so far?  I was never a
threat to come between you and Dillon.”

Kelly lifted her cuffed hands to wipe her wet face.
“Dillon was going to leave me. He is my first and only love, Taylor.  I was
losing him forever.  You drove me to suspect he was leaving me for you.  That
you had convinced him to be with you.”

“That would not have happened.  You should have talked to
me if what happened between Dillon and me three years ago was bothering you
that bad.”

“It ate me alive knowing Dillon wanted you more than
ever.  You might not have wanted him but he wanted you to death.”

“Death…what a word to use.  You saw my death as the only
way for you to be happy with him.  This could have been avoided and you
wouldn’t be sitting on the other side of this table waiting for a sentence if
you’d just talked to me first.  This was senseless and stupid!  You have ruined
your life for what…..another woman who doesn’t want your man.”

Kelly broke down.  Her body shook and the metal handcuffs
scratched the surface of the worn wooden table from her hands dragging back and
forth. “Everyone has turned against me.  My parents won’t take my calls, my
career is over; everything is gone.  If I could take it all back, I would.”

“Cut the tears, Kelly,” Taylor said not moved by them.
“You weren’t thinking about anyone, not even yourself when you planned this. 
What you’re getting you deserve, and I don’t feel sorry for you anymore.”

“Yup, you are right.  It was my priority to get rid of
you,” Kelly said sniffing her nose. “You weren’t in my position and don’t know
how it is to have the man you love wish he was with someone else.  I couldn’t
compete with you anymore.”

Taylor slammed her hand on the table making Detective
Diego jump. “You did not have to compete with me…I was not after Dillon! You
should have talked to me instead of acting irrational.  Kelly, what did you
expect to prove with the cameras?”

Her eyes flickered a brief reluctance then she squared
her shoulders. “Dillon was always gone.  He was never where he said he was
going to be.  That didn’t start until you came home and started working
together.  I knew he was lying to me and I had to see for myself if he was with
you.”

Taylor bared her teeth. “That is just sick! Yes, I made
an unforgivable mistake.  Dillon made a mistake, but it never happened again, I
swear.”

“Yeah right, because Taylor James is so damn perfect that
you are allowed at least one mistake!  Well you took a life so don’t sit there
and throw stones at me,” Kelly said with a puffy face and red eyes glaring at
Taylor.

“Hey!” Detective Diego yelled from his corner.

Taylor sat straight, the chair creaking under her weight.
“It’s okay, Detective.  She has a point.  I’m not perfect and yes, I did have a
hand in taking a life.  But the circumstances behind it far exceed what you
did.  Those brave women who helped me take him down, did what we had to do.  We
chose to fight for our lives rather than be butchered by that mother fucker who
had already begun to slaughter two other helpless women.”  Taylor leaned her
upper body across the table.  “So yeah, I took a worthless life and saved five
others in the process.  And, so we are clear, I would do it again if it came to
my choosing to live or to have someone else decide my time is up.”

“I’m sure you will receive a medal rewarding you for your
valor, but it still doesn’t change you killed a man and ruined my life.”

“You can try to bring me down to your level, but it won’t
work.  When I’m done with you, Detective Diego will open the door for me to
walk free.  You, on the other hand, will go back to a small cell, and have
years to think about how silly it is to be jealous of another person.”

Kelly stopped crying and turned on an arrogant attitude.
“Well, I hope you never learn Mario slept with someone you considered a friend. 
Although, I would love to see your face if he droned over it wishing he could
do it again.  Who knows he might become smitten with Sabrina.”

Taylor got up from the table slamming the chair against
it. “I can’t control what he will or won’t do, but be assured I’ll handle it in
a mature way instead of hiring an assassin to take care of the problem.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow and gave a sinister grin.
“Touché, Taylor.”

Disgust filled Taylor’s voice as it fell two octaves. 
“God, I cannot believe I was blaming me for your actions.  Dillon said you are
crazy….I believe him and hope any memory of you is wiped clean from his mind.”

“There is no doubt in my mind you won’t work hard to make
him forget about me.  But while you are feeling sorry for him, I hope he
remembers how he pushed me down the stairs at three month pregnant and made me
miscarry. I was able to forgive him for that but in the end I’m the bad
person.”

Taylor froze, her feet would not move. “Why didn’t you
say something when I asked you about that night?  I asked had you been arguing
and you said no.  You said you tripped over his briefcase.”

“He promised if I didn’t say anything we would get
married as planned and leave you alone.  Only you stayed in the picture and his
attraction for you never left.  I don’t think he even cared what he did to me
after a while.”

Taylor shook her head speechless. “God, Kelly if you
would’ve opened your mouth, all of this could have been handled differently.”

“And if you would have stayed away, none of it would have
happened at all.”

 “Goodbye, Kelly.  I will pray for you.  One day you will
find true happiness with yourself.  Detective Diego, I’m ready to go,” she said
walking to the door.

“Yeah, it is time to go,” he said calling for the jailer
to release them.

*****

Once in the lobby of the Justice Center, Detective Diego
and Taylor walked back to police headquarters where Mario was waiting for their
return.  Taylor had not talked about her visit with Kelly during the short
walk.  Entering the elevator Detective Diego said, “Ms. James, you handled that
very well.  Don’t let what she said get to you.”

“I refused to crumble at her feet,” she said tersely
looking straight ahead. “But she is right.  If I had stayed away they would be
happy together.”

“That is not always the case.  It sounds to me there were
problems well before you came along.”

“I’m not a home-wrecker, Detective Diego.  What happened
was a mistake I regret and wanted to fix.”

“We all make mistakes and have to own up to them but she
took it too far.  You can’t kill a person because they’ve been unfaithful. I’m
shocked she wanted to marry him considering he was the cause of her
miscarriage.”

“I can’t believe Dillon would do that.  That damn tumor
changed his whole personality.”

“He was sick and didn’t know it.  Well, if he recovers,
he will have to answer for his part in Kelly’s mental breakdown.”

“This is unreal.”

“Before I forget, I wanted to let you know, we located
the items Kelly took from your home stashed in storage bags under a floorboard
in the attic of their house.”

A strange tingling filled Taylor’s chest when Detective
Diego said that.  She knew Dillon spent a lot of time in his attic fixing it
up.  She questioned if Kelly was taking the fall for him and he did actually
put the cameras in her house.

Running her hand up the sleeve of her blouse, she
approached the subject carefully. “Mario assumed it was a voyeur taking
trinkets.”

“That is part of their MO.  But, investigator did not
find pictures of Kelly wearing or handling the items you listed as missing. 
Voyeurs will dress up dolls or put on the items taken from their victims and
act as if they are the person they are obsessing over.”

“That is disturbing as hell, and I don’t understand why
she would take those things.  None of that stuff is rare, and she could
purchase it from any store if she wanted to imitate me.”

The elevator doors opened, and he held his arm out to
keep the door from closing letting her pass before him.  “I don’t evaluate
them, Ms. James, I only lock them up.”

She stopped him from entering the department by taking
hold of his forearm. “Wait, I have to ask you a question.”

“Sure, if I can answer it.”

“Something is very wrong with Kelly’s story.”

“Lay it on me, what are you feeling is wrong with her
story?”

“It is possible Kelly is taking the fall for Dillon. Did
you see the look on her face when I mentioned the cameras?  I know Dillon was
remodeling his attic.  Kelly could have found the videos and stuff he took from
my house and used it to blackmail him.”

Detective Diego nodded. “It is possible she is not
telling the complete truth, but she signed a confession stating she stole the
keys to your house.  She is taking responsibility for everything.”

“I don’t believe her and I’ll tell you why.  Dillon gave
me the keys back to my house. He was so angry when I told him I was dating
Mario that he threw the keys on my desk.  There is no way Kelly could have
stolen them away from him if I had them.”

“Ms. James, even if that is true, Kelly tried to hire an
undercover officer to murder you.  Do you believe he had a hand in that?”

“I don’t know what he would be capable of doing anymore. 
But I would like to know how Kelly knew how to inquire about hiring an
assassin.  Did she look it up on the internet?”

“We have a person of interest who may have helped her in
her quest.  She won’t rollover on him, and we’re hoping her attorney will get
her to talk.”

“Detective, I stayed at my sister’s house the night of
the car accident.  There was a man in the woods behind her house…”

“Oh yeah, that was the undercover officer.  We had to
keep any eye on you just in case Kelly’s plans changed or she figured out we
were onto her.”

Taylor sighed. “That is a huge relief.  Thank you so much
for everything, Detective Diego.”

“My job is to serve and protect.  I’m glad to have been
able to solve two cases with one.”

“Me too! Um, Mario mentioned you wanted to get together
one day soon.  I would love to have you and your wife over for dinner next
weekend if you are free?”

“We’d love to come.  Gracias,” he said smiling.

Mario joined them in the hallway. “Hey, what’s wrong? 
Did it go okay with Kelly?”  He asked rubbing her arm gently.

Taylor licked her lips. “Mario, she didn’t put those
cameras in the house. Dillon had to do it.  He had the opportunity and my neighbors
were used to him around my house.  Sebastian for some reason, questioned his
being there when I wasn’t that night.”

“Taylor, we can’t interrogate an unconscious man.  And
when he is conscious, he may not remember doing anything.  Heck, he might not
even know who he is.”

She cocked her head to one side. “What if he does
remember and lies about it.”

“Baby, really? Aren’t you grasping for straws?”

She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Call me a
cynic or whatever you like, but I will bet my last dollar Dillon did it.”

“Ms. James, why would you suspect Dillon all of a sudden?
You were in his corner believing he was being bullied by Kelly.”

“He played me and Kelly like a cheap guitar.  He knew I
would suspect Kelly since she was insanely jealous of our friendship and Kelly
would overact to him finding out we had slept together.”

“Just to strengthen your theory, about how often was
Kelly inside your home, specifically the bedroom and basement?” Detective Diego
asked.

“She has been there but not as often as Dillon, and she
would not know the layout of the house.  My house belonged to my parents.  When
they  moved to the eastside, I purchased it from them.”

Mario slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“Damn.  He knew every inch of the house because he’d been inside it often as a
kid.  He would know where to place the cameras where you wouldn’t notice them.”

“Yes, he would,” she answered.  “I made changes to the
house but not that many; the layout is basically the same.”

“Wow,” Detective Diego said shaking his head. “He is a
modern day peeping Tom.  Why waste time looking through windows when you can do
it from the privacy of a computer screen.”

“What will be the next step, Detective?” Mario asked.

He chuckled. “I have no idea.  This is the wackiest case
I’ve ever worked.  I have a man in a coma that is now a suspect, and his
girlfriend behind bars for attempted murder.  If you had not been kidnapped,
Ms. James, there is a strong possibility you could be dead.”

“Who would have known the fat bastard would be the one to
save my life,” she said sarcastically.

Mario hugged her from behind. “Detective, until Stevenson
is conscious, there isn’t anything you can do right?”

“Technically, no there isn’t.  He has to be conscious to
understand the charges being filed against him and aware of his rights to have
a lawyer.”