The Keys to Jericho (105 page)

She brushes her fingers over my lips and I kiss her rings, and whisper, “I love you, Katriona.”

Kat pulls my left hand to her lips and kisses my ring. “I love you, Jared.” She closes her eyes and gasping, she holds my hand tighter and fucks me faster. Her pussy holds me tight and she wails, “Oh, Jared!”

I say, “That’s it, my gorgeous Kit Kat.” I grunt as I feel mine coming. “Jesus Christ. You feel…” I lose the ability to finish my sentence as I breathlessly come inside my wife, and holding her hips tight to mine as I do.

Panting over me, Kat puts her hands on both sides of my face and leans down to kiss me. “Wow, husband.”

Catching my breath, I say, “I’m speechless, wife.” I grin and brush her loose hair hanging over her face. “That was even hotter than our first time.”

“I think I might want to do that again with you.”

“Oh, and you will. Again and again and—”

She kisses me, giggling against my mouth, which makes me smile before I shove my tongue into her mouth.

My phone rings and I jump awake, looking around the room for it, before I remember it’s still in my pants on the floor. Stretching, I rummage through them until my phone falls onto the carpet. Seeing that it’s Brenda, I hurriedly glance at the clock on the nightstand.

“Fuck!” As I answer my phone, I twist and say, “Kit Kat, get up. We’re late.” Turning to the phone, I join Brenda’s rant in progress.

“Why isn’t Kat answering her phone? You two are going to miss your flight!”

“Shit. We slept in.” I rub my eyes, glad that we got showers after we made love last night, so we don’t have to worry about doing that in a manic rush.

I reach over and shake Kat, but she’s still out. Brenda asks, “Rough night?”

I gruffly clear my throat. “Uh…”

“Shut up, you stud. Get your wife out of bed and get your asses moving! No morning delight, either! You don’t have time for it! Join the Mile High Club!”

Rolling my eyes, I sneer, “Thanks for the tip.”

“Which hotel are you at? I can make it before you leave.”

“I gotta get Kat up. I’ll text you the address.”

“Well, go!”

I hang up the phone, shaking my head, muttering, “Crazy. Jesus.”

Rubbing Kat’s arm, I sternly say, “Baby, get up. Now. We’re late. Come on.” When she still doesn’t move, I crawl closer. “Kit Kat, wake up.”

No response, and my gaze instantly goes to her T-shirt, looking for it to rise and fall as panic infiltrates me, but in my building anxiety, I notice nothing.

Shaking her harder, I yell, “Kat!”

When she still doesn’t answer, I throw down my phone, and flip her onto her back, grabbing her face. “Kat! Wake up!” My eyes fly over her and putting both hands on her shoulders, I bounce her on the bed, but she lifelessly recoils. “Don’t you fucking do this to me!” Leaning down, I try to feel for her breath, but I can’t sit still long enough, for fear I’m wasting time, which is something I’m an expert at doing.

Swinging my head around, losing my mind as I desperately try to cling to it and to my wife, I scoop up my phone from the bed.

With my trembling hand, I drop my phone, but when I again reach for it, Kat loudly gasps and grabs my arm.

Swerving back to her, I clutch her shoulder and shout, “Kit Kat!” She breathes fast, catching her breath like she just ran. “Are you okay?”

Blinking fast, she looks up at me. “Yeah.”

“Do you have to go to the hospital?”

Her speech is slightly slurred. “No. Jared, you’re crying.” She touches my face and I reach for her hand. My other hand goes into my hair as my gaze searchingly wanders over her.

“What the fuck just happened?”

“Oh, God.” Kat slowly sits up and shakes her head, still gasping for air. “Sleep paralysis. My doctor thinks it’s a result of my accident. It happened frequently for months afterward, but now, just every so often. It lasts a couple minutes after I wake up. I heard you yelling, and felt you shaking me, but my motor muscles freeze. It’s like restarting a computer.”

“Why didn’t you fucking warn me about this? I thought you were dead!” I sniff and look away from her, unsteadily sighing in relief.

Kat forces me to look at her and she wipes the tears from my face. She stutters, “I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. I haven’t had one of those episodes in over a year. I forgot, which is another long-term side effect. Bad memory with things like that.”

“Jesus Christ, Kat.
Scared
doesn’t describe what I just felt.” I shake my head and run my hand over her hair. “I can’t fucking lose you again.”

“You won’t.” She wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me. “It’s just misfiring neurons, I think my doctor said. Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice your feelings for me.”

I hug her, burying my face into her neck. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Do you hear me?”

“I’ll try not to, but if it happens, you’ll know what it is next time.”

“I mean the leaving me part.” Kat squeezes me tighter and I sigh. “We have to go.”

She sighs back. “I want to make you feel better.”

“Shit. We can’t. Your mom is coming to get our clothes.”

Pulling away from her, she pouts, and before I have a chance to give in, there’s a knock at our door. Still feeling the tremors coursing through me, I roll my eyes as I get off the bed. “That woman has the worst timing. Ever.”

Wiping my face, I grab a pair of shorts from my suitcase, and look through the peephole, seeing Brenda, and I try to shake off what just happened as I put them on. Opening the door, she looks at me without my shirt, and she shouts, “Holy shit! Are you serious?”

“What?” I see her gawking at my chest and I roll my eyes.

“I’ll wait out here. Hurry up, though!”

“You can come in.” I look over my shoulder, noticing the empty bed. “Kat’s in the bathroom changing.”

“I don’t want to smell the sex in there. Awkward.”

I frown and peer up and down the hall. “Just get in here before you get us kicked out before we’re packed.”

“You’re not even packed?” She storms into our room and looks around. “Oh. Well, it looks like you didn’t unpack much, either.”

Kat comes out of the bathroom, dressed, but her hair still is everywhere, which is sexy. Brenda grins. “Oh, boy. You have that glow about you, Katydid.” I know she does.

She scowls. “Can you stop being weird?” Kat sighs and says, “I had an episode a few minutes ago.”

Brenda cringes. “Probably the stress of the past few weeks.”

Kat crosses her arms and ruefully says, “I didn’t think to mention them to Jared.”

Brenda closes her eyes. “Oh, shit.”

I put my hands on my hips and say, “Yeah.
Oh, shit.
Scared the fuck out of me.”

With her hand over her mouth, Brenda walks over and pats my shoulder. “You really do love my baby.” I shoot her an incredulous look and she glances down at my hand. “You’re still wearing your wedding ring!”

“Huh?”

She shakes her head, and Kat rolls her eyes at me as she puts on her sandals. “Ignore her. I think she’s the one with misfiring neurons.”

When Kat turns around to dig through her bag, I go up behind her, putting my arms around her waist, and I can’t even help myself. “I see that glow about you, too. You know it was good, baby. Best ever. We still have time for another go at it.” Shit. That’s no lie. Whatsoever.

Brenda gasps. “Just make me feel worse about barging in on newlyweds! God!”

Kat elbows me and squeals, “Jared Beckett! Stop egging on her madness, and mine! Go get dressed!”

Brenda scoffs as she picks up my clothes from the floor. “What the hell? Did you two play strip poker or something? More awkwardness!”

I laugh into Kat’s neck, making her laugh with me. Brenda piles our clothes onto the bed and says, “I’m not stupid! I know what you two will be doing on your trip the whole time.”

I loudly sigh. “Oh, Kit Kat. She’s right. I’ll probably even knock you up.”

Kat spins around and slaps my arm. “Shut up and go get dressed!” Turning her attention to her mother, she says, “
Not
happening. Get
that
glow off
your
face.”

Brenda tries not to smile, but shit, that’s not happening, either. She says, “Since I’m here, I’ll give you a ride to the airport.”

Kat goes into the bathroom to grab her things off the counter. “They have a shuttle here.”

“It’s no problem. I may be the only thing getting you there. If I leave you alone…”

Crossing my arms, I nod. “True, baby. You look hot in those jeans. There’s no telling when we’ll leave.” No lie there, either.

Kat points to the bathroom. “Go!”

Must be a family trait.

Brenda looks at her watch. “Come on. You can see each other naked when you get to Florida.”

Kat shrieks, “Florida?”

I widen my eyes at Brenda and she questioningly looks between Kat and me. Realizing Kat didn’t know yet, she covers her mouth and gasps, “Shit!”

Sighing, I shake my head and Kat says, “I’ve never been to Florida! We’re really going there?”

Rolling my eyes, I say, “Yeah…”

She squeals and hugs me as I shoot an exasperated look at her mother.

Brenda waves me off. “She was going to find out at the airport anyway.” She contritely smiles and mumbles, “Sorry, though. Why’d you pick Florida when you could go anywhere?”

I let go of Kat and go to my suitcase, feeling like I’m letting my wife down by not picking some place exotic. “Kat mentioned she always wanted to go to a Florida beach.”

“That’s exactly where I want to go! I don’t know any other languages. Why would I want to go somewhere far away? As long as I’m with Jared, we could’ve stayed right here.”

Walking past her, I kiss her cheek and whisper, “Damn, I love you.”

She kisses my cheek in return, whispering, “I know you do, Sonic.”

If it weren’t for her mother, we would stay here. Fuck the plane tickets. It’s not like we’ll be on the beach much anyway.

I’ll make sure of that.

At the airport, I got a text from my dad, saying Hadley was okay, but he wouldn’t give details. I tried calling Calder, but he didn’t answer, either, making me even more suspicious.

Walking over to the wall of windows, showing a plane landing in the distance, I check my messages, seeing one from Rio.

------------------------------------------------

Get laid yet, whore?

------------------------------------------------

I laugh out loud, shaking my head. “Prick.”

------------------------------------------------

More times in one night than you ever

will at your pussy farm, doc. Pathetic.

Where’s Dash?

------------------------------------------------

He instantly replies:

------------------------------------------------