by Juniper Hart
He placed his hands over hers and guided her to a certain spot on the keyboard. His hands were still abnormally warm, but Coral didn’t worry about it. She let herself enjoy the moment. For once, she was actually having a good time with a rich stranger. Too bad she couldn’t just stay there, in his fortress, forever, where Earl and Josh couldn’t find her with their guns and threats. The guilt was overwhelming.
But even more overwhelming was her fear of showing up empty-handed the following morning.
3
“Okay,” he said. “You need to move your hands here…”
“Uh-huh,” she breathed.
She wasn’t looking at the keys. She didn’t care much about them. Her eyes were locked firmly on Kai.
Together, fingers interlaced, they played a nice song. It wasn’t terribly difficult, but Coral knew they were both using the piano as an excuse to just touch each other. Coral didn’t want the moment to end. If she wasn’t in such a desperate situation, she’d let down her guard and truly enjoy spending time with Kai.
“You intrigue me, Tara,” Kai finally said.
“Huh? Oh. Thanks.” She had forgotten she had told him her name was Tara. “Why is that?”
“You’re not like other women,” he said. “You’re unique. You have a real future. Normally I don’t get that feeling, but I’ve got it this time.”
“Wow,” she said. “Thanks, though we just met. I don’t know if you can accurately judge how successful I’ll be from that.”
He shrugged. “Fair enough.”
Coral turned to look at him and saw that Kai was starting to lean forward. Her heart started pounding as she felt his breath on her pale skin from her low-cut dress, and before she knew it, Kai brushed her lips with his. Their mouths grazed each other’s, making Coral follow him ever so slightly only to find that he was farther away each time. It was tantalizing and made Coral want him even more.
Enough toying around. She couldn’t stand it anymore and met his lips.
Kai pulled his hands from the piano and wrapped his broad arms around behind her. He stroked her back sensuously, causing a shiver of passion to run through her body from the motion. Kai shrugged off his coat and tossed it on the ground.
His shirt followed suit to show his firm, exposed chest beneath with a Celtic design spiraling across his torso. He looked almost godly. He came in again close, but she gently put her hands to his chest.
“Stop.”
He hesitated and looked down at her hands, like he couldn’t quite register what she was telling him.
“Okay,” he said after a moment, and he pulled back, giving her space.
Coral wasn’t planning to have sex with him, even though that was exactly what she wanted. She needed to stay focused and get him to take the pill before they started something she definitely wanted to finish.
She needed an excuse. “Let’s take it slow,” she suggested.
She hated herself every moment for stopping it, but it only worked if he passed out, and she didn’t see how she could get him to take the pill if it wasn’t now.
“I’ll go at your pace,” Kai said.
She didn’t want him to go slow. She wanted him to rip her clothes off, lay her on the piano, and fuck her.
The pill. He had to take the pill. The tricky part was trying to get him to take it.
“You know what I want?” she asked.
“What?”
“Some wine.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Red or white?”
“Red.”
As he left to retrieve their drinks, she slipped a hand into her purse and pulled out a nasty concoction in the shape of a pill that would do the trick. She had done her research and made the pill herself. She didn’t want the guy to spend hours unconscious. She hated the idea of leaving someone passed out on the floor or bed for longer than necessary. What if something happened? What if he reacted badly to the pill and no medical attention came? She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she ended up hurting him. Also, she didn’t want the guy waking up while she stole from him for the obvious reasons. Finally, she had figured it out—the perfect combination of drugs that wouldn’t have too much of an adverse effect.
She hid the pill in her hand just as Kai returned with two wine glasses.
“I think you’ll like this,” he said as he handed her a glass. “It’s a smooth Merlot with hints of currants and plum.”
The clinked their glasses together.
“Salut,” he said.
“Salut.”
Even his wine choices were amazing.
She quickly had to figure out how to get the pill in his glass.
“Will you play for you me again?” she asked while reaching for his wine glass.
As he sat back down at the piano, she quickly placed the pill in his glass and watched as it dissolved almost instantaneously. She sat down next to him, holding both glasses in her hands.
After listening to him play a short song, he stopped and reached for his wine glass.
They both drank. Coral felt her spirit fall.
Within a few minutes, his speech slowed and a glazed look came over his eyes. She could see the effects of the pill on him when he turned to look at her.
“You drugged me, didn’t you?”
Coral stood up and moved away from him. Who knows what he would do as the drug took him down? It was exceptionally fast-acting.
“I’m so, so sorry, Kai…” She looked down. “But I don’t have a choice.”
“It…” He stumbled off the piano bench, moving sluggishly. He was fighting it. “It didn’t have to be this way.”
“They were going to hurt me,” she pleaded pathetically. She didn’t expect to fall apart, but looking at Kai starting to go down hit her in the gut, hard. “Please understand.”
She caught a glimpse of something running along his forearm. She thought it was a bug at first, but it moved too quickly. Abruptly, she realized that she was looking at something seemingly liquid running along his flesh, except that she couldn’t tell exactly what it was. All Coral knew was that she wanted to get away from it.
She scrambled back, and she was so startled that she fell halfway across the grand piano.
Kai dropped to one knee. How was he still awake? He should have been knocked out cold.
They were standing by a large window, and Coral nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of something smashing against the glass: raindrops, huge and heavy.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck nearby. From where Coral stood, it almost looked like the lightning was also inside Kai’s eyes—inside of his aqua blue pupils like a miniature storm—as opposed to just reflecting off the window.
Coral watched from the piano as Kai groaned. No doubt about it—he could feel the sedative, and he was not going down easy. Maybe she’d given him too little? No… she’d checked before she had gone to the club.
“You’re…” he growled. “You’re making a bad decision.”
With that, the sedative finally won over and Kai slumped to the ground. His body was tense for a few seconds before he relaxed. Coral stared with stunned silence at his body.
“What,” she whispered to nobody in particular, “the hell was that?”
As quickly as it started, the storm died off. The raindrops slowed to a stop and the clouds moved away so she could see the sky.
It was done. She’d burned her bridge. Now all she had left was to rob him and get out of there before he woke up.
4
The trick to robbing someone was being quick—at least that is what Coral thought was true. You wanted to be out of the property by the time the owner woke up. Especially with Kai, Coral wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Something was different about this man, and it terrified her.
She had to look for his valuables and she had to do it fast. Luckily, she found items of value in every direction. She retrieved the small sacks from her purse to carry off the goods.
She k
ept looking at Kai on the ground. She wanted desperately to have a magic button that she could push to take her back in time, so she’d find Kai before she got wrapped up with Earl and Josh and their boss. She wouldn’t need to rob him. She’d have a chance to get to know him better.
Kai let out a low groan and Coral cursed. If they’d met a few months earlier, then he wouldn’t be passed out on the floor. A few months earlier, and they’d be making love instead of the situation they were currently in. A few months earlier, and she wouldn’t be getting intimidating calls all through the night and day.
Coral took the watch from Kai’s wrist, a few trinkets that she could sell, and some cash he had sitting out on the counter. She didn’t bother looking for his safe to break into; she managed to collect enough valuables to pay her rent, and pay Josh and Earl.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of the handsome man on the floor. His arm was bent under him in an uncomfortable way. She set down her bags and gently pulled it out.
“I’m so sorry,” Coral said. It was too late to bail now. “Sleep well.”
She took one final glance at the man, his sculpted jawline, dark blonde hair, and his perfect nose. Finally, she summoned up the strength to leave. As she walked, she passed the paintings. They all seemed to be greatly disappointed in her. A few minutes later, she was outside at his gate. Now, just to remember his gate code and call a taxi.
She hoped the taxi drivers didn’t call the cops on her. How would a taxi driver even know what she was up to? She relaxed a little.
Coral entered the code. 5062. She wondered if the numbers had any significance to Kai as she stepped outside of his gate.
And then she was immediately grabbed and shoved into a van.
She didn’t see it coming. One moment, she felt bad about robbing a guy who seemed nice. The next moment, strong hands grabbed her bare arms while someone else ripped the bags out of her hands. How could she be so careless not to see them coming? Her mind was distracted.
The van drove off, but the person who shoved her into the van still held onto her tightly. She pulled away from the hands and started to kick the man before she recognized him—Earl. Josh was beside him, holding a bat.
Uh-oh.
“You sure took a long time,” Earl said with a spit.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Coral hissed. “I told you tomorrow morning!”
Earl tilted his watch. It was almost an hour after midnight. “It is tomorrow morning. We’ve been gentle. Pay up.”
Coral brushed off her dress and scooted against the side of the van, trying to put as much distance between her and her captors as possible. “Fine. Take everything there.”
Josh spun the bat. The wood had a red stain on it. He gave Coral a nasty smile. His teeth were jagged and it looked like a few were missing. Josh’s appearance made her cringe. Coral pulled away from his gaze and watched Earl root through the bags.
“Not enough,” Earl finally said.
What?
“Everything in those bags is worth way more than what you said I owe you,” Coral said.
Earl chuckled. “She thinks that she just owes what was stolen.”
Josh’s smile grew wider and scarier. “When you steal from us, you pay for our time. You don’t come away even with us, but it’s cute that you thought we were fine breaking even.”
“We’ll take you back there. Get more,” Josh said. “We’ll be waiting. And if you try to call the cops, we’ll get you, so don’t even think about it.”
Terror overtook her body as she felt her body temperature rise. She didn’t want to continue stealing from Kai after she’d already taken so much from him, but on the other hand, she didn’t want to die.
Coral groaned. “Okay.”
They pulled back up to Kai’s gate. The van doors opened, and Josh shoved Coral to the ground. She fell to her hands and knees, and small rocks dug into her skin, leaving painful abrasions. She stood up and brushed herself off. Josh and Earl wouldn’t see her cry, even though tears hung on for dear life on the brim of her lashes.
Coral walked back up to the gate and pushed the numbers, 5092. The lock beeped red. She could feel Earl’s eyes burning into her back. They didn’t care about the money. They cared about getting their message across and establishing their dominance.
“Nice house,” Josh mumbled from behind her. “So, what’d you do to the guy?”
“Drugged him,” she murmured.
Wait, was it 5062?
Nervously, she punched the code into the gate box. The light beeped green and the door started to slide open.
Josh laughed. “Vicious, ain’t ya?”
“I didn’t hurt him. He will probably just wake up with a slight headache.”
“How long will he be out?” asked Earl.
“I don’t know. Maybe a few hours.”
Earl’s eyes widened, like a child on Christmas morning. “If nobody’s awake, I guess we will join you.”
“I can handle it on my own,” Coral said firmly. Even though she had robbed him, and even though she was going back to rob him again, she felt protective over Kai, and she didn’t want Josh or Earl anywhere near him.
“See, but we don’t trust you. We’re going with you,” said Earl.
They both gave her a cruel look, like two beasts looking at a pinned rabbit, with vicious glares and the knowledge that their prey was helpless.
Coral nodded. It wasn’t like she could argue. She was unarmed, in the dark, and in an area she didn’t know. If Kai woke up, she would have to face him. What if he called the cops? In this situation, she just couldn’t win. Maybe it would be better if she just gave up.
No, I must go on!
She led them to the front door and gently opened it.
“All right,” Josh rumbled from beside her. “Where’s the guy?”
“By the piano,” Coral answered. “Don’t hurt him.”
Earl’s big hand clapped her on her curved ass, taking one handful of her body through her green dress. Instinctively she turned and slapped him right across the face with enough speed to make her palm sting from the contact. “Fuck off!”
Earl looked startled for a moment before he grinned. “A little fight in you. I like that.”
“Touch me again, and I’ll cut your balls off,” she snapped.
Josh laughed and shoved Earl. “Knock that shit off! Let’s get this done quickly and get out of here.”
Something sprayed against the window. A moment later, it happened again. Soon, a solid rainstorm came down in full force, just as it had earlier.
“Great. Just great,” said Earl. “The storm is going to make it harder to get out of here fast.”
Something was amiss. The rain had started after Coral had drugged Kai, and now the rain came down in sheets from outside the house. Although it could definitely just be a coincidence, Coral didn’t entirely think it was. She rushed off to find Kai, hoping that he was okay. She hurried past the paintings and glanced at the grand piano.
Coral’s heart jumped directly into her throat.
His body was missing.
Kai was gone.
Lightning struck down a few feet outside the window with a booming echo. Coral swallowed. The electric static of the air grew tremendously, enough to where her hair stood up on end.
“Where the fuck is he?” grumbled Josh. “I thought you said he was here.”
Coral couldn’t pull her eyes away from the spot. “He was…”
Kai had fought it when he first felt it, and apparently, he’d won. That, or someone had taken his body. Coral didn’t know which option scared her more.
The assailants continued searching the house, while Coral searched for Kai. Her heart wanted to see him again, but her head let her know it wasn’t a good idea. If they met face-to-face, who knows how Kai would react.
Earl and Josh didn’t seem to quite grasp the gravity of the situation. Kai was nowhere to be seen. To make it even more stressful, the thunderstorm outside conti
nued to grow stronger. The wind had picked up, making the windows rattle. A low hum came from inside the house.
As the intensity of the storm grew, Coral noticed Josh and Earl lose their cool. They jumped at shadows and kept looking over their shoulders. Coral couldn’t shake the indescribable feeling that they were being hunted by a large, ferocious predator, despite the fact that she hadn’t seen anyone enter the house other than them.
Coral leaned up against the wall, terrified at the frightened feelings that coursed through her body. As soon as her body touched the wall, a shudder shot through her and the wall seemed to be whispering to her, like there were a thousand people inside trying to tell her something. Coral jumped away from it. No part of this was okay. Why had Earl and Josh forced her to go back inside the house? She wanted to run and get as far away as possible.
“Let’s get out of here,” Josh grumbled.
The big man eyeballed some of the objects around the house like they might jump out and grab him. They hustled out of the door, with Coral following close behind. When Josh opened the door, a wave of wind smashed into them with enough force to pull Coral’s purse off and make their clothes flap dramatically.
The van was just outside the gate, about twenty yards away. Blocking their path was a shirtless man, with fury emanating from his eyes.
Kai.
The moon from above illuminated the powerful curves of his sculpted, god-like body. Rain dripped down his chest, soaking him and showing every defined muscle perfectly. The water collected on his pants, making them stick tight against his legs. Another lighting strike, this one close enough to make the ground rumble, lit him up from behind. His eyes flickered with an unearthly, impossible blue light. The car Kai stood next to seemed to shake from the energy reverberating from him.
For one moment, Coral and the assailants watched in stunned silence. The sight of Kai was terrifying, but strangely beautiful.
Kai walked up the driveway and came close to the front door. He was unarmed, unlike Josh and Earl.