“Penny for your thoughts?” Rebecca’s voice brought her attention back to her surroundings.
Kayleigh shook her head and turned away. She wished she could make sense of it all. Carrey... Catherine.... She had no idea how she would sleep tonight. For a month there had been no bad experiences, and then twice in one day.
Kayleigh tried to set that thought aside as she walked to the back of the house and looked out into the back yard. A swing made of rope was tied to a hulking milkwood tree. Kayleigh stared at the tire attached to the end of the rope.
She turned her attention to the kitchen. It was spacious, with blackwood countertops that matched the dining room table. It had a cozy feel to it. The backs of the chairs were very high. The chairs reminded Kayleigh of the chairs she’d pictured kings sitting on in the fairy tales of her youth. Kayleigh sat down in one of the perfectly hand-carved chairs and admired her surroundings. Rebecca brought two mugs of coffee to the table and sat next to Kayleigh.
“You look pale. Did the kitten keep you up all night?” Rebecca studied her with concern and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her hand felt warm and gentle on Kayleigh’s skin.
“Sarah, honey-bun, go and put the kitten in the lounge, please.” Kayleigh didn’t want her daughter to be aware of what was really going on. After Sarah left the kitchen, she turned to Rebecca. “I had another experience in the shower last night.” Her whole body shook as she told her story. “A voice whispering the name Catherine.”
She shook her head. “First Carrey, now Catherine. I need medication. I think I’m going completely mad. Then I saw a little girl this morning in Sarah’s room by her window. I saw her, every single little detail. She had long black hair and she was about half Sarah’s age.” She stared at Rebecca as dread filled her heart. “Am I going mad? You do exist, don’t you? You’re not a figment of my imagination?”
“You know perfectly well that I’m real. I really think we should investigate this further. Have you had any news from the owner?”
“None.” Kayleigh sighed. “Prove to me that you’re real.”
“You need proof?” Rebecca leaned closer to Kayleigh. She lowered her eyelids and brushed a soft kiss on Kayleigh’s lips before she pulled away gently. “Proof enough?”
Kayleigh noticed that her voice trembled, and so did her hands that rested in front of her on the table. Kayleigh was out of breath. The kiss had made every single cell in her body jolt upside down.
“Uhm. Not convinced. By God, please do that again.” Her voice shook as she tried to control her breathing.
Very slowly, Rebecca moved her face closer to Kayleigh’s. She paused for a short moment before their lips met again. Kayleigh’s eyes closed automatically as she tried to drink in every detail of Rebecca’s lips. Their tongues didn’t touch, their lips didn’t part. It was a soft brush of her lips, but so much electricity came with it that Kayleigh felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Her eyes fluttered open as Rebecca pulled away.
“I’d better get the breakfast,” Rebecca whispered as she stood and straightened out her jeans.
Kayleigh’s body was on fire as she watched Rebecca move away. She had responded so suddenly, yet so completely that her whole body was weak with longing. All she wanted to do was surrender to her feelings. In her mind she could see them, skin on skin. Touching. Feeling. Tasting. Breathing. Grinding. Her center felt warm and slippery. Her stomach tied in knots. Her chest even felt tight, like an invisible band was around it, pulling her ribs in so that it was hard for her to breathe. Even her skin was warmer, and extremely sensitive. Regret filled her very being, because she knew that nothing more could happen. Ever. Sarah would never understand.
She watched as Rebecca’s perfect body moved around swiftly as she continued preparing the meal. Her lips burned where Rebecca’s lips had touched her just a few moments ago. She so longed for more. But how could she even consider having any sort of relationship with a woman while her daughter was there to take it all in? She was so afraid that it would scar Sarah for life, and she wasn’t sure if Sarah’s father could sue for custody once he found out. The thought of losing Sarah was too much to even think of.
Well, maybe just once—just to experience the sensations, the excitement of feeling Rebecca’s body, of hearing her breathe and crying out when she climaxes. Feeling her hips writhe under my spell. Feeling her fingers dig into my back as she arches against me. Feeling her fingers slide inside me…. Stop it!
“Did you hear me, Mommy?” Kayleigh’s head jolted up. It was amazing to think that life had gone on around her while nude, sexual images painted her imagination. Sarah’s voice reached her from deep inside a long dark tunnel, echoing to the surface of her mind.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. What did you say?”
“I asked if I can feed the kitten. He’s hungry.”
Kayleigh hadn’t even realized that her daughter had returned from the lounge and hoped that she didn’t see any of what had happened. “Of course you can feed the kitty. Thanks, my baby, I’m pretty tired. I’ve prepared some bottles and they’re in the kitten’s box.” Kayleigh had taught Sarah how to feed the kitten from a tiny bottle that very morning.
“Sarah, I have an idea,” Rebecca said as she stood in the kitchen doorway with a pan of sizzling bacon. “Why don’t we have breakfast first, then you can feed the kitty cat after?”
“Oh, yummy. I think the cat can wait. I’m starving.” Sarah plopped onto a chair and poured herself some of the juice from a jug on the table, spilling a few drops.
“Here you go.” Rebecca handed Sarah a little basket filled with golden brown toast. She dished bacon and scrambled eggs onto everyone’s plates.
Kayleigh had lost her appetite for food. The only thing she wanted right now was another kiss. “Thanks, this looks delicious.”
She took some toast which she buttered with shaky fingers. To her, every move Rebecca made was extremely sexy—even the mundane moves. Like how her mouth moved when she sipped her juice. How her hands worked as she buttered her toast and how her eyes lit up when she noticed Kayleigh watching her. Passion burned in her blue eyes, and her eyelids were heavy with desire as she stared back at Kayleigh.
They ate breakfast while watching one another silently. Sarah was the only one talking. If she noticed that she and Rebecca weren’t responding, Sarah didn’t seem to notice.
After breakfast, Sarah warmed a bottle of milk for the kitten and was about to take it to him when Kayleigh stopped her to feel the temperature of the milk. Just as she thought, it was a tad too hot. “Let me show you how to test the temperature. You drop the milk onto your wrist first. If it burns, it’s too hot. Here, let me show you.” She took Sarah’s arm gently and dropped some of the hot milk onto her skin.
“Oops. That’s maybe a bit too hot.” Sarah snickered.
“Just wait a while now and test it again in a minute or so. Keep on swirling the bottle like this.” Kayleigh showed her how to mix the milk to evenly distribute the mixture so that the milk’s temperature was constant throughout. Kayleigh laughed at Sarah’s look of intense concentration.
Sarah nodded and took the small bottle with her when she went to sit by the kitten in the lounge.
“She really loves Rattex doesn’t she?” Rebecca said. “Gonna grow up to become a vet just like her beautiful mom.”
Kayleigh was pensive for a moment. “Looks like we’re going to have to keep it after all.”
Kayleigh watched as Rebecca began clearing the table. Rebecca went to the basin and started running hot water into it. Kayleigh got up from her chair and helped. She took some of the dirty glasses from the table and progressed to the basin where Rebecca was carefully piling the dishes into the sink. Kayleigh shifted right behind her and reached around Rebecca’s right side to stack the glasses carefully into the basin which was full of steaming water. She first let the glasses go and let them slip into the water, and then she pulled her hand back a little and rested it on Rebecca’s right hip.
She slipped her left hand onto Rebecca’s left hip and closed the distance between their bodies. Rebecca tensed and exhaled slowly. A slight groan escaped from Rebecca’s lips. Kayleigh’s heart felt as though it was thrashing against her ribs like a wild animal in a cage, trying to escape out of her throat.
The smell of Rebecca’s hair wafted up and she inhaled slowly. With her nose she moved Rebecca’s hair out of the way, and pressed her lips to the nape of Rebecca’s neck. She placed small, feather-light kisses against Rebecca’s soft, warm skin. Her tongue darted from between her lips and slid down the neck. Her hands slipped up Rebecca’s sides and back down again. She tugged into Rebecca’s hips and pulled her into her. Rebecca’s firm buttocks pressed into her center, and she moaned softly while trying to remember how to breathe. Rebecca’s hands were still in the water in the sink, and the hot tap was still open. Steam twirled around their entwined bodies. The water had reached the top of the brim and had started running over the edge.
Kayleigh’s chest rose and fell as she suddenly realized what they were doing and where they were at. “You’d better pull your hands out before they boil off.”
Rebecca’s hands were blood red when she lifted them from the hot water. The water sloshed over the edge of the sink onto Rebecca’s jeans. “Oh, my gosh, I didn’t even feel that,” Rebecca gasped and quickly closed the tap. “Why are you torturing me like this, woman?” She turned around to face Kayleigh.
Their faces were very close now, their lips only inches away from touching. The aching in Kayleigh’s groin throbbed, and she could feel the dampness growing between her thighs. Before she could say anything, Rebecca’s lips were on hers. She enveloped Kayleigh in her arms and gripped Kayleigh’s back, pulling her even closer. Their lips devoured one another. Rebecca moved her right hand to the back of Kayleigh’s head to grip her hair. With her other hand, she pulled their hips together. Rebecca turned them around, so that Kayleigh’s back was against the basin. She shoved her hips into Kayleigh’s and pushed her up against the basin, grinding against Kayleigh in a slow rhythm. They both groaned.
Rebecca was the first to pull her lips away. She pressed her forehead against Kayleigh’s. “Your… daughter… is… in… the… other… room,” she gasped.
“What?” Kayleigh couldn’t comprehend what she was saying.
“Remember Sarah?”
“God, what was I thinking?” It took a lot of strain for Kayleigh to haul herself away from Rebecca. She met her gaze and got lost in the swirls of blue desire she saw in Rebecca’s eyes.
“Tell me you’re not sorry,” Rebecca said.
“I’m not. But this isn’t the time for me to lose my head.” Kayleigh saw a flash of worry cross Rebecca’s face. “I’m not sorry, Rebecca,” she repeated as she caressed Rebecca’s cheek.
“Are you sure you’ve never been in a gay relationship slash fling? You seem very experienced.”
“Never.” Kayleigh felt her face warm with a blush. “I really don’t have any idea what came over me. I’ve never ever done anything like that before in my life with another woman.”
Rebecca trailed her thumb along Kayleigh’s lips. “Hey, I’m not complaining.” She gave Kayleigh a crooked grin. “We’ll pick this up again?”
Kayleigh felt a jolt hit her body as she imagined doing just that… plus much, much more. “Oh, yeah,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Good.”
Trying very hard to concentrate on the task at hand, Kayleigh went back to retrieving dirty dishes from the table and struggled to avoid any more body contact with Rebecca as Kayleigh placed the dishes at the side of the basin. After she’d cleared the table, she grabbed a broom to sweep the floor.
Rebecca glanced at the broom. “Where are you flying off to now?”
“Ha ha.” But Kayleigh was glad for the light humor. Anything to help break the sexual tension she felt crackling in the room. “You’re a messy cook. I have to clean up after you.”
After they’d cleaned up, they sat at the table as they drank coffee. Kayleigh had an overwhelming need to lean across the table and kiss Rebecca senseless again, but she refrained. She absolutely and completely loved the effect she had on Rebecca. It felt good knowing Rebecca was attracted to her, and that Rebecca could lose herself so easily in her.
“So, what do you want to do today?” Rebecca asked. “We can play a game or we can swim.”
Sarah entered the room at that moment. “I want to swim.”
“Well, let’s hear what your mom wants to do as well.”
“There’s only one thing I’d like to do today, and it isn’t swimming,” Kayleigh said with a smirk.
“And what’s that, Mommy?” Sarah asked.
“Sleep,” Kayleigh lied.
“The cold water will cool you off and wake you up just fine, Kayleigh. There’s a time and a place for sleeping. Believe me. I know exactly how you feel.”
†
They spent the day by Rebecca’s pool, which was sunken into the patio. A thatched deck covered half the pool and supplied shade from the threatening African sun. In the middle was a sunken bar, fully equipped with all types of liquor. Next to the bar were bar stools, attached to the bottom of the pool so that they wouldn’t float away. Kayleigh sat on one of the bar stools so that the water cooled her hot skin, while Rebecca took the position of bar-lady. She lifted two cocktail glasses from under the bar and poured them each a cocktail of white rum and strawberry juice, complete with slices of fresh strawberries and topped with miniature umbrellas. Kayleigh was impressed. It was obvious that Rebecca was trying very hard to impress her. For the first time in a very long time, Kayleigh felt cared for and she enjoyed every moment.
Kayleigh watched Sarah in the pool. She swam like a dolphin, jumping and diving in and out of the water.
“You’re doing a brilliant job with your daughter, but I think I’ve told you that before,” Rebecca said, breaking the silence. “You’ve been very quiet since you attacked me in my kitchen.”
“Well, you’re lucky you got away this time. Next time you might not be so lucky.”
“Ooh. I’m scared.” Rebecca made a shivering sound and rolled her eyes.
When they finally got out of the pool, the sun had moved over the midline and was on its way down. They all had wrinkled skin from the extended exposure to the water and Rebecca and Kayleigh were tipsy from the cocktails.
While Kayleigh lit a fire, Rebecca prepared some steaks to grill, and together they made a salad and buttered some rolls. They ate their food out on the patio and watched the sun begin its descent in the sky. Kayleigh was glad that the food helped absorb the alcohol and she no longer felt lightheaded.
“I don’t want to go home,” Kayleigh admitted while Sarah was in the kitchen, clearing up after dinner.
“Don’t go. Stay here. With me,” Rebecca offered. “What if something happens to Sarah? I mean this ghost or spirit or whatever it is can possess your child, you know.”
Kayleigh frowned. “I don’t think it’s evil. I mean, if it was evil surely bad things would have happened?”
“Look how scared you are there all the time. Is that not a sign that something is out of place?”
“Thanks for your offer, but if I sleep here tonight I’ll most definitely end up in your bed. I don’t think Sarah is quite ready to deal with that yet.” Kayleigh produced half a smile at the thought. “But…to run away is not going to solve my problem either.”
“Whatever suits you is fine by me. Just know that I’m here for you. Believe me, I’m more than willing to help you out any way you’d like.” Rebecca added that bit with a naughty look in her eyes.
Kayleigh blushed. “Thanks.”
Rebecca leaned closer and whispered, “Why are you blushing? Is your mind out there in the gutters again?”
†
That night, as Kayleigh reversed her Jeep out of Rebecca’s driveway, she surveyed Rebecca’s silhouette and felt totally complete. She didn’t even question why—it
just felt right. Halfway on their way home, she was already looking forward to seeing her again.
By the time the kitten was fed his meal for the night, it was nearly midnight. Sarah had enjoyed the day so much that she’d walked in the house, gone up the stairs on autopilot, and dropped down onto her bed before even saying goodnight to Kayleigh. When Kayleigh had unpacked the car, she’d gone upstairs to look for Sarah and had found her softly snoring in her bed. She’d tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead.
She made herself a mug of coffee and snuggled in bed with a book, all the while her senses were on hyper-alert for any strange noises in the house. Not a sound until her cell phone beeped a text message. She knew it could only be Rebecca, probably checking to see if they got home safely. She grabbed her phone and read the message: I miss you already. Wish you’d stayed over. Sleep tight. Dream of me.
Kayleigh sank back into her pillows and typed a reply. Thanks for the day. We had great fun. I’ll definitely dream of you. She thought about the kiss for a while before she switched off the bed lamp and closed her eyes, slipping into a sound slumber.
†
Feeling fully energized after an uneventful night, Kayleigh woke with a fresh mind. During the night she’d fed the kitten two meals, but he was drinking faster now and she could go back to sleep easily afterward. Upon awakening in the morning, her very first thought was of Rebecca. She wondered if she was awake yet and what she was doing. Stretching, she reached for her phone to find two text messages. She hadn’t even heard the beeps announcing the messages. It was already ten and the kitten was awake, mewling for her food. Kayleigh read the first message: G’morning. How did you sleep? I woke up thinking about you. She scrolled down and saw that the message was sent at eight am. After yawning she read the next message: No answer from you? Either you’re still sleeping or you’re playing hard to get. I’m on my way to come sort you out. The second message was sent at nine fifty. Just ten minutes ago.
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